Quick and Easy Mardi Gras King Cake

Here is one more recipe for making a King Cake tomorrow. I am sure it won't be quite as beautiful or delicious as this one, but if your life has been anything like mine lately, quick and easy might just be necessary! ☺


INGREDIENTS:

• One package ready-to-bake canned cinnamon rolls (8 rolls) with icing (This can be doubled to make a larger cake!)
• Green, Purple, and Yellow decorating sprinkles/sugar crystals

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Open canned cinnamon rolls and separate into individual rolls. Take one individual roll and unroll it to full length. Fold full length of dough in half. Twist (or braid) rope and place on cooking pan. Twist (or braid) second rope and place on the cooking pan end-to-end with the first rope. Continue adding twisted sections of dough until you have made a complete circle. Using your hands, gently move circle of dough into an oval for a more traditional King Cake shape.

Place King Cake into 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove King Cake from oven when it is nice and golden brown.

Before the King Cake begins to cool, spoon a generous amount of icing over the top and sides. Immediately after icing your King Cake, sprinkle the icing with a combination of the purple, gold, and green crystal sprinkles.

Note: You could also use this recipe to make mini king cakes! Follow the directions above, but instead of connecting each of the individual cinnamon rolls together, form the twisted (or braided) roll into a small circle pinching the ends to close. Also, be sure to place the "cakes" far enough apart so that they do not touch on a greased cookie sheet or baking pan.

King Cake for Mardi Gras

Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras or Pancake Day. It is the last day of an unofficial period called "Carnival" which began after Epiphany.

A well know celebration of "Carnival" (which comes from the Latin word carnelevare meaning "taking away of the flesh") is the famous Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The traditional dessert for the day is a King Cake.

King Cakes are made of a cinnamon filled dough, and baked in an oval shape. The cake is topped with a delicious glaze and then sprinkled with colored sugar. The three colors of the sugar are Purple, Green, and Gold (representing Justice, Faith, and Power). A plastic baby (a gold coin may be used as well) is baked inside the King Cake, and the tradition is whoever receives the baby in their piece of cake must buy the next King Cake or throw the next party.

The following recipe and photo was shared by Melissa on her lovely blog Bountiful Blessings. Thank you Melissa!

King Cake

Traditional New Orleans Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups flour unsifted
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest, this is lemon rind, grated
1/2 cup warm milk
5 egg yolks
1 stick butter cut into slices and softened, plus 2 tablespoons more softened butter
1 egg slightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1" plastic baby doll Directions

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the warm water into a small shallow bowl, and sprinkle yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar into it. Allow the yeast and sugar to rest for three minutes then mix thoroughly. Set bowl in a warm place for ten minutes, or until yeast bubbles up and mixture almost doubles in volume. Combine 3 1/2 cups of flour, remaining sugar, nutmeg and salt, and sift into a large mixing bowl. Stir in lemon zest. Separate center of mixture to form a hole and pour in yeast mixture and milk. Add egg yolks and, using a wooden spoon, slowly combine dry ingredients into the yeast/milk mixture. When mixture is smooth, beat in 8 tablespoons butter (1 tablespoon at a time) and continue to beat 2 minutes, or until dough can be formed into a medium-soft ball.

Place ball of dough on a lightly floured surface and knead like bread. While kneading, sprinkle up to 1 cup more of flour (1 tablespoon at a time) over the dough. When dough is no longer sticky, knead 10 minutes more until shiny and elastic.

Using a pastry brush, coat the inside of a large bowl evenly with one tablespoon softened butter. Place dough ball in the bowl and rotate until the entire surface is buttered. Cover bowl with a moderately thick kitchen towel and place in a draft-free spot for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough doubles in volume. Using a pastry brush, coat a large baking sheet with one tablespoon of butter and set aside.

