Thanks to my friend Michele for sharing her photo!

Okey doke, hokey pokes, my last Halloween-inspired TTTTT post: Witch Hat Cookies. Saw these on my friend Michele’s Facebook page — aren’t they adorable?! And, they’re super duper easy to make.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Keebler Dark Chocolate Fudge Stripes cookies (http://www.keebler.com/product-keebler-fudge-stripes-dark-chocolate-cookies-28131.aspx?category=cookies) OR the originals, just turn them upside down
• Pillsbury Funfetti Halloween frosting (comes with orange, black, and white sprinkles)
• Hershey’s Kisses
• Frosting piping bag and tip (or just use a plastic sandwich bag with the tip cut off)

Then, here’s what you’ll do:

• Lay out cookies.
• Pipe a thick circle of the orange frosting around the hole of the cookie.
• Push a Hershey’s Kiss into the center of the frosting, covering the hole.
• Add sprinkles.

Cute and easy peasy, no? Might actually make these with the kiddos on Halloween. 🙂

As always, if you try it, let us know how it turns out. And send some pics!

I’m no cooking or crafting guru, so I started these Too Tired to Try Tuesday posts to share craft and recipe ideas that I’ve come across and would really like to try but am just too damned tired (that sounds better than lazy, right?) to get around to. In addition to ideas that I find, I am open to submissions from you–either something tried and true or something you want to try but haven’t had the time to. Just send me an email at raisingwildthingsblog@gmail.com with your ideas, and I may share them here. (And by “may” I mean “will definitely”! I just confessed how lazy tired I am, so if you take the time to send me something to share, I’m going to share it!)

I found these adorable scarecrow cupcakes from My Own Ideas and just had to share. Not only are cupcakes delicious, but these look like they’d be a lot of fun to make with the kiddos. And, perfect for Halloween!

Photo courtesy of My Own Ideas

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Ingredients to make cupcakes — either a box mix or your favorite recipe from scratch
• Icing (My Own Ideas suggests a nice buttercream icing)
• Suggested decorations: Orange slices candy, M&Ms, Fiber One cereal or egg noodles, cinnamon or chocolate graham crackers, candy corns

Then you bake and decorate! And the beauty of this is that you and your kiddos and personalize these however you want. Each cupcake will be 100% unique.

To see the complete tutorial with step-by-step instructions and photos from My Own Ideas, please click here.

As always, if you try it, let us know how it turns out. And send some pics!

I’m no cooking or crafting guru, so I started these Too Tired to Try Tuesday posts to share craft and recipe ideas that I’ve come across and would really like to try but am just too damned tired (that sounds better than lazy, right?) to get around to. In addition to ideas that I find, I am open to submissions from you–either something tried and true or something you want to try but haven’t had the time to. Just send me an email at raisingwildthingsblog@gmail.com with your ideas, and I may share them here. (And by “may” I mean “will definitely”! I just confessed how lazy tired I am, so if you take the time to send me something to share, I’m going to share it!)

Ok, I’d have to be uber lazy to not have the energy to try today’s snack idea because it looks so incredibly easy, AND it’s absolutely adorable: Apple Smiles. So glad I found this from Just 2 Sisters.

Photo courtesy of Just 2 Sisters.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Apples
• Peanut butter (or, if there’s a peanut allergy, you could try Biscoff spread or another type of cookie butter, mmmmmm)
• Mini marshmallows

Now I said this snack looks super easy to make, and I’m sure you can guess how to put these cute smiles together, but it’d be great if you could check out Just 2 Sister’s original post to show them some love.

As always, if you try it, let us know how it turns out. And send some pics!

I’m no cooking or crafting guru, so I started these Too Tired to Try Tuesday posts to share craft and recipe ideas that I’ve come across and would really like to try but am just too damned tired (that sounds better than lazy, right?) to get around to. In addition to ideas that I find, I am open to submissions from you–either something tried and true or something you want to try but haven’t had the time to. Just send me an email at raisingwildthingsblog@gmail.com with your ideas, and I may share them here. (And by “may” I mean “will definitely”! I just confessed how lazy tired I am, so if you take the time to send me something to share, I’m going to share it!)

I’m always looking for ways to make comfort foods healthier without having them taste, errrr, healthier. If you know what I mean. I want the food to taste good AND be healthy! Is that too much to ask? I think not.

In looking for a recipe to share today, my friend JD from Honest Mom offered up one she created for healthier pancakes. Yes, healthy(er) pancakes. Now, she swears by them, and even her daughter declared them the “BEST PANCAKES EVER,” so I’m in. I think I’ll be giving these a go this weekend.

Photo courtesy of JD at Honest Mom

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup regular flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup natural, unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (JD uses Chobani)
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• Just under 1 3/4 cup skim milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla (omit if you are using vanilla yogurt)
• 1 teaspoon wheat germ (optional – add more if you’d like or leave it out)
• Blueberries, bananas, or other extras (optional)
• Two mixing bowls
• Whisk

Then you’ll do some whisking (dry and wet ingredients separately at first), some mixing, some griddling, and some flipping. And the end result: some extra thick, yummy pancakes.

