FlanFlanFlan

Originally from Mexico, Flan is served at many restaurants as a dessert. It’s one of my favorite desserts because of its sweet taste and soft texture. I decided to try making some at home and it was pretty successful. I’ll share the recipe so you can enjoy this delicious dessert at home.

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

¼ cup water

1 (1 fluid oz) can evaporated milk

1 (5oz) can sweetened condensed milk

6 egg yolks

1 tablespoon almond extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, boil sugar with water and stir until the sugar melts and lightly browns. Pour into a flan pan or a cake mold, tilting the pan to coat the entire bottom. Set it aside.

In a bowl, gently whisk together evaporated milk, condensed milk, egg yolks and almond extract. Be careful air doesn’t get in. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan (from the previous step). Tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles.

Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place the flan pan on the towel. Fill the roasting pan with water to halfway up the sides of the baking dish.

Preheat the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Cool completely.

To take the flan out of the pan, run a knife around the edges of the pan. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving.

Finger Foods for Dinner Party

These recipes are from http://www.food.com/, which is my top 'go-to' site when I can't think of good recipes. There are so many recipes you can follow and you can upload your own recipes too. You can't go wrong with recipes from this website because people rate the recipes so you can find the best recipes.

Baked Cherry Tomatoes with Parmesan Topping – recipe by yooper (www.food.com)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 pints cherry tomatoes

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Pour oil into 13x9x2 inch broilproof ceramic baking dish.

Add tomatoes, turn to coat with oil.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Top with parsley and cheese.

Preheat oven to 400.

Bake tomatoes just until plump and shiny but not split (about 10 min).

Preheat broiler.

Broil until tomatoes begin to split and cheese begins to color (about 2 min).

Serve hot or warm.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers—recipe by AZRoxy63 (food.com)

Ingredients:

25 fresh jalapeno peppers

14-16 ounces cream cheese

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 packages bacon

Directions:

Cut stems off of peppers can cut them all in half longways.

Remove seeds from peppers.

Fill each pepper with cream cheese and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.

Wrap ½ slice of bacon around each pepper half.

Place on baking sheets and bake in 450 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until bacon is fully cooked.

Remove and serve when cooled.

Roast Beef Horseradish Spirals – recipe by Derf (food.com)

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (at room temperature)

2 green onions, chopped about ½ cup

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, drained

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

8 ounces deli roast beef, sliced

2 10-inch flour tortillas, cheese flavored

Directions:

Combine first 6 ingredients.

Place the two tortillas on work surface, spread half of cheese over each, top each with half of the roast beef slices, leaving ½ inch border around edges.

Roll up, wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate until firm.

Cut diagonally into ½ inch slices and serve.

Here are recipes of some of my favorite finger foods that’s perfect for dinner parties.

PS3 Games for Kids

Everyone in our family loves Playstation games. We mostly play Mario Cart because it’s fun for both adults and children. My husband and I decided to buy some new PS3 games for our younger ones. We wanted to buy games that are entertaining but also appropriate for kids. I did some “googling” and found a website that had a list of kid-friendly games and here’s the list:

Katamari Forever PS3

This is apparently one of the hottest games this year. It’s ranking at the top of the list of PS3 Kids games. According to the website, you have to “restore celestial bodies and return order to the cosmos.” Basically the main character has to roll katamari (a sticky sphere) over items to make the sphere larger and save his father who’s in coma.

Little Big Planet

This is a multi-players game that’s great for family playing. You can create your own world and play in it or play in other people’s worlds. You can play this game online to visit other people’s worlds. You can drive vehicles, activate switches, avoid dangers, solve puzzles and defeat boss characters. You collect orbs throughout each level to earn items, accessories, etc.

Ghostbusters PS3

This game follows the storyline of the Ghostbusters film. You have to hunt down and capture ghost. There are items like Proton Pack, weapons, and radio to communicate with other members of the Ghostbusters team. All the characters are voiced by the movie’s original actors. This game sounds a bit complicated and I think it would be good for older kids. This should be more fun if the kid has seen the movie before and knows the storyline.  

Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures

This game lets the kid play through the original Indiana Jones movies. Players have to create with Legos as part of the strategy and use the creations to play the game. The game starts at Barnett College, where Dr. Jones teaches archaeology. You can jump from this location to the three films and you can revisit memorable scnes on the way to recovering the Ark of the Covenant, the Sankara Stones, and the Holy Grail. Again, this game should be more fun for those who know the storyline of this classic movie but even for kids who haven’t seen the movie, this game should provide enough entertainment because of the Lego component.

