Kids Night!!

With Spring Break here, in my house that means endless phone ringing and sleepovers.
I have to have recipes that please kids, because not all kids are raised politely. (I've had a kid spit food out in my sink...and no that's not a testament to my cooking, it was packaged food product.)
I'm trying to stay away from fast food. Its hard after the past month of eating out alot due to my pure laziness and lack of organization to pre-plan my meals. That's all changing.
This is a recipe my mom used to make for me and my brother, and that my family loves.
Calazones!
Mine are simple and quick. I know there are a million things to fill them with and that's what makes this so easy, and a people pleaser no matter the person.
I make mine with homemade pizza dough, but feel free to use pre-made stuff if that's more your style. I recently made these with grilled chicken and pesto in the middle and dipped them in a garlic cream sauce. Amazing! So as kid friendly as they are, you can make them as gourmet as you like.

Calazones

Pizza Dough:

1 pkg. yeast

1 c. warm water

1 t. salt

1 t. sugar

1 T.oil

2-4 cups flour

Put yeast and water in a large bowl. Let sit for a few minutes till it dissolves.

Then add in salt, sugar, and oil. Let sit for a minute. (I use this time to get out my cheese and pans etc.)

Then by hand stir in flour a cup at a time. You can the dough to be a little sticky.

Form ball and let it sit for 15 minutes or so.

I used this time to shred or slice my cheese and other fillers.

Then roll out dough with a rolling pin into a rectangle on a  floured surface, and use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 3 inch wide segments. Then cut some of the slices horizontally if they are too long. Then fill with cheese and toppings on one half of the piece of dough. Then fold over the top part, and crimp edges with a fork that has been dipped in flour. Put on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.
 Then warm up some pizza sauce in a microwave safe bowl (make sure to cover it with a plate or paper towel because it does splatter) for one minute on high.
Spoon sauce on top of calazones or dip them in the sauce.

Easter is Coming!

These yummy little treats are a tradition at my house. I got the recipe from my mom who used to make them for me and my brother when we were little. I've seen a million variations of this recipe, and I'm sure to you this is just one more. But I love it! My family isn't crazy about coconut, and many of the recipes call for coconut instead of oatmeal, or even chow mein noodles. But the combination of peanut butter and chocolate is to die for! Its up to you how you want to decorate them. In half, I did flaked coconut died green and jelly beans, the others I just put "eggs" in the nests and they were really peanut butter M&M's. Tailor it to your likes, and enjoy another recipe tradition from my kitchen to yours!

 

Bird Nests

2 cups of sugar

6 Tablespoons of cocoa powder

1/2 cup of margarine or butter

1/2 cup of milk

3 cups of oatmeal

1/2 cup of peanut butter

Decorations:

jelly beans

M&M's

coconut, died green with food coloring

In a large saucepan, add the first 4 ingredients over medium heat.

Bring to a boil and let boil for 2 minutes.

Add in oatmeal and peanut butter. Stir till all ingredients combined. 

Spoon onto wax paper and make little indents in the middle of each nest.

Add coconut and jellybeans/M&M's or whatever candy resembling eggs that you desire.

Let cool on counter or move pans lined with wax paper with the nests on it into the fridge till firm.

Store in tupperware to keep fresh.