To see the complete post with step-by-step instructions from JD at Honest Mom, please click here.

As always, if you try it, let us know how it turns out. And send some pics!

I’m no cooking or crafting guru, so I started these Too Tired to Try Tuesday posts to share craft and recipe ideas that I’ve come across and would really like to try but am just too damned tired (that sounds better than lazy, right?) to get around to. In addition to ideas that I find, I am open to submissions from you–either something tried and true or something you want to try but haven’t had the time to. Just send me an email at raisingwildthingsblog@gmail.com with your ideas, and I may share them here. (And by “may” I mean “will definitely”! I just confessed how lazy tired I am, so if you take the time to send me something to share, I’m going to share it!)

I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for snacks other than crackers, crackers, or more crackers to feed the kidlets. (Seriously, what is up with the cracker obsession?) And today while poking around online, I found a simple, yet absolutely brilliant snack idea from Catherine at Weelicious that I’m sure my kids will enjoy making and eating: Banana Dog Bites.

Photo courtesy of Catherine at Weelicious.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Tortillas
• Bananas
• Peanut butter (or any other nut [e.g., almond butter] or non-nut butter [e.g., soy or sunflower seed butter])

Then it’s as simple as spreading the peanut butter on the tortillas, rolling it all up, and cutting it into sushi-style pieces. I bet these would even be good heated up a little and with a drizzle of honey added.

To see the complete post with step-by-step instructions from Catherine at Weelicious, please click here.

And if you’d like to find even more kid-friendly recipes, please be sure to check out Catherine’s new book — Weelicious Lunches: Think Outside the Lunch Box with More Than 160 Happier Meals — set to hit shelves September 3rd.

As always, if you try it, let us know how it turns out. And send some pics!

I’m no cooking or crafting guru, so I started these Too Tired to Try Tuesday posts to share craft and recipe ideas that I’ve come across and would really like to try but am just too damned tired (that sounds better than lazy, right?) to get around to. In addition to ideas that I find, I am open to submissions from you–either something tried and true or something you want to try but haven’t had the time to. Just send me an email at raisingwildthingsblog@gmail.com with your ideas, and I may share them here. (And by “may” I mean “will definitely”! I just confessed how lazy tired I am, so if you take the time to send me something to share, I’m going to share it!)

My kids finally seem to be getting tired of the same old, same old food around here, so I’ve been trying to branch out in the kitchen as of late. Since I’ve never really been big into cooking, I’ve been asking around for kid-approved recipes that aren’t the usual kid fare.

One of the recipes I received that I am super stoked about trying is from Kristina at Sew Curly — her family calls it their “Favorite Chicken.”

Photo courtesy of Kristina at Sew Curly

Kristina promises that even her picky eaters love this — and hence why they call it their favorite chicken — so I’m looking forward to giving it a try with my kiddos.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 Parmesan cheese
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Large bowl
• Cookie sheet
• Tin foil

Then there’s some oiling and Panko-ing and Paremesan’ing and baking . . . and voila, you have some delicious chicken!

To see the complete post with step-by-step instructions and photos from Kristina at Sew Curly, please click here.

As always, if you try it, let us know how it turns out. And send some pics!

I’m no cooking or crafting guru, so I started these Too Tired to Try Tuesday posts to share craft and recipe ideas that I’ve come across and would really like to try but am just too damned tired (that sounds better than lazy, right?) to get around to. In addition to ideas that I find, I am open to submissions from you–either something tried and true or something you want to try but haven’t had the time to. Just send me an email at raisingwildthingsblog@gmail.com with your ideas, and I may share them here. (And by “may” I mean “will definitely”! I just confessed how lazy tired I am, so if you take the time to send me something to share, I’m going to share it!)

Since it seems to be so dang hot out ev-ery-wheeeere, I’ve opted to share a fun, easy treat from PicklesINK that will help cool you and your kids down: Ice cream pizza. And the best part about this? The original post was “written” by Karyn’s 5 1/2-year-old son Ben, who is clearly a genius in the kitchen.

Photos courtesy of Karyn at PicklesINK.

What you’ll need:

• A bunch of your favorite cookies
• A bunch of your favorite ice cream
• A bunch of your favorite candy (or other fun “pizza” toppings)

And so that I don’t steal little Ben’s thunder, I’m going to let him tell you all about how to make the pizzas. So, if you’d be so kind, please click here to view Ben’s complete post, full of helpful instructions and photos. What a little sweetie pie, right?!

