I don’t know about you but I am always looking for fun food for my kids. I love to surprise them with new foods, fun foods or food they can help whip up.

I have seen these Apple Nachos all over the internet lately, so we had fun making (and eating them).  I think food that is a “project” first is extra fun for the kids…it’s a craft AND a treat! Have fun with these!!

No real recipe here…just grab a couple of apples and raid your pantry for add-ins such as caramel, hot fudge, mini chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, granola or anything else your kids might get a kick out of. Maybe even slightly melt a little peanut butter and/or fluff throw it in a little sandwich bag, snip off the end and let the squeeze away (just though of that now…sounds fun)and then why not add a few rounds of banana. Let me know what your kids come up with

Posted December 6th, 2011 by Colleen in Colleen, Desserts, Fruit, Kid Fun, Snacks | 1 Comment »

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Do you have any ice cream dishes laying around?  If so why get a little more use out of them – how about serving dinner in them one night?

Kids are easily thrilled…right?  So why not surprise them with a fun Spaghetti Sundae for dinner one night – or let them take the lead in creating one for each family member?

My kids like their pasta either plain or with just a touch of sauce…add in some mini meatballs and you are all set for some dinnertime fun!

Have fun creating your Sundae Dinner and  don’t be surprised when your kids ask for their next one!!

Happy Cooking!

Posted September 28th, 2011 by Colleen in Colleen, Entrees, Family Dinners, Kid Fun | No Comments »

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What child doesn’t love fun food (or adults for that matter?

You have two ways to go on this one….this is an easy treat for little hands to help with OR you can just surprise them with it at a barbecue, party or in the lunchbox!

Little hands can easily help skewer the marshmallows as well as help decorate them.  You could also wrap these up individually in a cookie bag with ribbon and donate them to your church or schools next bake sale or make them as party favors.  Just decorate to your theme.

Marshmallows on a Stick

Regular sized marshmallows

Chocolate melting disks in the colors or your choice

Decorations like sprinkles, jimmies, small candies, chocolate chips, nuts, etc

Wooden skewers or long lollipop sticks

The quantity needed depends on how much you want to make…for 1 bag of marshmallows you will need 2 1/2 cups of chocolate.  That will yield about 10 sticks.

Assemble your marshmallows on your sticks, three to a stick.  Set aside.  Line 2 baking sheets with wax or parchment paper.

In your microwave, melt your chocolate disks (Wilton works great).  Melt no more than 1 1/2 cups at a time.  Cooking for 1 minute, then stirring and then cooking in 30 second bursts and stirring till smooth.

Using a spoon, scoop some melted chocolate onto your marshmallows, covering the tops as well as most of the marshmallows (no need to get the bottoms coated).

Spread the chocolate around with the back of the spoon or with your clean index finger.  Decorate and place on your prepared baking sheet.  Once your sheet fills up, place in your refrigerator for 15 minutes allowing the chocolate to firm up.  Serve when ready.  These can be made 1 day ahead. 

Use your judgement for little ones indulging in these, if you use a wooden skewar, make sure they are not runn

Happy Cooking!

Posted July 24th, 2011 by Colleen in Candy, Colleen, Kid Fun, Lunch Box, Snacks | 3 Comments »

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How would your kids like to make a flavored butter?  It’s easy, it’s pretty, and it livens up toast, pancakes, waffles and bagels!

As an extra perk – it makes an awesome gift for grandparents, neighbors and more!

Raspberry Butter
1 stick butter, softened
2 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 cup fresh raspberries (about 18)

Let the kids smash the berries in a bowl, add in the softened butter and cream together. Add in the powdered sugar and mix until fully incorporated.
Scrape butter into a small crock or bowl and cover tightly with wrap. You could also form it into a log or a heart – your call. Place into the freezer for 1 hour then store in the refrigerator until ready to gift or use. Let the butter soften a bit prior to using.

Happy Cooking!

Posted July 14th, 2011 by Colleen in Breakfast, Colleen, Fruit, Kid Fun, Valentines Day | No Comments »

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Who is more excited for this weekends festivities?  You or your children?

One of the great parts of Summer are all the fun parties and barbecue’s we go to.  The kids play and swim and the adults get to hang out – love it!

Then there is the food!!  All of that wonderful, barbecue, apps and side dishes folks contribute and as a bonus lots of desserts are usually available. YUM!!

Strawberries are definitely a Summer food for many of us, so have some fun with your kids and decorate them for the 4th!!  A perfect way to serve all of the kids a sweet treat with fruit benefits that is so cute and festive…that is if the adults don’t gobble them all up first!

Festive Strawberries

Strawberries

White chocolate melting disks 9I like Wilton from the craft store)

Blue sprinkles, sanding sugar or jimmies

Wash and completely dry your berries.  I a small, deep bowl, melt chocolate in your microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth (careful not to burn it).  In another small bowl place your sprinkles/sugar.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Dip your berries one at a time into the melted chocolate, let the excess drip off.  Then gently place the end of them into your blue sugar/jimmies.  Now you have a red white and blue berry!  Gently place it on you parchment/wax paper lined baking sheet and repeat.  Give each berry some space.  Place the baking sheet into your refrigerator to allow the melted chocolate to firm up. 

