2nd Place!

I just found out yesterday that I won second place in the Nestle Toll House Baking Activity contest.  The prize is $1,000!  I am so excited that I am dancing all around my kitchen eating the leftover cookie dough from the extra ten packs my husband bought me "just in case" I needed to have some extra on hand during the duration of the contest!

Thanks so much to everyone who voted for me and supported me during this contest!  Now that the contest is over, I hope you will keep coming back to Chew and Chew.  I am bursting to share my Thanksgiving and Christmas time baking projects with you!

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Holiday Baking with Nestle Toll House

Easy Elegance: A Celebration of Desserts and Holiday Entertaining - [Nestle Toll House Diamond Walnuts]

Adding Sparkle to Romance since 2010

Is your husband lacking in the looks department. Are you looking for that missing "sparkle" in your love life? Then you need to bake yourself some Dracula's Dentures. Just look what it did for one satisfied customer...

Carol says this about her husband, whom she now refers to as "Mattward",

"And there he is, my own personal Edward. See how he sparkles in the sunlight? Just like the real vampire from the bestselling novels? Just. Like. I. Imagined."

So what are you waiting for, bake your Dracula Denture's today!

*Disclaimer: Not all husbands who try Dracula Dentures will actually look like Edward, or even sparkle (unless you put glitter in their shampoo and body wash, like I did to Z... don't judge me.)

Spooky Mac 'n Cheese

I have had such a busy week this week with the Nestle Toll House Baking contest and other personal ventures that I haven't had a lot of time for creative dinner pursuits. Some nights are just mac 'n cheese nights. And I personally think mac 'n cheese always tastes better with a hot dog involved, so we employed our old friend the hot dog octopus to give us a little spook in our dinner. I really don't know who is the first person to come up with the hot dog octopus, but I tip my hat to their genius.

Start with a hot dog and split in half leaving 1/2" at the top untouched.

Then split your halves in half. And then half those halves again until you have eight legs.
Microwave for 30-45 seconds and then plop that guy down right smack on top of your mac 'n cheese (any brand works great, made according to package directions). Don't forget to dab a toothpick in ketchup to give your little guy two spooky red eyes.

And there you have a quick, easy, inexpensive spooky dinner that the kids will eat!

I promise that once this contest is over I will post some more fun dinner ideas to make with the kids. Happy Halloween!

Interview with KIDK 3

The kids and I had so much fun with KIDK Channel 3 News reporter Tammy Harmer. She came out to our house and baked Dracula's Dentures with us. She was a good sport and made us look great! Thanks Tammy and KIDK 3 for all of your help. We had a blast!

And in case you have missed it, here is the link to vote on the cookies. You can vote once a day until Thursday October 28th at 10AM!


http://apps.facebook.com/nestlebakingactivity/contests/60612/voteable_entries?ogn=facebook

News Segment with KPVI Channel 6

Here is a segment I was able to do with Matt Davenport from KPVI News Channel 6. It was an amazing experience. I was able to go to their studios and create my Dracula's Dentures in their test kitchen. Matt Davenport and his crew were so friendly and helpful in posting my links to help me get some votes. Thanks KPVI!

Nestle Toll House Spooktacular Baking Activity Finalist

I found out Thursday that I am a top ten finalist for the Nestle Toll House Spooktacular Baking Activity for my "Dracula's Dentures".

It has been quite an amazing week as I got the opportunity to go to the KPVI News 6 studios on Friday morning at 6AM and bake my cookies in their test kitchen. And then on Sunday, KIDK News Channel 3 reporter Tammy Harmer came to our home and spent an hour with us baking cookies and interviewing me and the kids.

Baking and decorating these cookies over and over has really demonstrated to me how truly simple, inexpensive, and fun it is. The kids have had a ball and the cookies actually taste good too!

If you have a minute, please click on the following link, then click "Vote Now" and vote for Lori Fillmore's Dracula's Dentures. http://apps.facebook.com/nestlebakingactivity/contests/60612.viteabke_entries?ogn=facebook

I have been truly amazed at the support I have received from family, friends, my community, and facebook community. Thank you everyone!

Dracula Dentures

This was my entry for the Nestle Toll House Halloween Cookie Creation Contest. Cross your fingers for me!

