Children's Book Review: P Is for Passover

P Is For Passover
Written by:  Tanya Lee Stone
Illustrated by: Margeaux Lucas
Published by: Price Stern Sloan, 2003

from goodreads.com:
In this new shaped alphabet book, families will enjoy learning about Passover! Every page contains a letter of the alphabet along with sweet, rhyming text that corresponds with each letter. And as an added bonus, at the end of the book is the complete story of Passover. This is a perfect introduction to the holiday!

* My family is fortunate to be able to celebrate both Passover and Easter.  They fall so close together this year that it's going to be a very busy weekend for us!  After travelling to Maryland to visit my sister and her family this past week, we arrived back home on Friday.  Today we will make a trip to my husband's aunt's house to celebrate Passover and then tomorrow will be celebrating Easter with my family. 

I put a bunch of holiday books on hold at the library and honestly, after reading a few, most of them are just not worth reviewing.  We own a bunch of character-related books (Strawberry Shortcake, Corduroy, Dora, etc.) and there are a whole bunch more character themed holiday books that we don't own.  I did find two books in off our own shelves that I thought that I'd spotlight today and tomorrow.  This being the Passover book that we enjoy so much.

Told in rhyme, this book goes through each letter of the alphabet and introduces a Passover related word.  We enjoy reading this book every year at Passover as a little refresher before we have our Seder.  It's simple yet informative enough for even my three year-old son to understand. 

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Children's Book Review: Sophie's Fish

Sophie's Fish
Written by:  A.E. Cannon
Illustrated by: Lee White
Published by: Viking, 2012

from goodreads.com:
Jake starts to worry about everything that could go wrong when he agrees to take care of his friend Sophie's fish for the weekend.

* Jake's classmate Sophie asks him to take care of her fish over the weekend.  Unfortunately, Jake has never had a fish and knows nothing about taking care of them.  He worries himself with different scenarios of what ifs....Sophie calms his fears, letting Jake know that he only has to feed Yo-Yo twice a day.  Of course there's a surprise ending!  As we continue to talk about different pets for our family, fish have never been at the top of our list.  In the past (when my daughter has been too young to remember) we had a couple of goldfish that unfortunately didn't last very long.  This book helped support the idea that you don't really do much having a fish as a pet.  The kids enjoyed this story and haven't started asking for a pet fish!

Family Rating:  1 thumbs up.

Robbi's M&M Cookies

My daughter recently joined Girl Scouts.  Her troop had their Investiture ceremony last week and we were asked to bring refreshments to eat after the ceremony.  I knew that I couldn't go wrong with these cookies.  What five, six, and seven year old girls don't like M&M cookies?!  I have to say that I don't make cookies a lot.  And believe it or not, I don't think I've ever made M&M cookies until now.  I will say that after making these for the first time, that I WILL be making them again! I think the shortening made them so good.  I had never made cookies with shortening either before now.  Somehow, these cookies had a more buttery, crispier, taste than other cookies I've made.  I don't know if I made my cookies larger than normal but I only got about 48 versus the 72 that the original recipe says it makes.  Regardless, I saved a dozen of the cookies for the family and we ate them up in days.  The Daisy Girl Scouts and their families also ate all the cookies up at the ceremony!

Robbi's M&M Cookies
allrecipes.com - by Robbi Schultze

Yield: 5 to 6 dozen

Ingredients:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups candy-coated milk chocolate pieces

Directions:
1.In a large bowl, mix sugar, eggs, shortening, and vanilla thoroughly. Add flour, salt, and baking soda to creamed mixture. Blend well. Add 3/4 cup of M&M candies.

2.Drop dough by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet. Slightly push a few candies on top of each dough ball with remaining candies.

3.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 9 to 11 minutes, to your liking.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Children's Book Review: And Then It's Spring

And Then It's Spring
Written by:  Julie Fogliano
Illustrated by: Erin E. Stead
Published by: Roaring Brook Press, 2012

From goodreads.com:
Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they've had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be on its way.

Julie Fogliano's tender story of anticipation is brought to life by the distinctive illustrations Erin E. Stead, recipient of the 2011 Caldecott Medal.

