Sunday, December 25, 2011
Chopped...with wooden food!
Okay, so this isn't really a blog worthy story, but I just wanted to share that my son got a lot of wooden food for Christmas and a sizzling cook top. He has already played chopped with me about ten times. Last night before bed he fixed me a "strawberry kiwi toast salad" and asked if he was chopped or not. Then this morning before leaving to my in laws, he made me a "watermelon carrot cucumber lettuce tomato thingy," and asked if he made it to the next round. He even had me time him to make sure he got it fixed in time. Love this little chef and can't wait to see what else he cooks for me!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Ahhh...Brinner.
So, if you didn't already know, my son likes to play cooking ALL THE TIME! His new favorite show to watch is Chopped and often likes to take my drawer of kitchen tools apart and play it himself. He likes to bring me plates full of his cooking and I HAVE to eat it and judge it before he can move on, telling him if he has been chopped or not. Yes, my son is four. Yes, my son is imaginative. And hopefully, yes, I would love for my son to be a wonderful cook, or a professional chef if he wants to. I would have no problem with that as a parent.
Well, tonight I decided, after hearing Trey all day tell me to try his food and hearing the sound of my plastic vegetable cutter hitting the wooden cutting board he was playing with that the boy was going to actually cook something tonight. So what to fix that would be easy. Brinner. Yep, that wonderful idea of having all the breakfast items for dinner!.
On the menu: scrambled cheese eggs, turkey bacon, hash browns, and biscuits. This changes all the time, but for the most part, I usually have two of the four when we cook brinner. Mostly because I know my boys will eat it up! I sometimes cook pancakes, I sometimes do made to order omelets. I have even made some delicious cinnamon bun waffles (and oh, I don't like those things but for some reason as a waffle they are fabulous!). But tonight, it was about Trey helping me cook.
Scrambled Eggs.
Trey usually stirs whatever I am cooking, nothing new to him. But tonight, he helped me put the cheese in the eggs and melt the butter, plus stir in the hot pan! He was PUMPED about that. My cheese eggs usually consist of Cheddar cheese shredded finely. I use about half a cup for six eggs. Tonight, Trey wanted to add all the cheese in the fridge. So, we pulled out the five cheese Italian Mix I used for Lasagna the other night (about 1/4 cup left) and some fresh grated Parmesan cheese Thomas had for a dish he made last week. I was a little worried about all this cheese, but Trey assured me, "Mommy, it'll be okay. Trust me. I never get chopped!" :) So I put the pad of butter on the pan and while it was melting, told Trey he could use the spatula to spread it around the pan. Easy enough. While I whipped my eggs to make them fluffy, I carefully watched to make sure he wasn't knocking butter out of the pan or getting to close to the hot stove. Nope, he was doing GREAT! In the mixture went and I told him he had to keep stirring. "Stir," I told him, "Don't stop!" He needed a little help to move fast enough mostly because I have told him in the past not to stir too fast or hard because whatever will come out of the pan. He did a good job remembering. And soon enough, eggs were done. And looked really good.
Bacon
I CAN NOT FRY BACON! Seriously, that is not an under statement. I can't do it. I burn the snot out of any type of bacon I fry. Same with sausage. Just can't seem to fry it enough, or I burn it beyond tasting good. So, I bake it. The best thing about turkey bacon, and the reason why I use it, is 1-a lot less grease and fat but 2- when you lay it down straight on the baking pan and bake it, it stays long strips and doesn't crinkle to this little piece of meat. Now, it doesn't come out too crunchy, but chewy, and I like bacon that way so it works for me. Tonight, Trey got to lay it straight on the pan. I had to make two batches since he laid it in all directions and only placed about 7 on the large pan. He thought it was gross to touch the bacon. "I feels like skin." Hmm....I don't know if I agree with that but okay. I put it in the oven and of course, perfection!
Okay, so that was Trey's helping with dinner. I was going to have him help with the hash browns, but got really nervous with the hot grease in the pan. The biscuits were left over from breakfast that morning (I was the only who seemed to want them), so he helped me split them apart to add some jelly. And when everything was ready, he made a clean plate, right?
