Fruit & Yogurt Homemade Popsicles using Leftover Baby Food

May 29, 2016 by Kelly Dedeaux

This is a sponsored project by Kendal King Group/The Women Bloggers, LLC. All opinions are mine alone. #CookingWithGerber

Did you know that my twins are just shy of 18 months older than my youngest? That means I had three in diapers at the same time, one learning to sleep through the night while the others learned to run and climb, one drinking a bottle and the others learning to eat more solid foods. It was a CRAZY time! One thing we did with that many young ones was stock up heavily on baby cereal and baby foods – which was great until they started to outgrow them and we had a bunch left. There’s so many recipes we learned to use them in, like these yummy and easy Fruit & Yogurt Homemade Popsicles using Leftover Baby Food! Oh, and don’t miss our $50 Gift Card giveaway at the bottom 🙂

It’s getting hot out there, so these are the perfect summer snack. Plus, you can just quickly make them and store them in the freezer, then they’re ready when you are! For these, you’ll need some Nestle Gerber Yogurt Blends and Gerber 2nd Foods Baby Food from Walmart (we’re sharing another AMAZING recipe later this week – doughnuts! – using Gerber Oatmeal Cereals, so grab those while you’re there, too).

Why would I use baby food and cereal in my recipes, you may ask? They’re all-natural without added sugars, making them a much healthier choice than what I could grab at the store. Plus, being this simple to make and having control over what goes into my kids’ food is a definite bonus!

Now I did two different recipes, but you can mix it up based on the flavors you have or want. My kids were split between which was the favorite – the Peach Lemonade or the Mixed Fruit!

Homemade Popsicles

Ingredients – Peach Lemonade

Gerber Yogurt Blends Peach flavor (4 individual containers)
Gerber 2nd Foods Baby Food Peach flavor (2 individual containers)
1/2 can Sparkling Lemon-flavored drink

Ingredients – Mixed Fruit

Gerber Yogurt Blends Strawberry Banana flavor (4 individual containers)
Gerber 2nd Foods Baby Food Apple flavor (2 individual containers)
Gerber 2nd Foods Baby Food Apple Strawberry Banana flavor (2 individual containers)
1/2 – 1 can Sparkling drink

The directions are the same for both

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients together.
Carefully pour (or use a funnel) into your popsicle molds.
Freeze then enjoy!

See – super easy! You could even let your kids get in on the fun and let them try mixing different flavor varieties to make their own popsicle recipe.

Don’t forget to grab some Gerber Cereal while you’re at Walmart for our delicious doughnut recipes coming later this week! There’s four varieties: Gerber Oatmeal Single-Grain Cereal, Lil’ Bits Oatmeal Banana Strawberry, Oatmeal Banana Cereal or Multigrain Cereal.

Homemade Fruit and Yogurt Popsicles

May 14, 2016 by Kelly Dedeaux

It’s been raining like crazy here in Texas, but we’re finally seeing lots of sunshine and feeling the heat! The kiddos have been begging to hit the pool – so why not kick off the season with a fun pool party? And what’s a pool party without some healthy summer snacks? We whipped up a bunch of these Homemade Fruit and Yogurt Popsicles, and the kids (and adults) loved them! Originally published June 2016 – see that post here.

Since popsicles take a bit to freeze, we took care of getting them in the molds and popping them in the freezer first!

Ingredients

Fresh fruit of choice (strawberries, mango, banana, oranges, watermelon, etc.)
Yogurt of choice (we prefer vanilla)

You’ll also need a blender and popsicle molds or ice trays.

Directions

Take turns blending each type of fruit with some of the yogurt, then place in a container while you do another fruit type!
Once you’ve got all of your fruits, take turns scooping or pouring them into the molds. Create fun colored rows by mixing them up! Combine the flavors for something new and fun.
Pop them in the freezer and let them get solid!