Wall-E

This game is based on the movie “Wall-E” and has 3 types of gameplay and several levels. This game is recommended to younger and less game-experienced kids because the theme and the controls are fairly simple. Wall-E is a robot that cleans up Earth’s garbage. Player has to control Wall-E as he navigates across the cosmos. There are puzzles to solve as well as mini-games for multiple players.

Mater National! Disney Cars PS3

Based on the Disney movie, Cars, this games has race missions with characters from “Cars” We already have Mario Cart, which I think is pretty similar to this game but for those who are looking for a kids’ racing game, this might be a good choice—since more kids know about Cars than Mario.

party for everyone

It’s hard to throw a party where both adults and kids have fun. Buddy Valastro, host of the TLC show “Cake Boss”, shares a few tips to host a party for everyone. This should be useful when throwing large parties for extended family and friends. 

Theme party

Mr. Valastro starts with a theme to appeal to a multigenerational group. Caribbean or Polynesian themes are good during the summer. He hires hula dancers or hold a hula-hoop competition. Hawaiian or steel-drum bands play music that appeals to a wide audience. Such themes are very laid back and their casual vibe can invite the guests to let the guard down and enjoy the party. 

Parties for young children

Hannah Montana and Transformers themes are almost necessary at parties for very young children. While the theme focuses on the child’s favorite movie or character, try to avoid the décor and games from being too child-focused. For example, for a Transformer party, plan the décor in the colors of a child’s favorite character and assemble figurines on the table but don’t put the characters on every cup and plate. At a kids’ party, parents have more fun if they don’t have to do too much. Hiring a puppet show, clowns, animal farms or musicians is a good idea so the parents can just relax and have conversation.

Parties for older children or adults

Relaxed atmosphere is most important at parties for older kids and adults. Not too many structured activities are required. For example, invite everyone to help jarring tomatoes to share an Italian feast. Such activities can be interesting to both adults and kids but doesn’t feel forced. You can even set up a table with paints, markers and glitter to let the kids decorate the jars. 

Food

Food binds together the most diverse group. Try to serve something related to the theme. For example, a roast pig is good for a luau and a jerk chicken skewers and grilled mahi-mahi with mango salsa is good for Caribbean party. You can’t go wrong with finger foods such as sliders and mini hot dogs—adults will like these too as these foods are trendy in bars and restaurants. A burger station where the guests can make their own burgers with various toppings is another great idea. Instead of banning alcohol at a mixed-age party, set up two separate bars for the adults and kids. 

Video Game

Video game stations appeal to both adults and children. I make a huge use out of our LG Cinema 3D TV. As I mentioned many times in my previous postings, LG Cinema 3D comes with lightweight, battery free 3D glasses, which are very cheap. We have more than enough 3D glasses for many people to play the game at the same time. Games like Mario party are good because it can involve both adults and children at the same time.

Chance to win a FREE LG CINEMA 3D TV!!!!

I know I just posted a 3D TV guide but I HAD to put up this post because I just found out about this exciting event. So LG is having an event on facebook where you can win a LG Cinema 3D TV. They are giving out a LG 3D Home Theater set as the grand prize and a LG Cinema 3D TV every week! You just need to go to LG Electronics USA page, like them and select the LG 3D Throwdown option. Everyday, you get a throwdown and you get to vote. I already own a Cinema 3D so I thought I’d share it with you guys so you can get one for free. Let me know by leaving a comment if one of you guys win!! Here’s the link: http://www.facebook.com/LGUSA?sk=app_206657746055846

Buying a 3D TV? Go for a passive 3D TV with lightweight 3D glasses

Today I’m going to write a little bit about my experience with 3D TV and a few tips for purchasing a 3D TV. I have three kids—a five year old, a ten year old and a twelve year old—and I was concerned about their eye health when I was looking for a 3D TV.

Choose a passive 3D

If you have children who are going watch 3D tv, passive 3D TVs are definitely better than active 3D TVs. Because active 3D TVs use shutter glasses technology, it has flickers and crosstalks. Flickers and crosstalks can be just annoying to adults but they can cause some serious eye strain for kids. I don’t know if all passive 3D tvs are completely flicker free and crosstalk free but LG Cinema 3D is certified flicker free and crosstalk free 3D tv so you don’t have to worry about the 3D tv causing eye strain or headache for kids.

