I love a good, fresh bagel. With Rhodes dough you can have the freshest bagels ever because you make them at home! My kids loved helping me make these mini cinnamon sugar bagels. We decorated them with fruit to look like little Christmas ornaments. I love my son’s little chubby fingers helping place the blueberries and strawberries in the pictures below. 🙂
Click to get the bagel recipe with step by step pictures on the Rhodes Kids Baking blog HERE.
Blueberry Pomegranate Salad
2 cups water
2 packages (3 oz) raspberry Jell-0
1 package cream cheese softened (8 oz)
1 can crushed pineapple undrained (20 oz)
1 can blueberry pie filling (21 oz)
1 pomegranate (about 1 1/2 cup arils)
*3 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (or 1 tub cool whip)
Optional- 1 cup celery diced
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
In a small pot, bring the two cups water to a boil. Put both packages of Jell-o in a large mixing bowl and add the boiling water and whisk till dissolved. Add the softened cream cheese and whisk until well combined (there may be tiny flecks of cream cheese left and that is okay). Add the pineapple, blueberry pie filling, (and celery and nuts if desired) and 1 cup of the pomegranate arils (reserving about 1/2 cup for topping) and stir until well combined. Refrigerate until the Jell-o is set (about 4-5 hours). Whip the whipping cream with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold into the Jell-o mixture. Transfer to a large serving bowl or a 9X13 pan, topping with remaining pomegranate seeds. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
*For a thicker salad use 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
Apple Dip
1 tub (16 oz) caramel dip (such as Litehouse brand Old Fashioned Caramel)
1 pkg (8 ounces) cream cheese softened (I use light)
1 package Heath bits (found in the baking aisle by the chocolate chips)
In a mixing bowl, stir together the softened cream cheese and the tub of caramel, reserving about 1/4 cup of the caramel to spread over the dip. Place in a serving bowl and spread the reserved caramel over the top. Sprinkle with the Heath bits (about 1/2 cup or more to your liking). Serve with sliced apples. Store leftovers in the refridgerator.
To keep apples from browning, slice and soak in a bowl with enough water to cover apples and with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Let apples soak for a few minutes then drain water, drying any excess water with a few paper towels.
For a cute gift, make dip as directed and then put in quarter pint (4 oz) jars. Put an apple on top, place in a cellophane bag, and tie with ribbon. Makes 4-5 jars.
Chicken Enchilada Chili
1 can green enchilada sauce (28 oz)
1 can red enchilada sauce (19 oz)
1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)
1 can diced mild green chiles (4 oz)
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
1 can black beans rinsed & drained (15 oz)
1 can petite diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
2 cups frozen corn or 1 can corn drained
1 chicken breast diced into 1 inch pieces*
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Add all the ingredients to your slow cooker and stir until well combined. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Serve with sour cream, cheese and tortilla chips if desired.
*You can also add the chicken breast whole and shred after the soup is cooked
Recipe adapted from: Burnt Apple
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Soup is one of my favorite meals to make and eat. I love making it because it’s all made in one pot so there isn’t a big mess to clean up. And I love eating it because it’s warm, comforting and filling.
I could make soup year round because I love it so much, but my husband thinks eating a steaming hot bowl of soup on a super hot summer day is just wrong 🙂
This vegetable beef soup is a favorite because I usually have all the ingredients on hand and it only takes about 30 minutes. Best of all its rich, hearty and delicious. If you are not a ground beef fan (like I know a few of my friends are) you can substitute ground turkey instead.
My kids gobble this soup up (veggies included!) especially when we serve some cheddar biscuits on the side. This makes a large pot, but I think the leftovers reheat nicely for a fast lunch the next day.
Easy Vegetable Beef Soup
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 yellow onion diced
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 can beef broth (14.5 ounces)
1 can tomato soup (10 3/4 ounces)
1 can petite diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
1 cup water
2 Russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables*
In a large pot, saute the diced onion for 2-3 minutes over medium heat until translucent. Add the ground beef and brown until no pink remains. Drain any fat. Season meat with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add the can of beef broth, tomato soup, and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil and add potatoes and lower heat to maintain a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes until potatoes are tender. Add the frozen mixed vegetables and cook for another five minutes until vegetables are cooked through. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if necessary. Also if broth seems to have cooked down too much add water, about 1/4 cup at a time until desired consistency.
*Some brands of frozen mixed vegetables have lima beans or some have green beans. We prefer the brands with green beans as my kids won’t touch lima beans. You can also substitute just frozen corn and peas if you don’t want all the vegetables.
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Perfect Peach Pie
1 recipe pie crust (below)
1 beaten egg
5 cups sliced peaches
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 teaspoon salt
Recipe Source- Slightly adapted from All Recipes
Pie Crust Recipe
Some notes about the recipe. If you’ve never had a Swig sugar cookie, I think they are less sweet and have a thicker less fluffy texture (more shortbready) than regular sugar cookies. I mix my sugar cookies by hand, and the frosting in a stand mixer. It helps the dough not to get over mixed. I refrigerate my cookies after they have cooled, but I like to eat them at room temperature. The cookies are so moist that if you stack them in the refrigerator put parchment paper in between to keep them from sticking together. Also, these don’t work to roll out and cut shapes because the dough is so soft. One time I lessened the vegetable oil to 1/2 cup and I was able to roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and cut out shapes.
This post contains affiliate links. This means, if you make a purchase through my links, I’ll receive a small portion of your purchase at no extra cost to you.
Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter softened
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup light sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
5 1/2 cups flour
Preheat oven to 350. Cream together the softened butter, oil, and sugar. Add the eggs, sour cream, extracts and mix until well combined. Add the dry ingredients last and mix until a nice soft dough forms. (I like to knead the dough by hand to incorporate the last bit of flour.) Roll dough into golfball size balls and placed on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Using the back of a drinking glass sprayed with cooking spray, smash the balls into round circles about 1/2 inch thick. Bake for 8-10 minutes- cookies should not brown at all. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack if desired. Allowing them to cool on the cookie sheet is very important because they continue to cook. Don’t take them off too soon! I rotate two pans when I cook these so my first pan of cookies has the time to cool.
Frosting
1/2 cup butter softened
3/4 cup reduced fat sour cream*
2 pounds powder sugar
red food coloring (if desired)
Whip the butter in the bowl of the stand mixer on medium speed for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sour cream and a few drops of red food coloring and mix for another minute, then gradually add the powdered sugar a cup at at time. You want the frosting to be nice and stiff, not runny. I usually add a few cups of sugar, check the consistency and taste and then add more if needed. You might not use the whole 2 pounds of powdered sugar. Frost the cooled cookies. I like using the Wilton 1M tip for rosettes.
*I use the reduced fat because it’s not as thick as regular sour cream
Don’t let the number of ingredients in this recipe fool you- this meal is probably one of my favorite slow cooker meals. We love to eat it over rice, but it is great served burrito style too. 
Slow Cooker Chile Verde
1 jar (16 oz) La Victoria thick ‘n chunky salsa verde (other brands would work, but this is my favorite)
1 pork roast 2 pounds
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can pinto beans rinsed and drained
Place your pork roast in the bottom of the slow cooker and sprinkle the dry seasonings over it. Dump the entire jar of salsa over the roast, adding a little water if necessary to the jar to get all of it out. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-5 hours. Roast should pull apart easily when it’s done. Shred the pork and put back in the salsa and juices. Add the pinto beans to the crockpot for the last half hour of cooking. Serve over rice and top with cheese, sour cream, and cilantro, or serve in tortillas.
This recipe is super easy to make, and the best part is you can change up the flavor depending on the type of Jell-O you choose. I love making a strawberry cake and making the cheesecake version of the whipped frosting. It’s so good! I always get rave reviews whenever someone tries this frosting!
I also love that I can easily pipe designs with it. Buttercream can sometimes be hard to squeeze out of the icing bag, but not only is this easy to decorate with, it holds up beautifully. Rosettes are one my favorite easy designs to use for a cake.
I used the Wilton 1M Tip
One batch of this frosting is perfect to fill and frost a 6 inch cake.
See other cakes I frosted with this whipped cream frosting—> HERE and HERE
Lasagna
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I like the can of Hunt’s traditional spaghetti sauce, 26 oz)
1 pkg lasagna noodles (16 oz)
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 container ricotta cheese (15 oz)
1 pkg cream cheese (8 oz) softened
1 cup cottage cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Dried parsley flakes
Cook your noodles according to package directions. Drain and lay out the noodles flat on a paper towel (this helps to keep them from sticking together). Brown the ground beef or turkey in a large pan, adding the garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. Drain any fat. Add pasta sauce plus a little water (I usually add about 1/4 cup) and bring to a simmer, remove from heat.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, softened cream cheese and cottage cheese until smooth. Spray a 9X13 pan with a very light coating of cooking spray to prevent sticking. Put a layer of noodles in the bottom of the pan, then a layer of meat sauce (1/3 of the meat sauce) and 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and parmesan. Then layer noodles, 1/3 of the meat sauce and the other 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture, sprinkling again with mozzarella and parmesan. Layer one last time with noodles, and the last of the meat sauce and cover with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with parsley flakes and cover with aluminum foil.
If baking immediately cook in a 350 oven for 30 minutes total, 15 with the aluminum foil on and uncovered for the last 15 minutes.
Or you can refrigerate the entire pan to bake later, and then bake for 1 hour total, 45 minutes covered and 15 uncovered. Enjoy!
Sanpete Marinade
1/2 cup 7-up or Sprite
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2-3 garlic cloves minced
*3 chicken breasts, pounded flat or 3 turkey cutlets
Combine marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag. Add the chicken and marinade in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Preheat the grill to 350 and cook chicken for about 5-8 minutes per side until cooked through. We like to serve with mashed potatoes and corn.
*Tip- I’ve mentioned before that I like to buy my chicken when its on sale then freeze individual breasts in their own ziplock bag. This makes it super easy to pound out once its thawed; just leave it in the bag for no mess!
Recipe Source-Everyday Jenny
No Knead Cherry Chip Bread
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 can ( 1 1/2 cups) cherry soda
3/4 cup craisins
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 (4-8 quart) covered heavy duty oven safe pot
In a large bowl combine the flour, yeast and salt, mix to distribute evenly. Add the craisins and chocolate chips and mix to distribute. Add the can of soda and stir until flour is incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 18-24 hours. The dough is ready when the surface is dotted with bubbles.
After the 18-24 hour rest, place dough on a well floured surface and sprinkle with a flour, knead the dough about 7-8 times, pulling the dough from the outer edge towards the center, creating tension.
Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray and transfer the dough to the bowl, seam side down. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until it has about doubled in size, about 2 hours.
After the dough has been rising for 1 1/2 hours, preheat the oven to 450 and place the covered pot in the oven while it preheats. The pot needs to be a 4-8 quart heavy pot with a lid.
Carefully remove the hot pot from the oven, remove lid and line pot with a sheet of parchment paper. Turn the dough into the hot pot with the seam side UP. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove lid and bake for additional 5 minutes to brown top.
*Note if you’re bread is getting too dark at the bottom you may need to adjust the temperature down a little bit
Recipe Source: My friend Rachel, adapted from Jim Lahey
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