cooking

Labor Day Potluck

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As predicted in my 4th of July Party post, our neighborhood group gathered together again for a potluck dinner in honor of the Labor Day holiday. We did not have family relay races or a bike parade this time, but our activities coordinator and fab friend, Jackie, did set up a tie dye table for the children. I have not tie dyed a t-shirt since I went to summer camp as a kid. I had forgotten how much fun the reveal is when you finally release the shirt from its rubberband prison.

      

The Activity: Ms. Jackie set up a low table and hung a clothesline. She provided t-shirts, Rit dye, a big tub of rubberbands, and brief instructions. After the kids tied up the t-shirt, Jackie and one assistant handled the dying, so the mess stayed contained. The shirts looked great!

The Snacks: I provided a Sun Dried Tomato Dip (thank you Ina Garten) that is great in warm weather. My favorite veggie for this dip is sugar snap peas, but all the standard raw vegetables work well. I also like pita chips and Snyder’s Dipping Sticks pretzels.

The Dinner: Rather than hamburgers and hot dogs, the group put together a fish taco bar. One neighbor fried up hush puppies and shrimp on site. We  had yellow rice, black beans, and a vinegar-y slaw to go with the tacos. Since we live in South Carolina, it is easy to get good fresh fish. If you can too, try a fish taco bar some time.

Anybody else have a food idea for a neighborhood get together that is different from the typical grilled hamburgers and hot dogs?

Bitty Birthday Cupcakes

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We are sending itty bitty cupcakes (recipe below) to my son’s class at school in honor of his birthday this year. As a teacher, I spend more time on the distribution side of class birthday treats, and I have some guidelines for any newbies to the school birthday treat circuit. Sending birthday treats for the class starts in nursery school, and the rules don’t change too much no matter how old you are.

  1. If possible, let the teacher know ahead of time about the type of treat you will be sending and what day. It helps teachers plan for a special snack time and anticipate any food allergy alerts (always send nut-free items just in case).
  2. Send enough for the whole class AND the teachers. Let me repeat– send enough for the teachers.
  3. Send small treats. Rather than a whole donut for each child, send donut holes (two to three Munchkins per child). Rather than regular cupcakes, send mini versions.
  4. Send items that are pre-cut, pre-packaged, or individually wrapped to make sharing the snack easier.
  5. Don’t forget paper napkins, paper plates, and plastic utensils if needed.
  6. You do not have to send an edible treat. Kids love fun pencils, Japanese erasers, crazy straws, stickers, etc.
  7. In my experience, sending birthday treats begins to taper off around the 4th grade. By 5th and 6th grade, maybe a quarter of the students send in birthday snacks.

I love this recipe for Perfect Cake-Mix Cupcakes courtesy of Hello, Cupcake!. I like the frosting recipes in the Hello, Cupcake! book too, but I totally cheated this time and used the pre-made Betty Crocker Cupcake Icing in the squeeze cans with the decorative tips. I used gelatin shot cups to make the super mini size. I found the tiny cups in the paper product aisle at my grocery store.

Ingredients

  • 1 box (18.25 oz) cake mix (French vanilla or yellow)
  • 1 c. buttermilk (in place of the water called for on the box)
  • vegetable oil (the amount on the box, usually 1/3 c. for yellow cakes)
  • 4 large eggs (in place of the number called for on the box)

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Set out paper gelatin shot cups on a tray with a lip. The gelatin cups stand on their own, but they will also fit into mini muffin cups if you are worried about them tipping over. The recipe makes 24 regular sized cupcakes, so you should get ~48 mini cupcakes.
  • Follow the box instructions, putting all of the ingredients in a large bowl and using the buttermilk in place of the water specified, using the amount of vegetable oil that is called for, and adding the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer until moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and beat until thick, about 2 minutes longer.
  • Fill gelatin cups a little less than 2/3 full. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Chex Cereal, the Cadillac of Snack Ingredients

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I never thought I would have a recipe box dedicated to one ingredient, but I am becoming dangerously close to having just that with my Chex Party Mixes. They are so versatile, and you can make them in large quantities for nursery school snacks, birthday parties, and adult get togethers. The almighty Chex cereal (and its distant cousins– Crispix and Golden Grahams) are the perfect base for sweet or salty snacking.

tijuana tidbits chex party mix

The neighborhood card sharks met in our backyard office Saturday night, and I made Tijuana Tidbits. This is the newest member of my Chex Party Mix recipe box. Watch out, it has a kick!

Do you have any Chex Party Mix combos I can add to my arsenal? I have many sweet Chex recipes like the Dinosaur Chex Mix, but I am looking for some more savory combinations.

