{ Skillet S'mores }

I have a confession.

These photos have been sitting on my camera for a year. #oops.

I found them when trying to make sure I had all of my 2015 photos downloaded onto my computer. I couldn't just let them go to waste, eh?

So, here we are. Skillet S'mores.

I served these to a group of VERY happy teenage boys, and also, my husband. There was nothing left. Nothing.

This is definitely something I now have in my arsenal. It's so easy, fast, and fun. Not to mention the taste.

Easy, gooey, chocolately. Good.

Amen.

Skillet S'mores

by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

1 Tablespoon oil

1 bag milk chocolate chips (I like Hershey's brand for this)

15-20 large marshmallows, cut in half

graham crackers

cast iron skillet (or other oven proof skillet*)

Preheat oven to 450* F

Pour oil into pan and brush with a pastry brush or coat all around with a paper towel. Be sure to coat the bottom and sides well.

Pour in chocolate chips. Top with marshmallow halves.

Bake for 5-7 minutes until marshmallows are toasted.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. This will give allow the heat from the pan to keep melting the chips.

Serve warm with graham crackers, but be wary of the hot pan.

*You can use another type of pan, but cast iron retains the heat for a better all around melt.

Adapted from Dessert for Two

{Nutella Krispy Treats}

I really hate spoilers. Yet, I somehow end up always being the spoiled one. I think it's written somewhere, "And Tina shall have all the shows cast upon her spoiled. And so it was."

It's not even just shows. I knew about Snape killing Dumbledore before the book release. I looked Rory Williams up on wiki before we saw the Doctor Who episodes with him as a companion. I ended up finding out basically the entire story arch. That stuff is never supposed to be in the opening lines of a wiki article, people. I searched (I'm not sure what now), something entirely innocent having to do with The Walking Dead, and ended up finding out who survives the comic book series. I knew what happened this season on Downton Abbey with Anna. I knew how Breaking Bad ended. I'm just a spoiler magnet. No fair! *pouts*

A couple weeks ago I googled Call The Midwife to see when Series 3 was arriving on PBS. It was last night. DON'T GOOGLE CALL THE MIDWIFE. The first return is a spoiler for the season finale. Thank you very much Huff Post UK. Now, I don't know how this said spoiler happens, but I know too much. Blergh.

Yes, I'll still watch, but still. Hmph.

Call The Midwife, if you don't know, is an EXCELLENT show. It's a BBC show, but much like Downton, it doesn't come to BBCA, but to PBS here in the States. The first 2 series (seasons) of the show are on Netflix streaming. Watch ittttt.

The show is about Midwives in London's East End during the 50's. I love it.

Anyway, after spoilers, I need snacks, because who doesn't.

Here's a quick and easy way to dress up some Krispy Treats... Nutella!

It takes Krispy Treats to the next level. Drizzle with chocolate to make them even more 'gourmet'. ;)

And yes, I totally think Krispy Treats can be gourmet. Gourmet doesn't mean hard, it means amazing!

Krispy Treats are anything but hard, of course!

You know what's hard?

Me avoiding spoilers...

Tina


Nutella Krispy Treats

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
10 ounces marshmallows
6 cups crispy rice cereal (for extra chocolatey, use cocoa rice cereal)
1/2 cup Nutella

melted chocolate for drizzling

In a large sauce pan over low heat, melt the butter. Add in marshmallows, and stir constantly until fully melted. Mix in nutella. Pour in cereal, and toss until evenly coated. Pour into 9x13 baking dish prepared with cooking spray and press into pan. When cooled, turn out onto foil and drizzle with melted chocolate.

{Caramel Crunch Party Mix}

I'm panicking here, my friends.

PANICKING. There's 16 days til Christmas and I've got so, so much to do. I've got to finish up my shopping, of course, but I also do all the Christmas shopping for my almost 94 year old grandmother. I've got events for youth group, a party here at my house, an orthodontist appointment, holiday baking/candy making, cleaning, wrapping.... Well, you all know the drill. Normally I am way further in my shopping than I am. I started in August, so, you'd think I'd be further along, but no.

So, quick and easy is definitely my friend. This is a very easy snack, great for parties. I'll be adding this one to my holiday giving trays.

This is a play on Caramel Corn and Chex Mix. And, well, it's delicious!

This mix is based off of my Caramel Corn.

You can throw in extras if you like too, of course. Nuts, sprinkles, etc. Yum.

