Caramel Peanut Butter Dip and Fugi Apples for Kids
Contributed by: NAPSA
Celebrity Chef, Rachael Ray, Provides Tips for Cooking (and Cleaning) with Kids
(NAPSA) - Most adults remember cooking with their families and the tasty creations, fun recipes and important skills they learned in the kitchen. Today, cooking is still a valuable and enjoyable way for families to re-connect and spend time together.
But when you mention cooking with kids, most parents agree it is not always easy to have kids help out in the kitchen, where they are notorious for making big messes. And with today's busy schedules, are the messes deterring families from the experience?
A recent survey, sponsored by "all" laundry brand, set out to determine how moms and kids feel about cooking together. The survey found that the mess children make in the kitchen is the number one reason mothers cited for not cooking with their kids more often, followed by lack of time. In fact, an overwhelming percentage of moms (eighty-two percent) said they would cook more with their kids if they did not have to worry about the mess.
That's why celebrity chef Rachael Ray is teaming up with "all" laundry detergent to provide helpful tips and recipes to cope with kitchen messes and make cooking with kids more enjoyable. Ray, a noted chef, author and host of the Food Network's "Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals ," was raised in a cooking family and knows firsthand the valuable lessons and skills children can gain by cooking with their parents.
"Cooking is a wonderful and engaging way to keep children learning, developing and entertained," said Ray. "By following simple tips, families can handle kitchen messes and focus on having fun."
A few of the tips to help small chefs manage a big mess, include:
- Put a premium on prep time. Prepare ingredients ahead of time and keep the equipment list short. Sometimes your hands make the best utensils.
- Cook 'til you drop. Lay out a "washable drop cloth" on the floor (an old bed sheet works wonders) that can simply be thrown into the washing machine after cooking.
- Make clean up part of your routine. It's okay to make a mess, but try to routinely begin your clean up while your food is cooking. Good habits learned early are more likely to become lasting habits.
- 360 Spot Check. After cooking with your children, take turns doing a 360 check of their clothing and yours for stains.
Treating stains early helps to reduce them from setting and ruining clothing. To remove stains, choose a laundry detergent like "all" that's formulated to get out 99 top food stains.
Ingredients:
- 24 wrapped caramel candies, 1/2 of a 14 ounce bag
- 2 Fugi apples
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (juice of 1/4 lemon)
- 1 cup water plus 1 tablespoon, a splash
- 2 tablespoonfuls creamy peanut butter
- A pinch of cinnamon
Directions:
Unwrap candies and place into a bowl.
Have GH (Grown Helper) cut Fugi apples into quarters and core the slices. GH should then slice apples into 8 pieces per apple. Squirt lemon juice into a bowl with 1 cup water. Add sliced apples and turn them around in the lemon water, then drain them in a strainer or colander.
Add 1 tablespoon water and peanut butter to your caramel candies. Place candies in microwave oven on high for 2 minutes. Stir the dip up with a rubber spatula. If the candy is not melted all the way, put it back in the microwave on high for another 20 seconds. Add a pinch of cinnamon to the sauce and stir.
Place apples next to the dip and start dunking! Serves four.