Remove dough from bowl and place on lightly floured surface. Using your fist, punch dough down forcefully. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top, pat and shake dough into a cylinder. Twist dough to form a curled cylinder and loop cylinder onto the buttered baking sheet. Pinch the ends together to complete the circle. Cover dough with towel and set it in draft-free spot for 45 minutes, or until the circle of dough doubles in volume. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Brush top and sides of cake with egg wash and bake on middle rack of oven for 25 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Place cake on wire rack to cool. If desired, you can hide the plastic baby in the cake at this time.

Colored sugars

Green, purple, & yellow paste
12 tablespoons sugar

Squeeze a dot of green paste in palm of hand. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over the paste and rub together quickly. Place this mixture on wax paper and wash hands to remove color. Repeat process for other 2 colors. Place aside.

Icing

3 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 - 6 tablespoons water

Combine sugar, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons water until smooth. If icing is too stiff, add more water until spreadable. Spread icing over top of cake. Immediately sprinkle the colored sugars in individual rows consisting of about 2 rows of green, purple and yellow.

Cake is served in 2" - 3" pieces.

Any leftovers could be placed in the freezer to be served on Laetare Sunday as a foretaste of Easter!

Ash Wednesday Beans

I've now made this dish for two Ash Wednesdays. It's the perfect start for the beginning of Lent. I found this recipe in Celebrating the Faith: Lent and Easter in the Christian Kitchen by Laurie Navar Gill and Teresa Zepeda, available from Emmanuel Books (I highly recommend the whole series). Mrs. Gill’s reasoning behind this dish: “This is a tasty dish, but in my opinion, canned black beans with their purplish liquid are fitting for this day of sackcloth and ashes.” She even slips a tiny teaspoon of ashes from the burned palms after it is all cooked. It doesn’t change the taste, but another Lenten reminder.

I highly recommend this cookbook, especially if you’ve got food allergies and can’t seem to find inspiring meatless meals that don’t incorporate cheese (or wheat or eggs). But the cookbook has more than abstinent menuse. There are also other Lenten ideas, bread recipes, Holy Week and Easter Season recipes.

We found this meal tasty, and even better the next day, and I only made a few changes. The spices and veggies reminded me of tacos, so I served this with taco shells and brown rice (this year I might serve with polenta). It serves 8, so I reduce the recipe to fit my family. I've shared my adaption below, although I didn't change the measurements:

Black Beans and Rice

3 cans black beans
1 green pepper, thinly sliced (I omit)
1 red pepper, thinly sliced (I omit)
1 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinkly sliced
1/2 cup picante sauce (or tomato salsa)
1/2 cup water (or vegetable stock or white wine)
white wine (optional)
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
a few dashes Tabasco sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for pan
Cooked brown rice

In a family size skillet, heat olive oil and then saute carrots for 3 minutes. Add peppers, onions, garlic, celery, picante sauce or salsa, water or stock, and spices, mix together and cover. Depending on liquid amount and desire of flavor, add 1/4 cup or so of white wine for flavor. Cook for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse beans, add to skillet, cook 5 more minutes. Serve over rice and/or in taco shells with a salad.

Bento #20 - Mickey Mouse

Tata..... Another weekend bento using my new Multi-purpose Mickey Mouse tools which I have bought recently. With the left over ham from making yesterday Bear Hamroll. I use a slice of it to make one of the mickey mouse side face and my dear son was thrill when he saw this Mickey Mouse Bento.

This set of Mickey Mouse design multi-purpose cutter come in a pair of two different mickey mouse design which enable you to cut out the head and face features. I also have another similar Pooh Design set which I used to make the Ham & Cheese Bear Sandwiches in another bento.

Related Post:
1. Mickey Mouse Bento Tools
2. Ham & Cheese Bear Sandwiches

Shrove Tuesday pancakes

The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is known as Shrove Tuesday, or "Pancake Tuesday" because traditionally, fats, eggs, and butter in the house had to be given up for Lent, and pancakes, or waffles call for all these ingredients, so this was a great way to use them up before Lent began. The money not spent on dairy products was then collected and donated to the church.

