February 22, 2013 by Kimberly FiveLittleChefs

I have seen the bento box excitement over the last year or two but I have not participated in that…until now…partly. I was approached by CuteZcute to review their product. They said this product was launched just a few months ago. When I went to their website I KNEW my Little Chefs would fall in love with this product immediately and I was right! I have spent more time creating with my youngest two Little Chefs who are not in school. Little Chef D thinks she is a master at making her own designs. She has been the one to teach her sisters and loved every moment of it.

Weekends are usually hectic for us, but amazingly this day we were not incredibly busy so we could create. Each Little Chef decided which type of sandwich they wanted to make and I let them go. They did it all. They got everything out (yes they did put everything away as well!), they chose their animal, spread, cut, stamped, decorated and had a great time.

I know after making these sandwiches for a while that my youngest Little Chef will amazingly eat a meat and cheese sandwich if it is shaped like an animal SO much better then just folded over. She is a picky eater or should I say she just doesn’t want to eat. Little Chef D loves the result because she gets to play with her food. Little Chef A tried creating her kitty face with jam. We decided we need a much narrower knife to stay within the lines.

How easy are these to use? They do not have sharp edges, which I love for safety reasons, but it is easy to learn to press and twist to cut through bread, meat and cheese. While the Little Chefs had a great time with these we did not get into the complex decorating. My Little Chefs do not have the attention span for that. It was great to make their sandwich then hurry and eat it before the bread starts to dry out. I can see how fun they would be for sugar cookies. But again, unless my Little Chefs are only placing candy for the eyes, nose, and mouth they do not all have the fine motor skills to carefully paint on the icing or whatever we choose. If your Little Chefs are ok with their less then perfect results like mine were these are great. If they are perfectionists and a little lacking in the fine motor area these might frustrate them a bit.

We have had a great time creating and eating the results. I get requests at least twice a week to make a sandwich animal for Little Chef D. Lucky for us CuteZcute is giving away a set to one of our great readers! I know your Little Chefs will love this just as much as mine do. Good luck!

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February 18, 2013 by Jenny

Yes please!!! And what recipe do you ask is our favorite chocolate cake recipe?  It is the “Our Version of Nothing Bundt Chocolate Chip Cake” from the cookbook Favorite Family Recipes. It is simply delicious, and simply……simple!!

We first added the cake mix, chocolate pudding, sour cream, eggs, water and oil and beat till well combined. My Little Chef B is so proud of himself that he is now able to crack and add the eggs with no help (and no shells)!

   

We stirred in the chocolate chips, because yes we need more chocolate into this awesome cake. We did find that the mini chocolate chips are the only way to go with this recipe.  We poured the cake mixture into a greased Bundt cake pan and baked it for 45 minutes. After cooking the cake let it cool for 20 minutes, then remove from the pan. We also learned this great trick from the Favorite Family Recipes….put the cake on a serving plate and wrap well in plastic wrap, and let it sit for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator before frosting and serving.

  

In the meantime, we made up the frosting. We grabbed our mixing bowl and in went the cream cheese and butter till smooth. We mixed in the vanilla and then gradually stirred in the powdered sugar until it is nice and thick.  Chef E’s favorite part to the frosting is obviously the cleanup!!

We then frosted the cake by simply using a piping bag, no fancy tip, just snipped off the end.  And a quick tip to fill your piping bag is to grab a tall cup and sit the empty bag inside the cup and fold the edge of the bag over the rim of the cup and fill with your frosting!! Much easier for Little Chef hands!!

And there you have it…..A delicious chocolate bundt cake that is sure to be a crowd pleaser!!! And don’t forget, we are giving away one of these awesome Favorite Family Cookbooks, just go here to enter! The last day is tomorrow!!!!

Our Version of Nothing Bundt Chocolate Chip Cake by Favorite Family Recipes

Ingredients

  • 1 pkg devil’s food cake mix
  • 1 pkg instant chocolate pudding
  • 1 c sour cream
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 c water
  • 1/2 oil
  • 1 1/2 c mini chocolate chips
  • 2 8 oz pkg cream cheese softened
  • 1/2 c butter softened
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3-4 c powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Using an electric mixer, beat first six ingredients.
  3. Stir in chocolate chips.
  4. Pour into a greased Bundt cake pan and bake for 45-50 minutes.
  5. Let cool for 20 minutes, remove from pan.
  6. In medium bowl, mix the cream cheese and butter till smooth.
  7. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar till nice and thick.
  8. Frost and enjoy!

