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Air Fryer Fried Oreos Recipe — Super Easy!

February 26, 2021 by Rachel 13 Comments

We’re in the midst of what feels like the longest Winter of all time. I kid, because I know it has basically been the longest year of all time. But one of the things I feel like many of us missed over the last year was going to county fairs and state fairs. Maybe we can hit up our local fair this year, but if not I have the perfect solution to your fair-food problem. Just make these super easy Air Fryer Fried Oreos from the comfort of your own home!

Easy Air Fryer Fried Oreos

What you’ll need for this recipe

Besides your air fryer, this recipe has very few ingredients.

  • 15 OREO cookies (regular or Double Stuffed). If you ask me, always go with Double Stuf. Always.
  • 8 canned biscuits or 8 homemade biscuits
  • 1/2 a cup of powdered sugar
  • 1/2 a cup of milk
Easy Air Fryer Fried Oreos

That’s it! Just a few ingredients and you’ll have delicious, better-than-fair-food, from the comfort of your own kitchen! Check out the full air fryer fried Oreos recipe below!

Easy Air Fryer Fried Oreos

How to make Air Fryer Fried Oreos

Yield: 15

Fried Oreos Recipe

Fried Oreos Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 15 OREO cookies (regular or Double Stuffed)
  • 8 canned biscuits or 8 homemade biscuits
  • 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup of milk

Instructions

INGREDIENTS -

STEP 1 -

Flatten the biscuit dough and cut in half.

STEP 2 -

Quickly dip Oreo cookie in milk.

STEP 3 -

Wrap the Oreo cookie in halved biscuit dough completely covering cookie. Form the dough into a ball in palm.

STEP 4 -

Spray the air fryer basket with oil. Place the cookie balls in air fryer basket leaving at room to expand for 10 minutes. Spray cookies with oil.

STEP 5 -

Cook at 370 degrees for 5 minutes or until golden.

STEP 6 -

Dust your fried Oreos with powdered sugar and serve.

STEP 7 -

ENJOY!

© Rachel

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Filed Under: air fryer recipes, easy recipes, recipes Tagged With: air fryer, easy recipes, recipes

Air Fryer Hush Puppies Recipe

February 17, 2021 by Rachel 15 Comments

I grew up in a very Catholic household. As such, we celebrated lent in the traditional ways — by not eating meat on the holy days as well as Fridays. This is a tradition I have enjoyed continuing with my own family. But, my kids and I get really tired of the traditional french fries that are served with fish. So, instead, we like to switch it up and serve these air fryer hush puppies.

Air Fryer Hush Puppies

Why the air fryer?

So the Air Fryer in itself is a fairly new (and hot!) commodity. But our convection toaster oven has had an air fry function built in for the last 3+ years. So I’ve had the chance to play around with the air fry function a bit. It worked okay, but having an actual air fryer has seriously changed the game. It heats up very quickly. Something as simple french fries turn out absolutely delicious. And these hush puppies? Well, let’s just say, my southern father is proud!

Air Fryer Hush Puppies

And if you’re on the fence, just see all of these amazing recipes you can make with your air fryer.

What you’ll need

Besides the aforementioned air fryer, you’ll need the following:

  • Yellow Cornmeal
  • All Purpose Flour 
  • Baking Powder
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic
  • Paprika 
  • Egg 
  • Paprika
  • Milk

That’s it! Most of these items are things you already have in your kitchen. I know I always have to double-check to make sure I have the yellow cornmeal. But, otherwise, most of the items you likely have on hand.

Air Fryer Hush Puppies

Air Fryer Hush Puppies Recipe

Air Fryer Hush Puppies

Air Fryer Hush Puppies
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup of Yellow Cornmeal
  • 1 Cup of All Purpose Flour 
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of Sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of Pepper
  • 1/2 Tablespoon of Garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon of paprika 
  • 1/2 tablespoon of parsley 
  • 1 Egg
  • 3/4 Cup of Milk

Instructions

INGREDIENTS -

STEP 1 -

In a mixing bowl, add cornmeal, flour, baking powder and sugar. Mix until completely combined.

STEP 2 -

Add the egg, milk, and spices.

Mix until combined. Let batter sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes

STEP 3 -

Roll the batter into desired size balls.

Spray the air fryer basket with oil and place battered balls in the basket. Spray the balls with oil.

STEP 4 -

Cook at 380 for 5 minutes, turn balls, spray with oil and cook for 5 more minutes.

STEP 5 -

Remove from air fryer and ENJOY!

