Lesson Plan #7

What a fun week!! I enjoyed teaching the kids how to make taquitos all week long. The kids loved them! Yes, we used green onions, fresh garlic, cilantro, salsa etc. No complaints!!! Everyone couldn't stop saying how good they were. 

We also BAKED them instead of FRYING!  Less calories/Less Fat!

The kids had a chance to use a garlic  press, food/salad kitchen shear choppers and a hand press onion and cilantro chopper from pampered chef. They loved using all of the kitchen utensils. 

The kids were taught how to properly handle chicken, how to dispose of anything that has touched chicken as well as washing everything chicken comes in contact with. We used disposable gloves to handle the raw chicken. They were also told to rinse the cilantro before using and pick out any dirt filled or brown cilantro. Lastly, cut the stems and simply use the leaves. We used organic cilantro that is rinsed and ready to use.

The kids were taught that the chicken goes on the end of the tortilla and they should start rolling from there and roll it tight as they go. Place the end side/opening of the tortilla facing down on a pre-sprayed cookie sheet to avoid taquito from unrolling. No toothpicks are needed.

Cooking Tip: Make sure that you check a tortilla after microwaving them. If it cracks in the center, you will need to heat them longer in the microwave. Otherwise, they will not be pliable to roll. 

I told the kids to use small mini taco tortillas for appetizer size taquitos. You can use either flour or corn tortillas :)

Happy Taquito making!

Lesson Plan #6

Week 6 of our Elective has come and gone.

The Pazookie or Pizookie style Chocolate Chip Lava Cookies were a big hit. We had fun making these little tasty bites.

This week the kids learned the importance of reading the recipe first. We used two separate bowls for our ingredients. The kids were taught to use the bigger bowl for the wet ingredients since we would be combining the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient bowl. They learned how easy it is to create a chocolate lava. Melt chocolate chips in a Ziploc bag in the microwave, snip the corner of the baggie and use it like a piping bag. Everyone had the opportunity to help make the cookies, spoon them into the mini muffin tins, create a well, pipe in the melted chocolate and flatten out an additional piece of dough to cover the top of the cookie.

I explained to the kids that they can make these in any size muffin tin. The baking time would need to be adjusted accordingly. Get creative and add some pumpkin spices to the cookie dough. Instead of adding chocolate chips, add white chocolate chips and melt Hershey's pumpkin candy kisses in a Ziploc baggie and pipe that into the center, this will give it a nice Fall(ish) taste. :)

Lesson Plan #5

Boy was this week a hit! The kids loved every bite. These special little treats were simple and simply Devine.

I introduced the kids to a pastry cutter. I told them if they don't have this gadget at home, they could use two knives. I explained the importance of using cold butter. Butter melts fast and we wanted to "cut" the butter into the flour and not "mash" the butter into the flour. Using our pastry cutter, we cut the butter until the flour resembled coarse crumbs. We created mini bites and created a well in the center for our whipped fruit dip.

The dip is an amazing dip that compliments your favorite fruit. I told the kids they could add pineapple and coconut to the dip and add an almond flavoring to the crust. These are a perfect dessert for the upcoming Holiday parties. We placed the filling in a pastry bag and piped it onto the mini shortbread bite. We topped it with a sliced strawberry. I taught the kids a simple trick, we used an egg slicer to cut our whole berries. Everyone had a turn making their mini bites, piping the filling, slicing a strawberry and garnishing it.

Bakers Tip: I told the kids if they don't have a mini cupcake pan at home, they can use a pizza stone and create a round shortbread cookie resembling a round pizza. I let them know they could make it into a dessert pizza. I also told them a regular baking sheet works just fine.

Mini Shortbread Bites filled with a Whipped Cream Topping and Garnished with Fresh Fruit

Shortbread Crust

2 cups of all purpose flour

4-6 Tbsp granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

12 Tbsp cold unsalted butter

Directions: 

Combine flour, sugar and salt and mix together. Add butter and incorporate into dry ingredients with a food processor or with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles crumbs.

Whipped Fruit Dip

7oz. Marshmallow Fluff or Whip

8oz. Whipped Cream Cheese (if you are using a regular block, make sure it is softened).

Directions: Combine the ingredients above and whip until combined and you have perfection.