January 17, 2013 by Jenny

Welcome to Fantastic Thursday!

We would first like to announce the WINNER of the Flipzle Puzzle.

CONGRATS to Alex Fisher!!!

Everyone be sure to come back tomorrow to find out what our next giveaway will be!

January 16, 2013 by Kimberly FiveLittleChefs

Have you ever needed some bread at the last minute to go with a meal? We do, all the time! Every recipe I have needs more then an hour from start to finish. I had the opportunity to watch the Food Nanny in person make her French Baguettes and thought, “My Little Chefs can do that!” This recipe from start to finish can be done in one hour or less! When the Food Nanny demonstrated this recipe she did not use any machine. She said when she goes into the homes of families she always teaches them how to make this using only a bowl, spoon and your own hands. If you notice only 3 1/4 cups of flour are used so it isn’t going to be a huge ball of dough hard to control for a beginner. Now to see if my Little Chefs can do it! Little Chef D and A tag teamed for this recipe.

First the water, yeast and sugar were mixed together to foam. During the wait the flour, sugar and salt were mixed together in a separate bowl.

Once the yeast has had a chance to foam the wet ingredients were added to the dry. Using a wooden spoon Little Chef D tried her best to mix everything together. This was a difficult task for her to do so this is when she tag teamed with Little Chef A.

After a little more mixing Little Chef A turned the dough out onto a cutting board to knead. We talked about kneading with her palms and not with her fingers. She understood she needed to incorporate more flour when the dough was sticky. She did not need to add more flour then was originally in the bowl.

Now it was time to form the loaves. Normally I would have liked each loaf to be perfectly formed, but when observing the Food Nanny perfectly formed loaves were not a concern. I followed that lead and let Little Chef A form the loaf as she wished because there was no right or wrong way. I showed her how long the loaf needed to be and off she went.

We let the dough rest under a dish towel for 30 minutes. Doesn’t it look great! It was then put in a preheated oven for 15 minutes with a bowl of water on the bottom rack to create the crust.

The result: We all LOVED this recipe! We loved that it was quick. We loved that little hands can learn to work the dough in this quantity. We loved the contrast of the crusty crust and the soft interior. We only had one half loaf leftover which sadly is not enough for another meal, but luckily this recipe is easy enough to make it again tomorrow. This is a winner in our house for sure!

French Baguettes (p. 225)

Food Nanny

Yield: 2 baguettes

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 T. active dry yeast, (2 packets)

2 tsp sugar

3 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp salt

melted butter

WHAT YOU’LL DO

  1. In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup of the warm water, the yeast and 1 tsp of the sugar.  Stir to combine and let mixture stand for about 5 minutes or until foamy.
  2. In a large mixing bowl blend the flour, salt, the remaining teaspoon of sugar and the yeast mixture.
  3. Gradually add remaining water and mix until the dough forms a smooth ball that is not too sticky to handle (if it is too sticky add a little more flour).
  4. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead briefly until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cut the dough in half and shape the halves into baguettes.
  5. Grease a baguette pan and place the loaves in the pan.
  6. Score the loaves down the middle, cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
  7. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place a shallow pan of water in the bottom of the oven to create steam.
  8. Bake the baguettes for 15 minutes. If desired brush the tops with melted butter halfway through the baking.

*For a softer crust, brush with butter when they have finished baking.

January 15, 2013 by Kimberly FiveLittleChefs

Last November Little Chef A learned how to weave a scarf at school. She was so proud of her work she gave it to me for Christmas! I thought it was a great craft because she could do it with only one instruction session. I asked if she wanted to make another one to show others how to make it on the blog. She definitely wanted to do this! In fact she was telling me today’s the day, its time to start, its time to take pictures, we need to do this today! So in this post I was doing whatever SHE was instructing ME to do.

