Apple Pies

These are old pictures from the Fall when apple pie baking was a regular occurrence, but I wanted to post them.  One- because they are making my mouth water right now!

And two, just look at this cutie "pie!"  My little helper is not usually far from me when I am cooking.

Dough Counting

My little kitchen helper practices counting dough rolls.

 

Quality control taste tester:

Happy boy :-)

This is his "I am smiling" face. 

Littlest Chef and Granola

Almost any time I am in the kitchen Luke climbs up on his stool and "helps mama." 

This yummy granola was easy to let him help with.  (I used coconut oil, less brown sugar and some peanut butter- only differences from this recipe).

Testing it out- he's good at that.

A good cook always cleans up, right?

We let it sit in the oven for a few hours that morning instead of overnight (as the directions direct).  So good!

Finally- Homemade Play Dough

I have been wanting to make play dough for years.  It's just one of those things I kept putting off.  So, finally getting around to it felt like a big accomplishment (to me anyway!).  

Sean enjoyed mixing it all together. 

Funnest part was adding the boiling water and watching it turn red

(we used generic kool-aid in the mix for the color).

Both boys have loved playing with it.  It's almost a daily treat.

Look at that toddler go with his fine-motor skills!

Overall, I really like it.  Plus it has a great smell- this one was cherry.  I'm pretty sure we'll make this again.  It helps that I bought a value pack of the drink mixes.

Gingerbread house- good enough to eat for lunch!

I love gingerbread houses.  I have never made one.  I felt the pressure not to let the boys' childhood progress any further without the introduction of this tradition.  I liked the pre-made kit at the grocery store, but a) not paying $10 for b) all that sugar!  We did a version that I did not mind them actually eating.  Not as colorful, but still fun. 
We used graham crackers and peanut butter for the house.  Nuts, dried fruit, popcorn and oats were the decoration. I meant to put pretzels in there, too.  They each got a mini muffin tin filled with the goodies, a plate of peanut butter, spreader and dinner plate to build on.

Luke was busy at work, too.

Sean's creation.  It fell over once.  I got the picture.  It fell over again. 

Sean turned his hand into a crane and became a "house-eater." 

Next year we might actually make real gingerbread- yum!  Until then, this protein rich project has just turned into lunch!

A Boy & His Dough Ball

I get to lead a Bible study with some of our wonderful college girls every week.  I like to bring a treat as much as possible.  This week I made cinnamon rolls.  Luke was down for a morning nap and Sean was my cooking buddy.  I gave him a little ball of dough to play with and he quickly ran to get some of his construction vehicles.  Because apparently you need those when a dough ball is involved.  Then I gave him a little hanful of flour to roll the trucks through and push and load.  He had a blast and I got my work done!

Oh- and here are the yummy cinnamon rolls!

Add icing:

Sooooo good.  But, seriously, I need to find a healthier way to make these! 

Today I need to make bread.  I see some more dough play in the near future.