Food

perfect cinnamon rolls

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Nom, Nom, Nom

I shared these with you guys on Instagram the other day and I wanted to make sure I got the recipe to you because this is one for the arsenal.  Go ahead and get out your 4×6 note card and fancy pen because this is the one you’ll want to reference again and again! Plus, they are so easy. The recipe may look long, but that’s because I’m long winded and added tips about bread machine cycles and how to make them ahead of time. They do take a little time – all yeast breads do, but you can make these the night before and just pop them in the oven the next morning.

Triple bonus they’re much cheaper than twelve Cinnabons so you are basically saving money by eating these!


Perfectly Perfect Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

Prep Time: 20 min. | Cook Time: 15 min. | Total Time: 3 hrs. | Servings: 12Perfectly Perfect Cinnamon Rolls

For the Rolls:

  • 1 c. warm milk
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1/3 c. unsalted butter, melted
  • 4 1/2 c. (540g) bread flour
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 c. (100g) granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp. bread machine yeast

For the Filling:

  • 1 c. (213g) brown sugar, packed
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/3 c. salted butter, softened

For the Icing:

  • 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 c. (340g) confectioner’s sugar, plus some for taste adjustments
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp. salt

Recipe

The Dough

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Generally, if you are mixing it immediately this won’t matter. If you are delaying the start then make sure your ingredients go in the correct order.  Most of the time this means wet ingredients in first.  Next, flour and leveled to create a “barrier” between the wet and dry ingredients.  Then, the other dry ingredients on top.  If you want to be very careful

Select the dough cycle; press Start.

If you don’t have a bread machine then in a large bowl dissolve the yeast into the warm milk.  After that mix in the sugar, butter, salt, and eggs.  Cut in the flour and knead the dough into a large ball. Use your hands and dust them with flour.  Once you have a nice ball of dough let it rise in a warm place for about one hour or until it is doubled in size (I like the oven – read my method below in the Last Rising section).  Then proceed to turning it out.

When the cycle ends the dough should have doubled in size.  Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

The Filling and Roll

Prepare a 9×13 inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper and liberally buttering.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 16×21-inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and leave a 1/4″ margin of dough on the long side furthest from you (this will allow for a better dough-to-dough seal when you roll them up). Sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture.  Use a rolling pin to roll over the cinnamon-sugar mixture a couple of passes just to “set” it.

Beginning in the center of the long edge nearest you roll up the dough and then cut the log into 12 rolls.

 Place the rolls in the pan.

The Last Rising and Baking

If you are cooking these the next day at this point cover the raw rolls with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator.

If you are proceeding to cook them (which you can they reheat beautifully), place in a slightly warm oven (I like to do this by turning on the broiler for 10-20 seconds then turning the whole oven off – if your oven light provides a small amount of heat, that may be enough). Let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.

After doubled, remove from the oven and preheat it to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Bake the rolls until golden brown – about 15 minutes.

If you have let yours rise in the refrigerator overnight put them in a cold oven.  Turn the oven on to 350 degrees and bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

The Icing and Eating

While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Taste the icing add more sugar to adjust for the taste and consistency (this can also be done the night before, covered, and kept in the refrigerator – just set it out while they are baking to come to room temperature). Confectioner’s sugar is can be temperamental to heat and humidity so the amount you use in summer may be different from the amount you use in the winter.

Spread half the frosting on the hot rolls that are just out of the oven.  Let them sit for a few minutes then spread the rest.  This staged icing application will give you a sticky roll with intact icing. Then nom, nom, nom!



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Fluffy crunchy chewy minty decadence!

I wanted to share this one before summer got a way from us because it is so perfect for summer!

It’s also a really great base to make any kind of ice cream cake just switch out your ice cream and toppings and you are good to go.

