Guest Author - Launa Stout
It happens every summer… when the kids are off school - and you don’t know how to keep them busy.
Since kids all like to eat, I suggest spending some time in the kitchen with them. Teach them to cook or prepare part of the meal. They will love the feeling of accomplishment they get when they carry the bowl to the table and take all the praise for a job well-done.
A quick and easy summer salad or dessert is this recipe for “The Blueberry Danube”.
But the best thing about working together and creating part of the meal is that they can rename the recipe.
My kids had been listening to some Strauss Waltz music so they renamed this-
The Blueberry Danube
Ingredients:
1 large 16 ounce container of whipped topping
1 can of blueberry pie filling
1 cup of marshmallows
1- 8 ounce can of drained crushed pineapple
1 box of powdered vanilla instant pudding mix
Directions:
1. Mix everything together
2. Chill, covered in the fridge for at least one hour
3. Serve and accept all the compliments
You will never know what kind of a name you or your kids might come up with until they are stirring it up, and something will catch their fancy and then all of a sudden this could be called something completely different.
You can also use a different type of pie filling and that could also change the name of the salad/dessert.
Enjoy time together as you create in the kitchen.
Sometimes on a really hot day when you are trying to live “green” and not turn on the AC, you will just draw the window shades and turn on the fan. This is a great time to drag out the cookbooks- especially the ones with pictures and have each child chose something that looks good to them. Try to encourage them to find the recipes that don’t require any cooking.
How about making a salad with candy bars? I think that would interest them.
Candy Bar Salad
Ingredients:
1 large 16 ounce carton of whipped topping
1 small box of powdered vanilla instant pudding
1 large (King Size) frozen candy bar
1 granny smith apple
You should really plan to make this salad weekly throughout the summer so you can try a different kind of candy bar each week. Our personal favorites are Butterfingers, Baby Ruth and Snickers.
I just keep a bunch of candy bars in the freezer for when the motivation for this meal hits.
Directions:
1. Freeze the candy bar
2. Put the candy bar into a zip lock bag and hit with a hammer or meat tenderizer to break it apart into small pieces
3. Peel and core the apple
4. Cut the apple into small pieces
5. Mix everything together
6. Put in the fridge for at least an hour
Since you really cannot have Candy Bar Salad every day of the week you will be glad that you have renamed the recipe. That way one day you have Snickers Salad, and the next you have Mars Bar Salad, and maybe the next day you can enjoy Butterfinger Salad.
Just kidding! You wouldn’t really want to have it every night – even if you kids think they do.
