photo credit: sfllaw

First time, or beginner bakers usually have difficulty in choosing the right birthday cake pans that fits with the party. Where do you start?

THE number one tip I give first time bakers to help them decide on the birthday cake pan shape is to decide on the theme of the party. But, how do you figure out the theme?

For those who want to know how to decide on a theme, and help you choose the shape of the birthday cake pans, here are some tips that will help you:

1. What TV shows or movies does your child like to watch?

By knowing what television programs or movies they enjoy, you can easily decide on the theme of the party, which will make it easy to choose a birthday cake pan. If they like Sponge Bob Square Pants, then there’s your theme. The same goes any of the various other cartoon shows out there, or Sesame Street, or any other children’s show.

I’ll give you an example. I have a niece that’s grown up now. But, when she was little, she really loved the Little Mermaid. She stayed with us one summer and I remember watching that movie about 100 times. I think I memorized every song. Anyhow, it would have been easy choosing a theme for her birthday party.

2. What sports or games does your child like to play?

These days, most kids are involved in one sport or another. This is a great opportunity for you to be able to choose a birthday cake pan.

For example, do they play Little League baseball, Pop Warner Football, Tee Ball? What about soccer? Some kids even like doing karate or tae kwon do.

Find out what your child enjoys playing, and this will help you choose the birthday cake pan’s shape that matches a sports theme.

3. What books does your child like to read?

Knowing this will help you choose a birthday cake pan. All you have to do is think about what books your child likes for you to read them.

If your child, or children, are old enough to read on their own, then what are their favorite books? Do they prefer a certain genre like mystery, science fiction, or fantasy? By knowing the types of books they like, this is another way to choose a birthday cake pan.

Once you know what your child enjoys, you can decide on the perfect theme. And, once you have a theme, you can choose birthday cake pans in a shape that fits that theme. The key is knowing your children, and no one knows them better than you.

photo credit: chucka_nc

A friend of mine had a problem choosing birthday cake pans, but with the 3 simple tips I showed her, she now always chooses the right shape, and her kids love the cakes she bakes. I will show you these same 3 tips, and your kids will love their own birthday cakes that you bake them. You’ll always choose the right shape.

In order to choose the right birthday cake pan shape, it’s important to know your children. No one knows them better than you, so this won’t be a problem. The trick is creating a themed birthday party based on what your children enjoy. Here are some simple tips for deciding on the theme:

1. What games or sports do your children enjoy playing?

Do they enjoy Little League baseball, or Pop Warner football? How about soccer? Some kids even enjoy karate.

Knowing what they like will help you create a sports themed birthday party, and you’ll be able to choose the appropriate birthday cake pans in the shape of a ball, or bat, or even any other sports shape.

2. What TV shows do your children like to watch?

Most children are obsessed with a TV show or two. Some enjoy watching a cartoon, and some like such children’s shows as Sesame Street.

I’ll give you an example. One of my kids loved to watch Disney’s, “The Little Mermaid.” I remember on summer watching that movie every single day. It got to the the point where I memorized every song. It was easy figuring out what theme to use for her birthday which falls late in the summer. By know what your children enjoy watching, you’ll be able to figure out which birthday cake pans to use based on that theme.

3. What books do they enjoy?

Your kids like it when you read to them, and believe it or not, this is a gold mine of ideas for choosing birthday cake pans. This is true, even if they are old enough to read on their own. Here’s why…

This is because once you figure out which books they enjoy the most, you’ll easily be able to formulate a theme for their birthday party, and this will help you choose the shape of their birthday cake pan. Can anyone say Harry Potter themed birthday party? Do you see where I’m going with this one?

By figuring out which books your children enjoy reading, you can easily determine a theme for their birthday party based on the genre, or a character from that book. You’ll then be able to choose a birthday cake pan for that party.

There you have it—my three best tips for always figuring out the right birthday cake pans to use. All you have to do is decide on a theme for their birthday party, and that will make it so simple to always choose the right birthday cake pan shape.

photo credit: mia3mom

Cooking with children can be a lot of fun for them and helpful for you! Children cooking learn a lot about the food they eat. They can see the recipe right through from the raw ingredients stage right up to the result. They will also love eating their creations, even if they contain vegetables!

Benefits of Cooking with Children

Cooking might be a chore for us but the Kitchen is a fun place for kids. Cookery is educational for kids and a very good bonding experience between you and them. Children can learn new skills without noticing, which include weighing, measuring, understanding fractions and time. Schools do not tend to spend a lot of time teaching cooking skills to children so you might like to try teaching them yourself.

Getting your child involved in the Kitchen will prepare him or her for self-sufficiency and an independent life. It is also a good way to handle fussy eaters because most children will eagerly eat something they have helped to make. The benefits of cooking with children include teaching your child an extremely useful skill.

Some Tips for Cooking with Children in the Kitchen

You can involve children as young as four in your cooking. Before starting, you need to consider a few things. Make sure you read the recipe through with your child so you know what to do and what you need. Clear some space and get all the ingredients and utensils ready on a low surface, which your child can see.

Think about which parts of the recipe your child can do. Older children might be able to strain a bowl of boiling noodles or take something hot out of the oven but you have to be more careful with younger kids. Your child should already know not to touch sharp knives but might forget in the excitement of cooking, so keep them out of reach.

In order for your child to learn about cooking, you should explain what you are doing each step of the way. Telling your child to mix a batter does not let them know why they need to mix those particular ingredients or what is going to happen next. Kids are naturally inquisitive and you will probably find that they do not stop asking questions the whole time anyway!

