It’s New Year’s Eve and it’s time to party! Every party needs hors d’oeuvres. Soo, as promised, Alex and Soph, along with their friend Carter, demonstrate three tasty treats to share with your New Year’s guests.

Enjoy the show and we wish you a Happy New Year filled with lots of time cooking, eating and sharing together as a family

For details on the recipes demonstrated, check out the New Years Hors D’oeuvres recipes here.

You can’t have a New Years Party without hors d’oeurves for snacking on throughout the evening, right? Sooo, Alex, Soph and I came up with three 2 Kids hors d’oeurves recipes: Lemony-Garlic Shrimp Skewers, Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus, and Mini-Wrapped Hot Dogs. These recipes are great for kids to help with and they taste great too!

Lemony-Garlic Shrip Skewers:
Shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 garlic cloves, pressed
skewers

In a glass container, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, Italian season, and garlic cloves. Next stir in the shrimp, making sure they are all covered with the marinade. Let the shrimp marinade in the fridge for about 20 to 30 minutes.

After marinading, it’s time to place the shrimp on the skewers. I soak the skewers in water for a few minutes first so the don’t burn in the oven, then I put 4 shrimp on each skewer.

Place the skewered shrimp on a broiler pan or covered baking sheet and broil for about 2 minutes per side.

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus:
1/2 lb bacon
1 bunch asparagus (1 lb)
Sea Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
toothpicks

First, prep the asparagus by cutting each piece to about 4 or so inches long.

Next heat a saute pan, melting the  2 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter is melted, add the asparagus and sprinkle in some sea salt. Saute the asparagus for about 5 minutes and then remove from heat.

Prepare your bacon by cutting the strips in half. Take 4 pieces of asparagus and wrap a half a slice of bacon around the bunch, securing with a toothpick. Place the bunches on a covered backing sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 6 to 8 minutes per side to crisp up the bacon.

Mini-Wrapped Hot Dogs:
1 package mini hot dogs
1 tube Pillsbury cresent sheets

Unroll the Pillsbury cresent sheet and then cut into 4 inch wide strips. Next, cut each strip into about 4 squares. Then cut each square in half diagonally so you end up with a bunch of triagles.

Next, take one of the triangles and place a mini hotdot in one corner of the triangle, rolling the hotdog up in the dough. Wrap as many hot dogs as you have triangles, placing them on a foil covered baking sheet. When they’re all wrapped, bake them at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is golden brown.

Watch Alex, Soph and their friend Carter demonstrate these recipes on an episode of 2 kids, that aired on December 31–check back then so you don’t miss their secret techniques ;D

We wish you all a happy, healthy and family cooking filled 2010!

This week, Alex, Sophia and I just want thank all of our viewers and wish them a fun, family-filled holiday season.

We wish you all a great 2010 with lots of memories being made together in the kitchen

Happy Holidays!

Sandwiches shaped like angels and holly leaves and sleighs, well they are Christmas sandwiches. And, Soph and Alex have a great time making ‘em–plus, they say the Angel sandwiches taste heavenly. We hope you enjoy watching them as they share their flare for making these fun holiday- sandwiches!

If you get the urge to cut-out some of these festive sandwiches yourself, check out the Christmas sandwich recipe here.

Merry Christmas everyone, and we thank you for watching. Make sure you don’t miss a show by signing up for our show list (plus you’ll get six days of family friendly menu-planning ideas for free!)

I love hanging out with my kids. I suppose that’s something that shouldn’t need to be said, but I say it because my kids make me feel like the luckiest mom in the world. We have lots of fun together cooking, playing games and even just watching movies. Plus, my kids are hilarious…sometimes at meals we spend more time laughing than eating. I don’t know if it’s the season or what, but I”m feeling extra blessed to have such great kids.

Last Friday, Soph and I went to Disney Princesses on Ice with her girl scout troop. I’m not a huge fan of the princess movies and all that prince-charming-will-make-me-happy-love-at-first-site stuff; BUT, I love the tiara’s and dresses and so does Soph. She wore her Snow White dress and tiara and I dressed normal, but I think I was the only mother in the place with a cinderella tiara on–Soph wanted me to wear it and she thought it was cool that I was the only mom wearing one Despite the over-priced wand and popcorn in a princess bucket, we had a great time. Soph said her favorite part was all of it. My favorite part was sharing the experience with her.

