Recipe Request
Posted by Sherry McGregor on 08 Jul 2009 | Posted in: Inspiration and Motivation, Life After School, Relationships and Team Building
A few weeks ago, we had a potluck here at work. I made one of my favorite go-to snacks, green chile pinwheels. It was also the last week of school, so I made an extra batch of pinwheels and sent them with my husband, Mark, to school. (Mark teaches seventh-grade math.) At the end of the day, he brought home the empty plate and two requests for the recipe. The pinwheels are simple to make. That’s probably why they’re among my favorites, and I was thrilled to share the recipe. As I was writing, I wondered about you and your favorite go-to snacks and potluck dishes. Care to share?
Green Chile Pinwheels
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup chopped green chiles (or good New Mexican salsa!)
4 flour tortillas
Mix the cream cheese, garlic salt, and chiles. Divide the cream cheese mixture into fourths and spread each fourth onto a flour tortilla. Roll up each tortilla. Cover the rolled tortillas with plastic wrap, and stick them in the refrigerator until just before time to serve. Then cut the rolled tortillas into one-inch slices and enjoy.
68 Comments |
Subscribe
|
Email This
Great ideas- a few more things to add to my list of things to try. . . .
When we have morning socials, I usually bring Monkey Bread. It’s super easy and yummy!
1 package frozen rolls
1/2 package vanilla or butterscotch pudding (instant)
1 stick of butter
1/2 C brown sugar
pecans
cinnamon
Grease bundt pan. Dump in frozen rolls. Sprinkly with pudding and as much cinnamon as you would like. Melt butter and sugar together and pour over rolls. Sprinkle with nuts as desired. Wrap with aluminum foil and leave out on your counter overnight. Bake the next morning at 350 for 25 minutes. Pour out onto a platter, wrap, and take warm monkey bread to school the next morning!
these are great ideas.I get tired of the same snacks.
Love the popcorn surprise idea. I teach Pre-k and this will help a lot with leftover snacks. We enjoy using melted chocolate and pretzel sticks to discuss liquids and solids and have a yummy snack at the end. Students enjoy watching the chocolate melt down and then harden as it cools on the pretzels until snack time.
One of my previous student’s mom gave me this recipe. It is actually very quick and easy.
Sugar ‘n Spice Popcorn
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3 quarts popped popcorn (without butter or salt)
Melt everything together until sugar dissolves. Bake at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes until crispy.
S’mores are my weekness. We went to the Bass Pro Shop and they had a section that had 20+ recipes for S’more. I kick myself whenever I try to remember them because I didn’t buy the item!
Does anyone have the recipe for Chocolate Pizza? I had it years ago and now would like to make it for my preschoolers. We sing the song by Gregg and Steven “She’ll Be ‘Comin Round the Mountain”.
I make cookies using dry cake mix and they are always a BIG HIt! Here’s the recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir following ingredients together in medium sized bowl:
1 18 oz. cake mix, can be yellow, chocolate or whatever flavor you like best!
2 eggs
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of other ingredients, such as chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, smashed up candy bars
Place dough by about 1 Tbsp. scoops onto ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake about 12 minutes or just until lightly browned.
I use color cream cheese for many different lessons. color of the week..
It is easy and always causes a stir especially when Green is the color or purplel
This sounds like an easy, quick appetizer for any kind of meal. If you had a fiesta theme, these would be a perfect appetizer!
Hi I am a preschool teacher who uses this “recipe” weekly! We make what I call popcorn surprise and the kids love it. We take a bag of popcorn already popped and mix into it whatever snacks we have left. For example if there are cheese crackers left but not enough for everyone then it goes into popcorn surprise. We always add a few things to the popcorn, its a great way for us to use up odds and ends and a fun recipe to share. Every time popcorn surprise is made it becomes a surprise what my class will find in it!!!
I love variations of rice krispy treats. My favorite is to use Fruity Pepples. The fruit flavors combined with the marshmellows are yum yum good. lol
We love these fun and good to eat ice cream balls in the summer. A great make ahead dessert.
Vanilla ice cream softened
Cinnamon Crunch Cereal crunched up
Package of Chocolate chips
1 cup of chopped pecans
Mix this together. Form ice cream into softball size balls roll in the cereal mixture and freeze. When ready to serve drizzle with chocolate syrup, carmel ice cream topping, cool whip and a cherry! Yum-O
What a great addition to the mailbox website. I love new recipes and am always looking for new ones the are easy, quick, and you can do with the kids.
Open and 8 0z block of cream cheese. Open a jar of pepper jelly. Pour pepper jelly over cream cheese block. Serve with crackers. I don’t even like hot or spicy things but I love this simple dish. If you want to do more of a dessert idea. Open the block of cream cheese. Top with carmel sauce, chopped nuts, and broken pieces of a Snicker’s Bar. Serve with Graham Cracker Stix.