As always, if you try it, let us know how it turns out. And send some pics! Oh, and if you want to congratulate Ben on his great first blog post, please head over to his mom’s Facebook page and drop him a line. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to hear from all of his new fans. 🙂

I’m no cooking or crafting guru, so I started these Too Tired to Try Tuesday posts to share craft and recipe ideas that I’ve come across and would really like to try but am just too damned tired (that sounds better than lazy, right?) to get around to. In addition to ideas that I find, I am open to submissions from you–either something tried and true or something you want to try but haven’t had the time to. Just send me an email at raisingwildthingsblog@gmail.com with your ideas, and I may share them here. (And by “may” I mean “will definitely”! I just confessed how lazy tired I am, so if you take the time to send me something to share, I’m going to share it!)

So apparently I’m on a roll of stealing from myself. And also on a 4th of July kick. If you missed last week’s post, I shared the handprint fireworks t-shirt craft I came up with and did with the kiddos for Kids Crafts Fun and Games.com.

This week, I’m sharing a recipe for a 4th of July cake that I, in fact, also actually made. But it was 2 years ago, and I’m definitely too tired to make it again this year, so I think it works as a Too Tired to Try Tuesday post. 🙂

Fair warning on this one . . . I’m writing these directions from memory, so they’re not going to be, how should I say, precise. You’ll still be able to recreate the cake, though, and really, that’s all that counts. Right? (Man, you would never know how Type A I am from this post.)

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 box of white cake mix
• Whatever other ingredients the box says you’ll need to make the cake (likely eggs, water, oil)
• 1 can of white cake icing
• Red and blue food coloring (or whatever natural ingredients you like to use in lieu of food coloring)
• Bundt pan
• 3 bowls for cake mix
• 3 microwave-safe bowls for icing
• Spoons/spatulas for mixing and to aid with pouring (you will likely also need a hand mixer or whisk)

Here’s what you’ll do:

1. Prepare the cake batter according to instructions.
2. Divide the cake batter into three bowls. Leave one bowl as is, then add red food coloring to one and blue food coloring to another.
3. Spray your bundt pan with cooking spray, then pour in the batter in layers, one color at a time. (Suggestion: Pour either the red or blue first, then the white in the middle, then the second color.)
4. Cook cake according to instructions.
5. Once cake is done, let cool, then remove from bundt pan and place on a large plate/serving dish.
6. Divide the cake icing into three bowls. And just as you did with the batter, leave one bowl as is, then add red food coloring to one and blue food coloring to another.
7. Then, one color at a time, microwave each bowl of icing very briefly (so that it will pour easily) and drizzle it over the cake.
8. Allow icing to set and garnish cake with strawberries and blueberries or sprinkles or whatever else you desire (or nothing at all).
9. Eat.
10. Eat some more.
11. Unbutton pants.
12. Fall asleep.

As always, if you try it, let us know how it turns out. And send some pics!

I’m no cooking or crafting guru, so I started these Too Tired to Try Tuesday posts to share craft and recipe ideas that I’ve come across and would really like to try but am just too damned tired (that sounds better than lazy, right?) to get around to. In addition to ideas that I find, I am open to submissions from you–either something tried and true or something you want to try but haven’t had the time to. Just send me an email at raisingwildthingsblog@gmail.com with your ideas, and I may share them here. (And by “may” I mean “will definitely”! I just confessed how lazy tired I am, so if you take the time to send me something to share, I’m going to share it!)

Do your kids like to eat mud? (I am neither confirming nor denying any of my kids have ever done this. Or enjoyed it.) What about chocolate? Peanut butter? Yes? Ok then, have I got a fun snack for you! (And forget I brought up the mud.)

Photo courtesy of Vicky at Mess for Less (http://www.messforless.net)

15 minutes of prep time + 15 minutes of cooling time + kids being able to help make these chocolatey-peanut buttery snack bites = 1 quick + easy + yummy + fun recipe. Not to mention a fun name: Muddy Buddies. Just rolls right off the tongue, no?

What you’ll need:

• Any flavor Chex-type cereal
• Powdered sugar
• Chocolate chips (regular or semi-sweet)
• Peanut butter
• Butter or margarine
• Vanilla

You’ll then do some mixing, some heating (in the microwave), some more mixing, some coating, some shaking, and some cooling. And then probably lots and lots of snacking.

Thanks so much to Vicky at Mess for Less for sharing this snack idea. To see her complete post with step-by-step instructions and adorable photos, click here.

If your child has a nut allergy but is still all about the chocolate, check out Vicky’s equally delicious and fun-looking recipe for Chocolate Snowballs.

As always, if you try it, let us know how it turns out. And send some pics!

I’m no cooking or crafting guru, so I started these Too Busy to Try Tuesday posts to share craft and recipe ideas that I’ve come across and would really like to try but am just too damned tired (that sounds better than lazy, right?) to get around to. In addition to ideas that I find, I am open to submissions from you–either something tried and true or something you want to try but haven’t had the time to. Just send me an email at raisingwildthingsblog@gmail.com with your ideas, and I may share them here. (And by “may” I mean “will definitely”! I just confessed how lazy tired I am, so if you take the time to send me something to share, I’m going to share it!)