I really need to make it again because my picture is actually from an earlier incarnation where I didn’t use Oreos and it was just too much.  Like you couldn’t finish a piece because it was so rich and I like to eat my dessert so I found the recipe needed to have the brakes pumped and get revamped to something more taste-bud manageable. Anyway enjoy and I’ll be making it again soon too so I can share a brand new picture with you! (Yeah, that’s why I need to make it again…)

Mint Chocolate Oreo Ice Cream Brownie Cake




Ingredients

Brownie Crust:

    • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
    • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
    • 1 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 4 oz. chopped bittersweet chocolate or dark chocolate chips
    • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
    • 2 large eggs
    • 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

    Ice Cream Layer:

    • 1.5 quarts Mint Chip Ice Cream
    • 1 package Oreos, roughly chopped or crushed

    Topping:

    • 1-8oz. tub Whipped Topping

    OR

    • 1 cup heavy cream
    • 2 Tbsp. sugar
    • 1 tsp. vanilla

    AND

    • Andes Mints, chopped or whole

    Recipe

    Brownie Crust:

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper so that it hangs over the edges (you will use it as handles for easy lift-out later, if you wish to serve from a platter). Butter the paper.In small bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour and salt. Set aside.Melt butter over double boiler. Add sugar and chopped chocolate and whisk until chocolate melts and mixture is fairly smooth (it will be grainy). Remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly.Add eggs to lukewarm chocolate mixture and beat with an electric mixer on medium for about 1 minute, until smooth. Add vanilla extract and beat to combine.Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture and beat on medium for about 3 minutes, until smooth – do not skip the beating!  Pour into lined pan and spread evenly over the bottom.Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.Allow the brownies to cool completely.

    Ice Cream Layer:

    Set ice cream carton out at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Top the brownie crust with the softened ice cream.  Use a knife or offset spatula to spread and smooth evenly until it covers the entire crust.Top the ice cream with a layer of crushed Oreo cookies. Gently press in to “set” them in the ice cream. It does not have to be smooth.Place the pan in the freezer and allow the ice cream to re-freeze for 1-2 hours.

    Topping:

    While ice cream is refreezing either thaw a tub of pre-made Whipped Topping in the refrigerator and/ or room temperature until spreadable or make whipped cream.  Do so by whipping heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla together in a chilled stainless steel bowl using an electric mixer until the cream forms stiff peaks.  If you make this prior to spreading you may need to rewhisk for 10-15 seconds.

    Final Assembly:

    Spread the whipped cream across the ice cream/ Oreo layer until smooth. Garnish the whipped cream layer with chopped Andes Mints. Return pan to freezer and freeze for 3 hours before serving.Note: The cake can be made up to three days in advance and stored in the freezer until you are ready to serve.




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“The soup sings summer songs!”

Today I’m feeling like eating summer and this Chicken Sin-Tortilla Soup from Cave Cookery completely fits the bill. It’s simple, it’s easy, and extremely versatile.  You can even use that leftover meat that’s just sitting there in your refrigerator (it doesn’t even have to be chicken).

P.S. just in case your Spanish is a little rusty, sin in Spanish means without.  So, this one is good for you Whole 30, Paleo, Gluten Free, low-carbers, and/ or anyone wanting delicious nutritious soup!

Chicken Sin Tortilla Soup

Serves: 4-6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Assembly Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 3 lbs. chicken breasts (or 2 lbs. of cooked chicken)
  • 3 Tbsp. coconut oil, divided
  • 2-3 tsp  fajita or taco seasoning (or mix 1 tsp. ground cumin,  tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, and a dash of cayenne)
  • 1 large or 2 medium onions, diced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, diced (discard seeds to reduce heat)
  • 1-2 poblano peppers, diced
  • 8 c. chicken stock
  • 1—28 oz. can diced fire roasted tomatoes
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 1 cup cilantro, chopped
  • Salt & pepper
  • avocado, cilantro, onions, hot sauce for garnish

Recipe:
If you are using cooked chicken proceed to shredding the chicken. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Rub chicken breasts with one tablespoon of oil (melting it first will make this easier), coating well. Sprinkle seasoning mix on the chicken, rub to coat evenly, and place on a rimmed baking sheet and into the preheated oven. Bake for 30-45 minutes until cooked through and liquids from the chicken run clear.  It is easier to shred the chicken while it is hot so use two forks and pull it apart.  If you are using previously cooked chicken it will be easier to shred by hand. Alternately, chop the chicken into one-inch pieces.

