DIY :: S'MORE KITS

Let's just say that we are not a camping family, except for our older sister Katie. She married into a family of campers and now has bins in her garage dedicated to the "sport".  For her son's 7th birthday they rented a campsite and invited us along. We thought, hey why not make a project out of our adventure and make the kids s'more kits? We filled boxes with the standard graham crackers, hershey's chocolates, and marshmallows. Simple yes, but oh so cute! We bought fabric, cut it into squares, wrapped the boxes, and tied them to sticks for roasting. These blissful boxes of goodies would be perfect for birthday parties, wedding favors, a baby shower, or just to spice up your next camping trip. With open minds and a suitcase full of our glam-ping gear, our adventure ended up being truly divine!

Supplies for 6 boxes:

1.5 yards of fabric

6 boxes (Joannes has em)

clear bags (also from Joannes)

bakers twine (optional- I just tie it on EVERYTHING!)

1 box of marshmallows

1 box of graham crackers

1 bag of individually wrapped hershey bars

6 sticks

Box makes 2 s'mores each! When you pack your baggies put 2 graham crackers in a bag (the box should have 4 crackers total) as well as 2 marshmallows in a bag. 

Tie your box up in fabric. Watch a great tutorial here!

Grab some little helpers to hunt for the perfect roasting sticks!

Throw em' over your shoulder!

p.s. the fabric can double as a placemat/napkin. 

Trust us, you will be thankful for those after all of that ooey, gooey, goodness! 

cinco de mayo salsa

Get ready!! Our family has been making this fresh, homemade salsa for years and it has become a staple in our fiesta dinner extravaganza!! We love our mexican food and this just completes us on so many levels. Perfect for creating a massive vegan burrito as well as the ultimate dip for your chips. Get creative with this recipe because we promise you that it is the best way to get your 5 servings of veggies!! All you need to do is chop the following organic veggies + mix:

4 roma tomatoes, 1 red onion, 1 tomatillo, 2 jalapeno peppers, 2 cups fresh corn, 1/2 cup cilantro, 2 avocados. Sprinkle a little sea salt+pepper and go to town!! P.S. Tequila and chips required. . .

{how cute is our dad's hand dipping the first chip??}

Here is the mega vegan burrito made with our salsa, spicy black bean spread (from Trader Joes) and some lettuce shreds!! YUM!! What will you create with this salsa?

peanut butter pretzel sandwiches

Salty and sweet. Nutty and delicious. Naughty and oh so nice. These little sandwiches are packed with a sugary potion that will blow your mind! I made a batch of these little devils for our recent road trip to the Coachella music festival. Perfect for snacking, dinner parties, and birthday surprises. . . these sandwiches are beyond divine. Go ahead, give your taste buds a chuckle!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 bag of pretzel bites

1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

salted pecan pieces

2 tbsp softened butter

Combine peanut butter and softened butter in a large bowl.  Add the sugars and mix to combine until dry enough to roll into a ball. If the filling sticks to your hands, add more sugar until you reach desired consistency. 

 Use a spoon to measure the filling.  Roll each portion into a small ball, then sandwich them between two whole pretzels thins.  Place the sandwiches on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Stick the whole tray in the freezer for about half an hour.

 Melt your chocolate chips in a small sauce pan over super low heat. Stir constantly until the chips are completely melted. Dip one end of each sandwich into the chocolate. Tap to remove excess chocolate and place back onto the parchment paper. If you are adding the pecan crust, sprinkle the pieces onto the top and allow to cool. Return the tray to the freezer to set up completely. Store in the fridge until you are ready to serve them!

Enjoy!!

// recipe adapted from two tiny kitchens //

morning energy snacks

Pinterest is the new black. . .  everyone is pinning, repinning, liking, searching, and getting inspired by this never ending magical site. Here is a quick little recipe for the healthiest, vegan, no flour, no sugar, morning snack ball of energy that we have ever made. . . check out some of our other favorite pinterest recipes here and here!

 1.5 cups of oats

 2-3 super ripened bananas

1 cup of unsweetened applesauce

a handful of craisins

a sprinkle of cinnamon

a handful of raw sunflower seeds

 Mix everything together and throw it on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes!!

