Finally on again!

Well, now that the school year is over Jovie and I have more time to cook. Since my last post Jovie has learned how to chop onions! And some other things. We have invented some recipes and made LOTS of yummy treats.
Today we made fresh strawberry shortcake. It turned out SO good! We cook our strawberries with sugar and cornstarch (makes it nice and thick) and instead of using angel food or pound cake we like to make homemade biscuits (with a little sugar added) and then we top it all off with whipped cream! So yummo.

One thing that Jovie is really wanting to try are cannolis! She is a HUGE fan of The Cake Boss and since he talks about cannolis all the time it's only right that we try to make them! Jovie is also on a quest to visit Carlo's Bakery. I'm all for it! Maybe someday we will get the chance.

My Little Cooking Machine!

So, two days ago Jovie and I were trying to figure out what to make for dinner. We had cooked quite a few chicken breasts but we weren't sure what to do with them. Jovie wanted to make soup. So, 1/2 an onion, some garlic, broccoli, carrots, chicken broth, yummy heavy cream, cheese, chopped up chicken, "swirly" noodles, salt, pepper, and some Italian spices later we had created a big pot of yum! For a special treat we made some cheese crisps (she saw Rachel Ray do it) to put on top. We all loved it! Oh, and for dessert...CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CRISPY TREATS (Jovie's recipe)!

Today, of course, we needed to do some more cooking. Jovie wanted to give her teacher a yummy treat so she decided to make some super soft banana bread. All I did was help stir it a bit...she did ALL the measuring and egg breaking. We made 2 loaves of course and I thought it was fabulous! Then for for diner she made garlic cheese eggs and pancake surprise. Don't worry...the "surprise" was peanut butter chips. they turned out really good. Jovie has learned quite a bit so far. She loves to say things like "we need to let the flavors marry" and "we don't just want some of it to taste good, we want ALL of it to taste good!" A good lesson she has learned is that a good chef is always patient!!!

I am having such a fun time cooking with Jovie. We both get to learn from each other and I feel like we have our own special little bond.

Date day with Jovie

Well, Grandma Armstrong took Finley (our littlest little) for a few hours today and during that time it was just Jovie and I (since big sis Adelyn was at school). What did we do? We watched multiple episodes of Paula Dean's Home Cooking, Rachel Ray's 30 minute Meals, and Jaime Oliver! I loved it! Jovie was so into the shows that, if i had to get up and miss some of it, I knew I could come back and say "ok, what's going on?" and Jovie would be able to give me a play by play on the recipe! We talked about what foods looked good and what ones didn't. What recipes we'd like to try and why. She is just so smart and so into this! It's amazing to have this conection with my kiddo...feels like we get along better now that we have this! After our date Finley came home and we all went to the park where Jovie ended up knocking one her front teeth (one that had already been damaged/knocked back and down a year and a half ago). She was pushing an empty swing and tried to catch it...needless to say I don't think she really meant to catch it with her mouth. We rushed to the A Kidz Dental Zone (which was closed) and they got us in right a way (lucky for us there were staff members there) and the dentist was called. 1 exray and a quick tooth check later the dentist decided that she is better off pulling it out herself! We will see how this goes! So, only soft foods for a few days for my little chef!

Try again...

Well, our breakfast pockets turned out good but...the crust was too flaky for our liking. I think I am going to try using a pizza crust recipe and rolling out pretty thin. Also, I think this time I will make them a bit bigger for Dan. He needs more protein than what was in the other ones. We may try again tomorrow or wait until Friday!

I am totally having fun cooking with Jovie! She is really getting into this. Tomorrow we plan on watching a couple episodes of Paula Dean, Rachel Ray, and Jaime Oliver! I love this so much! Never thought I would get to have a little one that loves to cook! I will keep you posted on how our new breadfast pockets turn out!

Cooking with Jovie!

(If you click on the picture it will send you to the Picasa album if you want to see more pics!)

Here is our adventure in making BREAKFAST POCKETS! Super yummy and super easy! Just chose your pie crust recipe. Once it's made form into two discs, wrap with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Now make your filling. We made eggs with bacon, hash browns, chives, salt, pepper, garlic, and cheese. Once this was all nicely cooked up and taste tested (many times!) we let it cool off. Jovie rolled out the dough with me and we used a small bowl to cut our circles...we also tried a cup but i liked the bowl better. We then wet the edges of the dough with some water and place our filling in the center. Then wet the edges of another circle and place that one (wet side down) on top of the other. Press the edges together and then use a fork for a little decorative edging. We also tried just using one circle and then folding it over (like and empanada!!!). Once all the dough had been used up we placed all the "pockets" onto a plate and covered it with plastic wrap and put it in the freezer. When they were good and frozen we took them out and put them into plastic freezer bags. We left one on to try... 25 minutes @ 400 degrees...super yummy!!! The only thing I didn't like too much was how flaky the crust was. Don't get me wrong, it tasted AMAZING! I am just thinking about the littles eating it in the car on the way to school! Might be too messy. I plan on trying it with a less flaky recipe. Over all though, I think it was a hit! Plus I had a blast watching my 5 year old cook!

Yesterday's creation!

Here is Jovie's creation from yesterday "Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats" that were so, so yummy! Today we tried our hand something a little bit more healthy and hearty...What did we make you ask...

Yay! I'm blogging!

So, I thought I would start this blog to chronicle my cooking adventures with my middle little, Jovie (on the right). Although I am sure you will read much more than just cooking fun!

Today Jovie wanted to make chocolate rice krispie treats. While melting the butter and marshmallows Jovie asks if we can add some chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and peanut butter! Um...yeah, they were super yummy! I will have to take a pic of them in the morning and post it!

Jovie is my little pastry chef. She has SO many ideas spinning around in her little head! I think our next venture will be some kind of pastry filled with meat and cheese or eggs with cheese and veggies so the girls can take them in the car on the way to school. Not sure how we will do it. I don't want the pastry to be too flaky but I also don't want it to be like pizza crust either. We may start attempting this feat tomorrow!

If you have ideas for things that we should try feel free to let me know! Jovie is ALWAYS up for a challenge!