BBQ Joes
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 lb. Hamburger
shredded cheese for topping
Hot dog buns
Cook your burger, drain. Place skillet back on stove & stir in BBQ & ketchup. Warm well & dish into hot dog buns when ready to serve. Top with shredded cheese.
We have better luck serving these with hot dog buns than hamburger, but you could use either one.
Quick & Easy Fall & Winter Favorite for teachers’ lounge: Taco Soup
Brown & drain 1 lb. hamburger meat. Sprinkle and stir pkg of taco seasoning. Move meat and the following to a crock pot and it will be ready for lunchtime. 1 chopped onion; 1 can Ranch Style beans; 1 can Rotel; 1 can of Mexi corn. I usually take sour cream and shredded cheese to top off. Creat with chips, crackers, or cornbread.
I’ve made this recipe for years, only I use a package of frozen spinach, drained and squeezed dry, instead of chiles. Even spinach “haters” gobble these down!
Jello Cake
1 box of cake mix (any flavor you like)
1 box of Jello (any flavor that goes with the cake)
2 tubs of cool whip
Follow directions for the cake. Bake and let cool.
Use fork to poke holes all over cake. Mix Jello according to directions. Pour hot Jello mix all over cake. Put cake in fridge. Frost with cool whip when cooled.
Suggestions: Yellow cake/orange jello
Yellow cake/lemon jello
Chocolate cake/raspberry or cherry jello
These recipes sound great.Here is a recipe I found to use with my science lessons.It is to make your own swamp. You use a bownie for soil,pudding for mud,graham cracker crumbs for sand, coconut colored green for grass, blue sprinkles for water, gummi bears for animals, and lollipops for trees.
Sorry I don’t have a recipe to share but this recipe exchange is wonderfu!I am always looking for new ideas.
I am teaching at a summer program and always run out of craft and snack ideas. Now I can combine craft and snack time by using many of these ideas and let students “help” me by making their own snack.
I love to collect tried and true recipes! The pinwheels will be a hit at our monthly birthday bashes we have to celebrate each staff members birthday. I am going to try the tortilla soup, also. I have had many friends say they like the one that Houston’s in Memphis serves. Maybe I can rival that!
I like adding little things to make mixes extra special– adding chocolate & peanut butter chips to the best brownie mix makes them taste extra-special. It seems the favorite kid snack at school is graham crackers and cream cheese– it’s one of my favorites now too! Above all, I like to share different fruits and veggies with my preschoolers– they loved kiwi and snap peas, but not so much the apricots. Either way they are trying something new!
I just love all of these ideas! It is so hard with food allergies now that I really wish I could use more food in the classroom.
Thanks for the great snack ideas. I will use the idea for a 100 day treat. Hope I am chosen to win the Big Book… bye for now
I teach Kindergarten and during the first day of school I like to bring a snack. I like to have teddy bears and pillows…it is teddy grahams and mini marshmallows. When we have the snack I play some relaxing music. It is a great way to relax during the first day when they are so worn out.
A snack idea that I love to use on one of the first days of school is to put a graham cracker in a snack size baggie and with the baggie closed have the students pound the graham cracker into fine crumbs. Then give each student half a banana and a plastic knife and let them slice it. Put the banana slices in the baggie with graham cracker crumbs, close the bag and shake. Kids love this and helps with the excess energy they seem to have when school begins.
No Bake cookies
1/2 cup milk
3 Tablespoons cocoa
1 stick butter/margerine
1 1/2 - 2 cups white sugar
Place these four items togather in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool for 1 minute. Stir in 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal, 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Drop onto aluminum foil or waxed paper.
Makes 2 - 3 dozen.
Great quick recipe:
1 package of cream horns sliced into about 5 discs
1 package of fresh strawberries or peaches sliced
Place a piece of strawberry on top of each cream horn disc Dust with powdered sugar. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
These are delicious and everywhere I take them people beg for the instructions.
I really like these no-bake recipes for my students. I plan to try the twinkie school bus idea and the green chile pinwheels. I am thinking of including the pinwheels with a lesson on fractions. Thanks for the ideas!
Resses Cookies
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
Mini Resses Peanut Butter Cups
Mix ingredients and roll dough into balls. Roll each dough ball into sugar then cook for 7-10 minutes at 375 degrees.
When you take them out of the oven you can press a Resses mini in the middle of each cookie. Then eat!
I also like making Tortilla Soup for our teacher soup luncheons!
6 corn tortillas cut into strips
6 cups of chicken broth
2 14 ½ oz. cans of diced tomatoes
1/3 lb. deli pepperoni cut into wedges
2 cups cooked corn
2-4 jalapenos
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Bake tortillas in shallow baking dish for 8 minutes at 250 degrees.
