I didn't get to post a few new foods I tried making.
For Chinese New Year, I decided to try and make some 湯圓 (tang yuan). It's my first time, and the results were surprisingly good! I even had peanut filling. It was pretty simple to make. I just couldn't get the elasticity down yet, so the mochi part was a little thick. I'll add the recipe in Bigoven.com.
Hope you like it!

Here's a picture:

Some simple Valentine's Day crafts.

These were made as Valentine's Day cards. They are hugging hearts! Notes can be written on the back.

I used stencils and punch outs to create the hearts. For all the hearts, card stock paper were used to give it a nice texture. The arms are strips of colored copier paper, with accordion folds, to give some movement.

These flower lollipops give a twist to a simple treat. I used 3 hearts punched out from colored copier paper for the petals. Fold the hearts in half to create petal creases. Make a small notch towards the bottom to help push the Dumdum lollipop stick through. That's all!

Same heart stencil and punch outs with card stock paper. These lollipops are longer and larger, complimenting the stiffer paper. Notes can be written on the back as well.

Pumpkin spiced cake

Another version of the easy pumpkin spiced cake - with cream cheese frosting!
Cream cheese frosting is simple! 1 bar of butter, 1/2 bar of cream cheese, 2 cups of sugar; that's it. Be sure to have the butter and cream cheese at room temperature.
The cream cheese frosting pairs well the spiced pumpkin cake.

What to do with all the pumpkin stuff after the carvings are done?
Roast the pumpkin seeds and turn the pumpkin pulp into puree!
I roasted/toasted the pumpkin seeds with a little salt in a wok for about 10 minutes.

Puree the pumpkin leftovers and make pumpkin muffins. I used a box of spiced cake mix, three eggs and 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree. They came out really moist and tasty!

Happy Halloween!

Today I made a simple mac and cheese dish. What kid doesn't like mac and cheese?
Here's a simple recipe that only takes about 30 minutes to make, and another 30 minutes for baking if you like a creamier sauce and crispy top.
All that is need is a few simple ingredients: pasta, butter, milk, flour, shredded cheese
If you like a crunchy top after baking, then add a thin layer of panko bread crumbs to the top before oven time.

Here's the base recipe:
http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/easy-mac-and-cheese/956631
Enjoy! Let me know how you like it.

Next, I will try adding sauted onions and garlic or paprika to give it a little more flavor.

Spanish Rice and beans with chicken. Easy to make and the extra ingredients really help bring down the salt level.
One package of Spanish Rice (Target brand), one can of kidney beansm(16oz), and 2 chicken thighs, diced.
Add kidney beans and chicken about 5 mins before the rice is ready.
Yummy and easy!

The No-knead bread became a craft project!

 


Fun for the little ones to get involved.