© Rachel

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Filed Under: air fryer recipes, easy recipes, recipes Tagged With: air fryer, recipes

First Alert Home Safety Priority Checklist

February 14, 2021 by Rachel 13 Comments

When we first moved into our forever home, it was in December of two years ago. The temperature had just dropped. We ended up having an issue with the plumbing in our century home that caused a weird odor. We knew it wasn’t carbon monoxide, but we were worried about another harmful gas. So we called the fire department and they came to check it out for us. Luckily, it was a false alarm and just due to the plumbing not having been used in a long time. I’ll never forget that feeling of urgency and needing to make sure our smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors were working. We use the first of the year and mid-year as the moments we test and change the batteries for all of our detectors. And that’s why I’ve created a First Alert Home Safety Priority Checklist.

Make a plan + communicate it

Before we get started with our twice-yearly First Alert Home Safety Priority checklist, you need a plan. My kids are still young, but making a plan for home safety was at the top of my checklist when we moved into our forever home. I wrote out a list of important phone numbers, laminated them, and hung them on our fridge; I’ve relayed how to make an emergency call from a cell phone; and we all have a place to meet outside a safe distance from the house if we need to exit the house in a hurry.

This is crucial. In case of an emergency, an outdoor meeting location is important for kids of all ages. My kids know we meet by the big tree in the backyard and wait for one another. They don’t go back in the house. Period.

Home Safety Priority Checklist

When we go through our home safety checklist, I remind my kids of our plan. Oftentimes they will sigh and say “I know, mom.” But, nonetheless, it’s important to repeat and remember.

Why you need to make home safety a priority

At some point in our lives, every single one of us has thought “oh, that won’t happen to me.” But something about growing older and wiser reminds us that, yes, that can happen to us. And, although it isn’t pleasant to think about, it is responsible to do so.

Being aware of the invisible dangers

In addition to things you can see, like fire, there are other potential, less obvious, dangers lurking behind the scenes. One of those invisible dangers is carbon monoxide.

Carbon monoxide

Carbon Monoxide is an invisible, odorless and tasteless gas that is produced from any fuel burning device in your home (like your furnace or gas fireplace). The only way to detect carbon monoxide is to install detectors on each floor and in every bedroom of your home. I trust First Alert to keep my family safe and to alert me in the case of a safety issue.

Home Safety Priority Checklist

According to the CDC, carbon monoxide is the number one cause of accidental poisoning deaths in the United States. Approximately 50,000 Americans visit emergency rooms each year with carbon monoxide poisoning. How scary is that!? I trust our First Alert carbon monoxide detectors to keep my family safe.

Our First Alert carbon monoxide detectors have a built-in 10-year sealed battery and don’t require installation. Once a month, I test the alarm with the test button, but other than that, we just leave it. It displays a digital temperature read as well. Which is super helpful.

Dangerous cords and surge protectors

Something you may not have visible in your home are dangerous cords. When electrical cords are fraying or damaged, that puts them at risk for starting house fires. Every few months you should be going through your cords (as well as surge protectors) to make sure they are not damaged. Check to make sure you aren’t overloading your outlets and surge protectors as well. As those can be a danger resulting in a house fire.

Use this printable home safety checklist

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Filed Under: home safety, Home Safety Tips, printables Tagged With: home safety tips, printables

Air Fryer Copycat Krispy Kreme Donuts

February 12, 2021 by Rachel 7 Comments

As a foodie, I’ve always been obsessed with the yummy things that people gravitate towards. But it wasn’t until my late 20’s that I was introduced to warm Krispy Kreme glazed donuts. Honestly, I didn’t realize what the big deal was. That is, until a co-worker brought me my first ever warm Krispy Kreme donut. And that, my friends, was a game-changer. Recently I had the pleasure of introducing my kids to Krispy Kreme. But, instead of spending the money a couple of times a month to pick some up, I decided to make my own Copycat Krispy Kreme Donuts recipe!

Copycat Krispy Kreme Donuts Recipe

Why you need an air fryer

So the Air Fryer in itself is a fairly new (and hot!) commodity. But our convection toaster oven has had an air fry function built in for the last 3+ years. So I’ve had the chance to play around with the air fry function a bit. It worked okay, but having an actual air fryer has seriously changed the game. It heats up very quickly. Something as simple french fries turn out absolutely delicious.

Copycat Krispy Kreme Donuts Recipe

What you’ll need to make Copycat Krispy Kreme Donuts

Besides your handy dandy air fryer, you’ll need the following ingredients:

  • 8 homemade biscuits or 1 can store bought
  • 6 Tablespoons of melted butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla
  • 3/4 cup of evaporated milk

That is it! Honestly, the most ‘difficult’ part is the prep of the glaze. But the glaze is the absolute best part of a Krispy Kreme donut, am I right?!