Fluffy Pancakes

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup softened butter

1) In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the egg, milk, vanilla and softened butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

2) Pour batter by 1/4 cupful onto a greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes; cook until the second side is golden brown.

Osmanthus, Water Chestnut & Sea Coconut Dew

Some weeks ago, one of our church members bought some desserts to my mum and she told me that it is very special as she had not eaten something like that before. From what she mentioned, the ingredients include lotus seeds, chopped water chestnut, wolfberries, egg white and most important Osmanthus flower which gives this dessert it unique fragrant and taste.

So from what she had mentioned to me, I come out with my own version of Osmanthus, Water Chestnut & Sea Coconut Dew. Yup, for my version, I have added some shredded Sea Coconut to it. It had being long since I used fresh sea coconut to make soup or dessert. And I must admit, this is a very refreshing dessert which have a very nice tangerine taste due to the Osmanthus Flowers.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
12 Dried Lotus Seeds
2 Teaspoons of Sugar
4 - 5 Water Chestnut, peeled & finely chopped
2 Teaspoons of Dried Osmanthus Flower
1/2 Tablespoon Wolfberries
800ml Water
1/2 - 1 Egg White, lightly beaten
1 Medium Fresh Sea Coconut, optional
Rock Sugar to taste

Method:
1. Wash and peel off the skin of the fresh sea coconut (try to select the soft to touch type which is more suitable for making dessert) then cut into thin strips.
2. Bring half small saucepan of water to boil then add in the lotus seeds and simmer on medium low heat for about 7 - 10 minutes until the seeds are soft. Dish up, rinse and remove any germ inside the lotus seeds to prevent bitterness then marinate with the sugar and set aside.
3. Next bring the pot of 800ml water to boil, add in rock sugar, sea coconut, wolfberries and osmanthus flower and simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. Use a strainer, remove most of the cooked osmanthus flower away then add in the chopped water chestnut and marinated lotus seeds and simmer till boiled then switch off the heat.
5. Slowly add in the beaten egg white and give it a slow stir to create the swirl effect. (The heat from the content will cook the egg white and you have to add in slowly and stir so that it won't be in a lump)
6. Serve it with some extra osmanthus flower either warm or cold.

Notes:
a) You can replace dried lotus seeds with those vacuum packed fresh lotus seeds instead.
b) You can either soak the dried lotus seeds with boiling water(without washing the seeds) till soft then cooked together with the sea coconut and rock sugar.

Releated Post:
1. Osmanthus & Water Chestnut Kueh
2. Chicken & Sea Coconut Soup
3. Almond, Sea Coconut & Pumpkin Soup

Bento #19 - Bear Bread & Hamroll

My dear son had being down with flu and cough bugs for the past 2 weeks plus and just a few days ago, he was also down with high fever and bad cough. But thank God after the 3rd visit to the doctor and change of medication he is getting better today. So while he was doing his homework I secretly prepared this Bear Bread & Hamroll Bento in our new purchase Tomica Lunchbox. I hope that this artwork of mine will be able to cheer him up and as well to increase his appetite by the look.

This bento is divided into 3 parts. On the left side is a bear and heart shape cutout from two different colour tone of bread to make the contrast. Next I use the Caral Mini Craft Puncher (click here for details) to punch out the features of the bear using nori sheet. On the right side, I use the apple baked ham, lettuce and shredded carrot to make a cheese bear hamroll (click here for cutter use).

In order to make it more eye catching, I also use two tone colour cheese to make the features of the bears and also with some added cherry tomato and strawberries to make it more colourful. Lastly, I decorate it with some added parsley to make it look more like a garden with some greens.

Releated Post:
1. Weekend Breakfast Bento

Bento #18 - Picnic Day

Usually Sunday will be a picnic day for most of the family to laze around in the park and enjoy the morning/evening breeze and warm sunshine in order to have a fun and relax family getaway. Like other families, Reyon and I love to prepare some of our favourite snacks and get relax in the neighbourhood park. Although we do not have those luxury park like those western countries but we do can enjoy a bit of peace and wonderful family bond in the weekend.

