Spooky Halloween treats and crafts with kids

It's Fall Break this week so all three of my girls are home with me.  This makes my life infinitely sweeter but infinitely more chaotic.  In preparation for our Halloween party this weekend, I have a list of things to accomplish every day.  It helps to break up the cooking, baking and crafts so I'm not up all the night for two nights before the party.  Having the girls home gives me a few more road blocks to getting the list done.  But we're working through it!

The girls are mostly a big help.  So far we've made orange popcorn balls on a stick for super kid friendly snacks, lolly pop ghosts, and spooky Halloween drawings for a diorama.  It's our second year for making these adorable meringue ghosts.

I used this basic popcorn ball recipe only adding orange food coloring with the butter and vanilla.    Next time I'll make it a darker orange because once you stir it in, the orange sort of spreads out and doesn't look as bright when on the kernels. But, I also used more than 9 cups of popcorn since I don't see the need in making the snack too sweet. Addie and Bella had so much fun helping with the popcorn balls.  They did a great job molding them.  You have to go quickly so the syrup doesn't entirely cool or else the popcorn won't hold together.

I added a thick craft stick and a Halloween bag with a tie so they won't get stale before kiddos get to munch on them.

 Did you ever have Ed Emberly's drawing books as a kid?  We had some and I remember how awesome it was to follow his step by step instructions for drawing some pretty intricate stuff.  My mom found Ed Emberley's Big Orange Drawing Book and sent it to us for our Halloween crafts.  Addie grabbed the book, paper and popsicle sticks and just ran with it.  She's so creative.  I especially love the haunted mansion.

 Lolly pop ghosts are a super easy kid craft for Halloween.  We use Tootsie Pops, facial tissue, bakers twine and a black marker.  This year I dug up some googly eyes which were a lot of fun.  Check out the clever ghost on the left who has a spooky pirate patch for an eye.

cinnamon and sugar cut-out snacks

This is a super simple kid friendly recipe for an afternoon when your children want to make their own snack.  Adelaide was the one who came up with the idea to use cookie cutters on the homemade tortillas.  She and Bella jumped on board the cinnamon sugar train when I suggested it.  These are so yummy Justin and I were sneaking tastes.

Stuff you need:
Homemade flour tortillas (or store bought ones will do as well)
1/4 cup melted butter-and a basting brush for spreading.
1/2 cup white sugar mixed with a heaping Tbsp cinnamon

Using cookie cutters on the tortillas proved more difficult than we originally thought.  I had to muscle the shapes into the tortillas.  Often by laying the tortilla on top of the sharp edge of the cookie cutter and pushing down to puncture it.  Here is where the store bought tortillas will be easier since they tend to be soft and easily break.  The homemade ones are thicker and tougher to work with.

We used all sorts of fun cookie cutters the girls chose.  Teddy bears, stars and puppy dogs.  Our favorite were the chickens.  Addie called them the funky chickens.  Love that girl!

After the shapes were cut Addie had the fun task of brushing them with butter and then sprinkling with cinnamon and sugar.  You could dip the tortilla in butter and then coat both sides with cinnamon and sugar but I think that might be overkill.  They were sweet enough with one side sugared.

Bake the crackers for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let them cool and then crunch away.  These won't last the day.  We made double so we could have some to take for school snacks today.  All the extra tortilla bits got buttered and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and baked too.  I have visions of these buttery cinnamon tortilla bits in a batch of Mexican fried ice cream with coconut.  Doesn't that sound good?

how to host a brunch

The most common way families in Ethiopia spend their weekends is at one another's homes for dinner parties, lunch play dates, birthday parties or brunches.  There really isn't a lot to do in this city with small children. So we entertain one another as way of entertainment.   Hosting parties in which food is the focal point is a great way to keep busy during the planning and spend time with friends during the hosting.

Brunch has become our "thing". We've hosted a lot of brunches, maybe 6 in the last 8 months. It's the perfect time of day to have other families with small children over. The kids eat breakfast at home as usual and when they come to our house it's still too early for lunch so they happily play awhile.  The grown ups get to drink coffee and converse over quiche and scones and then feed the kids waffles with whipped cream or roasted potatoes when they get hungry closer to lunch time. Everyone eats enough that a large dinner isn't necessary later.  People can still have their kids home for an afternoon nap after the party.  It's the perfect hosting situation for us since we have small children ourselves.  Plus I love brunch food.

