There
are multiple kinds of fun foods ... fun fancy foods, fun
kid foods, fun comfort foods, fun sweet foods. What makes
a food a fun food? Fun foods must be fun to eat, look fun
- an element of creativity and silliness, and/or fun to
make. But I must warn you, these are not all health conscious
recipes!
Some
of our fun foods are more challenging to make than others.
Just like with any other recipe, plan plenty of time when
you are trying out new recipes. And choose a simpler recipe
if you are going to have lots of little helping hands in
the kitchen with you!
Preparing
food for your family can be fun, it doesn’t have to
be monotonous. A steady diet of these foods would not be
a great idea, but for a treat or special occasion, they
can’t be beat!
MINI
CORNDOGS
1
cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2
teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 egg, beaten slightly
3/4 c Milk
Oil
8 Frankfurters, cut into thirds
Combine
flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt
in a medium bowl. With a pastry blender, cut vegetable
shortening into flour mixture until there are fine
crumbs. Add egg and milk and blend well. Pour vegetable
oil to a 2 inch depth in a deep fryer or large saucepan.
Heat to 375°F. Pat frankfurter dry with paper
towels. Insert a toothpick into the center of each
frankfurter. Dip each frankfurter into batter and
then into hot oil until golden brown. Drain on paper.
Recipe
from www.recipesource.com.
FRIED FORTUNE
COOKIES
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour*
3 tablespoons salad oil
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (if you like)
White paper, scissors, pencil;
Cut paper into strips about 3-inches long and 1/2-inch
wide. Write a different fortune on each strip. (Examples:
"You will have a happy day." "You will
make a new friend soon.")
Heat griddle over medium heat (350°F
on electric skillet). Generously grease the hot griddle
with shortening, using pastry brush.
Beat egg in bowl with fork until foamy.
Beat in sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in flour,
oil, 2 tablespoons water, vanilla and cinnamon and
mix until smooth.
Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls
onto the greased hot griddle. Spread into circles
about 3-1/2-inches across, using the back of the spoon.
(The cookies must be very thin.)
Cook until light brown, about 3 minutes.
(Life an edge and peek.) Turn with pancake turner
and cook about 3 minutes on the other side.
Lift the cookies, one at a time, onto
plate. Place a paper fortune in center of each cookie,
then fold the cookie in half. Holding the edges, draw
the cookie gently down over the edge of muffin pan
to crease in half. Fit the cookie into a muffin pan
cup to hold its shape until cool.
Yield: 12 servings
*Do not use self-rising flour in this
recipe.
NOTE: These cookies need a flat surface
for baking because the batter is so thin. If you use
a slanted or warped griddle, they'll run all over
the place! It's a good idea to brush a little oil
on your pancake turner before you turn the first cookie.
For crisp fortune cookies, make them on a dry day,
be sure the griddle is hot enough, grease the griddle
with a thin coat of shortening and make sure to spread
the batter very thin.
Recipe
from Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys & Girls
SNOW
CONE or SHAVED ICE SYRUP
2
cups white sugar
1 cup water
1 (0.13 ounce) package unsweetened, fruit-flavored
soft drink mix
In
a saucepan, stir together the sugar and water.
Bring to a boil, and boil for about 1 minute.
Remove
from heat, and stir in the drink mix. Allow to cool,
and store in a container for pouring. Pour over shaved
ice to flavor.
Ice shavers
are available in electric or hand crank. Mine is manual
and I love it. I got it from pampered chef, check
out www.pamperedchef.com
Recipe
from www.allrecipes.com.
SOFT
PRETZELS aka MALL PRETZELS
1-1/3
cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 tablespoons margarine
1-1/2 tablespoons white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
4 cups water
1-1/2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons kosher salt
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in
the warm water. Proof for 5 minutes.
Mix in
butter or margarine, flour, and salt. Cut dough
into short strips, roll into ropes, and shape into
pretzels. Cover, and let rise on a greased baking
sheet for about 45 minutes.
