Birthday Cake Puppy Chow

I wanted to make this for Parker to take to school tomorrow for his birthday treat, but it turns out that the candy coating may have been processed on equipment that processed nuts, so it became a no go for Parker's class. However, Aiden's class has no allergies, so he will be taking this.  Parker will be taking Melting Moments.  I don't think I've posted those yet, so I'll get that recipe up soon.  This didn't quite coat as well as it could have, but perhaps it's because I threw it all in the bag at once.  The instructions are written out how I'm pretty sure it would coat all of the cereal a little better.  This is tasty and VERY sweet.  It'll make a great snack for preschool and a little goes a LONG ways.  Yummy!

Ingredients

5 cups Rice Chex cereal (I used Crispex)

10 oz (5 squares) vanilla flavored Almond Bark

1 1/2 cups yellow cake mix

1/2 cup powdered sugar

vegetable shortening, optional

Directions

1. Melt Almond Bark according to the package directions, adding vegetable shortening to thin if desired.
2. Pour the cereal into a paper bag or container with a lid.
3. Drizzle melted Almond Bark over the cereal and fold down the top of the paper bag or put the lid on the container.
4. Shake bag or container until the cereal is evenly coated.
5. Pour in powdered sugar and cake mix and close the container again
6. Shake until the cereal is completely covered with dry ingredients.
7. Add some sprinkles for color if desired.
8. Try REALLY hard not to eat the entire batch!

Strawberry Pizza

I needed to make a recipe for a baby shower, and just couldn't seem to figure out what to make.  I decided I wanted to try something new and had a lot of strawberries in my house that needed to be used up.  After searching around, I found this recipe and decided that it would be easy to make and I had everything needed to make it.  I thought it would basically be a fruit pizza with only strawberries on it, but I was wrong.  It turned out MUCH better as a hybrid of fruit pizza ans strawberry pie.  Of course, I forgot to get a photo of it before the baby shower, but now you can see just how much it was liked by all the ladies there!  I can't wait to have an excuse to make this one again!  The only thing I would do different, is I might make this in a 9x13 pan next time so it's easier to cut into bars instead of wedges.

Ingredients
6 T. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4t. almond extract
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

FILLING:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
2 c. sliced fresh strawberries
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
2 c. crushed fresh strawberries

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar for 2 minutes. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. On a floured surface, roll dough into a 13-in. circle. Transfer to an ungreased 12-in. pizza pan. Build up edges slightly. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-22 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over crust. Arrange sliced strawberries on top.
4. In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and crushed berries until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Cool slightly. Spoon over strawberries. Refrigerate until serving.

Dried Chery Scones

Brandon needed something for a morning work meeting, and I happened to have all of the ingredients to make these, so that's what he got!  They turned out really well.  They might have been slightly dry, but I used half and half instead of cream.  The kids were very excited that Daddy let some for them to eat for breakfast.  Very easy recipe and I will certainly make these again.

Ingredients

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons shortening

3/4 cup cream

1 egg

Handful dried currants, dried cranberries or dried cherries

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix well.
3. Cut in butter and shortening.
4. In a separate bowl, combine cream with beaten egg then add to dry ingredients.
5. Stir in fruit.
6. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Roll dough out and cut into biscuit size rounds.  (I used my scone pan instead)
7. Bake for 15 minutes or until brown.