Pizza: Kidz in the Kitchen

Mar 10 2010

Posted by Elizabeth as Adventures in Parenting, Kidz In The Kitchen

My kids love pizza. They love to eat it and they love to make it. There’s also something appealing about presenting them with healthy options and then having them choose their toppings that suits the parent and the child. They get what they want and… so do I!!

This pizza recipe is great and so yummy. It’s easy to make in my mixer, but it can also be mixed by hand.

Here is the recipe we use. It makes six small pizzas; they are the perfect kid-size.

3 c flour

2 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp honey

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp yeast

1 1/4c water

1) Measure and combine the flour, oil, honey, salt and yeast into the bowl of your mixer and mix (I used the paddle to mix). Add water while the mixer is running and knead (with the dough hook) at medium for 8 minutes. If you are mixing by hand you would knead it for 8 – 10 minutes, as well. When it is all mixed, set the dough aside to rise.

2) When the dough is rising we prepare the toppings, then when they are ready we just roll the dough out into pizza rounds. It still tastes great. However, the proper steps are: Take it out of the bowl and let it rise for 40 minutes, until it is doubled in size. Punch it down – the fun part!! Let it rest again for 10 minutes then shape it into balls. Again let it rest for 10 minutes and roll it into pizza rounds.

3) Spread the pizza with sauce. I use one can of tomato paste, with basil, oregano, crushed garlic and a little bit of water to get it to the right consistency.

4) Add the toppings (secret tip- add the cheese as your first topping and things will stay on more easily, when you bite into it).

5) Let it sit and rise a little (until doubled… or not), again. Once they are topped and have risen, you can also bag them and freeze them to cook another time. It makes for a great, quick and easy lunch or dinner!

6) Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 – 15 minutes.

7) Enjoy!

A special thank you to “Big Chef” Shannon, who helped out my “little chefs” with this recipe, this time, so that I could document it.

1 Comment

Something New To Colour: Crafting with Kids

Mar 09 2010

Posted by Elizabeth as Adventures in Parenting, Crafting with Kids, Parenting Resources

Some days, the usual appeal of colouring in their colouring books just doesn’t cut it with my kids and I want to make it special and different for them. The colouring books (of which we have too many, of course) are the same as they always are and the felts are the same, too. So, we look for something new to colour. This helps me out and helps the kids out, too. We wander down to the computer and set out , together, to find some images that the kids might like to colour. The kids decide what they want to search for and we search in Google Images for cartoon image of their object of choice. Once they see all the choices that are there, they pick which they would like to colour. I just print it out in grayscale, so that there is no colour, and set them up to go!

Today, we have a bee, a bear and a puppy!

** Don’t forget to enter Lizzie Bits’ Putumayo CD giveaway!! You have until Thursday night to get your entries in. You need to create a wordpress account in order to do so, but it’s simple enough to do. Good luck!!! **

1 Comment

Get ‘Er Done: 30 minutes at a time

Mar 08 2010

Posted by Elizabeth as Adventures in Parenting

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the mess that I make… the mess that my kids make… the messes we make when we live and enjoy ourselves. I usually wander around for a while and pick at messes… not actually accomplishing any fixing of said mess, but rather making myself feel badly for letting the mess get to “this point”. So, instead of trying to tackle it all and having the task be monumental, I just break it down. I set the timer on my stove for 30 minutes and I go!

In thirty minutes it is amazing what you can actually accomplish!! Often, I find that is all it takes for me to feel better about the mess and relax (or just go make another one). On occasion, it has even been enough to kick-start me into gear and I can get the whole thing done in far less time. I just needed to have a reasonable goal: do as much as I can in, only 30 minutes. Then I can get back to playing and having fun with the kids and, let’s face it, making more mess.

In 30 minutes, I can:
-start a load of laundry
-empty the dishwasher and wash the stragglers on the counter
-tidy up my daughter’s room
-tidy up my son’s room
-wipe the counters and tables in the kitchen
-sweep the kitchen floor
-tidy the living room
AND
-wipe down the bathroom sink

I think parents operate on super-speed and, many times, at super-efficiency. It’s a pretty sweet skill, I think… that super-speed thing. However, let me know how you can get the kids-growing-up thing to slow down.

Monday’s challenge is to try it out and see what you can accomplish in just 30 minutes! Let me know how far you get?

2 Comments

Putumayo Kids: What’s in your CD Player?

Mar 05 2010

Posted by Elizabeth as Adventures in Parenting, Birthday Party Guide, Reviews

A couple years ago I was given a CD of children’s music for Christmas by one of my aunts. This particular aunt has children of her own that are now older and all the hand-me-downs that I have received from her have been awesome. The toys have been exactly what my kids would love to play with. The used books have been of the highest quality. I knew that this music was going to be good. So, we popped it into the CD player and, within seconds of the first tune starting, we were a-boppin’. That CD? Putumayo Kids -Animal Playground.