In a
cast iron or other non-aluminum pan, bring water
and baking soda almost to a boil. Gently lower pretzels
into water for about 1 minute, turning once. Do
not let water come to a full boil. Remove pretzels,
and return to greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with
kosher salt.
Bake
at 475°F (245°C) for about 12 minutes.
Makes
12 servings.
Recipe
contributed by Rose Lynde.
LUNCH
BOX SUSHI
Whole
Wheat Flatbread
Ham slices cut into Thin Strips
Dill Pickles cut into Thin Strips
Carrots cut into Thin, Julienne Strips
Cream Cheese cut into Strips
Lay
out flatbread and trim a straight edge with a sharp
kitchen knife to aid in rolling the sandwich up
smoothly.
Assemble ingredients on the bread at the trimmed
edge, keeping them separated. Roll from the trimmed
end. Press together firmly as you roll. Use a toothpick
to hold in place until bread conforms to the shape
of the rolled sandwich. Trim off ragged ends of
roll.
Cut into ¾" slices. Place toothpicks
where needed to hold together until bread stays
in place on its own. Wrap in plastic wrap until
ready to eat or serve.
Recipe
from The Creative Life with Cheryl Fall. For step
by step pictures visit Cheryl's website www.thecreativelife.com
BEIGNETS
New
Orleans Style Square Donuts
1 package
Hot Roll Mix -- (1-pound)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Confectioners' sugar -- sifted
Prepare
roll mix according to package directions, adding
1/4 cup sugar to flour mixture and vanilla to hot
water. When kneading is completed, proceed as follows:
Coat a bowl with shortening or oil; roll ball of
dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover with waxed
paper and a towel. Refrigerate for several hours
or overnight. Remove dough from refrigerator; punch
down and cut in half. On a lightly floured surface,
roll each half to make a 9 x 12-inch rectangle.
Cut each into 12 (3-inch) squares. Cover with a
towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Deep fry beignets,
two at a time. Fry 1-1/2 minutes; turn and fry 1-1/2
minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle generously
with confectioners' sugar.
Makes
2 dozen.
Recipe
from www.recipesource.com
CHOCOLATE
DIPPED STRAWBERRIES
24
Fresh, large blemish-free strawberries
12 oz. dipping chocolate (semi-sweet works well)
Leave
strawberries whole, wash them well, leaving stems
on and let them dry completely on paper towels.
To
melt chocolate, in a microwave chop it coarsely
and put into a microwave-safe dish and microwave
on high for 1½ minutes, then stir well. Continue
to microwave in 5 seconds at a time. Stir after
each interval until completely melted and smooth.
To
melt chocolate in the oven, chop and place in pan.
Heat oven to 120°F. place pan in oven for about
10 minutes, or until chocolate is soft. Remove and
stir until smooth.
Chocolate
can also be melted in the stovetop using a double
boiler, over boiling water.
After
chocolate is melted and berries are completely dry,
begin to dip.
Hold
each strawberry by the stem and dip the bottom half
of the berry into the chocolate. Let the excess
drip back into the bowl or pan you melted it in.
Place dipped berries on a baking sheet lined with
waxed paper. Let chocolate set up on counter top.
Do not refrigerate. Eat soon!
White
chocolate works well as does a combination of white
and regular chocolate, dip first in regular and
then drizzle white over it when cooled or vice-versa.
Recipe
contributed by Connie Sorensen.
BIG
MAC COOKIES
Vanilla
wafers
Red food coloring
Yellow food coloring
Coconut
Peppermint patties (small)
1 can of white frosting
Green food coloring
Sesame seeds
Start
with one vanilla cookie, divide frosting into 2
bowls. Make one bowl red (ketchup), make one bowl
yellow (mustard). Spread mustard on bottom of wafer,
next add meat (peanut butter cookie), next add ketchup,
next lettuce (coconut tinted green) another vanilla
wafer on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
HINT:
Dot cookie with water before adding sesame seeds.
