Cooking With Madelynn

I am always super excited when I find a great recipe that is easy enough to have one of the kids help me make it. I like to get them involved with cooking when I can because I think it helps them realize what goes into making the meal and hopefully makes them more interested in trying new things. Homemade Chicken and Dumplings is definitely a winner in the kid department and we have had it quite a lot. Madelynn has helped me every time except the first. We followed the recipe on Tasty Kitchen Blog.

 Here she is cutting the dumplings into squares! Or.... rectangles. :)

 Placing them all on a plate and flouring them.

Stirring! So proud of herself for cooking dinner.

Both of the kids are taking a cooking class in co-op right now and are excited to try new recipes that they have learned at home. I am thinking of starting a little cookbook for Madelynn of the stuff she enjoys cooking AND eating.

Chai Recipe and a Mug Cozy

I make some pretty good chai tea. Tim and I love having a cup together and I thought I would share how I make it so you all can enjoy a nice cup of chai! :) I also thought I'd share my super simple version on the mug cozies I have been seeing popping up on Pinterest. This is a super easy beginner project and can be made out of a small amount of yarn. The one I have pictured is my first attempt at one and I think it turned out rather cute!

Chai

Cover a chai tea bag with a little more than a cup of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Cover and boil for 5 minutes.
Add about one and a third cups of milk and bring to a simmer, stir and simmer for 1 minute.
Remove from heat.
Stir in about 1/6 cup of sugar. (I know this is an odd measurement, I just fill it to the halfway line in my 1/3 measuring cup).
Pour into two mugs, top with some homemade sweetened whip cream and sprinkle with cinnamon.
To make enough whipped cream to top the two cups of tea, just use about 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream. Pour it into a bowl that you have chilled in the freezer and use a hand mixer to whip it until there are stiff peaks. Super easy peasy!
If you are doubling the recipe for 4 servings, just be sure you add another tea bag in addition to doubling the other ingredients.

Mug Cozy

Make a chain for as tall as you would like your cozy to be, do one more chain and then single crochet in the second chain from hook and in each chain to the end. Chain one, turn and single crochet in each sc to the end. Repeat until it is long enough to go around your mug from one side of the handle to the other. Fasten off.
Join yarn with a single crochet or slip stitch along side of  work in the middle and single crochet around, when you get to the end of the piece, make a couple of chains and then resume single crocheting along the edge until you reach where you started, join and fasten off. Make sure the cozy will slide up over your handle and fit snugly, then repeat on the bottom. If you have a mug that is wider at the top like the one pictured, you may want to do a chain more on the top than the bottom when you are doing the edging.