Posted in Kids in the Kitchen
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Whoa....it's been a week since I've blogged anything new. Sorry, but last week was just...well...quite a week. I meant to post this particular entry last Wednesday. I'm not sure what I was doing last Wednesday, but it wasn't posting this. Then last Thursday I was trapped in my van all day, driving all over the place, using lots and lots of very expensive gasoline. Last Friday was a tragic day for our family, which I'll blog about later this week, but the last thing on my mind was posting about meatballs and cake. Then for the weekend I was trapped in the van again. More driving. More gasoline. But let's move on shall we, to the next meal that your kids can make with very little assistance from you. Unless they are under the age of 9 or so. Then all of this really doesn't apply to you yet, but you still might enjoy the recipes. First of all, I thought it important that my kids learn to make a version of Swedish meatballs since Big D is Swedish and his blood runs in their veins. Heritage and all, I guess. This is an easy recipe for meatballs and could easily be added to all of your Italian recipes as well, if your last name happens to be Scanelly or something like that. First of all, Annaleigh got the sauce ready, which was a can of cream of mushroom soup, water and sour cream whisked together. You can just set this aside for a while.
Now for the meatballs! In a bowl, mix together your ground beef, bread crumbs, finely chopped onion, egg and nutmeg. Then you will shape the mixture into equal size balls...
This is a good step to get your younger kids involved in, unless your younger kids have a problem with handling raw meat. If that's the case then he may cry a little and say he doesn't like the feel of this. Then you may have to tell him it's just too bad because he has to learn to shape meatballs. It's in his heritage. He may then tell you he doesn't care. Then his sister may make fun of him a little, and they may get in a fight over it. You may have to call in their dad at this point, and he may tell them to get over it. They are Swedish and have to learn to make this dish....for their heritage and all and for their mother's blog. Then you may need to remind your son that this is the only picture you have of him helping with this meal, and if he doesn't cooperate that the blog entry will only show his sister cooking. Then snap the picture fast because you realize that he doesn't really give a flying fig what you blog about, and he really just wants to wash his icky hands and watch football. None of this may happen at your house at all, but it's only fair to warn you. Now, for the next step, we bake our meatballs in the oven at 350 for about 20-30 minutes instead of frying them in a pan, but that's completely up to you. We find it easier and more efficient and less messy, but you may find it weird, and want to do your meatballs the old-fashioned way. While your meatballs are doing whatever your meatballs do, boil some water and cook some egg noodles according to the package directions. When the meatballs are done and no longer pink in the middle, add them to the sauce you prepared earlier and heat over med-low heat, until it's heated through, then serve over your warm noodles. This is what it will look like served with a salad...
...except depending on your region of the country and NFL preferences, you may not be wearing a Tennessee Titans tee shirt. However, you may want to consider it since they are 5-0, after all. Ingredients: (We doubled this recipe so that we would have left-overs and so that Indiana Mimi could join us. The below amount is for four servings) 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 c. water, 1/4 c. sour cream, 1 lb. lean ground beef, 1/2 c. soft bread crumbs, 1/4 c. chopped onion, 1 beaten egg, 1/4 c. nutmeg, package of egg noodles Earlier that day Annaleigh made the chocolate sheet cake by herself because her brother abandoned her to go see the Titans beat the Vikings with his dad since they received some free tickets. Boys... She used the Pioneer Woman's recipe, and here's the link to that recipe. Basically, she prepared the ingredients for the actual cake...
poured the mixture into a sheet cake pan (we used my Pampered Chef stoneware pan)...
While it baked and cooled, she prepared the ingredients for the icing, and then later poured that on the cake...
It really was that easy.
