Kids in the Kitchen Wednesday: Pumpkin Patch Fun!

 

 

 

 

What better way to celebrate the fall season than a trip to the pumpkin patch!  This is exactly what both test kitchens did during the last week. Tristan (from the Arkansas test kitchen) had the pleasure of his cousin Ian from Nashville visiting to go with him. Both boys had fun feeding catfish (yes, there was a catfish pond in the middle of the pumpkin patch) and going down the large slide; but what they both really enjoyed was the hay ride and the horseback ride.

 

Meanwhile, in the Wisconsin test kitchen, we traveled to Swan's Pumpkin Farm where Sawyer got to explore a corn maze, take a hay ride, feed some goats and go on a pony ride. Just like Tristan, the pony ride was the best part of the day. Look at that big smile!

 

 

 

Of course the most important part of the pumpkin farm trip is picking out the pumpkin to take back home!  Well, that pumpkin tuned into Tristan and Dad’s first ever attempt at carving a Jack O Lantern. Sad but true, at four years old Tristan has never had a Jack O Lantern.  Dad promised him he would NEVER go without one again.

 

 

 

So, it was time to carve the pumpkin and for a first attempt, it didn't go that badly. However here are some helpful tips The Cool Dads learned:

 

 Cool Dads Pumpkin Carving Tips

 

1. Put down newspaper or garbage bags to protect your work surface.
2. Cut the top of the pumpkin at an angle; that way when you are finished it will not fall into the pumpkin- there is something there to help hold it.
3. Use a dry erase marker to mark out your cuts, this way it will wipe right off if your little one changes their mind about their pumpkin design.  Or better yet- go online and find a template and use that instead.
4. Place the pumpkin seeds and goo into a bowl to save for the recipe below.

 

 

 

 So, you have the pumpkin all emptied out, the seeds in a bowl, and the stringy, gross insides on the newspaper. Now what?

 

Cool Dads Pumpkin Seeds

 

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
2. Spread the seeds on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray
3. Lightly salt the pumpkin seeds
4. Place in the oven for 45 minutes
5. Remove from the oven, let cool and enjoy

 

As we get closer to the holiday season, we look forward to sharing more fun family traditions and recipes with you.

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Fall Comfort Food in a Bowl: Spiced Apple, Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheese

This past weekend in the Wisconsin test kitchen was pure magic. After a few weekends of constant go-go-go activity; we had nothing on the calendar we needed to do. Also, it was raining- which meant we had a great excuse to NOT complete the yard work that has been hanging over our heads for the past few weeks.

It was the perfect afternoon to crack open a few beers, and create some delicious food. We had found a recipe on Pinterest for a Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheese and we thought it would be fun to make. It's an excellent way to incorporate vegetables into your kid's beloved mac and cheese; and it adds a delicious, creamy texture. We took it one step further by adding caramelized onions, spiced apples and the holy grail... bacon. The results? Well, lets just say the 9"x9" pan we made vanished pretty quickly and we're already itching to make this again. It really is the epitome of everything you want to eat in fall: satisfying, warm, substantial... and did we mention bacon? Mmmm...

Spiced Apple Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheese


1/2 box elbow macaroni

1 cup canned butternut squash puree (we used baby food. It's easy and gives you the creamy texture you need)

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons evaporated milk

1/4 cup chicken broth

2 oz. cream cheese

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup onions, sliced thinly

1 large crunchy apple, chopped

4-6 slices precooked bacon, diced

cumin

cinnamon

nutmeg

 

 

Heat butter in a skillet over low heat. When melted, add onions and let caramelize for at least 30 minutes.

Once onions are caramelized, add apples and cook for 5 minutes until slightly softened. Add a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin powder. Remove from heat.

Cook the pasta according to directions. Drain and return to pan over low heat. Add butternut squash, chicken broth, evaporated milk, cream cheese, one cup cheddar cheese and the apple/onion mixture. Once combined, add in salt.

 

Pour mixture into a greased 9x9 pan and sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese and bacon. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes uncovered, or until cheese is melted.

This is the perfect weekend meal to make- it's something that will go over well with both kids and adults. My only test kitchen note? Consider doubling the recipe. Yep... it's THAT good.

We look forward to sharing more fall, family comfort food recipes with you soon.