Ingredients

  • 4 c. Fritos original corn chips
  • 4 c. Crispix cereal
  • 1 bag microwave popcorn (remove “old maids”)
  • 1 8-oz can mixed nuts
  • 1 c. cashew nuts
  • 1/2 c. light corn syrup
  • 1/2 c. margarine, not butter
  • 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
  • 1 T. chili powder
  • 1/3 t. cinnamon
  • 1/2 t. cayenne pepper

Directions

  • Heat oven to 250 degrees.
  • Combine chips, cereal, popcorn, and nuts in a large bowl and mix gently.
  • Combine corn syrup, margarine, brown sugar, chili powder, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. Heat to boiling and pour over Frito mixture. Stir until coated.
  • Pour coated mixture onto a roasting pan (sprayed with Pam). Bake 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and turn onto waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container.

Cinnamon Breakfast Puffs

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Since the puppy arrived at our house about a month ago, I have had a little extra time on my hands in the morning. After the 5:45 am wake up call, the puppy wants to play. By 6:15, the puppy wants to rest, and I am in the kitchen by myself. This morning I made these little Cinnamon Puffs for breakfast (recipe below). Unlike the pizza from a few nights ago, I baked these without the help of my children. Now, do not be fooled. Most mornings I sit at the kitchen table with an iced coffee and alternate looking at my US magazine and staring out of the window until someone else from my household arrives in the kitchen, and I can go lie down in my bed again. Anybody else gone above and beyond for a tasty breakfast treat lately?

Ingredients

  • 1/3 c. shortening (Crisco)
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 t. baking powder
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 1/2 t. ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 c. milk
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 2 t. ground cinnamon
  • 1 c. butter, melted (I never use all of this– start with 1/2 c. melted butter)

Directions

  • Beat the shortening and 1/2 c. sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; add egg, beating well.
  • Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
  • Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Spoon batter into lightly greased miniature muffin pan cups. The batter should yield ~24 mini puffs. I can’t ever spoon evenly into the muffin pans, so I get ~20 puffs.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
  • Combine 1 c. sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish.
  • Remove puffs from pans and dip in melted butter. Give the puff tops a good bath in the butter, so they soak up enough buttery goodness. Then, dredge in cinnamon mixture.

Nutritional Information

  • The puffs contain egg and milk (protein) and sugar (energy).

Pizza! Pizza!

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What do you do when it is raining, and your husband is home for three days for a stay-cation? You make pizza from scratch with your children and consider going to therapy. If you are brave enough to undertake this little activity, I highly recommend including margaritas. I am including the Pizza and Margarita Recipes here.

As a teacher, I am obligated to tell you all of the good things that happen when you cook with your children.

  1. Math Skills: They are all built into the recipe– adding, dividing, fractions, measuring, time…
  2. Reading Skills: Often recipes have pictures with them, so it is easy for beginning readers to follow along. For older children, recipes introduce kids to technical writing (writing that provides instructions about how to do something). Recipes also include great sequencing words like first, next, then, and after. These are good words to know for paragraph writing.
  3. Science Skills: You get to activate yeast and then watch dough rise.
  4. Following Directions: This one is my favorite. You have to follow directions in the right order, so the recipe will work. You cannot skip from #1 to #5 just because you feel like it.

   

As a mom, I am obligated to tell you all of the sucky things that happen when you cook with your children.

  1. Grocery Store: You might have to make an extra trip to the grocery store for unusual ingredients like yeast. Or even a second extra trip to the grocery store for not so unusual ingredients like all-purpose flour because your husband decided to make “Dad Pancakes” for breakfast that morning to kick off his stay-cation.
  2. Time: It takes a lot of extra time. If the recipe says you can make the item in 45 minutes, double the time (then add 30 minutes).
  3. Space: If the recipe says to clear a space on the counter, clear 3. If it says you will need one bowl, plan for two.
  4. Mess: It is messy, and you get to clean up. On a happy note, I did not have to mop the floor because the dog licked up all of the flour and dough that fell to the ground.

I have to admit, homemade pizza crust is far superior to a Boboli crust, but you can always have a pizza night using pre-made crust and sauce. It would reduce your mom stress levels and still provide valuable family time. We have also made ice cream from scratch at our house (I usually leave my husband in the kitchen for that– I just can’t watch).  I recently started making pasta from scratch, and my children love cranking the pasta machine, although, I usually have a margarita on hand for that too. Do you have any kitchen adventures from your house you can share, and if so, is alcohol required?

Toppings: mozzarella cheese

Toppings: mozzarella cheese, Colby Jack cheese, sausage, fresh basil and thyme

Toppings: mozzarella cheese, red pepper slices, sauteed red onions, chicken, fresh rosemary

Toppings: Colby Jack cheese, chicken tossed in wing sauce, sauteed red onions, red pepper slices (drizzle with blue cheese dressing before serving)