DIY :: funfetti popcorn

Who doesn't love funfetti?? There is something so simple and delicious about those little vanilla cupcakes saturated in sprinkles. We decided to bring that love into the snack world by creating funfetti popcorn!! We crave the sweet and salty, making this normally healthy snack a little naughty
. . . Whip up a ton of it, because as soon as it hits the bowl, there is no stopping!!

{before}

{after}

:: RECIPE ::

what you need:

microwave popcorn + melting white chocolate + sprinkles

how to:

 pop all of your popcorn and place onto a baking sheet

melt the chocolate according to the instructions on the package

drizzle melted chocolate over the popcorn

quickly pour the sprinkles on top before the chocolate hardens

P.S. We love these adorable popcorn bags available here!!

homemade snickers recipe

Road trips mean. . . quality family time, listening to inspiring playlists, and stuffing your face full of crazy snacks without feeling guilty! This year, our annual trip to the mountains meant me bringing the "treats" to a whole new level. So I hit up the never ending world of discovery that is Pinterest and got my baking juices flowing. When I stumbled upon the recipe for homemade snickers bars, I knew that I had found the motherload. The ingredients were simple and the recipe seemed easy. . . 2 hours later, I had in my hand the world's most gooey, chocolate-y, and caramel-icous insanity that we call SNICKERS. The natural ingredients made these irresistibly fresh goodies even better than the Mars brand in the wrapper. Make these for your next trip, dinner party, or holiday get together! Even that "i am not really a chocolate person" will be begging you for more. . .

*makes one 9×13 pan ( i used 2 smaller pans so that I could cut one pan and save the other for the next day)

bottom chocolate layer

1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup peanut butter

Thoroughly grease you baking pan. Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour into the baking dish and spread until even. Let cool and harden completely.

nougat layer

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cup salted peanuts chopped, roughly chopped

1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in sugar and milk, stirring until dissolved and bring to a boil. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in fluff, peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Turn off heat and fold in peanuts, then pour over bottom chocolate layer. Let cool completely.

caramel layer

1 14-ounce bag of caramels

1/4 cup whipping cream

Combine ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Let melt, stirring occasionally, until smooth – this took about 10 minutes for me. Pour over nougat layer and let cool completely.

Top chocolate layer

1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup peanut butter

Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour over caramel and spread until even. Let cool and harden completely.

Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving, then cut as desired. These can stay at room temperature, but they do get gooey. I like them refrigerated best!

Note: for best results, buy one of the half-sheet aluminum cake pans at the grocery store. That way, you can pop the entire square out and cut from there! 

credits: how sweet treats . hippie gypsy

superbowl sunday funday

Superbowl Sunday is the one day that we actually look forward to watching football! We love to spend the day preparing snacks that not only are delicious but healthy too. . . post game you won't be promising yourself to hit the gym for 3 hours on Monday! If you are hosting the party, write down these recipes onto fun cards and hand them out to your guests. And if you are crashing another party, bring a mason jar full of mixed nuts as a hostess gift tied with some bakers twine.

spicy mixed nuts . skinny jalapeno poppers .  baked mozarella sticks . crispy sweet potato fries

**makes about 3 cups

1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer

2 tablespoons warm water

1 pound roasted, salted mixed nuts

1/3 cup evaporated cane sugar

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne powder

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg replacer and water until foamy. Add the nuts and toss to coat. Transfer the nuts to a strainer and let drain for at least 2 minutes. Meanwhile, wipe out the bowl and combine the sugar, salt, and cayenne. Add the nuts, tossing to coat. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet.

Bake for 40 minutes. Stir with spatula and spread the nuts out again. Reduce the oven to 200 degrees F and bake another 30 minutes, or until dry. The nuts will crisp as they cool to room temperature. Thoroughly cooled, they can be stored for up to one week in an airtight container.

We dare you not to eat the entire batch before the game starts. . . enjoy!!

credit: late afternoon . skinny taste. taste of home . the art of doing stuff . wildfox . decor8 . oh so beautiful paper .