Grilled Zucchini Halves
This week we are sharing with you a Labor Day BBQ Meal. On Monday we showed you how to store winter and summer squash. On Tuesday we shared with you Fire Wire Beef Kabobs. Today we are sharing with you Grilled Zucchini Halves. Zucchini seems to be one of the easiest things to grow around me and everyone has more then they can eat! I love zucchini when they are about 8" long and thin. Grilled Zucchini Halves are so simple to prepare with only 4 ingredients!
Cut the ends off your zucchini ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Yogurt Fruit Dip
My Little Chefs love to dip anything and everything, especially Little Chef H! I can get her to eat anything if there is a dip to go with it. Today we are sharing with you a Yogurt Fruit Dip with only 4 ingredients.
Little Chef A and C worked together for this recipe. They are realizing with a little team work recipes can be made even faster! I like that too! Little Chef A measured out the yogurt then passed the measuring of the sour cream to Little Chef C.
Little Chef A sprayed ...
Grandma’s Potato Salad
Summer picnic season is just around the corner. Outdoor BBQ's, hamburgers and hot dogs, kids playing in the sprinklers, and plenty of Potato Salad. We made this Potato Salad from our Grandma's recipe. She pretty much makes the perfect Potato Salad (Wow, that was a lot of "P" words!).
Grandma uses good old russet potatoes in her Potato Salad. We however, had red potatoes on hand, so that is what we used in our recipe this time - and we liked it just as much!! Little Chef K rinsed all the ...
Mandarin Orange Jello with Lemon Pudding
This family recipe comes from my mom! Growning up Mandarin Orange Jello with Lemon Pudding was a frequent side dish for our holiday and birthday dinners. Still to this day, I request my mom to make it for family dinner on my birthday. This recipe has now become one of my Little Chefs favorites.
Along with the colored eggs and baskets filled with candy, Easter also means a Honey Baked Ham for dinner. As we thought about what to go along with our ham, this childhood recipe popped into my ...
Spicy Fry Sauce. Great to dip or sauce your bun!
Fry Sauce is something we love to make with one of our quick go to meals; hamburgers and homemade steak fries. This time we thought we could kick up the flavor and add some spice! What is nice about this recipe is that if you want to make the ketchup part and stop there you can. If you want to keep going and make the Spicy Fry Sauce you can do that as well. So, in essence this is two recipes in one!
This recipe is easy for any Little Chef to complete. It is quick which means even 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 ...
Enchilada Sauce
Often times I want to make enchiladas and I do not have enchilada sauce in my pantry. I tried once before to make my own sauce but did NOT like the results. I thought we should give it a try. We were making Tyler Florence's enchiladas (spoiler alert!) and thought it was the perfect time. In the comments of his recipe someone posted an enchilada sauce recipe. I used that as a base and changed it to our liking.
The ingredients are easy. Everything was measured out and put in the same bowl.
...
Crazy Cajun Butter Grilled Corn on the Cob
We LOVE corn on the cob. When we are grilling it is super easy to throw a few ears of corn on for a side dish. This time we decided to do something a little different. We have seen on cooking shows different flavored butters you can put on the corn before grilling. We found a recipe for Crazy Cajun Butter Grilled Corn on the Cob and decided to give it a try. All the ingredients were familiar to us and already in our pantry. That is always a major factor for choosing a recipe!
The ...
Creamy Cucumbers
When I grill I either like to have sides that can be put on the grill at the same time, or are prepared earlier in the day. This recipe is a Creamy Cucumber Salad that NEEDS to be made at least 4 hours earlier so it can marinade. It is so simple to make Little Chef D was a little bored making it herself!
The first step is to mince the onion and slice cucumber. Half your cucumber lengthwise and then cut it thinly across. Little Chef D did not want to do this task today so I helped her out. She ...
Fried Rice
I'm Co-Hosting The Cure for the Common Monday. Link up here. Come back on Thursday for Five Little Chef's very own first linky party and a fabulous giveaway!
Many times I plan the meat but not the sides for dinner. Fried Rice is one of our favorite go to sides. We always have the ingredients and the Little Chefs eat it without complaints. The recipe is better if you cook the rice earlier in the day so it has time to cool in the refrigerator. But often times I am not that ahead of ...
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 ...
Broccoli Florets with Olive Oil
For our easy Sunday dinner we we already having Beef Stroganoff that had been cooking all day in the crockpot. We were trying to decide what sides to have, a weak part of our menu planning. We picked up some broccoli the other day! Our next task was to find a recipe using broccoli. The catch was we needed to have all the other ingredients. No shopping today. We found a Giada recipe, Broccoli Florets with Meyer Lemon Olive Oil, that Little Chef A thought would be good to try.
We did not ...
Brussels Sprouts with Dijon Mustard Sauce
Five Little Chefs - Brussels Sprouts with Dijon Mustard Sauce
Brussels Sprouts with Dijon Mustard Sauce was a request from Little Chef A. She came home from school recently and said most of the kids in her class hate brussels sprouts. "I don't know if I like them or not. I haven't tried them." I was impressed with her indecision because of her lack of knowledge. We were going to need to do something about that!
Little Chef C found in her Impossible To Easy cookbook by Robert Irvine ...
Bacon-Wrapped Green Bean Bundles
Five Little Chefs - Bacon-Wrapped Green Bean Bundles
Little Chef D did a wonderful job cutting off the ends of the beans. She used a steak knife because that is all she is able to use safely. She HAD to cut both ends off! While she was cutting she said, "Excellent, excellent I love it!"
This was our first time blanching. All the Little Chefs gathered around as I explained blanching is only partially cooking the beans and then we take them out and put them in an ice bath to stop the ...
Market Street Au Gratin Potatoes
Five Little Chefs - Market Street Au Gratin Potatoes
This was the first time Little Chef C peeled the potatoes without having one drop into the sink! We both were very excited!
We have used the mandolin many time to slice potatoes. It works with limited success. This time I had a different idea for cutting, the food processor! Little Chef C had a great time dropping the potatoes into the hole and watching them shoot out the bottom into the bowl. She also grated the cheese in the same ...
Basil Chive Red Potato Mash
Five Little Chefs - Basil Chive Red Potato Mash
We were SO excited to find out we were featured today at The Lady Behind The Curtain for our Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn experience!
The Little Chefs were watching a cooking show and saw red potatoes. They were very curious about them.They have eaten them before, but then I realized I was doing the cooking and they did not realize what they were eating. We went shopping and brought home some red potatoes. We found Basil Chive Red ...
Vegetarian Skillet Chili
Five Little Chefs - Vegetarian Skillet Chili
After reading the ingredients I thought this was going to be an interesting meal. I wasn't sure how this could be a chili, but we were soon to find out.
Little Chef C peeled the sweet potato. It never fails, every time we peel a potato something drops in the garbage! This time it was the peeler! That was a first!
Little Chef D used the chopper for the onions and zucchini. My first thought was go ahead but I don't think you will ...
Southwestern Black Bean Salad
Five Little Chefs - Southwestern Black Bean Salad
We have been browsing other food blogs and came across Skinnytaste.com. We love food blogs because they have pictures of the final product which is how my Little Chefs choose their recipes like Southwestern Black Bean Salad. The ingredients are very familiar so I knew we would not have a problem that way.
It was pretty difficult for Little Chef C to use this juicer for the lime. She tried squeezing the two handles together ...
