Kimberly

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I am a mom to Five Little Chefs who love to cook and create anything with their hands. Watching over 10 additional hands keeps me busy but is so much fun! We laugh and cry everyday, but then want to do it again the next day. That is how we know we are enjoying life!

Posts by Kimberly 433 results

Breaded Ranch Parmesan Chicken

We seem to have chicken at least once per week in our home. The Little Chefs like it and it seems you can make it in so many different ways. I have heard of ranch chicken before, but I have never tried it myself. I have never eaten it, nor have I made it. This seemed like a great opportunity to figure out a new recipe. One of our goals this year is to be a little more adventurous with food. Last year we definitely were with letting the Little Chefs choose the meal and execute the meal. This ...

Iron Chef America Contestant was our Cousin!!!

This past Sunday I put my Little Chefs to bed and then turned on the Food Network for some relaxation. Iron Chef America was on because it was being recorded as usual to watch at a later date. Little Chef Dad was about to change the channel when I said, "Wait!" That is Viet Pham. We had seen him in a previous Food Network competition so I recognized him. I said, "I wonder if Bowman Brown is cooking as well." After not even a minute we saw him! Bowman Brown is a cousin! Viet and Bowman are the ...

Snowman Dice Game

The Snowman Dice Game is a great game that only requires basic and minimal supplies. Little Chef D had such a fun time playing this game! Little Chef H had a great time pretending to play with us as she drew lots of little circles on her paper. At least they were both having fun! Don't miss the Snowman Dice Game printable at the bottom of this post! The more we played The Snowman Dice Game more details Little Chef D wanted to add. In my key I did not put a flower in the hat like in the ...

New England Crock-Style Baked Beans

 Sometime ago we were visiting my Aunt for a special occasion when we ate some really great Baked Beans! I couldn't ask for the recipe because this was a special occasion and the food was from a restaurant.  Here at home we were looking for ways to simplify our cooking, especially on the busy days so we started looking through the Better Homes and Gardens Crockery Cookbook. Every recipe is done in the crock pot. (I secretly would love to use the crock pot everyday because it seems so much ...

Drinking Straw Art

We looked at an online calendar which had a variety of celebrations and holidays. It seemed every day had a list of things we could celebrate. Some were foreign to us, and some sounded like a lot of fun! Today, according to the calendar, is Drinking Straw Day. I remember as a kid I doing an art project for an elementary school competition. I painted a tree trunk, blew paint through a straw for the branches, then added some "flowers" to make it a three dimensional project. I thought I could ...

Mini Frittatas

During the week we do not cook hot breakfast, unless you count microwave oatmeal. On the weekends we get a little fancy with pancakes, waffles and eggs. When we found Mini Frittatas by Giada we were excited. It seemed like a perfect recipe for us. Mix the eggs and additional ingredients all in one bowl and then pour them into mini muffin tins and cook it for 10 minutes. Seemed quick and easy. The first step was to cut the ham. For some reason this day the Little Chefs were not that interested ...

Fake Betty Crocker Brownie Mix

I probably mentioned this before, but we love brownies! We are always trying different brownie recipes. We first tried a Fake Betty Crocker Brownie Mix and did not like it very much. It was very cakey and not what we liked. We decided to try this again with a little modification. I love the idea of this recipe because it is basic ingredients we always have on hand. Little Chef D measured out the flour and sugar. She then added the cocoa. She cracked two eggs into a separate bowl just ...

Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

Zucchini Parmesan Crisps seemed like a great recipe to try. We often see something similar to this at a restaurant and we enjoy them. I loved the idea of baking rather then frying because it is more healthy. I also liked this recipe because my Little Chefs can do everything on their own, except handling the oven. Little Chef A cut the zucchini into as uniform sizes as she possibly could. In a bowl she combined bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt and black pepper. Each zucchini round was ...

Caramel Frosting

This Caramel Frosting is a legend in my Grandma's family. When she would make it her kids would fight over the frosting and even take it off of each others plates with amusing and painful results. I was expecting this frosting to be exceptional...and it was!   This was simple to make and I always have these 4 ingredients on hand; butter, brown sugar, milk, and powdered sugar.  The butter was first melted in a saucepan. Then the brown sugar was added and brought to a boil. This is when ...

Waffle Brownies

  A while ago my fun Grandma gave me a Waffle Brownie recipe she thought my Little Chefs would love to try. I loved that she knew what we were doing and wanted to help give us an idea. She doesn't live close by but was making a trip here and brought the recipe the entire way just for us! What a perfect time to share this recipe, being that we are sharing recipes from her cookbook. Little Chef D helped make this recipe to surprise her sisters when they came home from school. She was super ...

Rice Pudding

We have been having a great time going through Great Grandma's cookbook and trying her recipes. Today we decided to try her Rice Pudding. A note in the cookbook says this recipe came from her mother and is one of her favorites. We found this recipe easy to put together with a long wait. All the ingredients are combined and then put in the oven to cook for 3-3 1/2 hours. I was amazed at the ratio of rice to milk and the time it took to cook. After the first hour and for each half hour ...

Aloha Banana Bread

We are loving trying my Grandmother's recipes; Caramel Rolls and Dutch Butter Cookies. Sometimes, very occasionally we have bananas that are becoming over ripe. Grandma's Aloha Bread is a twist on the regular banana bread because it incorporates coconut and orange rind. The first step is to zest an orange. Little Chef A is very proficient using the microplane. Next she mashed up 3 bananas. This was her first time so I had to assure her it was just fine to completely smash them. First ...