Here's the down low:

Make up some caramel, pour it over the cereal, bake for 45 mins, stirring every 15. Let cool, break apart clumps, add in pretzels and M&Ms. Done.

Delicious.


I hope to be back before Christmas, but if I'm not, you'll know why!

The panic got me!

Tina


Reindeer Crunch Party Mix
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

1/2 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

5 cups Rice Chex

2 cups Cheerios
1/2 cup M&Ms

1 cup chocolate covered pretzles

Preheat oven to 200 F

Pour the cereal into a large, greased baking pan.

Combine butter, brown sugar, salt, & corn syrup in a pan, and heat over medium heat. Bring to a boil stirring constantly, boil 3 mins, then remove from heat. Add in the baking soda. Whisk well.

Pour caramel over cereal slowly, toss into all of it. Try to break up large clumps.

Bake for 45 mins, stirring after every 15 mins  (each time trying to break up any clumps).

Pour onto foil and allow to cool. Once cool, if any clumps remain, break. Pour into large bowl, toss in M&Ms and pretzels. Enjoy!

Store in airtight container.

{Back To School Trail Mix}

I just said a dirty word up there. It starts with 'S' and ends in 'chool'.

The Bean is NOT excited that it is starting soon. Soon, as in next week. Next week my baby will begin his Junior year.

That's dumb.

Time is dumb. Mean. Mean time, mean.

When school starts I am always in need of quick lunch and after school snacks. Yes, he's a junior and he still packs his lunch. Our cafeteria? Not great.

Or good.

I recently got my latest shipment of Walkers Shortbread.

In it were packages of mini cookies! I love all things mini. I don't know why, but they just taste better when they are widdo and tiny.

The first thing I thought of, seeing their size, was trail mix. While the cookies are delicious straight out of the bag, this is just something a little different.

You can make this in any size you like, but I made a small batch.

Like any other trail mix, of course, you can add in whatever you like! This is just a good place to start.

In my Walkers shipment, they sent one of their newest products, Mini Crunchy Oatmeal Cookies. Let me just tell you, these are SO delicious. My new favorite Walkers product. Bean loved them too. They were most excellent dipped in tea, or coffee, or alone... YUM.

As always, I love that Walkers products are guaranteed to contain no GMOs, preservatives, hydrogenated fats. Antibiotics and bovine growth hormones are never given to their grass fed cows.

The classic shortbread is made of only FOUR ingredients: Flour, Sugar, Butter, and a pinch of Salt.

Walkers Shortbread products are also 100% vegetarian and certified Kosher OUD.

Walkers has extended an offer to readers of Sugar Bean Bakers. Buy 2, get one free! The promo code for this offer is: SBBSCHOOL. The offer is good today (Aug 5, 2013) through Friday, August 9, 2013.

You should definitely take advantage of this offer. They are such an awesome, wholesome treat for your children's lunchboxes or after school! Or, ya know, for you.

Tina

Back to School Trail Mix

1 Cup Cheerios
3-4 Tablespoons M&Ms Candy
3-4 Tablespoons Raisins
12 Walkers Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

Mix & serve 

As part of the Walkers Blogger Buzz Ambassador program, I was sent this product to review. However, opinions expressed are my own.

{Pizza Bites}

The Bean is turning 16 tomorrow!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In honor of that occasion, I'm posting one of his favorite things in the world. Pizza.

The kid would eat it every day if he could. He named off his perfect food day a couple days ago. What he would eat EVERY DAY if he could:



Breakfast:
Waffle Crisp Cereal

Lunch:
Pizza

Dinner:
Burgers

Snack:
Ranch Snackin' Crackers

Ah, such a health nut, I know, I know.

I'm sure you are all quite aware he does NOT eat that every day, much to his despair. Poor mistreated boy. I know you are all so very, very sad for him.

This is the latest pizza treat I've made to feed his addiction.

I'm sure you've seen Pizza Bites before. I've found lots of them made with biscuits & pizza dough. Mine are just a wee bit different. They are made with frozen roll dough. They are SO much better than the biscuit kind and SO much easier than the homemade pizza dough kind!

They are super simple, but take a while to prep because the rolls need to rise. I used the quick rise option on the back of the bag, but they still took over an hour to rise.

Once they've risen, you will take them out of the pan, and cut into pieces. You will get 2 for each roll. There are only 3 of us, so I only did 6 rolls (12 pizza bites). You can make this recipe in whatever size you like!

Let me apologize for the poor photos. We just wanted to EAT!!

Turn your risen dough out onto a floured surface and cut.