DRACULA'S DENTURES

1 package Nestle Toll House cookie dough (24 cookie count)

Miniature marshmallows

Blanched Almond Slivers

Red or Pink prepared frosting

1. Bake Nestle Toll House cookies according to package directions. Let them cool completely.

2. Frost the bottom side of each cookie making sure to spread frosting clear to the edges. Cut each cookie in perfect halves. Place six miniature marshmallows on the perimeter of one half. Carefully, stack the other half of the cookie frosting side down onto the marshmallow half. Add two blanched almond slivers for fangs.

3. Model your dentures for your family and friends, then sink your teeth into them and enjoy!

Molten Chocolate Surprise

I have been dying to bake a lava cake ever since the kids got a free one from Dominos Pizza for their birthdays from school. I saw this recipe on Kraft Foods and had to try it. It was so worth it!

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE SURPRISE

4 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (the Kraft recipe actually called for 4 squares of Baker's semi-sweet chocolate, but since I didn't have any, I made this substitution and it worked great!)

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

1 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup flour

12 CHIPS AHOY! Cookies

1/2 cup whipped topping, optional

1. HEAT oven to 425 degrees.

2. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH for 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Beat whole eggs, yolks, sugar, and flour with whisk until well blended. Gradually beat into chocolate mixture.

3. Line 12 muffin pan cups with paper liners, spray with cooking spray. Place 1 cookie, upside down on bottom of each cup; cover with batter.

4. Bake for 8 minutes or until cakes are firm aroudn edges but still soft in centers. Cool in pan for 1 minute. Carefully remove cakes from pan, invert into dessert dishes; remove paper liners. Serve with whipped topping if desired.

BE SURE TO EAT THEM WHILE THEY ARE HOT OR THE LAVA CONGEALS... IT IS STILL GOOD, BUT I LIKE THE LAVA HOT! This would also be great with ice cream!

Walking Tacos

I love this meal as a fun and different spin on tacos. They are great for camping, as you don't need plates or utensils to eat them. Even when we eat these at home, I let my kids walk all over and eat them (just not on the carpet!)

WALKING TACOS

One package of Fritos per person

1 lb. ground beef

Cheese

Lettuce

Olives

Other garnishments as desired

1. Brown the ground beef and drain oil.

2. Open each bag of Fritos and have each person add the garnishments that they desire on their tacos. Give each taco a scoop of beef.

3. Fold over the top of the bag and shake well.

4. Eat with fingers right out of the bag or a spoon if it is too messy!

*You can also substitute the ground beef for chili if preferred.

Sausage Egg and Cheese Biscuits

This is a quick, easy, and cost effective dinner that I KNOW all of my family will eat!

SAUSAGE, EGG, AND CHEESE BISCUITS

Sausage Patties (I use pre-cooked that are found in the frozen breakfast foods section at Wal-Mart)

Refrigerator Biscuits

Eggs

Cheese

1. Cook biscuits according to package directions.

2. While waiting for the biscuits to bake, cook or prepare sausage patties.

3. Crack 6 eggs into a bowl and whisk them together and pour into a heated skillet that has been greased with butter.

4. Cook the eggs like an omlette rather than scrambling. Allow to cook through on one side, then carefully flip. Cut the omlette into 8 segments (one for each biscuit).

5. When the biscuits have cooked, cut each biscuit in half and fill with a sausage patty, egg segment, and piece of cheese.

Jack-o-lantern Sandwiches

My mom bought these awesome cookie cutters that had a large pumpkin and then various cutters for different mouth and eye combinations for a jack-o-lantern.

She bought some orange bread that she found at a bakery and cut out different faces for each sandwich. They turned out so cute. I think green bread for some Frankenstein sandwiches would have also been so cute.

I would imagine that you could make your own colored bread with any homemade bread recipe by adding coloring to the dough.

These were a huge hit!

For a side garnishment, we used other Halloween shapes to cut out pieces of cheese. And a special shout out to Aunt K, who dipped Nutter Butters in white chocolate melts and added two little chocolate chip eyes to make the most adorable little ghost cookies. The kids loved it all!

Mini Jack-o-lantern and Mummy Pizzas

MINI JACK-O-LANTERN PIZZAS
English Muffins
Pizza Sauce
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Olives
Pepperoni
String Cheese
Other embellishments as desired (peppers, pineapple, Canadian bacon, etc.)

