Cookies with Dad

For years (six...as long as we've been married) Derek and I have been trying to imitate his mom's chocolate chip cookie recipe. When we made them, they just weren't the same. At all.

On a recent visit, Janice (Derek's mom) made cookies while she was here. We found out the key to her recipe. She beats the cookie dough for a LONG time, about five minutes, and she beats it faster than I typically would.

Knowing this, Derek decided to set to work to replenish the cookies in our freezer. (Instead of eating a couple dozen cookies in a couple days before they go stale, we just freeze them and eat them as needed. We like them frozen.)

He sought out the help of a little one. I was impressed with his patience. I know how hard it is to bake with Meghan. (We cook/bake together once or twice a week. The key is to have everything out and ready to go.)

The cookies came out just like Janice's!

In case you are curious as to the recipe, Janice uses the Nestle Toll House Recipe with the following substitutions: replace the butter with Crisco, bake for 7-8 minutes (less time), and beat the dough for a long time! (Janice, did I miss anything?)

Homemade Paints and Coloring

I made four similar pictures for Meghan to color. She colored them in one sitting, starting on the left and continuing to the right. I let her choose the colors, but limited her to crayons on the first two and markers on the last two drawings.

By these very lovely pictures you would not have guessed that at one time my college major was art education. (Eventually I changed to elementary education with an art concentration. A better fit for me!)


Over the weekend I made paint again. The recipe is below. It came from Shannon. She has two great sites called Letters Numbers and Books Oh My! and Book Worms Booknook.


I'm storing the paint in spice containers. A word of caution for you: if your lid doesn't close securely, don't use it!

We used our baby food plastic containers to hold the paint. They worked well.

The paint was fun for Meghan. Just like with the crayons and markers, she had to request what color she wanted. She is getting very good at identifying colors.

It wasn't as vivid as store bought tempera, but it works just fine!

I'm looking for more uses for the plastic baby food containers. I have thought of a few.
1. nuts/bolts/screws/nails
2. hair ties/barrettes
3. snacks
4. paint
5. homemade baby food (placed in freezer bags in freezer)
6. ???

Flour-Based Poster Paint

NEED:

1/4 cup flour

1 cup water

Small jars or plastic containers

3 or 4 drops of food coloring or paste (for smelly use kool aid)

2 tablespoons water per container

2- 4 drops of dish soap ( to make it washable)
for shiny finish a few drops of corn syrup

cornstarch to thicken

TO DO

Measure flour into saucepan. Slowly add 1 cup water while stirring to make a smooth paste. Heat, stirring constantly, until paste begins to thicken. Cool. Measure 1/4 cup paste into each small container. Add food coloring/kool aid and stir well.
* If you want to make a big batch don’t divide into containers!

Store covered in the fridge.

Pasta Necklace and Bracelet

Last December Meghan and I made pasta necklaces to give as gifts to her grandmas and her therapist. The colored pasta was very easy to make. I made a big batch so we would have extras to use in her kitchen (she would try to eat uncolored pasta) and other projects.

Colored pasta is very easy to make.

To make necklaces, just use a tubed pasta like rigatoni or ziti. (I would suggest ziti for older children and rigatoni for younger.)

• Place 2 cups of pasta in a zipper bag.
• Add 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol and 4-6 drops of food coloring.
• Mix thoroughly, then spread on a cookie sheet lined with tin foil.

When completely dry (overnight or so) you can play away!

I recently learned that pipe cleaners are much easier to thread than yarn, even taped yarn.

Here's the bracelet, made with just one pipe cleaner.

Then Meghan made a necklace using two pipe cleaners.

Very cute!

Meghan made these pretty much all by herself and was pleased with the result.

Homemade Paints

Above is a yellow painting collage Meghan made. The paint I made myself, but I didn't cook it long enough for it to thicken. (I have the same problem with gravy at times.) I plan to make another batch of paint because it was quite washable, though it spread thin. I am storing the paint in small shampoo-type bottles. I got the recipe here. Teaching Tiny Tots has been a great resource for me. I cut a sturdy cereal box to use instead of newspaper for our painting projects. Our table needs protection from Meghan!