2.2

Chocolate Cake Anyone…..?!

February 15, 2013 by Kimberly FiveLittleChefs

I am a Bzz Agent. I was given the opportunity to try out and review the Glade Expressions® Collection – both the Glade Expressions® Fragrance Mist and the Glade Expressions® Oil Diffuser. I really liked the Oil Diffuser because of the look and how long the scent lasted; just over a month. I tried the Lavender & Juniper Berry. The funny thing is Little Chef D and H helped me pick out the scents. Actually they didn’t let me choose, they chose! At home they helped me open the package and put it together. The assembly is easy, even a Little Chef can put it together! Just snap one part into another and place it in the holder. Little Chef D chose the place for the Oil Diffuser…on the table by the front door. Immediately she said, “I don’t smell it all over. I only smell it here, by the table.” That made me laugh! It will take some time I explained to her. It has a wide and thin wick which releases the fragrance slowly, leaving you with consistent fragrance over time.

Some other things I like about the oil diffuser if that it does not need to be plugged in nor does it use batteries. It can be placed anywhere and everywhere! I love that the holder is like a tray, but decorative as well. The try part is where the oil sits which is a comfort to me so I do not need to worry the possibility of the oil leaking on my furniture. No, I have not had any leakage even in the bottom on the tray.

We use the Fuji Apple & Cardamom Spice Fragrance Mist in our bathroom and kids rooms. I love the autumn scent!  It took my Little Chefs a couple tries to figure out how to use the spray because it is a little different but not difficult.  It does not have a button to press and press and press and use it all up. Instead I can tell them to squeeze it once and they are done. I do not need to worry about the money they are wasting with the continual spray. It is refillable and has a removable label so it can fit in with any decor! I love that!

What I did not like is I was given one free coupon for the oil diffuser and one free coupon for the fragrance mist. I was doing my grocery shopping at Smiths and had these coupons with me. The coupons have a maximum value. Unfortunately Smiths marked up the prices SO much! The oil diffuser was $8.49 and the maximum value on the coupon was 4.29. The fragrance mist was $4.29 and the coupon maximum value was $3.99. Since it is hard to go out with Little Chefs I do everything I can at once. I did not want to search around for another store that carried them cheaper. Needless to say I was VERY disappointed in the pricing at Smiths. I do NOT recommend buying these products at Smiths.

However, I would recommend both of these products. Visit glade.com to learn more about Glade Expressions® products and to explore all their scent collections.

I am a BzzAgent & received free samples in exchange for my personal, honest opinion and review of this product.

February 1, 2013 by Kimberly FiveLittleChefs

Have you ever heard of a Hoo-Rag? I hadn’t either until I was contacted by the company to do a product review. A Hoo-Rag is a tubular bandana made from spandex. Because it is so stretchy it can be worn in many different ways. It can be a pony tail holder, a headband, a face mask and more. It is designed for indoor and outdoor sports activities for men and women. The fabric designs vary so don’t worry men you won’t be wearing anything girly…unless you really want to!

I have found the Hoo-Rag great as a headband to keep my hair out of my face really quickly, like when it is dinner time and my Little Chefs have played hair designer with MY hair.

It is great to keep in your glove compartment. I never know when I need another pony tail holder, or in this cold weather it can be used as an immediate face mask. A few weeks ago our extended family was having fun in the snow. Face masks were absolutely necessary to avoid a wind blown face. It was a great opportunity to have a Hoo-Rag party and let everyone have a try and take one per family. We all had different shapes and sizes of heads, funny to say but true. I am happy to report the Hoo-Rag lived up to our expectations. It worked well for all. Of course some had it a little tighter then others, but overall it was great.

Being a Mom of many Little Chefs I am forced to improvise A LOT! I have found the Hoo-Rag to be a great accessory with the ability to transform into many different costumes. Right now they are loving pirates. When we are not home and they want to play the Hoo-Rag in my glove compartment transforms into a pirate cap or head band acceptable to a pirate.

