November 29, 2012 By headchef
Welcome to Fantastic Thursday!
Thanks to all who linked up last week! Each of you help make this party successful!
Be sure to come back next week to see if you have been featured and to link up your latest creation!
I’d appreciate it if you would link up in some way; button or text link to this party to spread the word.
Let’s get the party started! I’m excited to see what you have to share!
Recipes are wonderful, but crafts and other ideas are also welcome!
Thanks so much for choosing to link up at Five Little Chefs!
‘);
November 28, 2012 By headchef
During the week we do not cook hot breakfast, unless you count microwave oatmeal. On the weekends we get a little fancy with pancakes, waffles and eggs. When we found Mini Frittatas by Giada we were excited. It seemed like a perfect recipe for us. Mix the eggs and additional ingredients all in one bowl and then pour them into mini muffin tins and cook it for 10 minutes. Seemed quick and easy.
The first step was to cut the ham. For some reason this day the Little Chefs were not that interested in cutting anything. I cut the ham into a fine dice as well as the parsley. Little Chef C cracked the eggs in a bowl with a spout so later it could be poured into the mini muffin tins and not dirty another bowl. She whisked the eggs together as well as she could….until she was bored and wanted to move on.
Next she measured and added the milk, salt and pepper.
She grated the parmesan cheese and added the diced ham and parsley. Using a whisk she mixed everything well.
The mixture was then poured into mini muffin tins. At the end the bowl contained a huge pile of ham. Next time I would put the ham in the muffin tins and then add the egg mixture on top.
After 10 minutes the frittatas were puffy and ready.
These are best eaten right out of the oven. I was pleasantly surprised at the result. The Little Chefs gobbled these up. They were small enough to eat in two bites which kept them coming back for more. We all loved the little bits of ham in each bite. It was a good choice to finely dice the ham. The pepper was my other favorite ingredient in this recipe. These may have been little, but each bite packed a lot of flavor. This recipe is jumping to the top of the list we like it that much!
Mini Frittatas
Giada De Laurentiis
IngredientsNonstick vegetable oil cooking spray8 large eggs1/2 cup whole milk1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper1/4 teaspoon salt4 ounces thinly sliced ham, chopped1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Spray 2 mini muffin tines (each with 24 cups) with non stick spray. Whisk the eggs, milk, pepper, and salt in a large bowl to blend well. Stir in the ham, cheese, and parsley. Fill prepared muffin cups almost to the top with the egg mixture. Bake until the egg mixture puffs and is just set in the center, about 8 to 10 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, loosen the frittatas from the muffin cups and slide the frittatas onto a platter. Serve immediately.
November 22, 2012 By headchef
Welcome to Fantastic Thursday!
Thanks to all who linked up last week! Each of you help make this party successful!
Be sure to come back next week to see if you have been featured and to link up your latest creation!
I’d appreciate it if you would link up in some way; button or text link to this party to spread the word.
Let’s get the party started! I’m excited to see what you have to share!
Recipes are wonderful, but crafts and other ideas are also welcome!
Thanks so much for choosing to link up at Five Little Chefs!
‘);
November 21, 2012 By headchef
I probably mentioned this before, but we love brownies! We are always trying different brownie recipes. We first tried a Fake Betty Crocker Brownie Mix and did not like it very much. It was very cakey and not what we liked. We decided to try this again with a little modification.
I love the idea of this recipe because it is basic ingredients we always have on hand. Little Chef D measured out the flour and sugar.
She then added the cocoa.
She cracked two eggs into a separate bowl just to make sure there were no shells. I love watching her crack eggs because she smashes the shell completely with her fingers to open it up.
After she checked for shells she added the eggs to the mix along with the oil, salt, and baking powder.
She thought it was fun using the hand mixer to blend all the ingredients together. We poured the batter into a greased pan, then poured some butterscotch sauce on top. We took a knife and moved it up and down to swirl the sauce and the batter together.
This recipe only makes a very thin 8×8 pan. We prefer a thicker brownie. However, the addition of the butterscotch sauce was amazing! It made the brownie VERY fudge like- just what we like. If we made this recipe again this is the way we would make it.
