Bigger Pigs in Bigger Blankets

lenty of people make pigs in blankets with 'Lil Smokies and crescent roll dough, but I consider those to be more of a snack or appetizer, not really a meal (unless you eat quite a few).

My girls love to eat hot dogs. G2 even asks for them for breakfast! I like them to get some bread with their dogs, but 2 and 3 year olds and flimsy hot dog buns don't exactly marry well! 

I decided to get a little creative with an item that is quickly becoming a staple in our home! Frozen Bread Dough. 

I've always used it for the "traditional" use... a loaf of bread, but have been trying other things lately with it (you're sure to see it in many of my future posts!) So, I decided to try it as the dough of Pigs in Blankets, and use full sized hot dogs. 

I thawed the dough and cut it (scissors works best) into 10 chunks. I've cut it into 8 chunks in the past, but according to The Hubs I should have done 10 or 12, but he's more about the meat than the bread. So 10 it was this time! 

Sprinkle flour on your counter and roll out each chunk to pretty thin. 

Then put a hot dog, uncooked, at one end of your flattened dough. 

Roll it all up. Yes, the dough will overlap at least once most likely, it's ok.

Dip your finger in water and rub your finger under the dough where the seam is. This will 'glue' your bread together. 

I baked mine on a baking stone, but it's not mandatory. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 

Top with chilli and cheese (which is what we did in the past) or dip ketchup and mustard, or do whatever else you like on your hot dogs! 

Black Friday?

It's Black Friday!

~ do you know why it's called Black Friday? This is the first day of the year that most companies' profit margines come out of the red and into the black.

From what I've gathered listening to my friends and family, this date either rivals the opening ceremony if the Olympics, or is hated as much as a speeding ticket. Most go all or nothing!! There are some in-betweeners though... That's where I've tended to fall in the past.

Were you up at the crack of dawn to go shopping? Did you go out at midnight? Were you already camped out yesterday evening? Then in my book, you're a shopping Olympian, competing in the dining set dash or the toy triathlon.

Maybe instead you view the stores as a speeding ticket... Something you plan to avoid. Maybe you are putting up your Christmas tree and setting up the rest of your holiday swag. Maybe you're at work, wishing this could just be a Thursday-Sunday weekend instead of having to work this one day. Maybe you are watching sports, cleaning, or still trying to come out of your turkey coma!

Or you could be like me. You could take this day or leave it. You might cruise the internet today and see if there are any steals. You may have gone shopping at a reasonable time, knowing you probably won't get the very best deals, but knowing that you'll still find some pretty good deals, without fighting others to get through the doors.

Well, that's been me in the past at least. This year I'm cuddled in with my 2 month old while The Hubs is at work. My two older girls are recovering from a very exhausting day playing with their second cousins.

I may do some online browsing, but I try to shop mostly from Etsy shops and other small businesses, including Thirty-One, Pampered Chef, BeautiControl etc.  I prefer to shop knowing that I'm helping a friend with their work from home business, or an Etsy owner who's income is from her craftiness.

~ did you know that when you shop locally, 68% of what you spend with them goes back into your conmunity?

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Lactation Bars

As you all know, I'm on baby girl #3. I've had some pretty tough times with breast feeding in the past, including several different issues, but a significant one was my milk supply. 

K1 was a totally unique situation, complete with the NICU and an oral feeding tube. Breast feeding was doomed from the start! We made it a whole 10 days, 8 of which were in the NICU with nurses and lactation consultants helping us. 

With K2, I made it a full 3 months before my supply really started suffering. I took fenugreek, drank gallons of water, dark beer, lots of protein, oatmeal and vitamins. It still was a struggle to nurse her and have a satisfied baby afterwards. We started supplementing with formula at about 3.5 months and she was exclusively formula fed starting at 6 months. 

I'm determined to go longer with K3. I've been much more proactive about maintaining a good supply, rather than boosting a falling supply. 

One of my methods to keep the supply I've got going now (which is pretty good if I may say so) is these lactation bars that I've made. I first made them when K3 was going through a growth spurt and I felt like I wasn't keeping up, and I wasn't. We did need to give 2 oz of formula every evening for 2 weeks because I just didn't have enough for her.  The first day I made these bars, I ate 6 of them (and it took zero effort as they are quite tasty!). That evening, no formula was needed. Now, I'm not a doctor or a lactation consultant or a nutritionist, so I can't promise that these will work as well for everyone, but they were a score for me!!