 

Stay Cool,

The Cool Dads Crew

Football Friday: Black Bean Chili

It's the last day of What a Crock Week! We hope you enjoyed the recipes as much as we enjoyed sharing them with you. We're ending the week with a chili recipe that we guarantee to be a game day success. This is a recipe the Arkansas test kitchen created and perfected over time: it's a Cool Dads Exclusive recipe. We hope you love it as much as we do. With a cool, windy weekend on the way here in Wisconsin; this is the perfect warm-you-up comfort food recipe.

Black Bean Chili

1 lb. dried black beans

1 T olive oil

1 medium onion

3 cloves garlic

1 lb. mushrooms

1 tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. sea salt

1 quart vegetable broth or stock

14 oz. can diced tomatoes

6 oz. can tomato paste

Onion powder (to taste)

Garlic powder (to taste)

Crushed red pepper (to taste)

SUPER SECRET INGRIDENT: Chipotle Tabasco Sauce (DON’T TELL ANYONE)

 

Optional Toppings:

Corn chips

Sour cream

Shredded cheese

 

1. The night before making the chili, rinse the beans until they are no longer dirty.
2. Cover the black beans with water and soak overnight at room temperature.
3. Prepare the fresh ingredients: Dice the onions, mince the garlic, and slice the mushrooms (this may be done the night before and refrigerated).
4. Sauté the vegetables by heating 1 T olive oil over medium heat, and add onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Stir in 1 T Chili Powder and 1 t Sea Salt. Sauté for 5 minutes until the onions are tender (this also may be done the night before and refrigerated).

5. 10 - 12 hours before serving, drain the beans and discard the liquid. Place the beans in the slow cooker.

6. Transfer the onion mixture to the slow cooker and cover with 1 quart vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook on low for 10 - 12 hours.
7. 30 minutes before serving, add onion powder, garlic powder, and Chipotle Tabasco sauce to taste.
8. When ready to serve, garnish with cheese, sour cream, or corn chips.

Football  Picks

Cincinnati vs. Buffalo
Dad #1: Bengals
Dad #2: Bengals

Cleveland vs. Detroit
Dad #1: Browns
Dad #2: Lions

KC vs. Oakland
Dad #1: Chiefs
Dad #2: Chiefs

Minnesota vs. Carolina
Dad #1: Panthers
Dad #2: Panthers

Pittsburg vs. NYJ
Dad #1: Jets
Dad #2: Jets

Tampa Bay vs. Philly
Dad #1: Eagles
Dad #2: Eagles

Green Bay vs. Baltimore
Dad #1: Packers
Dad #2: Ravens (Grrr....)

St. Louis vs. Houston
Dad #1: Texans
Dad #2: Texans

Jacksonville vs. Denver
Dad #1: Broncos
Dad #2: Broncos

Tennessee vs. Seahawks
Dad #1: Seahawks
Dad #2: Seahawks

New England vs. New Orleans
Dad #1: Patriots
Dad #2: Saints

San Francisco vs. Arizona
Dad #1: 49ers
Dad #2: 49ers

Washington vs. Dallas
Dad #1: Cowboys
Dad #2: Cowboys

Indy vs. San Diego
Dad #1: Colts
Dad #2: Colts

Hope your weekend is full of delicious food and football!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

What a Crock: Apple Butter

We don't know about you, but the Cool Dads crew loves fall. We love the leaves changing colors, football season, and everything pumpkin flavored. Fun fact: the Cool Dads Crew had their first conference call EVER to discuss the blog on the first official day of Pumpkin Spice Latte season. Yeah, we love fall that much.

Here in the Wisconsin test kitchen, we went apple picking a few weeks ago. Note to Wisconsin residents: we made the drive to The Little Farmer in Fond du Lac and had THE BEST experience. The farm is adorable, there are a ton of reasonably priced activities for the kids, and the apples were delicious. It was well worth the drive from Milwaukee. Here's their website if you're interested in making the trip:
http://www.mytlf.com/

Seriously... we crushed on this place so hard. It's the best apple farm experience we have ever had. We even picked (and sampled) twenty pounds of apples before the day was over.

We had big plans for all twenty pounds of apples. Rebecca is more than a little obsessed with canning and preserving every scrap of produce she can get her hands on. Every year for Christmas she even gives out boxes of homemade jams, jellies, pickles, beets and other preserved items she's made throughout the year. This year she had her heart set on apple butter.

For those not in the know, apple butter is basically apple jelly. It has a nice smooth texture- which is where the 'butter' part comes in. It's delicious on toast, or even in a Panini with ham and brie cheese. Once you get a jar in your fridge, you start finding a million different (and delicious) things to do with apple butter.

