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Sautéed Shrimp and Risotto #kidsinthekitchen

July 31, 2014 by

Sometimes dinner gets fancy. Especially when Shae starts leafing through my cookbooks. This is how our Sautéed Shrimp and Risotto dish happened.

Sautéed Shrimp and Risotto #kidsinthekitchenI feel like this is has been the most involved Shae has been in a meal preparation EVER. She definitely took all the credit for dinner this night. Rightfully so too. She peeled the shrimp, cut them, stirred the risotto, added some of the stock, added the spice and flavors. I plated dinner and supervised. Sautéed Shrimp and Risotto #kidsinthekitchen

Sautéed Shrimp and Risotto #kidsinthekitchen

Sautéed Shrimp and Risotto #kidsinthekitchen

This was only my 2nd or 3rd attempt at Risotto. I was a bit hesitant at first but hey why not learn together. It feels like a lot of ingredients but it all comes together very easily. Skip the shrimp if you want or switch meats or add veggies. We went simple this time around but will doctor it up more next time.

Sautéed Shrimp and Risotto

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs peeled, deveined shrimp cut into bit size pieces
  • 4 cups quality chicken stock
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme
  • 3 tbls butter
  • 1 tbls olive oil
  • 1/2 cup finely diced onion
  • 2 tsp finely chopped garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups Aborio rice
  • 1/4 parmesan cheese

Directions

Peel & clean your shrimp, chop them into bite size pieces and season them. We used salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and Mrs. Dash Onion & Garlic. Set aside

In a medium saucepan add 4 cups of stock and thyme, bring up to a simmer then set to low to keep warm.

In a large stock pot heat butter & oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, salt, pepper and cook till softened, approx 6-8 minutes.

Add Aborio rice and stir till coated with onion mixture. Slowly add ladles of the hot stock and continually stir the rice till stock is absorbed. This should take 20-25 minutes.

Stir in parmesan cheese just before serving.

The rice should be soft but not mushy with a smooth “sauce” coating it.

In another pan over medium high heat drizzled with 1tsp olive oil quickly cook your shrimp till golden brown, about 6 minutes.

Serve the shrimp over the risotto.

Serves 6

Sautéed Shrimp and Risotto #kidsinthekitchen

Everyone seemed impressed. Even Shaun ate it all without a single comment or complaint. Here’s his bowl, he was the first one done.

Sautéed Shrimp and Risotto #kidsinthekitchen

A child’s taste for food definitely changes when they are more involved in the cooking process. Just 1 year ago Shae didn’t even like rice.  Now we’re making Risotto together. I love these changes.

Come join me and my co-hosts, Sarah of Play to Learn with Sarah, Paula at Frosted Fingers, Sara at Sensibly Sara and Reesa of MommaLew 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 these and many more ideas for healthful and unique food fun on the #KidsintheKitchen Pinterest Board.

Follow Melinda Babiak’s board #KidsintheKitchen on Pinterest.

Linky Rules, #kidsinthekitchen

#KidsintheKitchen Weekly Linky

 






Making Eggs in a Hole Breakfast #kidsinthekitchen

June 19, 2014 by

Breakfast seems to be the most quiet part of the day lately. The kids are waking up groggy and zombielike. This comes from a day of play in the sun and pool. I obviously want to start them off with a good breakfast. Shae asks for eggs and toast all the time. At age 6 some might think she’s not ready to cook but out of the 3 of them she’s the most comfortable in the kitchen. I taught her how to make Eggs in a Hole or as some people call it Toad in a Hole. I don’t understand where “toad” comes from.Eating Eggs in a Hole
Anyway, we started with the cutting a circle out of her bread. She used her juice cup, it was the perfect fit.Making "Eggs in a Hole" for Breakfast #kidsinthekitchen

In a large buttered skillet over medium heat she added her toast pieces then slowly poured a cracked (but not scrambled) egg into the hole.
Slowly is the key. The heat of the pan will set the egg and you’re less likely to get spillage under the toast. If the egg does leak out just press down on edges of the bread for a moment.adding eggs

She lightly sprinkled her egg with salt and pepper and I flipped them to cook on the other side.Making "Eggs in a Hole" for Breakfast #kidsinthekitchen

Within 3-4 minutes her breakfast was cooked. I served this along with a yogurt and bowl of fruit and orange juice in her cup.