Place toppings you want. I just did 1 pepperoni and about a teaspoon of mozzarella. You could add another pepperoni, or a few diced veggies. They won't hold a lot though, of course.

Now, pull and tug, and twist and turn until your toppings are covered. 

Place into greased pan (this is only a 6" pan, so they probably look bigger than they actually are, though they are not tiny!).

Bake. With about 5 minutes left to bake, pull them out and wash with melted butter and spices. You can use garlic and parsley, or an Italian spice blend.

Serve with pizza sauce for dipping!

and... gooey goodness inside....

The Bean very much loved these and said maybe THESE could be his snack every night.

Yeah, I'm feeling a big ole NO on that too.

Happy Birthday to my one and only baby! Momma loves you, Bean.

Tina

*

Pizza Bites

By Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers
Makes 12 Pizza Bites

6 Frozen Rolls

12 teaspoons Mozzarella Cheese
12 Pepperoni Slices
1-2 Tablespoon(s) Butter, melted

Pizza Sauce for dipping
Other fillings, if desired

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder & 1/2 teaspoon parsley
OR
1/2 teaspoon Italian Spice blend

Allow rolls to rise.

Turn out risen rolls onto floured surface and work in a bit of flour. Cut into 12 pieces.

Preheat oven to 350* F

Stretch out your pieces a bit and add fillings. Just a little of each. Once filled, work the dough around the fillings to twist and close.

Place these with the seam side down into a greased pan.

Bake for 15-20 minutes (check at 15). With a few minutes left, take the rolls out and wash with melted butter & spices.

Return to oven until finished.

Serve piping hot with warm pizza sauce.

{ Ranch Cheese Ball }

I mentioned in my Cocoa Cupcakes recipe that we were headed out on Black Friday to buy a new tree. We successfully waited long enough to avoid the crush of mad shoppers AND I got my tree at 60% off. 

Score!

Here it is. Better photos to come.

Hmmm... my topper is crooked. Must fix that.

My topper is pretty awesome, if I do say so myself, however, it caused a bit of controversy here in the house. See, the Bean is VERY set in his ways. We've been using the same tree topper, made of craft foam and buttons, since he was 2 1/2 years old. I cut it out and he glued on the buttons. He's 15 1/2 now, and it's getting a bit tattered, losing buttons, etc. I have a fresh new tree, with fresh new ornaments (plus all of his yearly Hallmark ornaments), and I just wanted something new. He felt otherwise. So, I was set to put Ole Buttons on top of the tree when he said not to. I didn't know how to feel about that one. I wanted to for HIM. He insisted that a new one go up. By this time, I wanted nothing to do with the new topper, but he wouldn't hear otherwise (he's 15 1/2, remember). So, new topper it was. Ole Buttons is now sitting on my little tree in my living room. Hey, it's a Harry Potter tree. Ole Buttons should be honored. But still.. my momma guilt is working over time on me.

Anyway...

New Topper

It's just a bow I made with an owl ornament inside, but I love it :)

 Ole Buttons in his place of honor. Hey, I'd be happy to retire with Harry Potter.
Just sayin'...

 (yes, that is a collage of my adorable Baby Bean behind the tree)

Harry Potter tree with Ole Buttons

Le Sigh....

There was a point to this post & it totally wasn't to ramble on about momma guilt. 

It was, however, about something ranch. And something ranch is always good.

Last year, around this time, I posted my super complicated 1. 2. 3. Cheese Ball recipe. 

1. 2. 3. Cheese Ball

I had a reader, Donna, who commented on the recipe. She told me about one she makes, which is just as complicated. It too, has 3 whole steps! I adapted my version by using less ranch.

Are you ready?

You'll need:

Ranch Cheese Ball

1 package of cream cheese, softened

1-2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 envelope of Ranch Dressing Mix

Beat the cream cheese til fluffy, add in the dressing mix, beat until combined, finally, add the cheddar, 1 cup at a time, and mix until distributed.

Roll into a ball and serve.

My photos show tortilla chips, that's what the recipe originally called for. Donna mentioned that was a typo, she'd posted something right below it calling for tortilla chips, but I had the photos already taken. People actually ate them at my party on tortillas, but you had to spread it on. I also served it with crackers. 

You can customize this recipe in any way you wish. Add some green onion, some bacon bits, use Italian Dressing mix instead of Ranch, stir in some nuts (nooooooo) if you are the nutty type, etc.