The Wee Hairy Beasties and their hilarious lyrics in the song “Animal Crackers” had us hooked. ”I’ve got ants in my pants. I’ve got butterflies. I’m cryin’ crocodile tears, from my puppy dog eyes.” I quoted that from memory-ha! The next song… even better. Asheba, from Trinidad singing “No More Monkeys”… I loved the beat, the lyrics and the kids were dancing up a storm. Song after song, Animal Playground did not disappoint. It was awesome. We learned about animals, enjoyed animal-themed music and enjoyed listening music in other languages. Animal Playground features music from all over the world by many different artists. It is an awesome album of great music. The very best part is… it’s not the only one!!

Lizzie Bits Baby Co (at #7 – 111 Oriole Rd, Kamloops) carries Putumayo Kids and we have visited Lizzie Bits and picked up a number of other albums, as well. Putumayo Kids has 18 amazing albums for kids! These are albums that you can all enjoy in the car. Justin and I sing along to and enjoy every. single. song. (even if we don’t know the lyrics because of the language or can’t understand the accent of the singer – who says you have to know what you’re singing?) We are so lucky to have this awesome music for our kids. The message is powerful: that the world is a wonderful and amazing place and that there are so many wonderful cultures out there that we can learn about and enjoy elements of. We have chosen to invest in this music because it brings culture into our home when we can’t necessarily go out and get it. I mean… a trip to the Caribbean or “Caribbean Playground”? The latter is much more affordable on my budget! We love listening to each and every album we have. Putumayo doesn’t only release “Playground” albums (fun and dance-it-up tunes), they also have a series of “Dreamland” albums that are more mellow music. ”Celtic Dreamland” is a down-time favourite in our house.

I only recently found out that there is also a whole (huge!) selection of albums that are geared at an adult audience. We borrowed “Women of Africa” from my aunt (yes, the same one that got us hooked in the first place) and fell in love with that, too. The experience of listening to a Putumayo album is a wonderful experience. You get to relax and enjoy a more adult variety of tunes, but that kids still enjoy listening to, as well. Lizzie Bits (at #7 – 111 Oriole Rd, Kamloops) is carrying a variety of these as well. I can’t wait to get my ears on our next Putumayo selection!

Putumayo World Music donates part of their proceeds of every album to worthwhile non-profit organizations around the world. Lizzie Bits is currently carrying the French Caribbean and the Caribbean Playground albums which, each, have 100% of their sales going towards the Red Cross. Go on into the store at #7 – 111 Oriole Rd (Valleyview) and check out the fantastic selection of Putumayo World Music albums that are being carried. These are an awesome birthday gifts. I’d recommend picking up a few to have just in case of last-minute gifts!

In addition to carrying these wonderful albums, Jenn at Lizzie Bits has graciously given me a copy of Putumayo Kids Animal Playground to give away to one lucky KamloopsParents.Com reader!! What do you have to do to earn a chance at the album? Just leave a comment saying that you read this review!! Make sure that you include your e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win.

Want another chance? Go to the Lizzie Bits facebook page and become a member of the group to learn about great sales and new items in the store. Leave me a comment telling me that you are a member.

Last chance… leave another comment telling me an item that you saw in Lizzie Bits Baby Co’s online shop!

You can also enter the draw by e-mailing your comments to elizabeth@kamloopsparents.com

This random draw will close at 12pm (Kamloops time) on March 11th. The winner will be contacted by e-mail. This draw is open to Kamloops and local area (with 2 hours driving time) residents only. Good luck!

26 Comments

Spring Break Ideas

Mar 04 2010

Posted by Elizabeth as Adventures in Parenting

Spring Break is just around the corner, March 8th to 12th, and, you may be looking for things to do with your kids. There are a variety of Spring Break Programs being offered but they might not meet everyone’s needs. Here are some funny and fun activities that you might choose to do with your kids during Spring Break. The weather looks to be all over the place, from snow and sun to rain, so you can look forward to some outside time and inside time, as well.

Here are a number of different “assignments” that you can share with your children in order to make your break a wonderful time for your family.

Library –Pick a theme (such as Spring) and each member of your family locate a book that they are interested to read, on the theme. Spend some time reading together and share what you have read.

Kitchen — Go through a cookbook from home, or search online, and find something new that you would like to try and cook, together. Note that it can be even more fun (though also more expensive) if you have to pick up specific ingredients from the grocery store. You never know, you could find a new family favourite.

Together — Challenge each family member to do something nice for another member of the family, without being detected.

Community — Offer to help a neighbour with their Spring yardwork.

Party — Hold a theme party for some friends, or just your immediate family. For example, you could have a cow party where everyone must pretend to be a cow and say “Moo” instead of “Yes”.

Crafty — Try out some of the fun family activities from KamloopsParents.Com

Outdoors — Take a day trip to Wells Gray to see Helmcken Falls or hike the Kenna Cartwright Park or walk along the river or bike the Rivers Trail or rollerblade around McArthur Park or go to a school and kick a ball around on the field…

Movie and Pizza Night — Go out and rent a family movie, make some homemade pizza (check out the recipe post coming on March 10th) and munch some popcorn as you enjoy your movie together.

Challenge — Get in touch with one of the local furniture stores to find out if you can have some cardboard then challenge yourself to build the coolest fort you can, using that cardboard. Warning… packing tape is almost essential when cardboard-fort-building.

Above all, enjoy your family time together!