Broccoli Casserole

When my sister visited a couple weeks ago, I served broccoli casserole, a dish that Derek's mom and grandma make often. It's the only way I eat broccoli other than soup. Amy recently called to ask for the recipe, so I thought I'd share it with you, too.

Broccoli Casserole
2 packages florets (or about two pounds)
20 Ritz crackers, crushed
¼ c margarine/butter
¼ lb. Velveeta or sharp cheese
White sauce (see below)

Cook and drain broccoli. Melt butter and cheese. Make white sauce in a pan. Stir in the butter/cheese mixture to the white sauce. Place broccoli in a greased casserole dish, then stir in white sauce and cheese mixture. Sprinkle crushed crackers on top.

White sauce
1 T. butter, melted
1 T. flour
1/8 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
½ c milk
Add flour to melted butter. Stir in salt and pepper. In very small amounts, add the milk. Once smooth, add more milk.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Of course you can use broccoli cuts instead of florets. Some people add a bit of melted butter to the crackers, but I think it's a bit healthier this way. I often include both Velveeta and cheddar cheeses, just because I like it that way.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie, Chicken Tacos

I decided to make a chocolate chip pie today. It served multiple purposes. Meghan loves to bake, and it is such a simple recipe that I knew it wouldn't stress me out to make it with her. With the TV off, it also used a small chunk of our morning. Of course, it's always good to eat, and with company coming, I wanted to have something sweet for dessert.

My pie shield is pretty handy for this pie. It prevents the crust from burning, although it can only be used for about the first 20 minutes. If you don't have a pie shield, I would suggest using tin foil around the crust to protect it.

Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

9 inch deep dish pie crust (if frozen leave it frozen)
2 eggs
1/2 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
3/4 c softened butter*
1 c chocolate chips
Beat eggs until foamy. Add four and sugars and mix thoroughly. Mix in butter. Stir in chips.
Bake at 325 for 55-60 minutes

*I change it up a bit. I only use 1/2 cup butter, and I think it's just fine! Sometimes I add some peanut butter chips in addition to the chocolate chips. Today I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla, but I couldn't tell the difference.

Meghan and I really enjoyed this time together. It's a quick and easy dessert with great results. Enjoy!

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Chicken tacos are so easy to make. You have to give them a try sometime! It's a simple, tasty, and filling meal.

2-4 chicken breasts
1 can chicken broth
Taco seasoning
Mozzarella cheese
1-2 cups frozen corn
Shells and toppings

Warm broth in microwave or stove top and mix in seasoning packet. Place chicken in crockpot and add broth mixture. Cook on low for 5 hours. Shred meat with two forks. If "soupy" add a tablespoon of flour and stir. Add frozen corn and cook for another hour on low (or if you need to serve right away, cook corn on stove top and stir in). Serve in soft shells with cheese and desired toppings.

I've made this several times now. Each time, one chicken breast makes two servings, but you may need to experiment a bit.
Enjoy!

Sticky Chicken

My dad, his wife Karen, and my sister Amy came to visit this weekend. For dinner Sunday I am making Sticky Chicken. This roasted chicken is so flavorful and moist...mmm! I've made it twice, and each time Derek commented on the good flavor compared to other roasted chickens. Since it takes five hours to bake, it's a great meal for after church. You'll have to try it and tell me what you think!

Mimi's Sticky Chicken
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 whole roasting chicken, about 3 pounds
1 cup chopped onions

Combine all spices (first 8 ingredients) in small bowl.
Rinse chicken, inside and out. Drain well. Rub spice mixture over skin and the inside of chicken.
Place in a plastic storage bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to roast, stuff cavity with onions. Place chicken breast side down in pan.
Roast uncovered at 250ºF for about 5 hours. Baste occasionally with pan juices or until pan juices start to caramelize on bottom of pan and chicken is golden brown.

That's the recipe, I don't use cayenne or white pepper. I also don't chop the onion; I just put in a quarter or half onion. Also, the chickens I use are typically bigger, but are still at the right internal temperature after 5 hours.

I am all about shortcuts. After roasting a chicken, I try to have a meal for leftovers and also put a bunch of the chicken in the freezer for those days when cooked chicken is needed.