After a quick Pinterest search, we discovered you could make apple butter in a crock pot. So we were off and running!

Crock Pot Apple Butter
Recipe courtesy of www.healthylivingrevelations.com

12-18 apples, cored and quartered- no need to peel them
2 cups apple cider
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Clean the apples, quarter and core them and place them in the crock pot.

 

Pour the cider over the apples, and place the lid on the crock pot. Cook on high for four hours. After four hours, your apples should look something like this:

Take a potato masher and mash the apples.

Let the apple mixture cool slightly, and then either use an immersion blender to puree the apple mixture until smooth, or ladle the product into a blender and blend it until smooth. I know what you're thinking... "There's NO WAY apples with the peels still on are going to blend to a smooth texture." I promise you- it will work. Once blended, this is what you end up with:

You're not done yet... the product is too runny to be true apple butter. Cook on low for another three hours- without a cover on the crock pot. After three hours, the product should be thick enough. You're going for a slightly thicker than apple sauce consistency. Once you get to the desired consistency, season with cinnamon and nutmeg.

This should yield approximately three pints of apple butter.

Now it's decision time. You have a few options when it comes with what to do with your three pints.
1) Let the product cool, spoon it into a clean container and put it in the refrigerator. You have a month to consume it.
2) Let the product cool, spoon it into freezer safe containers and freeze. This product freezes and thaws incredibly well.
3) Spoon the hot product into clean, sterilized mason jars. Top with sterilized seals and bands, and tighten to finger tightness. Process in a hot, boiling water bath for ten minutes. Remove, and make sure the jars seal. They will stay fresh without refrigeration for one year.

 We tried the warmed apple butter the next morning on pancakes (See? Another creative use!) and it was delicious. It's a whole day process to make the apple butter this way, but the results speak for themselves.

Give this recipe a try while apples are still in season; and you'll be able to enjoy the fruits (ha!) of your labor all winter long.

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

What a Crock: Whole Chicken

During one of the weekly Cool Dads Cook conference calls; the idea came up to dedicate a whole week to crock pot recipes. The crock pot is the most under utilized cooking device in your kitchen; it allows you to dump a bunch of ingredients in it in the morning; and by the time you come home from work: Viola! You have an entire meal prepared! It's the easiest way to cook protein and vegetables at the same time- ensuring a healthy meal.

The Wisconsin test kitchen uses the crock pot at least once a week to cook soup, lasagna or even chicken and veggies. One of our favorite things to do with a crock pot is cook a whole chicken. Whole chickens can be daunting to cook, but this is the easiest way to do it.

Roasted Chicken a la Crock Pot

1 whole roasting chicken, thawed
2 oranges
1 packet Italian Seasoning dressing mix

Cut the two oranges in half, and place them in the bottom of the crock pot. Why oranges? Well, we bought a bag of them at the store, and our daughter Sawyer refuses to eat them because they have seeds in them. So we're getting creative. But it adds a nice citrus infusion to the meat.

Wash the chicken and pat it dry. Note: make sure you reach inside the chicken and pull out any innards that might be hiding in the cavity. Gross. Once this removal is done, place the chicken on top of the oranges in the crock pot, and liberally rub the packet of seasoning all over the outside of the chicken.

Set the crock pot on high for 4-6 hours, or low for 8-12 hours. It all depends on the size of the bird- we were cooking with a massive chicken, and it took us about 6 hours on high. You'll know the chicken is done when it reaches a temperature of 165 degrees. Stick a meat thermometer into the fleshiest part of the chicken thigh for an accurate reading.

The finished product should look something like this...

About an hour before the chicken was finished, we roasted some turnips and carrots in the oven to serve along with our bird. The final verdict?

If cooking a whole chicken scares you a little bit, the crock pot is an excellent way to start. It will cook an entire meal for your family; usually with some leftovers to spare. Here in the Wisconsin test kitchen we roast a chicken a week, and use the leftover meat for sandwiches, salads and even soups. It's the easiest meal in the word to cook, and hopefully this process makes it even easier.
Stay tuned for some other exciting recipes during What a Crock week!
Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Football Friday: Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip

It was the perfect example of synergy between our two test kitchens. Doug; who is based in our Arkansas test kitchen was craving some chicken wings. Rebecca; based in the Wisconsin test kitchen immediately emailed a recipe for buffalo chicken wing dip- which resulted in Kevin- also based in the Wisconsin test kitchen- immediately wanting buffalo chicken wing dip. CHICKEN WING DIP FOR EVERYONE!
Even though our kitchens are pretty far apart; we have each other's backs. That's just how Cool Dads (and their wives with the crave-able recipes) roll.