While the chicken is baking, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven.  When hot, add in the onions. Cook until onions are translucent, about 7 minutes. Add in the garlic and peppers and sauté for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Pour in the chicken stock and fire roasted tomatoes and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

To thicken the soup, remove half of the soup solids and puree in a blender. Return to the pot and mix.  Allow it to return to a simmer and add chicken, cilantro, and lime juice. Salt & pepper, to taste.

Serve hot with chopped cilantro, avocado, onions, and/or hot sauce.  Enjoy!




Miso Glazed Salmon

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In: Eating In, Food, Reviews

 It’s not Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, or any of the other ones that bloat your Facebook Feed

Recently, I was contacted by Chef Maria Bedrosian who is the executive Chef and owner of Maria’s Gourmet Kitchen and she graciously offered to let my family try her dinner kits.  If you are busy or a mom or a human I’m sure you’ve looked into Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, or Sunbasket or at least be inundated with ads for them.  Perhaps you love Prime Now (we do!).  Really, anything to simplify dinner has been researched.  However, I had never even heard of Maria’s Gourmet Kitchen.  Since it is local, I definitely wanted to give it a try.   Houston is world famous for its food so a Houston-based meal delivery option sounded like a no-brainer win-win.

Miso Glazed Salmon

If you are familiar with the national meal delivery set-ups Maria’s is similar but a little easier.  With the nationals, you visit the site choose your meals and they send you a box of ingredients.  Maria has more ready to go options.  Which, is really great especially for those sports nights where you cannot stomach another drive-thru dinner.  However, quite purposefully, I chose a meal that looked like it needed a little more help than just cooking to see what a “max” prep meal might look like, the time involved, and it was still easy-peasy.

As with the others, you visit the site and choose meals from the upcoming menu.  Your delivery days are based on the area of town you are in and are clearly marked.  Once you choose your location on the map it sends you to the meal options page.  My delivery days are Tuesday and Friday. I thought a Friday delivery option would be great because even if I manage to meal plan and grocery shop and everything over the weekend, Sunday night I’m tired and have no interest in cooking.  However, my family is also tired and they seem to not want to go out or order in (usually some nonsense about having eaten out all weekend).  Having a meal waiting in the refrigerator prepped and ready to go seemed like a fabulous idea.  (I even chose a fish dish so it would sit for two days and I could see how everything held up).

“… really great especially for those sports nights where you cannot stomach another drive-thru dinner.”

Now comes the fun part.  Choosing your food!  Maybe it’s just me but I really love picking out my meals.  The meals are divided into delivery days and there are four weeks worth of options available.  Each week has seven different options and each option clearly shows the price per meal and the number of servings still available.  The prices are comparable to eating out (but you can eat in your PJs and you don’t have to tip) and the servings are generous.  I fed three adults and two kids on four servings and it was plenty.

Most of the meals are heat and serve. The ones that do require a little more effort are still very easy.  There is no chopping or mixing, which saves a ton of time (I cannot tell you how many times I’ve tried explaining to Rachel Ray that I too could make a meal in 30 minutes if someone would come prep everything for me!).  The directions may have you do things like boil a pot of water, bread shrimp, or sear meat.  The spices and sauces are already made and just require pouring.  In fact, the ones that are baked can be cooked right in the pan they were shipped to you in.  Which means clean up is also fast.

For our first meal, I chose Miso Glazed Salmon.  The food arrives in a freezer bag with ice packs.  The bag is reusable, so you just stuff it in a closet and when they deliver your next meal you set it out on the porch to be picked up when they drop off.  I love that it is not so wasteful.  Have you seen the size of a box Amazon uses for a battery the size of a quarter – rubbish!

Miso Glazed Salmon

What’s in the bag?!

