Cooking With Kids.

Mason and I have been struggling lately. We are having a hard time connecting. The kitchen is where we have the most fun. He likes to help. "Mommy we a team", he says to me every time we do something together. It's been close to a year since he started showing interest in the kitchen. 

At first I was hesitant to let him help. I was afraid of him getting burned or hurt. I knew there would be a mess and I was also afraid of that. He loves the kitchen and creating in it. I am no one to stand in the way of that. Since we settled into our own place I allow him to help more and more. A few weeks ago we made homemade chicken nuggets. Today we made pineapple upside down cake. 

Logan has a therapist that comes over twice a week. It is so tough to have to tell Mason he can't join in. He doesn't understand that his brother gets distracted easily. I need ways to distract him while the OT is here. The kitchen was great. Reading and coloring don't always work. He really enjoyed helping, and the cake turned out well. 

The point of cooking with him was to have him included in an activity where he's usually told no. It distracted him from not being able to join his brother, but also allowed him to do something HE enjoys. If you haven't noticed kids love playing "adults". This was Mason's time to play cook. 

I took the opportunity to also use this as a learning experience. In the process we counted the ingredients, said colors, and also taught him to recognize numbers. Cooking with kids can be fun after all. 

My twist on "Chinese" food

We've really been getting tired of the same old things for dinner. Rice, beans, chicken, salads. Pasta and breads. Sometimes I really don't even want to cook because I don't want the same old thing. A simple pb&j would satisfy! Lol 

We've also been trying to clean up our diets. Eating healthier, cleaner foods like organic fruits and veggies. We've looked into juicing and even organic "junk" food if you can call veggie chips junk food. :) Our goal is to cut out all if not most processed crap & eat mostly homemade from scratch. Nothing tastes better anyway.

Today we wanted Chinese food and instead of getting take out...well I threw my own version together. Here's what I did.

What you'll need:

Rice

A rice cooker

2 cups of uncooked brown rice (or whichever kind you use or have handy

1 cup water

1tspn butter or coconut oil (whichever you have or use)

pinch of salt

Instructions:

Dump the 2 cups of rice and the 1 cup of water in the rice cooker. To be sure you have to right ratio be sure that the rice is covered, but you can still see it. Add butter and salt, mix and cover. The cooker will pop when its ready.

While that cooks...

What you'll need:

Pepper Steak

2 pkgs stir fry steak strips

1/2 green pepper

1/2 red pepper

1/2 white onion

2 pinches of adobo

2 splashes of vinegar

1 pkg Asian stir fry seasoning 

2 tspns sugar

Instructions:

In a pot or pan throw in steak strips, strips of onion, green pepper and red pepper with splashes of vinegar and pinches of adobo. (Make sure those are Puerto Rican pinches lol). Mix and let cook approximately 30-35 minutes. check and stir every 5-7 minutes so it does not stick to the pan. When tender, mix in the 2 teaspoons of sugar and the asian stir fry seasoning, let it sit another 10 minutes. 

While that cooks...

What you'll need:

1/2 onion

1/2 green pepper

1/2 red pepper

1 tspn minced garlic

few chopped scallions

2 splashes of soy sauce

3 eggs 

1/2 bag frozen mixed vegetables

pinch of salt

Grab the half of the onion, green and red pepper and dice it up. Throw it into a pan with a teaspoon of garlic and a couple chopped up scallions (green onions). Let that brown up. While that browns take the 3 eggs and make them scrambled. Throw them into the browned mix. Then add frozen veggies with the pinch of salt and mix. Once it is well combined, add your soy sauce and let sit for 2-3 minutes. 

Everything cooks separately. Once your veggie/egg mix is ready...add your rice and stir throughly. Add soy sauce to taste as you stir. As it all continues to cook together all the flavors combine. 

Serve with your pepper steak on the side! :) enjoy!

 

Guacamole Wrap...I guess.

What you'll need:

Guacamole

3 avocados (ripe)

1 lime 

handful of cilantro

1 plum tomato 

1/2 white onion 

2tsps. of minced garlic (fresh chopped is best) 

handful of chopped iceberg lettuce

salt to taste.

Instructions: (preparation at most 15-20 minutes)

Cut avocados in half and into cute and toss into a bowl. Roll the lime to get the juices flowing, and cut in half. Squeeze over avocado cubes. This prevents it from turning black and gives it great flavor. Dice the tomato plus the onion and toss into the bowl. Chop the cilantro and the lettuce and toss into the bowl along with the remaining ingredients. Squeeze some more lime juice over the mix. It is usually not needed, but if so...salt to taste. Refrigerate for 10-15 mins post preparation for better taste.

                             Serves 5-6 people.

The Wrap:

flour tortillas (wheat or regular)

1 can refried beans

1pkg sandwich steak (not frozen)

1tsp butter

1pkg taco seasoning

1 bag of Mexican blend cheese

Instructions: (preparation between 20-25 minutes, it varies)

Slice up your steak into strips, season with taco seasoning and stir up in pan with butter. While that cooks heat up the tortillas and refried beans microwave or stove...doesn't matter (only you can decide which way fits you). Once the steak is fully cooked lay out the tortillas. Spread refried beans, add steak, cheese, and top off with guacamole made earlier. To finish roll it to your liking and cut in half. Serve with extra guacamole or sour  cream.

ENJOY! :)