In just a few days, St. Patrick’s day will be here and we all know that celebrating with green beverages is a popular tradition. Our family-friendly green beverage of choice is our Tropical Shamrock Smoothie.

In this weeks episode we show you just how easy it is to get the whole family mixing up this tasty St. Patrick’s day treat. And, if you get the urge to make your own, check out the Tropical Shamrock Smoothie recipe here.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day Everyone!

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 will show you exactly how we make this recipe in a couple of weeks.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

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!

The holiday season is the time of year when families and friends come together to celebrate the season. This can mean lots of gatherings and lots of tasty food. Since Soph and I love cheese, we thought this year, for some of our holiday parties, we’d try out a cheese ball. Not just any cheese ball though, a Christmas tree shaped cheese ball with olive decorations It looks cute and tastes, oh so yummy!

Christmas Tree Cheese Ball:
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup colby jack cheese, grated
1/4 cup green olives
1/4 cup black olives
3 Tbsps mayo
1/2 tsp garlic salt
3/4 cup crushed guacamole corn chips

First prep all of your ingredients (chop the green onions, grate the cheese, etc.). For the olives, measure them whole and then chop them. Then, dump everything except the chips in a bowl and mix with a hand mixer until well blended. Then make it into a ball in the bowl and chill it in the fridge for at least an hour. Once it’s firmed up a bit, shape it in to a cone and then role it in the crushed corn chips. Then, if you want, decorate it with whole olives by sticking ‘em in with tooth picks. Keep it chilled until you serve it…if you an wait, I think we ate 1/2 of it immediately upon completion

Alex and Soph will be demonstrating this recipe in the coming weeks, so make sure and sign up for their weekly email so you don’t miss it! Plus, you’ll get 6 days of family cooking friendly menu planning ideas, free!

Happy Holidays!