Kids in the Kitchen: Frozen Treats
We’re beating summer boredom (and teaching lifelong skills) by sharing some great tips and delicious kid-friendly recipes to get your kids in the kitchen and having fun. Last week I shared my favorite no-bake recipes. This week, I’m excited to share a handful of delicious frozen treats that kids can make on their own or with a little adult supervision, depending on their age or skill level.
TODAY’S TIPS
Teach kids proper hand washing techniques. Talk to your kids about keeping germs and disease from food by thoroughly washing hands: wet hands first with water, apply soap, and scrub hands thoroughly while singing the Happy Birthday song twice (about 20 seconds). Teach them to scrub the backs of their hands, in between fingers, and especially under fingernails.
Explain freezer safety. We’re used to teaching kids about hot stoves, but freezer burns are real (and painful). Make sure hands are completely dry before handing any metal from the freezer, or use hot pads as a precaution. If skin gets stuck to something frozen, teach them to run warm water over the skin to release it.
FAVORITE FROZEN RECIPES
Frozen Grape Skewers
(shown above)
1/2 pound red grapes, washed and dried
1/2 pound green grapes, washed and dried
bamboo skewers
Directions
Using the spear end of bamboo skewers, pierce through a grape and slide it to the end. Alternate with red and green grapes until skewer is full. Place skewers on a freezer-safe tray at least a 1/4 inch apart and freeze for at least 3 hours or until grapes are frozen solid. Once frozen solid, transfer skewers to a freezer bag or air-tight container.
Watermelon Ice Pops
Watermelon Ice Pops
from Eat Yourself Skinny
Puree watermelon and sugar in batches in your blender or food processor until smooth and strain into a medium bowl. Cover and freeze until puree is slightly slushy, but not quite solid, about 2 to 3 hours. Remove from freezer and stir in chocolate chips. Place twelve small disposable cups in a shallow baking pan and spoon watermelon puree into cups, leaving about a 1/2 inch space left from the rim. Place pan in freezer for 2 hours, or until puree is solid, but not rock hard.
Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Bites
from nom! nom! nom! blog
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Slice bananas into coins about 1/2–3/4 inch thick. Spread a little dollop of peanut butter on top of each one. In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips and milk. Microwave in 15 second increments, stirring between each one, until you can whisk them together. It should be thick enough to coat the bananas, but not too thin. Add a splash more milk if necessary. Dip the banana chunks using a fork, dipping them into the melted chocolate. Place chocolate coated bananas on the prepared sheet and place in freezer until completely frozen (about 3–5 hours). Remove frozen banana chunks from the sheet and store in a freezer container.
Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk or half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 heaping tablespoons sugar
1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag
1 quart-size plastic food storage bag
rock salt
Ice
Directions
Fill the gallon-size bag 3/4 full of ice cubes and sprinkle a handful (about 1/4 cup) rock salt over the ice. In the quart-size bag, add cream, half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla. Seal the bag, removing excess air, and place inside the larger bag and seal it as well. Shake the bags vigorously (probably outdoors) for 5-10 minutes, or until the ice cream in the inner bag gets thick and hard. Remove and dry the inner bag to keep the saltwater out of your ice cream. Discard the larger bag. Serve immediately in a bowl or right out of the bag.
For Chocolate Ice Cream: Add 2-3 tablespoons of chocolate syrup and reduce the vanilla to 1/4 teaspoon.
For Strawberry Ice Cream: Add 3-4 tablespoons sweetened, pureéd strawberries.
For Mint Ice Cream: Replace vanilla with 1/4 teaspoon mint extract and add 3 drops of green food coloring.
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