Food.  Lovely packaged food.  My bag included two baking tins.  On the lid of each is the instructions and packed inside are the ingredients ready to use.  I promptly stuck mine in the refrigerator for two days.

When it is time to cook you preheat the oven, open things up, spread them out, pour the sauce and bake.  After two days in the refrigerator, everything was still good to go. The fish looked great the veggies were still crisp and fresh.

Miso Glazed Salmon

 

In twenty minutes dinner was ready and it was so good.  Really, really delicious. So good that my nine-year-old wanted to more sauce to drink.  That may be a different parenting issue but it illustrates the family friendliness of the recipe.

Miso Glazed Salmon

 

MGK is definitely a good one to have in your meal prep-arsenal.  The process was seamless and easy which sometimes I just need.  While this meal was provided gratis, Greater Houston Moms is under no obligation to review anything and we only do so if we really think it is something our readers would love as much as we do. This is definitely one of those items.

The only real critique would be in the future it would be great to see more easily identifiable “healthful” options.  There is usually about one option per week that the whole meal would work for someone who is nut free, dairy free, gluten free, etc.  There are healthy options in the rest of the meals, for instance, the pork chops have cauliflower rice but the sauce had dairy in it, which may put some off that meal.  You could always skip the sauce but having options is great.  The ingredients are clearly stated so if these are your issues you will be able to navigate the menu easily.

But wait there’s more!  Chef Maria has provided Greater Houston Moms with coupon four our readers.  Visit Maria’s Gourmet Kitchen and use the code below for $20 off your purchase of $100 –which should definitely help you decide when you are perusing the menu!  Enter the code at checkout:

GHMTRYMGK

Enjoy!

 



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I can’t figure out why but I just feel like Thanksgiving is a week early.  It’s that same feeling when your body knows it’s Friday, but the calendar is still insisting that it is only Thursday.  So, procrastinating will be the verb of this holiday.  I finally got around to Pinteresting and digging up old recipes and finding old links for recipes-I-used-a-million-years-ago-but-now-my-husband-says-hey-can-you-make-THAT-stuffing-you-know-the-really-good-one? So, here’s the plan:

There is Always Something to be Thankful For

Thanksgiving Menu

Appetizers—

  • Hot Double-Onion Cheese Dip: Total time 1 hour, cook time 35 minutes at 425—pre-slice onions & grate the Gruyère to save some time the day of.
  • Sausage Rolls with Worcestershire Sauce: Prep and Assembly time 30 minutes, cook time 35 minutes at 350—to make slicing easier once laid seam-side down cover and freeze until firm, 15 minutes or so; can be made ahead by assembling and cutting then cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours or freeze until firm; layer between waxed paper in airtight container and freeze for up to 2 weeks, add 5 minutes to baking time; for appearances, add an egg wash before baking—whisk together one egg and 1 Tbsp. of water and brush over the rolls; and, if you’re really in a rush these can be baked a bit faster in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Main Dish—

  • Rotisserie Turkey: There’s no real recipe here.  The link will show you the how of set up but its fowl do what you want or follow any other recipe as far as what to stuff with or baste—I like to stuff it with your basic mix of onions, carrots, celery, maybe an apple, orange or lemon to get crazy, and some fresh herbs, then baste frequently with butter.  Just put a large roasting pan underneath it to catch the drippings for gravy—I like to put some veggies in there too!

Side Dishes—

  • Stuffing: Bake the cornbread at least a day in advance and go ahead and chop vegetables etc. so day-of cooking is easy peasy.  Maybe double so you will definitely have leftovers? Yes.
  • Pan Gravy: Pan gravy is an art, following a recipe for it is hard. Read some recipes, watch some videos, but in the end, you’re going to have to rely on your senses—smell it, taste it, watch it.  In general, for every 1/3 cup of dripping fat (add butter if you don’t have enough), you will need about 1 cup of flour, and 2 cups drippings (not reserved fat) and stock.
  • Maple Bacon Wrapped Green Beans: Scale to crowd size—I would average 2-3 bundles per person as a side dish; Prep time 20 minutes, cook time 50 minutes at 400; could be assembled and refrigerated ahead and then popped in the oven an hour before dinner.
  • Melting Sweet Potatoes: Scale up to party size and maybe add some bourbon to the sauce—prep 10 minutes, depending on your potato peeling skills, cook time 40 minutes at 425—make the sauce while potatoes cook.