Since we've been doing it a lot lately I'm kind of getting the hang of it.  I don't break a sweat pulling it all together anymore.  It's become really fun hosting friends at our house.  We hosted brunch this morning for two families with children (besides our own) and not once did I pull my hair out.  I've got the kinks out of brunch.

Here are a few of my tips for hosting a successful brunch:

Things to do the night before:

• Make the appropriate dishes, refrigerated them overnight and and warm it in the oven a few minutes before serving.  (quiche, other egg casseroles, breads, dips, spreads, dressings, desserts).
• Prepare scones and freeze them uncooked.  Defrost in the morning and bake them so they are still warm when guests arrive.  Scones are the perfect brunch food, easy to make but a special treat.
• Set the table; complete with napkins and silverware-it's one less thing to do in the morning.
• Take out all the serving dishes you will likely use in the morning.  
• Refrigerate pitchers of water-add ice and cucumber slices in the morning for refreshing flavored water.
• Tidy up the areas of the house your guests will see.  
• Have fun with writing a menu (on a chalkboard or printed for the table) for your guests to see when they arrive.  Sometimes the extra touches are what make brunch feel special.

Other tips:

• Ten o'clock is a good time for guests to start arriving.  10:30 food is served.  
• Invite the right amount of people.  If your table seats 8 people don't host more than 8 adults (include the adults in your family in this number).  Having a more intimate meal with everyone gathered at one table makes for the best conversations.  All the kids can be accommodated by my next tip.
• A small kids table is perfect for little diners (keep it on a easy clean-up surface).  Get your own kids involved by having them help set the table and make a centerpiece or name tags for their friends.
• Have a high chair or booster seat ready for very little diners.
• Serve a selection of savory and sweet items. Scones, grilled tomatoes, salad, fruit, potato cakes, crepes, flat bread, souffle, coffee cake, bacon, baked apples, bagels with smoked salmon, doughnuts...the list is endless.  Just pick a few in each category.

• Having interesting toppings for ordinary breakfast food makes it brunch instead of plain old breakfast.  For example, a bowl of toasted coconut and cinnamon whipped cream for waffles or lemon juice and powdered sugar for pancakes or homemade butterscotch syrup for both.  Get creative. 
• A soothing but hip playlist for background music keeps the brunch from feeling too stiff and formal. Think Mumford & Sons, David Bowie, Of Monsters and Men, Adele, Elvis Costello, Coldplay, and The Shins.  
• Gather condiments like cream, sugar, syrup, dressings or other toppings on a tray for your sideboard.

• Always have coffee ready but offer tea or something non-caffeinated for guests.
• Make enough food that you can enjoy leftovers from the brunch for a light dinner later in the day.  After all the preparations you won't want to cook again that evening.  
• If you are serving salad consider making your own dressing and tossing it with the greens right before the meal.  Homemade salad dressing always adds an extra thoughtful touch to an otherwise ordinary dish. (I serve salad greens with thinly sliced onions.  Homemade dressing is simply 1/4 red wine vinegar, 1 TBsp lemon juice, 1 TBsp honey, 1 TBsp dijon mustard, salt, pepper, 1/4 cup olive oil all whisked together).
• Plan your menu ahead of time. When guests ask what they can bring, give them something specific that you need for your menu.  Like sliced strawberries for your waffles or fresh bread for your dips (which is exactly what I asked our guests to bring today when they asked).  You can cross  it off your list and your guests fulfill their hostess gift/bring something requirement.
• The table setting might be formal but the atmosphere should be relaxed as kids come and go from the playroom and moms get up to nurse.  Make people comfortable in your home.  
• Using your nice dishes and table linens is fun.  You have them, right? Why not use them?  Even for a kid friendly brunch.  Once in awhile it's nice to have a saucer for your coffee cup. It's a nice change from your usual dining routine (and the other parent's usual dining routines). Plus a pretty table makes the food look even tastier.
• Stock your guest bathroom. Tape up those stinky third world drains, light a candle, leave an extra roll of toilet paper, hang up a clean hand towel and provide a small step stool for little ones.
• Most importantly: take a shower right away when you wake up the morning of the brunch.  I've had a couple of close calls where I put off showering and start to prepare brunch first thing.  I end up racing to get ready as guests are coming in the door.  Best to get dressed and get brushing your teeth out of the way before you start cooking.
• Don't forget to sit and really savor the brunch yourself.  You did all the work right?

