Belgian Waffles

This morning we made the most delicious waffles and thought I'd share them with you for my Creative Kitchen recipe. We often make these waffles together as a family and enjoy them every time!

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c. flour 1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt 2 egg yolks
1 3/4 c. milk 1/2 c. cooking oil
2 egg whites 1 tsp. vanilla

With your parents supervision, plug in the Belgian waffle iron and heat up. Be sure that there isn't anything near the waffle iron that would burn.

1. In a mixing bowl combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
2. In another bowl beat egg yolks just slightly. Add milk, oil, and vanilla and mix.
3. Add wet mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients. Using a large spoon, mix together until moist and slightly lumpy.
4. In a small bowl, using a hand mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
5. Gently FOLD in egg whites to the batter. Do NOT overmix.

Open waffle iron and spray lightly with a cooking spray or use a pastry brush to lightly brush with oil.

Pour about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of batter onto the center of the iron and close gently. Do NOT walk away. Always supervise your waffles.

Bake according to manufacturers directions.

When the waffle is done and slightly golden brown, remove with the tines of your fork and place on a cooling rack for just a few seconds. If you place the waffle directly onto a plate the condensation will cause your waffle to become soggy.

Top your waffle with butter and syrup, or any other toppings that you enjoy.

Topping ideas:
-fresh chopped strawberries
-blueberries
-chopped walnuts
-whipped cream
-peanut butter (Instead of the butter)

What other toppings can you think of?

(Picture courtesy of sxc.hu)

Cherry Pie in a Cup

This is a great recipe for the summer time if you're just craving for a sweet lil’ treat. I learned how to do this easy snack when I was in the first grade and I have enjoyed it ever since. I bet you will too! It is quick and very simple to do. Just follow the instructions below and you will have it made in no time.

Ingredients:
Graham Crackers
Whipped Cream
Cherry Pie Filling

Place one large graham cracker in a resealable plastic bag. Seal the bag, and smash it with your fist 20 times.

Pour the cracker crumbs into a clear plastic cup.

Scoop 1 large spoonful of cherry pie filling into the cup.

Add whipped cream on top.

Peanut-Butterfinger Sandwiches

One morning I woke up REALLY early and couldn't get back to sleep. My brother woke up too. We were hungry. My mom sometimes makes us peanut-butter sandwiches in the mornings. I thought of a good idea. I could make peanut-butter and add something yummy to it. "I know!", I thought. I got out the ice cream toppings and saw that we have crushed Butterfingers.

So, I spread peanut-butter on both slices of bread.

After that I sprinkled the crushed Butterfingers on one slice of bread. Then I put the two pieces together.

Only put it on one side, the other side helps keep the sprinkles from falling out of the sandwich.

Next, you'll want to slice the sandwich in half and spread a little more peanut butter on the sliced side of the sandwich.
We like cream y peanut-butter for this recipe, because the Butterfingers will already make them crunchy enough.


(My mom was not happy that I made this without asking, but she thought it was a good idea for the magazine. Don't ever go into the kitchen without your mom's permission. I could have gotten hurt and she wasn't awake yet. I wouldn't be able to have her help me if I got hurt or broke something. This time she helped me and took the pictures for this article.)







After you spread the peanut-butter on these two little sandwiches, gently dip them into the crushed Butterfingers. Then place it on a plate and the plate goes on a placemat. You can fold a napkin too. You will need the napkin! Be sure to have a glass of milk with this, because you will be VERY thirsty!

You can read some fun things about peanut-butter here at Peanut Butter Lovers.com

My mom also says that this advertisement is so true for her. "Choosy moms choose Jif." Here are more recipes for you to try with Jif.


So do you think you will like my kind of peanut-butter sandwich? What kind of peanut-butter sandwiches can you think of to make? I hope you tell me so I can try it!

Delicious Cabbage Salad

Here is a recipe my family enjoys: Cabbage Salad. Jocelyn was the first to make it. It has taken me a couple of times to get it just right, not too sweet and not too vinegar-y. I wanted to share this with you so you could enjoy it as much as we do. :)

Delicious Cabbage Salad

1/2 medium head green cabbage, finely shredded or chopped (about four cups)

1/2 small carrot, shredded (about 1/4 cup)

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar *white vinegar was suggested, but apple cider vinegar is very good for you.*

3 tablespoons organic olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon chopped pimiento *optional*

2 very thin slices of fresh onion

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon pepper

You will have to use a sharp knofe to cut up the cabbage, so ask your mom if you need to. After you chop the cabbage up, put it in a bowl, and set it aside. You can now shred the carrot onto it.

Measure out the vinegar, oil, honey, salt, pepper, and the spices and mix them up well.