So the chicken wing dip? Amazing. It has all the flavor of chicken wings, without the mess of chicken bones and saucy fingers. Unless you're into that kind of thing. In which case- just go eat some actual wings. This dip is delicious served with tortilla chips, or carrot and celery slices. Also- you can add as much Frank's Red Hot Sauce as you want- depending on how spicy you like your wings.

Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip


Ingredients

• 2 packages of cream cheese
• 2 cans of chicken breast in water (the larger, 12-13 oz sized can--or for a less processed version, shred about 2 - 3 chicken breasts and add the meat from that)
• 10 oz. bottle ranch dressing
• approx. 1/2 bottle Franks "Red Hot" Buffalo Sauce (12 oz bottle)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Combine all the ingredients, except for the shredded cheddar cheese, in a lightly sprayed crock pot.

 Put crock pot on High setting for approximately 45 minutes.  Stir the mixture occasionally to help the cream cheese melt and to help break up the larger chunks of chicken breast.  After the 45 minutes is up, reduce the heat setting to Low and continue to heat until the mixture is fully melted and warm enough to eat. 

Immediately before serving, stir in the shredded cheddar cheese.  Serve with tortilla chips. 

Now, it's time for some football predictions!

Chicago vs. New Orleans
Dad #1: Bears
Dad #2: Saints

New England vs. Cincinnati
Dad #1: Patriots
Dad #2: Bengals

Detroit vs. Green Bay
Dad #1: Green Bay
Dad #2: Green Bay

Indy vs. Seattle
Dad #1: Seahawks
Dad #2: Colts

Baltimore vs. Miami
Dad #1: Dolphins
Dad #2: Ravens

Philly vs. NYG
Dad #1: Eagles
Dad #2: Eagles

St. Louis vs. Jacksonville
Dad #1: Rams
"Who would ever pick Jacksonville?!"
Um, apparently Dad #2....
Dad #2: Jaguars

Tennessee vs. Kansas City
Dad #1: Chiefs
Dad #2: Chiefs

Carolina vs. Arizona
Dad #1: Cardinals
Dad #2: Cardinals

Dallas vs. Denver
Dad #1: Broncos
Dad #2: Broncos

San Francisco vs. Houston
Dad #1: Texans
Dad #2: Texans

San Diego vs. Oakland
Dad #1: Chargers
Dad #2: Chargers

Atlanta vs. NYJ
Dad #1: Falcons
Dad #2: Falcons

Good luck this weekend Dads- hope you have some delicious food, and hope your team is victorious. Unless your team is either Detroit or New Orleans. In which case, we apologize in advance.

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew


 

Kids in the Kitchen: Strawberry Muffins

I don't know about your house; but for a lot of families- mornings are chaotic. You have to deal with finding matching shoes, brushing teeth, and making breakfast. Ah, breakfast. You have the option of sugary cereal, breakfast pastries full of preservatives, or yogurt in a plastic tube. Yuck.

Might we recommend muffins? Muffins are an awesome recipe to whip up on a Sunday, and have on hand for breakfast all week long. The Wisconsin test kitchen swears by peanut butter and jelly muffins (full of protein and fruit); and this past week the Arkansas test kitchen made strawberry muffins.

You can make a batch of these from the freezer to the table in under an hour; and they are ideal as an easy make-ahead option for a crowd. Freezing them before baking-instead of reheating after baking-ensures that they'll taste freshly baked.

Strawberry Muffins

Ingredients

Muffins:

• 3/4 cup fresh blueberries, raspberries or diced strawberries
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Directions

For the muffins: Line a 12-cup muffin tin with foil muffin cup liners.
 
Toss the berries with 2 tablespoons of the flour in a small bowl. Whisk the remaining flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl until frothy, and then whisk in the milk, melted butter and vanilla. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Stir the batter with a rubber spatula until just combined.
 
For the topping: Combine the flour and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Either using a fork or your fingers, mix in the butter to form large and medium crumbs.
 
Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, filling just above three-quarters full. Divide the blueberries among the cups. Divide the topping among the muffins, pressing lightly. Freeze until set, about 3 hours. The muffins can be removed to zippered freezer bags at this point and stored for up to 2 months.
 
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the muffins in a muffin tin or directly on a baking sheet and bake until they are lightly golden and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
 
These muffins can also be baked immediately. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and bake until lightly golden and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes
 
From Foodnetwork