Need something fun to do with the kids today.  How about these fun Valentine treats (actually, you could make them whenever…)?  Who doesn’t love rice crispy treats?  They are quick, easy and tasty.  Perfect for kids to help out with.  Gotta love a super simple and pretty basic treat.  I’m sure you’ve seen the rice crispy treats that are shaped like Hershey’s Kisses floating around the last month or so.  Here’s my take on this adorable little treat.

Ingredients:
– 6 cups of crispy rice cereal
– 1 bag of regular-size marshmallows or about 4 1/3 cups mini marshmallows
– 3 Tbsp butter
– almond bark or baker’s dipping chocolate

Directions:
– Melt the butter in a large pot on the stove over medium to medium-high heat.
– Add the marshmallows to the pot and melt.  (So, here’s my confession: I totally ruined the first batch of these.  How do you mess up rice crispy treats, right?  Well, I was using old marshmallows and I think the problem was that they started to burn before they ever melted.  So, I was left with a huge, sticky, charred messy, half-melted glob.  That was lots of fun to scrub off my pot).  Use fresh marshmallows!
– Remove from heat and stir in your crispy rice cereal until it’s evenly coated with the sticky marshmallows.
– Shape into cylindrical pyramids or Hershey Kiss shapes (hmm, look at that, 5th grade geometry at it’s finest).  Allow to stand for 1-2 hours on a sheet of wax paper at room temperature or until solid.  You don’t want them to fall apart when you handle them.

– Melt your almond bark or baker’s dipping chocolate in the microwave as per the package instructions.  Dip each cylindrical pyramid in to the chocolate and coat evenly.  I found using a skewer stabbed through the bottom of the rice crispy seemed to work the best.  Set back on the wax paper and let the chocolate harden.

Those are fun, but this extra step will add the perfect personalized touch I just love.
– Cut a square of aluminium foil that will fit around your “rice kiss me”s.
– Cut a thin strip of paper and write your own little love notes, Valentine message or whatever you want on it.  You could type it up and print it if you’re making a large batch.
– Place one of your strips of paper and a “kiss me” treat in the center of the foil square.  Wrap up like a Kiss with the paper sticking out the top.

Makes approximately 24 two-inch “kiss me” treats/
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

I actually made a menu about a week and a half ago and we’ve actually stuck to it pretty well since then.  This isn’t such a rare occurrence when I’m not the size of a small walrus; but, lately, we’ve struggled.  And my poor husband has come home from working all day to have to make dinner because I am just so incredibly exhausted.  My justification is that he still sleeps all night long and I toss and turn from side to side every hour.  Ever tried to roll over a beach ball before?  Or tried to roll over with a stack of bricks strapped to your abdomen?  That’s about what it feels like, pinky promise.

Anyway, when I glanced at the clock and realized, “hmmm, 5:30… I should probably make something for dinner” I was thinking something quick and easy.  I took another glance at our menu and it had meals like crock pot roast, Idaho tacos, and yellow rice and chicken.  Whoops.  Missed the roast by like eight hours, Idaho tacos require baked potatoes – definitely not quick, and we’d had rice the two previous nights.  Then “pancakes, eggs and bacon” caught my eye.  Decision made.  Until I couldn’t find anymore pancake batter mix in the cupboard.  So much for easy…  I had to look up a recipe.  I got the basics off allrecipes.com (this is the recipe I worked from), but the tweaks are what really made them super tasty.

VANILLA CINNAMON PANCAKES  

Ingredients:
– 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
– 2 tbsp sugar
– 1 tsp salt
– 2 tsp imitation vanilla or 1 tsp of the real stuff (or to taste)
– 2 tsp baking soda
– 1 cup cinnamon chips (found with the chocolate chips at most grocery stores).  You can substitute 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon, but the chips are sweeter and, thus, make a sweeter pancake.
– 2 cups milk

Directions:
– In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt and soda together.
– Add the milk and vanilla.  Mix until batter forms.
– Add the cinnamon chips and fold into the batter.
– On the stove or a griddle, use a medium to medium-low setting (depending on your appliance).  Lightly spread butter in the pan or on the griddle to prevent sticking.
– Use a ladle to spoon batter onto griddle (or into frying pan) in approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inch circles.  Flip with a spatula turner when bubbles begin to form in the batter and the bottom is golden brown – about 6-8 minutes.  Cook until batter has baked all the way through – about another 6-8 minutes.
– Remove from heat and store under a clean kitchen towel or in the griddle’s drawer to keep warm.
– Repeat the last two steps until all the batter has been cooked.  Serve warm.

Servings: Approximately twelve 2 inch pancakes
Store leftovers in airtight container in fridge.