When we arrived home from our princess extravaganza, Alex and Aunt Dani were waiting for us with a surprise. Alex had hung our newly acquired disco ball in the ceiling above Soph’s bed. We got the disco ball from a neighbor down the hall and the kids were both excited about having their very own mirrored globe to bounce sparkly lights around the bedroom. When Soph saw the sparkliness her brother had installed right above her bed, the first words out of her mouth were, ‘Mom, can we have a disco party in here?’

And so, the next day, we did. We listened to disco music and ate some Snickety Snacks and other treats. Soph danced and Alex did some jumping between our beds. We even had a cake.

Sophia love our disco party and I’m sure has our next one already planned out. Alex loves whenever jumping on the bed is a part of the planned festivities. And, Mom, she just likes having fun with her kiddies!

Christmas time is a time for tradition, and part of our family tradition includes making perogies. Alex and Soph are 1/2 Polish on their dad’s side, and one of our favorite Polish dishes is perogies. Since  I’m mostly German, so I have a strong appreciation for Slavic food; so when I had the opportunity, I learned how to make this family recipe straight from the kid’s Grandma. Each year, along with lots of sausage, herring, and lefse, we always have some perogies at our Christmas meal.

This week, Alex and Soph share with you our family recipe for perogies, we hope you enjoy watching. And, if you feel the urge to make your own, find Alex and Soph’s recipe here.

Thanks for watching! We hope you are having a peaceful and joyful holiday season. Make sure you don’t miss a show by signing up for our show list (plus you’ll get six days of family friendly menu-planning ideas for free!)

Sandwiches are quick and easy for lunch or even a light dinner, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be fun. This recipe is really more of an activity that makes sandwich and a family cooking adventure. When we make these, we customize our own fixings and pick our own shapes, but you could easily simplify the ingredients and use the same cookie cutter for them all; then serve them as part of a Christmas lunch buffet for the kids their friends.

The veggies are a standard item on our table here at the 2 Kids house. They are so easy to prepare and obviously healthy. And, since Alex and Soph are purists of sorts when it comes to food–well you can get more ‘pure’ then washed and cut up, right?

Sandwich Filling Ideas:
Roast Beef
Honey Ham
Salami
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Mayo
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Radishes
Marble Jack Cheese
Cheddar Cheese
etc…
Bread

Veggie Suggestions:
Green Peppers
Cucumbers
Carrots
Celery

In addition to your favorite sandwich fixings, you’ll need some Holiday Cookie Cutters. The best kind are those metal ones, but plastic ones with deep sides work well too.

Start by getting the veggies prepared; peel and cut anything that needs to be peeled and cut. Slice veggies like cucumbers or radishes really thin if you’ll be including them as filling for the sandwiches too.

Next, it’s time to build your sandwich. Put the mayo, mustard, butter or whatever sauce-like item you have on the bread. Then layer the meat, cheese, veggies or whatever on the sandwich. I recommend not getting thicker than the edges of your cookie cutters or you might have a challenge when it’s time to cut the shapes.

Once you’re satisfied with your sandwich, put the top on and prepare to ‘cookie cutter’ it. If you cutters are large, you’ll probably only get one cut per sandwich, but some cutters are the perfect size to get two. (We eat the ‘scraps’ too–no need to waste deliciousness). As you cut, you may need to run a knife around the outer edge of the cutter if it’s not pulling away. Some meats are harder to cut through than others. Carefully push the sandwich out of the cookie cutter and you’ll have a super cute AND super tasty sandwich treat!

The next step is presentation. You know Soph wouldn’t let us eat our food ’til it’s properly arranged and looking beautiful You can serve them on single plates, one serving per person, or family style–they taste good either way.

Have fun making these Christmas-y sandwiches together and make sure to keep tuning in each Saturday for new episodes of Two Kids Cooking. Alex and Soph show you exactly how we make this recipe on Two Kids Cooking TV!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

As I was checking my twitter feed today, I noticed that @CuriousChef had tweeted about a post by Kelly Davis from Oliciouslife.com. Kelly’s post, titled, “Teaching Kids to Clean Up Their Plate: Clean Eating for Kids,” shares some great ideas for getting kids to eat healthier, and also for getting them involved in the food decision making process.