Easy Weave Scarf

Ingredients

  • Two balls of yarn, your choice of style, color and variety
  • 5 straws
  • tape

Directions

  1. Measure and cut 5 pieces of yarn whatever length you would like the finished scarf to be.
  2. Insert one cut piece of yarn into one straw.
  3. Suck the yarn through the straw which is faster but less sanitary then pushing the yarn through the straw. You choose your method to get each cut piece of yarn though each straw.  
  4.  Tape one end of the yarn to the outside of the straw. This will become the top.
  5. Tape all 5 straws together at the end where the yarn is coming out of the straws. (bottom) The purpose of this is to stabilize the straws together until the weave gets down to this point when you later can remove the tape.
  6. With your second choice of yarn tie a knot on the outside straw just below the top.
  7. Begin to weave with your second choice of yarn. Start at the knot and go behind the next straw then in front then behind then in front.
  8. Going back the opposite direction but above the first row continue weaving in front and behind the straws. (The pattern will be the opposite of what you did in the first row.)
  9. As you continue weaving above the previous row you will push the weave down the straws. When the weave gets to the tape at the bottom carefully remove the tape. The weave will eventually be pushed down off the straws and on the yarn.
  10. Continue weaving until your scarf is at the end of the cut pieces of yarn. Tie a knot at the end of the cut pieces of yarn so the weave does not fall off.
  11. After the bottom is knotted and the weave is at the end continue weaving at the top until you reach the top tape. Remove each piece of tape and carefully remove each straw. Cut the second choice of yarn (the weaving yarn) the same length as the yarn that was in the straw. Tie a knot with all pieces of yarn to finish it off. The weave may be moved up or down to even out the weave if necessary.

January 14, 2013 by Kimberly FiveLittleChefs

We seem to have chicken at least once per week in our home. The Little Chefs like it and it seems you can make it in so many different ways. I have heard of ranch chicken before, but I have never tried it myself. I have never eaten it, nor have I made it. This seemed like a great opportunity to figure out a new recipe. One of our goals this year is to be a little more adventurous with food. Last year we definitely were with letting the Little Chefs choose the meal and execute the meal. This year we are focusing on describing our likes and dislikes in the recipes so that we can alter them to fit our taste buds. We found some recipes needed a little umph! This is thinking about food in a different way. It is more problem solving rather then just having a problem and being content with that.

We first started with the question; What do we dip the chicken in so the breading with adhere? The Little Chefs do not like using an egg because it is a little slimy to touch. We decided to try melted butter instead. What do we use to bread the chicken. We were already using a dry ranch dressing packet so we decided to add panko which we have used before (aka we had it on hand!) and an equal amount of parmesan because cheese is always good!

Little Chef C dipped the defrosted chicken into the melted butter, without any complaints. She then pressed the buttered chicken into the dry mixture, trying to adhere the mixture to all sides. She did a good job!

 

After all 4 pieces of chicken were breaded we still had some butter left and only a small amount of the breading mixture. Perfect! I do not like having a lot leftover which would only go to waste. We tried not wasting any and adding the leftovers to the tops of the chicken and pressing it down to adhere.  The chicken was baked in a shallow dish for about 45 minutes. We are learning it is best to check the internal temperature so that the food does not under or over cook.

The result was amazing! Well…in a way. The Little Chefs thought it was great. I thought it was great because the prep time was so quick and the ingredients so simple. We had one piece left over which we ate the next night. I must admit the second day the chicken had much more flavor then the first. I was not the only one to come to this conclusion. I find that very interesting. I’m not entirely sure why. I would rather cook the right amount of food instead of have leftovers, but in this case I’m glad we did. I’m a little baffled why the flavor would be stronger the second day. Any ideas?

Breaded Parmesan Ranch Chicken

Five Little Chefs

Ingredients

  • 1 (1 ounce) envelope ranch salad dressing mix
  • 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
  2. Combine ranch dressing packet, panko bread crumbs, and parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl.
  3. Dip chicken in melted butter then press in dry mixture on all sides until fully coated. Place the coated chicken in the prepared baking dish.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 45 minutes. The internal temperature of the chicken should be at least 165 degrees F.

January 11, 2013 by Jenny

Being a mom of 3 young children, we are always on the lookout for great toys that don’t have batteries or a screen, flashing lights or sound effects to keep my kids entertained. Well….we have found a great toy – Flipzles!

