Snowmen

These guys just made me smile.  I made them for my daughter's Kindergarten holiday party and watching each little guy come to life was just what I needed after a tough week. They were super simple to make.  I used my favorite white cupcake and buttercream recipes.  Leftover candy from gingerbread houses were used for the noses, the eyes are a gel icing and the hat brim is made of mini marshmallows cut in half.

 I made Mike help with the decorating and while he grumbled about it I know he always enjoys decorating and it was nice having some company for the late night decorating session.

Simple White Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsps. Vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift flour and baking powder together, set aside.  In medium bowl cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, stir in vanilla.  Add flour, mixing until just combined.  Stir in the milk until smooth.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Halloween Wrap-up

A few of our Halloween baking endeavors.  Nothing turned out great, but they were all fun to make and we will probably recreate them again next year.

Our neighborhood has a Halloween party every year.  In addition to lots of games there is a chili cook off and a cake walk.  My husband enters the chili cook off and has come in 2nd place every year so if you have an award winning recipe please send it!  I usually do a cake for the cake walk.   I had been planning on doing one again this year, but the kids decided they wanted to do something and I didn't have enough time to do two cakes.  So I  baked up some cupcakes for the kids, bought lots of fun candy and let them go at it.  The results were candy loaded cupcake monsters.

I had seen a great idea on Pintrest - talk about evil and scary, that site just sucks time away from me - for a meatloaf hand.  I have been excited all month to make it.  I don't cook meals for the family on the weekend so the meatloaf hand became Mike's job.  They looked great going into the oven, but they broke apart during baking.  He formed the hand by making the main part and then attaching the fingers.  Next year we will make it by forming one mass of meat into a hand shape and hopefully it will stay together.  Although, the kids did find it very entertaining to eat the fingers, or the toes as they called them.

We went trick-or-treating on Monday so we needed a quick meal between school, homework and heading out.  Which could mean only one thing - mummy dogs!

Now that Halloween is over, I guess it is time to start preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Gnocchi

After being away for a week camping and visiting family, then coming back to an earthquake - which is very unusual around here - and finally losing power for two days because of hurricane Irene, I feel like I am just reentering the modern age.   All of these things on top of getting the kids ready to go back to school has made these last two weeks a blur.
To help ease back into a routine and begin posting again I decided to start with something easy - Gnocchi.  I saw this recipe in July's Secret Recipe Club reveal and knew it would be a perfect recipe to do with the kids.  It is a simple recipe and perfect for all ages and ability levels, plus it is a great recipe to have on hand when you need a quick dinner.

Older/Experienced Cooks Can:

• Prepare mise en place
• Measure ingredients
• Mix
• Roll and cut dough

Younger/Beginner Cooks Can:

• Assist with measuring
• Mix ingredients
• Roll and cut dough

Hints and Suggestions:

• Challenge older cooks to use only one measuring cup - great practice with fractions.  
• Have younger cooks use a ruler when cutting - provides regular size pieces and gives practice with number recognition.  

Gnocchi in general is pretty easy, but this recipe is great because it is made with instant mashed potatoes so you can make it last minute and not have to worry about the extra time of cooking and mashing potatoes.  Pair it with a simple salad and top with your favorite sauce and it makes a wonderful quick dinner.

Gnocchi

(Printer Ready) recipe from This Chick Cooks

1 c. Instant Mashed Potates flakes

1 c. Boiling Water
1 Egg
1 ½ c. Flour
½ tsp. Dried Basil
¼ tsp. Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

In mixing bowl combine potatoe flakes and boiling water, mix until combined.  Stir in egg.  Add remaining ingredients mix until combined.  
On lightly floured surface knead mixture until soft, about 10-15 times.  Divide dough into four even balls.  Working with one ball at a time roll dough into a long rope about 1/2” thick, then cut into about 1” pieces.  Using a fork lightly press each piece.  Repeat process with remaining balls.  

To cook, place small batches of gnocchi in large pot of lightly salted boiling water.  Cook until pieces float, about 1 minute, remove with slotted spoon.  

Top with your favorite sauce and cheese, and serve!

