Kids love to cook and they love to get sticky. Well, some kids. My son Cedar loves being tidy and wails against messiness – but that’s bizarre and a much longer story for another time. That said, if you’ve got one of those kids who doesn’t mind sticky fun, try out this recipe for tasty homemade organic fruit snacks on a lazy, rainy, weekend.

WHY MAKE HOMEMADE FRUIT SNACKS:
For health: Almost all store bought fruit snacks come with gross additives like high fructose corn syrup, fake chemical colors, and other icky stuff your kids don’t need. Homemade organic fruit snacks …read more

Monster cookies are one of my son’s favorite cookies, and he loves to help make them. He does the measuring, and pouring, and I do the mixing. We make a pretty good cookie making team.
One of my favorite things about Monster Cookies is all the flavors you can get in one bite. You put everything in them but the kitchen sink!
Here’s my favorite recipe for Monster Cookies:
3 eggs
1 stick of butter
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
4 1/2 cups oatmeal
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup m & m candies
1 tablespoon vanilla
Preheat …read more

Today’s the day we announce our winner for the Kitchen Basics book by Patti Green. The lucky Blisstree reader is Donna O! Donna was one of over 100 people that entered this contest, which tells me that you guys love getting cookbooks. I’m with you there.
More than that, however, since this is a cookbook for kids, I asked you what was the thing you first learned to cook as a kid. My first food item was French toast, and it looks like I wasn’t alone. French toast was a popular answer, as were …read more

One of my favorite tricks to get a little vitamin A into my son is to make sweet potato fries. Actually I make a batch of fries that’s half regular potatoes and half sweet potatoes.

Simply peel your potatoes so you have half sweet potatoes and half regular potatoes. Slice into long thin strips. If you have a fancy spiral cutter you can make them extra fun. Let the kids help you toss the potatoes in a bowl with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, a little coarse salt, and some dried parsley or oregano. Spread them into a single …read more

Keeping with our Camp Weary Parent theme of Time Travel this week, let’s combine a quick science lesson with some fun in the kitchen and make our own Old Fashioned Rock Candy.
The basic premise behind the recipe is that as the water from the sugar water mixture evaporates, the leftover sugar will crystalize and attach itself to the string or stick placed in the container. Due to the fact that this activity involves the stove, please ensure adequate adult supervision.
How to:

In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil and then add 4 cups of sugar to the …read more

I am so excited because next quarter my son will be taking Home Ec in middle school. Hopefully he will learn some kitchen basics, because he avoids it like the plague at home. My daughter, on the other hand, is obsessed with cooking – reads cook books during breakfast, Tivo’s half the Food Network shows each week, and is regularly found watching cooking videos on her favorite sites online.
Here are some of her favorites:
Spatulatta.com – this cooking site is for kids and by kids! The sister team of Isabella and Olivia Gerasole have done an amazing job of putting together …read more