This year for his birthday, my seven year old requested a LEGO birthday theme, with a specific request for a LEGO cake. While store-bought cakes are convenient, I wanted to take a stab at a simple homemade LEGO birthday cake. I’m so glad I did! My homemade LEGO cake was easy, affordable, and made my son feel extra special!

Here’s a step-by-step guide to create a delicious, LEGO brick birthday cake that will surely make your child smile.

Step-by-Step Instructions to Make a LEGO Brick Birthday Cake:

Ingredients:

• 1 Box of cake mix (plus the ingredients listed on the box)
• 1 Tub of vanilla frosting
• Food coloring of your choice (red, blue, yellow, or green are popular LEGO brick colors!)

Some Helpful Supplies:

• Loaf pan
• Cupcake tin
• Spatula
• Toothpicks

Step 1: Bake the Cake

To start your LEGO birthday cake, prepare one loaf cake and a few cupcakes by following the instructions on the box of cake mix. Typically, one box of cake mix should be enough to portion your batter between the loaf pan and 4-6 cupcakes. Once the cakes are done baking, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely. 

Step 2: Prepare the Frosting

While the cakes are cooling, take the vanilla frosting and mix in your preferred food coloring. Stir until you achieve the perfect LEGO-inspired shade. Red, blue, yellow, and green are popular colors for a LEGO birthday cake, but feel free to use any color that suits your theme! My son’s favorite color is currently orange, so that was my choice!

Step 3: Level the Cakes

Once your cakes are completely cooled, use a serrated knife to slice off the rounded tops of the loaf cake and two of the cupcakes. This will create flat, even surfaces to make assembling your LEGO birthday cake much easier.

Step 4: Assemble the LEGO Brick Cake

Now it’s time to assemble your LEGO birthday cake. Place the loaf cake cut-side down on a serving platter. Take the two cupcakes and place them on top of the loaf cake to replicate the bumps on a LEGO brick. These cupcakes will act as the raised parts of the LEGO piece.

To secure the cupcakes in place, insert toothpicks through the cupcakes and into the loaf cake. This will keep everything in place while you frost the cake.

Step 5: Frost Your LEGO Birthday Brick Cake

The final step is frosting your LEGO birthday cake! Use the colored frosting to cover the entire loaf cake and cupcakes. Be sure to coat everything evenly for a smooth, polished look.

And that’s it! With just a few basic ingredients that you can create an easy, affordable homemade LEGO birthday cake for your next LEGO-themed celebration!

Additional Suggestions for your LEGO Birthday Cake:

• Make multiple LEGO brick birthday cakes in a variety of LEGO brick shapes: 
  • Examples:
    • A square 8×8 pan with four cupcakes for the bumps
    • A cupcake with a mini cupcake to make those LEGO buttons
    • Two loaf pans connected lengthwise with four cupcakes to make a long rectangular LEGO brick cake
• Use multiple colors: If you’re feeling extra creative, you can make multi-colored LEGO birthday cakes by making multiple cakes and using different color frosting for each LEGO cake.
• Add LEGO figurines: For a fun touch, place small LEGO figurines or accessories on top of your cake as extra decorations.

Overall, I was very happy with how easy it was to make a LEGO cake for my son’s birthday and am looking for an excuse to try it again with a variety of different LEGO brick sizes and colors. With just a few ingredients, you can create an easy, affordable LEGO brick birthday cake. Whether you choose a single LEGO brick cake or a variety of cakes, just like the real LEGO, the possibilities are endless. Enjoy!

The post Easy, Affordable Homemade Lego Brick Birthday Cake first appeared on A Family Inspired.

The post Easy, Affordable Homemade Lego Brick Birthday Cake appeared first on A Family Inspired.

Lucky Charms rice crispy treats are very simple and only take about 15 minutes to make. This snack/dessert also has kid-friendly components (though that might make it take bit longer…wink wink).

For example, my boys had fun measuring (and eating) the marshmallows and cereal.

