Do you bake with your children?

Something about fall always triggers in me the desire to bake. I don't care what, cupcakes, cookies, breed. Baking can be a great introduction of children into the kitchen. Most recipes are measure, stir, bake, which is well within their abilities. When my son was little he enjoyed making white bread with me. He love to knead the dough. Alas when you are little and knead like a crazy man, accidents do happen. Like the time he kneaded so hard his pants slipped to his ankles reveling he had put his undies on backwards. We all had a good giggle that day and now have a memory to carry with us.

The point is, it may take a little more time to get things done, but the fun you can have with your child in the kitchen is well worth the it (and yeah the extra mess too.) Not to mention you are teaching them skills they will use later in life, like how to follow directions. They get to practice math by measuring. And yes indeed there is science in the whole process, like explaining how yeast works. So the next time you head into the kitchen to bake, even if it is a box mix, take the children along and create some memories of your own!

Homemade pet treats

Recently I came across an article in the Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine with a recipe to make cat treats. They sounded simple to make, so I decided, why not give it a try.

3/4 cup flour
1 can (5oz) tuna in water
2 tbsp canned puree pumpkin
1 tsp dried catnip

Combine all the ingredients and mix till it becomes a dough. Now the recipe called for pinching off bite size pieces with floured hands, but I found it much simpler and faster to make "logs" out of the dough and use a pair of scissors to make the bite size bits. These bits were then put on a greased cookie sheet and baked at 350 degrees for around 20 minutes. And after they were done cooling, I stored them in an air tight container in the fridge.

The pumpkin in these treats is great for helping with hairballs in cats. Our male cat turned his nose up at the treats, but then again he turns his nose up at most things. Our female cats was very interested in them. Then I thought, I have so many (as I made a double batch), I wounder if they would be okay for the dog. Not only are they okay but also very healthy for him too. Did you know the effect of catnip on dogs includes helping with nervousness and soothing troubled tummies!?!?!

Why not whip up a (single) batch for your furry friend, be they cat or dog!

Just like grandma used to make......

Zucchini Bread

One of my favorite childhood memories was of my grandmother's zucchini bread. So when I got older and began planting my own garden I had to grow zucchini! But no mater what recipe I used, it just wasn't "right." So I called her one day and she finally gave me her zucchini bread recipe!!!

I was over the moon with joy and my taste buds danced with excitement as I whipped up my first batch. Since then, zucchini bread has become a favorite around our home. In fact when I harvest my zucchini, I grate it and bag it, 2 cups to a bag and freeze. That way when we want some bread I just pop a bag out of the freezer and bake.

Now you are in luck, because I am going to share her amazing recipe with all of you! So let's get baking.......


Ingredients
3 Egg
2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Veg. Oil
2 Cups Zucchini (if you freeze and thaw like I do, make sure you use the liquid in the bag too)
2 Cups Flour
1/4 teaspoon Backing Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
2 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 teaspoon Vanilla
Walnuts (optional)

My grandfather used to harvest the black walnuts on his land and over the winter crack them and bag up the nuts. I used to always have nuts in my freezer. Sadly age prevents him from doing this any more and my attempts to do it have been met with squirrels breaking into the garage to steel them when we laid them out to dry before cracking. I have not used nuts the last few year and it tastes just as good! And now my mother who is allergic to walnuts can have some too!

What to do
In a bowl combine the eggs, oil, zucchini and vanilla. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients. Next add the wet ingredients to the dry. Stir enough to combine all the items but don't over do it. Do not "beat" the cake batter type dough.

This makes enough for two loaves. They are on the shorter side (height wise) so if you want to put it all in one standard bread pan you can but you will have to cook long and test with a toothpick. You know, stick it in to see if it comes out clean like you test a cake.

IMPORTANT: Grease and flour your pan or the bread will stick. My grandma forgot to tell me that originally, Opps! Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. As with any baking, keep your nose alert and use the toothpick test to make sure you don't under or over cook your bread.


So bake some up, crawl under a blanket and read a good book soon! I hope your family enjoys this bread as much as my family does. In fact my son, who is six, would rather have a slice of zucchini bread in his school lunch then cookies! Grandma's recipe really is that good!!! Enjoy!

Apple Crisp - A fall favorite

When the are turns crisp, you know it is time to make some Apple Crisp! I know there are a million and one ways to make it and everyone claims theirs is the best. I clam nothing! This is just the way I do it and the way our family has come to enjoy the great fall snack.

My family recipe.....

1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Combine and add to the desired amount of peeled, cored, sliced apples, coating them well. Place apples in backing pan.