Copycat Krispy Kreme Donuts

Copycat Krispy Kreme Donuts Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 homemade biscuits or 1 can store bought
  • 6 Tablespoons of melted butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla
  • 3/4 cup of evaporated milk

Instructions

INGREDIENTS -

STEP 1 -

Using a baking hole punch, punch hole from center of biscuit.

STEP 2 -

Spray air fryer basket with oil and place four donuts leaving space to expand. Spray donuts with oil.

STEP 3 -

Cook on 390 for 5 minutes.

STEP 4 -

Mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, melted butter, and evaporated milk until completely combined.

STEP 5 -

Place donuts on a cooling rack over a baking sheet.

STEP 6 -

Pour glaze over donuts. Reuse captured glaze from baking sheet and re-glaze donuts 6-8 times.

STEP 7 -

ENJOY!

© Rachel

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Filed Under: air fryer recipes, easy recipes, recipes Tagged With: air fryer, easy recipes, recipes

Maternal Mental Health Matters: Quit telling moms they’re overreacting

February 9, 2021 by Rachel 12 Comments

I first became a mom 8 years ago. Before I became a mom, I had the perfect vision of what type of mom I would be. You know, the kind of mom that doesn’t yell, only serves their kids organic foods, and has zero temper. Well we all have plans on the type of parent we are going to be before we have kids. But kids have a way of humbling us. And as a ‘seasoned’ mom of three kids, I have advice for all of the advice-givers: quit telling moms they’re overreacting.

Maternal Mental Health is fragile

Did you know that one in 8 women experience postpartum depression? I did. Because I became one of those statistics. And it hurt me to my core to come to grips with this fact. I knew I was supposed to feel a tremendous amount of joy after the birth of my first child; but, instead, I felt an unimaginable anxiety and disappointment. And, while this might not be the case for every mom, we are doing all moms a disservice by pretending that any one stage in a child’s life is “easy”. Every single stage in a child’s life comes with its own set of difficulties and setbacks.

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But, perhaps, a mom has a very bad infant stage or toddler stage. In those fragile moments, a mother may be at her breaking point. I myself have been there. She may be questioning if she can do this at all. Why perpetuate the myth that others are doing it (or handling it) better than us?

“You’ll miss this someday”

I cannot tell you how many times I was told this. By the grace of God I decided to have a second baby. Our first was so colicky and my postpartum anxiety was out of control; but we still decided on a second baby. My luck? Our second infant was worse than our first. Unbeknownst to us, she had been dealing with chronic UTIs from about 6 weeks to 9 months. She would scream (and, I kid you not) for 22-23 hours a day. That left approximately 1-2 hours of (broken) sleep in a 24-hour period. How does a newborn even survive on that? No idea.

Quit telling moms they're overreacting

But I will tell you what, I almost did not survive that.

In fact, I can vividly remember three times that I almost self-admitted to the hospital because of psychological issues. And, I don’t take that lightly. I was at least cognitive enough to realize, in that moment, that if I checked myself into the hospital, it would be a disservice to my child physically (she wouldn’t take a bottle).

But the suicidal ideation remained. Even through my existing anxiety and depression medication, motherhood had taken its toll. And I cannot tell you how many times I heard “someday you’ll miss this,” and thought about how I must be a failure — because I could not imagine missing this moment.

Whether its infancy or toddlerhood or adolescence, it’s all difficult

I recently engaged in a Facebook conversation on a mommy page (I know — that in itself is the problem). The original poster had created a poll — which is more difficult? The infant stage or the toddler stage. My initial gut-reaction was to answer the poll. Duh, infancy. And then I pulled back. I read the article in question. And, as I deemed this group an engaging and progressive group of moms, I decided to point out the obvious (to me) — this article is hella problematic.

First, it is entirely dismissive. I realize this was a tounge-and-cheek type of article. But, to quote the author , she slept — “Nevertheless, I felt clear-headed and was able to get good chunks of sleep both at night and during the day.” And a clear head is basically the key to keeping one’s sanity.

But one in 8 women don’t feel that way.

If you tell one of those women struggling to get up and take care of her baby that “she will miss this one day,” it may be the thing that pushes her to a breaking point. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in new mothers.

And articles such as stated above — as well as the dismissiveness of others — can certainly compound on that feeling of hopelessness.

Please stop telling moms they’re overreacting

Here’s a thought — don’t tell anyone — not moms, not dads, not the lady at the grocery store — that they are overreacting. Let us all recognize that we are living a very narrow margin of the full spectrum of possibilities. If you wouldn’t tell someone with a physical ailment that they are overreacting, don’t say it to someone who is (potentially) suffering from a mental ailment. Period.

