Fun & Creative Pudding Snacks with Kozy Shack + a Giveaway!

Thank you to Kozy Shack for sponsoring today's post. My love for their delicious pudding is all my own!

I can hardly believe it is already June! This week is the last full week of school for my kids and we are already excited about our Summer adventures. I thought it would be a great opportunity to celebrate the end of another school year with a fun snack with Kozy Shack pudding and my three youngest while we talked about some of the plans we have as a family this Summer.

Our little "pudding party" got rave reviews from Phoenix, Tyler, and Elijah, each proclaiming it as the best snack ever! Even I indulged in a little Kozy Shack and I have to admit, it was pudding love at first bite! Whether we were topping our pudding with fruit (my favorite) or even some not so nutritious Oreo cookies every once in awhile, I felt good knowing that Kozy Shack pudding is made with real wholesome ingredients that you can actually pronounce.  Kozy Shack has eggs, milk, real tapioca pearls, and even real cocoa, so it's pudding made right... simply delicious!

Banana Pudding with tapioca pudding , Chocolate Pudding Sundae, and Chocolate Oreo Pudding

No matter what our plans are this Summer, picnics seem to be one at the top of their list ever since we took the kids on a picnic at the park a couple weeks ago. Now, they want picnics at the park, the beach, the lake, and everywhere else we go. They pretty much love the idea of helping me plan and prepare our picnic lunches. And of course, no picnic lunch is complete without finishing it off with a sweet treat but, idea of bringing ice-cream or even popsicles doesn't go over well since there's that little thing they tend to do... MELT!

Coconut Mango Mint Tapioca Pudding

Kozy Shack pudding snacks come in 3 delicious flavors including, rice, tapioca, and of course, chocolate! They also travel nicely, making them a great addition to our picnic lunches, where we can easily toss them into our picnic basket, along with some fruit and even whipped cream. There's no secret recipe, just simply layer your pudding and ingredients for a fun and creative pudding snack. It's like having portable ice-cream!

How would you like to try Kozy Shack puddings for yourself? Today is your lucky day because one Six Cherries on Top reader will win 2 premium ceramic Kozy Shack pudding mugs with spoons, along with a product coupon good for 1 free package of any Kozy Shack product (up to $4.99 value).

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Zesty Stuffed Jalapeños with Crunchy popchips Topping

Thank you to popchips for sponsoring this post. Now I can experience love at first bite more often!

Last year when I started making better food choices, I quickly realized how difficult it was going to be for my children. It has been a challenge over the last 12 months to find recipes that are not only delicious, but use healthier ingredients. For them, it has definitely been a slower transition and I have sometimes had to sneak in the good stuff. 

We are also a family who loves hot and spicy foods. We keep jalapeños and hot sauce in the kitchen at all times, and in the Summer, I make a big batch of my homemade salsa no less than 3 times a week. And this year, I look forward to enjoying it with a variety of healthier options such as my homemade sweet potato chips or even with a bag of the sea salt potato popchips. 

These days, I am more aware when it comes to choosing foods I plan to cook with. I love scouring the produce section for fresh ingredients or finding items made with few and natural ingredients, then getting in the kitchen and putting together delicious recipes that are healthier than those prepackaged meals you find at the grocery store. This recipe for Zesty Stuffed Jalapeños was love at first bite in our house! My kids had no idea that I added some of their least favorite fresh ingredients... onions and avocado (who are these little people who dislike avocado? They just can't be my children!). 

I paired the stuffed jalapeños I made with a chicken, black beans, and brown rice dish for somewhat of a Mexican flair. We love us some Mexican food! However, these just got added to my list of foods to put out for holidays and The Super Bowl too.  

Zesty Stuffed Jalapeños

You will need:

• 10 fresh jalapeños 
• 8 oz. cream cheese (at room temp.)
• 1/2 of an avocado
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 3 strips of thick cut bacon (baked to crispy and chopped up)
• popchips (sea salt potato and/or barbeque potato)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

First you need to cut each jalapeño is half and remove the meat and seeds from inside each one.  Rinse them off and then set them aside. I typically use my hands when removing the insides of a jalapeño, but if this is your first time, be forewarned, your hands may feel a little "hot & spicy" later on.

