This week the children are immersed in the theme of the ocean. The children created cute octopus today as well as ocean flashcards and a counting sheet. It is always fun when the themes can continue at home with the family. Here are some fun and cute food ideas that everyone can make together.
Crab Sandwich
This sandwich crab is made from 2 apple slices, 2/3 wiener dog, a sandwich ( could be any kind), 1 marshmallow, 2 mini chocolate chips and a piece of liquorice candy. It's a complete meal on one plate. Even the dessert is included!
Octopus and Seaweed
Ingredients
1 package (3 ounces) beef ramen noodles
4 hot dogs
5 drops liquid green food coloring, optional
Prepared mustard
Directions
In a large saucepan, bring 1-1/2 cups water to a boil. Add the noodles and contents of seasoning packet. Boil for 3-4 minutes or until noodles are tender.
Meanwhile, add 4 in. of water to another large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cut each hot dog lengthwise into eight strips to within 2 in of one end. Drop into boiling water; cook until heated through.
Add food coloring to noodles if desired. Drain if necessary. Place noodles on serving plates; top with a hot dog. Add eyes and mouth with dabs of mustard
Turtle Bread
Ingredients
2 1/2to 3 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
1package quick active dry yeast
1tablespoon sugar
1teaspoon salt
1/2cup water
1/3cup milk
1tablespoon butter or margarine
1egg
2raisins
1 In large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the yeast, sugar and salt; set aside.
2 In 1-quart saucepan, heat water, milk and butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally, to 125°F to 130°F; stir into yeast mixture. Stir in egg. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. On lightly floured surface, knead dough about 5 minutes or until smooth and springy. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
3 Lightly grease cookie sheet with shortening or spray with cooking spray. Shape a 2-inch piece of dough into a ball for turtle’s head. Shape 4 walnut-size pieces of dough into balls for feet. Shape 1 walnut-size piece of dough into tail. Shape remaining dough into ball for turtle body; place on cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Attach head, feet and tail by placing 1 end of each under edge of body to secure. Press raisins into head for eyes. Cover and let rise in warm place 20 minutes.
4 Heat oven to 400°F. Make 1/4-inch-deep circular cut around top edge of body, then make crisscross cuts in center to look like a turtle's shell. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Starfish S’Mores.
To make these Starfish S’mores you’ll need some equipment…
stand mixer small saucepan with lid candy thermometer 9″ x 13″ pan rubber spatula and/or an offset spatula star cookie cutter (I used the 3″ cutter) dipping fork or kitchen fork parchment paper or wax paper baking sheet or cutting board toothpick
To make my little starfish s’mores, I whipped up a batch of homemade marshmallows, cut them out with a star-shaped cookie cutter, dipped them in some melted chocolate, sprinkled on crushed graham crackers, and added two silly little edible eyes.
You don’t have to be an expert candy dipper to make these, as the more lumpy and messy they are, the better they look.
To make these Starfish S’mores you’ll need some equipment…
stand mixer
small saucepan with lid
candy thermometer
9″ x 13″ pan
rubber spatula and/or an offset spatula
star cookie cutter (I used the 3″ cutter)
dipping fork or kitchen fork
parchment paper or wax paper
baking sheet or cutting board
toothpick
Starfish S’mores
Pan Prep
butter or non-stick baking spray – Grease the inside of a 9X13-inch pan well. I prefer the flavor of butter but the non-stick baking spray works well too.
a blend of powdered sugar and corn starch – Some recipes tell you to dust your marshmallows with just corn starch. I’m not a fan of the flavor, so I blend my corn starch with powdered sugar. Powdered sugar already has corn starch in it, but it’s best to add a bit more.
Homemade Marshmallows
water – You will dissolve the gelatin in water then use more water to make a sugar syrup.
gelatin – Use unflavored gelatin. You’ll need 2 1/2 tablespoons for this homemade marshmallow recipe. It’s best to measure the gelatin as packages don’t always contain the same amount from brand to brand.
granulated sugar – Adds sweetness and structure to the marshmallows.
light corn syrup – This will not only add sweetness but will also keep the sugar from crystalizing. Crystalized sugar will make your marshmallows gritty. By adding corn syrup your marshmallows will be smooth.
vanilla – I suggest you use pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste for the best flavor. I love using vanilla bean paste as it loaded with real vanilla bean seeds. When you make your marshmallows with the paste they will be speckled with vanilla bean seeds.
S’mores Toppings and Decorations
semi-sweet chocolate – You’ll make the marshmallows then dip them in dark chocolate. Choose your favorite semi-sweet (or bittersweet) chocolate.
graham crackers – Crush 50 graham cracker squares (or 25 whole crackers) to make the crumbs to coat your chocolate-dipped marshmallow stars. You may also want to crush more crackers to use as sand to display your starfish s ‘mores.
candy eyes – Not all candy eyes are created equal. I use 3/8 inch royal icing eyes. They look really cute. Some brands of candy eyes are a bit too bug-eyed-looking for my taste.
