November is now here and that means Thanksgiving is upon us–as well as this Mom’s birthday (which is the 29th ) So, to get the month off to a tasty start, we’re sharing one of the recipes we’ll be demonstrating in our Halloween episodes of Two Kids Cooking. This one is one of he birthday month Mom’s favorites–Bacon Sage Squash Bites.

Enjoy the recipe!

We know that not every family serves squash on Thanksgiving. For many, sweet potatoes are more common, but here at the Two Kids Home, squash is always on the table. It’s one of Alex’s favorites, and with all the gardener’s we know, we usually have a few on hand this time of year.

When we’re going to have guests over for a meal, we tend to get excited and over do it on the quantity, especially at events like Thanksgiving. (Yes, ‘we’ means ‘me’, the mom, but the kids get excited too ;D) And even though it’s not consciously intentional, Thanksgiving leftovers are awesome–that’s what this recipe is designed for, leftover squash. That being said, if you’re up for it, you could serve a squash soup course as part of the meal; if you use this simple but scrumptious recipe, everyone will love it

For this recipe, we sort of squished two other recipes together…or parts of them at least. It’s easy enough that kids of most ages can help with various parts, plus the simplicity of the ingredients allows the squash-tastic-ness to shine through–(ok, that might not be a word, but you know what we’re saying).

Here it is:

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Alex, Sophia and Kelly

Remember tracing your hand and turning it into a turkey for Thanksgiving decorations? I guess every American child who’s attended kindergarten or first-grad has done it. How about turning that handy turkey into the theme for this year’s decorations?

Begin by having each of your children make the legendary hand-turkey. Take it to the copy shop, or scan and print extra copies. Now, get ready to have some fun with your kids!

Turkey Cake – Rolled fondant is a wonderful decorating material for cakes. Its pliable, dough-like consistency makes it more like working with a pie crust than with icing, but it tastes sweet and wonderful. Roll fondant out as directed (or make your own fondant). Let the kids place a piece of waxed paper on top, then place one of the turkey copies on top of that, taping it in place. (For multiple children, turkeys may overlap or stand in a row.) Kids can gently ‘trace’ their drawing onto the fondant. A dried pen or back-end of a spoon works great as a stylus. (Check after a couple of strokes to make sure they’re pressing hard enough, but not too hard.) Once the picture is transferred, remove waxed papers and let each child ‘paint’ their turkey with food coloring–we used gel food-coloring because water-based food coloring isn’t great for fondant. Carefully lift fondant and place on top of the cake, smoothing edges and sides. Let the kids put a row of candied corn around the bottom of the cake.

Cupcakes may be decorated to match, using just the turkey’s heads and dabs of color around the edges of the fondant icing ring.

Placemats – Let kids print their turkey onto printer paper, mount on 11×14” piece of coordinating colored paper and laminate each placemat.

Invitations – Use the same turkeys to make place cards or invitations, overlapping the drawings to put them all on a single invitation or putting a single bird on each.

Tee-Shirts can be made of the turkey-birds by printing them onto tee shirt transfers ahead of time. Make sure to make a shirt for grandparents and have the artist sign their original design.

Hang the original artwork in a prominent place around the dining room. A collection of each child’s turkeys, simply matted and hung, looks wonderful.

Imagine the pride your little ones will feel as they look around and see the family feast adorned by their original artwork. Alex and Soph get it all year long, mainly because they are my personal decorators ;P

Happy Family Cooking Everyone!

Alex, Sophia and Kelly

Happy Holidays everyone!

For the first of our Holiday shows we’re demonstrating our favorite bread pudding recipe ever. This one is from ‘The Joy of Cooking,’ and it’s called ‘New Orleans Bread Pudding with Southern Whiskey Sauce’…the sauce recipe is also in book.

This is Alex’s favorite dessert, so much so that we even made it for Thanksgiving instead of pie this year. It’s a tasty recipe that’s pretty easy to make with kids. As Sophie says in the episode, it does have a lot of butter and sugar, but for the holidays we get to splurge, right?

We hope you enjoy the show and  encourage you to sign up for our weekly email. In addition to our show being delivered right to your in-box, you’ll get 6 daily emails filled with menu planning ideas that your family can cook together!

Thanks for watching, and remember, this recipe can be found in ‘Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition – 2006,’ if you want to make it yourself–we recommend you do

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I know this is the day before Thanksgiving, and food has not even yet been consumed, BUT, I’m already thinking about leftovers. Due to this fact, I’ve been reading through the food blogs I follow looking for recipes and in the process I’ve found some that I thought I’d pass along for this week’s ‘Recipe of the Week’. Three from Real Mom Kitchen and one from Recipe Shoebox…I haven’t tried any of them (yet!), but they look so good I had to pass ‘em on.

From Real Mom Kitchen, here are three recipes:
- Creamy Mexican Turkey Soup
- Turkey Cranberry Quesadillas
- Ham and Cheese Potato Casserole

And from Recipe Shoebox, here’s one (it’s actually for chicken, but you could easily substitute turkey):
- Layered Chicken and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

PLUS, here are some ideas from the top of my head–no recipes attached, but some foods Alex, Soph and I have made along with experiment ideas we’ll be trying with our left overs

Fried Breakfast Mashed Potatoes – I actually make these a lot with leftover mashed potatoes…just add some butter and fry the potatoes like you would hashbrowns; ’til they’re nice and browned…mmmm

Turkey Tacos - I’d use a cheese like Monterrey Jack, or maybe Muenster.