Wrong. Trey ate all his hash browns, his biscuit, half of the two slices of bacon I gave him (So yes, one strip) and only a bite of the eggs that he spent the most time doing! Whoever said to have kids help in the kitchen to assure they eat what they make didn't meet my child!
Well, tonight I decided, after hearing Trey all day tell me to try his food and hearing the sound of my plastic vegetable cutter hitting the wooden cutting board he was playing with that the boy was going to actually cook something tonight. So what to fix that would be easy. Brinner. Yep, that wonderful idea of having all the breakfast items for dinner!.
On the menu: scrambled cheese eggs, turkey bacon, hash browns, and biscuits. This changes all the time, but for the most part, I usually have two of the four when we cook brinner. Mostly because I know my boys will eat it up! I sometimes cook pancakes, I sometimes do made to order omelets. I have even made some delicious cinnamon bun waffles (and oh, I don't like those things but for some reason as a waffle they are fabulous!). But tonight, it was about Trey helping me cook.
Scrambled Eggs.
Trey usually stirs whatever I am cooking, nothing new to him. But tonight, he helped me put the cheese in the eggs and melt the butter, plus stir in the hot pan! He was PUMPED about that. My cheese eggs usually consist of Cheddar cheese shredded finely. I use about half a cup for six eggs. Tonight, Trey wanted to add all the cheese in the fridge. So, we pulled out the five cheese Italian Mix I used for Lasagna the other night (about 1/4 cup left) and some fresh grated Parmesan cheese Thomas had for a dish he made last week. I was a little worried about all this cheese, but Trey assured me, "Mommy, it'll be okay. Trust me. I never get chopped!" :) So I put the pad of butter on the pan and while it was melting, told Trey he could use the spatula to spread it around the pan. Easy enough. While I whipped my eggs to make them fluffy, I carefully watched to make sure he wasn't knocking butter out of the pan or getting to close to the hot stove. Nope, he was doing GREAT! In the mixture went and I told him he had to keep stirring. "Stir," I told him, "Don't stop!" He needed a little help to move fast enough mostly because I have told him in the past not to stir too fast or hard because whatever will come out of the pan. He did a good job remembering. And soon enough, eggs were done. And looked really good.
Bacon
I CAN NOT FRY BACON! Seriously, that is not an under statement. I can't do it. I burn the snot out of any type of bacon I fry. Same with sausage. Just can't seem to fry it enough, or I burn it beyond tasting good. So, I bake it. The best thing about turkey bacon, and the reason why I use it, is 1-a lot less grease and fat but 2- when you lay it down straight on the baking pan and bake it, it stays long strips and doesn't crinkle to this little piece of meat. Now, it doesn't come out too crunchy, but chewy, and I like bacon that way so it works for me. Tonight, Trey got to lay it straight on the pan. I had to make two batches since he laid it in all directions and only placed about 7 on the large pan. He thought it was gross to touch the bacon. "I feels like skin." Hmm....I don't know if I agree with that but okay. I put it in the oven and of course, perfection!
Okay, so that was Trey's helping with dinner. I was going to have him help with the hash browns, but got really nervous with the hot grease in the pan. The biscuits were left over from breakfast that morning (I was the only who seemed to want them), so he helped me split them apart to add some jelly. And when everything was ready, he made a clean plate, right?
Wrong. Trey ate all his hash browns, his biscuit, half of the two slices of bacon I gave him (So yes, one strip) and only a bite of the eggs that he spent the most time doing! Whoever said to have kids help in the kitchen to assure they eat what they make didn't meet my child!
Friday, December 16, 2011
SOOOO SOOORRRRYYYY
So, I totally knew this would happen, but I told you right? I am HORRIBLE at updating these things. So, therefore, this one is a little later. Okay, like two months in the making late. Its about Halloween. Trey and I bit off more than we could chew with that one.