1) Halve and toast the english muffins.
2) Spread pizza sauce on each muffin half
3) Spread cheddar cheese for jack-o-lantern and make a face with the embellishments.
4) For a mummy pizza pull apart one string cheese and lay across the english muffin going the same direction, add olive slices for eyes.
5) Broil in oven until cheese is melted.

Mummy Dogs

I found this in the Family Fun Magazine years ago and it has been a Halloween time tradition in our house ever since.

MUMMY DOGS
1 pkg. hot dogs
1 pkg. refrigerator crescent rolls

1) Preheat oven according to crescent roll directions.
2) Open crescent rolls and cut into long thin strips.
3) Wrap each hot dog, leaving gaps sporadically.
4) Bake according to package directions.
5) Dab ketchup or mustard with a toothpick and apply two spooky looking eyes!

Watching what you Drink

My mom bought these cute "mad scientist" cups and stuck a fake eyeball in each one as a favor at the Halloween party. They were a huge hit. The kids want to drink everything in them now!

SPOOKY!

Spooky Halloween Cupcakes

These come courtesy of a cute snack craft my sister did with the kids at our annual Halloween party. Way to go Aunt R, the kids were thoroughly entertained and they turned out so cute!

Start with your favorite cupcake recipe and then frost as desired. R piped some green frosting on to look like grass.

Next, she whipped up a batch of fondant (though a great time saver is to buy some pre-made fondant at any craft store or even Wal-Mart). She colored the fondant in white, orange, black, and green. Then with a bucket of donut holes, the kids were set loose. They covered the donut holes with the fondant and used their creativity to come up with some spooky characters.

In addition to the ones pictured above, there were also witches, eyeballs, Frankensteins, ghosts, cats, skeletons, and spiders!

George's Marvelous Medicine

We just finished reading George's Marvelous Medicine last week and the kids LOVED it. So we decided to make some marvelous medicine of our own.

In the book, George throws everything he can possibly think of into a large stew pot to make some special "medicine" for his grandma. We decided to shop the produce aisle at our local grocery store. We each chose one ingredient to put into the medicine.
Sweetheart chose a peach.
T-Man chose a kiwi.
Buddy chose a pluit.
and I chose a Mango for Charli.

Before we started, I had each kid draw a picture of what they hoped their marvelous medicine would do. Sweetheart's medicine made her hair grow very long and T-Man's medicine turned everyone's head into a piece of candy.

Next, we made an Orange Julius base, then each kid peeled and chopped their item and threw it into the blender with the Orange Julius.

ORANGE JULIUS

1 Can frozen orange juice concentrate

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

12-20 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients in the bleder including ice cubes, keep adding ice cubes until the orange julius is at the desired thickness. You can add fruits to make a fruit smoothie.

So far the "medicine hasn't made her hair grow extra long, but she did run to the mirror to check just in case. The medicine was delicious!

Dog Food

Saturday night, we found ourselves on our own when Z left us for a couple of hours to go to Priesthood meeting. So we checked out Marmaduke, which is an adorable flick about a rambunctious dog and we ate our dinner in doggie dishes on the floor in the living room (on a blanket of course).

Even though it was just a boring old peanut butter sandwhich, we cut them out with the dog bone cookie cutter and everyone thought it was the most exciting meal I cooked all week.

Personalized Peanut Butter Pancakes

This idea came from the Bisquick Cookbook. It is always a huge hit with my kids. You can also just do this with regular pancake batter, but we like the flavor of the peanut butter pancakes.

PERSONALIZED PEANUT BUTTER PANCAKES

Peanut Butter Maple Syrup (see below)

2 Cups Bisquick

1 3/4 Cups Milk

1/2 Cup creamy peanut butter

2 Eggs

1. Make Peanut Butter Maple Syrup; keep warm. Heat griddle or skillet; grease if necessary.

2. Stir Bisquick, milk, peanut butter, and eggs until blended. Pour about 1/2 cup batter into a plastic squeeze bottle with narrow opening. Squeeze batter from bottle onto hot griddle to form a letter. (Make letters backward so they will appear "right" when pancakes are served.)

3. When bottom side of letter is brown, pour 1/4 cup batter in circular motion over letter to form pancake. Cook until edges are dry. Turn; cook until golden brown. Serve with syrup.

PEANUT BUTTER MAPLE SYRUP

1 cup maple flavored syrup

3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

Heat ingredients to boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently. Boil and stir 3 minutes.