Every month I get a great selection of General Mills products to test out as part of my participation as a LifeMadeDelicious Blogger.

We were all thrilled to find the Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in the kit. They’re fast, easy and delicious.

All you need is:

The mix, 1 egg, and 1/2 cup of butter and you’re on your way to three dozen delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies in just 20 minutes.

With a little bit of help with the oven, even my nine year old can bake these cookies.

They taste even better than they look! YUM

Kim aka MommyKnows

I’m a huge ‘nuts and bolts’ fan, therefore, this Gluten Free Chex Mix recipe from LifeMadeDelicious really appealed to me. With several friends eating Gluten Free it makes a great gift or snack to have around.

It’s quite delicious.

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups (1.125 L) Honey Nut Chex* cereal
4 1/2 cups (1.125 L) Rice Chex* cereal
2 cups (500 mL) whole cashews or peanuts
1/4 cup (50 mL) packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 mL) butter or margarine
1/4 cup (50 mL) maple syrup
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) dried cranberries
1/4 cup (50 mL) toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. In large microwaveable bowl, mix cereal and cashews.
2. In a 2 cup (500 mL) microwaveable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, butter, maple syrup and salt uncovered on High about 1 1/2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir butter mixture. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evenly coated.
3. Microwave uncovered on High 4 minutes, stirring every minute. Stir in cranberries and sesame seeds. Microwave an additional 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in an airtight container.
COOKING GLUTEN FREE? Always read labels to make sure each recipe ingredient is gluten free. Products and ingredient sources can change.

Variations: Any of your favourite nuts or dried fruit combinations would work well in this recipe.

Pillsbury Crescent Dogs – Everybody likes a hot-dog right? Right!

My kids are no exception and while this recipe isn’t for everyday dining. It sure is welcomed by the kids. AND I have to say … it sure is yummy.

It makes an easy meal on a busy night. Paired with a wholesome soup, it’s even better. Use the recipe below to add a little fun to your Halloween evening.

Ingredients

1 can (235 g) Pillsbury* Crescents
2 1/2 slices processed cheese slices, quartered
10 hot dogs
Non-stick cooking spray
Mustard or ketchup

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375°F (190°C). Unroll dough; separate at perforations creating 4 rectangles; press perforations to seal. With knife or kitchen scissors, cut each rectangle lengthwise into 10 pieces, making a total of 40 pieces of dough. Slice cheese slices into quarters (1/2 slice cheese, cut in half).
2. Wrap 4 pieces of dough around each hot dog and 1/4 slice of cheese to look like “bandages,” stretching dough slightly to completely cover hot dog. About 1/2-inch (2 cm) from one end of each hot dog, separate “bandages” so hot dog shows through for “face.” On ungreased baking sheet, place wrapped hot dogs (cheese side down); spray dough lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until dough is light golden brown and hot dogs are hot. With mustard, draw features on “face.”

Enjoy!

Kim aka MommyKnows
I’m a paid LifeMadeDelicious blogger.

Betty Crocker Chocolate Chunk Brownie Mix

Hands down this is the best brownie mix around and gets two thumbs up from EVERY single member of my household. That is saying something, because we very rarely ALL agree on anything!

The chocolate flavor is excellent, the brownies are moist. I really don’t need to say anymore, but I will mention that my youngest said, “they are better than the ones you usually make!” My friend said, “they taste homemade!”.

I myself like the deep chocolaty flavor and the dense texture. Chewy! Yum! They are perfect with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I’ve become the queen of cake mix hacks. Oh the goodness I’ve been creating. It’s so easy to turn a cake mix into tasty muffins, a loaf cake or even cookies. All with your very own twist.

I’ve blogged the family favourite on my LifeMadeDelicious Blog and I’m going to blog my favourite here today.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins:

Cake mix hacks fill all my quick, easy and inexpensive criteria. The last time I purchased Betty Crocker cake mixes they were $1.49 each and if I bought two, the third was free. That’s $1.00 each!

Ingredients:

1 Betty Crocker Golden Cake Mix
1 540ml can of pumpkin pie mix**
2 eggs
1/2 cup of oil
1 tsp each: cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves

* (see notes below)

Glaze:

1/2 cup of icing sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp of milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325f

Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Mix all ingredients together with a mixer. Mix 2-3 minutes on medium speed.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake at 325f for 20 minutes.

Allow the muffins to cool. Make glaze. Drizzle over muffins.

Notes:

* 1 cup of raisins or nuts (or 1/2 cup of each) makes this recipe even better. In addition, they are just as good without the glaze and easier to pack in lunches without the sticky icing on top.

** I have made this recipe with canned pumpkin versus pumpkin pie filling. It’s great too, but you’ll have to adjust the spices if you go this route.