Since nowsaday, we have to attend morning Church service, we can't really spent Sunday morning at the park. And since today's weather is kind of Sunny and Warm we decided to have our indoor picnic at home. We prepared some refreshing afternoon snacks for our home picnic. We made two little faces out of Reyon's favourite Mini Chocolate Chips Muffins. Reyon said the one of the left is suppose to be me while the one on the left is him :) Then we cut out some flowers out of the dragon fruits and leaves from kiwi to make it look like a little garden patch. See the way he enjoys his afternoon snack, I guess a little extra dose of Chocolate on Sunday do actually makes you feel happier...... :)

Bento #17 - Spot The Hearts

Today is Valentine's Day and since we are out in the morning for excursion, we will have our Weekend Bento as Snack today on Valentine's Theme. Em.... I have being thinking of what to make for Reyon on this special day and there are so many ideas in our discussion lists. Finally in the end, we agreed on this simple and quick theme because he is so hungry to have his snack before I can snap more pictures on it.

In today's snack bento, I have include a heart shape cheese sponge cake in the middle, following by two little cheesy bear and some extra red and green grapes. Other then grapes, cherry and tangerine, I also introduce a new fruit to Reyon call the Red Rose Apple. It's kind of crunchy and sweet in texture but Reyon doesn't seems to like it and he just had a bite to try on.

While looking at the bento, let's play a QUICK GAME! How many HEARTS can you SPOT in the BENTO SNACK? :p The answer is:...........

St. Valentine's Day - A Celebration of Heroic Love

St. Valentine's day is a commercial dream, with its greeting cards and chocolates and big sparkly gifts for those you love. I'm not one to shun any reason for chocolate consumption! But, in celebrating this Feast in my home, I wanted to show the children that St. Valentine was not the patron saint of chocolate consumers, but rather a martyr who would offer his life out of love for Our Lord. This was the connection I wanted to make to St. Valentine's day.

Tradition holds that there are actually three martyrs named Valentine associated with February 14, Valentine of Rome, Valentine of Terni (whom some scholars believe to be the same person as Valentine of Rome) and another Valentine of Africa of whom not much is known. One thing is certain about all three of these men, they died out of heroic love for Our Lord and His Church.

There are differing traditionally held beliefs associating St. Valentine's feast with that of romantic love. Some believe that it was an attempt to "baptize" a pagan ancient Athenian celebration of the god Zeus and Hera's marriage. Others tie the the day to an ancient Roman feast that had tones of romance called Lupercalia, which took place on February 15. Another connection is made through the observation that birds naturally choose their mates in the second week of the second month - February 14.

For the Feast, I wanted to tie in the connection to the martyrdom St. Valentine underwent. The most traditionally held story is that St. Valentine was a priest, and possibly a bishop around the middle of the 3rd century. He was imprisoned for his faith and refused to convert to the pagan religion. While imprisoned, he converted one of his jailers and stories relate that he cured the jailer's daughter of blindness writing to her the very first valentine, a note that said simply, "From your Valentine."

Red is the color that is symbolic of martyred saints, and also of love. The vestments worn today (for those Masses following the traditional Church calendar **see note below**) are red. My meal tonight would be red in honor of the martyr and his heroic love!

