A "Wild" Zhu Zhu Party

Thanks to Mom Select and Zhu Zhu Pets for the inspiration for what my now-4-year-old daughter has breathlessly deemed "the best birthday party ever"!

We were selected to host a party featuring the new Wild Bunch Zhu Zhu Pets. These 4 critters are aptly named: ZuZu (a hedgehog), Sweetie (a pink bunny), Rocco (a raccoon) and Stinker (of course, a skunk) and were the hit of the party- for the kids and adults.

We played a couple of games- including racing pets using only noses to start- and guide- them.

The second game pitted the bunnies and raccoons against the skunks and hedgehogs in a type of hide & seek. You'll have to take my word that it was fun because my Flip Video decided to tape everything in brilliant fuzziness.

What the kids enjoyed most, though, was the fact that we moved our Zhu Zhu tracks outside! The Wild Bunch were enjoying the beautiful Iowa day- and everyone got to take home a Zhu Zhu pet!

Of course no birthday party is complete without cakes. And the Zhu Zhu's inspired me... I created two, as we were celebrating 2 birthdays. I used this Zhu Zhu Birthday Cake post as my template for the bunny and the hedgehog.

I began with a Wilton 3D Egg Pan (we have a local library that has cake pans to check out), two cake mixes and a plain buttercream frosting recipe.

Bake cakes according to directions and cool completely. After the cakes are completely cooled, cut one to create a flat surface so your Zhu Zhu doesn't roll away.

Add food coloring to your frosting to match your Zhu Zhu pet (I used melted chocolate for the hedgehog) and frost each cake with a thin layer. This is called the "crumb layer" Which simply means it catches all the crumbs. It doesn't have to be neat. You will refrigerate this for about 30 minutes.

Bunny Crumb Layer

Hedgehog Crumb Layer

Next you will frost your cakes. For the bunny I frosted entirely in pink and then texturized by touching my frosting knife flat on the frosting and pulling up. This made it look "fuzzy".

I made the hedgehog's fur by adding shredded coconut to the tan/chocolate frosting to build the fullness it needed without having an insane amount of frosting.

I used white decorator frosting for the bunny's cheeks as it is much more firm than buttercream. I just kind of "blobbed" it on the front and maneuvered it around until I had the effect I wanted.

I used Jelly Belly's for the noses, brown M&Ms for the eyes, large pink marshmallows cut apart for the bunny ears and a round gummy candy, cut in half, for the hedgehog ears.

The finished cakes were fun, very easy to make and the hit of the party!

Disclosure: The Zhu Zhu Pets were provided by Mom Select. I was not compensated for this post.

Where Milk Comes From: Our Visit to Wolf Creek Dairy

Caelan meets a cute calf

In early August I was lucky enough to take my daughters to tour a working dairy. I grew up a “country girl’; my grandparents owned a dairy and my family raised hogs. And while my girls still get to visit my grandparent’s farm they no longer milk cows- and they never had an operation like Wolf Creek Dairy in Dundas, MN.

Wolf Creek Dairy is owned by Paul and Barb Liebenstein. They, with their daughters and about a dozen employees, care for and milk 400 head of cows around the clock. Barb took us around the farm, patiently answered my daughters' questions and showed us every aspect of the dairy.

Our first stop was the grassy plot covered in miniature barns – friendly, adorable calves. In a nearby barn a new calf had been born not long before we arrived; we got to see her stand on wobbly legs for the first time and pet her still- wet coat.

The new calf stands for the first time

Wolf Creek Dairy has two large, open barns; one for pregnant cows and one for the cows being milked. Each barn is equipped with bedding, large fans and sprinklers for hot days, and rotating brushes for a relaxing body massage. The cows even have a nutritionist – something I wish I had! – to ensure they have a well balanced diet.

I was kind of surprised that the cows didn’t roam a field until Barb told me something I didn’t know: cows lay down an average of 14 hours per day. That’s a lot of down time! And since the barns are cleaned 3 times daily and protected from sun, wind, rain and snow it’s a pretty posh life the cows lead.

This cow is getting her hooves trimmed- it brings a new meaning to "cow tipping"

The milking barn was unlike any I had seen. Sure, I had seen automatic milking equipment, but it has been 30 years. The cows file into the milking area and, not unlike an amusement park ride, a safety gate slowly lowers to keep them from moving too much during milking. The milking room is on two levels so the milking machines can be placed easily on their udders without back strain. The entire process, from entry to exit, takes 7 minutes for the group of cows, as opposed to 30 minutes, per cow, by hand.

State of the art milking barn

Milk is pumped into holding tanks, picked up by a tanker truck and hauled to Land O’ Lakes, the dairy’s milk processor where it is packaged and distributed.

Our tour concluded with fresh baked cookies and, of course, milk in the Liebenstein’s inviting kitchen.

Milk and cookies

Our thanks to Midwest Dairy for arranging this tour for us. We had a great time and learned a lot. And the girls loved the hats!

My little cows moo-ing

State Fair Food

It's not often that I deviate from a recipe post, but today my family will make our annual trek to the Iowa State Fair and I wanted to share this article I wrote for Uptake:

The Fairest Food at the Iowa State Fair

Including my favorite: the hot beef sundae! Mashed potatoes, slow cooked shredded beef, cheese and a cherry (tomato) on top.

To watch what we're eating today follow the #FairFoodFriday on Twitter (no account necessary) with this link or follow me directly: @iatraveler.

Not going to make it to a state fair this year? Get a taste at home with the recipes I found at Delish.com!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

As I continue to do my best to feed my family good food that isn't filled with preservatives, treats have been difficult. We love sweet things. This cookie recipe has become a favorite. It's a soft cookie, almost cake-like in its consistency. And delicious! My family can't get enough. At only 66 calories each I don't feel bad having two myself.

