Category Archives: Nico in the Kitchen

Mar 12

Yummy Fruit Dip

Let’s Make Some Fruit Dip

Thanks to Walk KS I’ve got to eat a lot of fruits and veggies. Don’t tell my kids, but eating all those fruits, well sometimes they just need a little something extra. I’ve got an easy recipe for Fruit Dip to help make those fresh fruits even tastier.

You’ll need:

  • One package Cream Cheese (full fat or low fat)
  • One Jar Marshmallow Creme or Fluff
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • A big bowl, a hand mixer, and a spatula

Mix all ingredients together, and blend like crazy. I like to use a big bowl, so that way I don’t end up with fruit dip all over my kitchen. Serve along side with fresh fruits, and refrigerate any leftovers.

When I made the fruit dip I used lower fat cream cheese, which made a thinner dip. I recommend the full fat cream cheese for a fluffy dip. Either way it is tasty treat!

Mar 11

Taco Bell Who?!?

Darn you Taco Bell and your hilarious commercials that are on during NASCAR that make me want to go to Taco Bell right away and order nachos… It just isn’t right, but thank goodness Nacho Night is on the menu, let’s see if I can make tasty Nachos, just like Taco Bell.

When we have Nachos, I like to set up a Nacho Bar, so everyone can make their favorite Nachos. I think mine look pretty good, but let’s see what the boy’s say.

Dylan simply said “MMMM Nachos”, while Thade exclaimed “I wish we could have Nachos every night”. Even James agreed that they were way better than Taco Bell’s by saying “Taco Bell Who?!?”, and yep I’m a big fan too.

I think time wise I was pretty good too. If I had to get everybody ready and out the door to go and wait in the drive thru, it would have probably taken me just as much time to pick them up, as it would for me to make them at home. Also my ingredients were fresh, and made right away.There were also plenty of Nacho fixings for seconds too.

Mar 10

Lunch Menu 3/9-3/15

We are in week 2 of the “Not Going Out In March Challenge”, and I’ve got another yummy lunch menu planned. Here is what we are having for lunch this week.

  • 3/9/09: Chicken Rings and Fries
  • 3/10/09:Chili and Crackers (The Chili was on hand in the freezer)
  • 3/11/09: Salmon Cakes, Corn, and Rice
  • 3/12/09: Turkey Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (Soup on hand in the freezer)
  • 3/13/09: Angus Burgers and Fries
  • 3/14/09: Chicken Chow Mien and Chow Mien Noodles
  • 3/15/09: Spaghetti, Black Olives, and Garlic Bread

I’ve also got a few yummy breakfasts planned for this week too. I made Monkey Bread on Sunday, and we still have a bit leftover for a quick breakfast. I will also be making James favorite Biscuits & Gravy with Sausage. I’ll be using with leftover Biscuits from Sunday night’s bbq. The boy’s are also still craving waffles, and I’ve got plenty on hand for the kiddos.

This week I’ll also be baking a few loaves of bread, and making some Chocolate Chip cookies for the kiddos too. It looks like it is going to be another tasty week.

Mar 9

Tricking the Kids with Smoothies

The kiddos are missing their favorite Shakes from Sonic and Dairy Queen, so today I thought we would make some Rainy Day Smoothies to see if that helps a bit. I’m calling them Rainy Day Smoothies because it is pouring outside.

You’ll Need:

  • A Blender
  • A Banana
  • A Handful of Red Raspberries (I’m using frozen)
  • A Handful of Blueberries (I’m using frozen)
  • A few Strawberries
  • 3 Teaspoons Vanilla Syrup
  • 1/8 Cup of Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Vanilla Yogurt
  • 1/4 Cup Milk

Combine all of the ingredients and blend like crazy.Using the frozen berries gives you 3 servings of a thick and creamy smoothie.

Let’s see what the kids think…

Thade gave it a thumbs up! Dylan loved his smoothie too, I think he might even like it better than his favorite vanilla shake.

This is also a sneaky treat if you have kiddos like mine that aren’t a fan of fruits and veggies. They are both getting the fruit that they need, but they think they are getting a Milkshake instead. Give this one a try!

Mar 8

Not Going Out Week 1 Review

Saturday brought the end of week 1 of the “Not Going Out In March Challenge”, and so far it is going pretty good. Thade is still wishing that we could stop off for a Happy Meal (thanks new Spiderman Toy commercials that run constantly), but James is holding strong. He even passed up a lunch out, to come home to a home-cooked meal, kudos to James. I even resisted the easy pick-up meal after a busy Friday morning, thanks to a well planned lunch menu.

But then there is the not so good… My kitchen pretty much always looks like the picture above. It is such a mess. Who knew making so many meals and snacks would use that many dishes. Oh well, it is pretty rewarding when I finally get that mess all cleaned up at the end of the day.

I am also running through staple items in the kitchen like crazy. I’ve already used 5 lbs of flour, and I just ran out of Sugar too. I’ll need to keep both of those items well stocked for this March’s challenge.

The good… The home-cooked food seems to taste much better than their take-out counterpart. James and Thade have said everything is so yummy on several occasions. Thade threw his arms around me after Friday’s Fajita night and gave me a hug, and then he said “everything is just so tasty”. The recent “yummy” comments have me wondering, is fast food is killing our taste buds?!? Could all of those preservatives and additives be robbing us of yummy flavor? Maybe they were just really hungry, but it is strange.

I was also surprised to see just how little garbage we had to take out this week. The cans were so low, that we were missed entirely. I know that that is all due to not grabbing take-out along with bringing home all of the take-out packaging waste that comes along.

So I am looking ahead to week 2, and I’ll have another report on next Saturday. Let’s see if we can make it one more week away from our favorite drive thru places.