3D glasses

Active 3D glasses are fairly heavy and expensive. Adults usually don’t notice the weight but it can be quite uncomfortable for kids. Also if you have many kids in the family, definitely go for passive 3D TV because active 3D glasses are highly expensive. They can cost you over $100 while Cinema 3D glasses are only $5-$10. You can also use those 3D glasses from the theater. I have three kids but I have many nieces and nephews. When the entire family gathers, I don’t even need to worry about kids having to share the 3D glasses and feeling left out. I was able to get enough cinema 3D glasses to let my son and his friends watch 3D movie at his birthday party. Another downside of the active 3D glasses is that you have to charge them after use because the flickers become even more noticeable if the glasses are running low on batteries. I think it’s just too much of a hassle to charge them every time children watch 3D movies.

Flexible viewing position

Because active 3D tvs work by sending signals from the TV to the glasses, the images become distorted or black out if you sit or lay down in positions that can’t receive the signals. This is especially uncomfortable for kids—we all know that kids move around and don’t sit up straight throughout the entire movie. LG Cinema 3D gives undistorted image even when the kids are lying down.

2D to 3D conversion

LG Cinema 3D has a 2D to 3D conversion feature (I don’t think other passive 3D TVs have this feature). Because 3D is fairly new, there are only a limited number of 3D contents available. With LG Cinema 3D, however, kids can convert their favorite cartoons into 3D contents.

The most important thing about kids’ use of 3D TV is that you supervise them and limit the number of the hours they use (this is true for all kinds of TVs). But it’s also important that while they’re viewing the 3D TV, they are comfortable and the 3D TV doesn’t hurt their eyes. I’m completely satisfied with my LG Cinema 3D. Of course different people have different criteria and expectations for their 3D TVs, but if you are a mother looking for kid-friendly and family-friendly 3D TV, LG Cinema 3D is probably the one to go for.

PUMPKIN CANDIES

Okay this is my second posting today because I didn't write yesterday. My family went picnic yesterday and I was really tired when I got home... I was going to share this recipe in yesterday's posting but since I didn't write it, here it is. 

It’s for Pumpkin candies, which are very common in Southern Brazil. It’s really easy to make, healthy and delicious. The main ingredients are sugar and pumpkin. I changed it up a bit to make the recipe easier and healthier. You can see the original recipe here: http://www.food.com/recipe/docinhos-de-abobora-brazilian-pumpkin-candy-307428

Ingredients:

1kg peeled pumpkin

4 cups sugar

2 cups water

12 cloves

Cinnamon

Direction: 

 Cut pumpkin into 3cm cubes. Boil water and sugar in a saucepan and add cloves and cinnamon. Add the pumpkin. Poke holes in the pumpkin cubes to make so the syrup is more easily absorbed.  Boil on low heat until the pumpkin pieces are tender. Move them with a slotted sppon to a jar. Cool the syrup until it gets thick and pour over the pumpkin cubes. Let it cool before serving.

It makes a good snack or a side dish. Although there’s a lot of sugar in it, it’s a healthier alternative to chips and candies. You can dust it with confectioners’ sugar if you want. Children tend to like it because it’s sweet and soft so if your kids don’t like eating pumpkin, definitely try this recipe. 

Exciting news on 3D TV: LW6500 is upgraded to be even better

I have some exciting news for LG LW6500 owners (that includes myself) and those who are interested in 3D LED TVs. LG just announced that they’ve made an update to the Cinema 3D technology used in the LW series to improve 3D picture quality and resolution. Some popular review sites were being skeptical about this so FlatpanelsHD (http://www.flatpanelshd.com/) decided to put LG to the test. I am not affiliated in this review site in any way, so I’ll just post their reviews as a quote. 

“We tested LG’s LW6500 earlier this year but LG recently made some improvements to their 3D system and software to improve 3D picture quality and Cinema 3D was also recently awarded a Full HD 3D Certified by a German institute”.

“Before the Cinema 3D technology worked like this: During a time period of 1/200 seconds the TV showed 2 frames; 540 lines for the left eye and 540 lines for the right eye.
The new algorithm shows 4 frames instead of 2 during the 1/200 second time frame. It shows 1080i for the left eye and 1080i for the right eye.  When these are combined the two pictures create a 1080p picture according to LG. LG believes that this update improves picture quality on their Cinema 3D TVs to compete directly with the active 3D TVs such as 3D plasma TVs”.