Choux - SRC August

I love Pate a Choux.  It is easy to make, extremely versatile and a lot of fun to watch come together.  It is also something that I have been wanting to make with the kids, so I was thrilled when I came across it while checking out the Cooking Rookie and her blog Cook Book of Trial and Error, for this month's Secret Recipe Club Challenge.   This is a great blog to check out there are lots of recipes from past Daring Baker's challenges - the profiterols were from the May 2010 challenge - plus a wonderful assortment of delicious looking sweet and savory dishes.

If you haven't made Choux, you definitely need to give it a try.  It is the base for eclairs, cream puffs or profiterols, but it is equally tasty when used with savory fillings.  There are only a few ingredients and it is beautiful to watch these basic items come together to form a puffy golden container.  Because there are only a few ingredients it is a great recipe for kids and beginning cooks.  You can make it using a stand mixer, but it is great to do by hand.  Your really get to see the ingredients come together, plus your arms get a good workout.


I gave my two oldest the task of making these one afternoon, while their sister was sleeping - the help of a 2 year old would have been a bit much for this project.  While they had the challenge of making our dessert for the evening I challenged myself to take a step back and let them work.   I have been trying to do this more when it is just the two of them cooking.  Putting them in charge is not only a good way for them to build their confidence in the kitchen, but it is also a great way for them to learn how to work things out. It is very hard for me to take a step back.  I want  to correct every mistake and make sure they are doing everything my way,  but I am always amazed at what they accomplish when they are given the opportunity to work with my limited input.

Today I was especially amazed at how they worked things out.  Will took on the role of reading the recipe out loud while Maggie hunted for the ingredients, since there are only 5 ingredients she was able to easily find everything.  They took turns measuring out ingredients, then I joined back in when it was time to head to the stove.  At the stove they had fun watching the butter melt and catching steam.  When the flour was added a little help was needed to make sure it didn't burn.  When we moved back to the table they engaged in some impressive negotiations and figured out who would add the eggs and who would stir.  Again, a little help was needed with the stirring, but they each gave it a good try.  The piping was little frustrating, but another good thing about Choux is that it really doesn't matter what they look like going in the oven, they still bake beautifully and puff up into amazing shapes.



For dessert we served the puffs with some vanilla ice cream and a quick chocolate sauce.  It was a yummy dessert and the kids were very proud of their work.  We even had enough puffs leftover to have a puff lunch the following day - puffs filled with tuna salad then another round of puffs filled with ice cream.


Pate a Choux

(Printer Ready)

¾ c. Water
6 Tbs. Butter
¼ tsp. Salt
1 Tbs. Sugar
1 c. All-purpose Flour
4 Eggs

Directions
Preheat oven 425.  Line baking sheet with parchment.
In saucepan combine water and butter and sugar.  Over medium heat bring to boil, stirring occassionally.  Once boiling remove from heat and add flour, stir until combined.  Return to heat, stirring continuously, cook until mixture appears dry and pull from pan.
Transfer to bowl and allow to cool slightly.  Add eggs one at a time, stirring until egg is fully incorporated after each addition.  Mixture will look like mashed potatoes and will be very sticky.  
Transfer mixture to pastry bag, fitted with a large round tip.  Pipe into desired shape, keeping them about 1 inch apart.   Place in 425f oven, until puffed and light golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.  Lower oven temperature to 350f and continue baking until deep golden brow and dry, about 15-20 minutes.  Remove from oven and place on rack to cool.

As always be sure to check out the rest of the SRC challenges, lots of great dishes to try.  The group has grown and there will be three reveals throughout the month, so go to the Secret Recipe Clubs new site and see all of the challenges.

Zucchini Fries

The zucchini was out in force at the farmers market this week so we picked up a big bag.  We set some aside to use during the week then sliced, diced or shredded the rest and froze for future use.

