This week in class  we had the pleasure of practicing our measuring and baking skills together and made Oatmeal Blondies and Silver dollar pancakes.

I think everyone had a blast  and the kids really enjoyed making and eating their creations!

The cool thing about these recipes is they use a  convenient baking mix we call Everyday Baking Mix.

It is easy to make and can be used for several different recipe variations.

I’m posting it here for all of you to try out……..it stores for up to 3 months in an airtight container.

Just be sure to mix it up before measuring out for your recipes.  Enjoy!

Everyday Baking Mix

v 6 Cups all purpose flour

v 3 Cups sugar

v 2 Tablespoons baking powder

v 1 Tablespoons salt

In a large bowl, whisk together 6 c. flour (spooned and leveled), 3 c sugar, baking powder and salt.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 months. Whisk before using.  Makes about 9 cups

Use it to make the following 3 Recipes

Chewy Oatmeal Blondies

• 1 stick butter room temperature
• ½ Cup  packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 ½  Cup Everyday baking mix (spooned and leveled)
• 1 Cup old fashioned oats/ not quick oats

Preheat oven 350. Brush 8’’ square baking pan with butter. Line bottom and 2 sides with parchment paper letting 2’’ overhang on both sides.

Using an electric mixer beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg beat until combined with mixer on low, gradually and slowly add baking mix.  Mix until combined.  Mix in ¾ cup of oats.  Pour batter into pan.

Using a butter knife, smooth batter evenly in pan, and sprinkle remaining oats on top pressing gently.   Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Using overhang on sides of pan, transfer brownies to a wire rack to cool.

Toothpick test:  The toothpick test is one of the best and most accurate ways to judge the doneness of baked items such as cakes and brownies.  One simply takes a clean toothpick and gently pushes it into the middle of the pan.  If the toothpick comes out clean without any batter attached to it, you will know that the cake is done.  If it comes out still gooey and sticky more time is needed in the oven.

Silver Dollar Pancakes with chocolate sauce

WE made these with chocolate chips instead of chocolate sauce! Just put a  handful of semis sweet chips in the batter before you  cook them .  They are great either way.

• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for skillet
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 ¼ cups everyday baking mix
• 1/3 cup store bought chocolate sauce or chocolate hazelnut spread
• ½ cup vanilla ice cream

Caution hot stove or griddle!  Adult Supervision required for young children!

1. 1. In a medium bowl, whisk together butter, egg and 2/3 cup milk. Add baking mix, whisk lightly just until moistened.

IMPORTANT ( DO NOT OVERMIX; a few small lumps are fine).

1. Preheat oven to 200. Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium, very lightly butter the bottom of the pan.
2. Drop 2 -3 tablespoons of batter onto the hot skillet or griddle.  Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip pancakes with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside another 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Transfer pancakes to a baking sheet, cover loosely with foil and put into the preheated oven to stay warm. Continue to make pancakes with remaining batter, adding more butter to skillet as necessary.
4. Recipe should make about 12 pancakes.
5. In a small saucepan combine chocolate sauce with 1/3 cup milk. Bring to a simmer over medium low, and whisk until smooth.

Serve pancakes topped with chocolate sauce and ice cream.

Jam Sandwich Cookies

4 cups Everyday baking mix

1 cup (2 sticks ) butter cold unsalted , cut into pieces

½ cup milk

¾ cup seedless jam or jelly any flavor

(Recipe makes 36 cookies/  18 sandwiches)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.. In a food processor, pulse baking mix and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add milk; pulse until a thick dough forms.
2. Drop dough by heaping tablespoons on to cookie sheets, 4 inches apart.
3. Bake until cookies begin to turn golden but center is still pale, approx 12-14 minutes. Rotate sheets halfway through.
4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Spread flat side of half of the cookies with 2 teaspoons jam each
6. Sandwich cookies with the remaining cookies.

Healthy Snacks: Quesadillas

Quesadillas  a tasty, healthy kids’ snack.

More Healthy Snacks for Kids

No one can quite agree on a definitive definition of a quesadilla, but the elements most descriptions have in common is it’s a tortilla stuffed with cooked meat and cheese, then cooked until the cheese melts and the outside of the tortilla is crisp and toasty!

Such simple ingredients, but they add up to something simply delicious kids will be happy to make and eat!

