It's a Marshmallow World

Guess the very first thing that I did in 2012. Yes, I made marshmallows. Heavenly, delicious marshmallows using Jaime's marshmallow recipe. At midnight. Ya know how people say the Grand Canyon is majestic and amazing but you never really know what they mean until you see it for yourself? Trust me. Make these marshmallows.

Substitute 1 teaspoon almond extract for the coffee (or vanilla) extract listed in the recipe. Pop one in your morning coffee. Eat them straight. Taunt your brother with them. All delightful options.

If you want to go fancy for the kids, see this post for DIY "peeps."

2-Minute French Toast in A Cup

Who's got the munchies? Ha! Seeing as our Cup of Coffee Cake (in Under 5 Minutes) was our most popular post of 2011, I thought y'all might enjoy my other favorite last minute snack, which is even quicker and easier and more fattening (and therefore more delicious/more embarrassing to admit I eat on a regular basis).

It's french toast in a cup, made in your microwave and topped off with a generous ssquirt of ssyrup (which is making my ssssss key kind of sssticky right now).

So please, grab a slice of bread and allow me to blow your mind...
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Butternut Squash Soup: Easy Crock Pot Recipe

My mother is the best - whenever she comes over she brings me food. Like those awesome giant bags of pre-cooked udon from costco, man I love those and she always brings them to me. But the best is when she hands over fresh vegetables from her or her neighbor's garden. This year's backyard farm caught a fungus and all my curcurbits bit the dust, so her latest delivery of a pile of butternut squash was so awesome.

I wanted to make a soup in the crock pot (to save time and also stove top space over the holidays), but couldn't find a really good crock pot butternut squash soup recipe out there.

I perfected this one over a few days and it really is so easy and turned out so yummy that I wanted to share it. I hope you give it a try, because this is one healthy soup that even kids will gobble up.
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Prudent Baby Holiday Recipe Guide

Let's talk menu. Are you planning dinner this year or are you going to a family or friends house? Do you need to bring a dessert? What about Christmas morning breakfast? You could make a quick and easy strawberry shortcake or surprise the family with homemade apple fritters. Although we wish we could make your life that much easier and set up an entire menu especially for you, here are some delicious mouth-watering suggestions for breakfast, dinner, dessert and even coffee and tea.

Christmas Morning Breakfast...

Strawberry Shortcake


Jam Muffins


Liege Waffles


Cupcake Pancakes


Bacon Cheddar Biscuits


Strawberry Crepes


Sweet Scones


Apple Fritters


Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Dinner...

2 Days Ahead Creamed Spinach with Bacon and Onions


3 Days Ahead Cranberry Sauce

Dessert...

Tangerine Ginger Sorbet


Apple Bourbon Ice Cream


Bread Pudding

Coffee and Tea...

Coffee Marshmallows


Homemade Chai


Read more from Jaime at Family Style and from Jacinda at The New Home Ec!
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A Cup of Coffee Cake (in Under Five Minutes)

I don't love chocolate. BLASPHEMY I KNOW! It just doesn't do it for me, what can I say? I do, however, love me some cinammon. And some crumbles. And some crumb-topping,if you will. Can I get a what what? Is anyone with me?

But okay, I don't always feel like making a giant coffee cake and eating it for three days straight until it's gone. No, wait, that's a lie. I do want to do that, but it's really for the best if I can just make a single-serve coffee cake. Reduces temptation, right?

So I messed around with ingredients, a measuring spoon, and a microwave, to see if I could create a crumbly, cinnamony coffee cake in a cup that could be made in a microwave in about five minutes at 11 p.m. while i watched The Notebook for the 5,000th time (hey girl, don't even try to pretend you don't love Ryan Gosling, I won't hear it). I think I've come up with a decent substitute for coffee cake, considering the small amount of time and effort that goes into it. Give it a try and tell me if you disagree.  But again, don't try to disagree with me about Ryan Gosling.

Get my five minute cup-of-coffee-cake recipe after the jump...
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Breakfast Pizza

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to present you with a novel concept: turn the grill on for breakfast.

I've been enjoying grilled pizza so much that I had to give it a try with breakfast pizza.

I followed our Grilled Pizza Recipe to a T, but instead of sauce I used sour cream as a base, and piled on scrambled eggs, potato and onion hash, some garden tomatoes, and green onions.

Definitely a hit. Give grilled breakfast pizza a try, the kids will think it's hilarz to have pizza for breakfast.

How to Can Tomatoes (Without A Canner)

Have you wondered about canning, but then been overwhelmed by all the stuff it seems to require and crazy little details you are worried you might get wrong? I feel you. Please allow me to show you how to can tomatoes, without a canner, in the simplest way possible. So maybe you have a garden full of these babies...

