Tasty Tuesday--Cupcakes

We followed a super easy recipe for the cupcakes we made for this cooking class. 

11 tbl. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1 14 c. self-rising flour
3 eggs, whisked
1/2 tsp. vanilla

The kids and I are big fans of cream cheese frosting, so we made that instead of the icing suggested in the recipe book.  So much better!  The kids colored the frosting and decorated their cupcakes. 

Tasty Tuesday--Berry Trifle

The next recipe the kids picked was Quick, Heavenly Berry Trifle.  Basically an angel food cake with berries and whipped cream.  Instead of getting a store bought cake or making one from a mix I decided to make one from scratch, that way they could learn how to separate eggs and beat them to form peaks.  It was a good activity and it tasted yummy.

Angel Food Cake

1 1/4 c. cake flour
1 3/4 c. white sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. egg whites
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond

1. Beat egg whites until they from stiff peaks, and then add cream of tartar, vanilla and almond. 

2. Sift together flour, sugar and salt.  Repeat 5 times.  (CRAZY!  but we did it that many times.)

3. Gently combine the egg whites with the dry ingredients and the pour into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan. 

4. Place cake pan in a cold oven.  Turn the oven to 325 degrees.  Cook for about 1 hour or until cake is golden brown. 
5. Invert cake, allow it to cool in the pan.  When thoroughly cooled, remove from the pan. 

Then we followed the other recipe for the rest of the treat. 

Berry Mixtrue
1 1/2 Tbl. fresh lime juice
1 c. blackberries
1 c. blueberries
(We used blueberries and strawberries.)

1. Place lime juice, 1 cup blackberries, and 1 cup blueberries in 8 inch square glass pan.
2. Mash berry mixture using the back of a spoon.

We didn't make it look like a pretty trifle, we just put a slice of cake in a bowl and topped it with berries and whipped cream.  Tasty!

Tasty Tuesday--Homemade Healthy Fruit Snacks

I found this recipe a long time ago and have been waiting to try it.  Tasty Tuesday seemed like the perfect opportunity (mostly because I didn't have the ingredients for what the kids had chosen to make).  They were super easy to make, but were kind of sour.  We want to experiment with some other types of juices and fruits.  Ephram and Faythe liked juicing the lemons, but Braedi was the only one who helped make these. 

Tasty Tuesday--Fruits & Veggies

We read All About Fruits and All About Vegetables today then made some yummy fruit and vegetable dips. 

Yummm-kin Pumpkin Dip
3/4 c. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. canned pumpkin (we used the pumpkin from our garden)
1 Tbl. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1. Combine cream cheeses, brown sugar, and pumpkin in a medium bowl.  Beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined.
2. Add syrup and cinnamon and beat until smooth.
3. Cover and chill 30 minutes before serving.
4. Enjoy this dip with peeled apple slices or cinnamon pita chips.

Note: We tried this dip with all the fruits, but only liked it with apples and pita chips.  We thought it would be good with pears, too.  It was OK with bananas, but not good with raspberries, peaches, strawberries or grapes.

Creamy Ranch Dip
1/2 c. cream cheese, softened
3 Tbl. buttermilk
2 Tbl. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp. chopped fresh dill (we used dried and forgot to change the amount--good thing we like dill)
1/2 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1. Combine cream cheese and buttermilk in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until blended.
2. Stir in parsley, dill, garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
3. Serve this dip with baby carrots, broccoli florets or other fresh veggies (we also had peppers, celery and cucumbers).

Note: This dip was extra runny, but it is probably because we used frozen and thawed cream cheese.  We added it to some homemade ranch dressing and that thickened it. 

Fruit Dip
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
1 7 oz. jar of marshmallow cream

1. Blend until smooth.

Note: This dip is a favorite and goes well with all the fruits.  I mixed it with the pumpkin dip and enjoyed that flavor with the pita chips. 

Tasty Tuesday and Wow Wednesday

Last week I mentioned that we read the "All About Meat and Fish" book and were going to make tuna melts but discovered that we didn't have any tuna fish.  Well, I bought some and that is what we made. . .or at least some of us followed the recipe. 

Tuna Sweet Corn Melt
2 oz sweet corn
1 Tbl mayonnaise
1 small can of tune in water, drained
.5 oz grated cheddar cheese
wholegrain bread roll
salt and pepper

1. Mix the sweet corn, mayonnaise, and tuna in a bowl with salt and pepper.
2. Spread the mixture on the roll.  (We used English muffins)
3.  Sprinkle the cheese over the tuna and grill until cheese is melted.  (We used the broiler, but a toaster oven would work as well).

The kids didn't like the idea of having corn in it.  I followed the recipe and made one for Jonathan and I.  Braedi and Corbin made sandwiches and Dyllan, Ephram and Faythe just at the tuna mixture plain or with crackers.  I don't think I'll ever use this recipe again.  I have others that I like better.

For Wow Wednesday we attended a Red, White & Blue Celebration that a friend invited us to.  There were crafts and speakers.  The kids enjoyed the crafts, but the speakers were a little long-winded for such a young crowd.  I enjoyed what they had to say, though.  I love learning about the founding fathers and the principles that our country was founded on.  Too bad I forgot my camera again. 

Summer Fun

I was a little overzealous when I planned summer fun activities for everyday.  There is no way that we are going to be able to do them all.  We have been able to do all of our Tasty Tuesdays so far, but haven't made anything on Monday and only did one Thoughtful Thursday and one Friend Friday. 

Tasty Tuesday last week was All About Dairy.  We learned about different animals we get milk and cheese from and were surprised at some of the weird ones (buffalo).  We attempted to make butter and yogurt cheese, but must have given up too quickly.  We tried two different ways to make butter--with beaters and shaking cream in a jar.  Neither worked well.  The yogurt cheese just tasted like yogurt.  We would love to find someone who makes cheese and learn how to do it.

Tasty Tuesday this week was supposed to be All About Meat, but I was out of tuna fish for the meal so we learned how to make pudding from scratch.  The taste was good, but we didn't cook it long enough to get it thick.  The kids had to drink it.  I forgot to get pictures, though. 

We missed our WOW Wednesday last week, but yesterday my sister set up a field trip to an ice cream store.  The kids helped make cookies & cream ice cream, stood in the freezer and ate an ice cream cone.  It's always fun to see what happens behind the scene.  Too bad I forgot my camera!

Tasty Tuesday--Grains

Summer is here and our school schedule changes a little to accommodate the season.  As often as possible we will do school, but we will also add fun activities.  Each day of the week has a fun activity scheduled under theme: Make-it Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Wow Wednesday, Thoughtful Thursday, and Friend Friday.  Tasty Tuesday will include our annual cooking class activities. 

I found a set of books at the library called "All About _____".  There are 5 books for each of the major food groups.  I thought I could implement a little academic learning into our cooking class.  Today we learned about grains and each kid made their own loaf of bread following a recipe in the book.  We are also going to plant some wheat grass and go to Sprouts to check out some other grains (we were only familiar with wheat, rice, corn, barley, and oats). 

We grind grains and make bread often in our house using a mixer, so kneading by had was a new experience.  The recipe was in ounces, so we learned how to use a scale to measure.  The kids loved the idea of having their own loaf all to themselves.