HARRY
POTTER CHOCOLATE TOADS
1/2
cup chocolate chips
2 tsp. butter or shortening
24 gummy frogs
In a double boiler, melt the chips and butter. With
a clean paintbrush, lightly paint the melted chocolate
onto the tops of the gummy frogs. Set onto a wax
paper-lined cookie sheet to dry. Once dry, store
in an airtight container.
Makes
24
Fresh,
Hot Begals
1 pk
active dry yeast
1-1/2 cups warm water (105-115°F)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
4 - 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 gallon water
Makes
18
Stir yeast into 1-1/2 cups warm water in large bowl; let
stand until bubbly, about 5 minutes. Stir in sugar, salt
and enough flour to make soft dough. Knead dough on lightly
floured board until smooth and elastic, adding remaining
flour as necessary.
Let dough stand covered in warm place 15 minutes. Punch
down dough; roll on lightly floured board to rectangle 13x4
inches (about 1-inch thick). Cut dough into 18 strips with
floured knife. Roll each strip gently to form rope 1/2-inch
thick; moisten ends and press together to form bagels. Place
bagels on floured cookie sheets. Let stand covered 20 minutes.
Heat
1 gallon water to boiling in large saucepan; reduce heat
to medium. Place 3 or 4 bagels in saucepan; simmer uncovered
7 minutes (no longer). Drain on towel. Repeat with remaining
bagels.
Heat oven to 375°F . Bake bagels on ungreased cookie
sheets until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
Makes 18 bagels.
Note: To top the bagels with poppy or sesame seeds, remove
them from the oven after 10 minutes of baking. Brush them
with 1 egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon water, sprinkle
with seeds. Continue baking until golden.
Recipe from:
"Bagels! Bagels! and more Bagels!" by Nao Hauser
and Sue Spitler
Bread Machine Cinnamon and Raisin
Bagels
1/2
cup raisins -- pre-soaked ***
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
1-1/8 cups water -- lukewarm
3 cups white bread flour
3-1/3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
***
Soak the raisins in warm water for 10 minutes. Drain and
pat dry. Toss with cinnamon and sugar, then place in the
machine with the rest of the ingredients.
Insert
ingredients in bread machine according to manufacturer's
instructions. Remove the dough from the machine after the
first knead - approximately 20 to 30 minutes.
Place
dough on a floured surface. Divide into 8 parts. Form balls,
gently press thumb through center of ball and slowly stretch
into bagel shape.
While
bagels rise, bring three quarts of water and one tablespoon
of sugar to a rapid boil in a large saucepan. Drop test
dough (see hints below).
Using
a slotted spoon, drop 2-3 bagels into rapidly boiling water.
Boil on each side for 1/2 minutes. Remove and cool on rack
1 minute, brush with egg and sprinkle with sesame or poppy
seeds, if desired.
Bake
at 400°F on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal,
until golden - approximately 15 minutes.
Frozen
Bread Dough Bagels Recipe
1
package Frozen bread dough
1 gallon Boiling water
1 Egg yolk
1 tablespoon Water
Let
the dough thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Cut loaf into
9-12 pieces. Roll into ropes and pinch ends together to
form a circle. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Drop
bagels into the boiling water, cooking one minute per side.
Life out with a slotted spoon and place on a greased cookie
sheet. Brush with a mixture of egg yolk and water. Bake
for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Bagel Success Hints
** When
forming the bagels, set aside two 1/4" balls of dough.
When the bagels have doubled in size, drop the test dough
into boiling water. The dough should pop to the top right
away. When this happens, it is time to boil the bagels.
** A
quick spray of non-stick vegetable coating on the top of
the bagel may be substituted for the egg wash.
** To
make bagel sticks, cut bagel before rising and lay out in
a straight line. Roll sticks in a combination of sesame
and poppy seeds with a pinch of garlic powder. Let sticks
rise, boil, and bake as described in the above directions.
** To
make bagel chips, slice leftover bagels horizontally into
thin slices. Bruish with butter or margarine on one side.
Lay (butter side up) on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake
at 325 for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