Once we were done with our popsicle prep, we made sure to get all our gear in order! Since my kids seemed to shoot up like beanstalks over the past year, we needed to grab some new swim stuff before we could enjoy our pool time!

We got the kids their swimsuits (tops AND bottoms, since I worry about the boys’ backs in the summer sun), hats, sunglasses, and even some cover ups!

The boys think they’re great, and I love that it makes them easier to spot when we’re at the pool. You can tell what their favorite colors are by their suit choices – orange and green for the twins, and blue for my girl! Since the twins have hand-me-down suits to pass on to our youngest, we just got him a hat and sunglasses.

Once our fruit popsicles were ready, they pulled on their new tanks so we could enjoy the frozen treat!

They seriously LOVED the flavors of these, and I loved that it was a healthy snack option for them! Plus they look colorful and summery with all the stripes of fruity colors!

I was a little surprised when most of them chose banana as their favorite of the flavors. I thought the strawberry was the best – but all around they were so sweet, tangy and refreshing all at the same time!

What fruits would YOU like to try in a healthy homemade popsicle?

Cadbury Creme Milkshake

February 8, 2016 by Kelly Dedeaux

It’s not yet Valentine’s Day, yet I’m seeing random Easter items already popping up in stores. While a part of me is like ‘really, already?’ – another part is like ‘Cadbury Eggs? YES PLEASE!’ While other people go crazy for the jelly beans, I’m all about the Cadbury stuff, and have been since I was little! Last Easter my mom even sent me a package with a TON of them – she’s just awesome like that 🙂 To get a little creative, let’s give this oldie-but-goodie a fresh share: Cadbury Creme Milkshake!

Adapted from Chocolatemoosey.com

Contains affiliate links that help support this blog at no extra cost to you. See our disclosure policy for more info.

Did you know we’re now on Yummly? It’s such a neat place where all you do is ‘Yum’ the recipes you want to keep track of – on ours just check out the purple ‘YUM’ circle to the left. Easy-peasy, right? Be sure to yum all your favorite recipes!

When I first tried this recipe version, we’d just moved to Texas (this was in early 2013) and our old blender didn’t make it. I guess there’s plenty of other things that would be worse to lose in a move! Anywho, we had to buy a crappy blender just to get by – but NOW I have this amazing Nutri Ninja® Auto-iQ Pro Compact System that takes on my most challenging blender tasks! I highly recommend it for this creamy milkshake.

There are technically three ‘steps’ for this Cadbury Creme Milkshake: 1. The fondant cream 2. the whipped cream and 3. the milkshake. Of course, you CAN skip the homemade whipped cream and use store bought, if you’d like!

Fondant Cream

4 tbsp. Corn syrup
2 tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups Powdered sugar

In a bowl, beat the corn syrup and butter until smooth. Add vanilla, salt and powdered sugar. Beat until well-mixed. Set aside.

Whipped Cream

1/2 cup Heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup Powdered sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla extract

Beat the whipping cream until it starts to thicken, usually a few minutes. Slowly add the powdered sugar and vanilla, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Milkshake

2 cups Chocolate ice cream
1/4-1/2 cup Milk
Cadbury egg (optional)

In a blender, blend these (except optional egg) with the fondant cream until smooth. Pour into a glass, top with the whipped cream, and, if desired, crack the Cadbury egg on top as garnish (and more Cadbury egg deliciousness). Enjoy!!!

Check out these other delish drink & beverage recipes!

Pumpkin Breakfast Smoothie

A New Way to Treat Yourself

March 20, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FrozenCustardTime #CollectiveBias

There’s no point denying it, motherhood is hard! We work so hard for our families, and too often we forget to take care of ourselves because we’re just too dang busy. It’s super important for us to take time to recharge, refresh…even reward! Here’s a delicious New Way to Treat Yourself! Plus, free printable tags in case you want to ‘treat’ a friend!