We began working our way through our stash, by making zucchini fries.  As a kid I  loved zucchini fritters.  My mom didn't cook fried foods very often and these were a summer treat I looked forward to.  I am following in my mother's footsteps and avoid making fried food as much as possible - I always burn it and the house always stinks, but every summer I begin craving fritters. When I saw this  recipe over at Betty Crocker I knew I had to give it a try, it sounded super yummy, a great alternative to my much desired fritters and a perfect recipe to do with the kids.  My kids love breading and coating items and since there are three steps it is a wonderful activity to do with all three kids.  They each get their own station, which eliminates some fighting,  but they still have to work together.  Once we get past the arguments over who will man which station they take great pride in assembling their individual mixture and  show great enthusiasm thoroughly dredging each item.
I made a couple of alterations to the recipe.  First, I didn't have enough panko crumbs so I added Ritz crackers to the mixture which helped to give the fries a nice sweetness. Secondly, I added a little lemon pepper seasoning to the breading mixture.  Over at Betty Crocker they recommend serving this with a lemon yogurt dipping sauce.  I didn't have the yogurt to make the sauce so I added the lemon flavor to the breading mixture.  I would like to try the sauce, it sounds super yummy, but I don't think the fries really need anything. We had these last night with burgers - corn on the cob and our own homegrown tomatoes, it was a wonderful summer dinner - and a basil mayonnaise.  I tried a little of the mayo with the fries, it went well,  but I think these are great on their own. They are juicy, crunchy and super flavorful - a perfect little bundle of summer yumminess.



Zucchini Fries   (Printer Ready)


¾ c. Panko bread crumbs

½ c. crushed Ritz crackers½ c.  Finely shredded Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs. Finely diced fresh herbs (basil, oregano and/or thyme)
1 tsp. Lemon Pepper seasoning (or lemon zest)
½ tsp. Salt
¼ c. All-purpose flour
2 Eggs, beaten with 1 tsp. water
2 lbs. zucchini, cut into thick strips

Directions
Preheat oven 350. Lightly oil cookie sheet.
In small bowl combine bread crumbs, crackers, cheese, herbs and lemon pepper seasoning (or zest).  
Line up 3 shallow dishes, place flour in first dish, eggs in second, and bread crumb mixture in third.  Thoroughly dredge each zucchini strip. Start with the flour, then dip in egg, followed by bread mixture. 

Place coated strips on cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden.  

Car Food and Special Treat

Every summer I throw the kids in the car for a get together with two of my girlfriends from high school, and their 5 kids.  It is always a fun vacation, but very chaotic - putting 8 kids between the ages of 2-6 together can produce a little craziness.  We are scattered across the east cost, so these get together always involve lots of driving, which means lots of snacks in the car.  When I am doing solo road trips I like to get up early and get on the road, which means I need to do breakfast in the car.  I usually do mini bagels, they are quick and easy and my kids love them, but this year I decided to do something different.
My kids have two loves, jam sandwiches and fancy sandwiches.  When these loves are combined I have very happy children, which is just what I need when faced withe an 8 hour road trip.  These sandwiches are great.  They are quick and simple, the variations are endless and my favorite part the kids can make themselves.

To make these fancy treats:
1.  Choose your favorite jam/jelly/marmalade and spread on one slice of bread.

2.  Dice, or thinly slice whatever fruit is ripe and in season, place on top of the jelly covered bread.

3.  Top with a second slice of bread.  If you happen to have a Pampered Chef sandwich cutter now is the time to break it out.  If you don't have one a cookie cutter and fork will work the same.  Simply cut your sandwich and crimp edges together.

4.  Finish by buttering the top slice.  I had just received a sample of  Land O'Lakes Cinnamon Sugar butter spread, which was really yummy and recommend giving it a try, but if you don' have it regular butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar works just as well.  Place in a 350 oven.  Bake until lightly brown.

These are great for an afternoon snack or as an early morning breakfast when starting an 8 hour road trip, and as I said the fillings are endless.  Peanut butter and chocolate, chocolate and marshmallows, cheese and tomatoes.  They can be topped with butter, cinnamon and sugar or olive oil, cheese and herbs.  Sweet or savory, you really can't go wrong.  

If you would like to try Land O' Lakes new cinnamon sugar spread, just leave a comment by August 8th.  I will pick a winner and Land O' Lakes and My Blog Spark will send the winner the wonderful prize package shown below.

Secret Recipe Club - July

It is time for the Secret Recipe Club! This month I was introduced to Judee at Gluten Free A-Z.   I usually don't spend a lot of time on blogs dedicated to allergy or gluten free diets.  My husband has some food allergies, but they don't effect our daily diet so they aren't sites I seek out.  After spending time on Judee's blog I might be more apt to seek out similar sites.  Her blog is filled with lots of great recipes and healthy living suggestions.  It was tough making a decision on what to make.  Her quinoa salad looked great and it is a flavor combination I love, but I wanted to try something new and different.
I decided to try the Gluten Free Banana Oatmeal Cookies.  I decided on these because they sound great and because I have been looking for new recipes that kids can easily make on their own for a snack.  I have a similar 3 ingredient recipe for Peanut Butter cookies that I recently taught them, and that they love, and thought this would be a good addition to their recipe collection..