Fake Betty Crocker Brownie Mix
Five little Chefs adapted from Fake It Frugal
Ingredients:1 Cup Sugar1/2 Cup Flour1/3 Cup Cocoa1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
Mix all these ingredients together with a whisk and dump them into a zipper bag. On the bag, add the following instructions:
Add: 2 Eggs, 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil, 1 teaspoon Vanilla. Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Adaptation – Place completed batter in 8×8 pan then add 1/4-1/2 cup Butterscotch Sauce on top and swirl into batter. Bake as directed.
November 19, 2012 By headchef
Zucchini Parmesan Crisps seemed like a great recipe to try. We often see something similar to this at a restaurant and we enjoy them. I loved the idea of baking rather then frying because it is more healthy. I also liked this recipe because my Little Chefs can do everything on their own, except handling the oven.
Little Chef A cut the zucchini into as uniform sizes as she possibly could.
In a bowl she combined bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt and black pepper. Each zucchini round was first coated with olive oil and then each side was dipped in the mixture and placed on a parchment lined baking sheet.
We found this recipe to be not a favorite. The bread crumbs burned and unfortunately that was the dominate taste. This is a recipe that was worth a try but is not for us.
Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
Ellie Krieger
IngredientsCooking spray2 medium zucchini (about 1 pound total)1 Tablespoon olive oil1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (3/4 ounce)1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
DirectionsPreheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.Slice the zucchini into 1/4 inch thick rounds. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the oil. In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs, salt, and a few turns of pepper. Dip each round into the Parmesan mixture, coating it evenly on both sides, pressing the coating on to a stick, and place in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake the zucchini rounds until browned and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove with spatula. Serve immediately.
November 16, 2012 By headchef
This Caramel Frosting is a legend in my Grandma’s family. When she would make it her kids would fight over the frosting and even take it off of each others plates with amusing and painful results. I was expecting this frosting to be exceptional…and it was!
This was simple to make and I always have these 4 ingredients on hand; butter, brown sugar, milk, and powdered sugar. The butter was first melted in a saucepan. Then the brown sugar was added and brought to a boil. This is when you really need to constantly stir it so it does not burn.
It will start to look and smell like caramel. Let it come to a boil and boil for 2 minutes…still stirring.
Add just a bit of milk, only 1/4 cup, bring to a boil then take it off the heat and cool. Beat in the powdered sugar. I wasn’t sure I wanted to dirty the beaters but the powdered sugar created some lumps that I wanted to eliminate so I did get it out. I added 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and did not thin it. Taste test the frosting of course before frosting brownies, cake, or cupcakes.
This Caramel Frosting reminded me of caramels I make at Christmas time. It tastes that good! I would thin it out a bit more next time, but yes there will be a next time. This was great! Definitely “worth fighting for” as my Grandma wrote in her cookbook. What a great recipe to end on!
Caramel Frosting
Five Little Chefs Great Grandma
Ingredients1/2 cup butter1 cup packed brown sugar1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar
1. Melt butter in sauce pan. Stir in brown sugar.2. Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly.3. Add milk, bring to a boil and cool.
4. Beat in powdered sugar. Add water to thin.
November 15, 2012 By headchef
Welcome to Fantastic Thursday!
Thanks to all who linked up last week! Each of you help make this party successful!
Be sure to come back next week to see if you have been featured and to link up your latest creation!
I’d appreciate it if you would link up in some way; button or text link to this party to spread the word.
Let’s get the party started! I’m excited to see what you have to share!
Recipes are wonderful, but crafts and other ideas are also welcome!
Thanks so much for choosing to link up at Five Little Chefs!
‘);
November 14, 2012 By headchef
A while ago my fun Grandma gave me a Waffle Brownie recipe she thought my Little Chefs would love to try. I loved that she knew what we were doing and wanted to help give us an idea. She doesn’t live close by but was making a trip here and brought the recipe the entire way just for us! What a perfect time to share this recipe, being that we are sharing recipes from her cookbook.