So, the first thing Trey and I made for Halloween was for his teachers, Halloween themed bark. Trey helped me stir and melt the dark chocolate. He reminded me while it was melting that it looked like something that comes from your body and into the toilet (however, not that nicely), and he didn't want to try it. When we added the candy corn to it, he changed his mind. But when he touched the hot melted chocolate while patting them in, and realizing how hot it was, a little whiny and sleepy four year old had a break down and decided no. While it was cooling and hardening, we tackled the next project for the second time.
Now, I have made three different types of whoopie pie recipes. Each time, my cookie pie part...well, it fails. So, I tried yet ANOTHER recipe. And again, it was not right. The batter wasn't thick at all and was like a milkshake. When they heated up it was more like a silver dollar pancake on a diet, that's how thin it was. you can imagine Trey's reaction. "Mommy, those aren't cookies" "I know, Trey, they are supposed to be like little cakes." "Mommy, those are definitely not cakes, those are chocolate papers." Without even trying to make the middle, I threw them away. That was two days before Halloween. When I decided to make the bark and went to get the ingredients for it, I saw (drum roll please)......Pillsbury Whoopie Pie Mix, Halloween themed! It came with sprinkles to roll the sides in that were black and orange. Perfect right? And so easy, right? WRONG!
OK, so I don't know how, the whoopie pie gods must not like me, because even with the boxed recipe, they still weren't as big and puffy as they were supposed to me. Or the same size. Trey was in charge of sprinkles and had a hard time getting to the icing because the cake was not think enough to put a thick layer of icing in between. So, well, with a four year old, his solution was to bite the sides off! I was icing while he was rolling, and didn't realize until about the fourth out of twelve one he had done was on the plate. He had a mouth full of chocolate and was surprised when I commented that he wasn't supposed to eat the cakes just yet. So, his teachers got the pretties four we made, and we saved the rest. At least I know there is a dessert item he enjoys now.
Well, that was October. A little late, I know. We shall do Thanksgiving soon...or hopefully before Christmas. I make no promises. :)
So, the first thing Trey and I made for Halloween was for his teachers, Halloween themed bark. Trey helped me stir and melt the dark chocolate. He reminded me while it was melting that it looked like something that comes from your body and into the toilet (however, not that nicely), and he didn't want to try it. When we added the candy corn to it, he changed his mind. But when he touched the hot melted chocolate while patting them in, and realizing how hot it was, a little whiny and sleepy four year old had a break down and decided no. While it was cooling and hardening, we tackled the next project for the second time.
Now, I have made three different types of whoopie pie recipes. Each time, my cookie pie part...well, it fails. So, I tried yet ANOTHER recipe. And again, it was not right. The batter wasn't thick at all and was like a milkshake. When they heated up it was more like a silver dollar pancake on a diet, that's how thin it was. you can imagine Trey's reaction. "Mommy, those aren't cookies" "I know, Trey, they are supposed to be like little cakes." "Mommy, those are definitely not cakes, those are chocolate papers." Without even trying to make the middle, I threw them away. That was two days before Halloween. When I decided to make the bark and went to get the ingredients for it, I saw (drum roll please)......Pillsbury Whoopie Pie Mix, Halloween themed! It came with sprinkles to roll the sides in that were black and orange. Perfect right? And so easy, right? WRONG!
OK, so I don't know how, the whoopie pie gods must not like me, because even with the boxed recipe, they still weren't as big and puffy as they were supposed to me. Or the same size. Trey was in charge of sprinkles and had a hard time getting to the icing because the cake was not think enough to put a thick layer of icing in between. So, well, with a four year old, his solution was to bite the sides off! I was icing while he was rolling, and didn't realize until about the fourth out of twelve one he had done was on the plate. He had a mouth full of chocolate and was surprised when I commented that he wasn't supposed to eat the cakes just yet. So, his teachers got the pretties four we made, and we saved the rest. At least I know there is a dessert item he enjoys now.
Well, that was October. A little late, I know. We shall do Thanksgiving soon...or hopefully before Christmas. I make no promises. :)
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