Combine all other ingredients except for the cheese in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Top with cheese and tortillas or you could just use bagged tortilla chips to make it easier!
Does anyone know where you can buy yogurt chips to make your own yogurt covered snacks?
sounds good. we will try these. about an idea for “all about me” take an english muffin (HEAD), sheaded cheese (hair)
vegies ( to make eyes, mouth, nose) use cream cheese to stick everything on the muffin
You can also add sliced or chopped black olives in the cream cheese mixture for the pinwheels.
An easy recipe to do with the students is the twinkie buses. Pre-cut twinkies in half long ways and place on plate. Have students attach wheels (rolos), windows (hersey chocolate bar), and a stop sign (red skittle) with white icing. I then have students tell me what bus number they ride!
A great and easy snack to make as a class is pretzel goobers. Students arrange mini pretzels on baking sheet lined with nonstick aluminum foil. Top each pretzel with an unwrapped chocolate kiss. Bake on 325 about 3-5 minutes. Top with sprinkles, chopped nuts, coconut, etc.
I’m always looking for easy and simple recipies thanks. These all sound delicious. I am starting to plan for start of school. Does anyone have any fresh snack ideas for preschoolers and the All about me theme?
I am going to try some of these great recipes this summer. Thanks everyone for all your recipes.
I just began my subscription and I love this site!
great ideas for snacks- some I used to make but have forgotten about! I love the pinwheel one! Will travel well in a cooler and great for a conference meeting!
I really appreciate the idea of having snacks at the staff meetings. What a great idea! I may try it at our next staff meeting in August when we come back to set up our rooms and Orientation Night. I’m sure the staff would look forward to coming to meetings if there is a snack provided. Our staff has early lunch schedule so this would really work. I know the staff would have some great ideas for staff meeting snacks. Thanks again for the idea.
Sharon
Here’s a great easy snack for camping day,…”Indoor S’mores”: mix equal parts mini-marshmallows, graham cereal, and mini-chocolate chips….delish!
Thanks for all the ideas for snacks! We often get leftovers of snack items and not enough for every child to have the same. We mix them all up to make a snack mix and the children love it! (And no complaining that somebody got hte snack they wanted:)
The camping bears recipe card in July ‘09 lists orange spray cheese for the campfire. Use tinted, softened cream cheese instead. Put some in a ziploc baggie with a hole cut into one corner for the children to squeeze for themselves. What else could you use for the fire? Anyone? Orange spray cheese isn’t listed as a food group in my book!
The camping bears recipe card lists orange spray cheese for the campfire. Use tinted, softened cream cheese instead. Put some in a ziploc baggie with a hole cut into one corner for the children to squeeze for themselves. What else could you use for the fire? Anyone? Orange spray cheese isn’t listed as a food group in my book!
I make a snack mix for the 100th day of school. The kids love it and they practice counting. It has 10 items raisins, fruit loops, goldfish, m&ms, cheerios, chocolate chips, apple jacks, peanuts, pretzels, and mini marshmallows. I put each item in a small bowl and let the children count 10 of each item. They put it in a Ziplock bag and at snack time they have 100 items in their bag.
You can substitute something for the peanuts if you have a child that is allergic.
This popcorn idea is more suited to the adult taste buds, but always good for movie night at our house.
Pesto Popcorn ~ Sprinkle 2 TBLS parmesan cheese, 1 TSP basil, 1/2 TSP parsely, and 1/4 TSP of garlic salt on your popcorn and mix! YUMMY!
Italian Popcorn ~ Sprinkle plain popcorn with Italian seasoning to taste, and add mini pepperonis! (turkey pepperoni is our fave, and less fat)
Here’s a recipe for quick Fiesta Rice: Prepare 1 cup white rice in 3 cups chicken broth and 1 can Rotel diced tomatoes. (you chose the spiciness)When rice is done, Add 1 can black beans (drained) 1 can cut corn (drained), some sliced black or green olives (optional) and 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese.Mix together and serve warm or cold the next day! If you add some shredded chicken or ground beef it’s a complete meal! Enjoy!
I will definitely try the pinwheels. Another version of “pinwheels” that my mom used to make and is always a hit is “ham rolls”. Here’s the recipe:
1 (3 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons finely chopped green peppers
2 tablespoons chopped pimento (drained)
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoon Creole mustard
6 boiled ham slices (Oscar Mayer)
Combine all ingredients except ham. Spread mixture on 1/2 of each slice of ham, roll up and secure with a toothpick. Cover and chill. Slice each roll into 1/2 inch pieces.