Brunch can be a great way for families with children to host a get-together, meet new families, spend time with friends and stave off that boredom that can happen in locations where there isn't much entertainment outside of your own home.  Like rainy season in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!

cheater dinner rolls

It never fails.  Every time I decide that the meal I am cooking should be accompanied by dinner rolls, I no longer have the two to three hours available to make them.  I have a hard time thinking ahead sometimes.

On one of these nights a few months ago, I came up with this recipe for cheater dinner rolls.  It's super quick and they taste amazing straight out of the oven with soup, salad or just on their own.  It's essentially my pizza dough recipe baked as rolls!  Shhhhh!  I won't tell if you don't.

Cheater Dinner Rolls
Prep time 2 min, Rise time 15 min, more prep 5 min, Bake time 11 min (beats the 3 hour traditional dinner roll recipe any day)

Dough
2 cups flour (I like to use 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast (1 packet)
1 cup water
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp salt

Topping
2-3 cloves fresh garlic minced
olive oil
coarse salt

Mix the flour and dry yeast in a large bowl.  In another microwave safe bowl nuke the water for about 30-40 seconds.  Should be slightly warm to the touch.  Add honey, salt and oil and stir.  Add wet to dry and using a wooden spoon stir the dough until you see stretchy dough strands. Just 1 minute.  Place a towel over the bowl and let it sit at room temp until it's risen and doubled for about 15 min.   Prepare the topping by mincing the garlic and set aside.

Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead in a bit of flour until the dough is soft and not sticky.  Cut the dough into 12 chunks (I cut the dough in quarters, then each quarter into thirds so the rolls are even).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray.  Roll each chunk of dough into a ball or pull the corners to the underside and set in a muffin tin.  Poke a bit of the minced garlic into the middle of each roll (once baked the garlic pops out on top-see photo).  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the rolls are crusty on top and just a tiny bit browned.  Remove from the muffin tin and serve immediately with dinner.

cranberry cream cheese muffins

I'm not a huge muffin fan.  It's only once in a blue moon that I eat a muffin that feels worth the calories.  My daughters like muffins though and have been begging me to make some.  It's an easy baking project for the kids so we went ahead and pulled out a basic sweet muffin recipe and spruced it up.

Kids like surprises so any time you can put something sweet in the middle of something so it's hidden like treasure, they eat it up, literally.

For these muffins we added cranberries to the muffin batter then spooned sweetened cream cheese on top of half the batter so it baked in the middle for a sweet gooey treat when you bite into it.

Recipe
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder for high altitude (2 tsp at low altitude)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg beaten
3 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
dash of vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, line your muffin tin with cupcake liners and spray with nonstick cocking spray. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Combine the milk, butter, oil and egg in another bowl  Combine the wet and dry and stir just until combined.  Add 1/2 chopped dried cranberries.

In a separate bowl mix the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.  Warm a bit in the microwave if it's not smooth.

Place a teaspoon of the muffin batter in the tin then add a dollop of cream cheese in the middle.  Top with another teaspoon of muffin batter.  Bake for 18-22 minutes until slightly brown and the tops are bouncy to touch.

Turns out Adelaide can't stand warm cream cheese so she had to scoop hers out but Arabella loved them.  For not being a muffin lover, I enjoyed mine with coffee this morning.  It's like having a bite of cheesecake in your muffin!

banana smoothies

Banana smoothies are one of the girls' favorite snacks.  I kind of have a secret love for them too!  We fell in love with this type of sweet blended smoothie after all our trips to Jonah's Fruit Shakes on Boracay Island in the Philippines.  Jonah's has the most amazing shakes. We sometimes drank three a day. We try to recreate them with these recipes.  

Cheers!