One of my favorite ways to unwind is snuggling up on the couch with Hubby, watching something while enjoying a creamy bowl of New DREYER’S Frozen Custard. After we tried some of their awesome flavors, I had to get the others! Just swing by the ice cream aisle at Walmart and you’ll see all the options….

For those of you living more East than Colorado and Texas, you’ll check out the EDY’s® Frozen Custard!

So what fabulous flavors DO they have, you ask?

Old Fashioned Vanilla
Strawberry Shortcake
Chocolate Malt
Mint Cookies N’ Cream
Peanut Butter Pie

ALL of these are made with fresh milk and have no artificial colors or flavors. My personal favorite is the Peanut Butter Pie: sweet cream frozen custard with lots of chocolate cookie pieces and beautiful peanut butter swirls. It’s YUMM-O! I’m so in love with how extra thick and creamy it is…..LOVE, I tell you!

What’s almost as good as treating yourself? Giving a special treat to someone else! So I’ve got two adorable and fun gift tags for you: Gift Tag 1 and Gift Tag 2

If you want to learn (and maybe taste…Woot woot!) a little more before you commit, check out one of their in-store demos taking place across the country March 26th-29th! Look for a store near you HERE.

Don’t forget to check out DREYER’S (or EDY’s®) Social Channels!

DREYER’S Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DreyersIceCream
DREYER’S Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/dreyersicecream/
EDY’S® Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EdysIceCream
EDY’S® Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/edysicecream/

What flavor are YOUR most excited to treat yourself to?

Pumpkin Spice Milkshake

November 1, 2014 by Kelly Dedeaux

How did y’all like Halloween? As crazy as October was, I’m amazed that it’s already over! Welcome to November….the start of the two craziest months of the year, it seems! I think today we should all recover from the week’s craziness first, though, and enjoy a special treat! My kiddos are stocked up on candy, munching happily through their stash. Hubby and I do love a good candy bar treat (and may nab some here and there without the kids knowing), but often we’d rather something a bit better, such as this Pumpkin Spice Milkshake!

Even though it’s cooling down a ton during the nights here, the afternoons are still way hot and bright. This refreshing, creamy pumpkin spice milkshake has the perfect blend of flavors, making it smooth-yet-flavorful. I love it, although I’m not sure who loved it more…me or Hubby. Guess we can just use two straws and share, right?! Nah, I’ll just whip up two of this quick recipe!

Ingredients

1 cup Milk
1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/4 cup Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1-2 cups Pumpkin
2-4 cups Vanilla Ice Cream
Whipped Cream for topping, if desired

Directions

In a blender, mix everything except the ice cream and whipped topping. Once mixed, add the ice cream and blend until you reach your desired consistency. More ice cream = thicker milkshake.
Pour into a tall glass and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice. Enjoy!

If you want, you can add a bit of chai tea into the blender to make this a Pumpkin CHAI Milkshake. Mmmm…that sounds really good, too! Maybe I’ll have to make a few more variations this weekend 😀

Frosty S’more Brownie Bars

August 7, 2014 by Kelly Dedeaux

This is one of those desserts where you love it, devour it, then drool over all the photos as you edit them to post. Yup, it’s THAT good in every bite! Even my anti-chocolate (yet super-sexy) Hubby thought these Frosty S’more Brownie Bars were just fab!

Start this off with a Graham Cracker Brownie layer, layers of S’more goodness (chocolate and mallows), then top it with some pudding mixture and sprinkle with more S’more tasties on top! Ya, I may have to go have another one of these Frosty S’more Brownie Bars after I post this….perhaps two!

Ingredients – Graham Cracker Brownies

4 cups Graham Crackers, crushed
2 tsp. Baking Powder
3/4 cup Chocolate Chips
2, 14-oz cans Sweetened Condensed Milk
Pinch of Salt

Directions – Graham Cracker Brownies

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F. Line a 13×9 baking pan with parchment paper (make sure some goes over the edges).
Mix all of the ingredients until well-combined, then pour into the pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Move on to the remaining steps….