Wild Rice & Turkey Soup – If you make a wild rice side like we do, you can use the leftovers, along with some turkey to make a creamy, delicious soup.

Turkey Enchiladas – just thought they sounded good. I think I might be craving Mexican Food….

Turkey Pizza – With a white sauce sauce and cheese, tomatoes and maybe fresh basil. Kind of like those chicken pizzas, but with turkey.

BBQ Turkey Sandwiches – I’m thinking pulled-pork style turkey sandwiches. This will use up leftover turkey and any rolls that might be hanging around as well.

And then, for all of us who where and are  fans of “Friends”, we can’t forget the famous Thanksgiving leftover ‘Moist Maker’ Check out this eHow article from Sharon Potter-Case for the recipe.

I hope you enjoy these recipes and ideas for recipes and we wish you all a super delicious, relaxing and fun, family Thanksgiving!

P.S. Our first Christmas episode featuring Alex’s favorite Bread Pudding will air on Saturday, November 28…sign up for our list so you don’t miss it!

Some people probably think I’m crazy for even letting the kids in the kitchen while cooking the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Well if you’ve seen our show, you know that the 2 Kids family is a little crazy–and that’s just the way we like it

Alex and Soph usually help get things ready for the big meal by helping make the desserts the day before. On Thanksgiving though, I’m kind of focused on getting everything done, so they have more limited hands-on kitchen time, but here are some ways they help out:

Hors d’oeuvres
When we have family and friends over for Thanksgiving, most of the time they arrive well before the big meal. This means we like to have plenty of snacks available for our guests. Alex and Sophia love getting hors d’oeuvres ready and serving them, so that’s usually one of their duties. We usually have an assortment of things including some family favorites like pickled herring, polish sausage, assorted cheeses…nothing too fancy, just some tasty items to keep tummies from growling before the main meal.

Crudité Platter
If you’ve seen our ‘Snickety Snacks‘ episode, you know that we love the veggie trays. Alex and Soph can put together a respectable Crudité platter in no time and with lots of style, so on Thanksgiving, I make sure they do.

Beverages
At our house, a guest with an empty glass won’t be empty for long. When I’m busy cooking, the kids are free to check on each of our guests needs, refreshing sodas or waters, or letting the ‘bartender’ know someone needs a fresh beverage. This responsibility keeps our guests well hydrated and the kids busy.

Relish Tray
Pickles, olives and pickled peppers, oh my! Whatever types of pickled delicacies are traditional on your table, they need to be prepared. Just like with the Crudité Platter and Hors d’oeuvres, kids have fun making serving platters look pretty. Sophia tends to eat as much as she plates, but that’s why we buy extra

Setting the Table
I remember Thanksgivings when I was a kids. Every year we’d travel to Jackson, MN to spend the holiday with my Grandma and Grandpa. My Grandma was a bit of a stickler for a properly set table, and my sister and I always had the duty of making sure this happened. Now, I’ve passed the duty on to Alex and Sophia, BUT, I’m not quite as picky as two where they place the silverware…I’m lucky to have all the place settings matching these days

And there you have it, a few of the ways Mom (that’s me) keeps the 2 Kids (that’s Alex and Soph), busy and helping on Thanksgiving. Because, Thanksgiving is about thanks, right? And I’m most thankful to have two great kids to spend time with, both in the kitchen and out.

Have a great holiday week everyone…and Thank You for watching Two Kids Cooking!

So Thanksgiving is about turkey. We like turkey. But, we also like meatballs. Since the kids are going to be eating the ‘real thing’ on Thanksgiving day at their dad’s, we celebrated at grandma’s with the meatball variety of turkey. Watch as Alex and Soph share their secrets for our Thanksgiving Turkey Meatballs…

If you want to try out Alex and Soph’s recipe, check it out: 2 Kids Cooking Thanksgiving Turkey Meatballs.

And, make sure you don’t miss an episode–sign up for our weekly email, and as a gift to you, you’ll get 6 daily emails filled with menu planning ideas that your family can cook together!

Welcome to our first Thanksgiving episode for 2009!

Because we like eating and hanging out together cooking, the Two Kids tribe truly enjoys Thanksgiving. It’s not just about the traditional delicious either, BUT, our Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie is one traditional treat we never forget. Honestly, it’s mostly the crust; the gingersnap crumbs add just the right spicy touch–two words: drool inducing.

If you want to make your very own Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie, check out the recipe for this easy kids cooking recipe.

Don’t miss an episode either–sign up for our weekly email, PLUS, you’ll get 6 days filled with menu planning ideas that your family can cook together (all for FREE)!

Ahh, Thanksgiving, one of the tastiest times of the year. We all know there are tons of traditional foods associated with Thanksgiving, from the turkey to the green bean casserole, and most of us have a favorite. Pumpkin pie is both Alex and Sophia’s favorite and with the ginger snap crust and creamy filling, this is our best recipe ever!

If you want to watch Alex and Soph demonstrate this recipe, check it out at Two Kids Cooking TV!

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