There’s been a heated debate between active and passive 3D but through this update, LG has seemed to solidify its claim that image quality isn’t sacrificed in comparison to Shutter Glass technology (active). As a mother of young children, their eye health is what I’m most concerned about when they’re watching 3D movies and that’s why I got a passive TV. I thought the image quality was good but now that it’s even more certain that LG Cinema 3D will give us superior image quality, I feel more comfortable about 3D TV.   

*References
http://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1313938337

End of the Burger King's Reign

I read a shocking news on Wall Street Journal: Burger King mascot is stepping down from the throne. Burger King was bought by a private-equity firm last year and as a part of its effort to reinvent itself, it will slowly phase out use of its King mascot and focus on the quality of burgers in its latest TV and online campaigns. Unlike McDonald’s Ronald McDonald, Burger King mascot wasn’t resonating enough with the customers although both mascots have been around for many years. Apparently, what made people go to Burger King was the quality of Burger King’s food, not the resonation with the mascot. Thus, Burger King will start a food-centric marketing approach.

I suspect that this change is partially due to public pressure on fast food restaurants to retire their cartoon characters in regards to the rising problem of child obesity in U.S. I mentioned this in my posting about McDonalds’ including fruits in its happy meals. McDonald’s isn’t retiring Ronald McDonald, saying that he hasn’t been shown as eating or promoting food and the food is selling itself, not the mascot. I don’t know if I can agree with this. Nothing can compare to home-made burgers but if I have to choose, I personally like Burger King better. It has thicker, juicier meat and has more of fresher vegetables. My kids, however, LOVE McDonald’s. I don’t know if it’s the toys, the mascot, or the food. I hope all the fast food chains become more health-conscious and try to improve the quality of their food.

America's favorite food

Who doesn’t love pizza? Pizza has been America’s favorite food for years and people eat it at restaurants and homes. Popularity of pizza is greater than those of hot dogs and hamburgers. In the United States, people eat 3 Billion slices of pizza every year. This means that every person eats about 46 slices in a year. That’s about 23 pounds of pizza. Also, October is celebrated as National Pizza Month. Can you imagine how much people must love pizza to have a whole month dedicated to it? People eat pizza at so many occasions and events including Super Bowl, kids’ birthday parties, or class lunch at school.

It’s interesting that this America’s favorite dish is an Italian dish. It’s believed that the early Greeks made the first pizza and pizza wasn’t well known in America until the Second World War. It arrived in the US in the latter half of the nineteenth century when Millions of Southern Italians moved to the States. Since then, pizza became very popular and is now considered an icon food of the States.

A variety of toppings, crusts and sauces are available to make pizza not only delicious but also fun to eat and nutritious. Different variety of toppings make it different from other countries’ pizzas (like Indian and Russian pizzas). Pepperoni is by far an all-time favorite pizza topping in America.

Over the past few decades, tastes of pizzas have changed in America’s love for pizza hasn’t changed.

Food Extravaganza!!

Serendiptiy 3 in NYC currently holds the title of the world’s most expensive hot dog, Foot Long Haute Dog, which is $69. Brockton Rox is gearing up to break the record and take on the title. The Rox hot dog will be made with “a half-pound-all-beef-foot-long hot dog that is deep fried and rolled in truffle oil. It is then coated with a porcini dust.” (http://universeofluxury.com/food-and-drink/expensive-hot-dog) White truffle shavings, crème fraiche, caviar and fresh roe are also added on top. This hot dog was sold on National Hot Dog Day for $80.

Even more extraordinary food is a bagel that’s $1000. Chef Frank Tujague made his bagel with white truffle cream cheese instead of regular cream cheese. It also has berry infused Rielsling jelly with golden leaves. This luxury bagel was created in part to raise funds for Les Amis d’Escoffier Scholarship—it is a scholarship given to students of the culinary arts.

So what is white truffle and why is it so expensive? White truffles are also called “white gold” and are the second most expensive food after caviar. Truffles are mushrooms that grow underground. Truffles are rare and the white ones, especially, are only available a couple of months of the year. These are almost exclusively from one part of Italy.