The kids had fun making these cookies, although Maggie was a little put off by our super ripe bananas.  She definitely eats with her eyes and the browning of the bananas was a little too much for her.  The kids are use to a sweeter cookie so we decided to experiment with the recipe a little by adding some peanut butter and honey.  These cookies were different from what the kids are use to, but they had fun making them and like having another recipe that they can do on their own.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from Gluten Free A-Z

4 Banana, slightly over ripe

2 c. Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

2 Tbs. Peanut Butter

1/4 c. Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven 350
Mash bananas.  Add oats and peanut butter, stir until combined.  Mix in chocolate chips.
Drop spoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes or until tops are slightly browned.

Grilled Pizza with Mixed Vegetables

We had the perfect late Spring day yesterday.  We only get a few days that are sunny and warm and perfect for being outside all day, after that it turns unbearably hot and humid.  We took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent all day outside at soccer games, baseball practice and doing yard work.  We finished the day by cooking out with some friends, which was the perfect ending to a great day.

We kept things simple by making grilled pizza.  We love doing make your own pizza and doing make your own pizza outside, on the grill is extra fun.  Grilled pizza is super easy and just like oven baked pizza the topping choices are endless.  The kids made their usual cheese pizza,  lots of sauce and just a little bit of cheese right in the middle.  For the adults we did a white pizza with a assorted grilled vegetables, this is another way of saying we used all of our leftover vegetables.

We have been fans of grilled pizza for a couple of years.  They are a great quick summer meal or as an appetizer at a cook-out.  Definitely give them a try this summer if you haven't done so already.

Grilled Vegetable Pizza

1 Eggplant
1 bunch Asparagus (thin stalks are best)
2 Portabella Mushrooms
1 Garlic Head Roasted
Fresh basil
Pepper flakes
1 recipe Pizza Dough
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Preheat grill
Slice eggplant, about 1/4" thick, brush each slice with olive oil.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Place on grill and cook until soft.  Remove from grill, slice into strips and toss with olive oil, basil and pepper flakes
Brush mushrooms with olive oil, place on grill cook for about 5 minutes per side, until soft.  Once cooked cut into thin slices.
Toss asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Place on grill, grill until soft, depending on size this may only take a few minutes.
Divide pizza dough into individual portions, thinly roll or stretch dough into an 8" circle (on any fun shape).  Brush with olive oil.  Brush grill with vegetable oil, then place pizza on grill.  Cook for about 3-5 minutes.  Remove from grill.  On cooked side drizzle lightly with olive oil, rub with roasted garlic gloves,  top with grilled vegetables, basil, pepper flakes, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.  Return to the grill and cook 3-5 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Hasty Pudding

Recently I have been trying to do a cooking activity with the kids after we finish reading a chapter book, or any fun book.  I especially enjoy doing this after reading a book that takes place in a different time period or region.  One of the things I love about food is that it is something we all need no matter where we are from, so it is an easy way for kids to relate to a new place or region, while at the same time learning about that time period or place.
Our most recent book was "Revolutionary War on Wednesday", which is from the Mary Pope Osborne Magic Tree House series.  I had originally thought it would be fun to do a winter cookout, similar to what Washington and his men experienced, but I believe there is a reason I don't live in the Colonial days.  I would have mad a terrible pioneer, I like modern day comforts, like heat.  So, even though we had perfect conditions - frigged temperatures and snow, I couldn't get myself to head out into the elements for a lovely meal of mush cooked over a fire.  Instead we opted for a colonial day treat, hasty pudding.

This was a quick snack to prepare that allowed for a variety of discussions.  We were able to discuss what other products we use that are similar to cornmeal and how grains are processed so we can use them as meal or flour.

