Cooking with Kids Archives - Page 2 of 8

April 10, 2013April 10, 2013

No Knead Bread

I could tell you about how little sleep I’m getting, and the baby who wants to be awake between 1am and 5am.

I could tell you about juggling a crying baby and a poo-ing OCD preschooler (seriously – she has to have her toilet paper just so, everything done in just the right order…. arrrgh!).

Or I could tell you about trying to get Rocky to sleep while Pebble scoots around the floorboards on her scooter saying, “I just want to be with you”, while I explain that I want to be with her too, but I need to get the baby to sleep for that to happen, so could she please stop scooting, then I could be with her quicker (deep breath). But she won’t stop scooting. In fact, she scoots more, faster, louder. This conversation goes around and around in circles until I think I might explode. But I don’t. Because apparently I’m the adult around here *sigh*.

Or, instead of poo, and tantrums, and sleep, I could tell you a happy story about the amazeballs bread that I made this week. Real Bread. That I Made!

It’s all thanks to Gourmet Girlf riend’s bread revolution. It’s been sweeping across my Instagram feed for a week or so now and I got sucked right into it. And I’m so glad that I did!

My experience with this recipe was a story in itself. I have been so very sleep deprived that trying to calculate the 14-18 hour proving time, plus the extra two hour time, plus the half hour heating-the-pot time and the half hour cooking time and the extra 15 minutes cooking time… I read and re-read the recipe and still kept having to come back and re-check it. So my only advice is to bake this bread when you have had a good nights sleep! It truly is a very simple recipe that creates simply wonderful bread – no bread maker, no kneading.

We will definitely be making it again and I can’t wait to try some new flavours – perhaps sun-dried tomato and black olive or classic cheese and bacon. Or a herb bread using herbs from our garden!

So. Are you going to join the Gourmet Girlfriend Bread Revolution?

Linking up with Kate at Picklebums for Real Life Wednesday

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March 23, 2013October 8, 2014

Berry Frozen Yoghurt Pops

I’m very lucky to have a helping hand from some awesome blogging friends while Paul, Pebble and I welcome the newest member of our family. Today Kate from Picklebums is sharing her delicious Frozen Yoghurt Pops.

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When I saw the little ice cream molds on sale at the supermarket I knew exactly what I would do with them – frozen yoghurt pops!

This is a super easy snack that is fun and also pretty healthy. They only takes a few minutes to put together and a few hours in the freezer.

Berry Frozen Yoghurt Pops

Ingredients

2 cups plain greek style yoghurt

a handful frozen berries

2-3 tbsp raspberry or any berry flavoured jam

ice cream molds, or containers to freeze them in.

Method

Break up the frozen berries – raspberries are easy to break in your fingers, other berries may need a whack with a meat mallet to break into smaller pieces – and pop them into a bowl.
Add the jam and stir all ingredients together until well incorporated and the yoghurt turns a nice shade of pink.
Spoon the yoghurt and berry mix into your molds and freeze for 2-4 hours or until solid.
You don’t need fancy ice cream molds like the ones we used, you could make these in paper cups with regular icy pole sticks popped in once the mix is partly frozen, or even just little containers and eat it with a spoon.

Combining my kids three favourite things at the moment; yoghurt, berries and anything on a stick, was always going to make me ‘the best Mum in the world!’ Here are a few other kid friendly snacks that make me popular with me kids!

Super Simple Not at All Healthy Jam Swirls
Honey and Spice Cookies
Fruity Oatmeal Cookies
Oven Baked Apple Chips

An early childhood educator and Mum of four, Kate lives on a small property called ‘The Pickle Farm’ in rural Victoria. Kate’s blog, picklebums, has articles about gentle parenting, gardening, family food, activities for kids, free printables and anything else that pops up in her crazy life.
You can also find kate on facebook, twitter and pinterest.

March 11, 2013September 25, 2013

Simple Meals and Treats to Cook with Kids

I’m very lucky to have a helping hand from some awesome blogging friends while Paul, Pebble and I settle in with little Rockster. Today Bekka from Just for Daisy is sharing some yummy meals and treats that she likes to cook with her little Miss Daisy.

