Naturally Dyed Heart Pancakes

Nothing can beat homemade pancakes unless you add a cute little accent that your whole family will love. They don’t take too much extra time to make and it is totally worth it to make the morning extra special!

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

What you need for naturally dyed pancakes:

• Pancake Batter. (Make it from scratch with this recipe)
• Frozen Blueberries and/or a Can of Beets.
• Squeeze Bottle.
• Pan.
• Strainer.

Making Your Valentine’s Day Breakfast Pancakes:

To create your natural pancake batter dye, just reduce your berries and/or beets over medium temperature.

Add a little water to the berries if needed. It doesn’t take much juice to dye your batter.

Strain and let cool completely before adding to your batter.

Mix batter and juice together and then add into the squeeze bottles. I cut the tip off of my bottle to let out the thicker batter.

I use this all of the time to make fun pancakes even without using the dye.

Create your heart, let sit a moment, then add the plain pancake batter around the edges. Continue to cook like a standard pancake.

Your little ones are going to love these special heart pancakes! They aren’t just for Valentine’s Day breakfast either. You can do this to make a birthday or the first day of school special too!

If you don’t make your batter from scratch I highly suggest you give it a try. It is really quite simple and very inexpensive! Check out our recipe here!

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We were iced in this weekend and I was in serious need of a chocolate fix.  I didn’t have my normal stash of ice-cream and the only chocolate I could find were some leftover chocolate chips from our Christmas cookies.  The kiddos were also becoming more and more stir-crazy, so I wanted to make a snack that wasn’t super high in sugar.  So I reached for my go-to healthy cookie for kids and gave them a twist.

Ingredients for Chocolate Oatmeal Thumbprint Cookies

• 1 Ripe Banana
• 1/2 Cup Oatmeal (I use quick oats)
• 1 Tablespoon Oil (I used Sunflower oil, melted coconut oil also works well)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Honey
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon chocolate chips

Making the Oatmeal Banana Cookies

Mash your ripe banana and then add your oatmeal, 1 T oil, honey, and cinnamon.  Mix well.  Scoop the mixture onto a cookie sheet.  I like to use a 1-inch cookie scoop, but a spoon works too. Gently tap the cookies down into an even circle.

Creating a chocolate thumbprint cookie

Mix together your chocolate chips and coconut oil and melt slowly in the microwave.  Using a small scoop, press and pour a small amount of chocolate into the center of each cookie.Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. This recipe only makes about 7 chocolate oatmeal thumbprint cookies, so you may want to make a double batch.  But they’re quick and easy oatmeal banana cookies.  Perfect for when you only have one banana left.

Don’t forget to pin these healthy cookies for kids to your recipes board on Pinterest!

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Creating Thumbprint Cookies

In a bowl, combine banana, oatmeal, oil, honey, and cinnamon.  Mix well. Scoop the mixture onto a cookie sheet.  I like to use a 1-inch cookie scoop, but a spoon works too. Gently tap the cookies down into an even circle. Using either your finger or a utensil, create a small well into the center of each cookie. Fill the indent with a small scoop of jelly. Bake for 30 minutes.  Let them cool on the pan for a minute or two and then move to a cooling rack.

These simple cookies will make a great addition to your Christmas cookie plate or just a lovely afternoon snack!

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Chorizo Stuffing

If there’s one thing that every holiday spread needs it’s stuffing!

The one thing about stuffing… Everyone makes it different. In the past, we shared with you a tasty classic homemade stuffing recipe.

While that is still a go-to recipe for us, sometimes you just want to mix it up. For that, I give you My Man’s Easy Chorizo Stuffing!

Now as the name suggests, this is another recipe that My Man actually came up with… he just loves to cook, and I love to be his taste tester.

This is a really fast stuffing to put together, so you can make it on its own or in addition to your more traditional stuffing.

Making your chorizo side dish:

Brown the chorizo and remove any excess grease.

Add the onions and give them a good sautee.

Add your bread, chorizo, basil, onion, egg, and a pinch of salt into a baking dish.

Then slowly add in your chicken stock as you lightly toss the bread. You want it to be wet but not dripping.

