We all know that I’m no Martha in the kitchen, but I’ve decided to attempt creating more edibles here and there and posting them for others like me who have good Pinterest intentions, but live in an eat-dry-cereal-directly-from-the-box reality.
Here 2 easy peasies I did that passed the test of a 6 year-old palette.
For Halloween fun, I surprised my Firecracker with a crafty little hors d’oeuvre I donned as, ‘Sweet Chompers,’ before our main course of carving pumpkins. Let me first say, I’m one of those irritating folks who thrive on making everything a surprise and attempting to always create the perfect ambiance for every event.
I like mood(y) lighting.
So, while I was obsessing over the perfect cup of cider, the just right kid-friendly Halloween Pandora station and making sure everything was Instagram-ready, Firecracker was walking her little sausage fingers over to the carving knife and began pleading her case of being quite old enough to carve her own pumpkin face thankyouverymuch. All that to say, the crafty treat didn’t hold her attention long, but she did make and eat one chomper and with a mouthful of mallow said something like, “Esh are wooly goo!”
She’s all about that face, ’bout that face…no tremble!
Question: Should one be worried if a 6 year-old was at first really grossed out by touching pumpkin innards until she had an epiphany that the pumpkin was dead and then proceeded to smile, roll up her sleeves and dig elbows deep to scoop out its guts? I’m asking for a friend.
This fun snack doesn’t require too much explanation, so I’ll let the photos do the talking. Get it!?
You’ll need: 2 red apples, a fistful of mini marshmallows & peanut butter. Nutella would’ve been delicious too!
Check out these Sweet Chompers! We could’ve added ‘fangs’ & ‘blood,’ but I like HAPPY Halloweens
The Sweet Chompers were just so delicious that we decided to show you our sweet chompers!
This creative crafty snack was easy, fun and delicious. You should eat your smiles like we did!
OK…on to the next holiday edible delight!
Let me set the scene. It’s almost 8pm on a Thursday and as I take my last bite of pasta and swig of red wine, I got a call from my sweet, yet sick, momma telling me that Firecracker signed up to bring sweet potatoes with marshmallows for her 1st grade almost-Thanksgiving-last-day-of-school feast in the morning.
So, rather than having Bronchitis Betty go out to the store, I gladly offered my sweet potato making skills and quickly jumped online to look for a simple recipe.
My goals were simple.
- Make it edible…and maybe even taste good! Just don’t poison the kids.
- Avoid sending a big ole dish full of sloppy sweet taters to the school. Yuck!
- Make it easy for the teachers to serve to the kids. I heart teachers!
- Avoid munchkins fist-fighting over marshmallow injustices.
I found a recipe online and gave it a little EmandaSays flair. Here’s the play-by-play for your viewing pleasure.
INGREDIENTS:
2 (25-oz.) cans of cut yams (drain them. I forgot to & regretted it)
3-4 tbs butter, melted
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1-2 pinches of salt
fistfuls of mini marshmallows
USE: 2 disposable cupcake pans w/ liners.
MAKES: 18 yammers.
STEP ONE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pans. I suggest 2 liners each to avoid soggy bottoms. Mix the brown sugar and salt together thoroughly and sprinkle on the bottom of each liner.
STEP TWO: Place DRAINED yams (seriously, drain them) in a bowl. Squish & squash them until they’re all squished. Spoon them into the cupcake liners. Drizzle melted butter over each scoop.
STEP THREE: Sprinkle the tops of the buttered yam scoops with the brown sugar and salt mixture.
STEP FOUR: Top with marshmallows. I suggest to use the same amount on each scoop because little kids get straight up crazy when they think they’ve been gypped out of a marshmallow. #Experience
Oops…I meant top the YAMS with marshmallows! Poor Henry.
STEP FIVE: Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes (mine worked best at 28 minutes) or until potatoes are thoroughly heated & marshmallows are lightly browned. Once cool enough to eat, you can serve them warm or put them in the fridge for chilled yammers, which is what I did.
They turned out pretty cute and delicious, albeit a bit soggy on the bottom. #StoryOfMyLife
The next time I make these, I’ll drain the yams and drizzle less butter over them. I met all my sweet potato goals and the kids liked them, or at least no one got sick from them. Which is always a win in my cookbook!
Now, I think I’ll have a glass of wine to celebrate all my hard work in the kitchen.
Happy baking to you all!
