Shake it up GREEN!

Hey, all my little leprechauns... Being "green" is not as hard as it sounds and celebrating St. Patrick's Day is always fun! So let's celebrate the "wearing of the green" with Slurpee Shamrock Shakes!

This very easy one needs adult supervision for operating the blender... but let the kids dump the ingredients in and scoop the ice cream! Don your aprons for the green "splatter factor"... or, you could be really wearing green!

Oh, and I suggest that you allow each child to make their own shake... it will only take a few more minutes.

Ingredients for one shake:
1 banana (not a green one, no pun intended)
2 cups milk
1/2 cup green mint ice cream.

Have the kids peel the bananas and break them up in pieces... dump them in the blender. Let the kids measure out the milk... good practice for them... and a little hint here... use a large, 4-cup clear measuring cup... it will help prevent spills and also teaching the kids to shoot for exact measurements. And, they can see what they're doing!

Now, let them scoop out the ice cream and smash it into a 1/2 cup measuring cup... yes, let them cheat just a tad with a bit extra... and plop the ice cream in the blender. The adult helper is always in charge of the blender and can allow the kids to push buttons (your call on this one... but safety is always first)!

The shake only needs to be blended and it will take about a minute (depending on your blender)... you want it smooth and creamy. If the kids like thicker shakes then let them put in more than 1/2 cup of ice cream. If you have any green sprinkles around... pour the shake into a glass and top with green sprinkles... it's magical... watch out for the leprechauns!

Happy Saint Paddy's Day and Happy Cooking!
Jan McCracken, Kids Culinary Chef

Red, White & Blue Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes!

All righty then... Nannie Mac is running late for a recipe for Memorial Day so we're going to make it super easy :-) and really fun!

If you haven't ever made Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes, you're in for a treat and if you have, the kids will be thrilled to do it again and decorate them in red, white and blue... with the best part being Red Velvet Cake!

Okay, let's get started... 

Here's what you'll need:

1 (18-ounce) Red Velvet Cake Mix + all the fixin's to stir it up

24 flat-bottomed ice cream cones

1 (16 ounce) can frosting (preferably white or the cream cheese frosting is yummy)

Red, white & blue sprinkles

Whipping Cream (optional)

C'mon kids, let's head for the kitchen! The kids can pretty well do this one on their own with just a tad of supervision except for taking the creations out of the oven!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Have the kids measure out the ingredients needed for the Red Velvet cake mix and stir it up!

Use a measuring cup and pour a scant 1/4-cup batter into flat-bottomed ice cream cones so they are a tiny bit less than half full (if you fill the cones too much, the cakes will not have a nice, round top).
   
Place the cones on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. (Note:  Be very careful when putting them in the oven!

Remove from baking sheet and cook on wire rack. You can use a tooth pick and carefully punch a little hole, or maybe two, in the bottom of the cone to allow the steam to come out so the cones don't get soggy.

Encourage the kids to get creative and swirl the frosting like soft-serve ice cream! Sprinkle with red, white and blue!

OR... wait until you're ready to eat the cupcake cones and let the kids get wild with a can of whipping cream! Build it up on top of the cupcake like soft-serve ice cream and "just add red, white and blue sprinkles!"

God Bless all of our men and women at home and abroad who protect us and our freedoms every day... never take them for granted... and, please let the kids know how important they are in our lives on this Memorial Day weekend!

Make it a great, red, white and blue!

Jan McCracken, Culinary Coach for Kids

Be a Spring "Seed Explorer!"

All righty... planting time is near and I've got a really fun project for the kids to do. They're gonna love it... we're not cooking today but this is going to help them understand where their food comes from! 

Some kids literally believe that food comes from the "grocery store" and it doesn't go beyond that. Children need to learn everything about food as research proves that they will make better food choices and have healthier lifestyles as they grow.

Let's make a spring seed collection. You're going to need an empty egg carton for each child for this project. Your choice to either do this over several days or weeks or have a "treasure hunt" type adventure that completes the project all in one day or afternoon.

Tell the kids that they need to find seeds from fruits and vegetables... from trees... from flowers and from other plants. Their goal is to collect 12 different kinds of seeds from different places... the yard, the park, the grocery store... the garden from last year, a flower bed... the possibilities are all around us!

Here's some seed hints to make this a bit easier...

Watermelon, pumpkin, cantaloupe seeds

A walnut

Avocado

Oats

Sunflowers

Lima bean

Acorn

Corn

Oranges, limes, lemons

Peaches, pears, nectarines

Peas, lima beans, other beans

Got it? Go for it! The kids will have a blast and be learning every step of the way... it doesn't get any better than this fun expedition!

If you want to get fancy (and depending on the age of the children), you can have them label (or help them) each seed group that they put in their egg carton.

As they sit down at their work table after collecting the seeds, grab a magnifying glass and let them examine the seeds... give them a title, "Seed Explorer"... have they look at each seed through the magnifying glass so they can see the little things on the seed. Have them smell the seeds... and be sure to have them feel them and their textures.

The kids will realize that their are all sizes, shapes and colors of seeds and they all look different! This is a great exercise in learning where food comes from!

I'd really appreciate any feedback you might have for me when you go on this little seed collection adventure. Please post your experiences, if you'll take a moment to do it! Thanks so much and have a great time with this one... more recipes and seed experiments on the way soon!

Happy Exploring,

Jan McCracken, Culinary Coach for Kids