This method doesn’t work very well for scrambled eggs though. None of the 3 times I tried did I have a successful “omelet” in my toast hole.
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






Making Chicken and Cheese Taquitos #kidsinthekitchen

December 26, 2013 by

I know teaching my son to cook and be self sufficient in the kitchen is so very important but it’s hard to do when he doesn’t want to learn. Shaun is 10 and uninterested in doing things for himself. He’s much rather spend his time playing video games and other boy stuff. Making these Chicken and Cheese Taquitos was a lesson in chopping, patience and listening to details.

Using leftover roasted chicken, veggies, and artisan cheese with some seasoning, we made a surprisingly tasty lunch. Consider checking artisan cheese online to get the right cheesy flavor while preparing the taquitos.

I would’ve preferred smaller corn tortillas but we used what we had on hand, burrito sized flour.

Making Taquitos #kidsinthekitchen

Shaun chopped up a couple cups of cooked chicken while Sabreena finely chopped red peppers. We added frozen corn, a cup of frozen corn and then spiced it up. I had the kids sniff each herb/spice and tell me what it reminded them of. Oregano smells like pizza and cumin smells like tacos.

Making Taquitos #kidsinthekitchen The details and patience part of this task came when it was time to roll up the taquitos. I had Shaun redo the rolling part if it wasn’t tight enough or if the filling came out. Moving them from the counter to the baking tray needed a gentle hand, one he doesn’t have. By the 5th one he understood to take it slow.

They got a brush of olive oil, went into a 425° oven and baked for 15 minutes. They were surprisingly very very good. I didn’t even complaints about the red pepper.

Making Taquitos #kidsinthekitchen

We’ll be making these again with a whole array of ingredients. Next time we’ll make pizza taquitos.

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.

#KidsintheKitchen Weekly Linky




Making Mini Muffin Corn Dogs #kidsinthekitchen

November 14, 2013 by

“I’ll take the mini corn dogs please”. This has become Shae’s meal of choice at our favorite restaurant. At first I used to cringe at the thought but they weren’t that bad but I knew we could make them better.  This was Shae and Shaun could have them for school lunch, something very different than sandwiches.

Mini Muffin Corn Dogs #kidsinthekitchen

Using this packaged cornbread mix is definitely a shortcut. Honestly I’ve never been able to master homemade cornbread. Either the texture is off or the flavor is dull.  This one is very tasty and sweet so it’s nice match to the salty taste of the hot dog.

Mini Muffin Corn Dogs #kidsinthekitchen

Shae prepared the muffin mix according to package directions and mixed it up.  I sliced the uncooked hotdogs into small bites.  As you can see she did most of the work, like usual.

As she was popping the hot dogs in the muffin mix she said “It’s like putting a cherry on top just different”.

After 22-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven they were done.  Package them up for lunches, snacks or even have for dinner.

Mini Muffin Corn Dogs #kidsinthekitchen

Shae likes her with honey mustard.

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.

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.

Don’t have a blog? Share an instagram photo or Facebook update.
Linky Rules, #kidsinthekitchen

#KidsintheKitchen Weekly Linky





Making Breakfast #kidsinthekitchen

October 10, 2013 by

Getting kids interested in actual cooking isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I asked Shaun if he wanted to make pancakes for breakfast and he jumped at the chance.
Kids Cooking #kidsinthekitchen
him measurements but just told him to eyeball things. That’s the way I cook.
Kids Cooking #kidsinthekitchen
Things went pretty well, he even made breakfast for his little sister. He followed most instructions except he kept swinging the dirty spatula around like it was a sword. At the end of breakfast he asked if he can make breakfast on the weekends for the whole family. This kid knows how to warm my heart.
Kids Cooking #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.

Come join me and my co-hosts, Paula at Frosted Fingersfollow, Sarah of PlaytoLearnwithSarah and Sara at Sensibly Sarafollow, 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.

Linky Rules, #kidsinthekitchen

#KidsintheKitchen Weekly Linky





Harvesting and Roasting Sunflower Seeds

September 3, 2013 by

I’ve always loved sunflowers. Their cheery vivid golden yellow blooms always put a smile on my face. I finally planted them in our garden this year. They were easy to grow and I was greeted with new flowers every week.

Sunflower Seeds from the Garden

I had always planned on harvesting the seeds but to plant for next year. Some point along the way I decided to harvest them for consumption. It could’ve been Rob’s new obsession with eating them during Shaun’s football practice.

