Simple Chocolate Sauce
Do you ever need a last minute dessert? Every now and then while eating dinner my Little Chefs ask if we could have dessert. I usually start to panic and think what do we have already made that can be a dessert. Sometimes we have more options then others, but we always seem to have ice cream. So then the question arrives how do we embellish the ice cream? We always have sprinkles, unless Little Chef H finds the latest hiding place and eats them out of the container! A simple chocolate sauce ...
Sponsor Post: Wonderful Brands – Wonderful Snacking & GIVEAWAY
I am sure all of you are familiar with Pom Wonderful Pomegranets - well, did you know that the Wonderful Brand also offers snacking nuts?! We are always on the hunt for something new, something different, and even something a bit healthier for the Little Chefs - and myself for snacks. In the craziness and fun of summer - going to playdates, the beach or pool, swimming lessons, soccer, camping or traveling - we need snacks that are easy to grab on the go, and that will satisfy hungry ...
Vanilla Mixed Berry Popsicle
Popsicles are a big part of summer in our house. My Little Chefs go outside to play but then it seems almost immediately they come back in asking for a popsicle. I'm amazed at what they can do with a popsicle hanging out of their mouths! We found they molds one day while shopping and thought we could try making our own. The good part is the mixing of the ingredients is very quick. The bad part is they have a hard time waiting for four hours until they are sufficiently frozen to ...
End of Summer Party {FREE Printable}
Last year, as the summer came to a close, the Little Chefs wanted to end the summer with a BANG! So we had our first ever End of Summer Party. It was a great way to end the summer, a fun way to get all the Little Chefs friends together that they had not seen during the summer - and a good way to ease into the new school year!! When school started, the End of Summer Party was the hot topic!
Now we are again here towards the end of another summer - which means.....another End of Summer ...
Cilantro Lime Corn Saute
I love this time of the year when I can drive around and find fruit and vegetable stands on many different corners. This is a great recipe to use either fresh corn in the summer or frozen corn in the winter months. This recipe is a quick one for Little Chefs as well. In fact, Little Chef A thought it was very boring because she didn't need to do much.
If you are using fresh corn the first step is to cut it off the cob as described here. In a large skillet over medium high heat add the ...
Funnel Cake
My only memory of funnel cake is being at an amusement park with family and my sisters boyfriend. As I recall he loved funnel cakes and had to get one upon seeing them. My Little Chefs have never been in a location where funnel cakes were served. A friend gave us a funnel cake kit and we have had a great time using it and creating our own memories.
We describe funnel cake like a donut. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside with just enough sweetness from cinnamon and powdered sugar ...
How to select, store, prepare and steam an ARTICHOKE
How do I select an artichoke?
The best way to choose an artichoke is to pick them up and ask yourself three questions.
Is it heavy? You want to select the heaviest.
When I squeeze it is it hard? You want the firmest with tight leaves that do not appear wrinkly or dehydrated.
What color is it? The bright green color is best. If it is slightly purple it is overripe. If there are brown patches or white sports the artichoke has been exposed to colder temperatures and frost. This will ...
Clown Serving Plate
Clowns are very common with birthday parties, especially those parties the first few years of ones life. We wanted to do something a little different incorporating clowns into the food display at a party.
To be honest I gave my Little Chefs free reign of the craft room to create whatever type of clown they wanted to create. I gave them the basic idea and helped with the construction and then I didn't see them for at least 30 minutes. When I went to check on them they were ...
Cinnaberry Peach Delight
We hope you are enjoying your summer. It has been so hot here we are drinking whatever we can find! Little Chef A has been asking for a long time to make up her own recipe. Well....she has done it! I let her create her very own smoothie recipe. This is her very first of many, I'm sure! How did this come about?? Well, I let her know what ingredients we had available and let her decide how much of what she wanted to include in the smoothie.
She chose 1 cup of frozen mixed berries.
1 ...
Grilled Margarita Pizza
Funny thing - if I put a traditional pepperoni pizza and Grilled Margarita Pizza next to each other - 10 times out of 10 my Little Chefs would devour the Grilled Margarita Pizza! They love this pizza and I love that it is an easy recipe. What makes this pizza so delicious and fun for the Little Chefs - when they hear that we are having Grilled Pizza for dinner, they run outside to pick fresh Roma tomatoes and basil leaves from our garden! Oh so good. And... is it terrible that as I am writing ...
5 Pool Games for a Kiddie Pool
The weather here has been so hot it is hard to not want to be in the water cooling off. My Little Chefs love to play in the water. Whenever Little Chef H sees any swimming suit she immediately finds her own and insists she wears it. In fact it doesn't matter if we are going out to play in the water or not she still wants to wear it. I guess there is just something about the warm weather and wearing swimming suits.
Today we thought it might be fun to share 5 activities to do with a kiddie ...
How to Freeze Fresh Corn
Fresh corn on the cob is never turned away in our home. My Little Chefs will eat and eat as much of it as we allow them. A friend of mine taught me how to freeze fresh corn. I didn't know it was a simple task and an easy recipe. When we have farmer stands of corn on corners and in parking lots we stop by and get an abundance. Once we get home the work begins!
How to Freeze Fresh Corn
Supplies Needed:
Fresh corn (8 cups corn cut off cob)
Bundt pan or 9x13 pan
Knife
Sauce ...
Homemade Soft Pretzels
Welcome!
