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Fruit and Cream Filled Pastry Cups #kidsinthekitchen

March 13, 2014 by

I have a love hate relationship with baking but it’s one of the few things that the kids can always help with. That is until I came across profiteroles. These are not a kid friendly recipe.

Fruit and Cream Filled Pastry Cups #kidsinthekitchen

Fruit and Cream Filled Pastry Cups #kidsinthekitchen

The finished product though are a perfect kid friendly food. These bite size, dainty pastries are the just right vessel for anything you can imagine.   Of course my family goes towards the sweet side and filled them with whipped cream and fruit but I’d like to serve these stuffed with chicken salad or fried chicken pieces with cole slaw.Fruit and Cream Filled Pastry Cups #kidsinthekitchen

Making the profiterole dough isn’t hard per say but it takes planning and organization. I’m sure Sabreena could handle making this but I wouldn’t let the other two mess with it. I used this video from Martha Stewart as my guide.

Shaun and Shae decided to fill them with fruit and whipped cream. Shaun went to work on slicing the strawberries while Shae munch on the tops.  They each decided what to put in their own profiteroles and had a light and delicious snack.

Fruit and Cream Filled Pastry Cups #kidsinthekitchen

Fruit and Cream Filled Pastry Cups #kidsinthekitchen

They loved them and the recipe made plenty so we’ll be filling them with ice cream and chocolate sauce over the weekend for dessert.

Fruit and Cream Filled Pastry Cups #kidsinthekitchen

The kids might not be involved in every step of a recipe but getting their participation on some of the process is just as good. Keeping them in the loop keeps them interested and that’s the whole point of #kidsinthekitchen.

Come join me and my co-hosts, Sarah of Play to Learn with Sarah, Paula at Frosted Fingers and Sara at Sensibly Sara, each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

You’ll find so many more ideas on the #KidsintheKitchen Pinterest Board.

Follow Melinda Babiak’s board #KidsintheKitchen on Pinterest.
Linky Rules, #kidsinthekitchen

#KidsintheKitchen Weekly Linky






Baking Biscuits with the Kids #kidsinthekitchen

September 5, 2013 by

Last week I showed off my autographed cookbook from David Venable and said we’d be showing off a recipe from that book this week. The cookbook came with flags sticking out of certain recipe he thought I’d like or my kids would like. He was right. We made his Mom’s Mayo Drop Biscuits and everyone like them.

It was simple recipe, 5 ingredients that mixed up in just minutes and were ready in 15 minutes. This is a great recipe to get Shae involved. There was mixing, measuring, pouring and scooping; all great skills to work on in the kitchen.

Baking with Kids #kidsinthekitchen

Did you have fun in the “kitchen” this week? Did you try a new food or a new kid friendly restaurant? Did your littlest ones use their snacks to count to 10? We invite you to share your experiences, photos, stories or recipes that include your #kidsinthekitchen.

I want to introduce you to our 2 new co-hosts, Lisa of HooplaPaloooza and Sarah of Play2LearnWithSarah. I hope you welcome them with open arms.

Come join me and my co-hosts, Paula at Frosted Fingers, Sara at Sensibly Sara, Lisa of HooplaPaloooza and Sarah of Play2LearnWithSaraheach week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.

Don’t have a blog? Share an instagram photo or Facebook update.

Linky Rules, #kidsinthekitchen

#KidsintheKitchen Weekly Linky




Prepping before Baking #KidsintheKitchen

April 26, 2013 by

This week for #KidsintheKitchen we worked on organization. Specifically I taught Shae how to get organized when it’s time for baking. Baking is so different than just cooking. Since there is some science involved with baking it’s important to make sure you have all of your ingredients, the right amounts and ready to add. Being unorganized while baking can cause catastrophic results. Skipping over ingredients or adding incorrect measurements can effect taste and texture.

Starting good kitchen habits early on can only with end results and clean up.
Teaching Skills in the Kitchen, #kidsinthekitchen
We took the easy way out and used a boxed cake mix since we’re pressed for time in the afternoons. I showed her how to look at the entire recipe, see each ingredient she needed and work on any prep work. I preheated the oven while she put papers in the muffin tins I don’t know why but she loves this step.
#kidsinthekitchen Adding Cupcake Liners
Next we measured out each ingredient, mixed up the batter and poured it into our tins. This particular batch was for Shaun’s lacrosse team but we snuck a couple for quality control.
#kidsinthekitchen, Mixing up Cake Batter
#kidsinthekitchen, Eating Cupcakes
Did you have fun in the kitchen this week? Did you try a new food or a new restaurant? Did your littlest ones use their snacks to count to 10? Share your experiences, photos, stories or recipes that include your #kidsinthekitchen. I would love for you to join me and my co-hosts, Paula at Frosted Fingers and Sara at Sensibly Sara, each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together and enjoying it and learning something.

Don’t have a blog, then share a photo you uploaded to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Share whatever you have, we want to see it.