Desserts—

  • Cherry Pie: This is a great recipe but you can substitute canned sour pitted cherries (in water and drained) for fresh—it is way cheaper and easier!  Either way, definitely add more cherries, at least 3 cups.  To save time you can easily make the filling ahead and either buy pre-made refrigerated pie dough or make them ahead and freeze them.  If you want a pie crust that says so explicitly in the recipe check this one out—it also makes a bit more so if you like to have more to work with this may be the way to go.
  • Pumpkin Pie: See side of can, Libby’s has pretty much nailed this one.

Drinks—

 

Need a shopping list?  Well, we have that too! (I’m scaling all my recipes up to feed 8-10 people and the quantities below reflect that)

Thanksgiving Day Shopping List

Produce

  • 1 carrot
  • 1 celery stalk
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 1/2 lbs. fresh cranberries
  • 2 1/2 lbs. fresh green beans
  • 1 lemon for zesting
  • 1 orange, for zesting
  • 3 medium onions
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 1 baking potato (3/4 c. yield diced)
  • 2 scallions
  • 4 lbs. sweet potatoes
  • fresh parsley (I prefer the Italian or flat-leaf variety)
  • 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
  • 4 Tbsp. rosemary
  • 6 Tbsp. fresh sage
  • vegetables for dipping in cheese

Dairy

  • 1—8 oz. package cream cheese
  • 5 large eggs
  • 6 oz. Gruyère cheese
  • milk
  • 1 qt. + 2/3 cups orange juice
  • 2 c. sour cream
  • 15 T. unsalted butter + butter for basting

Meat

  • 3/4 lb. ground pork or veal
  • 25-30 slices of thick cut maple bacon
  • 16 slices of bacon, for stuffing
  • 12-14 lb. turkey

Middle of the Store Miscellany

  • 2 liters (or 2 qts.) apple juice
  • 2 liters (or 2 qts.) cranberry juice, unsweetened
  • 2 1/2 lbs. cashews
  • 2-4 cups Chicken Stock, for gravy
  • 6 cups Turkey or Chicken stock, for stuffing
  • 2 cups dried cherries
  • 2—14.8 oz. jars French chestnuts
  • hot sauce
  • Kettle Chips or Crostini style crackers for dipping
  • 1 c. maple syrup
  • 1 c. chopped pecans
  • 1 c. Worcestershire Sauce

Pantry

  • baking powder
  • 6 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 1/3 cup corn oil
  • 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
  • 3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting & thickening
  • 3 cups cornmeal
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. dry sherry
  • 3 cups + 1 tsp. sugar
  • Salt & Pepper

Frozen

  • 1 pkg. frozen puff pastry sheets

Other

  • Bourbon
  • Amaretto

 

How about y’all? Link your favorite recipes in the comments!

 




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When an adorable little four year-old belly asks for blueberry muffins, you feed the belly.  These are pretty perfect.  You should eat them.  But, not everyday (because you don’t want a four year-old belly).

Print
Blueberry Muffins for your Bell-ah!

Blueberry Muffins for your Bell-ah!

