Scotcheroo Milk Shake

It has become tradition in our house to make something special to celebrate the first day of school. This year, I decided to recreate the Scotcheroo Milk Shake that we had earlier this month at the Iowa State Fair. The shake is rich, creamy, and full of that delicious combination of chocolate, peanut butter, and butterscotch. It was the perfect way to top off the first day of school for our whole family!

Back to School: My Kids' Favorite Homemade Stuffed Crust Pizza

It's the first day of school here in Iowa today and with the special day falling on a Friday, I thought what better way to celebrate than with my kids' favorite Homemade Stuffed Crust Pizza! This pizza is easy to make with staple ingredients that, if your family is anything like mine, you always have stocked - string cheese and pepperoni!

Trail Mix Cookies

Today marks the first day back to school for my kiddos so I decided to make an after school treat that plays ode to summer and is fun to help celebrate the new school year: Trail Mix Cookies.

After School Turkey Wrap Hack

I don't know what it is about getting off the bus, but as soon as my kids get home from school they immediately start looking for a snack. Here is a fun, protein packed snack they can make on their own that will satisfy their after school munchies and not ruin their supper.

Puppy Chow - Favorite Kid Snack

With just five ingredients and a few minutes, kids of all ages, and kids at heart, can enjoy this crunchy, peanut butter, chocolate, sweet treat.  

Pantry Trail Mix

The end of summer has arrived with the first day of school today so that means two things: #1 - time to clean out the pantry of all the partial snacks, crackers and goodies gathered over the course of t-ball games, fair and road trips, and #2 - time to celebrate the first day of school with a fun afternoon snack.  Put those two things together and we have Pantry Trail Mix.

Time to Celebrate Caramel Crispix Mix

It is hard to believe that Mr. K has been back to school for eight days!  So far he has been loving Kindergarten.  Highlights of Kindergarten are that he gets to ride the bus to and from school each day, eating hot lunch at school, keeping a pair of gym shoes in his locker and learning how to read.  Today after school I asked him what his favorite part of the day was and he said it was getting homework...  While I'm sure that will change as he gets older, I just love how much he loves learning.

Mr. K waiting for the bus on the first day of school

The first day of school is always a fun time to celebrate.  We started the day with pancakes and after school I had Caramel Crispix Mix ready to go for a snack.  This Caramel Crispix Mix is a signature recipe of some of my family friends, the Lund's.  I have many memories of this snack associated with school - from snacking on it on the bus after a sporting game, to munching on it all day in the gym during speech contests.  The Lund girls always seemed to have a large batch to share and this Caramel Crispix Mix was a nice perk of being one of their friends. ;)

So I thought, what a perfect after school snack to make to celebrate being back at school, especially since the kids were going to neighbor's house that night.  This snack mix isn't just great for a school snack, but is also great for tailgating and the holidays.  You can make the mix festive and coordinating to whatever you are celebrating. :)

Caramel Crispix Mix 

(shared with permission from the Lund family, with slight adaptions)

1 - 12oz box Crispix
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) Butter
1/4 cup Corn Syrup
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
Your choice of Mix-Ins:  M&Ms, Peanuts, Candy Corn, etc.

Combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in pot and heat until boiling.  Let boil for 30 seconds.
Add baking soda and stir until foamy.
Pour mixture over cereal in microwave safe dish.  Mix to coat squares.
Microwave on High for 1 minute.  Stir to evenly coat.  Repeat 3 times.
Spread on waxed paper to cool.
Get creative and toss with your choice of mix-in.
Enjoy!  And fair warning, this is highly addictive...

What are some of your favorite school memories?  Do you have any foods that you automatically associate with school?  How about your favorite school lunch?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Celebrate with Easy Hot Fudge Sauce

* This post has been compensated through the AE Dairy Blog Ambassador program.  All views and opinions shared are my own. *

Yesterday was a big day for our family, our oldest son, LP, headed off to Pre-K!  And one fun fact for you, LP's Pre-K teacher is the same Pre-K teacher that his Dad, My Farmer, had twenty-six years ago!

He will have school every afternoon.  A school van picks him up at our house before noon and then one of his favorite parts - he gets to ride the school bus on the way home.  One of his friends, who is in an older grade, rides the same bus, so it sounds like they had a lot of fun playing together on the way home from school.

LP coming home from his first day of school on the bus
and our dog Bailey waiting patiently

Growing up I was always excited for the first day of school and I was happy that LP had the same feeling that I always did.  The one first day of school tradition I always remember was taking a first day of school photo, so we did a few of those.  LP even had fun taking some photos with our dog and striking some super hero poses.

Other than first day of school photos before hopping on the bus, I don't remember too much more for first day traditions.  But for our little guy I thought it'd be fun to let him to choose supper for the evening (which he chose pancakes and eggs) and to whip up some Easy Hot Fudge Sauce so we could have some ice cream sundaes for dessert.  (I know, what a meal - pancakes, eggs and ice cream...)

Easy Hot Fudge Sauce

1 cup AE Dairy Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup Sugar
2/3 cup Cocoa Powder, unsweetened
1 pinch Salt

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Boil for 3 minutes, stirring, then remove from heat.  Let sauce cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 1 cup of sauce.

This is such a simple treat to make the next time you celebrate a special occasion, like the first day of school.  It is creamy, rich, and tastes o' so good.  Warning - once you start making homemade hot fudge sauce, you're family will always ask for it when you have ice cream ;)

What first day of school traditions did you have growing up or that you celebrate with your family?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!