Top 10 Best 3D Movies for kids:yes, I've watched them on our LG Cinema 3D

Ever since we got our 3D TV (LG Cinema 3D if anyone’s curious), I watch at least one 3D movie every week with my kids. Some say that 3D TVs are bad for children’s eyes, but I’m not worried too much because we have a passive 3D TV (All LG Cinema 3D TVs are passive 3D TVs). Its lightweight, battery free 3D glasses give flicker free and crosstalk free images, giving only minimum stress to the eyes. I’m really glad that I can enjoy 3D movies with my kids at home without worrying about my family’s eye health. Here’s a list of Top 10 Best 3D family movies. This list is taken from http://www.squidoo.com/3ddvdmovies#module136463521.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Flint Lockwood likes inventing and he thinks he is a genius who can make a world-changing invention one day. His town faces an economic crisis when a sardine cannery, which was the town’s primary income source, was shut down. So Flint decides to try his latest invention—a machine that can change water into food. Something goes wrong and this machine gets shoot up into the atmosphere and food starts to rain. Town’s mayor tries to use this as a new source of income but later it becomes disastrous and Flint tries to fix this chaos. My kids and I watched this when it was playing in the theaters. It’s an awesome movie with original storyline and cute 3D effects. We bought the DVD because my kids and I loved it. We watched it many times on our LG Cinema 3D and the 3D experience was just as good as at the movie theater.

The Polar Express

On Christmas Eve, a hero boy gets on a magical train that’s headed to the North Pole and Santa Claus’s home. This movie is about his extraordinary adventure to the North Pole. I didn’t watch this movie but my kids did and they absolutely loved it. We also have the DVD but I never got a chance to watch it. My kids keep telling me to watch it with them one day. This is a very appropriate movie to play at Christmas family gathering.

Despicable Me

This is my favorite and all the kids in the entire family love it too. The minions are so cute and the storyline has a moving message about importance of family. There was no need for the kids to ask me to buy the DVD—I walked into the store and bought it myself. It became a routine to watch this at our family gathering. We have a big family but the 3D glasses that LG Cinema 3D use are really cheap (about $5-10) and sometimes everyone just brings their own 3D glasses from the theater.

Open Season

This is a movie about Boog, a domesticated Grizzly Bear living in Park Ranger Beth’s garage. He was living a peaceful, quiet life until he met Elliot, a mule deer. Boog ends up high in the forest only a few days before the opening of hunting season. Being domesticated animals, Boog and Elliot lack even the most basic survival skills and they stumble through the woods. The entire forest becomes endangered somehow, through mistakes, and Boog and Elliot learn that the forest animals need to stick together to outsmart the hunters and survive. The film’s vibrant colors and skilled animation are well captured on Cinema 3D.

I haven’t seen these but these are also on the list.

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore

Legend of the Guardians-Owls of Ga’hoole

Coraline

Disney’s Christmas Carol

Monster House

Kidshealth.org

Today I want to share a very informative website with you. It’s kidshealth.org.  I visit this website from time to time but I used to go on this website more often when I was pregnant with my kids and when they were younger. This website was very helpful when I was pregnant with my first child and didn’t really know what to do. Whether you’re a mother ready to have her first child or a mother who is curious about any information about kids’ health and nutrition, this is the website to go to. It has Parents site, Kids site and Teens site. 

Parents site provides you knowledge and information. You can learn about not only kid’s growth & development, pregnancy and nutrition, but also about positive parenting and kids’ emotions& behavior. You can also find special recipes for kids with cystic fibrosis, diabetes, lactose intolerance and celiac disease as well as recipes for the whole family. My good family friends’ son has cystic fibrosis and they got a lot of help from this website. 

Kids site handles topics such as puberty, emotions & behaviors, family and school in a more easy and fun manner. It also has games and movies to approach children. Teens site has information on physical, psychological and sexual health. It also positively guides teens on sensitive topics such as drugs, alcohol and college. 

This is a website where the whole family can go to. It has so much information and it’s kind of comforting when you realize that there are people who worry about the same thing as you are and feeling the same feeling.

Summer Pastas

I’m a big pasta lover and so are my children. Pasta is easy to make, delicious, and you can add whatever you want to make it a healthy dish. Two most widely used pasta sauce are Tomato and Alfredo but you can get tired of them even when you change the ingredients often. So I’ll write about different types of noodles and sunny sauces that you won’t get sick of. These recipes are from Wall Street Journal.


Pasta: Pici

Sauce: Summer Squash Blossoms, Pecorino

Heat oven to 225 degrees. Arrange 1 pound Roma tomatoes, halved, on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive and sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 2-3 hours and reserve.
Boil a large pot of salted water.