This is a great "cooking with kids" recipe. Mine enjoy mashing the bananas and carefully adding the dry ingredients.

While my girls really like the cookies plain it is a real treat when we make them into "banana split ice cream sandwiches" by sandwiching a bit of ice cream in between two cookies.

The recipe is from Taste of Home.

Ingredients

* 1/3 cup butter, softened
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

* In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, banana and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips.
* Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 3 dozen.

This recipe can also be found in the Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook (affiliate link):

Eggo Fruit Pizzas- A Quick Breakfast for Busy Mornings

Mornings are about to get crazy around here. School begins in 3 weeks with classes starting at 7:55am. That's sure to take our busy mornings to hectic. Because I am a big believer in a good breakfast I've been testing options the past few weeks. Requirement: a healthy breakfast in a short amount of time.

Right as I was beginning my testing a package arrived at my house from Foodbuzz: the new Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas.


My girls had only recently discovered the goodness from the toaster that is Eggo Waffles, so they were pretty excited to see the "swirly red lettering" on the boxes.

The fruit pizzas come packaged like any other microwave pizza; wrapped in plastic with a cardboard insert to cook them on. Another similarity: not enough toppings, in this case fruit, though the yogurt base and the granola are plentiful.

The Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas are quick to prepare, needing only one and a half minutes which is great for crazed mornings.

The real test in my house is always

Will the Girls Eat It?

The quick answer is yes.

Knowing my girls have small appetites they split the strawberry pizza. Though I thought it could have used more fruit the girls said it had enough. They loved the granola on top and the cinnamon/maple crust. Pronouncing it "yummy" and super-duper" I moved on the the mixed berry pizza.

Knowing my husband would be disappointed by the lack of blueberries on the mixed fruit pizza I added some fresh. He was pleased with the pizza, commenting on the crust being flavorful and "not like cardboard".

The Rundown:

The Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas were a hit in my house and will probably find their way onto my freezer shelves for those crazy mornings when I oversleep and don't have time to fix breakfast. I do recommend fresh fruit or spreadable fruit to supplement the toppings if an adult plans to nosh on one of these.

You can find the new Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas in the freezer section of your grocery store. Suggested retail price is $2.79.

Disclosure: I was sent the new Eggo Real Fruit Pizza to try. Thoughts and photos are my own.

Raspberry Lemonade Pie

Summer festivities (or just a backyard BBQ) call for a cold, refreshing lemonade. This recipe takes the summertime favorite and gives it a twist!

The recipe begins with a basic crushed wafer crust and adds mint leaves for a refreshing kick. My local store didn't have any fresh leaves so I left them out.

The pie is flavored with lemonade concentrate and has a tartness that the raspberry sweetness really compliments. The pie got rave reviews from adults and kids on the steamy 4th of July day I served it.

The recipe, from Cuisine magazine, is easy and can be mixed up with other citrus and fruit combinations.

Raspberry Lemonade Pie

For the Crust:
9 oz. vanilla wafers
1/4 c. packed mint leaves (I didn't include the mint)
6 tbsp. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375. Coat 9" springform pan with non-stick spray.

Place vanilla wafers and mint in a food processor and pulse until fine. Drizzle melted butter into running processor and process until mixture begins to stick together. Remove from processor and press into spring form pan, about 3/4 way up the sides. I used a small silicone spatula to press the crumbs. Cook for about 8 - 10 minutes or until just starting to turn golden. Allow to cool completely.


For the raspberry sauce:
12 oz. fresh raspberries (I used frozen as they were cheaper)
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. water
2. tsp. corn starch


For the filling:

2 c. heavy cream
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
12 oz can of frozen citrus concentrate (decrease amount used to decrease tartness)

Puree raspberries in a food processor with sugar. Strain out seeds with a fine mesh sieve. Put mixture in a pan over medium/high heat until boiling. Combine corn starch and water to make a slurry. Add slurry to raspberry mixture and allow to boil for 1 minute. Transfer to dish and chill.

Beat cream, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, mix sweetened condensed milk with lemonade concentrated until just combined- do not over-mix.. Fold in whipped cream mixture. Pour into cooled crust. Drizzle about 1/4 cup of the cooled raspberry mixture over the top of the pie. With a skewer, gently swirl the sauce to marble. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze at least 8 hours..

When you are ready to serve, thaw pie in refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. Unmold and serve!

Note: this pie does melt quickly! Thaw only as much as necessary to cut it.

Dimplex PowerChef Electric Grills

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dimplex North America Limited. All opinions are 100% mine.

One of my favorite things about nice weather is the fact that we can grill. And we grill practically everything: meat, fish, vegetables, pizza… Even some fruits.

Doug is the master griller in our house. He is also a die-hard charcoal grill fanatic. Which is fine as he does the majority of all of the grilling. Because I can’t grill on charcoal. I can’t light it right, I can’t get the heat right, and my charcoal grilled food is inedible.

If you’re like me or you can’t have a gas or charcoal grill where you live the Dimplex PowerChef Electric Grills may be right for you. They have small counter top varieties, large free-standing grills and even some that can be wall mounted.

I am especially impressed with the “cheater” technology that produces perfectly cooked food every time. Apparently you can program the grill to the type of food, thickness and level of doneness you desire and the grill will tell you when to flip and when it is done. There is even a “favorite recipe” setting. Nice. Watch this video to learn more.

After searching the website North American distribution seems widespread and there are many online distributors as well. Grill prices begin around $400.