Ratatouille
Five Little Chefs - Ratatouille This Ratatouille recipe was chosen because Little Chef C was watching an episode of Restaurant Impossible where this was made. Our only other experience with Ratatouille is the movie by Disney. The ingredients were gathered, except for the herbes de Provence we didn't find. Luckily, it was an optional ingredient. The eggplant was going to be interesting, we have never had this in our kitchen before! Next, everything was chopped. This time ...
Lemon Spaghetti
Little Chef A loves pasta! Lemon Spaghetti by Giada de Laurentiis seemed like a quick meal with not many ingredients. The pasta cooked by itself, the lemon sauce only needed to be whisked with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest and shredded parmesan cheese. The only thing needed to be cut was the basil. Seems pretty simple, right? That is what I usually think at the beginning as well. This time it really was the case! The ingredients were gathered. A saucepan with water was put ...
Orange Banana Smoothie
Five Little Chefs - Orange Banana Smoothie My Little Chefs LOVE bananas and juice. We seem to have both around quite frequently. I have been known to buy a lot of bananas, eat some, and freeze some for later. When I came across this recipe I thought it would be perfect for us! I know this recipe calls for everything fresh. In fact all the recipes we have been making call for everything fresh. In our world (home) we have so much going on fresh everything isn't possible or affordable. We ...
Product Review Thursday
Today is product review day. I was having a hard time coming up with a product to review because I don't feel we have had sufficient time to use the tools to accurately review. I have a few tools in mind, but would like another week to use them to see how they perform. Instead I thought I'd mention a few items I have found useful so far. Measuring cups - There can never be enough! We currently have 3 sets. Seems abundant I know. Remember Top Secret Chocolate Cookies? This recipe ...
Coriander and Mustard Seed Crusted Salmon
Five Little Chefs - Coriander and Mustard Seed Crusted Salmon Today's recipe was chosen by Little Chef C, Coriander and Mustard Seed Crusted Salmon fromChef Robert Irvine. We watched an episode of his show, Restaurant Impossible, where he was making over a school restaurant. I think because he was working with High School student chefs my Little Chefs were OVERLY excited and enthrawled. Since viewing this episode every time I ask Little Chef D to do something she responds "Yes, Chef!" ...
Chocolate Chip Walnut Cupcakes
Five Little Chefs - Chocolate Chip Walnut Cupcakes Little Chef A chose Chocolate Chip Walnut Cupcakes from Giada De Laurentiis. We thought it was funny that it is called cupcakes, but you actually use a brownie mix! The first thing was to gather the ingredients. The 12-cup muffin pan was lined with cupcake liners and set aside. The oven was turned on to 350 degrees.The walnuts needed to be chopped. This time I thought we would see how the chopper would work instead of a ...
Vanilla Milkshake
Five Little Chefs - Vanilla Milkshake We thought it would be fun to try a new drink each week. Ice cream is a favorite treat, so naturally the first drink we wanted to try was a Vanilla Milkshake by Paula Deen. All my Little Chefs were excited and knew we had the ingredients to make it. Little Chef D has a hard time eating her meals most of the time. Sometime the gentle coaxing works, sometimes it doesn't. I finally said we are making the Vanilla Milkshake after dinner. You need ...
Product Review: LYSOL® Healthy Touch® No-Touch Hand Soap System
The first and most important step my Little Chefs have learned is to wash their hands. We are constantly talking about germs and why we do not want to spread them from one item to another. In fact, we have talked about washing hands so much, especially after breaking eggs, that my Little Chefs will not eat ANYTHING with raw eggs in them. When one of the younger Little Chefs asks to lick the bowl after mixing something an older Little Chef says "no you can't it has raw eggs in it." I ...
Top Secret Chocolate Cookies
Some people choose recipes by their ingredients while others, like Little Chef D, choose recipes by their pictures. For her first recipe Little Chef D wanted a "brown cookie" and found Top Secret Chocolate Cookies by Christy Hyer. The first thing we always do is measure out all the ingredients. I have found this makes the mixing/cooking/baking process go a lot smoother. The prep time seems to be long and sometimes hard if there is cutting involved, but when we are really ready to start follow...
Mahi Mahi with Rice
Not too long ago we went to a new restaurant. We ordered, sat down, and started eating when Little Chef C said "Mom, did Chef Robert come here?" I had to laugh. "Did he change this place to make it look nice?" I asked. "No, he didn't come here, this is a new restaurant." It has only been open for a few months if I remember correctly. It still had a "new" look to it. It was very bright with the lights, the huge windows and the colors were vibrant. No wonder she thought Chef Robert fixed this ...
Crostini Alla Romana
Little Chef A absolutely loves Giada De Laurentiis! Whenever we are watching the Food Network and Giada comes on the excitement level goes through the roof! I quickly hear, "Ooooh I love Giada, she is my favorite!" What surprises me is the conviction and true passion she has for this show and cooking. It would not come as a surprise to hear that Little Chef A's recipes will all come from her favorite chef, Giada. The first recipe that was chosen was Crostini Alla Romana. We saw ...