Ingredients

7-9 Hershey Bars, or equivalent chocolate bar candies
2-3 cups Mini Marshmallows
2, 3.9 oz. boxes Chocolate Instant Pudding
Milk, as called for on pudding box
8 oz. Whipped Topping, plus some for the very top
Mini Chocolate Chips, for top
Graham Cracker Crumbs, for top

Directions

While the graham cracker brownie layer is still hot, layer the chocolate bar squares evenly over the top. Spread your marshmallows over the top of the chocolate. (I did put mine back in the oven, while still hot but not on, to allow the mallows to melt a little. Just don’t let your brownie layer overcook). Allow to cool completely.
Whisk the pudding mix and milk together until smooth. Let set about 2-3 minutes, then stir in 8 oz. whipped topping. Spread the pudding mixture evenly over the cooled off marshmallows. Top with extra whipped topping, mini chocolate chips and graham cracker crumbs.
Place in the freezer for several hours, or overnight. Remove about 5-10 minutes before serving. Use the over-the-edge parchment to carefully lift the Frosty S’more Brownie Bars out of the baking pan to more easily cut pieces.

Strawberry Mango Popsicles

July 4, 2014 by Kelly Dedeaux

Happy 4th of July, y’all! In celebration of today, I’m sharing a super (like, as simple as can be) recipe that will help you beat the heat and have a special treat: Strawberry Mango Popsicles!

I have to say, I’m so proud and grateful to live in this amazing country. No, it isn’t perfect and there’s plenty of issues, but I still believe it’s the best place for my family and appreciate all the freedoms we enjoy. I hope to one day make a road trip to see the Declaration of Independence and the signatures of our Founding Fathers!

Slight venting moment: it’s so dang HOT lately! H-O-T! So maybe I’m a wimp with weather, but come on…hitting 90-100 degrees by 11am is kind of ridiculous, am I right? For this special day, I hope your family can cool down and enjoy a tasty treat with this Strawberry Mango Popsicles. They’re so easy, I almost feel guilty posting it as a recipe (except the simplicity of it gives me more time to spend with MY family on the holiday, so I’m just fine with it)!

Ingredients

Strawberries, washed and stems removed
Mango, washed, peeled & core removed
Popsicle molds

Directions

Blend the Strawberries in a blender or food processor. You can just blend it a little so there’s still chunks, or make it totally smooth, up to you. Set aside. Repeat with the Mango pieces.
Pour the different mixtures into your popsicle molds and put in your freezer until frozen. Enjoy!

See, told you it couldn’t get much easier than this! Try it with other fruits, too. It’s fun to mix in some slices or bites of the fruit, also. Delicious, simple and oh-so-fun (and pretty, too)!

Ultimate Smoothie Recipe Round Up

May 27, 2014 by Kelly Dedeaux

As the weather gets warmer, Hubby and I move towards smoothies for breakfast. A LOT! But I can’t have the same thing over and over again, so I went on the hunt for enough smoothie recipes to really give us a variety. For all YOU smoothie lovers out there, here’s my Ultimate Smoothie Recipe Round Up!

One thing I love about smoothies is that they keep me fuller longer, which ~~prevents~~ helps me to not snack as often. I even enjoy them as an afternoon pick-me-up, when I get that after lunchtime drag. (please tell me I’m not the only one who feels zombie-ish in the early afternoons!) Since Hubby and I are attempting to improve our diet (drastically), I’m sure many of these smoothies will make an appearance in our home for more than just breakfast! Now on to The Ultimate Smoothie Recipe Round Up!

Now THIS looks like a perfect breakfast! Check out these Blueberry ‘Cream’ Oatmeal Smoothies from Healthy Smoothie Recipe.

Oh, for the love of peanut butter, you’ve got to try this Healthy Peanut Butter Breakfast Smoothie from Mindfully Frugal Mom!