Now, I’m not the best mother when it comes to limiting snacks at my house, but we do have some rules–my biggest rule is Balance. I always tell the kids that a person need to try to achieve some sort of balance to remain healthy. That goes for work and play, exercise and rest as well as healthy vs. snacky foods.

I also like to teach the kids to make healthy decisions by getting them involved in the whole nutrition process. We plan meals together, we grocery shop together and we cook together. We talk about the balance of the meal and why we need to eat certain foods to stay healthy. Because of this, Alex and Soph have the power of knowledge when it comes to eating.

They also enjoy the creativity that cooking their own food allows them. We have a great time coming up with new recipes and/or ways to serve our meals. It seems simple, but sometimes just presenting a food in a different way makes it taste oh-so-delicious

I do believe, however, that parental persistence is a necessity. Consistently encouraging kids to try foods they say they don’t like and insisting on a balance of healthy foods and snack foods helps reinforce your message. My kids, despite as involved as they are with our whole ‘food production’ process are still picky eaters. Alex likes this and not that and Sophie likes that and not this–sometimes I feel like a short order cook. Because of this, I continue my mantra, “how do you know you don’t like it if you don’t try it?” and will even bribe them if necessary.

I guess the point is, food and eating are a hugely important part of life. Teaching our kids about the importance of eating a balanced diet AND teaching them how to buy and cook food provides them with essential skills that will positively affect their lives. Plus, family meals allow kids and their parents time to chat and have fun together, and you can’t beat that.

Nothing says Christmas like a cheese ball right? And, if the cheese ball can be shaped like a Christmas tree, well that’s a holiday! In this episode Alex and Soph share our very own Christmas tree cheese ball recipe and we hope you enjoy it!

Hey, if you can’t resist the urge to make your very own miniature tree out of cheese, you can find our Christmas Tree Cheese Ball recipe here.

Thank you so much for watching! We wish you all a happy holiday season.

Perogies are dumplings stuffed with various fillings. They are traditional in Poland, and since Alex and Soph are half Polish (on their dad’s side), we make them every year for the holidays. Alex & Soph’s recipe is a potato filled perogie that is boiled and served with sour cream. And, although there are a few steps, it’s fun teaching the kids about this traditional, family recipe. We have a great time making them together, plus they’re super tasty.

Pasta:
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Large egg

Pour all the ingredients together in a food processor. Mix until everything comes together and then roll into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour. (Note: More traditional recipes just put the flour on the table, make a well in the middle, crack in the egg (no oil) and mix by hand. I prefer my recipe because the dough is easier to work with and it’s waaaay less messy.)

Filling:
5 potatoes
4 slices bacon
4 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Cup Whole Milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

Peel and boil the potatoes until they are soft.

While the potatoes are boiling, fry the bacon until crisp. When it’s done, crumble it into bacony bits.

When the potatoes are done, drain them and then mash them with a potato masher. Next, add the butter, milk, bacon bits and salt and pepper. We like to use a hand mixer to beat it all together and smooth out the potatoes. If you feel it’s too dry, add additional milk.

Assembly

First, roll out half of the pasta to about 1/8 inch thick (we use our pasta machine because we have one and we like it ). You will need extra flour to eliminate sticking, so before rolling, make sure to sprinkle some down. Then, using a 3 inch round cookie cutter (or a glass) to cut several rounds. Next, take about a tablespoon or so of the filling mixture and place it in the center of the round. Fold the round over and pinch the edges together to seal tightly. Continue this process ’til you’re out of filling or dough or both. As you finish each perogie, lay it on a foil-covered baking sheet that is lightly sprinkled with flour…the perogies will stick to each other if the set close for too long. Now, you can freeze them for later or boil them and eat.

If you choose to boil them, bring the water to a boil first, then gently place them in the water. When they start floating, they’re done–3 to 5 minutes (longer if frozen). Place the cooked perogies in a bowl with some butter, and then serve individually with sour cream. Once they’ve been boiled, if we have leftovers, we like to fry them up to reheat. It adds another dimension of deliciousness.

We hope you enjoy our family recipe for perogies! In a couple of weeks, Alex and Soph will share their techniques for this family recipe, so make sure to stop back every Saturday for our next episode (or sign up for our newsletter and we’ll let you know when it’s up).

Thanks for stopping by and we hope your Holidays are Happy!

P.S. Two see Alex and Soph demonstrate this recipe, check it out at Two Kids Cooking TV!