Enjoy!

Kim aka MommyKnows

Well it’s sort of a new job. It’s an old gig, that’s been renewed. I am both grateful and excited to be once again blogging for the folks at LifeMadeDelicious … my kids just call them the Betty Crocker People, which is cute, but they’re so much more. They’re the Cheerios people, the Pillsbury people (I love that little dough-boy), the Old El Paso people, the Green Giant People, the Yoplait people, the Nature Valley people … and more!

One of my tasks will be to review a product on a monthly basis. This month’s options included:

Multi-Grain Cheerios (with Ancient Grains)
Old El Paso Chicken Tinga
Dunkeroos
Fibre1 Chocolate Chip Cookies
Nature Valley Lunch Box Bars in berry flavour

We’ve polished off everything except the Chicken Tinga, which promises to become a meal in the very near future.

The Cheerios received two thumbs up from my cereal crazy 14 son (aka No.3). I also made some bars, which will be featured on the blog soon.

The lunch box bars were devoured by the girls. We’ve packed them in lunches and for hikes since.

My favourite was the Fibre1 cookies. They were a the perfect compliment to my venti Latte during the afternoon school pick up.

YUMMY!

Thanks for stopping by!

Kim {aka mommyknows}

The Giant Steps – Banff National Park

There are places in the world world, where you stand and feel so very small and insignificant.

It seems easy to feel humbled, in all the vast greatness of the outdoors, especially the Canadian Rockies. I think it is expected. Even welcomed? It puts all your worries and fears and disappointments into perspective. They are minuscule …

Truth, but then not. On the sofa in my comfortable home, those thoughts and worries can seem overwhelming. The insignificance disappears and becomes overwhelming. Feelings no longer feel minuscule or unimportant, they are HUGE and heart wrenching.

We continually hear the phrase, ‘life isn’t fair’. We say it, but do we truly believe it? I don’t think I do. You reap what you sow. We talk about karma, it’s so distant, and obtuse.

Can the ideas ‘life isn’t fair’ and ‘karma’, even coexist? Maybe, you can lose the battle, but win the war? It doesn’t seem fair, but perhaps it’s just the second act and justice hasn’t yet been handed out?

I have, I think lost the battle. I feel duped, cheated, misunderstood. They are not who I thought they were. Perhaps I wasn’t duped, perhaps my judgement is/was flawed? I made bad decisions, based on false reality. He is not kind, generous or good to ME. Of that I am certain.

I long to tell my side of the story, but you can’t raise yourself up by casting a shadow on another. This is surely the truth, yet at the same time I believe I have a right to tell my story. How can I do this? Today, I don’t know, so I will call this Part 1. I am sure there is a way, telling the truth, weighing both sides…

I’ve always written for the enjoyment of it. Stories to make you laugh, stories to make me laugh. Novels because they are more fun to write, than they are to read. How to’s, because I love to create and if I can do it, anyone can do it. Product spiels, because I have to pay my bills and feed my kids. Photos so you can see what I see.

However, I am going to tell my story. For catharsis, yet carefully, truthfully, and with forgiveness.

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

I am Pillsbury fan, not long ago I happened upon a tweet with a photo of a waffle iron cooked Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll! My kids love waffles, they love cinnamon buns, and I love EASY! This looked like it would tick all of those boxes, but I was a little bit skeptical. I’ve tried a few other ‘waffle iron recipes’ that were flops.

I am happy to announce that this Pillsbury recipe worked. It was a hit!

Also I found that for my teens who are always rolling out the door late. It was also made a great, ‘good-to-go’ snack eaten cold.

They were also popular with the ski crew and so much easier than mixing up batter at 5:30 am on a weekend race morning.

Try them, you’ll love them!

Ingredients:

1 can Pillsbury® Grands!® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

**Tips: Spray waffle iron before each round!

1. Heat waffle maker; spray with cooking spray. Remove cinnamon rolls from can; set icing aside.
2. For each waffle, place 1 cinnamon roll in center of waffle maker; close. Bake 3 to 4 minutes or until waffle is thoroughly cooked and golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together reserved icing, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until glaze is smooth.
4. Serve glaze over hot waffles.

I’m not sure if I remember what a blog post is! I’ve decided to start blogging from my iPad using images taken with my iPhone. I’m hoping taking away the need to edit raw images; and finding time to sit down at my desk top will alleviate some of the procrastination.

It’s been an amazing summer, full of wonderful adventures. We’ve spent a ton of time in the mountains. I love the Canadian Rockies.

This night spent around the fire was probably my favourite night of 2013. It was worth the 3000 foot climb to get there.

So what do you think, will iphoneography work for blogging?