Choco Banana Smoothie
two small ripe bananas (or 1 American size big banana)
1/3 cup milk
1-2 Tbsp chocolate syrup
4-5 ice cubes.
Serves 2 little people or one big person

Blend the bananas, milk and chocolate in a blender until smooth.  Add the ice and blend until milk shake consistency.  Serve with straws and make a big deal about getting a chocolate milkshake in the middle of the day!  My girls go gaga for this mostly banana and ice smoothie.

The following is my favorite variation. I decided during our last trip to Boracay, May 2011, that the chocolate was too sweet for me.

Vanilla Banana Peanut Smoothie
two small ripe bananas (or 1 American size big banana)
1/3 cup milk
1 Tbsp peanut butter and small handful of peanuts (if you have them-Jonah's always made their peanut smoothies chunky)
1 tsp vanilla extract
4-5 ice cubes
Serves 2 little people or just me!

Same as the chocolate smoothie, blend the soft ingredients first then add the cubes.  Enjoy with thoughts of white sand beaches in your head!

I need some salt

"I need some salt" is a common statement that comes out of my husband's mouth.  It's usually after dinner or at any other snack time.  There are very few pre-packaged snacks in our house here in Addis Ababa.  This is a good thing 99% of the time.  That is, until we "need some salt".  I've also been in dire need of a good bag of crunchy salted potato chips.  And I don't mean the $9 bags of Lays at the commissary.  I mean good quality chips.  Like the delicious ones you get alongside a big deli sandwich back in the States.

Well, you know where this story is going, right?  I made some homemade baked potato chips and they were crazy good.  It's the first recipe I've tried from The Homemade Pantry that I raved about the other day.  It was a delicious way to initiate this cookbook into my repertoire.

The girls and I cut the potatoes with the thinnest setting on my mandolin (I feel less and less guilty for owning this kitchen gadget with every new recipe I use it for. Total recipes I use it for now-2! HA!).  Adelaide was fascinated with the mandolin.  She was a big help with the slicing process.

The sliced taters sat in a big bowl of salted water.  I used 1/2 teaspoon of salt in the big bowl.

Once they soaked for about 5-10 minutes, they were removed and dried on a towel.

I followed the recipe in The Homemade Pantry and oiled my cookie sheets, preheated my oven to 450 degrees.  Spread the potatoes on the baking sheet and sprinkled with salt.  They baked at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then 300 degrees for about 20 more minutes. I rotated the pans from the higher to lower shelves every 5-10 minutes so they wouldn't over bake.  I baked my chips in four batches so they weren't over crowded on the baking sheets.  Once I saw the chips start to brown and curl up on the edges or flake off the pan I moved them to a paper towel.  I added chunky sea salt at the end.

Almost the entire batch of chips was devoured right away by everyone but Ashlynn (although she grabbed at mine the whole time).  We ate them straight off the paper towels. No time to move them to a bowl. They were delicious; hot and crispy with lots of salt.  The small handful I shooed by husband away from later that night so I could save for the girls for snack the next day; I placed in a Ziploc bag.  They didn't stay crispy though.  Next time it might be best to eat the entire batch.

You definitely want to make these the day of the party or the day you plan on eating them.  Next I am going to try my hand at salt and vinegar chips.  Those are my all time favorite.  I'm going to add an extra bag of potatoes to my shopping list every week because these chips are a new family favorite.  They definitely fulfill that need for salt!

old cereal, new purpose

Can it get any more kid friendly than chicken nuggets and french fries?  The only food group more loved by my kids might be homemade mac-n-cheese but really, most kids like nuggets and fries.  My kids wouldn't touch them for awhile; preferring fish and rice over almost anything while we were in the Philippines but over time they've come to like American kid cuisine.  Isn't stopping at McDonald's for a Happy Meal part of repatriating?  Don't get too excited, my nuggets and fries don't come with a Happy Meal Toy.  I had to lay that out there.  

We are huge cereal eaters, I mean HUGE.  I'd prefer to snack on a box of Wheat Chex over almost anything and the girls go through all types of cereal by the bag. Ashlynn is in love with Rice Krispies!  It's the one thing I knew we'd never be able to pack enough of in our consumables shipment.  We always have bits of cereal in the bottom of bags laying around.  The coolest re-purposing I have done lately is using these bits of cereal to bread chicken nuggets.  I'm not joking folks, it's delicious and a fantastic way to get rid of all those bottom of the bag rejects no one eats.

