Come Super Bowl time every year, I look for easy-to-make appetizers that can be prepared ahead of time and can be serves to the masses. Pickle wraps always make the list! Pickle wraps have been one of my favorites since I was a child. They are a staple for any and all of our family functions.
Ingredients:
1 jar kosher pickle spears
1/2 pound deli ham – sliced for sandwiches
1 8 oz whipped cream cheese
Directions:
Drain juice from jar of pickles
Fold 2 paper towels together and set on the counter
Lay pickles out to dry on the paper towels for about 30 minutes
Place 1 slice of ham on a cutting board
Spread enough cream cheese on the ham to cover the slice
Set a pickle on one side of ham and then wrap the pickle in the ham
When you get all the pickles wrapped in the ham slices, place on a plate and put in the fridge for about an house to nice and cold
Remove the pickles from the fridge and cut each pickle wrap into about 4 pieces.
Eating breakfast is especially important for kids. Children need the energy they get from eating breakfast in order to perform well in school. At ‘Meet-n-Greet’ before the school year starts, three of my kids teachers told parents that they are going to ask our children what they had for breakfast every day. Talk about putting parents on the spot! Breakfast should be a meal and cereal is a great starting point for a good, wholesome breakfast.
When I shop for cereal, I look for a cereal that contains mostly natural ingredients and a small amount of sugar and no food coloring. I also look for cereal that will go well with fresh fruit. We have 4 boxes of cereal in our cabinet now in addition to the five listed below and they are Kellogg’s Corn Pops, Kellogg’s Raisin Bran, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes (my guilty pleasure), and Kellogg’s Fruit Loops (my son’s guilty pleasure). I’m not kidding.. I suppose I could be a Kellogg’s spokesmom. Or we could be a spokes-family. I grew up eating Raisin Bran and Corn Pops and enjoyed Rice Krispies Treats on special occasions. It’s interesting how childhood memories can revolve around cereal, isn’t it?
So what is “Start Simple, Start Right” all about?
Kellogg’s works closely with local farmers and suppliers to understand the way a single grain, Nebraska corn, Louisiana rice, and Michigan wheat, work. This is what Kellogg’s calls their “Start Simple, Start Right” approach. Then Kellogg’s prepares their cereals in a method similar to what you do in your own kitchen — just on a larger scale.
That way from seed to spoon, field to family, you get our best in every bite.
Wouldn’t you love to see that? The making of a cereal with such minimal ingredients and superb flavor.. and yummy snack potential?
Click to enlarge this image
Before I go on to the review aspect of the Kellogg’s cereals, let me tell you that I have been ‘out of commission’ as a parent and practically as a human-being for the last five weeks. I had surgery September 11th and was in my 2nd week of recovery when I had to have emergency surgery September 26th and I am still in recovery from that surgery. Because of this I have not been able to try or photograph my kids eating these cereals as I normally would for a blog post like this. However, my kids were more than happy to try all of the five Kellogg’s cereals we were sent and share their thoughts about them.
Kellogg’s Raisin Bran – This is my son’s favorite cereal and thank goodness for that because two years ago his favorite cereal was anything with mad amounts of chocolate in it. Raisin Bran is also one of my favorite cereals and you can bet I’ll be eating it in the morning again once my recovery is over.
Kellogg’s All Bran – It took the kids a few tries to get used to All Bran. The cereal is not as aesthetically pleasing as children would hope but they were pleasantly surprised by the flavor. Kellogg’s All Bran has 40% of your daily recommended fiber and don’t fret, there are some pretty amazing recipes to be made with All Bran including Chocolate Chip Cookies and if you’re looking for a little crunch with your ice cream, here’s a recipe for that.
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes – The kids are happy with the texture and flavor of Corn Flakes as long as they add some type of berry or other fruit to it. We keep a plethora of fruit in the fridge so they just grabbed some and put it in the Corn Flakes and they were happy!