1 Cup Sugar
1 1/2 Cup Flour
3/4 Cup Butter

Milk
Powder sugar

Combine into a crumbly dough. Crumble or pinch off pieces and place over the top of the apples. Bake at 350 degrees for around 30 to 45 minutes. After the crisp cools, combine milk and powder sugar in a bowl to make as much or as little glaze to drizzle over the top.

Now you could eat it right away and we always have a piece but I love it even more after it has been refrigerated. Let me just say, this is so addictive that I had to pack my son some in his school lunch today! He loves it that much. So why not whip some up and enjoy one of our family fall traditions. I promise, it's good!



This recipe was shared on

 

Apple head carving for kids

As some of you may know, I am a contributing blogger on Farm Chick Chit Chat. September's theme over there is Apples. And while baking pies can be fun for some children, I was racking my brain to find something a little more kid and male child friendly for my son. And that's when it hit me!

 

 

All summer long he wanted to whittle. Well of course at six, I am not about to give him a pocket knife unsupervised so he found other ways, like using a nail. So I thought, why not "whittle" (carve) an apple! All a child needs is an apple, a butter knife, and some imagination. For our project we did a "shrunken head."

 

I peeled the skin off one side of the apple and it was ready to go. Once the face was on all we had to do was wait for it to shrink up.

 

Now fair warning, if forgotten, the head will continue to decay. Which is kind of cool looking and a great opportunity to talk about such things. But if your like me, and completely lost track of the head due to outstanding circumstances, you could be in for a fuzzy surprise when the head is later located! So keep an eye on where your children take their apple carving!

 

 

Play with your food!!!

Fall is here and to me that means apples. Sadly, Michigan's apple crops were hit hard this year due to the weather conditions. Prices are at an all time high and orchards are not advertising for U-pick.

 

What ever will we do? We will suck it up and buy apples at the store at mind boggling prices. We will scale back on the amount of cider and donut holes we consume. But we will NOT give up on the fun of fall and apples! 

After school, I set out a shiny red apple, some grapes, kabob stick and a knife. When my son asked for his snack, I showed him the supplies and told him we were making apple race cars. He was delighted by the idea and quickly got to work.

We cut slices for the car body, pushed broken skewer sticks through the apples, sliced grapes in half and attached them for the wheels. It was simple, fun, and nutritious! And the creativity did not stop there. He asked if he could make a worm. He lined grapes up on a kabob stick and used apple seeds for the eyes! That gave me the idea to make a worm coming out of my apple! ** Apple seeds are VERY slippery when covered in "grape guts." You might want to try something different for your eyes.**

Shark Watermelon - Anyone can make this!

It is Shark Week and we are doing and learning all about sharks. As we were surfing the net we came across a shark made out of a watermelon. As I posted on MAD on facebook, the fun tester saw this and begged, BEGGED me to make him one. So off to the store to get a melon we went. I was a little worried about pulling this off but this is actually easy peesy lemon squeezy! Okay melon squeezy. Either way it was way simple!

First I cut the angle for the base and then popped out a wedge for the mouth….

Then I disemboweled the melon!

Next I took a potato peeler and removed just a strip around the opening to reveal the white of the rind. Using a small knife I cut triangles all the way around. At this point I felt more like I was carving a pumpkin then a watermelon.

Next I chopped up the watermelon and filled the shark back up. I cut a piece of left over rind to make a fin. Last I glues on two very big wiggly eyes and let’s just say, I am not the best mom ever! LOL Yup, that’s what the fun tester told me…… Best mom ever, well at least for the next hour!

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FREE slow cooker recipes

Would you like more time to have fun with your family but making dinner takes too much time? Why not hop over to Gooseberry Patch and hit "like" to get your FREE Gooseberry Patch: Slow Cooker Recipes Download!! There are some yummy ideas in this! And what is more fun then having more time for fun? Having fun with your children getting these in the pot so you have more time to play!

Plain old hot dogs are so last year!!

Who wants plain old hot dogs on buns!?! Not me!! Check out these super cute, oh so fun, and very easy hot dog ideas!

With just three quick cuts before boiling you can turn your hot dogs into little men!

Or get slice happy before boiling and make an octopus!



Shred those dogs before boiling and add to beans for some worms and dirt!

Cinco de Mayo is tomarrow!!! (5-5-12) Let's Party!!