Baked Red Snapper


~ 2 pounds red snapper fillets [NOTE: Cod is a much more inexpensive option here! Red Snapper is great if it fits your pocketbook. Choose a mild, white fish. 2 pounds generally feeds about 6 (adjust for teens!)]
~ Tony Chacheres original seasoning - you can find this in your grocery store on the seasonings aisle, but any seasoned salt will do in a pinch
~ 1 stick of butter (or...1/2 stick of butter and 2 tablespoons good olive oil)
~ 1 cup (1 small/medium onion) - diced
~ 1 cup celery - diced
~ 1 cup bell pepper - diced
~ 2 garlic cloves - minced
~ 1 (8 oz.) can of tomato sauce (I used a 15 oz. can in my meal because we like extra sauce)
~ 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
~ 1/4 cup of white wine (Optional: substitute water)

Rinse fish and pat dry. Sprinkle with a little Tony's seasoning and keep cool. In a large microwaveable casserole dish, combine butter, diced onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic cloves. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add worcestershire and tomato sauce and microwave for 5 minutes more. Remove and add wine and stir. Add the fish fillets, covering each fillet with sauce. Microwave for:
3 minutes for thin fillets
5 minutes for thick fillets

The fish should be flaky. Let the dish stand covered for 5 minutes. Serve over rice.

This recipe is originally from a cookbook entitled, "Tony Chacheres Microwave Cajun Country Cooking". It is no longer in print.

Roasted Red Potatoes


12 - 14 small red potatoes
Good Olive Oil
Chives
Salt
Pepper

Rinse potatoes, but leave skins on. Cut potatoes into bite size pieces and add to a large bowl. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Sprinkle chives, salt, and pepper over potatotes. Toss to cover all potatoes. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender, tossing potatoes once or twice to ensure even browning.

Some other foods to consider for a martyr's feast incorporating as much red as possible:
**Red wine
**Roasted Red peppers
**Strawberry Shortcake
**Red Velvet cake

...and for tonight, we're having some of Charlotte's incredibly addictive and sweet Valentine Dots. I hope it's ok with Charlotte if I share her delicious Valentine treat with you!

You'll need:
1 bag of pretzels. I used the heart shaped small pretzels
1 bag of Hershey's Kisses, some plain chocolate, some white chocolate striped
1 bag of Valentine colored M&M's

Set the oven to 200 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Arrange the pretzels in a single layer and add a Hershey's kiss on top of each pretzel. Place them in the warm oven. Let them bake for about 8 minutes. The plain chocolate Kisses won't melt completely, they'll get shiny. The white chocolate Kisses will melt quickly. Remove from oven and press an M&M in the top of each soft Kiss. Let them cool and enjoy!

I must warn you, these are extremely addictive!

May your St. Valentine's day be filled with a heroic love for Our Lord!

****A Note: After the revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints in 1969, the feast of St. Valentine was removed and replaced with the celebration of Saints Cyril and Methodius for February 14. Catholics who follow the traditional Roman calendar still honor the martyr, St. Valentine on February 14.

Strawberry Syrup for Valentines Day

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and if you are like me, it might just be sneaking up on you a little too quickly! This is a real simple and yummy treat you can give your family on Valentine's morning. While the syrup is cooking you can cook your French toast, using your cookie cutter in the shape of a heart! If you aren't worries about calories, either, top it with some homemade whip cream.

This is a syrup I have been making and tweaking for years. It is finally right where we like it. It is great for those who are trying to watch their sugar intake, as it does have nearly the amount of sugar as regular syrup!

Amy's Strawberry Syrup

2 large bags of frozen strawberries (about 5-6 lbs)
¼ cup butter all cut up
1/3 cup of powdered sugar (you can add more according to your taste)

Cook strawberries, butter, and powdered sugar (use powdered instead of regular sugar as this will help thicken the syrup) in large pot for 3-5 minutes on high stirring constantly, until all butter melts and syrup starts to form.

Turn heat to medium-high, stirring only occasionally, until all the strawberries are cooked through. Then take a potato masher and mash the strawberries to your hearts content (depending on how chunky you want it!). This syrup is great on pancakes, crepes, French toast, or your favorite breakfast treat! Hey, it is probably great on ice cream too!

You can substitute any frozen fruit for the strawberries, such as blueberries in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes! You just may not want to mash berries such as blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries.

