Razzbana Pancakes--Lucy age 1

Stirring her pancakes.

Eating her tomato. 

Close-Up.

Finished Product.  She thinks. 

Lucy's Take:  More raspberries. 

Amy's Take: Today was RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) here in Grinnell.  For those of you who live out of state, RAGBRAI is when about 25,000 people (or so) ride their bikes from the Missouri River to the Mississippi (Cool Geography Fact:  Iowa is the only state completely bordered on the East and West sides by rivers).  Every night they stop in some small town,  camp, eat at church suppers  and have a big party.  This year Grinnell was an overnight stop.  So, we had 25,000 extra people in our 10,000 person town today.  And lots of bikes, and buses, and tents.  Every yard is a campground.  And lots of other people have shown up with large beer related inflatables.  And we had a laser show tonight.  You can see it was a busy day here in Grinnell. 
So, we needed a simple meal.  And Lucy wanted to cook it.  My sister was talking last month about how great her Chunky Monkey pancakes are.  I didn't want to call her for the ingredients right before dinner because then I would talk to her for a long time and we wouldn't get to eat.  So, I made it up.  Lucy helped me mix whole wheat pancake batter and I cooked it with walnuts, banana chunks and chocolate chips.  They were ok.  Some kids (Sandra, Amelia, Smith and Lucy) didn't want my Chunky Monkeys, so I went looking for frozen blueberries.  I found raspberries instead.  So we had raspberry-banana-chocolate chip pancakes. Razzbana or Rabana or Rabachip pancakes.   Those were fantastic.  The sweetness of the bananas balanced the tart raspberries really well.  Didn't even need any kind of topping. 

Other Takes:
Molly:  I really liked the Chunky Monkey pancakes.  They reminded me of the crepes with Nutella and banana we have at Aunt Martha's house sometimes. 

Fake Pizza--Smith age 3

Doing the shopping with my cute niece, Annie. 

Making Pizza Pie. 

Amy's Take:  A few weeks ago we took a trip to Colorado to meet up with my parents, nieces and nephews and have Cousin's Camp.  For three whole days my kids had no chores--no cooking and not even any dishes to do.  One day there we went to the Denver Children's Museum.  Smith was ok with the fire engine, trains, bubble room, giant mole tunnel, but he spent most of his time in the kid sized grocery store and pizza parlor.  Cooking.   

Applesauce Donuts--Sandra--age ten

 I gave Amelia the camera.  This was the only picture she took. 

Finished Produce with bouquet.  

Amy's Take:  I am the new,  proud owner of a FryDaddy.  Okay, that's a lie.  I am opposed to small appliances on principle and to fried foods in general.  Plus, I spent the summer of my 16th year as the fry girl at McDonalds and have never felt the need to repeat even a speck of that experience.  Eric has always wanted a FryDaddy.  It has always been the one point in our marriage where I've shown no willingness to compromise.  (That may be a lie also).  But I was teaching a class at the library on how to make egg rolls.  And their kitchen consists of a fridge and a coffee maker (not even a microwave).  I called around--surely someone else would own a fryer that you can plug into the wall?  And then I was at Wal-Mart and there they were.  $19.99.  And now we have one.  Eric is ecstatic--I think lording over the pot of hot oil is perhaps related to his pyromaniac tendencies I've seen around the camp fire. 
So, after that whole spiel, I should tell you about Sandra's doughnuts.  We used this  recipe we found online for applesauce doughnuts.  It was tasty, as doughnuts go.  And they got to use the FryDaddy..  Again.  Someday, when my children are contestants on the Biggest Loser,  they will have a heart to heart with their trainer and confess that all of their problems in life started when their mom bought a FryDaddy.  The guilt is overwhelming here. 

Chicken Ceasar Salad--Sandra age 10

Blatant Product Placement.

So Easy. 

Taking a Break.

Finished Product. 

Sandra's Take:  It was a really good thing to eat on a hot day. 

Amy's Take:  I am not a big fan of processed, packaged foods.  Sometimes I make exceptions.  Like with ice cream.   And this summer I have also been liking these new bagged salads from Dole.  They have one with baby spinach, dried cherries, blue cheese and almonds that I really like.  My kids can open four or five packets of stuff and have a great salad with virtually no effort on my part.  On Monday Fareway had some of their Caesar salad mix  that were only two days from expiration, but still looked great and were 50 cents a bag.  Deal of the week for sure.  My one issue with these is that they come with too much dressing--so we took the Caesar dressing from one bag and marinated boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a ziploc bag with it.  Sandra pounded them flattish with a can of black beans (we are nothing if not high tech) and the she George Foremaned them.  After they were cooked she tore them up and added them to the rest of the salad mix.  It was a very tasty dinner for not much money. 

