Last Minute Halloween Snacks!

I LOVE HALLOWEEN! I get into it. I make snacks, I make gift bags, I visit many, many costume stores. I make chili, buy tons of candy and get dressed up EVERY, SINGLE YEAR! I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY LOVE HALLOWEEN!

Yesterday I had planned a little get together for my daughters class at the park. It was a half day of school and I thought it would be a great time for moms to get to know each other as well as have the kids play without all the restrictions of school. Plus here in Phoenix it's been 100+ degrees until a few days ago....finally we could play outside, NO MORE indoor playrooms! YAY!!!

Then suddenly an hour before I was heading to pick up the kiddo and meet everyone at the park I realized that even though this was a last minute thing and I had told everyone to bring a picnic lunch, I should have some snacks and some sort of drinks just in case. Plus it was a few days before Halloween.....I had to do something fun!

Problem...I had ONE HOUR. No way to make my usual ridiculous overblown Halloween cupcakes!  I ran to Target and got thinking. I filled a drink container with ice and orange gatorade, grabbed some stuff to make a Halloween snack mix and some cookies and candy to make a silly little cookie thingy! Ta-dah! Yummy, Halloween snacks!


HALLOWEEN SNACK MIX: Popcorn, Candy Corn, Peanut Butter M&M's, Pretzel Sticks.
I put little brown lunch sacks next to it, with about four inches cut off so it was more snack and kid size. Everyone had a great time filling up their bag and eating their favorite parts of the snack mix.

WITCH HAT COOKIES: I saw a few different versions of a cookie like this over the past few weeks and thought it was a great treat the kids could help prepare. The kids went nuts for it and with the awesome Pillsbury Easy Frost Orange Halloween frosting these were even easier to make. Grab the Keebler Fudge Stripe Cookies and Hershey Kisses and you are all set.

You now have easy snacks you can buy and prepare in less than an hour.

WAFFLE LADY WEDNESDAY: Yay, Giveaway time!!!

Back by popular demand....Waffle Lady Giveaway time! I've heard multiple times in this past two weeks that my friends and neighbors are bummed they missed out on the last Waffle Lady Gift Bag, so to satisfy one and all and get a few more peeps to learn about my very favorite product out there, IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!

Win this gift bag and receive an awesome box of California Whole Wheat Pancake and Waffle Mix and a cup of Daily Oats! These healthy, tasty delights will not only satisfy your fam but thrill you when you realize that both are incredibly healthy and a terrific way to start your day.

Also, my awesome friend Lauren Brown was lucky enough to try Waffle Lady last week and will be discussing her thoughts today! Check her out on THE BLOG ADDICTS DAILY DIGEST, an awesome blog I read every single day! (THE BADD BLOG: http://thebadd.blogspot.com)

Enter a comment below, make sure to leave your email address and tell me your very favorite thing to eat for breakfast! Winners will be chosen randomly (but an awesome breakfast comment will earn you a few extra points) next Tuesday, September 6. Also, if you tell a friend to enter the contest and they tell me in their comment that you sent them, you will be entered to win an extra prize. The more people you send over, the more chances you have at winning!!!

Good Luck Friends!!!

Monday Mischief: Her Comes Kindergarten

Today after a two months of sleeping late and letting the kids lounge a bit, I woke them up at 6:30. Tomorrow is the first day of Kindergarten and we must be prepared!

As I think about my munchkin's progress, growth and sudden maturity into a school age child it fills me with pride and sadness. I have a hard time watching people grow old anyway, so seeing my own pride and joy becoming a little person rather than my baby is heart wrenching, although beautiful. I want her to be all she can be, I want her to discover all her dreams and know I am always behind her. I want my little angel to be a good person with outstanding morals, unwavering strength and a solid head on her shoulders. I pray she can attack this life and one day look back at it with immense pride. I want it to be, no matter what, HER life. Not mine, not her husbands or her friends. I hope she always knows at her core that the world is hers, to make of it what SHE wants!

In the past few weeks, possibly with the looming knowledge of Kindergarten coming and my days slightly less chaotic (so I think but something tells me one child at home will be even more difficult than two....) I've been trying to establish my freelance writing career and another website. Not sure why I do these things, always looking to cram my schedule to its limit...but I somehow sense I'm trying to do exactly what I want for my daughter. To build a life I can be proud of...a life I can one day look back at and know I attacked each tiny possibility and filled each day with fun, love and excitement. I want to constantly evolve and make my ever changing dreams come true.

Check out my first freelance article: http://www.whatscook.in/articles/locally-organically-seasonally/

WAFFLE LADY WEDNESDAY: Holy Granola!!!