Mary's Immaculate Conception

I apologize for the fact that I am posting these recipes after the feast day (or almost after). I wanted to get pictures before I posted them. I think you'll find, however, that these dishes would be wonderful for any feast of our Blessed Mother.

When I planned my menu for the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, I decided to prepare the roasted chicken and cauliflower, simply because of their French origins. But when I pulled the whole menu together, I realized I had the makings of a white meal. I normally try to plan my menu for each dinner with colorful foods -- a green or yellow vegetable, maybe an orange or red fruit, a white or red meat and maybe a green salad. This meal, however, was almost devoid of all color, representing our Blessed Mother's immaculate conception, which she declared to St. Bernadette at Lourdes.

I am not posting my recipe for mashed potatoes, or French bread, since I imagine you already know how to make mashed potatoes and possibly have a recipe for French bread. You can find my French bread recipe here. I didn't manage to get the cake made, mostly because there was mass clamoring in my house for chocolate chip cookies, but I often make this cake for Mary's feast days. You could also make these pretty French cookies. With their rosette appearance, they make a perfect Mary cookie.

Menu

Lemon Roasted Chicken
Roasted Cauliflower
Mashed Potatoes
French Bread
Butter Brickle Cake

Lemon-Roasted Chicken
serves 6 to 8

12 small pieces or 6 large pieces bone-in chicken
2 lemons, each cut into 8 wedges
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1 t. dried oregano
4 T. olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450°.
If using large pieces of chicken (breasts) cut each in half crosswise
(this allows them to cook more quickly).
Rinse and pat dry chicken pieces and place in a large bowl.
Add lemons and garlic cloves to bowl, squeezing each lemon piece slightly.
Sprinkle with oregano and drizzle with 3 T. olive oil.
Toss with salt and pepper.
Drizzle rimmed baking sheet with remaining tablespoon
olive oil and smear with your hands.
Place chicken pieces on sheet, skin side up,
arranging so pieces don't touch.
Place lemon pieces and garlic cloves
on top of chicken pieces randomly.
Roast for 35 to 40 minutes.
Test for doneness and serve when juices run clear.

Roasted Cauliflower

3 t. olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced in eighths (I cut mine like apple slices)
5 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
4 cups cauliflower florets (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 T. water
1 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450°.
Drizzle large rimmed baking sheet with 1 t. olive oil
and smear with your hands.
Place onion, garlic, and cauliflower in a large bowl.
Drizzle with 2 t. olive oil.
Mix mustard and water and pour over vegetables.
Toss with salt and pepper.
Place on baking sheet and spread out.
Bake at 450° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown,
stirring occasionally.
Taste and season again if needed.






Butter Brickle Cake

2 cups flour
11⁄4 cups sugar
1 T plus 1/4 t. baking powder
1 t salt
1 cup milk
1⁄2 cup shortening
11⁄2 t vanilla
3 egg whites, room temp.

Icing
1⁄4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 T half & half
2 T hot water
1 - 1⁄2 t vanilla


Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in mixing bowl.
Add milk, shortening and 1-1/2 t. vanilla.
Beat at medium speed until well blended.
Add egg whites, beat 2 minutes.
Pour batter into greased and floured 13”x9” pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until cake tests done with a toothpick.
Cool.

Melt butter in heavy saucepan.
Cook over low heat until butter is golden brown.
Remove from heat and add powdered sugar, half & half, water and vanilla.
Beat with a whisk for 3 minutes, or until smooth.
Spread evenly over top of cake.

A Grotto for Our Lady

Our Lady of Lourdes
"Fruity Pebbles" Grotto

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick butter or margarine
• 10.5 oz. pkg. mini marshmallows
• 13 oz. box Fruity Pebbles Cereal (about 8-1/2 cups)

Directions:

Line a 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan and grease lightly.

In a large pan, melt butter. Add marshmallows, stirring constantly until melted

Add cereal; mix well. (Grease your spoon or spatula before mixing.)

Place cereal mixture into pan. Top with parchment paper and press mixture firmly into pan. Remove parchment and allow mixture to cool.

