Kids Cooking and Cookbook Blog Site

Since the last post had to do with breakfast, here is a “warmer upper” super breakfast recipe idea.

Best French Toast

4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

8 slices bread ( use the firmest, densest bread you have)

Wash eggs and break them into small shallow bowl. Beat with egg beater. Add milk and vanilla and beat again.

In a fry pan over medium heat, melt butter (ask adult to help).

Soak each slice in the egg/milk mixture until each is thoroughly saturated. Brown bread in fry pan about 4 minutes on each side. It should be a nice brown color.

Serve with the traditional butter and maple syrup or add sliced strawberries in their juice and powdered sugar or any food combination.

Makes 8 slices of French toast.

Enjoy! This is a good way to start the day.

It’s late and the bus is coming. “But you didn’t eat anything?”, your Mom yells. “I don’t have time,” you reply, “I’ll grab something from the machine at school”.

Is this how your morning goes?

You’ve heard it said that breakfast is an important meal of the day. It should give your body at least a third of the food needed every day.

If you don’t enjoy typical breakfasts of cereal and milk, toast, fruit, eggs or ham or bacon, what can you eat?

Any food that is good for other times of day is good for breakfast. You don’t have to be a breakfast skipper. Try some of these:

• Grilled cheese sandwich and orange juice
• Soup and sandwich and milk
• Fruit smoothie and toast
• Pasta salad, crackers, and cheese
• Granola and yogurt and hot chocolate
• Pizza and milk
• Crackers and cheese and fruit
• Muffin and fruit
• Banana bread and milk
• Frozen home-made whole-grain pancakes and milk
• Stir fried veggies and milk
• Any leftovers from supper, such as cold chicken and salad

The night before, think what you might have available for breakfast. Ask your Mom or see what you could have in the morning. Maybe even set the table. Having good quality food to eat before school really makes a difference in the way you will feel and look.

This extremely cold winter has made our heating bills sky rocket. We need to do all we can to keep our gas and electric bills down as much as possible. When working in the kitchen, here are a few ways to conserve fuel, which saves money:

• Choose the correct size pan to fit the size of the burner. If the pan is too small, extra heat will escape around it, thereby wasting energy.

• Turn down the gas setting on your stove if the flame is visible on the sides of the pan.

• Use a small pot or pan if cooking a small amount of food.

• Turn off lights and appliances when not in use. Plug in appliances only when you need them. Many appliances draw small amounts of power when they’re not in use.

• Foods cooked in the oven use less fuel than on top the stove. Once the oven heats up, then the heat comes on only when it must to maintain the determined temperature. When cooking on top of the stove, a constant supply of energy is used.

• When using the oven, cook several dishes with similar cooking temperatures at the same time whenever possible.

• Microwave ovens cook food 75% faster than convention ovens, thereby using less energy.

• Put a lid on food as more heat is trapped and the food cooks faster.

• When recipes call for preheating the oven, turn on oven only for a few minutes before you’re ready to begin baking. However, for many foods, it’s ok to put them in the oven without preheating first.

• Don’t keep peeking in the oven to see how the food is cooking. You’re letting out heat and this takes more energy.

• Keep the refrigerator door closed as much as possible. Think of the refrigerator as being full of tennis balls and every time you open the door the tennis balls fly out the door. Try to keep them inside as much as possible!

• A full refrigerator and freezer is a more fuel efficient unit. Keep it full, but don’t overfill. Air needs to circulate around the food.

• If you have a dishwasher, use the air-dry or overnight-dry feature.

Each of us can make an important contribution to the environment. Conserving energy takes a bite out of global warming, and saves money, too.

Our kitchen had the most wonderful smell on Valentine’s Day – chocolate! We made cheese cakes and pies and candy for a large chocolate lovers event. I want to share with you one of the favorite pie recipes.

