Braces-Safe Baking with Bubon Orthodontics
In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, we’ve all been staying inside as much as we can. While this may be inconvenient and can cause anxiety, there is always a bright side if we look for it. This could be the perfect opportunity to learn a new skill or practice an old one!
We’ve seen a lot of our community members turn to cooking and baking to ease their minds during these uncertain times. Spending time in the kitchen is something the whole family can enjoy doing together. Experimenting with new recipes can get a little tricky when you have a youngster at home with braces, though!
We’ve got you covered for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Try out one of these kid-approved and braces safe ideas!
French Toast Nuggets
This recipe comes from Happy Hooligans and makes mornings more fun!
- 8 slices white bread
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 tbsp butter for frying
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Syrup for dipping
Instructions:
- Tear each slice of bread into 4 equal pieces. (You can cut the crust off first if you want to!)
- Roll and smash each portion of bread into a tight ball.
- Mix the eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl with a whisk.
- Dip each ball of bread into the egg mixture to lightly coat it.
- Melt butter in a large frying pan. Fry the ‘nuggets’ in the butter until golden brown. Depending on the pan size, this step may have to be done twice in order to cook all ‘nuggets’.
- Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a large zip-top bag.
- Place all the cooked ‘nuggets’ into the cinnamon and sugar zip-top bag. Zip the top and shake to coat the ‘nuggets’.
- Enjoy!
Ham and Cheese Mozarella Sticks
This one comes from Mommy’s Kitchen and will have your kids begging you to make them again and again!
- 12 eggroll wrappers 7 inch
- 12 slices honey ham thinly sliced
- 12 Mozzarella Sticks (string cheese)
- Olive Oil
- Garlic Salt
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Lay an eggroll wrap down in a diamond shape and place a slice of ham in the middle. Place one mozzarella stick in the middle of the ham. Fold in the sides of the wrapper into the cheese and then roll up the entire wrapper to create eggroll shape. Place on baking sheet seam side down.
- Brush each stick lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt to taste.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until browned to your liking (you might want to check them with a couple minutes left as all ovens are different). Remove from the oven and turn the sticks. Place back in the oven for 4-5 more minutes or until browned.
- Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.
- Enjoy!
Taco Pizza
This recipe comes from Life in the Lofthouse and is a delicious dinner the whole family will love!
- 1 pound of lean ground beef
- 1 envelope of taco seasoning mix
- 1 10 oz. can of refrigerated Pillsbury pizza dough (homemade pizza dough works great too, just make sure it’s nice and soft)
- 1 16 oz. can of refried beans
- 2-3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (or any kind of cheese you prefer)
- ½ cup of chopped tomatoes
- ¼ cup of sliced black olives
- 4 chopped green onions
Instructions:
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef in a large skillet, over medium-high heat. Drain grease. Add taco seasoning to the ground beef according to package directions.
- Unroll pizza dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. We suggest a 10×15-inch cookie sheet. Let dough sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Press dough over the bottom and up along all 4 sides the of cookie sheet. Bake pizza dough for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven.
- Place refried beans into a microwavable-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir well and then spread beans evenly over the top of the warm pizza crust. Top with the cooked ground beef mixture, sprinkle with cheese and then add the tomatoes, black olives, and green onion.
- Return to oven and bake another 5-7 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately and enjoy!
- Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Oreo Dirt Pie
We can’t rave enough about this recipe from The Frugal Navy Wife! Be prepared to make it again and again.
- 1 Box Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix, get all ingredients from box as well
- 14.3 oz Oreos
- 12.8 oz Hot Fudge
- 2 3.4 oz Hersey’s Dark Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix
- 3½ C Milk
- 1 Cool Whip
- Hot Fudge & Oreos, optional toppings
Instructions:
- Combine cake mix according to the instructions on the box. Mix until well combined.
- Bake the cake in 9×13” pan for 22-28 minutes. Check by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is done. Then allow cooling for 10 minutes.
- While the cake is still warm, take the end of a wooden spoon or another round object and poke holes all over the top of your cake.
- Heat the jar of hot fudge sauce in the microwave until you can stir it and thin it out (about 30-60 seconds depending). Pour most of the jar of hot fudge sauce on the top of the cake and allow it to absorb in the cake until cake is cooled. Leave a little for topping.
- When the cake has cooled, prepare the pudding layer by mixing a package of instant dark chocolate pudding with 1 3/4 cups of cold milk. Before the pudding sets, pour it over the top of the cake and put the cake in the fridge to let the pudding set, about 15 minutes.
- Next mix the 2nd box of pudding with 1 3/4 cups of cold milk. Refrigerate until the pudding has set. Keep your dirt pie in the fridge while doing this.
- Using a large Ziploc bag and crush the 3/4 of the bag of Oreos into smaller pieces using a rolling pin or other large, heavy object.
- Once the pudding has set, mix in a container of Cool Whip until well blended.
- Mix in crushed Oreos into the Cool Whip and Pudding mixture and spread the dirt over the top of the cake.
- Top your cake with the remaining hot fudge and Oreos. Serve cold. Keep leftover dirt pie in the fridge.
Try out any or all of these awesome recipes and let us know what you think! We hope this helps give you some new, family-friendly and braces safe options to test out while we are all staying at home. As always, be sure braces are brushed and flossed thoroughly after eating!
Stay healthy and safe – we hope to see you soon!