Then I pulled up a chair and just started forking into it. Not really, but almost. It was gooooooood! It was so good that I had her make another one for our church potluck. We found that we were out of vanilla, which you need for both the cake and the icing, but we substituted mint extract, which was also really nice, if you want a variation. Enjoy! |
Posted in Kids in the Kitchen
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It dawned on me the other day that I post a lot of pictures and such of my kids doing "stuff" in the kitchen. For me, especially recently, it's been a practical necessity. I want my kids to learn to help in the kitchen, to feel comfortable...at home even...in the kitchen, to be safe in the kitchen, to take over the kitchen...okay, not really on the take over, but I think you get the idea. There's coming a day around here, where I won't be in the kitchen much (because I will be taking care of Peanut and sleeping a lot), and my kids must be able to know their ways around the joint in order for them to be able to eat and live. But I got to thinking that maybe some of you could benefit from some of our recipes and such, so occasionally I will post about some of our culinary endeavors with recipes and how-to's. Just recently Pioneer Woman announced that she's doing this too, so you might swing by her cooking site to see what her kids are cooking as well, although the first kid recipe she posted was carrot soup, and that just wouldn't fly around here. A couple of Fridays ago, Harrison made his first cheesecake. We happen to adore cheesecake around here, so this was a BIG deal. This is an easy recipe for kids because it doesn't involve baking, and it's a good recipe for pregnant women who want to lick the bowl because it doesn't include raw eggs. First, he made the crust...
...which includes graham cracker squares, butter and sugar. Kids might find it more fun to crush the crackers with a rolling pin, but Harrison happens to be fascinated with sharp-bladed objects, so we used my Kitchen Aid food processor. I happen to be fascinated with less mess, so it was a win-win situation for us. After pulverizing the crackers, he mixed them with the sugar and butter and pressed them firmly into the bottom of a spring-form pan. Now it's time for the good stuff: the filling!
This filling consists of only one 8 oz. package of creamed cheese, a cup of whipping cream, sugar and vanilla. He used my beloved Kitchen Aid stand mixer to blend it all and then spread it evenly onto the crust (which had been in the freezer for about 10 minutes firming up). Next up was the fruit topping.
We used canned mandarin oranges, but you could really use whatever tickles your fancy. After arranging the fruit, you make a quick glaze that you pour on top. Since we used oranges, our glaze was made from orange marmalade, heated on low until it was nice and melty. If you used strawberries, you'd use some strawberry preserves. If you used raspberries, you'd melt some raspberry preserves. If you use watermelon or figs or bananas, you're on your own.... After the glaze, you simply cover the cheesecake with foil and refrigerate it for at least 6 hours.
Later, you have a dessert that any kid would be proud of and make goofy faces over. Ingredients crust: 14 square graham crackers, 1/4 c. butter, 1 TBSP sugar filling: 1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened , 1 c. whipping cream, 1 tsp. vanilla topping: 2 small cans mandarin oranges, 1/2 c. orange marmalade (or whatever fruit you choose) That same night, Annaleigh was in charge of the actual meal, although I think all of us were totally willing to just scarf the cheesecake and call it a night. She made chicken fingers, dipping sauce, fries and a salad. First, we made the breading for the chicken....
One thing that makes this recipe even more kid-friendly is the breading is made from a combination of Cheez-It crackers and regular bread crumbs. And, you can see, we chose to break up the crackers in the the food processor and nix the rolling pin again. Then she began the breading process...
I think anyone who has breaded meat before, probably knows this process. She dipped the fingers in a little milk, then the crumb mixture, then arranged on a baking pan. Obviously, you need to stress the thorough washing of hands since they are knuckle-deep in salmonella. Then you simply bake in 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or so. And wa-la...
While the chicken was baking, we also threw in some frozen fries, and she prepared a salad. She also made some dipping sauce, which consisted of some mayo, Dijon mustard, and honey. Ingredients chicken fingers: about 1.5 lbs. of chicken breasts, cut into strips , 1 c. of Cheez-Its, 1/4 c. dry bread crumbs, 1/2 c. milk or buttermilk dipping sauce: 1/2 c. mayo or salad dressing, 4 tsps Dijon mustard, 1 TBSP honey (I melt in the microwave for a few seconds for easier blending) Oh...and for Pete's sake, make them clean up the kitchen....
...or otherwise, what's the point?! |