This is how I made mine. The 'goodies'  that I used were just what I had on hand. You can use whatever you choose! I've made this recipe before and used about 2.5 cups of dried fruit trail mix! 

Soak:

1/2 c steel cut oats

1  1/2 c milk

While that is soaking, mix:

3 c quick oats

1c sugar (white or brown)

2  1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 c brewers yeast

1 stick melted butter/margarine

3 eggs

The Goodies:

1/4 c peanut butter (crunchy or creamy works fine!) 

1 TBSP cinnamon

1 c chocolate chips

1 c white chocolate chips

1/2 cup m&ms 

Brewers yeast and flax seeds (which I didn't have on hand) and the oats (steel cut especially) are the lactation boosters. 

Let sit in the fridge for a couple of hours. This helps the liquids absorb into the oats a bit, though I don't think this is necessary. You'll just have to check your bars while they are baking. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes give or take. You may have to bake longer or shorter. A lot of this depends what kid of goodies you put in them! Some will absorb some of the moisture (like dried fruit or coconut), and others won't (sunflower seeds, other nuts, chocolate chips). The first time you make them, keep a close eye on them and take them out when they aren't runny in the middle. I usually just shake the pan... if the middle still jiggles, keep baking. 

The first batch I made, with dried fruit and shredded coconut, I baked for 25-30 minutes. They were good. The second batch (chocolate chips and m&ms with peanut butter), however, I couldn't tell you how long they baked. I put them in, and ten minutes later the tornado sirens went off. We turned off the oven, checked the radar to see how close the storm was, and drove a few blocks to my sisters house, because she has a totally concrete enclosed cellar. I don't remember how long we were there (probably 30-45 minutes), I only know that when we came home, the bars were still in the oven and they were perfect!

I use square bar pans for mine, but round muffin pans would work just as well I assume. 

Just a tip: I you don't want colorful streaks in your bars, add the m&ms right before you put them in the pans, or even just sprinkle them on.  I added mine before I let it sit for a while, and when I gave it a final stir, the candy coating streaked through the bars!

Please enjoy! Feel free to post your results in the comments!

Relax Melodies

I've mentioned that I have a 2 month old baby. This Relax Melodies App* has been pretty great for a little added noise!

There's rain and wind and the like, to help G3 not hear G1 and  G2 during naps.

The one I like the best though is called Lullaby, it's a woman humming. Since I constantly hum or sing all three of my girls to sleep, this is pretty comforting for G3. Playing this one gives me a few minutes to pee, or shower, or just give my arms a little break!

* I am in no way affiliated with Relax Melodies

Easy Sugar Cookies

My older two girls have been asking me for a few days if we can make cookies. It's been tough to find the time to do a whole lot with them lately, G3 is only 2 months old and takes up quite a bit of time!

   I knew that we wouldn't have time to make a whole batch from scratch, so easy Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie pre-mix saved the day!!! As it happened, we used the last stick of butter last night making mashed potatoes (probably my favorite side dish ever), so I grabbed a applesauce cup. It was a 4oz (half a cup) 'snack cup' for the girls, but they didn't mind giving one up... after all, it WAS for cookies!

   So, the mix, applesauce and 1 egg went into the bowl. I used my smallest scooper to put them on a greased pan, and let the girls decorate with sugar sprinkles!

   I used cupcake wrappers to hold the sprinkles for them, and they each got to decorate half a pan.
 G1 (age 3.5 years) decorated hers fairly evenly throughout her half of the pan...

 While G2 (age 2.5 years) seemed to put most of her attention (and sprinkles) onto the same cookie over and over!

 

  I baked them for 7-8 minutes or so at 350 (just followed the directions on the bag) and let them cool enough to not burn our fingers and tongues.

   I was pleasantly surprised at the texture of the cookie itself. It was almost cake-like. It was a soft chewy sugar cookie! I love crispy sugar cookies, the kind that crumble in my fingers and melt in my mouth, but lets face it, they aren't the best for young kids! These were perfect!

   I have been packaging just about everything into plastic bags lately, it's just easier for us right now. So into snack sized bags these cookies went!

 


   The girls are very excited for the hubs to get home so they can show off their baking accomplishments of the day!