 For my party, I made this, along with the 1.2.3. Cheese Ball & the Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Now, I've made the chocolate chip cheese ball for YEARS. My non-food adventurous son, however, had never tried it. His response? "WHO MADE THIS, IT'S AMAZING!"

"um, I did, child. I've made it for years!"

"WHAT? YOU HAVE??"

Never noticed the cheese ball in 15 years, but holds tight to a craft foam star.

That's my boy.

Happy Christmas~

Tina

{ Streusel Topped Apple Muffins }

Last night, for the first time ever, the Bean went out with a teenage driver.

Now, my friend Lori's girls have driven him home from school on occasion, but we live under 5 minutes from there. This was an 'out all evening, drive 20 miles one way' type of deal.

Eep.

I know the guy he went with. I love him, he's a totally great, responsible kid. But still...

The fact that my own kid is now old enough to get his Learners Permit freaks me out.

They went to see "Here Comes The Boom". I told them, beware the TwiHards, but they went anyway. When he got home he told me that they had to park at the Kroger store 1/4 mile away walk a very busy road in the dark. 

I'm so glad I didn't know that until he was home safe!

After that, they went to Mickey D's, got some grub then headed home.

Good news? I survived! 

Even better news?

I made muffins.

These apple muffins would be excellent for Thanksgiving morning. Something light and tasty that won't fill you up for the big day ahead.

 This recipe features apples

and streusel

yum! yum!

 

yum!

Streusel Topped Apple Muffins

adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Muffins:

 1 1/2 cups sugar (you can use 2 cups for a sweeter muffin)
2 eggs
1 cup oil
1 Tablespoon vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

pinch of ground ginger

pinch of ground cloves
3 cups peeled, cored, diced apples (around 3 apples)

Stresuel:

 1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) cold butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup quick oats

1/2 cup flour

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper liners.
Cream together sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and mix well combined. This batter is very thick. Almost a dough. Add in the diced apple. Stir well to combine.

For the stresuel:

Cut the dry ingredients into the butter with a pastry cutter or fork (or you can use a food processor), until the mixture resembles peas. 

Fill your cupcake liners almost to the top with the batter, about 3/4 full. Then sprinkle stresuel over the tops.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-24 minutes (check at 20). 

The original recipe says this will make 18 muffins, but I got 24. This recipe doesn't rise much, so I could have filled my liners a little fuller to get nicely domed muffins.

Doesn't matter though, they still taste delish!

 *

So, I made it through this milestone with the Bean.

However, when HE is the one behind the wheel I will definitely need chocolate.

Sorry apples!

Tina

{ Mozzy Cheese Sticks }

As I hinted at in this post, the Bean is a cheese stick fiend.

He squishy heart loves the fried gooey goodness that is THE CHEESE STICK.

Last week, after his orthodontist appointment, we stopped for lunch at a chain restaurant. He spied cheese sticks on the menu and wanted them UNTIL he noticed the price. $7.95. 

He thought that was far too high, and people, he's 15, and spending his parent's money.

Maybe there's hope for this one's spending habits after all, eh?

I told him we'd pop over to the grocery and grab up the ingredients and make them ourselves, and so we did.

Here's what you need:

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Mozzarella String Cheese (or block, cut into fat strips)

Italian Bread Crumbs

Flour

Eggs

Spices
 (garlic, Lawry's Season Salt, dried parsley, other spices if you wish)

Oil for frying

We only did 4 cheese sticks, so we used:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 egg (well beaten)

1 teaspoon parsley

1/2 teaspoon garlic

1/2 teaspoon Lawry's
(use seasonings to your personal liking)

First, season your crumbs & mix well

Then cut your cheese (refraining from immature joke here)

Then we do a basic coating, what I do when I fry anything, eggs and flour. 
In this case, we do it a  wee differently. First flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs.

Confused? Just watch as the Bean demonstrates.

Roll in flour to coat all sides (including ends!)

Dip in egg

Then roll in breadcrumbs (I just realized I don't have a photo of this step. omgosh, I'm a failure ;)

Then repeat the egg & breadcrumb process.


WARNING: your fingers will get gloppily coated in this stuff. Kinda weird. Kinda gross.)

As you finish, place them on a cookie sheet. When you are done coating, put them into the freezer for about 30 minutes. 

This step keeps the cheese from exploding out when we fry.

After the 30 mins, heat your oil to about 350. This will cook them a BIT more slowly, but it will still only take 2 minutes MAX to finish.

Place them into the oil 2-3 at a time. Cook until golden on one side, then CAREFULLY flip them and cook the other side til golden.

