Who's The Boss?

So… the topic today all started because of this mop of unruliness.

If  you've ever had a child with fine, crazy-curly hair, you understand my pain.  Now that she's grown older, it's even worse.

Trying to drag a comb through this without any tears or wiggling is like trying to tame a caged tiger.  I find that distracting her is key.  And while I don't usually use television as a distraction, the other night we decided to try to find a cooking show to watch together while I combed.

(She discovered cooking shows like Jacques Pepin's on PBS a few years ago and loves watching them!)

After flipping through the Roku unsuccessfully, Gary came in and said he had the perfect thing… and a love affair has begun.

Cake Boss.

The kids were equally fascinated by the intricate cake decorating AND family dynamics! LOL.

Fast forward to several days (and episodes) later and they are both still talking about fondant, modeling chocolate (said with a Jersey accent!) and lobster claws!.  Aili insisted on spending time with some modelling clay tonight.  I was working downstairs, trying to clean up some of the mess from the flood (more on that later this week!) and she came down to show me one of her finished products:

Isn't it adorable?  She plans on painting this mama dragon and her baby dragon eggs - I asked if she was making this for a project in mind and she answered…

"Oh no, Mama, I'm just pretending it's fondant.  I'm going to be a cake decorator"

Does anyone know if Michaels' has a Wilton class for kids???

Cheers,

P/S:  Don't forget about the challenges on my blog for a chance to win:
July 2014 Sketchy Challenge (deadline July 31st, 2014)
Leave Your Legacy challenge - Don't Stop Believing (deadline Nov 30th, 2014)

Exhaust Your Excess! challenge blog - check it out!!

Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

On Sunday, I made Pumpkin Banana pancakes for our family brunch.  I adapted this recipe from the Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen blog.

Here's my version:

Ingredients:

2 cups buttermilk pancake mix (the add-water-only variety)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. allspice
1 1/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 c. pure pumpkin purée
1 whole ripe banana, mashed
2/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions: Transfer from griddle to plate and cover with lid or large bowl until ready to serve.  Serve with butter and maple syrup.

1.  Preheat griddle.  Grease lightly with butter.  Or you could spray with a cooking spray, if you wish.  I like my pancake edges crispy so I use butter!

2.  Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.  I used my Pampered Chef Classic Batter Bowl so I could use it to pour the pancake mix directly onto my skillet.

3.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  I found the batter slightly watery so I added more pancake mix (approx. 1/4 c.) until it was the desired consistency.

4.  Pour pancake mix onto griddle, in desired size.  I used about 1/3 c. of the batter which created 5"-6" pancakes.

5.  Cook until edges look dry and top of pancake is full of air bubbles.  Flip pancakes carefully (especially if they are large!) and cook for another minute or until golden brown.

This recipe makes alot - about 10-12 large pancakes!  Luckily, they freeze well - just cover a large cookie sheet with wax paper and place pancakes in single layer.  Cover with another sheet of wax paper and flash freeze pancakes for 30 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet and store in a freezer Zip-loc.

To serve, remove from freezer and microwave for 15-30 seconds, until warm.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a recipe that Aili made with her SK class last year.  They were delicious and since we had these two babies this year for Hallowe'en, we decided it was time to explore our pumpkin recipes! :)

Note:  Time and patience prevent me from walking you through the making of pure pumpkin purée.  You can check out Martha Stewart's recipe here; E-how.com has instructions here.

Of course, if you are less than handy in the kitchen, you can always used canned pumpkin.  Just make sure it is PURE PUMPKIN, not pumpkin filling which already has spices mixed into it.

Okay, let's get on with it!  This is a great recipe for kids to try so get your kids involved!  Aili was excited to help me today. 

Gather your unsavoury cast of characters...

Ha!  Get it?  Unsavoury?  Because it's a sweet treat recipe...?  Never mind. 

You will need:

1/2 c. butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. pumpkin purée
1 1/2 c. sugar

Begin by preheating your oven to 350F.

Marvel at how quickly your oven face can get dirty after just cleaning it... and wave to your cute assistant in the reflection.  Guess it's not THAT dirty! :)

Dump butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and cream together. 


 Once combined, add vanilla, egg and pumpkin purée.

 Beat until combined, scraping sides as needed.

Sift together dry ingredients.  If you don't have a sifter, no worries!  I just dumped my ingredients into a sieve, set over a bowl and asked my lovely assistant to stir until it disappeared into the bowl.

Note:  When asking a 6 year old assistant to stir dry ingredients, make sure your bowl is LARGE enough to encase the sieve.  If not, be prepared for a mess.

Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture.

Stir until well combined.  Add chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoonful on well greased cookie sheet.  The batter is slightly sticky so we used two teaspoons to form cookies.  One to scoop batter, the other to push batter off first spoon onto cookie sheet.  Here, Aili demonstrates:

It's important to instill cleanliness in your kids.  While I dropped cookies onto the baking sheets, Aili started the dishes.

She was actually excited to wash them!  If your helpers are young and enthusiastic as well, be sure to take advantage of this stage, as I'm sure it won't last long...

Pop cookie sheets into pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Reduce time to 14 minutes if cooking with convection oven. 

Note: All ovens cook differently so check after 12 minutes.  Cookies should be slightly browned and springy to touch.  A toothpick, when inserted, will come out clean when the cookies are done.

Let sit for a few minutes and transfer to cooling rack.

Guard them with your life.  They tend to disappear very quickly when warm.

Come to think of it, they don't last very long after they've cooled, either...

Thanks to Kate...

I may have to lock my pantry door!

Kate posted this wicked cake recipe on her blog for 5-minute chocolate cake.

I know, I know - I hear you cynics now... FIVE minutes? COME on!

But Aili and I made some tonight - and you know what?? It shore 'nuff ain't all that bad!!!!! And easy enough to keep a four-year-old attention. Big points in my book on that score alone...

It's a good thing I'm not a fan of chocolate cake or that would seriously be detrimental to my new healthy living mantra!! FIVE minutes from start to finish? Why can't it be that easy to make cheesecake??