Ingredients:

• 16oz. Bag of marshmallows
• 4 Cups of Lucky Charms cereal
• 1/4 Cup of butter + a little extra for greasing baking dish

Directions:

• Grease a 9×13 glass baking dish

• Melt butter in large pot over medium-low heat

• Add marshmallows and stir until smooth

• Add Lucky Charms and mix until all the cereal is fully coated with marshmallows

• Pour into baking dish
  • The mixture will be super sticky so read the below to tip to help spread it out:
    • Wash hands thoroughly
    • Massage a small pat of butter between your hands to melt and coat your hands
    • Use your buttered hands to press down on the Lucky Charm Crispy Treats and press toward edges of baking dish

• Allow to cool
• Slide a spatula under the Lucky Charms rice crispy treats and remove entire sheet to a cutting board.
• Use a steak knife to cut into squares
• Enjoy!

Tip: If you don’t have Lucky Charms cereal, no worries! Simply add a few drops of green food coloring to the melted marshmallows and stir in whatever cereal you have

This is a simple, fun treat to make with your kids. And the fun doesn’t have to stop once they’re made. My boys had a blast building towers from the Lucky Charms rice crispy treats during my photo sesh

Watch out! These Lucky Charms rice crispy treats are so yummy that you, too, may end up with a little thief on your hands!

Recipe Summary

Ingredients:

• 16oz. Bag of marshmallows
• 4 cups of Lucky Charms cereal
• 1/4 cup of butter + a little extra for greasing baking dish

Directions:

1. Grease a 9×13 glass baking dish
2. Melt butter in large pot over medium-low heat
3. Add marshmallows and stir until smooth
4. Add cereal and mix until all the cereal is fully coated with marshmallows
5. Pour into baking dish
   1. The mixture will be super sticky so read the below to tip to help spread it out
6. Wash hands thoroughly
7. Massage a small pat of butter between your hands to melt and coat your hands
   1. Use your buttered hands to press down on the Lucky Charm Crispy Treats and press toward edges of baking dish
8. Allow to cool
9. Slide a spatula under the Lucky Charm rice crispy treats and remove entire sheet to a cutting board.
10. Use a steak knife to cut into squares
11. Enjoy!

The post Lucky Charms Rice Crispy Treats first appeared on A Family Inspired.

The post Lucky Charms Rice Crispy Treats appeared first on A Family Inspired.

I love peppermint bark and I LOVE brownies so combining the two to make these ooey, gooey Peppermint Bark Brownies was an easy decision.

My favorite part about this dessert is how the crushed candy canes provide a refreshing, crunchy complement to the otherwise chewy and rich brownies.

If you’re looking for a festive dessert to bring to your next holiday party, these Peppermint Bark Brownies are the perfect treat.

Peppermint Bark Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 Package of brownie mix (prepared per instructions)
• 2 oz. White chocolate
• 4 Candy canes
• Holiday cookie cutters (optional)

Directions:

• Prepare brownies per instructions on box.
  • If you prefer making brownies from scratch, GO FOR IT!
  • Personally, I consider Ghirardelli’s Double Chocolate Brownie mix the holy grail of brownies and have zero intention of attempting to top their recipe on my own.
• Set aside brownies to cool completely.
  • I have tried this recipe a few times and handling warm brownies is messy and not worth the aggravation.
• Carefully remove your brownie from the baking dish and place on wax paper or a silicone mat (basically something that the brownies won’t easily stick to).
• Use cookie cutters to cut out festive shapes.
  • Because the brownies are deliciously gooey be gentle to keep them from breaking.

• Place the candy canes in a plastic bag and crush with something hard like a rolling pin. Set the crushed candy canes aside in a small bowl for later.
  • Because it doesn’t take a lot of force, this is a perfect opportunity to get your little ones involved. I had my son help me break the candy canes with his toy hammer.
  • If you like the signature red and white stripes of the candy cane, be careful not to crush them into a powder.

1. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler
   • You can microwave the chocolate but do so in small increments of 10-15 second at a time so as to not burn it.

Now it’s time to top your brownies!

• Use a teaspoon to drizzle the melted white chocolate over your brownies.
• Quickly sprinkle the peppermint bits over the melted chocolate before it sets.
• Once the white chocolate sets, your delicious Peppermint Bark Brownies are ready to enjoy!

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Short on time? Try this alternative option!

If you don’t have time to wait for the brownies to cool, simply drizzle the white chocolate and peppermint bark on your uncut brownies. They can be sliced into classic squares just before serving at your party!

