Homemade Pita Chips

Once upon a time, Sam's Club sold a pita chip- in a huge bag, of course. I could not get enough of those chips. They were crispy, salty, and just a hint of garlic. Sadly, I have not seen the same chips on sale for about two years, and it has made me all sad and mopey.

Luckily, I ran across this recipe in an old issue of Family Fun in my doctor's office. I scribbled down the instructions and just cooked up a batch today. They are quite similar to the chips of yore, and pair really well with my favorite Cool Cucumber Dip.

You'll need:

6 pitas

1/3 c. olive oil

garlic salt

pepper

dried herbs (oregano or basil)

Preheat the oven to 400. Slice the pitas in half, and peel the sides off each other, so you'll have four half-circles. Cut into chip-sized pieces and arrange on a baking tray. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle garlic salt, pepper, and oregano on top. Bake for about 6-7 minutes until golden brown. Rotate the pan in the middle if you can remember it. 

Cool in pan on wire rack. Store in a Ziploc for a couple weeks. 

Frozen Fruit & Yogurt Roll Ups

These are delicious! The kids were none too happy with them, but I scarfed them down. I would let them thaw a bit from frozen.

Source: tidymom.net via craftyashley on Pinterest

10 flour tortillas
1-1/2 cups Vanilla yogurt
frozen berries
1/2 cup sugar
1 T. cinnamon
spray butter

Directions:

Mix cinnamon & sugar on a large plate. Spray one side of a flour tortilla with butter, covering the entire surface, then place butter side down on plate with cinnamon and sugar. Press down and move around, coating one side of tortilla in cinnamon and sugar.

Next, place tortilla, sugar side down on another plate. Spread about 1/8 cup of yogurt (I just eyeball this, I don’t measure) in a strip a little left of the center. Add some frozen berries (I bought a bag of mixed, strawberries, black berries, raspberries and blue berries- I cut the strawberries up). Roll the tortilla tight and place on a large cookie sheet.

Continue the process with the rest of the tortillas.

Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer, cut each tortilla in half and place them in a large zip lock bag and put them back in the freezer for storage.

To Serve:
Take out of bag and eat immediately. You can let them thaw a little bit, but if you let them thaw too long, they’re mushy, but can be eaten that way too.

Variations: you can try this with different flavors of yogurt and different fruits. Strawberries and bananas would be good…..just be sure to cut the strawberries up, a whole strawberry is hard to eat when frozen.

Aquarium Cups

I am going on a blitzkrieg of dessert cooking this weekend. Mostly from a random Jell-O recipe book my Mom picked up at the checkout line. Either way! Good stuff!

From Kraft

How fun would these be for the twins?! So much fun I tell you.

Here's whats what:

3/4 c. boiling water
1 pkg. (3 oz) Berry Blue flavor gelatin
Ice cubes
1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. chopped strawberries (I'm using mandarin oranges instead)
4 bite size fish shaped chewy fruit snacks

Add boiling water to gelatin in a medium bowl. Stir 2 mins. or until completely dissolved. Add enough ice cubes to cold water to measure 1 1/4 c. Add to gelatin, stir until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. If gelatin is too thin, refrigerate more.

Place berries in 4 clear plastic cups; cover w/ gelatin. Press fruit snacks into gelatin until completely submerged.

Refigerate 1 hr. or until firm.

South of the Border Popcorn

3 qts. warm popped popcorn

2 tbl. butter, melted

2 tea. garlic salt

1 tea. chili powder

1/2 tea. cumin

1/8 tea. red pepper (cayenne)

Drizzle butter over warm popcorn. Combine garlic salt, chili powder, cumin, and red pepper; sprinkle over popcorn, tossing well.

Makes about 8 cups

Inside-Out Pizza

Part pizza, part quesadilla, this snack sandwiches cheese, sauce, and toppings between two flour tortillas. Your kids can cut the finished pie into slices--like a traditional pizza--that are just right for sharing.

2 6-inch flour tortillas
1/4 c. grated cheddar cheese
1/4 c. grated mozzarella cheese
2 slices thinly sliced smoked turkey or ham
1 tbl pizza or spaghetti sauce
Optional toppings: sliced tomatoes, black olives, and peppers

Place a tortilla on a sheet of waxed paper and sprinkle with half of each cheese. Cover with 2 slices of turkey or ham, a tablespoon of sauce, and optional toppings. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and cover with the other tortilla. Toast in the oven or a toaster oven until cheese is melted. Then cut into slices.

Cranberry Apricot Granola Bars

Thank you Parents Magazine!

1 c. granola
1 c. rolled oats
1 c. finely chopped dried apricots & cranberries
1/2 c. flour (whole wheat preferably)
1 egg
1/4 c, honey
1/4 c. canola oil
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Line a baking pan with foil. Spritz it with veggie oil. In a large bowl, combine granola, oats, dried fruit, and flour. Whisk together egg, honey, oil, and cinnamon. Stir into granola mixture then pat batter into the pan. Bake at 325 for 30 mins. When cool, use foil to lift from pan. Cut into bars. Store at room temp. for 3 days or freeze for up to 3 mos. Makes 15.