I’m all for planning ahead, especially for breakfasts (I’m so not a morning person!) so I’m definitely giving these Frozen Smoothie Packs from All Things Katie Marie a try ASAP!

Just look at that photo….I’m already drooling for 15 of the Best Smoothie Recipes from Passion for Savings!

One of Hubby’s FAVORITE smoothies, this Pumpkin Breakfast Smoothie uses real pumkin and banana.

My friend over at Creative Green Living posted this Watermelon Coconut Water Refresher Smoothie, and I HAD to try it. DEFINITELY refreshing and delicious!

There’s SO MANY recipes in this round-up from Rachel Cooks that look so delicious, can’t wait to work my way through her 50+ Juice & Smoothie Recipes!

So maybe it’s just me…but those strawberries look SO DANG GOOD! This list of 10 Amazing Smoothie Recipes from My Frugal Adventures has such delicious variety, it’s truly ‘amazing’!

I love the hint of almond in the Tropical Strawberry Smoothie!

Again, my love of peanut butter got the best of me, luckily! Here’s 15 Healthy Peanut Butter Smoothie Recipes from My Natural Family.

I love adding blackberries to smoothies, especially when it comes out so beautifully purple like this Blackberry Banana Bliss Smoothie from Creme De La Crumb.

Sober Julie had me at ‘cheesecake’ with her Raspberry Cheesecake Smoothie!

This Clean Eating Mango Chai Smoothie from The Gracious Pantry is now on Hubby’s MUST TRY list…he can’t wait to try it!

Who could resist this Healthy Apple Pie Dessert Smoothie from Green Thickies?! Not me!

Since my kids seem to suck any energy I may have clean out of me, this Energy Boost Fruit Smoothie from Sober Julie may become a regular addition to my meal plan!

Although Hubby isn’t a fan of coconut, I love this fresh Coco-Orange Smoothie to kickstart my day!

I use to hate green smoothies, but have learned to make them the right way so they may look green, but taste amazing…..so I can’t wait to make my way through these 15 Quick & Easy Green Smoothie Recipes from Green Thickies!

Still one of my favorite dessert-type smoothies, is this Copy-Cat Strawberry Julius!

A Night Owl Blog is amazing, and she hit it right on the mark again with her 50 Smoothie Recipes! Drool!

And last, but not least, is this Cherry Berry Smoothie, with a nice mixture of delicious berries!

Steak with Lemon Tomato Sauce

March 21, 2013 by Kelly Dedeaux

Contains affiliate links that help support this blog at no extra cost to you. See our disclosure for more info.

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen: Best Simple Recipes

I wanted to make something special for my hubby the other day, since he was coming all the way home from work for lunch. The kids were at grandma’s swimming, and I was in a major cooking mood, so decided to go all out. And what’s the point of going all out if you can’t ‘romance’ it up a bit, huh? The problem was, we don’t really have a romantic home set-up. Our kitchen table was completely covered in coloring supplies, and the floor was scattered with toys. What’s a girl to do? I transformed our kids play picnic table into a romantic setting, with pillows as chairs since it was so short! Here’s the table pre-transformation:

Now, ta-da! A romantic lunch for two!

Now, we’ve lived in our home for almost 5 years now (literally, next month), and I have only braved our cellar one time. The entrance is outside, the stairs are steep, and it’s yucky and dusty. Spiderwebs, sometimes mice I’m sure. It’s just not somewhere I ever choose to go…until today! I decided our lunch needed a little ‘bubbly’, so I gathered all the courage I could and went down into that gross, dingy cellar and grabbed a Sparkling Cider. Yup, I’m an awesome wife!

I made an amazing new dish for lunch: Steaks with Lemon Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

3 Steaks (about 10-12 ounces each), 1 inch thick

Salt and pepper

3 tbsp. Olive oil

2 pints Cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tsp. Sugar

¼ tsp. Red pepper flakes

2 Garlic cloves, minced

¼ cup Chopped parsley

2 tsp. grated Lemon zest

1 tbsp. Lemon juice

Put 1 tbsp. oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add steaks, seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook until done as desired (we like medium).