Pour the vinegar mix on the cabbage and mix it up so that the dressing gets on all of it. If you want to, you can shred some more carrots on the top. You can also add some different things.

I like eating cucumbers and onions mixed with vinegar and oil. You can chop up some cucumbers and make a little more dressing to go with it. Be creative in the kitchen!

Next, enjoy it for a cookout, or a simple family lunch. It's a great salad for dinner as well.

Summer Refreshment

Summer is almost here. This is a favorite summer refreshment of mine. It is really good anytime. I am going to give you the recipes for lemonade and limeade.
Sometimes we use honey instead of sugar. It makes it taste a little different. We also like to use fresh lemon and lime too.

Lemonade
3/4 cups of sugar or honey
1 cup of lemon juice
5 1/2 cups of water
1 cup of ice


Limeade
3/4 cups of sugar or honey
1 cup of lime juice
5 1/2 cups of water
1 cup of ice

Pour sugar and lemon juice into pitcher. Pour in cold water. Mix water in with spoon. Add ice to pitcher. And pour over ice. Add a wedge of lemon and enjoy!!

A Candle You Can Eat

Here is a recipe to go with your breakfast or just for a snack. I like it because it is fruity and makes you feel good. My brother and I are always surprised when we see this at breakfast because it looks and tastes good! I think younger kids will especially like this. It is very easy to make. Here is what you need to make this delicious treat.

1 slice of canned pineapple
1/2 banana
1 maraschino cherry


Put peeled banana candle in the middle of the pineapple and top with the cherry flame. You can use a toothpick to put the cherry on the banana, but be sure you warn people that it is there.


Matthew 5:15, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (KJV)

Scramblers

My mom told me that her first cooking project was when she was nine years old. Her mom taught her how to cook. That is my grandma Marsha. Grandma helped my mom cook a big dinner for my grandparents anniversary. That was a long time ago, when my mom was little.

She taught my mom how to make scrambled eggs too. I saw a picture of my mom cooking scrambled eggs by grandma's stove. Grandpa has that picture at his house though. My mom taught me how to cook scrambled eggs too. I have some pictures to share.

Using a mixing bowl, crack open the eggs and put the raw eggs in the bowl. Mix them up with a whisk until they are mixed in very well.

With your mom's help, heat up a pan on the stove. If your pan isn't a non stick pan you will want to spray cooking spray in the pan or use margarine.

When the pan is hot, by using a medium heat, pour the egg mixture in. Scrape the sides and bottom of the pan while cooking. When the eggs are slightly moist, but mostly dry, then pour them onto a plate.

Tips:
-You want to use margarine because butter can burn too easily.
-Wear an apron to protect your clothes and a bonnet or chef's hat to keep your hair out of the food.
-After you pour out the cooked eggs, soak your pan in cold water. Hot water will only cook the eggs onto the pan more, making it hard to clean off.
-Spray your spoon or spatula with cooking spray so the eggs come off easier when you wash it.
-Keep the pan's handle turned in, away from the walk way. This is so someone doesn't knock the pan off the stove and make owies.
-Never cook with a stove without the right supervision.

M&M Pancakes

This last summer my grandparents came to visit us in their motor home. Each of the children get to have a night with them in their motor home. when it got to my turn, I asked if we could make "Chocolate Chip Pancakes." They said they did not have chocolate chips, but they did say they had M&M's.


So that night we were watching a movie and I realized that to make the M&M pancakes I needed to crush them. So I got them out of the bag and set them in a bowl in the freezer over night, then we went back to the movie. After the movie they went to bed and I was laying on their fold-out couch, and I could not wait until' morning for the pancakes. So I went to sleep right away so the night would get over with and so we could make pancakes!
That morning, we took out the frozen M&M's and chopped them up.

1 cup of all purpose flour

1 Tbsp. of sugar

2 tsp. of baking powder

1/4 tsp. of salt

1 beaten egg

1 cup of milk

2 Tbsp. of cooking oil

In a medium size bowl stir together sugar, flour, salt and baking powder. In a small mixing bowl combine egg, milk and cooking oil. Add that to the flour mixture and stir together or blend until slightly lumpy.

Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet for each standard- size pancake or about 1 Tbsp. batter for each dollar-size pancake.

Cook till pancakes are golden brown, turning to cook second sides when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and slightly dry edges.

Makes about 8 to 10 standard size or 36 dollar-size pancakes.


I hope you like them I do!!!

Growing an Indoor Herb Garden

You can grow almost any herb on a windowsill. Not only will it give a delicious, flavourful smell, but also adorn your kitchen in a pretty green and delicate flowers. I myself love to grow things. I am planning on starting some herbs plants for our kitchen. We have one herb plant, rosemary, that is good for meats, in our kitchen. Let me tell you some of the benefits of having an indoor herb garden.