Harvesting and Roasting Sunflower Seeds

Start off with finding blossoms that are drooping, brown and dried on the back of the flower. Cut a

few inches down the stem and shake off any insects. Using gloves vigorously rub off the remaining buds until you see even speckled black and white. These are the tops of the seeds.

Harvesting Sunflower Seeds for Eating

 

Working over a bowl or large surface massage out the seeds. The drier the flower is the easier it will be.

Harvesting Sunflower Seeds


Remove leaves, pulp and bugs then set your seeds in a large bowl of water. Leave it alone for 24 hours.

Rinse your seeds in a fine colander and place on a paper towel lined cookie sheet. Pat dry and set aside for an hour or so to dry. I like to place them in a sunny spot to get as much moisture out as possible.

prepping sunflower seeds for roasting

Preheat your oven to 300°. Move your seeds to a shallow cookie sheet in an even layer. Do not add oil or salt. Place into oven and roast for 30-40 minutes stirring every 10 minutes. Taste as you go to ensure they are done.

Roasted Sunflower Seeds

Remove from oven, allow to cool and enjoy.

  • The addition of oil, salt and flavorings can be done as soon as your seeds come out of the oven.
  • I recommend harvesting from the LARGE sunflowers. These will have larger seeds.
  • Don’t think you’ll get seeds as large as the ones that come packaged in the store.



May is National Barbecue Month With Weber

May 22, 2010 by

Spring is upon us so you know what that means: Grilling outdoors. I love this time of year so that we can get outside and have barbeques with our friends and family. I love inviting people over to the house for a relaxing time with great food on the grill.

Not sure if everyone knows but May is National Barbecue Month. Considering I use my grill all of the time even in the winter I love that they have a month dedicated to the good ol’ BBQ.

“Grilling is an American pastime and National Barbecue Month is the perfect time for Americans to map out their summer grilling game plan by determining what equipment is needed, the best recipes to try, and what special grilling occasions with family and friends to mark on the calendar,” says Leslie Wheeler, communications director at the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association. “With all the great equipment available to consumers right now, it’s no surprise that grilling has become such a popular way to prepare quick and delicious meals.”

Weber has a new cookbook call Weber’s Way to Grill by Jamie Purviance which I was lucky enough to receive for review.  I have been grilling for a long time but this cookbook has alot of really cool ideas a techniques that I am using and trying to make myself a better griller.  Here is a little background information about the author:

Jamie Purviance graduated from Stanford University and the Culinary Institute of America before launching his career as a food writer for major magazines and newspapers such as Bon Appétit, Better Homes & Gardens, Cooking Light, Fine Cooking, Town & Country, and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of several best-selling cookbooks, including Weber’s Real Grilling™ and Weber’s Charcoal Grilling™. Purviance is certified by the Kansas City Barbecue Society and serves as a judge for the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, in addition to other major competitions. He has also appeared on several national television shows including Today, The Early Show, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, and the Oprah Winfrey Show—as well as PBS, CNN, the History Channel, and the Food Network.

Weber’s Way to Grill is a booking filled with learning techniques. The cookbook have over 160 original recipes with over 1,000 step by step photos so this book is great for a new comer to grilling or a person who had been grilling forever but looking to take their grilling technique to the next level.  This book has everything like when is the proper time to season a steak, why you cook lamb at a higher temperature then you would pork chops.  Weber’s Way to Grill has alot to offer anyone who loves grilling.  Below are some additional details about the book:

Everything a griller wants to know in the most complete grilling technique book ever:

Five keys to grilling great steak
The right way with baby back ribs
What to do when flare-ups happen
The way to smoke a turkey
Five secrets for perfect fish every time
Simple ways to check for doneness
Getting great results with your smoker
The way to handle foods that stick
Working burger magic every time
Over 1,000 step-by-step photos
More than 160 delicious new recipes
Dozens of rubs, sauces, marinades, and more

Weber was also kind enough to send me the Genesis E-320 Gas Grill. This is by far the BEST grill I have ever owned.  The Genesis E-320 has 3 Stainless steel burners and Porcelain-enameled cast-iron cooking grates.  The Genesis also 42,000 BTU-per-hour input and a 12,000 BTU-per-hour input flush-mounted side burner.  In my opinion this grill has it all with its looks and pure cooking power.  To me Weber is associated with quality and after using the Genesis for the last month I will never own any other grill but a Weber.

This is a sponsored post but the opinions and descriptions presented belong solely to LookWhatMomFound…and Dad too! Your experiences and reactions may differ from ours.