Fishsticks-Smith age 3

There is a right way to do this. 

Most

The most exciting thing that's happened all day. 

Finished Product. 

Smith's Take:  I wanted to make fish sticks.  So I asked Daddy and I liked them. 

Amy's Take:  Eric took Smith to the store last night just to buy fishsticks (and oreos, as it turned out).  They got two boxes of the cheapest ones there.  I usually buy the classier (more expensive, non-minced fish) ones.  Amazing how little difference there is in taste between them all.  I guess fish sticks are just fish sticks. 
I tried to dump the box out onto the cookie sheet and bake them like that.  Smith did not approve.  He carefully laid them out, one by one.  He is the fish stick pro.  We also ate stir fried zucchini and sugar snap peas (again), cantaloupe and homemade salsa and chips.  Homemade salsa is pretty good on fish sticks. 

New Potatoes and Peaches--Amelia--age 7

Digging for Potatoes. 

The Peaches.

Finished Product.

Amelia's Take:  I didn't like the meatloaf and potatoes.  I didn't make them even.  I did like the peaches, but it was hard to cut the pits out. 

Amy's Take:  My parents are visiting this week, so I planned some meals. My kids are not happy with this as they see that as their job.  Adding insult to injury, I have still been expecting them to cook.  Amelia was on board last night to dig up the new potatoes from the garden, but she rebelled in a rather spectacular way when she found out about the meatloaf I had planned ("I HATE MEATLOAF! I WON'T EAT MEATLOAF! I WON'T COOK MEATLOAF!)  So, I made the meatloaf and had her make dessert.  She cut up peaches and served them over peach sherbet.  She originally planned on peaches over mint chip ice cream, but sometimes we have to stifle our children's creativity.

Sweet and Sour Chicken---Smith age 3

Smith picked a few too many green onions. 

Slicing the onions.

My new rice cooker.  Smith can make rice all by himself.  Almost. 

The Chicken

Finished product with sneaky dinosaur. 

Smith's Take: I don't know.  I think it should have been pepperoni pizza.

Amy's Take:  I've been teaching a kid's  cooking class at our library for the past few weeks.  This week we made vegetarian egg rolls with a sweet and sour dipping sauce there. All of the egg rolls were eaten, but we brought home a  good amount of the dipping sauce.  Not wanting it to go to waste, we cooking up strips of chicken breast and later added in the sauce.  Smith picked green onions from the garden to make it fancy.

Sweet and Sour Sauce--It is my recipe of a Emeril recipe (if I remember right) 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 cup finely diced pineapple
1/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the ginger and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Stir in the pineapple, vinegar, ketchup, and the sugar. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken broth and cornstarch until smooth. Add to the sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute, remove from the heat, and cool slightly.

Pour the sauce into a blender and puree.  Serve warm.

Steak Tacos--Molly age 12

The steak.

Say cheeseball again!

Finished product.

Molly's take: I wanted to make peach cobbler, but we didn't have enough time. And the steak and tomatoes kept falling out of the tortillas. It was delicious, though.


Amy's Take: It has been Clean Out the Freezer Week. That's why we've had some sort of steak three times this week. Kind of abnormal, I know. Anyway, we didn't start dinner until 6 so it had to be quick. We did a very quick marinade of rib eye steak in lemon juice, cumin, chili powder and a bit of oil. Molly cooked the meat on a griddle. It was messy. We sliced the meat and served it with tortillas, cheese, green onions (we eat them on everything right now--we seem to have an endless supply from our garden), tomatoes and salsa. And hummus, but that was just me.

Applesauce "Cupcakes"--Smith age 3

Mixing.

Lesson learned today:  cupcake liners are easier to fill when they are lining a pan. 

Smith filled these ALL BY HIMSELF!

Finished Product and toy wrench. 

Smith's Take:  I want to say cheeseball about the muffins. 

Amy's Take: Smith had a plan this afternoon. He was inspired by the cupcake liners on the counter (I swear I do not know where they came from) and he wanted to make cupcakes. Apple cupcakes. So, we made applesauce muffins and called them apple cupcakes. We used a recipe from Family Fun Magazine   http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/easy-applesauce-muffins-683188/   It had good reviews.  I thought the baking soda was too much and too strong.  And I swear we put in the right amount.  So, we had these, corned beef hash and poached eggs over rice (seriously good--but definitely not pretty enough to serve company) for dinner. 

Other opinions:
Sandra:  They were delicious. 

Fried Round Steak and Smashed Potatoes--Sandra age 10

Tenderizing the steak.  With that same dull knife. 