This is also a good option if you want to maximize the number of brownies you will have since there won’t be any scraps from the cookie cutters. But let’s be honest, those scraps are a little treat for the baker…

1

Peppermint Bark Brownies

Chewy Brownies pair perfectly with crushed candy canes for the perfect holiday dessert

The post Peppermint Bark Brownies first appeared on A Family Inspired.

The post Peppermint Bark Brownies appeared first on A Family Inspired.

With my two boys constantly tugging at my pants, I am always looking for the fastest and easiest dishes I can pull together. Whether you need a quick side for dinner or an easy dish to bring to a party, this vegan kale, chickpea, and pesto salad is super simple.

I am not a fan of mayonnaise so I try to think outside of the “mayo-box.” I know sides like coleslaw, potato or macaroni salad all have non-mayo versions but if I need a dish for a party, chances are that someone else will bring some iteration of those so I like to go an alternate route.

I pulled together this quick and easy vegan kale pesto salad on short notice. As with a lot of our meals, it was the result of using ingredients we already had on hand.

We are a big smoothie family so we usually have kale in the fridge. I typically have chickpeas in the pantry because of their versatility. And I always have a container of Trader Joe’s Vegan Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto in our house. The Italian in me considers it the glue that can pull a variety of ingredients together into a meal.

You do not have to use the Trader Joe’s pesto for this recipe to be delicious. Any pesto will do. *Just keep in mind that the reason this kale and pesto salad is vegan is because the pesto I use from Trader Joe’s is a vegan product.*

Many pestos are made with cheese. If you use a different store-bought or homemade pesto, the dish will still be delicious but may no longer be vegan.

Here is a recipe for a vegan pesto as well as a recipe for traditional basil pesto if you are looking to make your own.

Ok, let’s get to it!

Easy Vegan Kale, Chickpea & Pesto Salad

Ingredients:

• 5 Cups of kale (rinsed, dried and chopped)
• 1 Can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans (rinsed)
• 1/3 Cup of Trader Joe’s Vegan Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto (or any pesto of your choosing – reminder, dish may no longer be vegan)

Directions:

• Toss kale, chickpeas and pesto in a bowl
• Refrigerate until ready to eat
• That’s it! (Did I mention this was the easiest side dish ever?)

If you are not concerned about keeping the dish vegan, I recommend topping with freshly grated parmesan to add even more depth of flavor.

Enjoy!

The post EASY Vegan Kale, Chickpea & Pesto Salad first appeared on A Family Inspired.

The post EASY Vegan Kale, Chickpea & Pesto Salad appeared first on A Family Inspired.

My family loves pancakes, whose doesn’t?  What I don’t love about pancakes is their lack of substance and nutritional value. Something that “carby” can be filling at first but often leads to feeling sluggish and bloated rather than satisfied and energized.

I am always looking for healthy swaps I can make when it comes to mealtime. These healthy banana pancakes are one of our favorite recipes.  The main ingredients of these pancakes are eggs and bananas which means they’re packed with protein and potassium.

I make sure to always have bananas on hand because we make them at least once a week. My boys can’t keep their hands off them long enough for me to get a picture!

Healthy Banana Pancake Recipe:

• 1 Banana
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon
• (Optional) 1 Tbsp. Oatmeal and flax seeds ground with blender

*In our family, this will serve one person.  I multiply the ingredients above by the number of people eating.

1. Mash banana in bowl
2. Mix in cinnamon (and ground oatmeal and/or flax seeds)
3. In a separate bowl, crack eggs and whisk
4. Combine eggs with banana mixture
5. Butter or spray skillet on medium heat
6. Pour pancake mix on heated skillet, batter will be thinner than typical pancake mix
7. Flip once first side is golden brown
8. Serve and enjoy!

Because the banana and cinnamon give these pancakes a delicate and natural sweetness, syrup isn’t really necessary. If you want a little extra sweetness, we like to add berries and a drizzle of honey. I’m sure maple syrup would be delicious, as well.

Of course, there is always a time and place for a stack of traditional pancakes but I hope you give these healthy banana pancakes a try and tell me how you (and your kids) liked them! As you can see, it’s hard to keep mine away from them!

The post Healthy Banana Pancakes – A Nutritious Breakfast Swap first appeared on A Family Inspired.

The post Healthy Banana Pancakes – A Nutritious Breakfast Swap appeared first on A Family Inspired.