  • Flipzles are awesome because of its simplicity and it promotes creativity and imagination.
  • They are unique puzzles and play sets all in one.
  • It offers thick, durable pieces (it has already endured some rough treatment from my 3-year-old!) that are painted on both sides. One side they can put together the puzzle, or flip the pieces and use the stand alone people and objects for creative play and storytelling.
  • I love that all my kids had fun playing with it. It was fun for my 3-year-old, and also fun and challenging for my 7-year-old.
  • I also loved that it is compact, easy to store or take on the go.

We give Flipzles a two thumbs up! And now…… here is the opportunity to WIN one of your own!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

January 10, 2013 by Jenny

Welcome to Fantastic Thursday!

We would first like to announce the WINNER of the Cook’n recipe software.

CONGRATS to Jennifer B!!!

Everyone be sure to come back tomorrow to find out what our next giveaway will be!

Now, we would like to invite you to link up recipes, crafts, organization and kids ideas. 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 such as a button or text link to this party to help spread the word.

January 9, 2013 by Kimberly FiveLittleChefs

This past Sunday I put my Little Chefs to bed and then turned on the Food Network for some relaxation. Iron Chef America was on because it was being recorded as usual to watch at a later date. Little Chef Dad was about to change the channel when I said, “Wait!” That is Viet Pham. We had seen him in a previous Food Network competition so I recognized him. I said, “I wonder if Bowman Brown is cooking as well.” After not even a minute we saw him! Bowman Brown is a cousin! Viet and Bowman are the owners of Forage.

Little Chef A just a few days ago asked if we could “go to that restaurant that your cousin owns.” We told her probably not. (Forage is not a restaurant for Little Chefs. The meal experience is too long for little ones to sit through and properly behave.) Of course we couldn’t stop watching the battle now that we knew the contestants! But of course we had to watch it again the next night with our Little Chefs. They were all SUPER excited to have as they said, “a famous relative on Iron Chef America with Bobby Flay.”  Now they are wishing and hoping THEY can be on Iron Chef America one day!

January 8, 2013 by Kimberly FiveLittleChefs

The Snowman Dice Game is a great game that only requires basic and minimal supplies. Little Chef D had such a fun time playing this game! Little Chef H had a great time pretending to play with us as she drew lots of little circles on her paper. At least they were both having fun!

The more we played The Snowman Dice Game more details Little Chef D wanted to add. In my key I did not put a flower in the hat like in the movie “Frosty the Snowman” so she fixed that for me! I might just start carrying around dice in my diaper bag to play this game at the doctors office, waiting to pick up other Little Chefs from activities, or at a restaurant! It is so easy to set up to play in just a minute.

We folded our paper three times to make 8 boxes. This step is not necessary, but it did help Little Chef D keep her drawings within the lines! In each box we drew three circles; small, medium, and large on top of each other like a snowman.

Little Chef D has asked to play this game everyday since. She only wants to go through the game two times, but it is really fun for her whether she wins or looses. 

Snowman Dice Game

Ingredients: Paper, Crayons or colored pencils, Dice

Directions:

  1. Make your key. (1-eyes and nose, 2- three buttons, 3- scarf, 4- arms, 5- mouth, 6- hat)
  2. Optional: Fold your paper into 8 boxes; this means folding the paper three times.
  3. Draw three circles; small, medium and large on top of each other like a snowman.
  4. Taking turns roll the dice and draw the corresponding part/object according to the key on the snowman.
  5. The first player with all 6 parts on the snowman wins!

Don’t forget to enter our current giveaway!! Today is the LAST day!

Come back tomorrow for our Fantastic Thursday linky party and then our next giveaway THIS Friday!!!

January 7, 2013 by Kimberly FiveLittleChefs

 Sometime ago we were visiting my Aunt for a special occasion when we ate some really great Baked Beans! I couldn’t ask for the recipe because this was a special occasion and the food was from a restaurant.  Here at home we were looking for ways to simplify our cooking, especially on the busy days so we started looking through the Better Homes and Gardens Crockery Cookbook. Every recipe is done in the crock pot. (I secretly would love to use the crock pot everyday because it seems so much simplier and efficient with our crazy life. Throw the recipe together in the morning and then we would have one less thing to worry about the rest of the day.)