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One of the things that surprised me after having our second daughter last year was how much I would have to truly organise my life to stay on top of things! Should it really have surprised me!?

I am an organiser at heart so although a little surprising this didn’t bother me too much. It became an evening ritual to write a to do list for the following day, do what I could the night before and start the new day with a plan of action!

One of my favourite things to plan was the yummy meals and treats we’d make each week. I like to meal plan weekly, as well as plan what kinds of baking/snacks we’ll make over the week. This helps with organising a grocery list as well as keeping me inspired to bake our treats rather than resort to store bought or processed items.

Baking is also a time that Miss Daisy and I spend together. She’s enjoyed baking with me since she was 9 months old and at two and a half she’s now quite confident in the kitchen!

Here are some of our favourites that we like to make together:

Pea & Feta Fritters

This is a very quick and easy toddler friendly lunch or a last minute dinner that the whole family can enjoy. If you grow your own herbs you can very easily substitute the feta for grated cheese and you should always have these ingredients on hand! Loved by our whole family! Miss Daisy likes them with sauce and a few leaves (spinach leaves) for lunch or dinner. Hubby and I enjoy with salad!

2 Ingredient Chocolate Crackles

These are just a little too easy! But perfect for a last minute play group snack contribution or to take along for a morning tea with friends. They’d also be the perfect addition to any party table and the best part is, no copha!

One bowl Choc Coconut Slice

This one is a favourite in my family and is usually on the table at birthday parties and other gatherings! We made these to take along to a dinner last week! It’s quick and easy and a favourite with children and adults alike. The perfect companion to a hot (or cold) cuppa!

Easy Cookie Dough

I’ve generally got a roll of this cookie dough in my freezer at all times, ready to bake for unannounced guests or just to enjoy on our own if we don’t feel like all the dishes that baking can bring! So many variations can be made from this easy cookie dough recipe. Double it, triple it, enjoy!

Scones

This is where it all began for us! We have made scones together for such a long time! And we thoroughly enjoy eating them together too. Tea party optional!

Sticky Date Mug Cake

And this one is just for you. New mummy. Tired mummy. Frazzled mummy. Dessert for one is served. Or split it in two if you think your hubby is deserving! :) After falling in love with the choc mug cake I just had to experiment with my favourite dessert and came up with this perfect (sickly sweet!) individual delight!

Bekka is a primary school teacher turned SAHM to two little girls. A lover of baking, sewing and creating, Just For Daisy is where she blogs about her life and the loves of her life!

February 16, 2013September 25, 2013

Tried and Tested Kid Friendly Recipes

This week we’ve been enjoying a few old favourite meals and some new snacks. I even gave a few Pinterest recipes a whirl, which is always interesting. You never know when you’re gonna hit a Pinterest FAIL! Here are the recipes that we tried and loved – click on the image to go to the recipe or scroll down to the list of recipes and mini reviews at the end of the post. The short answer is: I’ve tried them all and highly recommend them.

The Reviews

2 Ingredient Banana and Oat Cookies

These cookies, made from oats and banana (and nothing else!) were delicious straight out of the oven and could not have been easier to make. I may have *cough* thrown a few white chocolate chips into the mix for the last two cookies and they were really, really good. The plain cookies were less delicious when eaten cold the next day, but the white chocolate ones were still good. I’d make these again – perhaps making and freezing a batch, and cooking as many as I needed at a time.

2 Ingredient Pizza Dough

I have been using this pizza dough recipe since reading it on Chantelle’s site in August last year. The two ingredients are greek yoghurt and flour. It makes a light, crispy outside, fluffy centre pizza dough that we make once a fortnight at least, sometimes weekly. I usually use it for a traditional tomato based pizza with cheese, veg and meat, but also tried a homemade basil pesto and prawn pizza this week, which was divine! If I had remembered to take a photo of that you would be seeing a blog post of it soon. I guess I’ll just have to make it again :P

Frozen Yoghurt Drops

I was a bit sceptical of this one, but was pleasantly surprised to find it worked! You pipe yoghurt dots onto a baking sheet and put it in the freezer to make frozen yoghurt drops. These were an awesome snack in this muggy Aussie heat this week. The yoghurt drops do melt a little once out of the freezer – not too fast for me to eat them though!

