Pre-K Fun Alphabet Cooking

~ B ~

Banana in a Blanket

1 flour tortilla
Peanut butter
Mini M&M’s®
Banana

Heat tortilla in microwave on a paper towel for about 15 seconds. Spread
 tortilla with peanut butter. Sprinkle M&M’s® on peanut butter. Lay
 peeled banana on the edge of tortilla. Roll tortilla around banana.

Banana Splits 

Let the children cut their own bananas with a plastic knife.

Butter

Very easy - pour whipping cream and a touch of
salt into baby food jars - shake until butter forms! 

Bird's Nests

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
3 oz. can chow mien noodles
24 jelly beans

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add brown sugar. Boil and stir for one minute.
 Add chow mien noodles. Put the mixture in 12 paper baking cups in a
 muffin tin. Use your thumb to press noodles into the nest while still warm.
 DO NOT BAKE. Give children 2 jelly bean "eggs" to put in their nests.

Boogers On A Stick

1 jar cheese whiz - 8 oz.
green food coloring
25 pretzel sticks
waxed paper
1 long handled spoon
platter

Melt the cheese whiz in the microwave or on top of the stove, according to
 directions on the jar. Allow the cheese to cool slightly in the jar. Using a long
 handled spoon, carefully stir about three drops of green food coloring into
 the warm cheese, using just enough to turn the cheese a delicate snot green.
 To form boogers: Dip and twist the tip of each pretzel stick into the cheese, lift
 out, wait twenty seconds, then dip again. When cheese lumps reach an appealingly
 boogerish size, set pretzels, booger down, onto a sheet of waxed paper. Allow the
 finished boogers on a stick to cool at room temperature for ten minutes or until cheese is firm.
 Gently pull boogers off waxed paper and arrange on a serving platter. Serves 5 to 6 booger buddies.

Bear Claws

To create bear claws, you will need a can of biscuits, margarine (melted),
 cinnamon sugar, and almond slivers. To make a bear claw, cook biscuits
 according to package directions. Brush each biscuit with the melted
 margarine, and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. While the biscuit is still very
 warm, insert five almond slivers around the edge so that it looks like a bear claw.

Banana Chocolate Crunch Popsicles

1 banana
chocolate syrup
chopped nuts or granola

Peel banana, place popsicle stick in one end. Dip banana in
 chocolate syrup and roll in nuts or granola. Freeze for 2-3 hours.

Banana Nut Smoothie

1 cup milk
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 large banana
1/4 cup pistachio nuts or walnuts

Blend for one minute.

Banana Punch

2 bananas
1/2 pint of milk
3 tablespoons of yoghurt
1 tablespoon of honey
pinch of nutmeg

Peel bananas and break them into large chunks. Put them in a blender
 with the milk, yoghurt, honey and nutmeg and blend until it’s smooth.
 Pour into tall glasses and drink straight away.

Banana Caterpillar

Makes one large caterpillar.
1 large banana
1 tablespoon peanut butter
2 raisins

Peel the banana. Cut into round slices. Spread peanut butter on
 one side of each slice. Stick all the slices together. Add raisins
 with peanut butter to one of the banana ends for eyes.

Giant Banana Boat

6 bananas, peeled and cut into chunks
1 pint of vanilla ice cream
fudge ice cream topping or chocolate syrup
1 pint of chocolate and or strawberry ice cream
1/2 cup of strawberry, caramel, and or pineapple ice cream topping
pressurized whipped dessert topping
1/4 cup of nuts for topping
Maraschino cherries

Put half of the banana chunks in a glass bowl. Put the scoops of vanilla ice cream
 on top of the bananas. Squeeze the fudge topping or chocolate syrup over the ice
 cream. Top with the remaining banana chunks and scoops of chocolate and or strawberry
 ice cream. Use a spoon to drizzle the strawberry, caramel and or pineapple topping over
 ice cream. Squirt the whipped topping over the ice cream. Sprinkle with nut topping.
 Top with cherries. Serve right away. Makes 8 servings

Banana Split Cereal

1 small ripe banana
1/2 cup of fresh blueberries or other fresh fruit
1/2 cup of nonfat or low fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup of low sugar cereal, (Cheerios, Wheaties, Grapenuts)

Peel the banana and slice it lengthwise. Wash the blueberries by placing them
 in a colander and running water over them. If you decide to use another type of
fruit, wash and cut it into small pieces. Spoon the yogurt in a mound in the center
 of a cereal bowl. Sprinkle the cereal on top of the yogurt. Arrange the banana
 halves on either side of the yogurt. Sprinkle the top with blueberries or other fruit.

