We are learning all about our new home state... Texas!
This week, at Coop, we made Cactus Jelly. I really thought it would be green...goes to show how much I have to learn :-)
I can't resist sharing some of our littlest kiddos learning in the kitchen!
Did you know this part of the cactus is called a "tuna"? Neither did I - it's where the juice for the jelly comes from....
I just love this picture! All hands on deck for this adventure!
This is an authentic "Texan" recipe from a Texan Grandmother... I love handwritten recipes passed down the generations. Note: Write some of your favorites down - BY HAND for your kiddos!!
Our finished product!
Our jelly didn't quite set as expected.. but is was AMAZING on our pancakes the next day!
My sweet 10 year old has caught the cooking bug, and I couldn't be happier! Thanks to some very talented moms at our Coop, she's getting great instruction as well.
I got her permission to share one of her newest creations (adapted from a online recipe):
Baked Oatmeal, To GO
5 cups rolled oats
2 ripe bananas
1 tsp salt
5 Tbsp of Maple Syrup
2 2/3 cup water
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
plus - her secret weapon - 2/3 cup chocolate and butterscotch chips (combined together)
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease your muffin tin, or use paper liners.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all your dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients and mix the dry into it.
Pour into muffin tin, and bake for 20 min. She put on the broiler for the last 2 min to make the tops crispier.
Makes 2 dozen.
They were gone faster than you could say... "Breakfast's Ready"
From their website:
"Simplified Pantry is all about encouraging homestyle cooking with basic ingredients. It is possible to cook good, healthy food without a pantry full of specialized ingredients, and it is possible to make easy dinners without shortcut, preprepared products. This EBook, Simplified Dinners (and the gluten- and dairy-free edition!), enables anyone to transition toward home-prepared, real, whole foods cooking—even those less confident in the kitchen."
Yippee!! I am the Bentz Test Laboratory Tester!! Actually, I think the entire family gets the benefit of this one...
Simplified Dinners is a downloadable ebook . It's really more than just a recipe book, it's the kind of book that actually teaches you how to cook! It is filled with menus that are both simple and wholesome. You can eat healthy - without spending a fortune!
The "Master Pantry List" is a useful tool to help you know what to stock up on. The rest of the book shows you how to take your well stocked pantry and turn it into a delicious, healthy meal in no time!
Several options are given for each category. For example, "Slow Cooker Roasts" explains the preparation process step by step, then offers 8 different ways to take your average Pork or Beef roast and jazz it up. Gluen-Free and Dairy-Free editions are available as well.
Friday Night is "Pizza Night" at the Bentz Test Laboratory. We made the pizza dough and got really fancy (for us) with a White sauce and Veggie toppings. (I told you this was for me!) We also made a "boy pizza" with nothing but meat. Making our own pizza crust was not as time consuming as I had assumed...it was explained step by step. This could save us a small fortune right here! Plus, it was WAY better than even the expensive, deli pizza from the store.
This is exactly what I needed! I can tend to get in a rut, making the same thing over and over again. We love variety, but - time constraints with a large family make meal planning a difficult endeavor. Simplified Dinners offered me plenty of choices, with all of them being simple enough to just create quickly when the dreaded 4 pm Question..."What are we having for dinner?" hits!
