The Dessert Blog

(ARA) - Barbecues are not just for summer anymore, but the rich flavors can be enjoyed year-round and even in-doors. As kids head back to school this fall, a great way to celebrate is with a Cowboy themed BBQ.

“Kids of all ages have an inner-cowboy screaming to come out” says Dotty Griffith, author of “The Contemporary Cowboy Cookbook” and an expert on entertaining and cooking cowboy-style “Whether you are rounding up the gang for a back-to-school bash or just celebrating a birthday, a cowboy themed party is an easy way to engage children, have fun, and create an experience that is sure to be unforgettable.”

Here are a few suggestions to help you “rustle up” a good time:

Lasso the Gang: Create eye-catching, mood-setting invitations with your kids by writing out the party details on construction paper, rolling them up in a colorful bandana and tying with twine. Also, consider finding horseshoes and attaching the invitation to them, or if the invitations can be hand-delivered attach them to a cowboy hat. At the craft store, try to pick up themed stickers or hand stamps to decorate the invitations.

Show-Stopper Props: For the truly adventurous wrangler host who wants a sure fire way to impress the kids, try any of the following rentable props to make them feel right at home on the ranch — OK Corral entrances, split-rail fences, bales of hay, long-horn steer or buffalo skulls, a covered wagon, three-dimensional farm animals like pigs, cows and lambs and a ranch scene mural for fun photos.

Character Building: Everyone loves to play dress-up, so encourage the children to come to the party donning a western-themed costume, i.e. a cowboy, cowgirl, or sheriff. At craft stores, look for straw cowboy hats and bandanas, just in case someone wants to touch up their outfit during the party.

What’s Cooking: As we all know, children can be very picky eaters. That’s why the simple cuisine of the Wild West – a true American BBQ — is so perfect, as it can be interactive and fun. To help capture the flavors of the west while putting together a down-home American ranch BBQ for the little cowboys, look for recipes and products that do double duty and will make the your job as head rancher look effortless.

Griffith suggests delighting kids with finger food appetizers like chicken strips and sliced vegetables and recommends using a bold, creamy Ranch dressing like new Wish-Bone Ranch-Up! as a dipping sauce. The dressing does its double duty with its easy squeeze bottle that is great for allowing kids to make designs on their plates and dip away. Pick an easy to serve main dish like hamburgers and allow kids to get creative when topping them with other kinds of easy to squeeze condiments, like colored ketchup or mustard. Griffith also suggests side dishes that are sweet and tangy like a coleslaw or potato salad using Western Dressing, which is known for its sweet and smooth taste. And save the best for last by serving an assortment of ice cream in spatter ware coffee mugs. (For more Wild West recipe ideas, go to www.wish-bone.com)

Serving It Up: Purchase cowboy-themed plates and cups at any craft store; set the table with white paper table cloths and allow kids to draw their favorite western scenes around their eating area. Use colored bandanas as napkins, turn Cowboy hats upside down to use as chips bowls and try to find plastic cowboy figurines at craft stores to decorate the table.

Musical Cowboy Hats: For a sure to please game, play musical cowboy hats and have kids walk around hats until the music stops. The one who manages to get a hat after each round wins.

Ready, Set, Draw: Create a craft area for the children and supply them with all the usual suspects, glue, crayons, glitter, etc, but add a little Wild West flare, by giving them twigs, grass and wildflowers to see what they come up with.

Kiddie Tunes: Divide the children into small groups and have one adult teach each group the words to a favorite campfire song like, “Old McDonald” or “Home on the Range.” After the kids have mastered the tune and the words, have each team put on a show for the other cowboys and cowgirls on the ranch.

Visit Idea Sparks for free kids recipes.

Great Cook Books For Kids
———-
Some popular Kid’s cook books help parents and children learn to interact in the kitchen. Kids love to cook and these cook books describe simple ways to cook nutritious meals with children in mind.

1) Burning Down the House, Cooking with Kids
This cooking with kids cookbook is a simple, easy to follow cookbook - containing recipes that allow a child’s mind to explore the wonders of cooking. The kid friendly cook book features recipes for breakfast to to bedtime. Recipes include Lemon Pancakes, Jazzy Popcorn, Peanut Butter Spaghetti and more.