Banana Tree Stumps

1 1/2 cups butterscotch pieces
6 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
4 medium bananas
1 1/2 cups finely chopped peanuts or almond brickle pieces

In a small saucepan, combine the butterscotch pieces and peanut butter.
 Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until butterscotch pieces are melted.
 Remove from heat. Peel the banana. With a knife, cut the banana into 1-inch
 pieces. Dip each piece of banana into the butterscotch mixture. Lift out with
 a fork. Roll in the chopped peanuts or almond brickle pieces to coat.
 Place on a wax paper-lined plate. Chill for 2 hours.

Very Berry Pops

1/2 cup cranberry, raspberry, or any other berry juice
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup berries
(fresh or frozen strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, or whatever you like)

Pour the berry juice in a saucepan and add the gelatin. Warm on the
 stove on low heat. Stir until the gelatin dissolves. Pour into a blender
 and add yogurt and berries. Blend for about 2 minutes.

Pour the mixture into small 3 ounce paper cups and cover the top
 of the cup with foil. Poke a wooden stick in the middle of each
 paper cup so the stick stays in place. Put the cups on a cookie
 sheet and freeze for a few hours. When you take the popsicles out
 of the freezer, peel the paper and foil away and enjoy your berry pops!

Blue's Clues Jell-o

2 1/2 cups of boiling water
2 packages of (8 oz.) Blue Jell-O
1 cup of cold milk
1 package of (4 serve size) Jell-O Vanilla Instant Pudding

Stir the boiling water into gelatin in large bowl at least 3 minutes until it is completely
 dissolved. Cool for 30 minutes at room temperature. Pour the milk into medium bowl.
 Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 1 minute. Quickly pour into Jell-O. Stir with
 wire whisk until well blended. Pour into 13 x 9 inch pan. Refrigerate 3 hours or until
 firm. Dip bottom of pan in warm water about 15 seconds. Cut into decorative shapes
 with cookie cutters all the way through gelatin or cut into 1 inch squares.

Bar - Be Cups

3/4 lb. hamburger
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 Tblsp. chopped onion
2 Tblsp. brown sugar
1 8 - oz. can refrigerator biscuits
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Brown meat in skillet. Place one biscuit each in 12 ungreased muffin cups,
 pressing dough up sides to edge of cup. After meat is browned, drain and
 add barbecue sauce, onion and brown sugar. Spoon meat mixture into cups.
 Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake 10 - 12 minutes. at 400 degrees.

Easy Beef Stroganoff

1 lb. beef tips, stew meat, or round steak, cut into cubes
1 pkg. dry onion or beefy onion soup mix
1 can of cream of celery soup
1 can of cream of mushroom soup

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.  Cook on low 6 to 8 hours.
  Stir occasionally.  Serve over noodles. Serves 6.

Burritos

Provide each child with the following: a small flour tortilla, a tablespoon of refried beans,
 a tablespoon of shredded cheese, and a small cup of mild salsa for dipping. 
 Demonstrate how to spread the beans on the tortilla, sprinkle the cheese
 over the beans, and then roll the tortilla into a burrito. Yummy!

