Bake with Me

The kids often like to wear their chef hats and aprons when we cook. This particular day we couldn't find our other chef hats, but Sissy was just as happy wearing my Martha Washington cap from my 6th grade Constitution play.

We saw these organic brownie mixes from Arrowhead Mills and decided (of course) to try them out.

(Note: it's always easier on an overweight Mom's guilty conscience to buy a mix "for the kids," and then she gets all the benefits, as well.)

(our stars weren't as pretty as the ones on the box)

The mixes include a little fold out of fun facts and jokes, etc. Tornado, as usual, is all about the jokes. His reading has really seemed to improve the past few weeks. I can tell how much he enjoys being able to read more in everyday life.

Every worthwhile project is not without a few glitches. Sissy dumped out the remaining egg replacer from the box. We had to scrape some off the top to use. These brownies were for our enjoyment only so do not be alarmed about our unsanitary methods of baking, not to mention all the saliva from the double dipping.

Since this baking project, which was a success, we have went on to try an Arrowhead Mills organic cupcake mix. They were also very yummy! We are going to try the sugar cookie mix next.

Snack Time

Daddy has always been a snacker - Mommy, not as much. The kids, of course, take after him. Ever since Tornado was a baby, one of Daddy's "things" is to sit and eat snacks with the kids - popcorn, fruit, etc. They like to take drives to Kroger just to get a snack. Their latest fave is frozen mangoes. They'll buy a bag and eat the whole thing. They've also really gotten into cooking little snacks together, with all four of them pitching in to help. They've gotten ideas from our Quick and Easy Cookbook which was printed by Troll Associates in 1981. I think it was one of my sisters' books when they were little. They really like making the frozen bananas, which are coated in granola, agave nectar, and spices.

This weekend they made Peanut Butter Balls, a recipe Tornado found in his Highlights magazine. They sampled a lot during the process. It was definitely a successful project; they all really enjoyed them. I could tell how much Sissy and Dash ate especially, because they were downing the soymilk afterward.

Dash, true to form, stuffed an entire ball in his mouth at once. Yum!