Or maybe not. Either way, I would like you to give canning some fresh tomatoes a try this year. Because it's easy and so very rewarding, but mostly because everyone knows that out-of-season tomatoes (while still full of healthy lycopene and therefore worthwhile to eat) are bland, sad, oddly-textured shadows of their ripe summer selves. Industrial tomatoes in general have almost no similarity to a fresh tomato in texture, flavor, and even appearance. Look at these guys from my backyard - they're soft and lumpy, with lots of funny crags and edges and places I cut off because a worm was in there. My husband even asked me "what's wrong with them?" Dude, this is what a real tomato looks like!

A tomato like this doesn't make it to the store, simply because we don't buy it - we choose an unblemished veggie every time (myself included, it's just habit), so we end up with a tomato that has made it through a cross country truck ride without a bruise - that's a hard tomato! It may surprise you to know that tomato was usually picked while still green, then artifically ripened with ethylene gas. Eew! Oh geez, I could go on, I'll stop, I just find it so interesting. Anyway, I totally buy these tomatoes too, but this year let's try something new. If you don't have a plant, you can still go to the farmers market or co-op or organic food store and gather some fresh summer tomatoes and put them away for a rainy or snowy day. Let's can them so we are fortified for winter deliciousness.

Canning tomatoes is a wonderful first canning project as it is simple and it doesn't require a pressure canner or even a water bath canner. Let me show you how to can tomatoes without a canner...

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Will You Marry Me?

Friday is my anniversary. Five lovely years of wedded semi-bliss to one Prudent Dad, Carleton Curtis (yes, I agree, he does have the greatest website of all time). I was discussing this with S, then a few short minutes later we were discussing what to bring to her end-of-summer-pre-school party, and somehow the idea of soft pretzel rings came about.

Pretty silly, but fun nonetheless. I like making soft pretzels for school events, because Scarlet goes to one of those schools where no sweets are allowed. A cupcake-free zone, if you will.

Soft pretzels are always a hit with kiddos, whatever shape you make them in, and they are not as hard as you think to concoct. Get the full scoop here: Prudent Baby Pretzels.

Wait what? You want to see a wedding pic? Oh, okay, if you insist...
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Slow Roasted Tomatoes of Perfection and Deliciousness

Perhaps your garden is full of cherry tomatoes like mine. Or roma tomatoes. Or whatever kind of tomato. And perhaps you LOVE tomatoes but are running low on tomato-prep ideas. Or perhaps you LOVE tomatoes and therefore want to eat them in every imaginable way. Or perhaps you DESPISE tomatoes, but are willing to try them in a new way you have never experienced before. Whatever your feelings on tomatoes, you simply must try turning your tomatoes into these...


There are, let's see, *counting to self* - about ZERO steps to this process. It is the easiest thing in the world. But it is the one summer food that, year after year, my friends and family come to me begging for more of. Let me tell you about these slow roasted tomatoes after the jump...
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The Simplest (and Most Tastiest) Strawberry Shortcake

I just had to share this Strawberry Shortcake recipe with you, because it's one of those last-minute desserts that makes a lady look super fancy, yet it can be made in under 30 minutes with stuff most of us have in the pantry (much like our super-popular scones recipe).

We know Prudent Mamas are all about homemade goodness with minimal (read: we have kids) time investment. Read on to find out how to make super-simple strawberry shortcake from scratch after the jump...
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How to Grill Pizza (+ The Easiest Pizza Sauce Recipe)

Grilling pizza is of course delicious, it's also crazy easy, a good way to use up random what-nots from your refrigerator, and a super fun activity to do with your kids. We love grilled pizza so much, and there's just one little trick to having a perfect grilled pizza every time.

Also, we always make our own pizza sauce, because the recipe is just about as easy as buying pre-made pizza sauce, but less expensive.

We have been enjoying a lot of potato pizzas lately (with dill, yum), but also usually do one traditional grilled pizza for the little lady.

So, let me share my pizza sauce recipe and show you how to grill pizza...
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A Healthier Zucchini Bread Recipe (Made with Whole Wheat Flour)

With our zucchini growing in overdrive, I make this recipe AT LEAST once a week (this and our zucchini pickles and gallettes). I usually make two or three batches at a time, then give away mini loafs like zucchini bread is going out of style. I've tried many things to improve upon the recipe, but it really is best just as is. I discovered it in my favorite cookbook of all time, The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. This should be in every family's arsenal, and they don't pay me to say that. It gives a healthier way to make just about every basic recipe, and a ton of inspiration for healthy, yet delicious, family meals and desserts, along with lots of basic cooking advice and instruction.

I'll share my version of the Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread recipe after the jump, I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine.
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