“Not” Fried Chicken

I have loved and used Liss’ recipe for ‘Frugal Fast Food’ chicken for a long time now, it must be a couple of years since we first tried it. The coating is so easy to make, you can make and freeze ahead, and throw it in the oven to bake. It’s also really easy to substitute bits and pieces in the recipe – I might substitute the rosemary for thyme or the cayenne for paprika, depending on what I have on hand. We always serve it with mashed potato, corn on the cob and gravy. The leftover chicken (if you have any) makes an awesome cold lunch either on it’s on or in a sandwich. I always use thighs or breasts instead of drumsticks, because that’s what I like :)

Pikelets

I love Beverley, otherwise known as Beth, and have been reading her blog ever since we were both preggo at the same time with our now three year old girls. She whips up some very tasty treats, and these pikelets certainly didn’t fail. Super simple recipe and perfect pikelets – I won’t try another recipe again. This is the one!

Vegetable and Lentil Lasagne

This is my very own recipe – actually it’s from Pebble’s child care centre cookbook, and we’ve been cooking and eating it for a year or so. It’s one of Pebble’s favourite meals to eat at child care and one that we’ve replicated for home too. Of course, now that I’ve just made another super batch of it she seems to be turning her nose up at it! I’m sure she’ll come around to it again. Kids!

Have you tried a Pinterest recipe lately? Was it a success? Or a big FAIL?

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February 9, 2013September 25, 2013

Mum’s Banana Cake

Mum's Banana Cake | Octavia and Vicky

What’s your favourite cake? I find it hard to choose just one favourite… but when I was a child I always chose banana cake on my birthday. As long as it’s moist, full of real banana flavour, and comes smothered in cream cheese icing, then bring it on. I was digging through my Mum’s old recipe books again, and I found her Banana Cake recipe….. well, I thought it was her old recipe.

What I thought was Mum’s original recipe. As it turns out. Not.

Pebble and I followed this recipe to whip up a lovely cake. She was very excited to be making a cake because making a cake means decorating a cake. She immediately decided that she wanted this cake to be pink. With glitter stars on top. Now, being the top notch food blogger that I am, I had other ideas. I was going for classic white. Maybe a sprinkling of coconut? …. then I remembered. I’m NOT a top notch food blogger. I’m a mum-parenting-family-fun kind of blogger… bring on the pink cake!

Mum's Banana Cake | Octavia and Vicky

I made the cake according to the recipe (photographed above), not really paying much attention to the method, because I know my way around cake making these days. Cream this. Sift that. Fold this. Bake that. It turned out just lovely, and no different to Mum’s from back in the day. Although I ignored the instructions to fill it with cream and sift icing sugar of the top. She never did it like that!? It was only as I started to rewrite the recipe for this blog post that I saw the words “fold in the sifted flour, salt and soda alternately with the milk“. Um. Milk? Milk is not listed in the ingredients! And I didn’t include it in my cake.

I called Mum and asked her what’s the deal with the milk. I hear her fumbling about over the phone, pulling out the recipe book. She starts rattling off ingredients… different amounts of ingredients to what I have in her hand writing in front of me. As it turns out, the recipe I used is not THE banana cake that mum used to make for me on my birthday. THIS (below) is the banana cake that she used to make for me – straight out of the Mothers’ Favourites cookbook from our local playgroup in the early 1980s. We had a giggle over some of the other recipes that she found in there…. Jellied Pineapple and Carrot Salad? Fritz Cups? I have a group of friends that would love to make a dinner party out of that crazy cook book. Mum has since passed the recipe book on to me – stay tuned! Until then, without further ado, I give you:

Mum’s Banana Cake

(also known as Alice’s cake…. thanks Alice!)

Top it off with lashings of cream cheese icing (lurid colours and sugar glitter optional) and try to stop at just one piece.

What was your ‘birthday’ cake of choice when you were growing up? Did you get a choice?!

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