Thursday, July 19, 2012

Cooking with Kids this Summer


The kids are home for the holidays ... so if you find yourself running out of outdoor options or the weather is not so good why not get the kids involved in making some delicious treats …. Lets Get Cooking.
Simple tasty food that they will love to cook & eat:

Saussie Kebabs with Fresh Pineapple
Sticky Chicken Drumsticks
Pizza bases with lots of toppings..

Chocolate dipped strawberries

Blueberry iced lollies

Granny Donellis holiday bun mixture


Chocolate Dipped Strawberries… 

1 handful of Chopped White Chocolate & Milk Chocolate – 20 Strawberries with stems on…

Wash & dry the strawberries
Put the chocolate into two heatproof bowls
Fill two medium saucepans with a couple of inches of water bring to a simmer.
Turn off the heat and set the bowls over the heat to melt.
Or pop chocolate in two microwaveable bowls – microwave at half power for 30 secs – stir and heat again for approx. 30 secs
Line a baking tray with greasproof paper – hold the strawberries by their stem and dip in the chocolate – let the excess choc drop back into the bowl.  Place on the greasproof paper sheet to dry.

Dip a fork in the white chocolate mixture and drizzle over the dipped strawberries….



Saussie Kebabs with fresh pineapple

These kebabs are so quick and easy to assemble, and make a tasty meal for kids. Serve with a salad and chargrilled chunks of corn on the cob.

Makes: 10 kebabs


Ingredients


30 cocktail saussies
1 medium sized pineapple
3 tbls of honey
1 tbls of olive oil


Method
Blend the honey & olive oil in a shallow dish and add the sausages, turning to coat well. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge to marinate (leave for at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour).
Preheat the barbecue/ grill to its highest setting. Or set the oven to 200 and use a baking sheet covered in foil or greasproof.. If using wooden skewers, soak 10 in cold water for 30 minutes, to prevent them from burning.
Thread 3 sausages onto each skewer, alternating with the pineapple pieces. Cook for 15-20 minutes, turning regularly and basting with any remaining marinade.
Serve the kebabs with a mixed salad and chargrilled corn on the cob chunks.
Cook's tips
Add some chunks of yellow and red pepper to the sausages, to make larger kebabs for adults. Use the same marinade recipe, and you could substitute the sausages with some chicken breast pieces.



Sticky Chicken Drumsticks

12 chicken drumsticks

Marinade
4 tbsp honey
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 lemon juiced
1 tbsp of sesame seeds

1.        Preheat the oven to 180c/350F/G 4
2.        In a large bowl combine the honey, wholegrain mustard soy & lemon and stir well to evenly mix all of the ingredients.
3.        Pop the drumsticks into the bowl and leave in the fridge to marinate for 1 hour or overnight.
4.        Line a baking tray with foil or parchment paper and transfer the drumsticks onto the tray.
5.        Spoon a little extra marinade over the drumsticks
6.        Sprinkle with sesame seeds  & cook for 30 mins
7.        Transfer to a plate and serve immediately

 Pop into the oven for 7 mins until bubbly and slightly golden.



Blueberry Iced Lollies

Kids love ice pops and even better love to make them… You could also have a little competition with them guessing how long they will take to freeze…. These are so easy to make and are made with fresh blueberries that are full of vitamin C. Makes: 12    50ml  ice pops Ingredients 200g blueberries 100g caster sugar75ml of water Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon Method Place the blueberries, sugar, lemon zest and juice in a pan with 75ml water.
Heat gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil.
 Simmer gently for 5 minutes then allow to cool. Purée the mixture with a hand-held electric blender until smooth (or tip into a blender to liquidise).
 Stir in an extra 300ml cold water from fridge. Tip the mixture into a jug then pour into ice pop moulds and freeze for at least 4 hours, until solid. You could also use any other berries or mixture of berries using the same method and measurements... How much fun is that!!
Granny Donelli’s Holiday Bun Mixture
 8 oz butter                    8 dessertspoons of  caster sugar3 eggs                                    1 cup of milk 12 dessert spoons of sifted self raising flour  1.      Melt the butter over heat in a saucepan2.      Take off the heat – add the sugar and stir until well combined 3 mins3.      Beat the eggs with the milk4.      Pop in gradually to the mixture stirring for another 3 minutes5.      Mix in the flour stirring to a smoothish batter6.      Pop into cake cases into a preheated oven @ 200 for 15 to 20 mins.

What I love about this recipe is that it needs very litte equipment and is so easy to make…  so if you are in a holiday home you can still entertain the little ones and have some fun!

These buns are delicious on their own or with some homemade jam.. they are also great fun to decorate with icing and sprinkles…


Rocky Road Chocolate Bites 
500g chocolate
4 handfuls of marshmallows
1 packet crushed peanuts
2 handfuls of dried apricots, cranberries, or your choice

1.           Melt the chocolate in a large bowl over low heat
2.           Chop the marshmallows in half or 1/3 use a scissors
3.           Chop the cherries, apricots or cranberries
4.           Crush the peanuts with a rolling pin
5.           When the chocolate has melted combine the mallows, cherries & peanuts through the mixture.
6.           Spoon the mixture into fairy cake cases and leave to chill for a couple of hours in the fridge

No comments:

Post a Comment