Cook Up Some Education - Guest Post

Here is a great guest post from Candie Donner, of KnowledgeBox.com:

Did you know that you can literally teach EVERY subject from the kitchen?? It’s true! There are an unlimited number of lessons that can be taught or reinforced through cooking! Most children LOVE to cook. Let’s face it: They love to do ANYTHING that involves the words “sticky” or “messy” and cooking definitely includes those!

What kinds of skills and subjects can be learned in the kitchen? Here are just a few: counting, fractions, sorting, money, weights/measures, shapes, colors, problem solving, reading skills, following directions, nutrition, cultural experiences, gardening, sharing, responsibility, safety, budgeting, and more. Those seem to be the obvious ones, but what about history, geography, and science? YES, you can teach and learn those in the kitchen as well!

Knowledge Box Central has designed a Lapbook that helps you to teach your kids the basics about cooking, including naming utensils, safety, measuring, and more. If you are looking for a fun way to get your kids interested in cooking, the Cooking Basics Lapbook is just what you are looking for. Your kids will each create a 3-folder Lapbook that will serve as a precious keepsake for years to come!

Download the Cooking Basics Lapbook for only $2.50 with this coupon code: KBCcb50

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How to Make Spinach Alfredo Lasagna

I made this to take to church for lunch, so it probably fed about 25-30.

All of the amounts are approximate and you can add or lesson any of it.

You will need:

Lasagna Noodles, cooked - 2 boxes
Alfredo Sauce (I buy it in a jar, but you make your own.) -3 jars
Mozzarella Cheese, shredded -4-5 cups
Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained - 2 16 oz. packages
Onion -1
Peppers - 2
Oregano - 1 T
Basil - 1 T
Garlic Salt - to tase
Pepper - to tase

Other things you could add:

Tomatoes
Olives
Broccoli, steamed or sauted’
Mushrooms
Variety of Cheeses
Chicken, cooked and shredded
Garlic

Always put a little sauce in your pan so it won’t stick.

Saute’ your pepper and onions in olive oil or butter.

Layer cooked noodles, and then layers of cheese, peppers, onions, spinach, salt and pepper.

Add enough sauce to cover but not drown it.

Repeat with another layer of noodles, vegetables, cheese and sauce.

Top layer is noodles and sauce. I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese with some oregano and basil, but mozzarella works fine too.

Bake covered on 350 for about 30 minutes.

Pizza Paloozza - A Sister’s Competition

Emma challenged Olivia in a homemade pizza competition.

Remember…Emma lives across the road with her new husband, so that makes these spur of the moment get together’s possible.

(Emma’s toppings)

So the sisters got busy, making up dough, each in their own kitchens. They made their sauces and started chopping fresh toppings.

Olivia and Cherish harvested some fresh herbs from the herb garden.

And some flowers added a nice touch.

Excitement began to build between the two houses…

what a fun way to liven up a Saturday evening!

Jeff went across the road to inform Emma that who ever finished first would get extra points. :)

Jeff and Emma’s husband, Josh, were the main judges.

The two pizza’s were finished and we sat down for the judging, we even had a score sheet!

Emma made a wonderful thick crust with a cream sauce piled with 4 cheeses and 3 meats…always a man pleaser!

Olivia made her famous and wonderful naan flat bread crust, heaped with lots of fresh vegetables and herbs, and my favorite, pineapple! Here little sister Cherish is getting them grilled up!

And this is the one, Emma’s Pizza, was the winner!

They were both so good it was hard to choose.

This was a lot of fun as Italian music and laughter filled the house.

I NEEDED this day!

Next weekend they want to have a contest for the best banana pudding!

We may need to increase our workout time!

Keep Your Husband Happy without Breaking a Sweat!

Even those of us that love to cook do not enjoy the heat of the kitchen during the summer! Most of us ladies are content with a salad, but not many hard working husbands are. Even after you are married the way to his heart is still through his stomach, so lets keep that spark alive yet not heat up the kitchen too much as we seek to make him happy.

PLAN AHEAD!

Plan meals that can be heated quickly, preferably without the oven or boiling water.

Cook your meats for the week in one day and then bag in ziplocks. These can be warmed up quickly in a pan with a little water.

Chicken or Steak:

Quesidillas- these cook quickly on a griddle
Strips for salads with cheese and olives
Fajitas
Gyros

Ground Beef:

Sloppy Jos
Tacos
Hamburgers

Grill It and SUPER SIZE IT!

When I grill I grill a bunch at once! Hamburgers, chicken legs, chicken breast, ribs, steaks, hot dogs, etc… Once it is grilled and cooled I package it in freezer bags and freeze, leaving out a few day’s worth meat.

On the main cooking day you can go ahead and slice onions, tomatoes, peppers, etc… that you will need for the week.

Do hearty sandwiches one or two nights a week, but be sure to have some tasty sides to make sure he doesn’t feel cheated!

Plan your sides that can be made in bulk and eat those all week with your meat already cooked!

Pasta Salad
Potato Salad
Corn on the Cob
BBQ Beans

The best way to keep the kitchen cool is to cook outside. Something as simple as putting a crockpot outside makes a huge difference!

All of this will leave you cool and refreshed for your hubby!

How to Make Bread Stuffing with Sausage

These measurements are approximate, you can adjust to your taste. This batch of dressing was about 30 servings.

Brown about 2 pounds of bulk Italian Sausage, drain grease.

Chop 5-6 stalks of celery and a few onions.

Saute the onions and celery with a pound of mushrooms, just until slightly tender.

Add salt, pepper, ground sage, parsley and rosemary (sage is the key!).

Add the onion mixture to the sausage, stir well.

Melt a stick of butter and add turkey (or chicken) broth to the butter.

You can use store bought breadcrumbs, or make your own.
We had a BUNCH of hot dog buns left over from a get together,
so I chopped them up for the stuffing.
I used 3-4 packages for this batch.

Add the sausage mixture to the bread. Mix it up good.

Pour the broth/butter in slowly, mixing until all the bread is moist.
Don’t add too much, you don’t want soup.

Butter (or oil) your baking pan; pour stuffing in pan. You can also use a roasting bag (saves A LOT of clean up), or a crock pot. Bake on 300 for 1 hour, until hot all through.

Great with turkey or chicken!!!
This freezes well.
Make a double/triple batch and free some.

How to Peel a Head of Garlic Quickly! -video

Today’s Table - Jacques Pépin’s Dijon Crusted Split Chicken Breast

I like to keep the table decorated with something fresh and different. Here are some tiny glasses with cranberries, and some fresh herbs form the herb garden; simple and festive!

Tonight Olivia served us up Jacques Pépin’s Dijon Crusted Split Chicken Breast from his Fast Food My Way cookbook! She also made some creamed potatoes with her own mushroom sauce. OH.MY.WORD! It was amazing…absolutely amazing! It was one of those meals that you HAVE TO slow down and savor it. I think I’ll discourage her from getting married so I’ll always have good food at my table! ;o) I know, I know… that’s selfish!