Filed Under: health, mental health, parenthood, postpartum Tagged With: health, mental health, parenthood, postpartum

Heart Shaped Peanut Butter Cups Recipe

February 7, 2021 by Rachel 5 Comments

Okay, friends. Valentine’s Day is almost here. I know I’ve given you loads of options for sweets and treats. But I’m going to keep this ‘traditional.’ I know so many people who are obsessed with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Confession: I am not one of those people. I love peanut butter, but I just think that those peanut butter cups are gross. If I go for store-bought, I prefer Justin’s Peanut Butter Cups. But if I want to really want to knock the socks off my family, I make my own. And these heart shaped peanut butter cups are the perfect addition to our Valentine’s Day.

Heart Shaped Peanut Butter Cups

What you’ll need

I’m not going to lie, the design of these and decorating can be a tad bit intimidating. But I promise it is way easier than you think. I’ll include tips to make this an easy process — with a delicious outcome!

Heart Shaped Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients –

  • 1.5 Cups of dark chocolate wafers
  • 6 ounces of natural peanut butter (smooth, and stirred really well to ensure there isn’t any peanut oil visibly present)
  • 3.5 Tablespoons of powdered sugar
  • Good pinch of quality salt
  • 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
  • Heart mold
  • edible gold leaf, nonpareils (optional)
Heart Shaped Peanut Butter Cups

The heart molds can be purchased on Amazon. If you’re looking to really step up the design, get the edible gold foil. It’s gorgeous and it’s a showstopper. Do not be intimidated by it!

Notes on the recipe

Be sure to use the freezer when noted. The chocolate needs to be hardened. And so does the peanut butter mixture. Otherwise, it will be a gooey mess.

Heart Shaped Peanut Butter Cups

How to make your Heart Shaped Peanut Butter Cups

Heart Shaped Peanut Butter Cups

Heart Shaped Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients

  • 1.5 Cups of dark chocolate wafers
  • 6 ounces of natural peanut butter (smooth, and stirred really well to ensure there isn’t any peanut oil visibly present)
  • 3.5 Tablespoons of powdered sugar
  • Good pinch of quality salt
  • 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
  • Heart mold
  • edible gold leaf, nonpareils (optional)

Instructions

INGREDIENTS -

STEP 1 -

Mix the peanut butter, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth.

STEP 2 -

Fold a piece of parchment paper in half then transfer the peanut butter to one half, fold the other side of the paper over so the peanut butter is in the middle of the two sheets, and smooth the peanut butter mixture to an even ½ inch thickness. Set this in the freezer for about 20 minutes. *It is easier to work with frozen peanut butter mixture, but you can certainly do this with softer peanut butter, it will just be a little bit harder to work with.

While that is chilling you can start with the chocoolate.

STEP 3 -

Melt the chocolate to package instruction and carefully smooth it into each corner of the heart molds with a small rubber spatula.

You want to have a solid and even coating on the hearts, for this carefully turn the mold around and look at it from each direction to make sure no spots are missed.

I like to have the silicone mold on a tray or plate while doing this as it helps with stabilizing the tray while the chocolate is setting up.

You will have plenty of chocolate left over in your melting dish after this step, you will use this in the next steps. Leave the tray on the counter while the peanut butter filling chills.

STEP 4 -

Remove the filling mixture from the freezer and free hand cut or use a cookie cutter to cut out hearts that will easily fit into the center of the chocolate hearts.

STEP 5 -

The chocolate should still be very liquidy and the peanut butter hearts should easily push right into the chocolate.

Try to press them in just enough that they are in all the way-but not so far that they would likely push through to the chocolate that would be the top part of the hearts once removed from the molds.

STEP 6 -

Pour the rest of the chocolate over the hearts and carefully smooth out so the chocolate evenly fills all of the space around and over the peanut butter filling. Try not to add so much that the bottoms will be mounted up with the chocolate, aim for a flat bottom.

STEP 7 -

Set in the freezer to chill for about 20 minutes. 

STEP 8 -

Remove the completely solid hearts from the mold, I like to use food safe gloves for this to avoid fingerprints.

STEP 9 -

Use the remaining melted chocolate to drizzle over the top of some or all of the hearts. Sprinkle nonpareils on some.

STEP 10 -

I used clean food tweezers to apply a little edible gold leaf on two of the hearts. The trick to using gold leaf is to get the surface of the item you will be decorating just a tiny bit wet. This can be tricky with chocolate so try to add just tiny droplets of water on the exact spot you want the gold. The gold leaf holds up perfectly fine in changing temperatures such as room temp, the fridge, freezer and then back to room temp again.

STEP 11 -

ENJOY!

Heart Shaped Peanut Butter Cups

Notes

Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

© Rachel

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Filed Under: easy recipes, holidays, recipes Tagged With: easy recipes, holidays, recipes

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