Jacob'S Wraps

I love to cook. Really, I do, and I hope to pass my love of food, on to my children. I think it's working, at least, with my son Jacob. I picked him up from school and he told me he had this great idea for dinner. He wanted to make wraps. Although this isn't exactly what he had in mind. He loved making them. So, this particular night, Jacob made dinner. Almost completely by himself. He was so very proud and so was I.

Fried Okra?

Okra. Never had it, let alone cooked it until a few days ago. My sweet neighbor, Sue, brought over some fried okra she had made. I loved it! So yummy. I don't know how I've never had it. This is what it looks like after it's been sliced up, the ends removed, and rinsed.

Toss into a bowl of bread crumbs and corn meal. Added seasonings for flavor.

Then fry up. Only takes a few minutes for the okra to fry up nicely.

And this is the finished product. I loved it. Came out so crispy and light. Lots of flavor. To me, it was very similar to a fried zucchini.

Hot Coco Mocha Ice Cream

I made this ice cream using the same hot coco mix I made the cake and frosting from. Ohhhh soooo good!

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups half and half
2 table spoons instant coffee powder
3 cups hot coco mix
1 cup sugar

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Once everything is dissolved and incorporated, add to ice cream maker. Churn until done. Try not to eat it all.

This would be really really really good with bits of Heath Bar crumbled in at the end. Next time for sure.

Hot Coco Mocha Cake with Hot Coco Cream Cheese Frosting

This is what happens when one gets caught up in those cake shows on t.v. Wait until you see what I made to go with this cake.

I had this crazy idea to make a cake. I went into the kitchen with no clear idea of what kind of cake I wanted to make. Started looking into my pantry to see what I had. Found this huge bag of homemade hot coco mix my dear friend Mary had given me. Hmmmm.. Bet that would make a great cake flavor. So I found my recipe for one bowl chocolate cake. Used that as my base. Then added some instant coffee and used the coco mix in place of some of the sugar and coco powder.

The frosting, though, is the main attraction. This frosting is so darn good, it's well, wrong. I actually made it up on the fly. Only one thing needs to change... The coco mix contains powdered milk and it kinda lumps up. So, I need a hot coco powder recipe that does not contain the powdered milk. It doesn't affect the flavor, just the look of the frosting.

Ingredients
One brick of cream cheese.
4 cups Powdered sugar
1 1/2-2 cups Hot coco mix
2 cap fulls Almond extract

Whip the cream cheese until smooth. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Whip until creamy.

Angel Hair Pasta with Broccoli Cream Sauce

I made this up for dinner tonight. Came out pretty good. A little too thick of a sauce for angel hair pasta, but my family loved it anyway.

Sauce is pretty simple. Chop a few cloves of fresh garlic and toss in a pot with olive oil and butter. Cook until butter is melted and the garlic is soft. Add Italian seasoning. Add about half a bag of frozen broccoli and a brick of cream cheese. It will be very thick, so add a splash of milk to thin it just a bit.

If I make this again, I will only use half a brick of cream cheese and use half and half or milk to thin it out.

Leftover Stew

I love making something new with leftovers!! Here is leftover stew! Yummmo! I got the kids involved in this too. Diced up an onion and some leftover grilled chicken breasts. Toss into a big pot. Add corn, green beans (from last night), a can of stewed tomatoes, can of tomato sauce, couple cans of water. Add seasonings and let boil. Turned out so good.
My husband said it's even better if you add sour cream on top.

Teaching the Kids to Cook

I have decided it's time to get my kids involved more in the kitchen. It's important to teach them such life skills. I don't want them living on fast food when they are older.. or worse, not moving out at all. So, I am teaching them to cook. Plus, it is kinda fun having them help. I just have to make sure I have a lot of patience on these days.

Anyway.. this is how it went.

Jessica, made the garlic bread. It was the perfect job for her. She has a very unnatural love of butter, so she was able to put as much as she wanted on her bread. She can get away with this, since she's four and has a pretty healthy diet the rest of the time.

Jacob, had to cut the sun dried tomatoes and make the sauce. He did very well. We did have safety talks about using knives and the stove. Basically, I told him if he touched either items without my permission..I'd break his little fingers. I think that drove the point home. LOL He worked very safe and did a wonderful job.

I really enjoyed working with both of them. I'm not going to lie, it took a little to sucker them into helping me. But, after all was cooked and done...they had fun too. Jacob is already thinking of other things to make.

My White Pie

Home made white pizza pie. Oh yumm! This is very rich and oh so delicous. Pretty simple too.
Make a pizza dough. Flatten out. Rub some olive oil on it and toss on to hot grill. Grill one side for a few minutes, till it starts bubbling on the top, and has good grill marks on the bottom. Flip. Add your favorite toppings. Let the toppings get all hot and melted. Then, it's done.

I went with a riccota cheese, mixed with roasted garlic, salt, pepper, Tastefully Simple's Spinach and Herb Dip mix, and some olive oil from the sundried tomatoes. Then, I added sundried tomatoes and fresh tomatoes, and some shredded mozzarella. Came out pretty good. Some things I will change next time..Fresh mozzerella instead of the preshredded stuff, only one kind of tomato. May also try with fresh basil or baby spinach.

Grilled Chicken Salad

I light dinner. Grilled up some chicken breasts and tossed them on top of some lettuce and tomatoes. Add shredded cheddar cheese and a little dressing. This was actually a very filling meal. It was also a nice change from the gut busting (yummy comfort food) chicken fried steak.