Quesadillas are usually made with flour tortillas which come in 8″ or 12″ sizes.  Some folks enjoy corn tortillas but then you are making soft tacos.

Depending on how many little mouths you have to feed, this snack can be as easy as tossing some cheese and pre-cooked chicken and veggie mixture between two tortillas and heating it in a skillet.

Slice it like a pizza and the kids have a utensils-free food to enjoy. If you have more than a couple kids to feed, double up on everything and put the quesadillas on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) until the cheese is melted.

Quesadillas

There are two camps…for making quesadillas, or cheese crisps like the folks in Arizona call them.

1.    The fold over camp.  Those who prefer to put their cheese and fillings on one side of the tortilla and fold over the other half so that the tortilla is baked or grilled in a half moon shape.

2.    The stacking camp.

The concept is the same except that with this style you put your fixings on one tortilla and then place another tortilla on top so you have 2 tortillas that are grilled on each side and the gooey cheese in the middle helps them stick together. These are best for slicing into pizza slices and serving in wedges with a nice side of salsa, sour cream and guacamole!

You choose what works best for you!

MIXIN’ suggestions for delicious quesadillas!

1.    Cheese glorious Cheese!  Experiment! Any kind of cheese will do…..something that will melt and stick together…..cheddar, mozzarella, pepper jack.

2.    Veggies choose one or all!

• Sliced or chopped tomatoes

• Green ,red or yellow peppers

• Green chile for those who like a spicy snack!

• Diced onions fresh or grilled

Refried Beans or Black beans

3.    Turkey

4.    Ham

5.    Diced cooked chicken

6.    Sliced beef or fajita steak

Toppings and dipping sauces:

1.    Homemade Salsa (recipe  see other blog)

2.    Sour cream

3.    BBQ sauce

4.    Guacamole

Quesadillas are an easy and healthy snack and the best part is you can make them any way you choose!

I found this recipe  for a light carrot cake on allrecipes and wanted to pass it on. It is quite a bit healthier than the traditional version and still tastes delicious! I made some adjustments and it is awesome .

Green Chile quiche……casserole

4-6 servings

Jobs for little hands!

• Grate the cheese
• Layer the cheese and chiles in the pan
• Crack the eggs into a bowl ( with parental help)
• Stir and pour the wet ingredients into the pan!

This casserole is also very simple and tastes great with a tossed salad and fresh french bread.. Fresh green chiles give it the best flavor.

Ingredients:

21/2 Cups fresh chopped chile or canned chile

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

1/3 cup milk

4 eggs, lightly beaten

Add Garlic salt and pepper to taste

dash of hot sauce

DIRECTIONS:

•1.        Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

•2.        Sray an 8×12 inch baking dish with non stick cooking spray .

•3.        Line the bottom of dish with green chiles.

•4.        Sprinkle with 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Repeat layers twice more.

•5.         In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and eggs.

•6.         Season with salt and pepper and hot sauce. Pour egg mixture over chiles and cheese.

•7.        Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until filling is set.

•8.         Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Sweet Corn Cakes

( Yummy especially when made with fresh corn!)

1. 1/2 cup butter, softened
2. 1 cup masa harina
3. 1/4 cup water
4. 1 1/2 corn kernels, fresh or frozen/ thawed
5. 1/4 cup cornmeal
6. 1/3 cup white sugar
7. 2 tablespoons heavy cream
8. 1/4 teaspoon salt
9. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in the masa harina and water until well combined.
3. Put the corn in a blender or food processor and coarsely chop on low speed. Stir the corn and the cornmeal into the butter mixture. In another bowl, mix together the sugar, cream, salt and baking powder. Combine the two mixtures until well blended. Pour the batter into an ungreased 8×8 pan.
4. Cover the pan with foil and place into a 9×13 inch pan filled 3/4 inch high with hot water. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the cake comes out clean. Remove small pan from water and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Kids Jobs:

1. Have kids carefully beat the butter and the masa harina with a mixer.  Kids love using the beaters and  need practice keeping them inside the bowl!
2. Have kids measure out the corn into a measuring cup.  If using fresh corn, little ones can use plastic knives or butter knives to scrape the kernels off the cob  and into a large bowl and then measure them out.
   
3. Kids love using a blender, let them blend the corn mixture and then combine the two mixtures together.

Roasted Corn Salad With Queso Blanco

SERVES 4

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