Family Fun Rosemary-Buttermilk Scones

Breakfast is one of my favorite parts of the day. I get up early every morning to pack my husband's lunch and then have about a half hour before my two kids wake-up. Some mornings I make pancakes, others cold cereal. One of my favorite breakfast foods is scones. I make sweet scones about once or twice a month and they are always eaten quickly. In the last couple of months I have been trying to utilize more fresh herbs in my baking and I was intrigued when the November issue of Family Fun magazine had a recipe for Rosemary-Buttermilk Scones.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It makes 12 servings and takes approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes of total time, with 10 minutes being hands-on. All the ingredients are basic and I had the majority already in my fridge and pantry. I decided not to sprinkle the top with coarse salt, since it was being served to my two young sons. I found that the suggested baking time of 30 minutes, was too long for my oven, my total cooking time was closer to 25 minutes. Make sure to rotate the pan halfway through the cooking time for even browning. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These scones made a perfect side to the roasted pork tenderloin that I served alongside. The fresh rosemary blended well with the buttermilk, making a savory scone. While I served these initially as a breakfast side, they re-heated well in the oven the next morning for breakfast. A great combination of flavors, perfect for anytime of the day.

For the recipe go to Rosemary-Buttermilk Scones.

Family Fun No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars

My family loves to snack. A couple of years back I tried reducing the amount of snacks that I had in the house and all that ended up resulting was my husband going to the mini-mart multiple times a week. So, since that didn't work out so effectively I decided to try to make as many snacks as I could from scratch, instead of relying solely on pre-packaged alternatives. I have tried many snack recipes since that time, some have been great, some less than stellar. Nevertheless I keep trying out new snack options to see which ones stick. The September issue of Family Fun magazine had a recipe for No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars using cashew butter, which looked like a delicious change of pace from my normal granola bar recipes.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It makes 24 bars and takes approximately 75 minutes, 15 minutes of which is active. Most of the ingredients for this recipe I already had in my pantry cupboard, with the exception of cashew butter, which I was able to find in the organic section of my local grocery store. I had never bought cashew butter for my family before this recipe and my husband and two-year-old absolutely feel in love with it. I did notice a few things with the recipe. My finished granola bars were still very sticky after cooling for an hour, so I placed them in the fridge to firm. After sitting in the fridge the texture was much better, but different than the photograph in the magazine. I'm guessing that the granola cereal that I bought might have had a different texture than the one photographed for the article. I followed the recipe as stated stated, with no modifications.

My two boys thoroughly enjoyed these granola bars and have eaten almost the whole batch since I made them yesterday. My husband liked the taste of the cashew butter, but is not a fan of light corn syrup and would have preferred honey instead. I thought that this recipe was very easy and it was nice discovering that my family likes cashew butter. If cashew butter is unavailable in your area, or to save money peanut butter could also be substituted. Overall, a tasty and easy granola bar recipe.

For the recipe go to No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars.

Family Fun Buffalo Chicken Tenders

In the last couple of weeks my five-year-old has decided he has some particular foods preferences and dislikes. He no longer likes anything with cheese, but loves spicy foods. Due to his new foods ideas I have been trying to find foods that we can all agree upon. Chicken is a popular food among all member of my household, especially my two children. The October issue of Family Fun magazine had a recipe for Buffalo Chicken Tenders, which looked perfect for all members of my household.

This recipe has 5 ingredients for the dressing, 3 for the sauce and 8 for the chicken. The total time is approximately 45 minutes, with 25 being active. All the ingredients I either had in my pantry or were easily found at my local grocery store. This recipe serves 8 people, more than enough for my family of four. I did make a few modifications to the recipe. Instead of using plain bread crumbs, I substituted panko, since I already had it in my cupboard and I prefer it for breading. Additionally, I used Frank's RedHot extra hot buffalo sauce, since it was what was already open in the fridge. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My chicken tenders turned out extremely spicy due to the extra hot buffalo sauce. Luckily, my 5-year-old liked the recipe, even though it was really hot and so did my husband. If you like your tenders less hot use Frank's original or leave off the sauce completely. The blue cheese sauce turned out delicious and was very easy to prepare. The sauce would also taste great with steak or other dishes. I liked that this recipe was easy to prepare and very child friendly. For oven baked chicken it was particularly delicious.

For the recipe go to Buffalo Chicken Tenders.

Family Fun Asian Noodle Salad with Sesame Tofu Bites

I was fortunate growing up that I lived in a large city with multiple ethnic and natural food markets. My mother constantly exposed me to new foods and I was lucky to have a wide base of family friends that cooked various delicious ethnic foods. When I first moved to the state of West Virginia I was exposed to a number of new foods and ways of cooking that I hadn't experienced previously. It took me a good bit of time before I felt comfortable making pinto beans and pan fried chicken. After almost 9 years, these foods have become almost second nature for me to cook and I have been trying to now introduce my children to a larger variety of dishes. One of the staples in my house growing up was tofu, it was inexpensive and easily available. I have only exposed my children to tofu less than a handful of times, so I figured it was about time to start trying to incorporate more tofu into their diets. The August issue of Family Fun magazine had a recipe for Asian Noodle Salad with Sesame Tofu Bites, which looked perfect for my children to try tofu.