I'm so glad you are here to get this amazing SOFT PRETZELS easy recipe that you can easily make at home.
If you are like me, when you go to the mall you, and perhaps your kids, can SMELL the pretzels before you SEE them.
Do you extend your stay and buy one of those buttery breads to dunk in cheese?
OR
Do you think -- I wish I knew how to make these at home where it is more work but cheaper?
With 5 kids in tow when I walked through the mall I was always thinking pretzels ...
Fresh Strawberry Lemonade
We have been having hot 100 degree days lately. When our days are this hot we are constantly drinking anything and everything to stay hydrated. Sometimes we go for a "special drink" or make our own when my Little Chefs work hard weeding or score a goal in the soccer game. Fresh Strawberry Lemonade is a three ingredient recipe quick to whip up when you need something special. I love the use of fresh strawberries, especially from the garden. I always think when our strawberries are ripe we ...
Simple Yarn Art
Do you have yarn, glue, scissors and an old coloring book? If so, we have a craft for you--Simple Yarn Art! Sometimes my Little Chefs need a change when coloring so instead of crayons we choose markers. Then when they need another change we reach for the paint. Next time you have exhausted all those options pull out the yarn.
Ingredients:
Simple line drawing in a coloring book or create your own. You do not want a lot of detail in the picture.
Various colors of yarn
Scissor...
Steak Challenge: Marinade vs Dry Rub
Summer BBQ's are in full swing!!! And Sunday night dinners, for most families have the traditional post roast and potatoes, not at our house - We prefer STEAK! We have seasoned and prepared our steaks all different ways, some turned out better than others. We wanted to find out for ourselves which way we prefer our stakes. That is when the Steak Challenge: Marinade vs Dry Rub began!
The Little Chefs started out with 2 identical steaks - well as close as identical as you can get, they ...
German Chocolate Cake Frosting
While the cakes cooked, the Little Chefs made up the frosting. This was a different frosting then they had ever made before - it required cooking, whisking and adding other ingredients they were not used to in a regular cake frosting. They were not sure about it as they were adding in the ingredients, but in the end - they could not keep their fingers out of the mixing bowl!! They loved it!!
German Chocolate Cake Frosting
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Five Little ...
German Chocolate Cake
This is one of Chef Dad's and Chef Grandpa's favorite kind of cake. That being said, we needed to come up with a really good recipe that would "take the cake" with Chef Grandpa and Chef Dad. This German Chocolate Cake recipe has a rich chocolate cake, with a creamy oh-so-delicious frosting. The trick to this cake, it to make it at least one day before you will be eating, wait...lets not kid ourselves....devouring this cake! This recipe is, and we quote from Chef Grandpa, "the BEST German ...
Dutch Oven Baked Beans
Cooking in the dutch oven is something that has been Grandma and Grandpa's job. Recently we decided to let our Little Chefs help in the process. Today we are sharing Dutch Oven Baked Beans. We were all at their cabin for the weekend and let the Little Chefs each take a turn contributing to the entire menu. It was much easier having one Little Chef help at a time instead of all the Little Chefs in the kitchen doing their task all at the same time. I call this controlled chaos! Or...semi ...
Red, White and Blue DIY Necklace
If you step foot in almost any store in June you will see an abundance of red, white, and blue decorations, clothes and accessories. We love necklaces for any occasion in our home. In fact it doesn't seem you can ever have enough can you? We decided to combine our love of necklaces and the patriotic colors to make our own festive red, white and blue DIY necklace.
We bought 3 rectangular tablecloths, one in each color, for $3 total. I layered all 3 colors together without unraveling ...
Easy Appetizer Skewers
It seems when we grill my Little Chefs are starving! I don't think it is because it takes longer to cook on a grill but because we are starting to cook later then usual. If we are past our regular dinner time my Little Chefs get a little unpleasant. Instead of making them wait why not make appetizer skewers that can be eaten while everything else is still cooking. The key is to only make enough to for the kids to be happy, not enough to fill them up. We still want them to eat all their ...
4th of July Uncle Sam Craft
What is the 4th of July without Uncle Sam and lots of red, white and blue decorations?! Today we have a an Uncle Sam Craft that can be adapted in many different ways for whatever items you have on hand. Little Chef D was so excited she could do this easy craft all by herself!
Ingredients:
6 regular size cotton balls
2 googly eyes
red, white, blue, light tan/flesh, pink construction paper or cardstock or foam
1 pink pom pom
hot glue gun
Uncle Sam printable pattern
Direc...
Orange Fruit Dip
Summer is here, which means many BBQ's, family reunions and picnics. In needing a side dish for a family picnic, we decided to make up one of the Little Chefs favorite fruit dips. Our Orange Fruit Dip is so delicious and perfect for picnics on the hot summer days. It is very refreshing, and you can make it up to 2 days ahead of time - which is great when some summer days are all play and no work (including cooking!). This Orange Fruit Dip also is so incredibly easy, the Little Chefs ...
4th of July Easy Star Button Wreath
If your Little Chefs are like mine they love to decorate for the holidays. This 4th of July Easy Star Button Wreath is a great craft because it is quick, requires minimal supervision and the supplies are basic. I love being able to tell my Little Chefs sure we can do that craft today you just found because we have everything on hand!
Ingredients
low temperature hot glue gun or white glue
cardboard circle, your choice of size OR a paper plate with the center circle cut out
stars ...