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Original – Rice Krispies is an all time favorite. A classic. We all know what recipe the kids LOVE that Rice Krispies is the main ingredient in, right? So, not only does Rice Krispies make for a fabulous breakfast cereal but also a fun after-school snack in the form of Rice Krispies treats. If you feel like it, try out my award winning “Very Berry Rice Krispies Treats” recipe! You and your kids will love it!
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Gluten Free – Much like the original Rice Krispies (also Gluten Free), this version is crispy and snap, krackle, and poppy and the kids love the texture and flavor. For those with Gluten issues, this is a great alternative.
The new cereal eliminates barley malt (the source of gluten in the original Rice Krispies® cereal) and is made with whole grain brown rice to differentiate it from the original and for flavor. Each serving of the new gluten-free cereal contains 120 calories, less than 1 gram of sugar, 1 gram each of fat and fiber, 3 grams of protein and 190 milligrams of sodium. The cereal is fortified with several vitamins and minerals.
Learn more about the Kellogg’s cereals we tried here:
Check out this “Seed to Spoon” Kellogg’s video showing how they make their cereals.
Do you have a favorite cereal and/or cereal recipe? We’d love to read about it in the comments below!
Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Kellogg’s. I received sample products to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item as a thank-you for participating. All opinions are 100% my own and honest.
The holiday season is often the busiest time of the year, and when friends and family come to visit, the last thing I wants is to be stuck in the kitchen preparing time-consuming holiday meals. By having a couple of quick and easy recipes in my recipe book, I can have festive holiday meals on the table and join the party too.
RECIPE IDEA: An easy recipe that requires only a few minutes of preparation is a pasta bake. It’s also a sneaky way to get the kids to eat their vegetables, since Old World Style Traditional Ragu Sauce packs in 2 servings of vegetables in every 1/2 cup of pasta sauce.
HOW TO: Just cook a favorite pasta, such as rotini or fusilli, layer it in with sauce and generously top with Parmesan, and bake, it’s that simple!
RECIPE IDEA: Another fun holiday pasta recipe is Penne Pasta with Sausage.
HOW TO: Brown spicy Italian sausage in light oil with onion, add the sausage to the pasta sauce, and toss them together with the cooked penne. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan and enjoy. You can even please your picky child with a homemade pizza with Ragu Homemade Style Pizza Sauce, (my very picky 5 year old loves these!) allowing your child to top their own section with their favorite toppings.
Serving pizza and pasta dishes are quick and easy ways to feed a crowd, and satisfy even the pickiest or heartiest appetites. By adding these festive dishes to the holiday table, the host and hostess can save time and toil in the kitchen and enjoy the holidays with the family.
$200 AmEx Gift Card Giveaway!
We are giving a lucky reader a $200 AmEx gift card thanks to Ragu!
Mandatory entry:
To enter to win, tell us in the comments below how you would liven up your holiday menu with Ragu sauces or in general.
Get extra entries for doing each or all of the following: Leave a comment for each thing you do so we can count all of your entries.
Be sure to have completed the mandatory entry first!
1 extra entry (each time) – Tweet this up to once every 8 hours:
“I’m entered to win a $200 gift card from @mommyinsider & @ragu! You can enter too here: http://wp.me/plszx-2CI”.
3 extra entries – Write about this giveaway on your own blog and leave the URL to your blog post in the comments below (can be done once).
Disclosure: This is part of a campaign for which I am an Ambassador for the Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner Program. Visit www.facebook.com/ragusauce to join the conversation.
Sharing time in the kitchen is a highlight of holiday meals. Here are a few ideas to get your kids involved in holiday meal preparation using Ragu pizza and pasta sauces!
Pizza Bites are an appetizer kids can help make! Divide four hamburger buns in half and lay cut side up on a baking sheet.
Spread two tablespoons of Ragu Quick Traditional Pizza Sauce on each portion.
Top with a slice of Provolone cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until bubbly.
Cool slightly and cut each into fourths.
Why not try kid-friendly macaroni-and-cheese as a side dish this holiday?
For a nutritious seasonal twist, cook and coarsely mash a butternut squash.
