Tasty Tuesdays--Frozen Yogurt and Fruishi

We are already back to our normal school schedule, but we didn't get to make all of our recipes for cooking class, so we spent part of our day making the last two.

Frozen Yogurt
30 oz fudge
2 oz honeycomb, optional
3 oz chocolate chip cookies
2/3 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 c. natural yogurt (we used half plain and half vanilla)
1/ 14 c. mini marshmallows

(That is what the recipe called for, but there was also a side not saying we could experiment with other ingredients.  We used brownies instead of fudge and cookies.  We didn't use the honeycomb.  We used the marshmallows and added a banana.  Next time we make it we want to do only fruit.)

1. Carefully chop the fudge and honeycomb and cookies (or brownies in our case) into tiny pieces.
2. Pour the cream into a mixing bowl and sift in the sugar.  Lightly whip the cream into soft peaks.
3. Gently fold the yogurt and other treats in to the cream mixture using a plastic spatula or metal spoon.
4. Spoon the mixture into a Tupperware, cover and freeze.  After 2 hours, stir to prevent ice crystals from forming (it should probably be done every hour instead) and then freeze again for a total of 4 hours.  If it thaws, do not refreeze. 

Super Yummy!

Frushi
1 1/4 c. water
1 c. uncooked sushi rice
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. coconut milk
dash of salt

orange sections
raspberries
other fruit toppings
vanilla yogurt for dipping

1. Bring water and rice to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until water is almost absorbed.  Remove from heat; let stand, covered 15 minutes.
2. Place rice in a large bowl.  Add sugar, coconut milk, and salt, stirring gently until well combined.  Cover and let stand 20 minutes.
3.  Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.  Lightly coat hands with cooking spray.  Divide rice mixture into 20 equal portions, shaping each into a ball (about 1 rounded tablespoon each). Lightly press each rice ball into an oval between palms; place ovals on lined baking sheet.  If your hands become sticky, you may have to wash your hands and coat them again. 
4. Top rice ovals with fruit, pressing gently so that it sticks.  If the fruit won't stick to the rice use a dab of honey to "glue" it. 
5. Cover and chill frushi until ready to serve.  Serve with yogurt for dipping. 

We had to use forks to eat it because most of the balls didn't stick together (maybe because our rice was only medium grain instead of short).  We weren't able to dip into the yogurt either.  It was a fun treat, but I'm not sure if we'll make it again. 

Tasty Tuesday--Cupcakes

We followed a super easy recipe for the cupcakes we made for this cooking class. 

11 tbl. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1 14 c. self-rising flour
3 eggs, whisked
1/2 tsp. vanilla

The kids and I are big fans of cream cheese frosting, so we made that instead of the icing suggested in the recipe book.  So much better!  The kids colored the frosting and decorated their cupcakes. 

Tasty Tuesday--Berry Trifle

The next recipe the kids picked was Quick, Heavenly Berry Trifle.  Basically an angel food cake with berries and whipped cream.  Instead of getting a store bought cake or making one from a mix I decided to make one from scratch, that way they could learn how to separate eggs and beat them to form peaks.  It was a good activity and it tasted yummy.

Angel Food Cake

1 1/4 c. cake flour
1 3/4 c. white sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. egg whites
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond

1. Beat egg whites until they from stiff peaks, and then add cream of tartar, vanilla and almond. 

2. Sift together flour, sugar and salt.  Repeat 5 times.  (CRAZY!  but we did it that many times.)

3. Gently combine the egg whites with the dry ingredients and the pour into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan. 

4. Place cake pan in a cold oven.  Turn the oven to 325 degrees.  Cook for about 1 hour or until cake is golden brown. 
5. Invert cake, allow it to cool in the pan.  When thoroughly cooled, remove from the pan. 

Then we followed the other recipe for the rest of the treat. 

Berry Mixtrue
1 1/2 Tbl. fresh lime juice
1 c. blackberries
1 c. blueberries
(We used blueberries and strawberries.)

1. Place lime juice, 1 cup blackberries, and 1 cup blueberries in 8 inch square glass pan.
2. Mash berry mixture using the back of a spoon.

We didn't make it look like a pretty trifle, we just put a slice of cake in a bowl and topped it with berries and whipped cream.  Tasty!

Faythe turns 5

Do we ever stop looking forward to our birthdays?  My kids get so excited when they know their birthday is coming up.  Faythe and I made a chain to count down the days, but I think she got confused.  She thought that when there was one chain left then it was her birthday, so the morning before her birthday she came into my room with a huge smile on her face saying it was her birthday.  I hated to burst her bubble and tell her she had to wait one more day, but luckily she was OK with it.

Faythe's only wish was to go swimming.  Things happened a little differently than normal.  My sister had tickets to a Diamondbacks game.  Faythe didn't want to go to a baseball game, she wanted to go swimming.  So Jonathan and Darrien took the 7 older kids to the game, and Jennie and I took the 3 younger ones to a swimming pool.  Faythe got her wish and didn't care that the whole family wasn't involved.  I wish I'd taken a picture of her.  We  had lots of fun playing a younger version of the game categories and the other kids had tons of fun at the game.  It all worked out.

Several months ago Faythe found a picture of some yummy looking cupcakes in a grocery ad and decided that she wanted to make them for her birthday.  The picture has been hanging on the fridge forever.  I asked my mother-in-law (the baker) how to go about making/decorating them.  She helped me out and I attempted to copy the picture.  They don't look the same, but no one cared and the process made me grateful that I don't work in a bakery. 

Happy Birthday to Faythe!

Tasty Tuesday--Homemade Healthy Fruit Snacks

I found this recipe a long time ago and have been waiting to try it.  Tasty Tuesday seemed like the perfect opportunity (mostly because I didn't have the ingredients for what the kids had chosen to make).  They were super easy to make, but were kind of sour.  We want to experiment with some other types of juices and fruits.  Ephram and Faythe liked juicing the lemons, but Braedi was the only one who helped make these. 

My Birthday Boys

Jonathan and Ephram celebrated their birthdays a couple of weeks ago.  Ephram requested crepes for breakfast.  Jonathan is our resident crepe maker, so he had to cook his own birthday breakfast.  He's a good sport and will always do what Ephram wants as part of his birthday celebration.  He did get his own birthday cake though.  Ephram made a chocolate pudding pie and Jonathan got impossible pie.  As a birthday activity Ephram decided to order pizza and watch a movie.  He has never had a birthday party and I don't do parties until they are 8 (I used to do them all the time, but changed that before Ephram got one).  He really wanted a party.  I compromised and let him invite friends to enjoy pizza with us. 

 

 

WOW Wednesday--Scavenger Hunt

This activity was last minute, but it was super fun.  I created a list of items to find in a Wal-Mart store  Then we divided into teams (girls against boys), set a time limit and took off.  Each team took a picture of the item and the team that got done first won.  The boys were the winners, but they shared their prize with us girls. 

some of the items we had to find

 

In the car enjoying our shared prize--drumsticks.

Scavenger Hunt list:
food no one has eaten
a red food
organic granola
a fuzz food
a freshly baked item
backpack
purple ruler
giant glue stick
something cube shaped
clip board
sunglasses
modest swimsuit
picnic basket
beach ball
sand toys
Yahtzee game
Thomas the train
Star Wars Lego set
dress-up costume
game everyone has played
yellow fingernail polish
roll-on deodorant
Band-Aids with cartoon character
travel size lotion
razor
4 different types of M&Ms
item with discount sticker
item of clothing for a pet
basketball
DVD costing less than $5