Ingredients

  • 2 c. all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 c. granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 scant tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 c. buttermilk or milk with 1 tsp. white vinegar (let sit 5 minutes before use the lightly mix)
  • 2 c. fresh blueberries
  • 2 Tbsp. turbinado sugar (raw sugar or a decorating sugar that has large crystals)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Spray the pan and the liners with non-stick cooking spray.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  • In a larger separate bowl, using a hand-mixer, blend the butter and granulated sugar. Add the eggs l until they are incorporated into the butter and sugar. Add in the vanilla extract, mix again.
  • Incorporate about a third of the flour mixture, then add in half the milk. Another third of the flour mix and then the rest of the milk. Finally, the last third of the flour mixture and fully mix on a low speed until combined. Add the berries to the batter and fold gently with a spatula until evenly distributed. Do not over-mix.
  • Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin (an ice-cream or cookie scoop with a wire scraper works well here); they will be very full. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar across the top of the muffins.
  • Bake for about 30 minutes, until lightly golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack to cool completely.
    • http://greaterhoustonmoms.com/2015/07/13/blueberry-muffins-for-your-bell-ah/

     




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    Here’s what cooking in the cave.  And, FYI, just because it says Whole 30 doesn’t mean it’s not awesome.  They’re so good my kids like them. Promise.  I wouldn’t lie to you.

    Chicken Nuggets

    Serves: 4

    Prep time:  20 min., plus marinating

    Cook time:  20 min.

    Total time:  40 min.

    Ingredients:

    • 2 pound chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
    • ½ cup dill pickle juice
    • 1 egg, beaten
    • 2 tbsp coconut milk
    • 1 tbsp coconut flour
    • 1 Tbsp. Tapioca Starch
    • 2 tbsp arrowroot flour
    • 1 tbsp paprika (sweet or smoked)
    • 1 tsp sea salt
    • 1 tsp black pepper
    • 1 tsp onion powder
    • 1 tsp garlic powder
    • ¼ c. Coconut oil for frying

    Recipe:

    Refrigerate and marinate the chicken in pickle juice (covered or in a sealed plastic bag) for two to twenty-four hours. Discard the pickle juice.

    In a small bowl, mix the beaten egg and coconut milk. Pour over the chicken and mix to coat.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes while you prepare the spice mix. In another small bowl, mix the coconut flour, arrowroot flour, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, onion power and garlic powder. Discard the egg and milk mixture.

    Pour the spice mix into a plastic bag, add the chicken and close the top. Shake, toss, massage however you need to get it done to evenly coat the chicken pieces with the spice mixture.

    In a large skillet over medium-high, heat 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil, enough to coat the bottom of the pan, until the oil is very hot. Add a single layer of chicken. Do not crowd your pan, give the nuggets room to fry, they should not touch each other or the side of the pan. Fry on each side for about 3 minutes. One pound of chicken will take two batches.

    Options: This is a good one to double for leftovers.  They can be frozen and reheated by popping them into a 425 oven for 12-15 min. Serve with Ketchup or Honey Mustard dipping sauce.

    Source: Cave Cookery – Chicken Nuggets




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    In: Eating In, Food, Projects, Crafts, & DIY

    As Seen on TV…or, As Seen in My Kitchen!

    My kid has been begging for a Slushy Magic (the As Seen on TV Slushy maker, GHM store link). I do not want an overpriced poorly reviewed ASOT piece o’crap cluttering up my kitchen. Fortunately, for SBW, the electric company sent tree trimmers over today. So, to buy off my four year-old from standing under the trees as they were being cut, I brushed off my Super Mom cape and found a way to make slushies.

    I pulled out the trusty Kitchen Aid mixer and put on the ice cream making bowl and attachments. We poured in Sprite and a few drops of blue food coloring then let it spin on a low speed for a couple of minutes. Voila! Slushies!

    From reading other reviews I think this was a good way to go about making slushies at home because:

    1. I did not blow $30
    2. No messy baggies or salt
    3. No exploding slushies (‘ya know, from shaking the carbonated drinks)
    4. Finally, another use for that ice cream making attachment! Kitchen Aid accessories are not cheap, I hate it when they collect dust.

    I feel like I should have earned a badge or something.




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    In: Anonymom, Eating In, Holidays

    How a four year-old sets the table…only the essentials

    Just so you can really see everything going on here: The coasters (because we’re fancy) are on top of Transformer napkins.  Just between the gun and sword – a lint roller (because we’re classy).

    Happy Thanksgiving!