Slice 2-3 medium summer squash and place a large sauté pan over medium heat and coat with olive oil. Add 1 clove garlic, brown gently and discard. Add squash and sauté until golden.

Add reserved oven-roasted tomatoes to the sauté pan and let them break down.

Simmer for 2 minutes, add a big handful whole or hand-torn squash blossoms, simmer 2 minutes and season to taste.

Cook 1 pound pici in boiling water and drain, reserving a little of the water. Add pici to sauté pan and cook 1 minute more on high heat; add a little pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed.
Top with grated pecorino and a drizzle of olive oil.

Pasta: Cavatelli
Sauce: Lobster, Tomato, Pea Leaves and Lovage

 Bring salted water in each of one medium and one large pot.

Core 2 large tomatoes and, with the tip of a knife, make an X mark in the skin at the base of each.

Drop the tomatoes into the medium pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, then remove and transfer to a bowl of ice water.

Peel off the tomato skins and roughly chop the tomatoes.

Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil, add 1 clove garlic, sliced very thinly, and slowly increase the heat. Just before the garlic starts to brown, add the tomatoes and their liquid. Cook for 2 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

Add 1 pound fresh cavatelli to the large pot of boiling water and cook for a few ; drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water, then add the pasta to the pan with the tomatoes.

Cook pasta with the tomatoes for 3 minutes, adding a splash of pasta water and olive oil if it gets dry.

Add 6 ounces roughly-chopped cooked lobster, 1 teaspoon lovage, cut into thin ribbons, and ¼ cup pea tendrils

Pasta: Trofie

Sauce: Cranberry Beans, Ricotta Salata and Walnuts

Shell 1½ pounds fresh cranberry beans.

Boil a large pot of salted water. Coat another pot with olive oil and add 3 cloves peeled garlic and the shelled beans.

Season with sea salt, crushed white pepper and pinch of dried chili flakes.

Sauté gently for 15-30 minutes, adding a few spoonfuls of water to keep the beans wet.

Meanwhile, add the trofie to the boiling water and cook until al dente.

Drain, reserving a cup of pasta water.

Add pasta directly to the bean pot, along with a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss.

GRate a generous amount of ricotta salata over and garnish with a handful of crushed walnuts and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

I've only shared three but you can get more summer pasta recipes at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904007304576496150642449030.html

Do 5 year olds need a cell phone

My 5-year old came up to me yesterday and asked if she could have a cell phone. Apparently some girls at her kindergarten already have cell phones. It got me thinking, do 5 year olds really need cell phones? They don’t have to make important business phone calls like adults and it’s not very likely that they will be talking on the phone for long like teenagers do. On the other hand, it could be quite useful when the child calls the parents to pick them up early if they were let out earlier than usual. Also, the child could encounter any situation where they need to call an adult or for help. I started looking at cell phones and mobile plans designed for kids. Fireflymobile.com has cell phones from $49.99 and they are designed for children. One of them caught my attention. It’s mainly for making phone calls to parents so it has mom & dad keys. It seems like text messaging isn’t one of the features.

I also looked at the plans they offer. You can pay 15 cents per minute or sign up for a monthly plan of 145 minutes for $21.75 or get an unlimited plan for $65. The price seems pretty reasonable and I thought it was cute that the phone has mom and dad keys. I’ll have to discuss it with my husband but I went from thinking ‘5 year olds don’t need a cell phone’ to ‘it can’t be bad for them to have one in case emergency happens’. What do you guys think?

Brownie n' Berries Dessert Pizza for Cath's B-Day

Yesterday was my niece Catherine’s 10^th birthday. The whole family gathered together to have a dinner at our house and the kids all watched Despicable Me in 3D. We have 7 kids in the whole family but we only had 4 pairs of 3D glasses so my husband and I made a trip to BestBuy that afternoon to grab more 3D glasses. We paid about $20 for 4 pairs of 3D glasses, which was good considering our budget for this gathering. I baked a Brownie n’ Berries Dessert Pizza with a recipe taken from Betty Crocker website. 

Ingredients

1 box Betty Crocker Original Supreme Premium brownie mix (water, vegetable oil and egg as written on the mix box)

1 package cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup fresh raspberries

½  cup apple jelly 

Direction

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom of 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray or shortening 
•   Make batter as directed on brownie mix box and spread in pan.
• Bake for 26-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Cool completely
• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread mixture over brownie and arrange berries on top. Refrigerate until chilled.