Little Chef D helped make this recipe to surprise her sisters when they came home from school. She was super excited to use the hand mixer to mix the eggs. Little Chef H was sitting right beside watching every move and decided she also wanted to help use the hand mixer. I loved that Little Chef D was patient enough to let Little Chef H help hold the mixer.
All the rest of the ingredients were then added in the bowl and everything was combined until smooth.
First the flour seemed to fly out of the bowl, then the batter became very thick, then it smoothed out. The final result was a thick batter that sticks to a spoon.
The waffle iron was ready. We had to push the batter off of the spoon with our fingers being careful not to touch the hot waffle iron. Then the lid was closed and the batter was smooshed. When the light turned from red to green it was ready to be transferred to a cooling rack. We dusted ours with powdered sugar, but frosting would have been great!
When Little Chef A and C came home from school they looked at the Waffle Brownies and thought we made them chocolate waffles. In a way they are, I suppose. We ate them all before dinner! This recipe makes about 8 waffles, however the sizes vary so much its hard to calculate a yield. Let’s just say, if you are making these for a party one batch will not suffice.
Waffle Brownies
Five Little Chefs
Ingredients2 eggs1 stick butter or margarine, softened (1/2 cup) 3 Tbsp cocoa1/2 cup sugar1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Directions1. Beat together the eggs.2. Add butter, cocoa, sugar, flour and salt then combine until smooth. Batter will be thick.3. Grease and heat a waffle iron.4. Spoon brownie mixture onto the waffle iron. When done baking transfer to a cooling rack.5. Dust with powdered sugar, fruit, or frosting.
6. Store leftover brownies in an airtight container in your freezer.
November 12, 2012 By headchef
We have been having a great time going through Great Grandma’s cookbook and trying her recipes. Today we decided to try her Rice Pudding. A note in the cookbook says this recipe came from her mother and is one of her favorites.
We found this recipe easy to put together with a long wait. All the ingredients are combined and then put in the oven to cook for 3-3 1/2 hours. I was amazed at the ratio of rice to milk and the time it took to cook. After the first hour and for each half hour afterward the rice pudding needs to be stirred. This is a job for the adult, not the Little Chef.
After waiting so long we just had to try it without letting it cool too much! We found it to be a very creamy rice pudding. Sometimes good things come to those who wait and this recipe is one of those things. Even with the long cooking time we will be making this recipe again!
Rice Pudding
Five Little Chefs Great Grandma
Ingredients1/2 cup rice (not instant)1 cup sugar1/2 teaspoon vanilla2 quarts milk
Sprinkle top well with cinnamon
1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Bake at 325 for 3-3 1/2 hours. After 1 hour stir pudding. Stir each subsequent half hour until cooked.
November 9, 2012 By headchef
We are loving trying my Grandmother’s recipes; Caramel Rolls and Dutch Butter Cookies. Sometimes, very occasionally we have bananas that are becoming over ripe. Grandma’s Aloha Bread is a twist on the regular banana bread because it incorporates coconut and orange rind.
The first step is to zest an orange. Little Chef A is very proficient using the microplane.
Next she mashed up 3 bananas. This was her first time so I had to assure her it was just fine to completely smash them.
First she creamed the butter and sugar. We cheated and added to it the milk, vanilla and almond extract. Then came the dry ingredients and coconut and nuts. We were lazy and didn’t want to do more dishes.
The batter was then put in a greased bread pan. We were so excited when the timer finally went off because we were smelling something wonderful for so long. This bread did not disappoint. We absolutely loved it. Thanks Grandma for another great recipe!
Aloha Banana Bread
Five Little Chefs Great Grandma
Ingredients2 cups flour1 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon salt1 cup sugar1/2 cup butter (softened)1 cup shredded coconut1/2 cup chopped nuts2 eggs2-3 mashed bananas1 Tablespoon orange rind1/4 cup milk1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs, bananas and orange rind. Combine milk, vanilla and almond extract. Mix dry ingredients and milk alternately. Stir in coconut and nuts. Pour into 9×3 loaf pan greased and floured. Bake at 350 degrees for 70 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes after taking out of oven.