The holiday of Cinco De Mayo (the 5^th of May) is NOT Mexico’s Independent day. It celebrates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army in The Battle of Puebla in 1862. It is mostly celebrated in the Mexican state of Puebla and in the United States. What was once a celebration spontaneously created by Mexicans and Latinos living in California at the time as a show of support for defending freedom and democracy during the Civil War has turned into a day of celebrating Hispanic tradition. So now you know what Cinco De Mayo is, right?

So how do you celebrate Cinco De Mayo? Well around the MAD household we do it full force just like anything else!! We have decorations we got at Dollar Tree to make the place festive. You could serve up some chips and salsa. Or if your feeling feisty, you could make Polvorones a.k.a Mexican sugar cookies.

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter or margarine
Preheat oven to 300 F.
In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar and cinnamon.
Cream butter with a beater.
Add flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time to the butter while still beating until it is all incorporated.
Use a teaspoon to spoon out small pieces of dough and shape into a cookie.
Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake 25 minutes.
Optional: sprinkle warm cookies with sugar and cinnamon
Makes 24 cookies

How about playing a fun game of Pin the tail on he donkey??? Click here to find the donkey. And here are the printable tails! Maybe coloring a picture is more your speed. Why not try this one.

Maybe your super crafty like we are. Well do I have some fun craft for you to try.........

Make your own tacos and tostadas.
They suggest using foam but we just used paper.

What about a make your own paper lunch bag maracas!!

A paper bag Pinata!!!

FREE item and online fun! Check it out in a "Jiffy."

We have all seen those little blue boxes of mix from the Jiffy company but did you know that Jiffy is a Michigan based company!! Yes folks, right in the MAD Family Fun backyard. The Chelsea Milling Company is operated by a family who has been milling flour in Chelsea, MI for over 120 years.

Their website has a really awesome virtual tour you can take and it is very kid friendly. The kids will enjoy meeting Corny! And I think it is great that children can learn where food comes from and how things are made.

Now that you have learned all about Jiffy from going on a virtual tour, why not sign up for a FREE recipe book. Just think of all the fun you and your children can have making a few of the recipes together!!

Teddy Bear Toast

I must admit, I have developed an interest in making food fun, not just for my children, but because I enjoy the crafty aspect of it. This morning for breakfast my son got Teddy Bear Toast! All you need is a piece of toast, some banana, and a few raisins. Simple, cute and yummy!!!


This idea is now on....

Introducing new foods at any age

That's right, new foods aren't just for babies. I am a picky eater and I was lucky enough to marry a foodie. He has encouraged me to try more things and it has been great for our children because they are exposed to more stuff through him. But how does a picky person share new foods? Through FUN!!!

New foods can be scary to kids, but with a little imagination as a parent, we can make it fun. An example of this happened at our house this weekend. Our oldest had never had kiwi fruit so after seeing a photo online I made him a fruit palm tree.

And guess what? He likes kiwi!!! Now I am not saying making new food fun will make every child like a new food, but I think it makes it a little less scary to try new food. I know, some of you are saying "but I am not very creative." You don't have to be! I googled "creative food ideas" and it is amazing what other people have done that you can copy. So be creative, borrow from others and get your kids eating new things! Here a just a couple of the ideas I found.......

Easter S'mores

Everyone loves S'mores. Don't these just look yummy! Just use a peep instead of the same old marshmallow. In the photo they use the chicks but we went with the bunny peeps because they were flatter and easier to melt in the microwave.

April Fools' Day Food Fun

Looking for a fun way to prank your children this April Fools' Day? Well look no further! Disney's Family Fun site has some foolproof food pranks. Check out the ice cream potatoes, gelled juice and faux fish sticks!

Yummy!!!!

Peanut Butter Fudge!!! Yummy! Why not make some up with your little ones (or for yourself!) This recipe is from Horizon Organic, but you can always use regular milk.

Give a little love with a lollipop flower

Is your child looking for something to hand out at school this Valentines day? Or maybe you just want to surprise you kids with one! These lollipop flowers are quick and easy to make and I think they are very cute.

Chinese New Year's Cake

Feeling adventurous? Why not make a Nian Gao or Chinese New Year's Cake!

Edible Origami!!!!

That's right! Edible Origami!!!!

Not only will these be fun to make, but also fun to eat!!! The filling is kid friendly so don't worry about them turning up their nose. You can also experiment with fillings and make new creations.

You can also make your own paper cups for you origami meal. So get folding and have fun!

Don't forget Fiddo this Christmas

Christmas is about giving, which can be hard for little kids to understand. So help them with this concept by having them make a treat for their furry friend. Parents website has a recipe for making Doggie Biscuits! What better way to show your pet some love them by making these wonderful treats filled with love.