Easter Ideas
FUN AND EASY EASTER IDEAS.
Easter Bunny Crafts
EASTER EGG PLANTER
MINI EASTER BASKET
STITCHED EASTER EGG
EASTER EGG DOOR DECORATION
EASTER BUNNY PANCAKES
EASTER PRINTABLE COUNTDOWN
HOW TO BOIL AN EGG
MELTED CRAYON EGGS
The Little Red Hen
This week we read The Little Red Hen by Jerry Pinkney. This was a new book for Little Chef K. He enjoyed the illustrations of all the animals, and looked forward to the next part of the story. While looking for this book at the library we found different interpretations of the story. At the end of the book the Hen either makes bread, cake, or pizza. I like the original version of the story, so we went with the bread. The Little Red Hen is a tale loved by many generations. It ...
Green Eggs and Ham
This week we are reviewing the book Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Seuss. This is a classic book that most people have read. This book is such a fun read for kids of any age. This book includes opportunities for reading, rhyming, listening, and remembering the process of the story each time you read. The book, I feel, portrays a great message - do not be afraid to try new things. It has been a great lesson for my 4 year old who is a picky eater. I knew I wanted to make green eggs ...
7 DeliciousValentine’s Day Chocolate Recipes
Valentine's Day has a lot to do with chocolate. We thought we'd share some of our favorite chocolate recipes. These are easy recipes and you might even have all the ingredients in your pantry already. If you need a quick chocolate dessert we have one sure to fit your needs.
Chocolate Filled Strawberries
Too Much Chocolate Cake with Satiny Glaze
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Milkshake
German Chocolate Cake
Oreo White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Bundt Cake
Simple Chocolate ...
MercoBox…if you are in Utah you need to read this!
I had the wonderful opportunity to review a MercoBox from MercoLocal. I was excited about this opportunity because I was not even vaguely familiar with this product or company. All I knew was at the beginning of each month MercoBoxes are delivered and each month the customer is surprised with the contents. The common thread is that all the products in the box are from locally owned businesses in Utah. How fun is that! I would like to know what is made here in Utah so that I can support those ...
Stone Soup
We are so excited to post about the book Stone Soup. There are many different versions of Stone Soup, but they all have the same theme of sharing and caring. This version, of Stone Soup we enjoyed a lot. It is about a young boy who "tricks" an older woman into thinking soup can be make from a single stone. He starts out by begging the old woman for food. When she does not help this hungry boy, he asks for a stone. This woman becomes intrigued and opens her kitchen up to the ...
Tortilla Soup
The next soup in the Martha Stewart's Cooking School Cookbook is Tortilla Soup. We were super excited after reading the recipe because our stock was already made and frozen. We had extra chicken from our chicken soup so making the tortilla soup was going to be super easy! We had a little shopping to do to pick up a few extra ingredients.
The chili puree took the longest time but it was easy. This was Little Chef D's assignment. She found it VERY interesting that both chili's began as ...
Chicken Soup
We initially thought making Chicken Soup would be easy now that we have the stock. Well...perhaps it would be, but in following the directions in the Martha Stewart's Cooking School Cookbook it wasn't that easy. We made stock again, but this time we cooked the meat in the stock. So, we did two things at once. Maybe that made it a little better?
Once the chicken was cooked, shredded and the stock was strained as explained in the cookbook we refrigerated it all and went off for a few ...
How We Cut Up A Chicken
In order to make Chicken Soup (come back on Friday) we needed to learn how to cut up a chicken. We went to the grocery store and bought a whole chicken. I told my Little Chefs what we were about to do and amazingly they did not have a problem with it, in fact they were excited. They are really enjoying all the new bits of information we are learning.
They each took a turn cutting off one part of the chicken as we read the instructions in the Martha Stewart's Cooking School Cookbook. The ...
Bean Thirteen
This weeks book we have read and had fun with is Bean Thirteen. The readers meet Ralph and Flora who are insects. They are picking beans for dinner. Flora goes to pick bean number 13 and Ralph shouts, Don't do it!. Ralph believes bean 13 is unlucky. They try to split the beans evenly for dinner, but to no avail. There is always one left over. Will they come up with a solution to their problem?
We loved this book not only for its bright illustrations, but because is teaches ...
How To Make White a.k.a. Chicken Stock
White (chicken) stock is the most versatile of all stocks. The process of making a stock is to put a mirepoix into a pot, cover with water and simmer for a given time. A mirpoix is a combination of vegetables that are used to give flavor to the water which transforms into a stock. Do you remember we gave a couple tips about the mirepoix when we talked about 9 Tips For Flavorful Stocks.
We wanted the experience of making chicken stock. We followed the directions in the Martha Stewart's ...
What is a stock, broth, bouillon, fond, and fume?
Have you ever wondered what the components are that make up a stock, broth, bouillon, fond and fume?
Stock - Martha Stewart says a stock is "made of water simmered with bones (except vegetable stock). The meat on them provided flavor while the bones and gelatinious connective tissue between them, slowly break down and add body to the liquid." (p.39)
A frugal stock can be made from the bones and carcasses of a roasted chicken with fresh vegetables. You can save the carcasses in a bag in ...