Crush 1 cup of sea salt potato and 1 cup of barbeque potato popchips into one bowl and set those aside also. 

In a bowl, mash 1/2 of an avocado and then combine with cream cheese. Next, mix in the crumbled feta cheese, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, chopped green onion and bacon until combined well.  

Spoon mixture into each jalapeño half, then either sprinkle the popchips mixture on top, or do like I do and, dip each jalapeño into the popchips, making sure to cover the filling side nicely. 

Place on a baking sheet and into the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Let cool for 2-3 minutes before serving because the filling will be extremely hot. 

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Since I also had some of my filling mixture left over, I placed it in the refrigerator for about an hour to firm up. Once the mixture was firm, I removed it from the refrigerator, rolled it into a ball, and rolled it in more of the crushed popchips to make a very tasty cheese ball. I will be serving it with some of their favorite veggies, like carrots and celery, and even more popchips. They are already excited about it, and will definitely have their own little popchips love story to tell. 

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Quick & Simple St. Patrick's Day Snack for Kids: Gold Coins

Let me just go ahead now and say that I have no idea why these are called "gold coins". This is a snack that we made for the kids every year for St. Patrick's Day, when I worked in childcare, and the kids loved it. I have been making it for my kids every year since then and it has sort of become a tradition to make them every year at this time.

This is a great snack for kids to make themselves also. We used a regular knife to cut the banana, but if you aren't comfortable with your little one using a regular knife or a butter knife, using a plastic knife is of course fine too. I have been allowing Elijah to cut with a knife, while I supervise him, and it has been an excellent time to talk to him about the safety of handling the knife, and the dangers of mistreating it as well.

Gold Coins

You will need: 

• Ritz crackers
• Bananas
• Honey
• Rainbow sprinkles

Cut the banana into slices. Place one slice on top of a Ritz cracker, drizzle it with a bit of honey, and top with rainbow sprinkles. Enjoy!

Please be mindful that honey is not for children under age 2.  This can easily be made without the honey, which is what I did for Elijah when he was younger. 

                    

Quick & Simple Valentines Snack

This is a simple alternative to the Baked Tortilla Chips I shared a while back. The chips are the same, except this time, I used the heart shape miniature cookie cutter from The Pampered Chef Creative Cutters set I have. However, this time, I created a quick little Valentine's Day dip to go along with it.

This little dip is so easy that it doesn't even deserve to be called a recipe, but it is sure to win the hearts of your children because it is jammed packed with sweetness. This is definitely not something you would want to share with them on a regular basis, unless paying dental bills is a hobby for you. 


Cherry flavored Kool-Aid Dip

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You will need:

• 8 oz. Cool Whip (thawed)
• 8 oz. Cream cheese (softened)
• 8 oz. Marshmallow cream
• 1-2 Cherry flavored Kool-Aid Singles packs
• Sprinkles (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a Kitchen Aid (or use a hand mixer), and whip until smooth. Set in refrigerator until ready to serve. Add sprinkles before serving. Serve with Baked Tortilla Chips. Enjoy!

                    

Cherry Kool-Aid Valentine Cookies... with Red Velvet M&M's

I told you I would have a few posts including these Kool-Aid packets I purchased recently, so here is another one. Not only are these cookies super cute and pink for Valentine's Day, they are pretty tasty too. Elijah told me no less than 5 times that they were the "best cookies ever"! Originally I was just going to throw in the Kool-Aid and call it a day, but then I found these red velvet M&M's and my mind was blown. Why is the heck didn't they have these back at Christmas to use in some kind of red velvet cookies with crushed candy cane pieces mixed in? 

So, basically, these cookies are as simple as, whipping up a batch of basic homemade cookie mix, then throwing in:

• 2 Cherry flavored Kool-Aid Singles packets 
• 1/2 cup Red Velvet M&M's

Bake according to directions.

 

I also took a packet of the Cherry Kool-Aid mix and mixed it with milk to go along with the cookies. Why didn't I think of this before? Do you ever think you are the first person ever to come up with an idea only to go over to Pinterest and discover you are like 2 decades late to that game? I'm not even going over there to check. Kool-Aid Milk... Yep, I invented it! Ha!