Linky Rules

1. Link up only your kid friendly recipes, stories, pictures or cooking lessons here.
2. Link directly to a specific post, update or tweet not your homepage.
3. Please add a Kids in the Kitchen button or link on your site or blog post or share through social media so readers know you are participating.
kids in the kitchen, meme

kids in the kitchen, cooking with kids, weekly series
4. Click through and comment, pin, like, tweet or share with other participants. We love to share inspiration and ideas with each other, don’t link and run.
5. Follow the hosts of this feature, Paula at Frosted Fingers, Sara at Sensibly Sara and me, Melinda atLookWhatMomFound…and Dad too!

I can’t wait to see all of the fun food themed ideas, excursions and photos you have to share.




Safeway Has Your Baking Needs Covered – Giveaway

December 4, 2012 by

One of my favorite things about the holidays other than seeing my kids open gifts on Christmas morning are baked goods.  Nothing beats homemade cookies, brownies, cupcakes, etc and they seem extra plentiful around this time of year.

If you have a Safeway near you like we do make sure you visit them this holiday season because they are your one stop destination for all of your baking needs.  They have red velvet cupcake mix, decorating sets, sprinkles, decorating bags and tips, no bleed baking cups, fondant shapes, sparkle gel decorators, frosting starters, and much more available in-store, along with the Safeway Chef Assistant app and Pinterest page to help online, Safeway is here to inspire you to bake up sweet memories with your family and friends.

We received a gift basket last week filled with a ton of awesome goodness like cupcake mixes, icing, fondant and decorating kit.  Needless to say once the kids spotted the basket they harassed us non-stop the entire week to make every single thing in the basket.  Sunday morning we finally got out all of the items we were planning on using and got to work.  The kids made the cupcakes first then we needed to wait about an hour or two for them to cool before we could decorate them which you think was weeks long since the kids asked every ten minutes if the cupcakes were cooled. Once the cupcakes were cooled is when the real fun began.  The kids piped on the icing with the cake decorating tips and pastry bags then moved on to rolling out and using the red, green and blue fondant.  For me the best part of this little baking session was spending time together as a family and watching the kids have a great time decorating their cupcakes.  We probably spent a total of two to three hours working on the cups cakes which like I said was a lot of fun.  Are their cupcakes going to win an award for the pretties or best decorated, nope but I will say we had a really awesome time relaxing and having a great time as a family.  For me baking is a time not only to make some really sweet treats for the family to enjoy it’s also a great time to bond and get closer as a family.

Want a chance to spend some quality time baking with your family? If so you are in luck because one Look What Mom Found…and Dad too winner will have a chance to win a gift basket of your own filled with some awesome goodies.  All I need you to do it tell me what holiday treat you and your family like to make around the holidays.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED entry above. Please note the changes to the entries and frequency, entries that don’t follow rules may be disregarded/ignored/deleted.

  • SUBSCRIBE to LookWhatMomFound…and Dad too! via email or RSS feed
  • LIKE Safeway on Facebook
  • LIKE Safeway on Pinterest
  • SHARE this link on Facebook (I entered to win a #SafewayHoliday Gift Basket over at LookWhatMomFound..and Dad too! )
  • FOLLOW Mom & Dad & Safeway on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway (1 time per day), please leave your twitter link each time, tweet a form of this message: I want to win a #SafewayHoliday Gift Basket from @lkwhtmomfound @anddadtoo http://bit.ly/TAK7hs 
  • ENTER another Giveaway – let us know which one in the comment (one extra entry per giveaway you enter, just leave separate comments)
  • COMMENT on any other Review/Our Life/Our Travels/Our Thoughts post, let us know where to find it

Your entries must follow the rules or they won’t be eligible for prizes. This contest ends 11:59 pm, Tuesday, December 18, 2012. The winners will be emailed and will have 24 hours to claim their prize. This contest is open to Continental US residents only. For complete rules please read our blog contest rules page.
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Let’s talk Baking

September 12, 2011 by

I’m no Betty Crocker but I like to bake. I’ve experimented lots over the years and have hads lots of hits and lots of misses.  One thing I do try my best to realize is that baking isn’t the same as cooking.  I can’t deviate from baked goods recipes or I risk a disaster.   Here are some of the “rules” I’ve learned to make sure I get the best possible outcome when it’s time to get some sweets on the table.

use for liquid measuring

  • use butter when a recipe calls for butter, margarine can cause cookies to spread too thin.
  • reading a recipe that calls for grams and ounces means ingredients should be weighed not measured in cups or spoons.
  • unless a recipe specifically calls for sifted flour don’t bother, spoon flour into your measuring cup and then level off with the straight side of a knife, easy peasy!
  • always prep ahead. Measure out ingredients before you start mixing, this allows for smooth and swift additions. Doing this also helps make ensure you have enough of all the ingredients to correctly make your recipe.
  • measure measure measure, baking is a science where as cooking is not. what looks like a teaspoon in the palm of your hand might not be. Not enough baking powder will prevent getting the proper rise from your sweets.
  • preheat your oven-not much more to say about that
  • cooking spray can be your friend; a quick spray in your measuring cup will lessen the amount of scraping you need to do when measuring out peanut butter, shortening or honey.
  • invest in rubber spatulas, they make for less clean up when you can get every morsel of batter or dough out of the bowl.
  • parchment paper is awesome!You’ll be amazed how easy it is to get a whole pan of brownies out of a pan without losing a single crumb.

    dry ingredient measurement

What are your fool proof tips or secrets to successful baked goods and desserts?




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