I love this recipe because it’s sweet and delicious enough to serve as a cake for a child’s birthday but the berries still give some nutrients and natural sugar. It’s so much better than supermarket sold cakes with chocolate frostings and chocolate toppings.

Let kids pack their own lunch

Today my son and daughter made their own lunches. My son made a PB&J Sandwich and my daughter made a ‘Happy Face Sandwich’. When I told them last night that they can pack their own lunches today, they were really excited. I usually don’t have waking up kids in the morning but their excitements woke them up extra early today. If you’re having a trouble trying to wake up children in the morning, try giving them a chore (it has to be a fun one like feeding the dog or choosing cereal for the family every morning!). I assume everyone knows how to make PB&Js so I’ll share a couple more simple recipes along with ‘Happy Face Sandwich’ recipe. These are really easy and fun for kids to make. Hope this makes your morning easier! 

Happy Face Sandwich

Ingredients: Peanut Butter, sliced bananas, raisins, 1 slice of bread, m&m’s candy

Spread the peanut butter on the slice of bread. Put 2 sliced bananas on the bread so they look like eyes. Use a raisin as a nose and make the mouth out of M&M’s candy. 

English Muffin Pizza

Ingredients: 1 split English muffin, pizza sauce, shredded cheese, kid’s favorite toppings such as pepperoni, bacon, ground beef, etc.

Lizzy’s tip: Dice vegetables into small pieces and give them to kids to decorate their pizzas. They’ll be gladly eating veggies without even knowing.

Toast English muffins (you should probably do this for kids since it could be dangerous). Spread pizza sauce evenly on muffin halves, sprinkle cheese on top and add the toppings. Put on a tray and put into a toaster oven to cook for 5-10 minutes. 

Bologna melt

Ingredients: 2 slices of bread, 2 slices of cheese, 2 slices of bologna or ham, margarine, mustard

Place bread on top of a cookie sheet and grease them with margarine. On each slice, place a slice of bologna or ham and 1 slice of cheese. Put mustard on the top and bake in oven for 5-10 min or until the cheese melts. 

Summer Soups

There was an interesting article on WSJ just yesterday. It introduced recipes for summer soups. I don’t know if you guys have heard of ‘summer soups’ but it was so new to me. These soups are served chilled and give you refreshment like any other summer drink. I’ll share these recipes with you. 

Chilled Cucumber Honeydew Soup

Okay, so the original recipe includes sake to give a cocktail-like touch but I’ve removed it so children can enjoy it as well.

• ·         In a blender, puree 2 cups of seedless cucumbers with 2 cups ripe honeydew melon and ¼ cup Greek yogurt. 
•     Put it in a bowl and add 1 cup diced cucumber and 1 cup diced honeydew.
•  Chill for at least 3 hours before serving.

This is a good soup to serve to children because honeydew adds sweet flavor to it. It can served alone but I served it as thick salad dressing. 

Chilled Corn Soup with Fresh Nutmeg

•   Slice the kernels off 3 ears of fresh summer corn
• Put the cobs in a large pot, boil in 6 cups of water and simmer for about half an hour –this makes corn broth
•  In a soup pot, melt 2 TBSP of butter over medium heat. Add 1 chopped Vidalia onion and 1 chopped shallot and sweat for about 10 min. without browning. Add the corn kernels and stir to coat them in the butter. Add the corn broth and simmer the soup until the corn is tender.
•  Transfer the corn and onions to a blender with 1 ½ cups of the cooking liquid. Puree for 5 minutes and transfer to a clean pot to add 1 cup heavy cream, 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• Chill for 3 hours before serving.

This is my personal favorite. I love the corn’s natural sweet taste with the deep scent and flavor of nutmeg. Some kids (like mine) tend to dislike the nutmeg flavor and you can omit it in that case.

 

Asparagus Vishyssoise

• ·         Peel and dice 1 potato and slice 3 medium leeks. 
• Sweat in 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat until translucent. 
• Add 3 cups of chicken broth, bring to boil, reduce the heat, cover and cook until the potato is soft.  
•  Add 1 pound of asparagus and cook 3 to 5 minutes, depending on their thickness; they should be just tender.

I haven’t tried this one yet but as a big asparagus lover, this sure sounds good.

Go to http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904800304576474043308132226.html for more recipes and information about summer soups. I think it’s a brilliant twist on soups and if anyone knows other cool summer recipes, please share them!