Your hands work great for this. If you prefer a spoon make sure not to squish your bread! (You may have some liquid leftover depending on the dryness of the bread)

Place into an oven at 350 degrees for 35-40 mins or until the tops are golden brown.

Take it out and enjoy this oh so tasty side dish that is sure to please your crowd!

Yield: 10 Servings

Chorizo Stuffing

Print

This is a really fast stuffing to put together, so you can make it on it’s own or in addition to your more traditional stuffing.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 6oz Chorizo
• 1 Loaf of French Bread, cubed
• Basil (about 5 leaves), roughly chopped
• 1/2 of a Small Onion, diced
• 1 Egg
• 1 1/2C Chicken Stock
• Salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Brown the chorizo and remove any excess grease.
3. Add the onions and give them a good saute.
4. Add your bread, chorizo, basil, onion, egg, and a pinch of salt into a baking dish.
5. Then slowly add in your chicken stock as you lightly toss the bread. You want it to be wet but not dripping.
6. Bake for 35-40 mins or until the tops are golden brown.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 219Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 576mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 10g

The chorizo will give it a slight heat and the basil adds in the savory making this such a tasty dish along side of any meal.

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We always make a batch of classic seeds, a mixture of sea salt and seasoning salt, but this year we wanted to try out something on the sweet side and they turned out amazing!

Lookin for more fall fun? Check out these pumpkin crafts!

What you need for your Sweet and Savory Pumpkin Seeds:

• Brined pumpkin seeds. {Follow these steps to prep your seeds.}
• Mixing bowl.
• A sheet pan.
• Extra virgin olive oil.
• Brown sugar.
• Ground black pepper.

How to make your Sweet and Savory Pumpkin Seeds:

To ensure you get perfectly crisp seeds, follow the steps in this post to brine your pumpkin seeds. Strain, pat dry and add back into a mixing bowl. Add about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to your seeds and stir. Pour them onto your sheet pan. Make sure they are a thick layer so your seasoning doesn’t make it through to the pan.
Then add your seasoning.

The Seasoning Ratio

Mix 2 Tablespoons of packed brown sugar with 1/4 teaspoons ground black pepper.

Make Your Home Ready For Fall

Season the top of your seeds well, to the point where it looks like too much. A lot will fall off when you remove them from your pan. Bake seeds for 20 minutes at 275 degrees then bump the heat to 350. Cook an additional 15-25 minutes or until golden brown.
You don’t want the sugar to burn! Take the seeds out and allow them to cool a bit before removing them from the pan.

You know you are craving them already!
So what are you waiting for?! Make yourself a batch of these sweet and savory pumpkin seeds today!

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I haven’t always loved pumpkin seeds… in fact, I didn’t end up making them in past years. In order to get them nice and crispy, I would end up burning half of my batch. If you haven’t quite nailed down your perfect pumpkin seed recipe then you are in the right place! I have seen a few recipes where you actually boil your seeds in the brine, but we have found that isn’t necessary.

Looking for more fun? Check out these fun pumpkin crafts!

What you need for your Brined Pumpkin Seeds:

• Pumpkin.
• Knife.
• Water.
• Salt.
• Strainer.
• Large Bowl.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
• Kitchen Towel.
• Seasoning of choice.

Making your Brined Pumpkin Seeds:

First, you need to get your seeds! Cut off your pumpkin top and start scooping. Throw your seeds in a strainer and rinse well. Then place into a bowl. Add water until the seeds start to float. Add 1 Tablespoon of salt per 2 cups of water.

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If you follow along with us, you know that chemical food dye is never on our party supply list.  So I was faced with the challenge of creating an all black character naturally.  Cake decorating is definitely not high on my list of talents.  In fact, the cake is usually the part that frustrates me the most.  I always envision a beautiful cake, I’ve even learned to plan easier designs, yet every party I stumble on the cake.  (remember Mr. Monster’s farm party cake last year?)

I think this cake will go down as being my most successful…or at least a close second the Monster Cake from Mr. Monster’s first birthday.