Combine squash with 3 cups of cooked macaroni and a jar of Ragu Cheesy Double Cheddar Sauce.
Top with 1 cup bread crumbs combined with 2 T.
Parmesan and bake in a 350 degree oven until golden.
Let your children make breadsticks!
Thaw ready made bread dough.
Roll in melted butter and a little garlic powder and bake.
Serve hot with Chunky Ragu Mama’s Special Garden Sauce.
Malfatti, Italian spinach-cheese balls – Your kids will love helping with this recipe!
Cook enough frozen chopped spinach to yield one cup.
Squeeze in a potato ricer until thoroughly drained.
Combine with 1-1/2 cups ricotta cheese, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup Parmesan, 1 cup bread crumbs, 1 t. basil, and one garlic clove, pressed. Combine.
Chill for 1 hour.
Bring a large pot of water to simmering.
On a heavily floured surface, roll mixture into walnut-sized balls.
Drop into the water and simmer 3-5 minutes until they float.
Lift out with a slotted spoon.
Serve with Ragu Old World Style Marinara sauce.
Make a Santa Pizza!
Spread Ragu Old World Homemade Style Pizza Sauce on a pre-made pizza crust.
Arrange grated mozzarella to form Santa’s hair and beard.
Leave some red showing for his hat and his rosy cheeks.
Use sliced green olives or pepperoni to make his eyes and nose, and other toppings as desired.
Kids enjoy time experimenting in the kitchen with their parents while preparing holiday meals!
Share your favorite recipe that kids can participate in, in the comments below!
Connect with Ragu
Connect with Ragu and the “Moms The Word on Dinner” Ambassadors on Facebook here.
Disclosure: This is part of a campaign for which I am an Ambassador for the Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner Program. Visit www.facebook.com/ragusauce to join the conversation.
There’s one thing that I’m actively trying to get better at lately.. cooking. I’ve decided to start cooking at least two nights a week. OK, maybe three. So what’s the story you ask? Well, my husband works nights most of the time so he’s not home at night to enjoy dinner with us and my mother lives very close to us and likes to see the kids as much as possible, so we go to her house about five nights a week to hang out with her and have dinner. The kids love it because there’s no TV (you read that right), and I love it because we get good, wholesome, organic, prepared from scratch meals because that’s how my mom rolls. She’s wholesome and organic. 🙂 Oh, and I love that we get to see her.. not just the food she prepared. Don’t worry, we do the dishes.
When I was recently asked to be a brand ambassador for Ragú® I thought what perfect timing! I am honored to be part of such an amazing group of bloggers participating in this campaign and I’m sure this campaign will help me gain the knowledge and confidence I need to cook more and give me the extra push I need to be more creative with food. There are 25 Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner brand ambassadors including Mommy Niri and Rockin’ Mama. I will link to a full list of participating bloggers soon. Mom’s the Word on Dinner is the name of the campaign and during my brand ambassadorship, I hope to get creative (that means use cooking utensils), use recipes (I might have to measure stuff), and share dinner time ideas and tips with you. I’m so excited to be par tof this campaign which is about sharing dinner time advice with other moms and I want you to participate too so jump on over to the Ragu Mom’s the Word on Dinner Facebook page and join us!
I had a blast watching the videos on the Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner Facebook page today. Video topics including “Got Kids with Odd Eating Habits?” and “When Dinner Gets Tough..” will keep you hooked to the computer for a while.
Here’s a video to get you started:
During my brand ambassadorship for Ragú®, I’ll be hosting two in-home parties and two great giveaways so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Facebook and sign up for my RSS feed so you are always up to date with my latest posts and goodies!
Do you have a dinner time tip you’d like to share with me and my readers? Please do, in the comments below!
Disclosure – This post was created in connection with my appointment as an Ambassador in the Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner Program. I am being compensated for my Ambassadorship. All opinions and ideas featured in this post are 100% my own. Visit www.facebook.com/ragusauce to join the conversation, get recipes, and watch videos.