Burning Down the House, Cooking With Kids (English)
Price range: $9.35 from 1 Seller
Publisher: T C Pub
Format: Paperback
MSRP: $ 9.95

2) Someone’s in the Kitchen with Mommy : 100 Easy Recipes and Fun Crafts for Parents and Kids
This cook book has more than than 100 easy kid friendly recipes and some fun craft projects that parents and children will enjoy together in the kitchen. The cookbook includes recipes for nutritious, low-fat, tasty snacks and meals for holidays, rainy days, or any day.

Someone’s in the Kitchen With Mommy (English)
(More Than 100 Easy Recipes and Fun Crafts for Parents and Kids - ISBN: 0809231425)
Price range: $5.75 (Refurb) - $23.95 from 7 Sellers
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Format: Hardcover
MSRP: $ 15.95
Adults and kids can enjoy creating nutritious, reduced fat, and yummy snacks and meals for holidays, rainy days, or any day! Someone’s in the Kitchen with Mommy contains 100 recipes that are not only fun to make but also look great too.

3) Kids In The Kitchen: 100 Delicious, Fun & Healthy Recipes to Cook & Bake
This is a kid approved cook book that has over 100 tasty, fun & nutritious recipes showing children the fundamentals of nutritious baking and cooking.
Fun & Healthy 100 Delicious Recipes to Cook & Bake - ISBN: 0806904461)
Price range: $2.95 (used) - $33.13 from 3 Sellers
Edition: Kids in the Kitchen : 100 Delicious, Fun & Healthy Recipes to Cook & Bake
Publisher: Sterling Pub Co Inc
Format: Paperback
MSRP: $ 13.95

The book has clear directions and color photos of ingredients and finished products in addition to the photographs of children hard at work.

4) American Heart Association Kids’ Cookbook
The American Heart Association Kid’s Cookbook (1 Release)
Author: American Heart Association

For more awesome kid approved ideas log onto http://www.kidapprovedmeals.com or visit Free Kid’s Recipes

Most people absolutely rave about the cast iron cookware that they own. This can be for many reasons. This type of cookware is great heat conductor and heats thoroughly and evenly. It also is fairly inexpensive and if taken care of, can last a lifetime. Another reason is that it is a great way to cook foods in a fat free way, if they are seasoned correctly. While most individuals do not think that this type of cookware can be resistant to foods sticking, they can and can actually require that no additional oils be added.

Cast iron cookware is not only a product that has been used by pioneering women and those of southern decent, but by professional cooks and chefs. For many professionals, this is the cookware of choice, because of the ability to control the temperatures of the foods and their dependability. This cookware isn’t used just for cooking on the stove, but for making foods that need to be baked as well. Items like cornbread and even biscuits can be baked evenly in cookware made of cast iron, along with many other dishes.

There are many different types of cookware that are made of cast iron. There are skillets and frying pans that come in many different sizes. Many individuals can remember their mothers and grandmothers frying chicken on Sunday’s in these pans or many other meals. There are also the cast iron griddles which always seem to get a mention in the cooking book our mothers always used to find their cheap recipes. These griddles can be used to make pancakes, French toast or perhaps a grilled cheese sandwich. These griddles are so resilient that they can be used to cook foods over a campfire. Another cast iron cookware item is the Dutch oven. Long before the crock pot was ever thought of, the Dutch oven was making slow cooked meals for the whole family. The great thing about these Dutch ovens is, like other cookware that is made of cast iron, it can go from stovetop to oven and back again, if needed, without a problem.

If you have never taken the time to investigate cast iron cookware, then it is well worth your time. This cookware is so versatile and can be used for many, many years. Whether you are using a cast iron skillet, griddle or a Dutch oven, they are absolutely great for almost any foods that need to be prepared. Think of the early pioneers, this cookware was a necessity back in those days; all of their meals were prepared in this type of cookware. Today can be seen as something that many individuals would not want to cook without.