For one, you can always go and snip off a flavourful herb to cook with. You will be able to have fresh herbs for flavouring anything, from your favourite drinks to baking and cooking. Another thing is that your kitchen will look very pretty with these plants sitting here and there. Some of them, such as lavender and German chamomile, are extremely pretty. Lavender is also a soothing herb, and makes good saches. Planting them in some pretty pots would make your kitchen look good also. I would recommend you use clay, ceramic or glass pots, not plastic ones. You would not want the chemicals in the plastic to seep into your plants. You could paint your clay pots if you want. Do whatever design you want. That would be a fun thing for kids to do.

Another great thing about doing an indoor herb garden instead of an outdoor one is that you have fresh herbs all year round. You can clip off some in the winter to flavour your favourite soups. Plant a tomato plant or two indoors for fresh tomatoes all year round. You can just start a seedling, as you would for your outside garden or plant a plant. As it grows, put it into a bigger pot. We have not yet done this, but this year I will be keeping one or two of my tomato plants indoors. It can greatly benefit instead of buying tomatoes from a store. You can make a bowl of salsa anytime, fresh from your plant. You can also keep a pepper plant indoors for fresh peppers.
If you have outdoor herb plants, and want to bring them in the house for fresh herbs, you can just simply dig up one of your healthiest herb plant and bring it inside and put it into a pretty pot.

You can go here for some special tips for getting your outdoor plants to be indoor plants: Herb Indoors. If you follow the tips from Healthy Indoor Herbs to keep your indoor plants healthy and fresh, you can get tips to prevent your herbs' roots from rotting if you want productive plants. OrganicGardening.com has a lot of information on it where you can find out all about the herbs and things like rooting a cutting, transition to indoors, water, light, and temperature and pest prevention. It is vital to know these types of things when starting any type of garden.

Here are some good herbs you can put into your kitchen garden:
Basil
Chervil Chives
Oregano Parsley
Rosemary Sage
Tarragon Thyme
Lemongrass Lavendar

German chamomile

We buy a lot of our organic seeds from Seeds of Change. At their website you can find out a lot of information about Heirloom Seeds. But I bet you are asking, what are Heirloom Seeds? Well, Heirloom Seeds are the seeds that have been passed down from generation to generation. You can trace seeds back to as long ago as the 17th or 18th centuries. They are the original, non-altered seeds. These are better than the chemically-enginered seeds. Also, when choosing seeds, choose organic. There is a page on the Seeds of Change website called Professional Grower Landing Page where you can find information on why 100% organic seed is 'better seed':

"Planting organic seed is the best choice for you, your farm, and the environment we all share, because the seed is produced without the use of pesticides and fertilizers. The outcome of organic seed production is an inherently Better Seed, which performs better in an organic or low-input farm in comparison to conventionally grown seeds. Organic seed allows you to utilize germplasm actually grown on organic farms and selected for several generations for adaptability to organic growing conditions. A 100% organic farm is the key to a healthy soil, a healthy ecosystem and sustainable agriculture—and nothing performs better than 100% organic seeds."
"Heirloom Time-tested, open-pollinated varieties of primarily European descent, hat have been passed down for at least three generations. For many reasons, including flavor, vigor, local hardiness and dependability, these have become favorites. Often, heirloom seeds are the repository of unusual genes that can help to preserve genetic diversity."

This link also has some more information about why Organic Seeds are best. Check them out and consider 'going organic'. :) We use only organic seeds for our garden. You can order online or from a catalog of one of the companies. We have also found organic seeds at our local Lowe's Home Improvement Center. You may just need to kind of look around in places. Just always remember that organic is best.

I hope you find the idea of planting a kitchen herb garden interesting and will try one for your own kitchen. I know you will be pleasantly surprised and happy with how easy and fun it is to do.

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Eggs a La Golden Rod

This recipe is a favorite of our family’s. My mom learned it from her Meemaw. It is called 'Eggs A La Goldenrod'. We looked it up on the internet a while back and found it in an old Farm Cookbook from the 1800’s.

Ingredients:
Hard boiled egg
4 Tbs butter
4 Tbs flour
Milk
Toast
Dash of salt
pepper



Step 1: Boil eggs. We cook about 2 eggs per person.

Step 2: Prepare gravy. Melt your butter in a saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour, salt and pepper; cook until smooth and bubbly. Stir in milk.

Step 3: Heat to boiling on medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened.

Step 4: Make toast. We prepare about 2-3 pieces per person.

Step 5: Separate white of eggs from yolk. Add egg whites to gravy and pour over torn pieces of toast.

Step 6: Sprinkle yolk over the top and season with salt and pepper.