Have a fun. tasty and safe 4th of July weekend!!

Posted June 30th, 2011 by Colleen in Candy, Colleen, Desserts, Fruit, Kid Fun | 1 Comment »

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One of our favorite things to do together as a family is garden.  It began when my kids were small…tiny hands were helping here and there,  sparkeling eyes filled with the wonder of natures beautiful bounty blossoming into a love of gardening!  Today my kids are 13 and 15 and they have become competent gardeners.   The process of planning out the annual garden, preparing the soil, planting seeds and watching what we plant grow each year has always amazed my children and I am confident they will enjoy the same ritual with their families one day.

My son however, does not place vegetables at the top of his list when it comes to eating them.  To encourage him to eat what we grow, we decided to plant a pizza garden: we plant what we know  each member of the family enjoys on their pizza plus the plants we use to make to make our homemade pizza sauce. 

The plants can be arranged in a small space in a corner of the garden.  If space is an issue, the plants can be grown in a pot.  Just place the tomato plant in the center then arrange the herbs around the edge: pizza in a pot!

Pizza in a Pot or in your Garden

What you will need:

Roma tomato plant (not a lot of seeds, grows fast, has great flavor when cooked)

Parsley, Oregano, Basil plants (one of each is enough for an entire season)

Optional:

Onions (easy to grow but can’t be harvested until fall)

Garlic (actually keeps some animals away from the other plants)

Peppers (which my husband loves on his pizza)

For the Pizza Sauce:

To make your own sauce, start by mincing the garlic and chopping the onion into small pieces.  Saute the onion over medium heat with a teaspoon of olive oil for about 5 minutes, add in the garlic and sauté 1 minute more (careful not to burn the garlic).  Add in a few leaves of each of the herbs.  Add in the tomato sauce and 1 teaspoon of each of the fresh herbs.  We like a little kick, so we add ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce.  Cook for about 30 minutes, then taste.  When the sauce is done, spread it over pizza crust, layer with fresh tomato slices and fresh chopped basil, then cover with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake for 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until the cheese starts to brown slightly and the crust looks brown on the edges.

Not only will your children will love helping in the garden, but the will learn a thing or two during the whole process, have a responsibility of tending to their piece of the garden and will wait with eager anticipation as they wait to eat what they grew!!  Plus planning out Pizza Night is a great family activity…whose turn is it and what kind of pizza will they dream up – the possibilities are endless!

Have fun planting, tending, cooking and eating!

Posted June 6th, 2011 by Colleen in Amanda, Dinner, Entrees, Family Dinners, Family time, Kid Fun, Lunch, Parent's Corner, Veggies | 1 Comment »

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Summer is here and you know what that means – the kids want ice cold treats – stat!

I remeber growing up and loving to get my hands on the freeze pops my mom would stock the freezer with – blue and green were my favorite!  A big box of 100 freeze pops went a long way when you have 5 kids!  Now that I am a mom and a little conscious about what I feed my family, I don’t continue that tradition.  There is just to many “unnatural” ingredients found in them.

Instead my kids and I make popsicles!  My kids are not a fan of fruit pieces in their pops, instead they opt for juice pops and sometimes they add in some yogurt for added texture and taste.  My kids love making the popsicles and of course they love eating them too.  I love watching them have fun creating their treats, thinking up flavor combinations and of course I feel good about what they are eating.

What you will need:   Popsicle sticks and either popsicle molds or dixie cups

The tangerine pop is 100% fresh squeezed tangerine juice – that’s it.  We poured the juice into a dixi cup and froze it overnight. (Just insert the stick about 1 hour after you place cups in the freezer if you are using cups and when ready to eat, use sissors to cut the cup and continure ripping the rest of the cup away).

Let your kids select fruits that interest them…such as oranges, lemons, limes, taggerines, grapefruits, kiwis, watermelon, etc.  Squeeze every last drop our of your chosen fruit(s) add some sugar to the more sour fruits or depending on the palate of your kids any fruit.

Another option is purchasing 100% organic juices from some supermarkets.

If you want to incorporate yogurt into the pops, just fill the molds/cups part way with your chosen juice, then add a layer of yogurt and in another 2 hours or so add another layer of juice or vice versa – no rules here!

Enjoy!

Posted June 3rd, 2011 by Colleen in Colleen, Desserts, Fruit, Kid Fun, Snacks, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

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Please welcome Melissa from The Highlandview Pantry.  She is a homeschooling mom to 5 children who happen to live on a farm where the homestead.  Melissa and her family have a life very different from my own (one that I think is wonderful) and I thought many of you would enjoy peeking into it.  Please visit her site for many ideas on recipes, crafts and more. http://thehighlandviewpantry.blogspot.com/

If you are planning on planting strawberries this season with your kids or grand kids making Melissa’s Strawberry Freezer Jam is a wonderful way to use up some of the bounty you will get!  As a perk, your kids can have a hand in their future school lunches…how cool will it be to know they made their jam on their sandwich.  Plus you know exactly what is in the jam and can feel good about feeding it to them.  My kids love strawberry jam sandwiches, I am totally making this with them once our berries are ready!!  Thanks Melissa!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

-The Highlandview Pantry

The appearance of juicy, ripe strawberries kicks-off berry season.  Making strawberry freezer jam is a fun project to do with a child.  The most exciting way to get the child involved is to check local area papers for a u-pick strawberry farm.  Once the berries have been harvested, the strawberry freezer jam process is simple.

