Shown: Funfetti mix with extra sprinkles, and Devils Food mix with mini chocolate chips!
If the kiddos in your life are asking to bake something, and you don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen, Cake Mix Cookies are a perfect 15 minute treat. That’s right – it will only take the kids 5 minutes to Continue reading
This tasty weeknight supper is easy enough for children to prepare, and they’ll feel proud to serve the family! Cheesy Tuna Casserole is not a “from scratch” recipe, but then, not every meal needs to be. By starting with an ingredient familiar to children everywhere – boxed shells and cheese – you’re more likely to have cooperation from even the fussiest of pint-size diners. The added vegetables and protein aren’t so… suspicious… when the noodles and cheese are already a sure hit.
As long as an adult handles the boiling water and oven transfer, the kids can do the rest. Sit back and let them cook you dinner for a change!
Ingredients (Serves 6; recipe can be easily cut in half) Continue reading
Enjoying first strawberries of summer almost makes the long winter worthwhile. Almost. The thing about strawberries is, they’re delicious for about one day after they are picked. If you have a large quantity of strawberries to preserve, you need to work fast! This Simple Strawberry Jam recipe is super fast! Ready… Set… GO!
Ingredients (Makes 4 cups)
5 cups of strawberries, washed and cut in half (green hulls removed)
5 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 pouch (3 ounces) liquid pectin
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest -OR- seeds scraped from the inside of 1/2 of a vanilla bean pod (optional but delicious!)
Directions
Step 1) Place halved strawberries in a large pot. Mash the strawberries a few times with a potato masher. Add sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and lemon juice.
Step 2) Bring strawberry mixture to a full, vigorous boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. You want this mixture to really boil… it should boil enough that bubbles continue to cover the surface of the mixture even when you are stirring!
Step 3) When your strawberry mixture has reached a FULL boil (this will take at least ten minutes, maybe longer), stir in the pouch of pectin. Allow the mixture to return to a FULL boil, and boil with stirring for two minutes.
Step 4) Remove the pot from the heat. Add grated lemon zest or vanilla seeds. Stir gently. Allow jam to cool before ladling into storage containers. This jam will keep nicely in the refrigerator for two weeks, or can be frozen for up to six months.
First things first. A few hours after arriving in Salem, we ventured into a cute little restaurant right off of the touristy Essex Street pedestrian mall. We were able to escape the bright sun while still enjoying the open air, grabbed a quick bite to eat (grilled cheese with fries) and listened to some really excellent live music.
However…
If we weren’t jet lagged, we might have realized before we asked for a table that restaurants in touristy areas also have touristy prices! We passed on the $25 lobster roll. Seriously – who charges $25 for a lobster roll when you can practically see the ocean from the restaurant kitchen? I digress.
Time to contact my good friends GOOGLE and UBER!
A quick web search for the best local lobster roll and where do Salem locals eat pointed us squarely in one direction – Dotty and Ray’s Restaurant. Located about a mile from The Hawthorne Hotel, Dotty and Ray’s is across the river from the touristy town center in residential Salem, where locals live and eat. Google says it’s a 16 minute walk. Uber says it’s a $4 ride. Take your pick, but GO!
For $12.95 you’ll get a lobster roll that’s so generously portioned and delicious, I dare you not to go back the very next day for more (we did!). Look! Look and imagine how delicious this is!
Casual, delicious, regional home cooking with great service and very reasonable prices -what more does a hungry tourist need? It was fun to watch the staff visiting with other diners in a familiar way; Dotty and Ray’s is clearly the place to catch up on local news over lunch. Even as outsiders, we were welcomed and enjoyed a bit of conversation with our server. It felt a bit clandestine to be the only tourists in a beloved local establishment, as if we’d discovered something too magical to share.
Scallop Roll
(Magical… Salem… see what I did there?)
Their scallop roll was amazingly sweet and also generously portioned. We substituted the fries for mashed potatoes, which were buttery and wonderful. If you’re in the Salem area, don’t miss out on lunch at the tucked away gem that is Dotty and Rays.
Hop. Hop. Hippidy Hop. That bunny is heading our way, and wouldn’t it be nice if he arrived with a basket of homemade Easter candy? Jelly Bean Brittle is awesome for so many reasons… it’s super easy (Can you boil water? That’s about the only skill you need!), doesn’t require any expensive ingredients, and unlike peanut brittle, is completely free of common allergens. This recipe makes a great big pan (about 2 1/2 pounds’ worth) – perfect for an office or a classroom!
