Messy Recipe & Chance to Win an LG Oven Range!

Kids + messy recipes + clean ovens don't go together very often. My boys love to help me cook and want to participate in the entire process but no matter the recipe it seems to end up a mess! I have a messy recipe for you today that the boys like to help make but that leaves my oven (and kitchen) less than desirable. It's definitely worth it though!

Living in the Southwest we eat a TON of Mexican food (ok we'd eat tons of Mexican food no matter where we lived) and this dessert finishes off a Mexican feast perfectly.

 CINNAMON FLAN

• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 14oz can of condensed sweetened milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 5 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2-1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350ºF

In a small saucepan place the sugar with a bit of water (you're going to make caramel) heat on medium - medium high constantly stirring (sugar burns easily) until a caramel forms (once it starts boiling you can lift the pan to just above the heating element to reduce burning risk). Remove immediately from heat.

Poor into a 1.5qt casserole dish or 9" cake pan and swirl to coat the bottom - set aside.

In a blender combine the rest of the ingredients and blend on medium/high for about a minute (don't let it get too frothy)

Pour over caramel until it just reaches the top of the pan (can you see how this recipe gets messy?!)

Place cake pan into another larger pan and slide into the oven. Add HOT water to the 2nd pan (about an inch or so)

Bake for 50-60 minutes until set. It will still be jiggly but not watery. Remove the flan pan from the hot water and let cool a bit. Invert onto serving dish and enjoy warm or cold (we like it cold!) you can spoon some of the extra caramel on top to make it extra sweet!

(the mess comes from the inevitable spilling of the flan, getting the water into the pan, and getting everything OUT of the oven!)

 So good!

I'll just leave the cleaning to my husband I think ;) OR I could get an LG EasyClean™ Double Oven Range that allows you to clean your oven in minutes! Oven cleaning definitely gets put to the back of the list around here and builds up making cleaning it take FOREVER. I'd love a quick, easy way to clean up our messy recipes so that we can get on with more important things of the day, like swimming!

I love simple solutions to issues that take away from family time like this and the LG EasyClean™ Oven is definitely one of them!

About the oven - LG EasyClean™: A Clean Oven in Minutes, Not Hours.

Not enough time to clean your oven? No worries. LG brings you the new generation of oven cleaning with EasyClean™. All LG double oven ranges provide a quick and convenient way to clean your oven, while still being able to use the conventional self-clean method. EasyClean works in three simple steps. Spray the oven interior with water, press the EasyClean button, then in just 20 minutes, wipe away any residual bits of grime*. No chemicals or high heat needed to keep your oven sparkling clean.

*Heavy build-up may require additional manual effort or use of the full self-clean feature

Find out more about this awesome new product on their website!

GIVEAWAY!

Guess what?! In addition to making our lives easier LG wants to give away an LG EasyClean™ Double Oven Range. No that is not a typo!

Just answer the question "What is YOUR favorite recipe that leaves your oven messy?"

Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner  will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

BlogHer will pool entries from participating blogs and select a sweepstakes winner at random and will contact the winner with details about fulfilling the prize.

  The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 5/22/13 - 7/15/13.

Pirate Week: Part 4 - Viewing Party!

My kids love parties or anything you make into a party. Set up a little snack table and a banner and they are in the party mood! We decided to set up a Pirates viewing party with a fun snack table featuring banana boats for dessert!

I printed on paper bags for popcorn (will share how to and the printable tomorrow)

All the little flags, banner, table scatter is from Minted. I LOVE how their party supplies come ready to go - the toothpick flags came on sticker paper so all you have to do is peel and stick.

Stay tuned for your chance to win $100 to Minted!

To make the banana boat desserts you just need bananas and your choice of toppings. We did Smore's style today but you could add peanut butter, fudge, cookies, sprinkles, etc.

Cut the banana lengthwise without going all the way through. I like to slice it at this point to make it easier to eat.

Load it up with toppings

And wrap up with foil

You can throw it in a campfire or place on the BBQ (obviously kids only with supervision)

Give it enough time for all your toppings to melt and your banana to get nice and warm about 5-7 minutes or so

That's it! A fun snack table to finish off Pirate week. Have you ever had a movie viewing party?

(Disclosure: Party supplies were provided by Minted. All photos, ideas, and opinions are 100% my own!)

Too cold for SMORES outside? Make an indoor grill

I love this DIY Indoor mini S'Mores grill from ManMade

Easy to make with a cedar plank, soufle cup, and a few nuts and bolts! Details at ManMade

Would be fun project for older kids to learn some new tools and fun for younger ones to roast their own marshmallows indoors!