Overall I am impressed at the versatility of the Hoo-Rag. It works well for adults as well as for Little Chefs. My product testers and winners also approve of this product. Thanks Hoo-Rag!

Visit Hoo-Rag and Like their Facebook Page

 All images from Hoo-Rag.

January 18, 2013 by Jenny

Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh bread cooking in the oven?! Well, my Little Chefs LOVE homemade bread.  But there were a couple of problems. First, we rarely had the couple of hours it took to make the bread.  And second, we could never find a recipe that seemed to work –  too dry, too crumbly, too hard….you get the picture!

We came across Pantry Secrets, they graciously sent us the basic starter kit and my chefs and I got to work.

  •  First,  we  watched the instructional DVD, which my 6-year-old Chef kept track of all the steps we needed to do, and realized all the errors we had been making with the past bread recipes.
  • Next, we all made the bread,  and even with all 3 Chefs helping out – it  only took a few minutes.  It was very simple, easy and fast.

Then, we all enjoyed the bread….and the response from the chefs….”it is better than a perfect success!”

We love the Pantry Secrets recipes.  They came up with this fool-proof recipe that is simple and fast, and everyone loves it. And now My Chefs can make loaves of bread to pizza to cinnamon roll to awesome bread sticks!!

And now you can also have the chance  to win your own Pantry Secrets Starter Kit!

Don’t forget to link up at Fantastic Thursday!  We would love to have you join us and share what you have been up to!

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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!

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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!

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October 31, 2012 by Kimberly FiveLittleChefs

Happy Halloween! This year Halloween has been super busy. We attended a variety of parties that all required costumes. Our crazy elementary school celebrated Halloween last Friday and are ignoring the holiday today and having a regular day. Good luck with that teachers! Party or not the kids are excited about tonight so they will have a lot more energy in class.
It seems the day after Halloween I am thinking about Christmas. So many things to plan and prepare which I like to have done early in December. I’ve already had a request from Grandparents to update our family photo. I admit it is a couple years old. I have had pictures taken, but never printed any of them. It has been on my long “to do” list. Canvas prints are very popular and the ones I have seen look amazing. I had the opportunity to get an 8×10 wrapped canvas print from Printcopia.

I did find their website easy to navigate. I love that the for each option you are given there is a drop down menu with the available choices and prices. I like to know how much everything will be along  the way and this site is great at making that information available and clear.
You are able to upload a picture or pull a picture from Instagram or Facebook. The only problem I had in designing was when I was trying to get the picture exactly how I wanted it on the canvas. I wanted the canvas to be vertical, as my picture was vertical. I could not find an option to flip the picture. After trying for quite a while I decided I was either missing something right in front of my face, or the option to flip the picture is not available. I decided to take my picture into a photo editing program and change the dimensions and orientation, save it and then upload it again. This time it worked very easily. I uploaded the picture and I was able to choose how I wanted the canvas wrapped and other options very easily. If I would have uploaded a horizontal picture the first time it would have taken me 5 minutes to order a the canvas print. Wouldn’t it be great to only spend 5 minutes on every christmas present!

When my canvas print arrived in the mail I was anxious to see how it looked. I opened the carefully wrapped package. First was to open the box, then remove the paper wrapped a few times around and then a plastic bag keeping the canvas print safe. I love opening packages like this! I am very happy with the quality of the product. Shipping takes two to three weeks so make sure you plan ahead and order early if you have a deadline.

Our friends at Princopia has offered to give one of my readers an 8×10 canvas print. You will be able to take one of your favorite photos and turn it into a work of art. All you need to do is use the Rafflecopter easy entry form to enter the giveaway. Printcopia will only ship to the US and Canada.
Printcopia has sister sites that works in a similar manner and produces car magnets, custom banners and cheap signs. I have no personal experience with any of these sister sites.
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September 14, 2012 by headchef

  We have been on vacation in Denver, CO for the past few days. Hamond’s Candy Factory is one of the places we visited. We were able to go on a 30 minute tour to see how the candy is made. The Little Chef’s eyes were opened and they were very excited to see anything they could. All the candy here is made by hand. They were making candy trees the afternoon we visited. We were able to watch part of the process.  The man in the orange made the candy from 3 basic ingredients. He is responsible for that entire batch from start to finish. He of course has others helping because the candy making process is quick. They cannot allow the candy to cool or it will be discarded.
  The man in the orange shirt is pulling the candy into long ropes. 3 of the next ladies are taking each rope and twisting it around a tree mold. There are 3 ladies because he can pull the candy faster then they can mold it. The fourth lady is pulling the candy off the molds and passing them back to be reused.  The silver bowl on the table is where the rejects go. They melt it down and use it for the inside of candy canes.