This recipe has 12 ingredients for the salad and 7 for the dressing. The total time is one hour 20 minutes, with an hour being active. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. Instead of using sugar snap peas by the pound, I used a refrigerated pouch, since that was what was available locally. I made a few modifications to the recipe. I let the tofu sit under the weight for longer than 5 minutes. When frying tofu I like to try to get as much water out as possible, so I let it sit approximately 15 minutes. Additionally, I fried my tofu in batches and then added all the batches back into the same pan to add the dressing. This way all the tofu turned out crisp, not soggy. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My husband and I both loved this dish. The crispy tofu bites were delicious and the dressing complimented the dish nicely. My two boys weren't as enthusiastic, and picked around eating mostly the noodles. For only having had tofu a couple of times, the fact that they didn't completely disregard the dish is progress. I appreciated that this dish was easy to make and vegetarian, I have been trying to make at least meatless meal a week. Overall, this recipe is easy to put together and a delicious way to incorporate more tofu and . 

For the recipe go to Family Fun Asian Noodle Salad with Sesame Tofu Bites.

Family Fun Orange Cornmeal Cakes

My husband is a big fan of anything with orange flavoring. He was not pleased when a certain national coffee chain decided to get rid of their Valencia flavoring. This is the same man that waits until the day after Christmas and buys every single chocolate orange clearanced at the store. My boys share his love of anything orange, but I have never been as big of a fan. However, I decided recently that I needed to try baking more orange flavored treats for my family and have been looking for new recipes to try. The December/January issue of Family Fun magazine had a recipe for Orange Cornmeal Crisps, which looked perfect for my family and their love of anything orange flavored.

The cookie in this recipe has 10 ingredients and the glaze 4 ingredients. Most of the work is done in an electric mixer, with the majority of the prep time coming from the time waiting for the dough to freeze. I followed the recipe as is, with no modifications to the ingredients. However, I did find that my cooking time was slightly longer than the 10 to 12 minutes recommended. Additionally, I added more orange juice to the glaze in order for it to be the right consistency.

My two boys really enjoyed these cookies. I was suprised how much I liked these cookies when I don't normally liked orange flavored sweets. The first day my husband thought the cookies were a little gritty from the cornmeal, but he was impressed how well the cookies stood up over time and by the third day he really liked them. These cookies are a wonderful blend of crispy and sweet and would go well on any cookie platter.

For the recipe go to Family Fun Orange Cornmeal Crisps.

Family Fun Classic Bread Pudding

I'm a big fan of comfort food, especially desserts. They remind me of when I was younger and my mom would bake delicious desserts on the weekend for everyone to enjoy. Before I had kids I made a variety of desserts, but after having little ones I mainly made cookies and brownies. As my boys have gotten a little older, I have been trying to bake more desserts from scratch. Last October (2010), Family Fun magazine had a recipe for classic bread pudding that looked like the perfect dessert for my family.

This recipe is very easy. It could be done with a child and would make a perfect cooking lesson. The recipe suggests removing the crust from the baguette, but I chose to leave it on for added texture. All the ingredients used in this recipe are basic and many people would already have them in their kitchen. I substituted skim milk for whole, due to the fact that it was what was already in my fridge. Since the recipe already had whipping cream, the taste was comparable.

This recipe turned out delicious. My husband is normally not a fan of bread pudding due to its soggy texture, but he enjoyed this recipe. Keeping the crust on the bread made for a crispier texture and the sugar sprinkled on top before cooking made a sweet, delicious crunch.

For the recipe go to Family Fun Classic Bread Pudding.

Family Fun Pork-Rib Ragu

With two kids under 5, I am always looking for quick, easy meals to get on the dinner table. Slow cooker recipes are a popular cooking method for me because I can put the ingredients in the crock pot in the morning and forget about it until dinner time. However, I tend to get stuck in a rut with the slow cooker, making the same beef recipes time and again. Recently, the April issue of Family Fun magazine had a recipe for Pork-Rib Ragu that looked like a great alternative to my normal slow cooker repertoire.

As with most slow cooker dishes, this recipe is very easy to prep and prepare. One recommendation that I have that the recipe does not suggest is to brown the pork ribs before placing in the slow cooker, it helps the meat to retain its juices and flavor. The ingredients were readily available, with the exception of the pork ribs. The only baby back ribs available in my area were far more than the 4 lbs required and very expensive. Spareribs were additionally unavailable so I purchased country ribs. I followed the recipe suggestion and served the dish over egg noodles. 

The taste of this dish was excellent. However, as with most pork slow cooker recipes that leave the bone-in, I was left with small pieces of pork bone in the finished product. While, this would be a minor problem for an adult, for a child it is a choking hazard. In the future for this recipe I would use a pork butt roast, which would have the same great pork flavor without the bone fragments. I will say that the flavor of this dish was great and would be something that my family would enjoy in the future made with the pork roast substitution. This is definitely a dish I would try again with the above mentioned modifications. 

For the recipe go to Family Fun Pork-Rib Ragu.