Audrey and Valerie getting ready to help in the kitchen

My girls love to help me cook in the kitchen. They climb up on the stools at our kitchen island and they want to do whatever they can to help. Sometimes it’s a challenge for me because usually when they help, the kitchen gets a lot messier. But, I’ve found that when I relax and let them assist me  then we really have a lot of fun. Here are just some of the tasks that my girls (ages 4 and 6) like to do:

• Break eggs into a bowl, sometimes we then have to pick the little pieces of shell out again but that’s ok!
• Add or pour whatever ingredient is in the measuring cup into the bowl.
• Stir the wet or dry mixture in the bowl.
• Spray the pan with cooking spray.
• Put cupcake liners in the cupcake pan.
• Smash cookies or crackers into crumbs (in a ziplock bag).
• Decorate with chocolate chips, candies or sprinkles.
• Be the official taste tester! (And lick the spoon and/or bowl)

My 6 year old is beginning to be able to read me the recipe which is very helpful. And older kids can do even more to help. I know my kids just like being in the kitchen with me and being involved.

Salisbury Steak Recipe

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 (10 oz) can cream of mushroom soup, divided
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup diced onions
• 1 tsp each salt and pepper
• 1 T oil
• 1 T butter
• 1/4 cup sliced onions (or mushrooms) for the gravy
• 2 cups beef broth (I use boullion dissolved in water)
• 2-3 T flour

Mix together beef, 1/4 can soup, bread crumbs, egg, diced onions, salt and pepper.  Shape into 5 to 6 oval patties.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown patties on both sides and transfer to a plate.

Add 1 T butter to pan and saute onions (or mushrooms) until soft. Add flour and cook for a minute or so. Whisk in beef broth until combined. Stir in remaining mushroom soup.

Return patties to skillet and spoon gravy over top. Cover pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve gravy over meat and homemade biscuits. Yum!

We just got a fabulous new blender. It is a Hamilton Beach Wave StationTM Express Dispensing Blender and it works great! This is Audrey and Valerie enjoying their Apple Juice Slushie. We just took a container of frozen apple juice concentrate and added some water and ice in the blender. It came out kind of like a snow cone so they were able to eat/drink it with a straw and a spoon. It was a great summer drink. Just think of all the flavors you can make.

The blender has been great for margaritas and other ‘adult’ drinks in that it gets the ice really fine and breaks up all of the chunks. It forces the ice down to the blades in order to break up the ice. I really do not like chunks of ice in my drinks. And, the 48 oz jar is dishwasher safe which really makes clean up a breeze.

Hamilton Beach Wave StationTM Express Dispensing Blender Wave ActionTM system forces mixture down into the blades for smooth results 48 oz. dishwasher safe DuraBlendTM jar Patented stainless steel Ice SabreTM blades 4 speeds plus pulse 500 Watts peak power Convenient spout cap 3 year warranty

Buy them here:

At Cooking.com right now you Get a 1-yr. magazine subscription to Every Day with Rachael Ray included with your purchase of $99 or more of Rachael Ray products! Every Day with Rachel Ray is a good quality magazine with a lot of food ideas and recipes, I highly recommend it!

Ingredients:

4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

Salt

2 T Olive Oil

1 lb ground beef

handful of baby carrots, chopped

1 small onion

1 bay leaf

1 T finely chopped garlic

Pepper

5 T butter, divided

3 T flour

2 cups beef stock

3 T Worcestershire sauce

2 T Dijon mustard

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup corn off cob

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Place potatoes in a medium saucepan with a dash of salt and enough cold water to cover them. Bring to boil then simmer potatoes til tender, about 15 minutes. Drain cooked potatoes.

While potatoes are cooking, place a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat with 2 T olive oil and brown the ground beef.

Add the carrots, onion, bay leaf and garlic to the pan and season vegetables with salt and pepper, cook veges til tender.

Heat medium saucepan and melt 3 T butter. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and cook for about a minute. Whisk 1 cup of beef stock into the roux and simmer until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Whisk the Worcestershire and dijon into the gravy and season with salt and pepper.

When veges are soft add remaining 1 cup of stock to pan and stir to remove bits on bottom of pan and cook away some of the liquid. Remove skillet from heat and stir in the peas and corn. Stir the gravy into the mixture and reserve.

Mashed the potatoes with the remaining 2 T butter, milk, and about 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Stir the egg into the mixture at the very end and season with salt and pepper.

‘Frost’ the meat mixture in the skillet with the potatoes and top with the remaining cheddar cheese. Place under the broiler to brown. Serve straight from the skillet.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp onion powder

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 T shortening, melted

Corn Kernels from about 6-8 cobs

Directions:

1. Heat oil in heavy pot or we use our Fry Daddy.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and onion powder. Beat together egg, milk and melted shortening; stir into flour mixture. Mix in the corn kernels.

3. Drop fritter batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil, and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels.

My kids need a snack in the afternoon after our ‘quiet’ time (some days are quieter then others) which is usually about 2 or 3 pm. Here are some of the healthy snacks that they like to eat.

1. Cut up fruit like melon or mango. I’m trying to expand our horizons and try new and different fruits.

2. Frozen (or fresh in the summer) blueberries thawed in a bowl with just a sprinkle of sugar

3. A ripe, juicy pear cut up in pieces with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

4. A bag of cereal, peanuts and some M&Ms (ok, not so healthy but yummy) mixed in. One of my kids adds raisins and the other one doesn’t.

5. An apple cut up with peanut butter to dip it in.

6. A strawberry banana smoothie, mix frozen strawberries with yogurt and a banana in the blender…yum!

7. Baby carrots with ranch salad dressing to dip, my girls love to dip!

8. Popcorn, cooked either in the microwave or in a pot – as long as they can watch it pop!

9. Fruit Yogurt Popsicles – Freeze yogurt in cups with a stick to make popsicles. This is fun to do together, they love to see the yogurt go in the freezer and see it come out frozen the next day.

10. String cheese but only if they get to open the package all by themselves or cheese cubes and crackers.

11. A banana, my girls love to peel it and eat it straight from the peel.

12. Applesauce either from a jar or my mother-in-law’s canned applesauce that is delicious.

Lately our snacks have consisted of too many goldfish and vanilla wafers. I am hoping that this list helps me remember to buy more fruit that they love to snack on. It just makes me feel better when I know that they are enjoying healthy snacks and not junk!

I’ve been trying to get my kids to eat more vegetables lately and eat more balanced and healthy meals. Here are some tips I’ve found that I hope will help us…

1. Introduce the new vege along with something else the child likes such as bread or fruit.

2. Introduce one new food at a time to avoid confusing or overwhelming the child.

3. Children are primarily concerned with the taste, texture, color and general appearance of their food. Don’t overcook veges, serve them seasoned but crisp and fresh.

4. Serve small portions and serve some to everyone at the table.

5. Serve vegetables as finger foods, kids like to touch and eat with their hands.

6. Set a good example, your kids need to see you eating veges too!

7. Let your kids help select and prepare the vegetables that they are going to eat.

8. Offer veges throughout the day to help increase daily intake, maybe carrots and celery sticks with dip for snack.

9. Mix vegetable purees into soups and sauces, such as spaghetti sauce or chicken noodle soup. Carrots, green beans, and sweet potatoes are good vegetables to start with for this.

10. Patiently present foods repeatly until they are accepted. It may take up to 10 tastes before your child with achieve food acceptance. Although, I keep serving broccoli to my kids and I am still waiting for them to say they like it!