What you need:
old cereal bits (unsweetened cereals)
sesame seeds
whole wheat flour
salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika
3-4 chicken breasts
vegetable oil
egg
milk

Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Bran flakes, Rice Krispies

Round up all the unsweetened cereal rejects in your cupboards and put them in your food processor (or a big plastic Ziploc bag and use a mallet if you don't have a processor).  Add a handful of sesame seeds, a dash of salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.  Pulse the food processor until combined.

Pour the cereal mixture in a dish and add a handful of whole wheat flour.  In another bowl beat one egg with 1/4 cup milk and set aside.  Heat 2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil in a skillet on medium to medium low heat (depending on your stove top's temperament). Be prepared to add more oil as you cook batches of the chicken.

Wash, pat dry and slice the chicken breasts into thin strips.  Smaller and thinner seems to be better.  The kids always go for the thin ones and they cook quickest.  Don't stress yourself out about making the cuts uniform. No one cares.  Once the chicken is cut, sprinkle it with a bit of salt and pepper. Place the chicken in the egg mixture and then dredge it in the cereal mixture.

Put the dredged chicken nuggets in the heated oil and cook until brown and crispy (about 1-2 minutes per side) turning only once.  When the chicken is done let it rest on a paper towel.  If you aren't going to eat them right away you can put them on a baking sheet and keep them warm in a low oven.  The trick is to keep them warm and crispy for serving.

Note #1: if you want to be super healthy you can bake these chicken nuggets in the oven and bypass the oil.  375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes should do the trick.  Today I felt like a crispy fried chicken nugget.  Don't judge!

Note #2: This is kid food but it tastes awesome.  The sesame seeds in the cereal mixture give it a nutty taste and if you throw in whole wheat cereal it adds a hint of sweetness.  I serve these with homemade sweet potato fries (essentially peeled and sliced sweet potatoes drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper roasted until crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside at 375 degrees).  Sweet potato fries is my sneaky way of making french fries a bit healthier.

Note #3: Kids love ketchup (that's the understatement of the year).  I served ketchup with the kids' meals but I made myself a homemade honey mustard dipping sauce that elevated the nuggets to cocktail party appetizer status.  For real..  Mix equal parts honey with your favorite mustard.  I personally think mustard should only be consumed as whole seed mustard and spicy, but that's just me.  If any grown ups are going to be eating your homemade nuggets, I insist you provide them a grown up dipping sauce to go with them.

The verdict: Both girls cleared their plate and asked for seconds.  Then right before bath time came down and snatched extra nuggets off the counter to snack on. I'd say they liked them.

I'm pretty sure you and your kids will dig them too!

cupcakes in a box

Today is our driver, Zalalem's birthday so the girls and I made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting to give him a serious chocolate overload!  He kept raving about the cake I made for Addie's birthday party so we used the same recipe only instead of making him cart home an entire cake, we made cupcakes.  I love decorating cupcakes much more than cake anyway.  I pulled out my frosting tips and squeezed the gorgeous frosting on top to hide the fact that the middle of the cupcakes sunk after they came  out of the oven (high altitude issues for sure).  There is nothing frosting and sprinkles can't fix! Am I right?

Addie and I wrapped a box and lined it with tissue paper so the cupcakes looked nice.  He was thrilled when the girls presented him with the gift.  But really, who wouldn't enjoy a box of homemade cupcakes on their birthday?

Popsicles

My mom used to make Jello Popsicles when I was little and the ones my girls and I made yesterday is the exact same recipe.  How fun is that?  The best part about this activity is that it can almost entirely be prepared by a 5 year old.  I boiled the water and helped pour it in the bowl but the rest is easy!

1 3 ounce package of Jello flavored gelatin

1 cup boiling water

1 cup cold water

1 Tbsp sugar

fruit chunks (optional)

Mix the gelatin with the sugar and boiling water.  Add the cold water.  

Pour into your Popsicle mold.  

Freeze overnight. 

 Warm the mold in warm water until the popsicles easily slide out.  Makes 4-6 Popsicles depending on the size of your mold.  

Enjoy with big smiles! Cheers