WATCH CLOSELY! 
they will burn quickly.

Remove to paper towels to soak up the oil.

If you are making a large batch you can put them into a 200 degree F oven to keep them warm and gooey until you finish.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (you know the shaky container kind), and serve with marinara sauce.

Dive in!

Delicious.

Cheap.

Easy.

The End.

Tina 


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{ Pretzel Turtles }

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I've seen these around the internets for a long time now, but I'd never gotten around to making them.

Last week, when my friend Lori said she was going to try them, well, I had to try too. Sorry, I'm a bandwaggoner.

It's something I'm working on ;)

But for now, I'm a big ole copycat. Sorry, Lori!

She got hers made before me and said they were "ta die fer".

Ok, I'm paraphrasing in rapper slang. I don't know why I just did that.

Apologies.

She actually said, "they are delicious".

These.Are.Seriously.Easy.

You need 3 things.

Rolos, Pretzels, Pecans.

This takes 5 minute to bake.

The most labor intensive part of the entire thing is unwrapping the Rolos. Yes, that IS annoying. I make the Bean do it. I'm pro Child Labor. You know, when it comes to the hard stuff, like.. unwrapping candy. (oh, and chores, I'm pro chores!)

For the preztels, I really love the little "window pane" pretzels. I don't find these by a big manufactor though. I'm not sure how widely they are available. I buy the store brand from Kroger. The mini twists will work as well. I just like the square, cause, you know, it's hip to be square. (cue Huey Lewis and the News).

Basically, you stack the rolo on the pretzel

Then bake for 5 minutes at 250 degrees F.

Remove and immediately top with a pecan. Push down so it flattens out some.

If you are a nut hater (like me) you can opt to top these with M&Ms instead.

However, pecans have such a mild flavor, I don't mind them here at all.

Then, let cool.

Like I said in the  Peanut Butter Blossoms, it will take at least a couple hours for the chocolate to set back up enough that you can store them.

Of course that doesn't mean you can't eat them. You'll just have to lick chocolate off your fingers.

What a crime.

Great for Valentine's Day & Holidays.

Or you know, any of the other days of the year!

Tina

*I wish I knew who came up with idea originally, but I've seen it so often, I wouldn't know who to credit.

I'll just say, well played  Turtle Genius, well played.



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{ Super Bowl Snacks }

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Today I'm rounding up some recipes that I think would make good Super Bowl snacks.

I hear that the big game is this Sunday.

Also, I hear there are two teams playing it in. However, I had to google to find out who they were.

Not a football fan? No, I'm not.

(Oh, google says its the New England Patriots & the New York Giants. I assume that is right. It's google after all, and the google knows).

So, I'm not a footbal fan, BUT, I am a PARTY fan! Woot!

I think we are actually going to go to a Super Bowl party on Sunday.

We were promised board games and commercials. They'd better be there, or I'm demanding my money back. Even though I'm not paying. I will want money back.

I'm totally waffling on what to make myself.

I might do this Buffalo Chicken Dip that my friend Steph made for New Year's Eve.

Or maybe I'll make these whoopie pies shaped like footballs.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Another option my Snowflake Crunch Popcorn, but with the teams colors.

Google tells me they both have Red and Blue (and white/silver/whatever). Use the red and blue M&Ms instead of just the blue. Now, I KNOW it's not the perfect blue of the team- but... it'll work. If you are a big fan and HAVE to have the right color, M&Ms does sell the darker blue in specialty stores like Party City, etc.

Snowflake Crunch Popcorn

These Ranch Crackers are sure to be a hit Ranch Snackin' Crackers

Do you want to make friends fast? Then make this Chocolate Chip Cheeseball

If you want a savory cheeseball, try this one that takes minutes to make 1.2.3. Cheeseball!

Need a dip? Okay! Try this one Holy Moses Dip.

A favorite get together snack around here is this Pull Apart Pizza Bread. yum.

You just CANNOT go wrong with a batch of  Caramel Corn...

That is, unless you bake it at 200 degrees Celcius , like my long time New Zealand friend Pam. LOL!

Love ya, Pammy!

Maybe you'd like to delve into making some of these Peanut Butter Patties.

They are quick to disappear!

Or, even better, how about these 3 ingredient Oreo Truffles!

There's a few of my suggestions! Are you having/going to a party?
What are you planning to make?

Go Team! I really hope that the ....

oh never mind. I really don't care who wins!

But if you are into football, I hope YOUR team wins!

Have fun :)

Tina

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