Baked Wormy Apples

6 large Golden Delicious apples
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup Firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 Gummy Worms

Core apples from bottom ends, leaving stem ends intact.  Mix raisins and walnuts and
 stuff into cavities of cored apples. Set apples, stems up in a 9 x 13-inch pan.  Mix
 brown sugar, water, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a 2 quart pan Stir over high
 heat until the mixture boils. Pour the hot syrup around the apples. Bake, uncovered,
 in 350 degree oven, basting occasionally with the syrup. Bake until the apples are tender
 when pierced and the skin begins to crack, about 30 to 35 minutes.  Remove the apples
 from oven; cool in the pan about 20 minutes. Set each apple in a small bowl. Cut a hole,
 about the size of a dime, in the top of each apple, and tuck in a candy worms , leaving
 most of the worm dangling out. Spoon some of the syrup on and around the apples.

Biscuit Pizza

1 small can pizza sauce
Grated mozzarella cheese
1 (10 count) can biscuits

On ungreased cookie sheet, place biscuits about one inch apart.
Flatten biscuit with palm of hand, then put on one tablespoon of
pizza sauce and sprinkle on cheese. Bake according to directions
on biscuit can, usually at 450 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes.
You can add sliced pepperoni, chopped olives, sliced mushrooms, etc.

Bismarks

1 can refrigerator biscuits
Jelly or jam
Vegetable oil
Confectioners’ sugar
Cinnamon (optional)

Flatten each biscuit. Place 1/2 teaspoon jelly in center of biscuit.
Fold over and seal edges with fork. Fry in heated oil. Drain on paper
towels and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, if desired. Adult supervision a must.

Breakfast Burritos

1/2 pound sausage, ham, or bacon
8 eggs
8 flour tortillas
1 (7 ounce) can diced chiles, optional
1 cup cheese, shredded
2 cups salsa

Brown sausage and drain excess fat, or cook bacon and drain well, or dice ham.
 Scramble eggs. Warm tortilla. Place one tortilla on plate, spoon approximately
 2 tablespoons diced chilies down the center. Spoon 1/8 the meat and egg down
 center of tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll ingredients inside tortilla in a burrito
 fashion. Serve with salsa, fresh fruit, and milk.  Make-ahead tips: Cool meat and eggs.
 To make rolling burritos easier, warm tortilla slightly. Prepare burrito as directed above.
 Place burritos in covered container or sandwich bags. When ready to enjoy, microwave
 burrito a few seconds to one minute or until hot (caution - do not overheat and burn mouth)
. Prepare ingredients ahead and place in resealable storage containers. When ready to enjoy
 burrito, remove containers from refrigerator, prepare burritos as directed above. Microwave to heat

Breakfast Sundae

1 tablespoon strawberry jam
1/2 cup Cheerios
1/2 cup strawberry flavored yogurt
3 whole fresh strawberries

Wash strawberries and remove stems. Place 1 tablespoon
strawberry jam in bottom of glass. Put 1/4 cup Cheerios on
top of jam. Slice 1 strawberry and place on top of Cheerios.
Put 1/4 cup yogurt over strawberries. Add remaining layer of Cheerios. Slice another
strawberry and place on top. Add remaining yogurt; top with whole strawberry.

Butterfinger Crunch Pudding

1 container Cool Whip®
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1 Butterfinger candy bar

Set Cool Whip® in the refrigerator the night before making the pudding
 so that it can thaw. Put the Cool Whip® in a large bowl and stir in the
 box of dry instant chocolate pudding. Stir until it is mixed in well and
 looks like chocolate whipped topping. Put the Butterfinger into a
 shallow bowl and crush into small pieces with the back of a spoon.
 Stir the crushed pieces into the chocolate mixture. Refrigerate for a few hours.

Big Bad Wolf's Brownies

Margarine for greasing the baking pan
1/2 cup of margarine (about 1 stick)
2 squares (2 ounces) of unsweetened chocolate
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of unsifted all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup of pecan or walnut pieces, raisins or salted peanuts

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan with margarine.
 Melt the margarine and chocolate in a large saucepan over very low heat. Remove
 the saucepan from the heat. Stir in the sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla and eggs
 and beat well with an eggbeater. Stir in the nuts. Pour the batter into the baking pan.
 Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a rack.
 Once the brownies are cool, cut them into squares. Makes 16 brownies

Graphics by AMR ORIGINALS