Candy Bar Pie

5 all-chocolate candy bars (can use bars with almonds if desired)
16 regular marshmallows, cut up
1/2 cup milk

1/2 pint of whipping cream, or small container whipped topping

graham cracker crust

Heat first 3 ingredients in a double boiler until candy bars and marshmallows are melted. Make sure you are using a double boiler pan so the ingredients don’t burn. The water in the bottom pan keeps the top pan off the direct heat. Let top pan cool completely.

Whip the cream with a rotary egg beater or electric beater until stiff peaks form. (Or use whipped topping for this step).
Fold this into the melted mixture.

Pour into graham cracker crust and chill for 1 hour before serving.

Note: you can even drizzle some chocolate or caramel syrup over the top. Cut in small slices and enjoy.

This is the season when many kids have to miss school because of sickness. Practicing good personal hygiene when working with food helps prevent the spread of infections like colds and the flu.

Properly washing hands with soap and hot water before cooking or anytime you handle food is one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of bad germs. When you touch anything other than food you are working on, it’s necessary to wash hands. After handling raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs, wash hands. When you are interrupted to answer the phone, pet the dog, or use the bathroom, then it’s really important to wash hands thoroughly.

Use soap and rub hands together under warm running water for 20 seconds at least. (This is about the length of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday). Wash the back of hands, scrub finger nails, wrists, and in between fingers. Rinse and use paper towel to turn off water. Dry hands on a paper towel or clean towel.

In addition to good hand washing, it is also important to clean all food preparation surfaces often. Wash countertops, dishes, utensils, and cutting boards with hot soapy water. If you use sponges or dishcloths, dispose of them often or wash them in the dishwasher or clothes washer. This helps reduce bacterial contamination.

Don’t work with food if you have been sick with anything within the past 24 hours. Use plastic gloves if you have a cut on your hands or an open sore. Sneezing and coughing over or near food are unsanitary and should be avoided.

You can help prevent the spread of germs by following these basic personal hygiene practices when handling food.

Hi gang!

I couldn’t wait to get started collecting recipes. Today I want to share one of my favorite recipes. It’s so easy because you mix it up in the saucepan and it makes enough for a small family or for a few friends.

It’s called: Look Mom – No-Sugar Date Bars

1 cup dates
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cut dates into small pieces using kitchen scissors or, depending upon your age, a knife and cutting board. Make sure the dates do not have pits in them. If they do, take out the pits first before cutting.

In medium size saucepan, boil dates and water for 5 minutes. Watch this carefully so the dates don’t scorch. The dates should be softened and look like applesauce, only darker. Add butter. Mix and set aside to cool.

Add eggs and vanilla to cooled mixture in saucepan. Measure flour, baking soda, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to pan mixture. Stir in nuts.

Spread in greased 7 x 11-inch pan and bake in 350 degrees F oven for 20-23 minutes.

Cut into 15 bars.

For a nice variation, add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg to flour mixture.

Dates are loaded with potassium and phosphorus and have 230 calories per 10 dates.

I like this recipe because it has a nice mild sweet flavor without the sugar, and the nuts give it a nice crunchy texture. I made this a few weeks ago when my neighbors dropped over with their two young boys. I served it with ice cream, though, which did add to the sugar content of these refreshments.

Now I am waiting to hear about some of your favorite foods and recipes. I hope you will flood my “Comments” box with lots of your favorites. Or, if you have made some of the recipes here in this blog, I would like to hear your comments, too. I am also open to hearing about any questions you have about cooking.

Chef Crombie would like to hear about the favorite foods you prepare. By sharing your recipes, you can participate in the  I Love to Cook Club.

By printing off the recipes you can compile them into your very own cookbook. This can be a collection of recipes from your internet friends. You may even want to include your special interests and the reason why you like to make that particular recipe.
Cookbooks have different categories. First lets start out with “Favorite Recipes” and then we’ll categorize them from there.

OK, gang. Here is Chef Crombie waiting for your favorite recipes to roll in. . .