Cooking Camp

Last week, Samuel and Avery attended Cooking Camp. I was pleasantly surprised at just how much fun they both had, as well as how many new foods they tried. But it wasn't all about cooking. Each morning upon arriving to camp, the kids worked on an art project; they made place mats, chef's hat, a food pyramid, and table place cards. They also worked on their measuring and cutting skills. They learned how to hold a knife safely and properly, and how to chop different foods. They worked on how to follow recipes. And they made 3 - 4 different recipes each day, with each day following a theme. On Friday, the parents were invited to eat lunch with their children. The children made Three Cheese Quesadillas, Cowboy Caviar, and Sopapillas. Everything was yummy! The kids got to bring home a cook book full of the recipes they had made all week long, along with the aprons they'd worn all week in camp. It was such a great week and the kids truly enjoyed themselves.


In an effort to keep some of the excitement from the week of camp going, we decided that we were going to make 1 recipe a week at home from the cook book. But, like most great plans we come up with in this house, our plan to make 1 recipe a week quickly changed because we couldn't pick the 1 recipe we all wanted to make first. So, we winded up making 3 recipes this weekend. Here's what we made...


Cowboy Caviar
In a large bowl combine a 15 ounce can of pinto or black beans (drained and rinsed), an 11 ounce can of corn (drained), 2 medium tomatoes (seeded and diced), 3 chopped green onions, 1 large diced avocado (we actually omitted this ingredient because Hector doesn't like avocado), 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, 1/2 cup salsa, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Gently toss, then chill for 30 minutes. Serve with chips.


My opinion of the Cowboy Caviar: We made it for lunch on Saturday, and while it was good served cold, my family actually liked it better served warm like a hot bean dip. I thought it was delicious, and something that my kids can make without too much mess or fuss!

Chicken Pot Pie
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a skillet, saute 1 cup sliced carrots, 1/2 cup diced celery, 1/3 cup chopped onion, and 1 cup frozen green peas in 1/2 a stick of butter, just until tender. Then add 1 pound of cooked chicken, cut into cubes. Stir well, then add 1/3 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon celery seed. Slowly stir in 1 3/4 cups chicken broth and 2/3 cup milk.


Make sure to smell what you're cooking, just to make sure it smells okay (this was Samuel's personal addition to the recipe).

Then tell your mom that it smells good, but you're still not going to eat it (again, this was just Samuel's addition to the recipe).

Simmer until thickened, then remove from heat. In a pie pan, press down a pie crust.

Then pour the chicken mixture on top of the pie crust. Cover the top with another pie crust, trim off the excess dough, then crimp the edges. Make several slits in the top (we made slits in the shape of an A... 5 Aces Style!!!). Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes. Avery was a little nervous, even though I told her she didn't have to actually put it in the oven (I was going to do it)...While the chicken pot pie is baking, pretend to cook a banana in your play microwave oven (this was Avery's addition to the recipe).

Bake until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

My opinion of the Chicken Pot Pie: This is quite a detailed recipe for a child to follow. Lots of chopping, and lots of little steps. But my kids hung in there and helped until the very end. Things I might change next time... I'm not a big fan of celery, so I might omit it all together and just add the celery seed spice. I also might used cubed carrots instead of sliced carrots, because the slices seemed too big. And one final change. I would add more liquid to the chicken mixture (more broth and milk), because when it was done baking there was NO gravy. It was pretty dry, and in this family, we're all about the gravy! :-)

Deviled Eggs

Take 4 hard boiled eggs and halve them lengthwise. Remove the yolks and place them in a small bowl.

Mash the yolks with a fork, then add 1/8 cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon mustard, 1/2 tablespoon diced pickles (we omitted them because Hector doesn't like pickles - do you see a recurring theme here?), 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (we used paprika instead of chili power because I actually wanted my kids to try these), 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Fill the egg whites evenly (we piped it in).Garnish with parsley and serve chilled.

Then watch your daughter gobble them up!

Cooking tip for hard boiled eggs: As soon as the water starts to boil in the pot, turn off the heat, cover the pan with a lid, then set a timer for 10 - 15 minutes. The eggs will be completely hard boiled, but they won't have that ugly gray ring around the yolk. The yolks will be bright yellow. When you boil eggs for 10 - 15 minutes straight, you are actually over-cooking the eggs. The temperature inside the eggs gets too hot. The gray ring is caused by a chemical reaction involving sulfur (from the egg white) and iron (from the egg yolk) trying to escape through the shell. The sulfur and iron naturally react to form ferrous sulfide at the surface of the yolk.

My opinion of the deviled eggs: Honestly, how can you go wrong with deviled eggs? They were so yummy! :-)

Bon appetit!