In empty (or clean) skillet, cook tomatoes, sugar and pepper flakes until tomatoes are softened; about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook about 30 seconds to 1 minute; when begins to be fragrant. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice and remaining oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Slice steaks and cover with tomato mixture. Serve!

For dessert, since I was throwing all of this together so quickly, I made a Vanilla Pudding Freeze Pie. It’s chilled just enough to make a creamy and satisfying treat.

Ingredients:
1 small Vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup Milk
2 cups Whipped cream
3-4 Small pie crusts (I had a pack of 6 small ones)
Topping of choice (I used raspberries), optional

Mix pudding mix, milk and whipped cream together until well blended.
Scoop into pie crusts until just slightly higher than the edge of the crust.

Top with your topping of choice.

Put in the freezer for about 10 minutes, or just while you’re eating your main course.

Notes: Feel free to use other flavors of pudding. This is just the one I had on-hand.

If you’re wondering about the glasses and the centerpiece: those are actually from our wedding! The centerpiece was from our cake, and the glasses we used for toasting. Thought it would make it a more special lunch!

Have you ever done a surprise romantic meal for your hubby at the last minute? What did you pull together to make it even more special?

More Dinner Date Recipes…

Creamy Orange Dream Pie

March 19, 2013 by Kelly Dedeaux

I’m going to share with you one of our go-to summer dessert recipes: Creamy Orange Dream Pie! I think my dad would say it’s his favorite dessert I’ve made – he had seconds! And thirds, and I think fourths….but you get the idea 🙂

Creamy Orange Dream Cake / Busy Mom's Helper

Contains affiliate links that help support this blog at no extra cost to you. See our disclosure for more info.

Adapted from Kraft Foods Busy Family Recipes

I’m not sure about you, but we’re DEFINITELY feeling the summer heat here in Texas so far. Still not the scorching temperatures we’ll be hitting in the later months, but hot and muggy just the same. Other than hitting the pool (and wearing out the kids…bonus!), cooling off with a delicious cold treat it just what the doctor ordered!

This Creamy Orange Dream Pie is full of creamy, refreshing flavor. Another great thing? It’s SUPER easy to make! Whip a few things together, refrigerate a bit, and then you’re enjoying the perfect dessert!

Ingredients

80 Wafer cookies (like Nilla wafers), finely crushed
½ stick Butter, melted
2 cups Milk
2 pkg. (small) Vanilla instant pudding mix
8 oz. Whipped cream, thawed
2 cups Orange sherbet, softened

Directions

In a 13×9 pan, line foil with the ends extending over the sides of the pan.
Mix wafer crumbs and butter. Press firmly onto bottom of pan.
In medium bowl, mix pudding mixes and milk until well blended. Stir in half of the whipped cream. Spoon evenly over the crust. Place in refrigerator for 10 minutes.
Mix sherbet and remaining whipped cream until well blended. Spoon over pudding layer after done in the fridge.
Cover and freeze for at least 3 hours. Use the foil ends to remove the dessert from the pan before cutting to serve.

I bet this recipe could be altered for pretty much any flavor; it just depends on the ice cream. I’m eager to try it with chocolate or mixed berry. What would you try, and if you do try something, let us know how it turns out!

Homemade Popsicles

Ingredients – Peach Lemonade

Ingredients – Mixed Fruit

Directions

Ingredients

Directions

What fruits would YOU like to try in a healthy homemade popsicle?

Fondant Cream

Whipped Cream

Milkshake

Check out these other delish drink & beverage recipes!

What flavor are YOUR most excited to treat yourself to?

Ingredients

Directions

Ingredients – Graham Cracker Brownies

Directions – Graham Cracker Brownies

Ingredients

Directions

Ingredients

Directions

More Dinner Date Recipes…

Ingredients

Directions

Other Summertime Recipes…