Bloom the gelatin and boil the sugar syrup.
Pour 1/2 cup of water into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Sprinkle 2 1/2 tablespoons of gelatin over the top of the water and allow it to soften (bloom) for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour the remaining 1/2 cup water, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1 cup corn syrup, and a pinch of salt into a small saucepan.
Stir just to combine ingredients. You don’t want to get sugar crystals on the side of the pan, so stir slowly.
Cover saucepan, place over medium heat, and bring to a boil. This will take about 4-5 minutes. Condensation will build up in the pan and when you remove the lid, the water will help to wash down any sugar crystals on the side of the pan. If you notice lots of sugar crystals, you can put the lid back on the pan for a few more minutes or you can dip a pastry brush in water and brush the water around the side of the pan to each the crystals back into the boiling sugar syrup.
Remove the pan lid, and clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan.
Continue to cook, without stirring, until the mixture reaches 240 degrees Fahrenheit (about 7-8 minutes.)
Be very careful not to touch or spill any of this hot syrup on your skin – it will burn badly!
Whip the marshmallows until light and fluffy.
Place the whisk attachment on your stand mixer.
You will need to whisk this marshmallow mixture at high speed for about 15 minutes so it is imperative that you use a strong stand mixer, not a handheld mixer.
Turn the stand mixer onto low speed.
Very carefully and slowly pour the hot sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the softened gelatin.
This hot liquid can burn your skin badly, so be very careful with this step.
Once all of the sugar syrup is in the bowl, increase the mixer speed to high (going up a few steps at a time).
Whip until the marshmallow becomes very thick and cools to a lukewarm temperature, about 12-15 minutes.
Add the vanilla (use vanilla bean paste for the best flavor) and whip just to combine.
Spread Marshmallows in a 9X13-inch pan.
While the marshmallow is whipping, prepare your pan.
Butter the bottom and sides of a 9″ x 13″ pan.
Combine the powdered sugar and cornstarch in a bowl.
Pour about half of the powder blend through a fine-mesh sieve evenly over the bottom and sides of the pan.
Tap pan to remove excess.
Save remaining powder for later.
Butter or spray a rubber spatula and use it to remove the marshmallow from the bowl.
Spread the marshmallow evenly in the pan.
Use a buttered offset spatula to smooth the surface.
Dust marshmallows with powdered sugar and corn starch.
Dust the top of the marshmallow with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover.
You can now use your hands to really flatten out the marshmallow.
Cover any remaining powdered mixture for later use.
Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Cut out marshmallow stars.
Set a large cutting board on top of the pan of marshmallows.
Turn both the board and pan upside down.
The marshmallow should fall right out of the pan onto the board. If it doesn’t, help it along.
Dust a star-shaped cookie cutter with some of the powdered sugar/cornstarch mixture.
Press the cookie cutter into the marshmallow, remove, and press the marshmallow out.
Dust the cutter again, and continue to cut stars until you can’t cut anymore.
As you can see, you will have a lot of marshmallow scraps. Either dust them with more powdered sugar/cornstarch or dip them in any leftover chocolate.
How to melt chocolate to dip Starfish S’mores:
Pour chopped chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl.
Heat on high power for 30 seconds. Stir.
Heat on high power for 20 seconds. Stir vigorously.
Heat on high power for 15 seconds. Stir vigorously.
If not melted, continue to heat for 10-second increments, stirring after each, until melted. For more detailed melting instructions, read my chocolate-making tutorial.
NOTE: you don’t need to temper this chocolate because the graham crackers will completely coat the chocolate, therefore you can use good quality pure chocolate for this recipe. You can, if you prefer, use confectionery coating/candy melts. You do need to make sure, however, your melted chocolate is not too hot, somewhere between 90 and 97 degrees Fahrenheit, so you don’t melt your marshmallows.
Dip Marshmallow Stars into Chocolate and Graham Cracker Crumbs:
Pour graham cracker crumbs into a shallow dish.
Place one marshmallow star in the melted chocolate. Use a fork to press the marshmallow into the chocolate, covering the top and all sides of the star.
Place the fork on the underside of the marshmallow and use it to lift the marshmallow out of the chocolate.
Shake the marshmallow to allow any excess chocolate to fall off.
Set the marshmallow in the graham cracker crumbs.
NOT PICTURED (but shown in the video tutorial above) – attach two candy eyes now.
Sprinkle and push the crumbs over and up against the marshmallow star.
Completely cover the star with crumbs and allow to dry for 1-2 minutes in the crumbs.
Remove from crumbs and set on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet or cutting board.
If you don’t attach them to the wet chocolate you can use a toothpick to dig out small circles of the graham cracker crumbs where the eyes will be on each starfish. Add a dab of chocolate to the holes and place an eye on top.
How to store Starfish S’mores:
Store your marshmallow starfish in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Package individual starfish in cellophane bags to give as party favors or gifts.
Hope some of these look fun to try and kids will enjoy cooking such a fun treat!
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