This year, I skipped the homemade cake and found a box cake that I really like.  But I had to whip up a batch of our go-to frosting from Andie Mitchell

How I created the Toothless Cake

I started with a graphic of Toothless that I felt was easy.  A lot of detail in the design would have made things more complicated than I needed.  I showed the graphic to Little Miss to make sure she recognized it as Toothless, and she did…so I ran with it.

I cut the shape out of the paper and gently laid it onto the cake.

Then I used a skewer (they were still out from the watermelon dragon…but you can use anything in your kitchen that is equivalent) and traced the shape into the frosting.

Next, I ground up a package of chocolate cookies in my food processor.

Using a spoon, I gently poured the cookie crumbs into the large parts of Toothless’ body.  Then I smoothed them out with another skewer…they were handy!  I’m sure a butter knife would work too.

For the smaller parts, I placed a small row of cookie crumbs along the edge of the spoon, lined it up to where I wanted it, then gently tapped the spoon so that the crumbs fell out together.  This worked surprisingly well.  (much to my relief.  I was a little nervous about the small parts)

Once I was done filling in the Toothless Cake, I scooped as many stray crumbs away that I could, and cover up the ones I couldn’t with more frosting.

Of course, the candles were strategically placed near the mouth to look like he was breathing fire…even though technically Toothless doesn’t breath fire, it still looked cool.  It was definitely Little Miss approved.

Check out the rest of our Dragons: Race to the Edge party!

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What you need for your watermelon dragon

• 1 watermelon
• wooden skewers
• sharp knife
• melon baller (optional)

How I made my watermelon dragon

I started by cutting the watermelon in half and scooping out all the fruit.  I used a melon baller, but you can use any method you prefer.  This half became the body of my dragon.

From the other half of the watermelon, I cut a slice from the cut side of the watermelon and set it aside.  Then I scooped out the second half.

From the second half, I made the wings and feet of the dragon.

I used the natural curve of the watermelon to my advantage and just cut triangles for the wings.

To make the wings sit flush along the top of the body, I cut two small notches for each wing.

Then I attached the wings with the wooden skewers.

For the feet, I cut smaller triangles, but I used my melon baller to help made guidelines to cut out the toes.  I wedged the feet under the body of the dragon.

Next, I moved onto the head.  From the large slice I cut earlier, I cut out the length needed for the neck.  Using my melon baller, I scooped the fruit away to leave a slightly scalloped edge.

I used skewers to attach the neck to the body of the watermelon dragon.  To create the tail, I repeated this process with a smaller piece.

I felt like the head was still missing something, so I cut a small piece from the leftovers of the giant slice and attached it to the head of the dragon, to resemble an open mouth.

After I was OK with the placement of all the pieces, I cut the skewers down so they were not as noticeable.

Finally, I filled the dragon with watermelon and added it to the food table.

I was expecting the process of making a watermelon sculpture to be a lot longer, but since I used basic shapes, and let the curve of the watermelon work for me, it only took about 30 minutes.

Check out the rest of our Dragons: Race to the Edge party!

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Our Tips for Cooking with Kiddos

Prep as much as you can.  Sure, an impromptu cooking session isn’t going to allow for much prep time.  But as much as you can prep ahead of time, the better.  Either it’s cutting up some veggies before their little fingers come around or measuring out the flour before they start spooning it into the bowl.  Try to set up your kitchen like you’re on a cooking show.  That way everything is ready to go when they are.

Have a towel ready to go.  When you’re cooking with kids, things are going to spill.  Embrace it.  Preferably with a big towel, ready and waiting to soak up that spilled milk.

Get on their level.  Either bring in some stools or move to a shorter table.  You want them to be able to safely reach everything that they’re working with.

Keep it safe.  Keep their little fingers away from knives and have a game plan for whenever you’re putting things in the oven.  We have a cupboard door that the kids have to stand behind when the oven’s open.  They can still see, since you know they’re curious, but they have that barrier they know they can’t cross.

Let everyone help.  Make sure everyone has a job to do.  I like to make them take turns putting ingredients in.  Even if it’s one cup for Little Miss and then one cup for Mr Monster.  They are both helping.  If one is waiting their turn, I ask them to count something…How many ingredients do we have?  How many eggs are left in the carton?  How many chicken nuggets are on the pan?