As a coincidence we had polenta for dinner earlier in the week so we were able to discuss the similiarites between the two dishes as well as why it might be a dish that is eaten in different parts of the world and why it was a dish that would be available to a lot of people.  We broke out the maps and looked at where England and Italy are and who we know who live in those countries.  It was one of those rare times when everyone was engaged and interested and nobody (meaning me) was stressed out about messes or other things that needed to be done.  It was a great snack, not for the quality of the food, but for the moment in which it was shared, the perfect example of why I love food so much.

Hasty Pudding
2 cups Milk
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 Tbs Butter
1/4 cup Maple Syrup

Combine milk and cornmeal.  Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring occasionally.  Add butter, stir until melted.  Stir in syrup and serve.

*we added diced pear to our pudding for an added treat.
**pictures by Liam (age 5)

Kids Cooking - Homemade Pasta

Making pasta is a wonderful activity to do with kids.  The basic ingredients are familiar to kids, yet there are opportunities to introduce new ingredients.  The basic process is easy, yet there are many options for experimentation.  It is an activity that can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.  You can quickly make a batch in the afternoon and enjoy it for dinner that night.  Of, course, as with anything there is room for error, but you can't learn if you don't make mistakes, and making pasta is a great way for kids to experiment, make mistakes and learn.
We first started making pasta with the kids about 2 years, when my oldest got the book The Silver Spoon for Children as a Christmas present.  If you don't have this book, or the adult version The Silver Spoon, you need to go get it, now.  In both books the recipes are just amazing.  The children's book is broken into four sections, each section containing 10-15 recipes, so it isn't overwhelming to look through.  Each recipe gives a little bit of food or Italian history - for example "Tomatoes have only been grown in Italy since the sixteenth century.  At first, people were suspicious of tomatoes because they are related to a poisonous plant called deadly nightshade, but lucky for us, the Italians soon realized how delicious they were."  Who knew, I know I didn't know that and now I have a five year old sharing the information with his teacher.  The recipes are very simple to follow, there are drawings clearly showing each step, while the text is very easy to read and follow.  I also like the portion sizes of the recipes they easily feed a family of 4-5 and seem very manageable.  We have a large collection of children's cookbooks, and this is one of my favorites.  There are many wonderful things about this book and I really recommend it for any young cook in your life.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled program - the pasta.  As I said the basic ingredients - flour and eggs - are familiar to kids and they are two of the best ingredients for playing with in the kitchen.  Kids of all ages love to play with flour, it's messy, but fun and you can't beat the thrill of watching a 5 year old cracking an egg and watching it ooze out of the shell.  When we make pasta we like to make it right on the table, without a bowl.  My kids find this way much more exciting, yes it has been much messier at times, but the adventure for the kids far out weighs the mess.
The assembly process of pasta is very simple.  Measure the flour in the middle of the table (or in a bowl), make a small well in the center and add your eggs.  

Slowly and carefully begin mixing eggs and flour together. You want to bring the flour in slowly from the sides without breaking the walls until the eggs are well coated with flour.

Once the dough begins to form a ball, begin working it with your hands.  Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic.  The dough is too big for little kids to knead on their own, so at this point I break the dough into smaller pieces and get helpers.  After each little piece has been worked for a while I put them back into one ball and work until well incorporated.   After the dough is well kneaded, let it rest, then comes the fun - deciding how to shape the pasta.

My kids like to use the pasta machine, but it definitely is not necessary to have, or use one, a rolling pin works just fine.  And even if you do have a roller it is fun to let the kids cut and shape the pasta after it has been rolled thin using the machine.

I recommend making the base dough at least once, and then begin experimenting.  This weekend we tried beet pasta, there was no beet flavor, but the color was pretty and my girls where thrilled to be eating pink food.  They love pasta as it is, but pink pasta was just magical.

To make flavored or "colored" pasta puree your chosen ingredient - spinach, sun dried tomatoes, peppers and now beet are a few of our favorites - and begin working it in once the dough is formed into a loose ball.  As you knead the dough it will become evenly distributed.

Have fun with the pasta, make it as easy or complex as you like.  Weather you do plain or flavored (colored) pasta.  Cut it into strips, fold it into ravioli or just twirl it, it is a lot of fun and a great family activity.