Before completley cooled (read: still pliable), lift cereal bars from pan using foil handles, and cut into 18 squares (or rectangles). A pizza cutter works well for this task.

Use four squares for the back wall of the grotto and one square cut in half for the floor. Build up the walls with all but four of the remaining squares. Mold three squares into the roof and cut the last square in half to add to the sides of the roof. You may need to play around with it a little bit and trim the edges if you'd like.

(This idea was originally suggested in a thread at 4Real. I also posted other ideas for celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes here.)

Our Lady of Lourdes ~ Pray for us!!

A (Blue) French meal for Our Lady of Lourdes

"'Cordon Bleu' is a French term, literally translated as 'blue ribbon'. The main dish for today's feast day is Chicken Cordon Bleu and for dessert we will have Crepes with vanilla ice cream and blueberries.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 slices Swiss cheese
6 slices ham
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy whipping cream


Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.
Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

Dessert Crepes

4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt


In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, melted butter, flour sugar and salt until smooth.
Heat a medium-sized skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. Grease pan with a small amount of butter or oil applied with a brush or paper towel. Using a serving spoon or small ladle, spoon about 3 tablespoons crepe batter into hot pan, tilting the pan so that bottom surface is evenly coated. Cook over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes on a side, or until golden brown. Serve immediately. Top with vanilla ice cream and blueberries.

These recipes can be found at Allrecipes.com

Litany to Our Lady of Lourdes

Bento #16 - My Garden

Despite that I am not feeling well today, I still come out with this afternoon snack bento together with Reyon's help. Today he wanted to have a Garden theme after seeing Amy's Bento (Shopping Mum) for her kids on caterpillar. So after discussing with him, we agreed to have caterpillar with fruits and cherry tomato, butterfly and flower bread with cheese for our Garden Bento.

Can you spot the caterpillar? We actually, use red grapes, strawberry slices and 1 cherry tomato for the head and I thread them together using a wooden skewer and place some spring onion curls as the tail....... These two beautiful butterflies are done by Reyon. He helps me to cut the butterflies out from the kiwi slices and stick the eyes using black sesame seeds.

Bento #15 - Stamp Bread

Today's Bento theme is about Stamps. I just got a zigzag cutter from Daiso..... Now that Daiso have a new Branch near my house area, I always drop by to peep and see they whether they have a new items on the shelf. And so coincide, on Saturday I actually bum into one of my blog friend, Tona whom I have not meet before since we knew each other till now for almost 3 years. It was really so surprised and excited to meet friend that we have being corresponding thru Blog and emails........ Hope we will have another chance to meet up and let the kids get to play while we can sit down and chit chat more on our new hobby which is Kid's Bento making....

As you read from my blogs, you actually knew that Reyon loves to collect recycle envelopes and he indeed have a wide collection of envelopes. He even made a little Post Box out of a recycle parcel box.

Since I am not feeling well today(down with sore throat and fever), I don't really have the strength or idea on what to prepare for Reyon's breakfast bento. So I just fix a quick bento by preparing Stamp Bread using the new 2 in 1 Zigzag Cutter that I bought.

Bento #14 - Smiley Face

This morning Breakfast theme is on Smiley Face because Rey is feeling better today as he had down with flu for about 4 days. Yesterday he choose to have a sad and dull face for his Pizza Boy while today, he requested a Smiley Face on his jam sandwich Ritz Crackers.

Look at this cheeky boy on the pictures, he still can pose so many interesting expression while taking his breakfast. On the 2nd picture in the 1st column, you can see that he is choosing which item to start with. Although making these bento are a bit time consuming but then it's full of fun when you see your kids eating them with joy.

#Bento 13 - Noodle, Sausage & Egg

Since Rey is not feeling well, he requested for something light but not porridge for dinner. So I decided to give him some noodles, blanched broccoli, scramble egg and mini taiwan sausage as his dinner.