My favorite recipe for staff meetings: apple dip. 8oz cream cheese. Pkg.Marzhettis carmel dip. 1 pkg. Health bar bits. 2 bags of apple slices. Spread cream cheese on platter then spread carmel dip then sprinkle health bits on top. Sprinkle apples around edge
I love the popcorn ideas. We are having our big Circus day today and will be making the snack mix. Thank you all for the great recipes.
Trail mix is always a quick easy way to get rid of leftover snacks…chocolate chips, plantains, M&Ms, raisins, pretzels, etc.
Wow what a great idea for sharing some interesting and looks like fun recipes. I think I will try a few. It’s great when you can find some different ideas and pass them along. Thanks.
I love the recipe, it is a favorite of mine too. Having read the other responses,I wondered what state prohibits children under 5 from eating popcorn. We have it as a regular Friday snack. Last year our school won a grant for food. We had fruit or vegetables two times a week. The kids tasted all kinds of food. What a great experience!
I like the idea to put the recipe here. I am a teacher and a mom. Many times we have class party or have some snack at home and i have to think creatively for some excited item to be served on the table. Good idea
I love the idea of posting our favorite recipes. We can use all the help we can get both professionally and personally. I would especially appreciate any nut-free, and healthy snacks as more and more parents are objecting to sugary snacks at school and the food allergies seem to be increasing.
Thanks for all the great snack ideas. I just moved to kinder after several years at 4th grade and I am a little rusty with snack thoughts.
I know I can count on Mailbox subscribers to have fantastic ideas.
Umm, my taste buds are craving something new. I am going to include this recipe in my next upcoming menu.
Myra
FYI
It is against the law to serve popcorn to children under 5 yrs of age. We had a whole lot of popcorn units. but after a child chocked in a movie theater the law was past
Mixing together popcorn, Cheerios, and chocolate chips make a good snack. I’ve also added Cheese-Its, but I prefer it without.
My preschoolers love this one. We call it Popcorn Surprise: we pop a bag and popcorn and mix it with whatever random snack food we have left. For example some days we mix popcorn with marshmallow, pretzels, cheese crackers. I find it a great way to use up the odds and ends of snacks we have left. Popcorn Surprise wins every time because its a surprise what is going to be mixed in with the popcorn!!
Here’s another receipe that I have shared with my classroom of Kindergartners as well as my co-workers.
1 Bag of Bugels Chips
1 Bag of Pretzels
1 Can of Regular Peanuts (salted)
1 Box of Cheez-It Crackers
Mix everything together in a large bowl. Then add 1 package of the powder Ranch Dressing/Dip and mix around again so the powder is mixed up good. Then add 1/4-1/2 cup of vegetable oil and stir it around in the mix. The oil will soak in to everything. This makes a large amount so feel free to cut it in half if necessary. Sometimes I don’t add the peanuts if kids are allergic to them.
Here’s a recipe for Chocolate Oatmeal Drops
2 c. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. cocoa 3 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. milk 1 c. nuts or 1/2 c. peanut butter (optional)
1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
Mix sugar, cocoa, milk and butter in a sauce pan. Bring to boil and boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Add vanilla, then pour mixture over oatmeal and nuts (if desired). Mix thoroughly until mixture thickens. Drop onto waxed paper, using tablespoon. (Flo Price)
This is easy to do at school if you have a hot plate. You just have to warn kids about how very hot this gets when boiling!! After it cools a little, kids can help scoop mixture and place on wax paper.
One of my favorite chicken recipes is:
Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/2 Bottle of Catalina Salad Dressing
1 pkg. of dry Onion Soup
1 can of whole cranberry sauce
Mix three ingrediants in a bowl and pour over chicken
Bake 350 for an hour or until chicken is tender.
Here is an easy dessert.
Chocolate Truffle
Layer the following in a glass dish:
Chopped Little Debbie’s Brownies
Chocolate pudding(I buy the gallon can, already made)
Cool Whip
Put as many layers as you want. The more layers you put, the prettier it looks!
Then top with sliced strawberries. I have also grated a chocolate hershey bar for topping when strawberries were out of season.
Everybody raves over this dessert no matter where I take it. People always ask me for the recipe.
I will give this recipe a try for my next home child care get together. Thanks for posting. I love the quick and easy and of course tasty recipes.
Another easy roll up idea or for a spread for Ritz crackers is just to mix a package of dry Italian salad dressing mix to 8 oz. of softened cream cheese. You can then either form into a ball to serve with crackers or spread on the flour tortillas, chill them, and slice like you do for the green chili pinwheels. Just an idea!
Thanks so much - will take these tonight to a get together next week! Wonderful idea to post recipes - especially quick and easy ones!
Thanks! I’m having a summer get together with some teachers from school and was just wondering what to serve. I’ll give it a try.
Sounds really good, I am going to try!!