Fresh Pasta Dough
1 3/4 cups Flour
3 Eggs

In large bowl (or right on the table ) measure and sift flour.  Form a well in the middle of the flour and crack eggs into the well.  Using a fork slowly begin whisking the eggs, gently incorporating the flour as you mix.  Once dough is formed into a ball begin kneading until smooth and elastic.  Let dough rest, covered under damp dish towel, for 30 minutes.  Roll dough into thin sheets using a pasta machine or rolling pin, then cut into desired shape.

Chicken Satay Salad

The kids have been taken down by a nasty cold so I am keeping them out of the kitchen, but I will post a kids cook later in the week.  I had been planning on making chicken satay lettuce wraps for dinner, but due to sick grumpy kids and a change in our vegetable delivery I changed things up a little.  Satay is is a great meal to make with kids, there are a lot of things they can do and it is a fun meal to eat.  When I cook with the kids I typically have them do the cutting, but with satay I do the cutting and they get to do more of the actual cooking, so it is a meal they take a lot of pride in.  I know some people don't like the idea of kids handling raw chicken, but I think it is important to have kids do all types of jobs and learn the responsibilities, like washing well after handling, that go along with the various job.  I cut the chicken into strips, but let them flavor and skewer.  Not all kids love touching chicken, but my kids love slimy gooey things, and for them chicken is one of the best slimy things around so they will always jump at the chance to "play" with it.  Skewering is a great activity for kids, weather it is putting on a bunch of different items, or putting one long piece of chicken on a stick, it helps develop fine motor skills and dexterity.  Plus it only takes a few times of watching food fall off the stick before kids realize the importance of getting the stick through the center of the item.  I often put my oldest son, 5, in charge of making the peanut sauce.  I use a very simple kid friendly receipe, so kids are familiar with all the ingredients and can often do all the mise en place and measuring alone.  The sauce is not cooked making  it a great solo activity for young cooks. 

As I said my meal for last night changed slightly.  I had originally planned on doing wraps, with chicken skewers, but we got a bag of lettuce instead of a head of lettuce, so i went with a salad with chopped chicken,  instead of wraps, which was just as tasty.

Chicken Satay Salad

1 lb Boneless Chicken breast cut into strips
2 Tbs. of Ginger, finely chopped
1 Tbs. Garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup Apple Juice
1/4 cup Peanut Butter (creamy or chunky)
3 Tbs. Soy Sauce
Dash Hot Sauce
1 Cup Shredded Carrots
1 Cucumber, peeled and julienned
1 Bag/Head of Lettuce


Heat pan with oil, add chicken, ginger and garlic.  Cook until chicken is cooked through, remove from pan, cool slightly and chop roughly.
For sauce heat apple juice slightly.  Add peanut butter and soy sauce.  Toss half of the sauce with the chopped chicken, use remaining sauce as dressing for salad. 
Combine carrots, cucumber and lettuce top with chicken and additional dressing if desired.

Kicked up Krispies

We have been on a marshmallow crispy kick recently, we have made them 4 times in the past 10 days.  Luckily most of them have left our house shortly after being made.  They are one of those foods I find myself picking at until the entire pan has suddenly disappeared.  We made two regular batches, cut into triangles and topped with a piece of candy corn for school bake sales.  Then we made a batch that we turned into pumpkins.  We formed them into balls, dipped in orange chocolate,  used a green Mike-n-Ike as a stem and M&M's for eyes - the kids loved making these. 

Our last batch was an experimentation that I did with the kids, this batch stayed home, it was the most dangerous batch and really should have left the house, immediately.  On a recent trip to Colorado we went to the Hammond candy factory in Denver, it is a fun tour and a great way to spend a couple of hours, plus you can get some wonderful deals on their candy.  On the day we were there they were selling all their candy canes for .25 cents, so I loaded up for Christmas, I also loaded up on their Mitchell candies.  At the factory store they sell bags of mushed up ends for, I think $5.00, these candies aren't pretty, but they are still delicious.   I had a partial bag of Vanilla Mitchells, a partial bag of mini marshmallow and a partial box of Rice Krispies.  Melt the Mitchells and the marshamallows add the Rice Krispies and you have creamy caramel crunchy yumminess.  I definitely wouldn't do this with a "nice" bag of Mitchells, since they sell for over $20 a pound, but it is a great use for the "ugly" bags.  I only wish they sold these bags on-line and not just in the factory, actually I don't otherwise I would be making these way too often. 