I LOVE granola. Love, love, love granola. But I also think very few granolas are made well. Too sweet, too artificial, to hard and boring....I finally gave up all together. The last great granola I had was from a farmers market and long gone from my grasp.

Enter my favorite lady...THE WAFFLE LADY! I know by now you've heard enough. I can hear you now...yes, Amanda, we know...you love The Waffle Lady. But seriously, this lady does much more than waffles and even oatmeal. She makes the absolute best granola in the world.

When we moved to Phoenix, I was devastated to learn we had move to a WAFFLE LADY free area. Not one store carried my prized brand. I did what every rational girl would do, I order four cases of oatmeal and twelve boxes of Waffle mix. Yes, even I know I'm nuts. As a thank you for such an order the wondrous Waffle Lady threw in some granola for me to try.

So now I'm hooked. I've gone from Waffle Lady Daily Oats each morning to alternating between that and Chobani Greek yogurt with Waffle Lady granola poured all over it! So yummy....

Get this...these are the ingredients in this holy moly awesome bag....
Organic Old Fashion Oats, Natural Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Natural Almonds, Natural Vanilla, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Raw Honey, Butter, Salt.

It's amazing!

Oh and friends....the link for the WAFFLE LADY Gift Bag didn't work last week, so it's still up for grabs. Email me at amanda@litfestmagazine.com for your chance....ends Monday, August 8.

Monday Mischief: The Couch Debacle

The three year old male who lives in my house, who happens to be my son, who cracks me up on a regular basis and amazes me with his unwavering love and kindness has shown me he is undoubtably a man.

We moved to a new house a couple months ago and in the immense world of change, my little guy decided that waking up early was his new way of life. He'd walk in my room just as the sun came up and whine to watch TV on the couch with his blanket and juice cup. Because I was heartbroken over all the change my kiddos had gone through (leaving the city, home and family they'd grown up with) I gave in and began curling up with him on the sofa at 6am.

It didn't take long for my five-year-old baby girl to catch on. Something was happening long before she got up and she didn't like it. She'd wake up to us giggling to cartoons and in no time decided this was not going to happen on her watch.

What came next was a battle for superiority. My children decided they would rather lose their favorite toy than be the last one up. A game of "who can get up first and get control of the couch for twenty minutes in the morning" had begun and much to my chagrin. Little feet tip toeing into my room at all hours is tough enough, but when its for ownership of the couch and television and undivided mommy giggle time, its enough to make you crazy.

I put a swift (sort of swift) stop to it, three weeks of 5am mornings was killing me and the mood of my sleep deprived children was like nails sliding slowly down a chalkboard. "THAT'S IT", I stomped my feet one particularly early day..."NO MORE!"

Things have returned mostly to normal until this morning when the little guy crawled out of bed, realized his sister was already up and took off running down the hallway. With blanket, cup, stuffed animal and his much loved ducky in hand he sped down the hall, face showing anger and despair. This even tempered, happy-go-lucky little boy was going to control what was his. In minutes his comfy morning routine was completely set up and he had put his name on it. The couch was his and he was not giving it up to anyone!

Cherry Pie

Life in our little world has changed drastically over the past month and a half. We're living in a new city, becoming familiar with our new home and new neighborhood. For me, two extra things I've had to get use to are shopping in a new market where I don't have my regular rapport with the produce guy or a butcher who knows me by my first name and a new kitchen. My new stove is electric and my oven seems to bake quickly, so I've spent my time recently avoiding baking (which for me is NOT easy). Today however when I walked into Whole Foods and was confronted with a massive display of succulent cherries on sale, I knew there was only one thing to do. I grabbed three bags and took out my iPhone....Googling a cherry pie recipe. Thirty minutes later I left the market with everything I needed to make a yummy cherry pie and homemade whip cream......(except I soon realized, a cherry pitter).

I ran home (the kids where with their grandparents and I was determined to get this baby in the oven before they returned) and began pitting cherries. Without a pitter, it was a mess but not nearly as difficult as I expected. I was finished before I knew it and ready to get to work on the rest. I chose to combine steps from various recipes, coming up with what I thought would work best. Other than not pinching the crust well enough and experiencing a bit too much oozing of the cherry filling....I think it turned out perfect. The hubby obviously agreed, placing his plate in the sink and proclaiming "that was the best piece of pie I've ever had."

The moral of this story is....I'm glad I bit the bullet and baked a scrumptious treat. Yes the new oven bakes quickly but I've figured out it's quirks and am moving right along! Thank goodness for a sale on cherries!!!