Teach your child to wash their hands before handling any food. If your child is young, tell them what you are doing as you prepare the food. An older child can measure the ingredients by themselves.

Recipes to Make with Children

Children love to knead and roll out dough, mix batters and crack eggs so you could make a cake together or some cookies. Pizza is a fun food and your child can decide on the toppings and arrange them himself. Icing a cake can also be fun for a child. If it is someone’s birthday, he can try to pipe a birthday message on the cake or arrange fruit on top. You might not get a particularly professional result but it will be fun for him and certainly appreciated by the recipient.

Whatever recipe you decide to make with your child, the most important thing with children cooking is to have fun. Cooking with children is an excellent bonding experience. Kids love to learn and it is always great to teach them something useful!

photo credit: Meryl CA

Now these are great to make for an upcoming Halloween party.  And I am sure you will have tons of people asking you for the recipe for next year.

What you need:

3oz lemon gelatin
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup  pineapple juice
1 8oz package cream cheese
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
1 cup mayonnaise

What to do:

Dissolve lemon gelatin in cup water in a double boiler.

Add in mini marshmallows and stir until they are all melted.

Remove from heat and add pineapple juice and cream cheese.

Beat together until smooth.

Next fold in whipped cream and Mayonnaise.

Allow to cool until firm. Using melon baller scoop up to make round balls.

Decorate them suing food coloring and a clean food paintbrush.

Now you have some gross ewwww eyeballs for your Halloween party.

Ok, here they are and have fun:
Fake Hot Dogs And French Fries

Your kids will love fake hot dogs and French fries for lunch this April fools day. Peel a banana and spread peanut butter all over it to give it the appearance of a hot dog. Serve it in a hot dog bun with some strawberry preserve drizzled over the hotdog to make it look like ketchup.
For the fries, peel some apples and cut them into sticks resembling fresh fries. Roll them in a cinnamon and sugar mixture and bake them for 8 to 10 minutes in a preheated 400 F oven. Serve with a side of strawberry preserve as fake ketchup. What a fun lunch.

Fool everyone in the family with these fun dinner and desert ideas. They won?t believe you are actually serving cake for dinner and spaghetti for dessert.

Cherry Cake Or Meatloaf?
Your Family will be in for a big surprise with this meatloaf cake.

Prepare your favorite meatloaf and bake it in two 9-inch cake pans. Reduce the cooking time from what you would usually cook it since the meatloaf cake is thinner. While the meatloaf cakes are baking, prepare some creamy mashed potatoes. Spread a layer of mashed potatoes on one of the cakes and top it with the second one. Use the remaining mashed potatoes to ?frost? your cake. Cut a few cherry tomatoes in half and use them to decorate the top.

Serve Spaghetti As Desert
Since your serving cake for dinner, it only makes sense to eat spaghetti for dessert. Place a slice of pound cake on a plate. Spoon some softened ice cream in a pastry bag with a thin round tip. Pipe the ice cream over the pound cake in a swirly motion to resemble spaghetti noodles. Freeze for about 15-20 minutes to allow the ice cream to harden back up. Top with strawberry jam as tomato sauce and a few coconut flakes to resemble Parmesan cheese.

Don?t Forget The Drinks
Meals like these deserve a fun twist on a beverage as well. Prepare some lemon Jell-o and pour it into glasses. Add a straw and let it set. It will look just like a glass of lemonade. You can even decorate the glass with a slice of lemon.

Have fun with these creative April Fool?s recipes this April 1st. They are sure to make your family smile. Enjoy!
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Want more family friendly recipes and crafts ideas? Visit Dine Without Whine for a sample weekly menu plan your entire family will love and www.kinderinfo.com for tons of kids craft and activity ideas that are sure to keep your little ones entertained.

Do you remember when you were little just how wonderful the house smelled as mom or dad was baking a batch of cookies or a cake from scratch? Wouldn’t you like to give your kids those same memories? Well then, how about you plan for say this weekend to bake something totally from scratch, cookies, cakes, biscuits anything as long as you make it from scratch. In fact, I’ll help you along by giving you this quick receipe from Homebaking.org for buttermilk buiscuits.

Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits

Makes 8 biscuits; 2/3 cup fruit butter
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 10 minutes

Biscuits:

2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup Land O Lakes Butter, cold ¾ cup buttermilk*
1 tablespoon Land O Lakes Butter, melted

Fruit Butter:

½ cup Land O Lakes Butter, softened
3 tablespoons of your favorite fruit preserves (peach, strawberry, raspberry, etc.)

For Biscuits:
Heat oven to 450°F. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl; Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in buttermilk just until moistened. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead about 10 times or until smooth. Roll out dough to ¾-inch thickness. Cut with 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Brush biscuits with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until lightly browned. Fruit Butter:
Stir together 1/2 cup softened butter and preserves in a small bowl until well mixed. Serve warm biscuits with fruit butter.

Savory Herb Biscuits: Omit salt. Substitute ¼ to ½ teaspoon garlic salt and stir in 1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried herb (dill weed, chives or crushed rosemary leaves). Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits: Omit salt. Stir in 2 tablespoons sugar and ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon with flour. Stir in 1/3 cup raisins with buttermilk. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle biscuits with sugar before baking. * Substitute 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice plus enough milk to equal 1 cup. Provided by Land O’ Lakes.
Nutrition Facts: (1 biscuit plus 1 tablespoon fruit butter)
Calories: 360
Protein: 4g
Carbohydrates: 30g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Fat: 25g
Cholesterol: 65mg
Sodium: 500mg

Now you have no excuse, get to baking and come back by and tell me how your family liked the home-baked item you chose to bake.