Battle - Salad!!

My kids, Liam in particular, love the food challenges on Food Network, so I challenged them to the Ultimate Salad Battle.  We get our vegetable delivery on Wednesday and they had to see how many of the items in the box they could use to create the best salad ever.  At first they didn't think about using the fruit, for them dinner and salad means vegetables.  We have fruit salad for breakfast or lunch, the idea of oranges and apples at dinner was a little strange for them, and this is why I like cooking with my kids, it helps me realize what I am teaching them without knowing it.  I have taught them that fruits are not part of dinner, this is not something I have ever said, but have taught them this by not making fruits a part of dinner.  Now that I know this I can now make an effort to find ways to include fruits and vegetables into our evening meals.   What do you teach your kids about food without realizing?

 

My youngest helped by taking a bite out of everything

Lollipop Cookies

 
 Aggie had a friend over today and wanted to make cookies.  I had planned on making sugar cookie dough earlier in the day then let the girls cut-out and decorate, but I didn't get a chance to make the dough and give it time to chill.  Martha must have known I needed something - I like to think Martha and I are on the same wave length -  and sent this recipe for Lollipop Cookies, in the daily cookie e-mail, it was the perfect solution.  The girls were able to make the dough, decorate the cookies and enjoy, all in the 3 hour playdate, which meant Aggie's little friend was able to take some of the cookies home.  A win win situation for all. 

The girls had a great time working together and were pretty co-operative.  I had them take turns measuring out the ingredients and tried to break the measurements down as much as possible.  At four they don't understand the math, but telling them we need one cup of flour and have them measure it out using the 1/4 cup measurer gives everybody lots of opportunity to measure while hearing math concepts.  They spent a lot of time playing with the flour, which is a really important part of cooking for kids this age.   Giving kids the opportunity to play with ingredients and explore the texture, smell and overall feel helps gives them a good understanding of the ingredient and eventually how the ingredient changes and can be used.  With my youngest I often give her something like flour, sugar, cornstarch or beans and let her play with the item while I am working with my older two.  It distracts her giving us an opportunity to work, but is also helping her learn about the item.

The only problem the girls had was when it came time to clean, they both wanted to sweep and had a hard time sharing the task.  Definitely not the worst problem to deal with and I hope my girl will always fight for the opportunity to sweep my kitchen floor.  I know I will never stand in her way.

Leftovers

I have always hated the word leftovers, it sounds so sad.  The word brings back visions of gym class, those last few kids just waiting to be picked, except instead of skinny legged kids I envision sad pieces of food lined up against a gym wall.  To prevent these sad images I am trying to get in the habit of not being as wasteful and use up the little bits as much as possible.   Baking leftovers are easy, cake scraps transform into cake pops, curds and cake scraps become yummy trifles, pie crust turns into small turnovers to be eaten as the pie bakes.  

For me, one of the best ways to use leftovers is to give them to the kids when I am baking something for an event and can't have any helpers.  One of the problems of having kids who are very comfortable in the kitchen is that they feel they can, and should, always be able to help.  Some of our biggest kitchen meltdowns have occurred when I am trying to work on an item for a customer, or just want to practice, so when I sense a meltdown approaching I go to the freezer and see what is waiting for us.   I can usually find something similar to what I am working with so the kids feel like they are contributing and doing the same thing I am.  It is a good opportunity for all of us.  I get to focus on what I am doing and when I am working on my own project I don't hover as much and the kids have more opportunity to experiment and play.  There is usually more mess to clean-up, but I just tell myself that is one more learning opportunity for the kids. 

Yesterday I was making an apple tart to bring to a friend's fall festival.  I didn't have any extra dough in the freezer, but I got my dough rolled out quickly and was able to pass the scraps on to the girls.  They got to play with flour and practice rolling dough, Aggie even made her own tart to bring for the kids' table.   They became so involved in their own projects that I was able to work on mine with little interruption. 

Not all leftovers go to the kids, sometimes they are used to make something all new, like these cupcakes for Aggie's birthday celebration at school.  All I had to make was the cake, the icing was leftover from cakes made earlier in the week.  I put all the icing in a pastry bag and got fun swirled icing that the kids loved and they looked as if the swirled icing was a plan right from the start