The first part of the recipe says to rinse and drain the beans and then cook them in a large saucepan for about 2 hours, until they are tender. I don’t like leaving my gas stove on for that long just to simmer with all my Little Chefs running about so we decided instead to use the pressure cooker.

Little Chef A has not has a chance to use a pressure cooker before so it was a big lesson for her. I explained how the beans can have little rocks mixed in so it is good to rinse, drain and really look at them searching for any foreign objects. We decided to use two different types of beans for a variety; great northern and black beans. The clean, sifted beans were placed in the pressure cooker with water and then allowed to cook at pressure for 15-20 minutes. I showed her when the pressure is high the lid will not release so we need to wait until the pressure goes down.

While we were waiting Little Chef A got everything else ready. She first cooked the bacon. I realized I never explained to her why we place bacon on a paper town when it is done cooking. So we talked a little about the massive amounts of grease bacon creates as it cooks!  She let the bacon rest for a little bit, then using kitchen scissors she cut the bacon into small pieces. This method is so much easier for her then using a knife!

In a crock pot she combined the freshly cooked and cut bacon, onion, water, molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, and pepper.

   

When we were able to open the pressure cooker the beans were drained and then added to the crock pot. Little Chef A gave it a little stir and then let it cook for the rest of the day.

The result was a little mixed. Everyone thought they were good, though not nearly as good as those we ate at my Aunts house. These beans needed more liquid. They did not need to be soupy beans, but there was almost NO liquid in the entire crock pot! We did like the variety of beans. This recipe was not quite as quick as we had hoped because of the extra step with the pressure cooker, but we usually have all these ingredients on hand and that is worth something in my book.

New England Crock-Style Baked Beans
Better Homes and Gardens Crockery Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 pound dry navy beans to dry great northern beans (2 1/3 cups) 8 cups cold water 1 cup chopped onion 1/4 pound salt pork, chopped, or 6 slices bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled 1 cup water 1/2 cup molasses 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

  1. Rinse beans; drain. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven combine beans and the 8 cups of water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or till beans are tender.
  2. Drain beans. In a 3 1/2 or 4-quart crockery cooker combine drained beans, onion, and salt pork or bacon. Add 1 cup water, molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, and pepper. Stir to combine.
  3. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours or on high-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours. Stir before serving. Serves 12.

Don’t forget to enter our current giveaway!! Come back for our Fantastic Thursday linky party and then our next giveaway this Friday!!!

January 4, 2013 by Jenny

Five Little Chef Fans! I want to introduce you to Jenny. She is new to Five Little Chefs this year and will be helping me make this blog even better! She has three Little Chefs of her own and they are excited to start cooking and creating. This is her first post so let’s give this Giveaway a great showing with a lot of comments and entries to welcome her here! Don’t forget to link up to our linky party Fantastic Thursday! We would love to see anything you have been up to! Kimmi-Headchef

Okay here it is …….. a recipe software that is going to knock your socks off!! Cook’n Recipe Organizer! One of the reasons, and there are many, that we LOVE this software, is our Little Chefs can use it!!

There are so many features that make Cook’n Recipe Organizer just awesome! Here are some of our favorites;

  • It’s amazing recipe organizer.
  • Little Chefs can easily find their favorite recipes.
  • Little Chefs can search the internet through the software for new recipes.
  • Entering in recipes, is really easy. It has a quick-fill system so it does a lot of the typing for you, or for the kiddos!
  • We also liked the option to adjust the recipe for how many people we are cooking for…how cool is that?!
  • It also has a menu planner that is so easy to use, once again the Little Chefs can even plan the weekly (or longer) menu.
  • Little Chefs can compile a grocery list of everything we need for the week with the list organized by aisle at the store.
  • It shows you the nutritional value of the recipes by ingredient, which then allows you to substitute out with a healthier option or will just give you a heads up that extra workout days will be needed.

So, now the good news……..Cook’n Recipe Organizer Software will be our GIVEAWAY for today!

a Rafflecopter giveaway