9 Tips For Flavorful Stocks
Fannie Farmer says, "It cannot be denied that the French excel all nations in the excellence of their cuisine, and to their soups and sauces belong the greatest praise. It would be well to follow their example, and it is the duty of every housekeeper to learn the art of soup making. How may a hearty dinner be better begun than with a thin soup? The hot liquid, taken into an empty stomach, is easily assimilated, acts as a stimulant rather than as a nutrient (as is the popular opinion), ...
Carrot Soup
This weeks book is Carrot Soup written by John Segal. The authors text and detailed illustrations tell the story of a rabbit who's favorite food is carrot soup. The book starts with the reader meeting Mr. Rabbit while he is looking through seed catalogs. There is a great page of different kinds of carrots which engages the reader. Mr. Rabbit plows, plants, waters, weeds, and waits for his carrots to be ready. When harvest day arrives he doesn't find any carrots! They have all ...
How To Freeze Citrus Zest and Juice
Citrus fruits are common in recipes to brighten it up. Rarely does a recipe call for an entire lemon. I am talking about the juice and the zest. So what do you do with the rest of it. Waste it is probably the most common thing that happens but is there a better way? I say yes! When citrus is in season and is a little cheaper it makes sense to freeze some citrus zest and juice for later. It is easy to freeze the zest and the juice.
The first step is to wash your citrus fruits well to ...
How To Caramelize an Onion
Now that we know which onion is the right type to caramelize and now that we know how to slice an onion, let's put the two together. It is time to learn how to caramelize an onion! I have to admit I am not a huge onion lover. In fact up until about a year ago I tried avoiding putting onions in anything I made. If a recipe called for an onion I would only put in part of one, not the entire onion no matter what. I have since learned they are a good flavor base, when they are cooked the taste ...
How to Peel, Slice and Chop an Onion
Onions seem to be used in many, many savory recipes because they add depth of flavor. Knowing how to peel, slice and chop an onion will speed up your prep time. My Little Chefs have seen the big bag of onions just waiting for them and have asked to practice since thoroughly enjoying cutting the potatoes and cucumbers.
To Slice an Onion:
Onions come with a papery skin which needs to be removed. As we previously learned, cut off the bulb end (not the hairy root end).
Peel off the ...
Horton Hatches the Egg
Have you heard of the book Horton Hatches the Egg? We hadn't until we were looking at Dr. Seuss books at the library. We came across Horton Hatches the Egg and brought it home. We liked this book because it is based on an Elephant, Horton, who told a bird he would sit on her egg and wouldn't get off. He sat on the egg through rain, snow, hunters, and others laughing at him. But he continued to say "I meant what I said, And I said what I meant.... An elephant's faithful One hundred ...
Onions Q&A
Before we learn how to peel, slice and chop onions it is important to know the different types of onions and some of their uses. My Little Chefs had so many questions we decided to find the answers to them.
If a recipe calls for an onion what type do they mean?
Since yellow onions are the most popular cooking onion and are used for almost all major cooking; roasting meats, flavor bases for soups, sauces, stews, carmelized onions, when a recipe calls for an onion a yellow onion is most likely ...
Seasonings
Seasonings are spices kept in your pantry. It is recommended to replace all your spices each year or two. The strength of the spice diminishes as time goes by. My reality is I buy new ones as I run out. I do not label mine when I open them. (Though that is a great idea to keep track of the time it has been in your pantry.) If the flavor doesn't come through I add more. I should throw out and replace, but I have a hard time wasting food or money.
Black Peppercorns
"The dried dark ...
Ice Castles in Midway, Utah
We had the opportunity this week to visit the Ice Castles in Midway, Utah. This was our first time at the Ice Castles, but because we had just seen Frozen so I knew my Little Chefs were going to make parallels to the movie and enjoy this experience even more. We arrived at dusk, just before the sun set, which seems to be SO early now days! We were able to see the Ice Castles in some light and then enjoyed them in the dark. The castles are lit from the inside with changing colors. They glow in ...
Herbs
Herbs are a great way to add flavor to your food. They can be used fresh or dry. Herbs are divided into two categories, tender and robust. We will learn about 8 common herbs.
When I was teaching my Little Chefs about these herbs, we got to the bay leaf and they said remembered when we were eating with Grandma, Grandpa and Great Grandma and we had the stew and Great Grandma found the leaf. She took it out because we don't eat that. Now they know it is called a bay leaf and they know from ...
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
This weeks book is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When I told Little Chef A she was very excited. Although she hasn't read the book, she has seen the movie multiple times and loves it. I gave her a challenge to read the book. I'm sure she will enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed it.
While reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, we decided to make some fun chocolates of our own. For you to do this with your Little Chefs you will need Chocolate molds, candy chocolates, a ...
Knife Skills
Now that we have learned about knives we are ready to practice our knife skills by learning how to chop, dice and mince. We started out with a cucumber because even though it has a tough exterior it has a soft interior. Bananas are too soft and they stick to the knife which is distracting and makes them touch the blade too much trying to get the stuck banana off.
I started by giving my Little Chefs a cucumber only 4" long.
The first thing they do is cut lengthwise a thin slice off the ...
