Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie
School is almost out and summer is right around the corner. Fun smoothies is a great way for kids to 'cook' in the kitchen. Smoothies are quick and easy! Strawberry Lemonade has only 5 familiar ingredients; strawberries, banana, lemonade, a squeeze of fresh lemon and ice.
Little Chef C combined everything in a blender. Juicing the lemon was the hardest part. She needed help from Little Chef Dad to squeeze it hard enough to produce any juice! She also needed help pouring the lemonade because ...
The Chewy
Have you ever found the PERFECT chocolate chip cookie? Have you found one you like then stopped looking or trying others? We haven't. At some point someone will say their recipe is the best and then you will feel inclined to try it. At least that happens here. I don't think this qwest will ever end! So when we stumbled on The Chewy, we knew we had to try it. We have been watching Alton Brown lately in the Next Food Network Star and Good Eats (yes, reruns). He is great for Little Chef A ...
Flirty Aprons
Have you ever heard of Flirty Aprons?! Look for a feature soon with my Little Chefs wearing some of their very cute patterns and designs! They have Women's, Men's, and Children's Aprons. Wouldn't you love to have a matching apron for your child and yourself!
Just this morning I was telling Little Chef D the apron she chose out will be coming in the mail soon. She was very confused and thought it was going to be on paper. I'm still not sure why she thought that?! I explained she will be able ...
French Bread Rolls
We LOVE a good homemade roll! I prefer to cook rolls in the morning because the smell that comes from the oven when bread cooks lingers all day. The Little Chefs come home from school excited for dinner because of the smell that hits them as they walk through the door. We thought it was time the Little Chefs tried their hand in bread/rolls. We found a French Bread Roll recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe which she describes as her no fail recipe. That is the perfect type of recipe we need ...
Southern Baked Beans
Last summer we went to my Aunt's ranch for a mini family reunion. One night we had a catered dinner where we ate some very delicious beans. My mom has tried duplicating the recipe. Paula Deen's Southern Baked Beans does not have all the same elements as the ones we loved, but we thought it looked great to give a try.
The ingredients are very simple. Little Chef D diced the onion with our Vidalia Chop Wizard. I love how fast this tool is, but it is not very easy for her to use. I ...
Refried Beans
Refried Beans is a staple in our home. I learned how to make them from my sisters in law, but there is something they do that makes them taste better then mine. Robert Irvine has a refried bean recipe Little Chef C wanted to try. She got the full approval of Little Chef A who 'felt like having bean burritos tonight!'
Little Chef A was more then willing to start the beans while Little Chef C was still at her play date. The beans were rinsed then dumped in the boiling water for 15 minutes. ...
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Are potatoes a staple in your home? They sure are in mine including; Bacon and Pancetta Potatoes, Market Street Au Gratin Potatoes and Pommes Anna. Why? Potatoes are cheap and versatile. We are always willing to try a different potato recipe. Paula Deen has a great recipe to try, Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
Peeling potatoes is an amusing event in our home. Little Chef D picked out the potatoes. She lined them all up next to each other and said, "The baby one is so cute. I want to do the ...
Popcorn with Rosemary Infused Oil
Little Chef A was looking for a fun dessert or snack to make. We ran across Popcorn with Rosemary Infused Oil from one of Giada De Laurentiis' shows and decided we need to try it. This recipe was different from other popcorn we make at home because of the infused oil. It was very simple and very quick to make. Just add a few sprigs of rosemary to a saucepan with some olive oil. Let cook for 5 minutes then let it cool to room temperature before storing it in the refrigerator for up to one ...
Breathing Space Blogger Retreat Recap
Last weekend I went to Daybreak for the Breathing Space Blogger Retreat. Daybreak was beautiful. I was able to walk through many of the model homes. I stayed in one of the town homes. I saw the Community Garden and went shopping at any of the shops there! I attended a few wonderful classes; Cupcakes with Heather Faulkner Brown who IS The Sweet Tooth Fairy, Liz Edmunds, The Food Nanny "Cooking for your Family". Our first night we had a Stepford Wives Dinner with an ...
Marinara Sauce
One of the things we love to cook is pasta sauce. We are ALWAYS trying a new marinara or meaty sauce. Giada De Laurentiis has a Marinara Sauce Little Chef A wanted to try. The first task was to prepare all the vegetables. There is a lot of fine dicing to be done; carrots, celery and onions. I have found fine dicing to be very hard for even my oldest Little Chef. Instead of me wincing with each cut I thought we could use the chopper. I demonstrated how to cut the carrot lengthwise then ...
Chicken Francese
Chicken Francese was shown by Chef Robert in one of the Restaurant Impossible episodes. This was one of the times Little Chef C said she wanted to make that recipe. I do have to say she is disappointed sometimes when all the recipes shown are not available online for her to make at home.
Little Chef C cracked the eggs very well into a small bowl by herself, then broke them up with a fork. She was very proud she completed this small task alone. She went out of the kitchen for a moment and ...
Oven Fried Chicken
Chicken seems to be a staple in our home. We loved the Citrus Braised Chicken Breast with Sweet Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Chicken with Orange Maple Glaze. Oven Fried Chicken from Paula Deen seemed to be a good fit for Little Chef D. She never refuses chicken so when asked if she wanted to make a chicken recipe she was very excited. The other Little Chefs did not know what she was making for dinner. So when I pulled it out of the oven (because Little Chef D is not able to safely ...
Bobby’s Baked Tilapia
Somehow we have managed to get our Little Chefs to LOVE fish. We only eat it a couple times a month. Maybe it is because our standby recipe is so wonderful! They also love Seared Mahi Mahi with Mango Sauce and Grilled Salmon. When Little Chef D saw a Bobby's Baked Tilapia she immediately jumped at the opportunity to try it. This recipe seemed very much at her level. There is some prep work, but then it bakes in the oven. No flipping, turning, oil spitting at her or anything of the sort!
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Bechamel Mac and Cheese
Macaroni and Cheese in the blue box is an occasional lunch for my Little Chefs. When we found Robert Irvine's Bechamel Mac and Cheese Little Chef C knew we HAD to make it! She wanted to make sure it was cheesy enough, but was a little perplexed about using two different cheeses.
There were 3 saucepans on the stove which was amazing and hard for a Little Chef to keep track of what goes in what. Sometimes it is hard for a grown Chef to keep track! She was cooking the pasta in one, ...
Color Me Rad 5K Recap
Last Saturday we ran the Color Me Rad 5K! My Little Chefs had been talking about it ALL week long. They were planning their clothes and telling everyone about it.
"Mom we need to wear a white shirt."
"The race is on Saturday. It is going to be so much fun!"
"I can't wait!"
Here we are before the race with our clean white shirts. Before it was our turn to start they handed out some fun beach balls to keep our Little Chefs busy. I was so happy for that because they were getting anxious to ...