If your kiddo likes camping my mom got my nephew this set for Christmas and all the kids were playing with it. It's REALLY cute - love the "fire" (the fan is a little loud but I didn't notice much with all the other noise going on lol!)

Campfire / Smores kit

Disclosure: Post contains affiliate links

Football parties + food allergies + Rubbermaid

My 10 year old and I both cannot eat gluten. Eating at home is no big deal for us, but eating out and at friends' house can be somewhat of a challenge. Parker is our house's newest football fan. We've always loved football parties (what's not to love? food, friends, football, commercials) and have hosted several ourselves! With football party season in full swing it's inevitable that we'll be headed to more and more parties soon. As his mom I strive to make parties (especially football parties) fun for him NOT another eating burden. I had a great idea and solution!

---> CONTINUE TO READ THE FULL POST!

Baked Oatmeal

 BAKED OATMEAL

I don't post about food too often here (my husband is the chef of our family) but I wanted to share our new experience with baked oatmeal for breakfast. My youngest (8) is not a fan of oatmeal at. all. I'm not talking about the mushy instant stuff. I've only made old fashioned or steel cut (because that's what I like) but it's his very last choice for breakfast and even then he'll only take a bite or two.

I thought I'd finally try out baked oatmeal. I went with a basic recipe from Taste of Home

It was a HUGE hit. I couldn't believe he was eating bite after bite but the jaw dropper was when he asked for seconds. This kid NEVER asks for seconds lol! It was such a great texture (I think that was his issue with oatmeal the "old" way) and this has such a great texture - we served it as shown with milk and all of us really, really enjoyed it. I used a bit less sugar but I'm excited to try out some healthier versions. AND take a photo for you next time!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

Night Before: In a large bowl combine the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Whisk the eggs, milk and butter in a seperate bowl. Pour into the bowl with oat mixture and mix together well. Cover and place in the refridgerator

Morning: Pour into a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until set. It will be golden brown on the edges. Serve with milk.

My friend Becca from Beccas Crazy Boys has an apple cinnamon recipe and My Blessed Life has a pumpkin spice version that looks good!

Just wanted to pass on something that might work for one of you - it reheated great this morning and both the boys scarfed up the leftovers!

Odwalla and Lunch Time Ideas

I was delighted to be asked by BlogHer to share this episode of Weelicious Lunch Crunch sponsored by Odwalla Fruit Smoothies For Kids with my readers. Enjoy!

I love fun lunch ideas and this one is easy and one my boys like (don't forget to include the chopsticks if your school allows them, I send the "kid" ones and haven't had a problem). If I am posting a sponsored post you can be sure that I agree with, use, or will use the products! My boys LOVE Odwalla products.

Tea Party

Yes I said tea party. Since my mom took us to the Ritz Carlton for our first Teddy Bear tea my boys have loved them. Yummy drinks, little food - really, what's not to love?! 4 Men and 1 Lady held the perfect Gentleman's tea party!

All the details and a lot more photos on 4 Men 1 Lady. Be sure to browse her blog, it's one of my favorites!

Have you ever had a tea party with your kids?

Popsicles!

My name is Alison and I blog over on 'this homemade life...' . When Allison asked if I might be interested in coming over for a little guest post, while she soaks up the Hawaiian sun, I jumped at the chance. Not only do Allison and I have our name in common, but being a mama to boys as well. I love scrolling through this site for all kinds of ideas and inspiration to keep my fellas busy and inspired. Now, onto popsicles! On hot summer days there is nothing we love more than water balloon fights and popsicles. These strawberry popsicles come together easily and are a great way to cool off on a warm afternoon. With yogurt, maple syrup and fruit, we've even been known to enjoy them for breakfast.

Strawberry Yogurt Swirl Popsicles adapted from Ice Pops 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries hulled and sliced in half 1/2 cup maple syrup 1 3/4 cup whole milk greek yogurt, plain 3/4 cup whole milk In a saucepan, combine the strawberries and 1/4 cup of the maple syrup. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced and thickened to a syrup consistency. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. In a 4 cup measuring cup, stir together yogurt, milk and remaining maple syrup. Add the cooled strawberry mixture. Gently swirl to combine, leaving large streaks.

Pour into popsicle molds. Freeze until solid, at least 4 hours.

A few of our favorite popsicle molds...

Ring Pops Rocket Ship Molds Groovy Ice Pop Molds Ice Pop Makers