Cleaning is part of cooking.  Make sure they are helping with the cleanup part of the process too.  Rinsing the spoon or throwing away wrappers are all things they can help with.

Get aprons.  When I’m cooking with kiddos, I want to be focusing on what they’re doing and living in the moment.  The last thing I want to worry about is whether or not they stay clean.

I set off to Etsy to find an apron that would be both cute and functional…Do you know how many aprons there are on Etsy?  Tons.  It’s hard to find the perfect one.  There are frilly one, short ones, long ones, all colors of the rainbow.  I was looking for a functional children’s apron, which meant I needed something that was washable, well made, and easy to use.  I found one that stood out amidst the competition.

HappyToBeAGrandma’s Fun & Functional Children’s Apron

These are made by Paula at HappyToBeAGrandma and are the perfect tool for cooking with kiddos.  Her shop is full of great items, but her aprons are what sold me.  I reached out to Paula and asked if I could write a post about her aprons…because they are fantastic!

The first thing that caught my eye was the fact that the aprons didn’t feel too “girlie”.  I have a two year old boy that probably wouldn’t enjoy wearing a frilly apron.  I picked the army apron, because I knew he would love it.

For Little Miss, there is a perfect pastel butterfly pattern that shimmers.  She loves it!

These aprons are well made. Double lined with a great material.  I.e. Functional.

Above everything else, my favorite part of these aprons is the fact that the kids can put them on all by themselves.  That’s a huge deal when you’re two and wanting to help mommy.  It helps give them a sense of independence and confidence.  When I first handed the apron to Mr Monster, he looked up at me and asked me to put it on for him.  I told him he could do it himself.  His eyes lit up!  I walked him through his first try, and with little effort, he was able to put it over his head and fasten the Velcro strap.  He was so proud of himself.  A priceless moment.

You can purchase a matching oven mitt and hot pad (which the kids call their napkins).  The oven mitts are now a permanent part of their play kitchens.

Working with Paula has been an absolute treat.  You can tell that she loves what she does and takes pride in the quality of her work.  I asked her what her favorite part of owning an Etsy shop was.

“My favorite part is when people talk to me and tell me about their family, ie… who the items are for, what ages etc..meeting new people, and being able to make something special for that family.  Knowing in some small way, I was a part of making it better for them. I make every item like I was making for my own grandchildren, with quality, love and with safety always in mind.”

You’ve got to check out her shop.  It’s full of other fun goodies too.

Like this great tool belt.  Mr. Monster loves putting all his tools in the pockets…along with his horsey.

And these adorable purses.  Little Miss actually hugged it when she got it in the mail.

You can tell that everything at HappyToBeAGrandma is made with love and care.

Cooking with kiddos can be fun, educational, and exciting.  For more than just the kids.  Using these tips you can enjoy your time just a bit more.

Check out HappyToBeAGrandma today and get those kids in the kitchen!

We love when the kids help out in the kitchen. It helps them try new food too!

Disclosure: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated us via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission.  Regardless, we only recommend products or services we use personally and believe will be good for our readers. Thank you for supporting Twitchetts!

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A couple years ago, we both realizd that we were using the same recipe from Laura Fuentes.  They were nice and fluffy and just the right amount of sweet.  But the batter was really thick, and we grew up in a thin batter house.  So we were always adding more milk.

I mean, if your a crafty mommy, you have to be able to draw in your pancakes and make fun shapes!

This recipe captures the flavors from Laura’s original recipe while providing the thinner consistency that we wanted.

Homemade Pancake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 1/2 Cups Milk
• 1 Egg
• 3 Tablespoons Butter, melted

Start by mixing all your dry ingredients.

Next add your milk, egg, and butter.  (make sure your melted butter has cooled a bit)

extra helpers not required…but definitely encouraged.

Cook and eat!

You can double the batch and freeze some for late.  I lay them out on a cooling rack and place them in the freezer for about an hour.  Then I transfer them to a ziplock baggie.  That way, they don’t freeze together and you can grab one or two for a quick pancake fix.

If you want to add a fun twist, make sure to check out our mess free way of adding syrup.  Perfect for those little fingers!

Enjoy!

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