The only special item you will need is a candy thermometer. Now, don’t panic – a candy thermometer looks like any other thermometer, and just clips right onto your pot. All you need to do is READ it, and if you are reading this blog post, you’ve got that skill locked. Here is a link to the simple candy thermometer that I use:
Taylor Classic Line Glass Candy and Deep Fry Thermometer
It’s less than $6, and if you order it today you’ll be able to make Jelly Bean Brittle before Easter. You’re welcome. Let’s get started!
Ingredients (Makes 2 1/2 pounds)
1 pound bag of mini jelly beans
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter (not margarine)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (no lumps!)
Directions
Step 1) Clip your candy thermometer to the side of a big, old pot. The tip of the thermometer should not be touching the 
bottom of the pot. Add sugar, corn syrup, water, and butter. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring frequently.
Step 2) Once the mixture begins to boil, reduce heat slightly (low-medium) and allow to continue boiling until the temperature gauge on your candy thermometer reaches the line 
labeled “Hard Crack” or 295 degrees. Be patient – this will take 20 – 30 minutes. Remember to stir occasionally.
Step 3) While your mixture boils, prepare your pan. First, cover your largest baking pan with aluminum foil; don’t forget to cover the sides. Next, grease the aluminum foil with the wrapper from a stick of butter. Then, evenly distribute jelly beans on the 
foil.
Step 4) When your boiling mixture reaches the Hard Crack stage, turn off the heat and sprinkle baking soda into the pot. STIR QUICKLY! A chemical reaction will take place, causing the boiling mixture to foam and froth. This is normal – and exciting!
Step 5) After stirring, pour mixture over jelly 
beans. Working quickly, spread mixture evenly over the entire pan.
Step 6) After about 10 minutes, your jelly bean brittle will be ready to break apart into bite size pieces. Store in an airtight container to keep nice and fresh!
PS – About that pot… just add a drop of dish soap and fill with BOILING water. It’ll come clean in seconds. 
This vintage post was popular the first time around, and Crowded Earth Kitchen has several hundred new readers (Welcome!) since last St. Patrick’s Day, so I’m sharing this again. Enjoy!
“Mom? Can we just stop at the drive-thru and get a (green) shake?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“Still No.”
“Pleeaassee? I’ll do laundry.”
I’ll admit, this is where the devil on my shoulder told me that I would be a fool not to cave in just this once, and so what if the child glows in the dark for the next two weeks. The fact is, the children in my house generate approximately 817 loads of laundry every week, and the offer of complaint-free laundry labor was enticing (that they will end up helping anyway, albeit under duress, is beside the point). Then I had an idea…
“Still no. But if you help with laundry cheerfully, I’ll make you a (green) shake.”
“Deal.”
Here’s what I came up with. The kids LOVED it! Peppermint extract is strong… a little bit can make, well, just about anything taste like peppermint. Each serving (approximately 10 ounces) contains 113 calories, 4 grams of fat, 14 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, and 5 grams of protein. Each serving also packs an impressive 60% of the Recommended Daily Allowance for Vitamin A, and 20% of the RDA for calcium. Compare that to the drive-thru green shake… I dare you.
Ingredients (makes 4 servings)
1 cup frozen chopped spinach (Ha! Ha ha ha!)
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 cup “real” vanilla ice cream, without any weird ingredients (I found a supermarket brand that was made from milk, cream, sugar, egg yolk, natural vanilla extract, and nothing else)
1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract (Very strong! You may even want to try a bit less than 1 teaspoon.)
Dark chocolate shavings (Optional)
Directions
Step 1) Add spinach and about half of the skim milk to a blender. Pulse for a few seconds to thoroughly chop spinach into tiny “peppermint” size pieces.
Step 2) Add remaining milk to blender and blend for a minute or a longer until the mixture is very creamy (almost butter-like) and increases in volume. The photo, left, shows only spinach and milk – it really does get creamy!
Step 3) Add peppermint extract and ice cream to blender. For best results, add ice cream in several tiny scoops rather than one large scoop. Blend until all ingredients are combined.
Step 4) Mixture will be tasty now, but thin. For best results, pour shake mixture into a shallow container and place in the back of your freezer for one hour. After an hour, scoop shake mixture into serving glasses (I used half pint jelly jars). Sprinkle with chocolate shavings, if desired.
Step 5) Try not to laugh as your loved ones unwittingly eat their spinach. 
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