 Ingredients and Supplies:

2 cups of crushed strawberries

4 cups of sugar

¾ cup of water

1 box of fruit pectin (1.75 oz)

Freezer containers

Wide-mouth funnel

Directions:

1. Wash and dry several freezer containers.

2. Wash the berries.  Have the child remove the stems.

3. Using a potato masher, have the child smash the strawberries one cup at a time.  When all the berries are crushed, the total amount of crushed fruit should be two cups.

4. In a large mixing bowl, have the child stir together the crushed strawberries and sugar.  Let the mixture sit for ten minutes.  This allows the strawberries’  juices to flow.

5. The adult should heat the water and pectin to a boil in a small saucepan.  Boil one minute stirring constantly.

6. Pour the pectin mixture into the strawberry mixture and stir until all the sugar is dissolved.

7. Have the child help pour the jam into freezer containers leaving room for expansion. A wide-mouth funnel helps keep this process neat.

8. Let the jam sit at room temperature for twenty-four hours.  While the jam is setting up, have the child design cute labels for the containers.  Store in the freezer for up to one year.

Tips -   This recipe yields five cups of jam.  Strawberry freezer jam can also be made with honey and fruit juice instead of sugar.  However, a low-sugar or no-sugar pectin would be needed for that process.

Posted April 14th, 2011 by Colleen in Breakfast, Desserts, Fruit, Kid Fun, Lunch | No Comments »

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To celebrate the first day of Spring, here is a fun activity your children may enjoy!!

I got home from work last week, and my 9^th grader had decorated the driveway for me.  She “recycled” all of the odds and ends of sidewalk chalk we had left from last season into a paint, then used it to paint the driveway.  Part of it was splattered, like a Jackson Pollack painting (yes, she was impressed that I knew who that was given my total lack of artistic ability).

Let you kids inner Picasso fly free with this fun family friendly activity – don’t forget to join in the fun yourself!

 What you need:

Old pieces of chalk

Water

Unwanted plastic containers/cups (she used the soup containers from the Chinese restaurant because they had lids and she could store the “paint” for future use)

 Directions:

1. Crush the chalk, one color at a time, into a powder inside a plastic bag using a hammer (this should be closely supervised).
2. Add all of one color of the powder to the plastic container.  Then add water until the mixture is the consistency of paint (not too watery, but not too thick that it looks like a paste).
3. Use a paint brush and paint away!

Clean-Up

This makes a great painting project because the paint brushes wash easily with soap and water, the containers can be re-used or cleaned the same way, it comes out of clothes and off of children with warm soapy water,  and the “canvas” (driveway) is self cleaning (it only took one good rainfall to wash it all clean).

The best part is, you get to recycle the leftover chalk, or at least can give them something to use until you can get to the store to get fresh chalk.  We always seem to have a small container of the leftovers every year.  Now we have a way to use them!

Have fun!

Posted March 20th, 2011 by Colleen in Amanda, Kid Fun | No Comments »

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Ever notice how a child’s eyes light up when they get an everyday food presented to them in an unusual way?

They get filled with anticipation, awaiting the moment they can get to taste the new or updated treat!

Here is a really fun way to serve Jello.  You can surprise your kids or have them help you – either way it’s sure to be a hit!

Such a pretty addition to a child’s birthday party table, a surprise on a picnic or a wonderful feel better soon snack!

Jello Rainbow Cups

Make Jello according to package directions.  In your chosen cups pour the first color of Jello and refrigerate,  Make the second color and have it sitting on the counter ready to pour 30 minutes later, repeat with each color.  Allow 4 hours total to set.

Jello Fruit

Fruits that work well are lemons, limes and oranges.

Wash all fruit well.  Slice chosen fruit(s) in half.  Carefully run a paring knife around the edges of each half loosening the fruit from the pith (the pith is the white thread-like material between the fruits peel and the fruit itself).  Use a mellon baller or spoon to peel away the fruit from one end.  After that you can just pull it all out with your fingers. (Save the insides to use for making lemon or lime-aid or the insides of the oranges for snacking.

Position the fruit halves in a devided egg plate if you have one – if not position them on a dish towel lined baking sheet.

Make jello according to package directions – using 1/2 cup less liquid then called for.  Slowly pour the Jello into fruit halves.  Transfer to your refrigerator and allow to set.

Once set, prior to serving carefully slice each half in half making quarters.

Enjoy!

Posted March 6th, 2011 by Colleen in Colleen, Desserts, Kid Fun, Lunch, Snacks | 1 Comment »

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