Dredging. 

I am bad at growing zucchini.  My plants always die after producing one squash.  This year I planted 10 beautiful plants.  They are doing well.  Don't you wish you were my neighbor?

Amelia and Lucy doing their howler monkey routine. 

Finished Product. 

Sandra's Take:  I think it was easy and yummy!

Amy's Take:  I was in the grocery store check-out line yesterday.  They had a cooking magazine just for kids.  It had bumblebees made out of Twinkies and candy on the front.  It bugged me a lot.  Like it's so hard to get my kids to eat Twinkies and Froot by the Foot  that we need to turn them into cute insects?  This is an ART project.  Not a COOKING project.  Plus, why would you have your kids make a Twinkie bumblebee when you could have them cook a meal like Sandra made last night?

It was a genius meal, if I say so myself.  We used a Pioneer Woman recipe for Fried Round Steak
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/08/fried-round-steak/ and added in some Southwestern spices--cumin, spicy chili powder,  as well as some Mrs. Dash's steak seasoning and some Creole spice blend (we are nothing if not creative) to the  flour mixture.  We boiled potatoes and smashed in lite sour cream, cheddar cheese, chopped green onions and chopped pickled jalapenos (I love these).  Sandra picked about eight tiny zucchini (we are trying to eat them while they are small to keep ahead of things) and we stir fried them with a little bit of butter and some minced garlic.  It was all a little spicy, so Sandra made fruit punch Kool-Aid to cut the heat.  That is a rare and special treat at our house.  It was a great meal. 

Other opinions:
Lucy:  Only wanted zucchini.  She loved it.

Mustard Glazed Ham Steak and Penne and Cheese--Amelia age 7

Mustard is a spice. Not always a sauce.  We learned that today. 

The sauce charred a bit.  These steaks were so not worth the mess they made.   

Penne and cheese and more cheese.

Finished Product. 

Amelia's Take:  I used a recipe from the internet and a recipe from the cookbook.

Amy's Take:  Our friends moved away last month.  They always had half a cow, or pig, in the freezer.  We don't have half a cow in our freezer.  We tried it once and I found that I don't really love having quite that much variety in my meats.  But, as I was saying, our friends moved away and gave us their remaining frozen meat.  Included in the bounty were a few packages of ham steaks.  I did an online search for "ham steak recipes" and came up with one I thought Amelia could handle http://southernfood.about.com/od/bakedhamrecipes/r/bl30106n.htm
I should have read the fine print.  They were FRESH ham steaks.  The recipe called for cured ham steaks.  I suspect they would have turned out had we used cured ham.  What we ate had a strong pork flavor with way too much sweetness.  Had we used the right steak, the salt would have balanced the sweet.  Good thing Amelia thought that macaroni and cheese would go with the ham.  Well, penne and cheese.  It was tasty.  And I don't even like macaroni and cheese. 

Macaroni and Cheese
12 oz small penne pasta
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups milk

4 cups grated cheddar-jack cheese
1.  Cook pasta according to directions on package.  Drain.
2.  Melt butter in saucepan. 
3.  Add flour and stir until mixed well.  Add milk and stir until it is no longer lumpy.  Cook, stirring often, until mixture is thick and bubbly. 
4.  Add grated cheese and stir until cheese is melted. 
5.  Pour cheese sauce over pasta and mix. 

Other opinions:
Sandra:  The ham is ok if you eat really little bites. 

Left-Overs--Smith, age 3

I am not a horrible parent.  This knife is so dull it bounces off of Jell-o. 

I hesitate about including this picture because you will all feel bad that your kid is not as cute as mine. 

First zucchini of the year. 

Finished product (the zucchini) plus leftover pizza, tacos, cupcakes, broccoli-grapefruit slaw, etc. 

Smith's Take:  I wanted to make dinner so that I could be on the blog.  I cut the zucchini.  I didn't eat it. 

Amy's Take:  Saturday we did not have enough of anything to go around.  So, we had a few chicken tacos, leftover pizza, a zucchini and sugar snap pea stir-fry and a broccoli grapfruit slaw.  You are wondering about the broccoli-grapefruit slaw, aren't you?   I've been watching old episodes of "The Next Food Network Star" this week and felt the need to take a risk--staying at the top of my cooking game and all.  Plus, we had none of the  ingredients that I would normally put in a broccoli slaw (except the broccoli) and I really, really didn't want to go to the store. So, I used grapefruit.  It wasn't so bad.  But I'm not sharing a recipe.  It's a secret. I'm taking it to my grave. 

Other opinions:  They liked the reheated pizza.  And the stir-fry.