  The trees are moved from one side of the building (cooking) to the other side (packaging). More employees are there ready to package each tree by hand. 

 It is impressive they do everything by hand in this the age of computers. They are already working on their christmas orders. Candy canes are made every day of the year! They sell through their website as well as in many chains in the US and they just started in Canada.
  It was very fun to see the candy making in action. It was great the tour was informative and short enough to keep the Little Chef’s attention span. A big bonus was the free candy sample at the end! Sure they were the rejects and cracked, but they still tasted the same. It was easy to leave without buying the store because they each already had one piece in their hand.

August 16, 2012 by headchef

Don’t forget to link up at Fantastic Thursday HERE!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of NECTRESSE™Sweetener for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

   Breakfast food is often served as dinner in our home. It is something easy and quick to whip up. Pancakes made from scratch are not as hard as you think. As parents we naturally want to feed healthy foods to our children. We have discovered Nectresse which is available wherever you shop.  It is the only 100% natural sweetener made from fruit – monk fruit extract to be exact. NECTRESSE Natural No Calorie Sweetener is 150 times sweeter than sugar and can be used in cooking and baking to add natural, zero calorie per serving sweetness in your favorite beverages and a delicious variety of foods. NECTRESSE™Sweetener
  Check out this Lisa Lang video about Nectreese. (Lisa Lang is a favorite American journalist.) She has a family history of diabetes and therefore has always been cautious of her sugar intake and relied on no calorie sweeteners. She hasn’t liked any as much as Nectreese!
  Take a moment to share this video with others. Maybe they still don’t know about this product.

  We decided to give Nectresse a try in Apple Cinnamon Pancakes…trying to sneak in some fruit as well as a healthy alternative to sugar, a sweetener.   I didn’t even tell the Little Chefs the sugar was being replaced. I wanted to see if they were going to notice!

   The first step is to mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl.

  Add the dry to the wet then mix well. Carefully…I had to stress this point…fold in the apples.

 

   I tested Little Chef C after she poured the mix into a skillet to cook. “How do you know when they are ready to flip?” I asked. “When you see bubbles.” she replied. I was so excited she remembered!  When they are done you can eat them in a variety of ways. Most of us loved it with a little powdered sugar. Little Chef Dad decided to slice some bananas on top and sprinkle some more Nectreese on top. Little Chef D liked eating them with nothing on top. No matter how they ate the pancakes they all loved the apples inside and didn’t even notice the substitution of sugar!

  If you are want to give Nectreese a try visit their site to sign up for a free sample to try Nectreese Sweetener for yourselves. FREE sample of NECTRESSE™Sweetener
  Next time my Little Chefs want to sweeten up their cereal I am going to give them a little packet of Nectreese instead of reaching for our regular sugar container. Nectreese Sweetener is available in grocery stores, drug stores, supercenters and online for a suggesteed retail price of $3.00 for the packets and $6.99 for the canisters .

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Ingredients2 cups all purpose flour1 Tablespoon baking powder1 teaspoon baking soda6 NECTREESE Natural No Calorie Sweetener, Packets1 teaspoon cinnamon1/2 teaspoon salt2 large eggs1 teaspoon vanilla1 1/2 cups 1% milk1/4 cup melted butter (may also use light butter or margarine)

1 cup chopped apple (pears would also be good)

Directions1. Blend all dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.2. Whisk together eggs, vanilla, milk and melted butter. Add to dry ingredients and gently mix. Some lumps are okay. Fold in apples.3. Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat over medium heat.

4. Pour 1/3 cup of batter per pancake onto hot griddle. Cook until bubbles appear on top, then flip pancake and cook until golden brown on other side. Serve hot.