Looking for fun and easy summertime recipes that don't break the bank or take all afternoon to prepare? Here are a few of my family's favorites:
1. Chocolate banana pops - Take a ripe banana, stick a Popsicle stick in one end and put in freezer. Melt some semisweet chocolate and coat the almost frozen bananas, place on parchment paper and stick them back in the freezer for about an hour. You can also add sprinkles to the pops before you freeze them or switch it up with white chocolate. Yummy!
2. Swizzle sticks - Swizzle sticks are simply cut up cubed or other fun shaped fruit (cookie cutters work best in circles, hearts or stars), pop them on a skewer, and stick them in the freezer for a bit. You end up with a great frozen treat that your kids can eat as-is, or stick them in some fun fruit juice, water or lemonade for added pizzazz.
3. Dirt - There are many variations to this recipe out there so feel free to find your favorite. The idea behind this one is you take pudding, whipped cream, Oreo cookies crushed up, and any other sweet treats you can think of and layer them in a bowl. To get really creative, wash out an old beach pail or flower pot (without a hole- or cover before you begin) and layer in that - it's great to bring to a friend's house for a BBQ treat! We like to add gummy worms to our dirt as the topping for a cool effect.
4. Scotch-a-roos - A chocolate and peanut butter spin on rice crispy treats. Put 6 cups of rice crisp cereal in a bowl. Melt 1 cup sugar, 1 cup kayro lite syrup and 1 cup peanut butter (you can leave this out if you are going somewhere where nuts are a no-no) in a sauce pan. Stir frequently until everything is combined and it comes to a slight boil. Pour sugar mixture into the rice crisp and mix up well. Quickly put into an 8x10 backing pan and pack down. You can use sandwich baggies to cover your hands so you don't get the sticky mess all over them. Melt ½ bag semisweet chocolate chips and ½ bag of butterscotch bits in a pan until melted, pour over the rice crisp in the baking pan and chill for about 30 minutes. Cut and enjoy!
5. Coconut smoothies - Now these might take a little planning to make sure you have whole coconuts in your house, but they are worth it! Take whole coconuts, gently break in half with a small hammer on the floor (on a towel), and take any broken bits and scoop out the coconut meat as well as any juice that is in the coconut. In a blender - take ½ cup yogurt, ½ cup ice, coconut juice and meat, and any other fruit you'd like to add like pineapple, banana or strawberries. You can also skip the authentic coconut part and just get some coconut juice in your local grocery store and use fun plastic cups to serve your summertime treat.
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