* My kids are very familiar with planting seeds.  Every spring I have them help me plant seeds. Even though I've tried gardening in both a box and containers, I've realized that I'm not very good at it.  A couple of weeks ago we planted our seeds.  The cries of excitement when the kids found them sprouting was priceless.  I'm keeping my fingers crosssed that we have better luck this year than in the past! This book captures that anticipation of waiting to see if seeds will sprout.  In this story the boy plants his seeds outside and he thinks of all the things that can go wrong (the birds eat the seeds, the bears stomp on the ground).  Although the kids could relate to the story, it didn't interest them very much.  As my daughter said, "It was okay."  I thought it was a nice book to read as spring begins.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Creamy Ham Casserole

I was looking to use up a ham steak that I've had sitting in my freezer for awhile.  A couple of weeks ago I came across this recipe while I was planning the meals for the week.  While it looked good and enabled me to use the ham steak, I realized that I already had a pasta dish for the week.  I thought that I'd try substituting potatoes for the pasta.  Surprisingly, it ended up working out nicely.  It was super cheesy (I may have needed to use more potatoes) but we all enjoyed it. It did require some prep in the beginning (the kids got to watch a little television while I did the prep work) and then while it baked for thirty minutes it gave me enough time to get the kids showered, so although a little time-consuming, it all ended up working out well.

Creamy Ham Casserole
Recipe adapted from The Novice Chef

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 pound of potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 quarts boiling water
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup fat free milk
1 10oz can reduced-fat, reduced sodium, cream of mushroom soup
2 cups (8 oz) reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 (6 oz) tub light cream cheese with chives and onions, softened
2 cups chopped lean ham
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions:
Cook potatoes in 2 quarts boiling water for 12-15 minutes, until tender. Add broccoli and carrots and cook 3 minutes more.

Combine milk, soup, cheddar cheese, and cream cheese in a large bowl; mix well with a whisk. Add noodle mixture and ham and stir well.

Divide potato mixture evenly between a 9x13 baking dish that has been coated with olive oil (or Pam). Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over casserole.

To bake immediately: Cover casserole with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned.

Family Rating:  1 thumb up.

Children's Book Review: Children Make Terrible Pets

Children Make Terrible Pets
Written and illustrated by:  Peter Brown
Published by: Little Brown and Company, 2010

from goodreads.com:
Check out this rollicking, humorous, and heartwarming twist on the classic "first pet" story about a young bear and her favorite pet boy!

When Lucy, a young bear, discovers a boy in the woods, she's absolutely delighted. She brings him home and begs her mom to let her keep him, even though her mom warns, "Children make terrible pets." But mom relents, and Lucy gets to name her new pet Squeaker.

 Through a series of hilarious and surprising scenes, readers can join Lucy and Squeaker on their day of fun and decide for themselves whether or not children really do make terrible pets.
 
* My kids have really been interested in getting a pet.  The conversations keep switching from wanting a cat to wanting a dog.  I found this book at the library that I thought they would enjoy, which puts a twist on wanting a pet.  In this book, Lucy, a bear, finds a boy that she wants to bring home as a pet.  Her mother warns her that "children make terrible pets" but Lucy has to find out for herself.  The kids thought that this book was funny and really enjoyed it. 
 
Family Rating:  1 1/2 thumbs up.

Ravioli with Smoked Salmon and Vodka Cream Sauce

When I first saw this recipe I couldn't wait to give it a try.  I'm not a huge smoked salmon fan, but I know my husband really likes it and I can tolerate it in small doses.  I served the kids ravioli with tomato sauce but made them try a bite.   My husband wasn't a huge fan.  The salmon ends up getting cooked in the sauce and he prefers the raw taste better...and in this case, I do have to agree.  However, this recipe was super quick and easy and it's a nice change from regular ravioli with red sauce.

I have to disclose that I rarely use parsley.  I don't like the taste and honestly am not big into garnishing. In this recipe, and in several other recipes that I've made in the past, I've omitted it.  I tend to omit a lot of fresh herbs in recipes or subsitute with dried.  I know, definitely not the same thing.  However, I'll buy let's say cilantro for a recipe, use a tiny bit and then have the rest go bad in the fridge.  One of my goals this spring is to plant an herb garden so I can use more fresh herbs in my cooking. In the meantime, I've recently become a fan of the herb singles.  Not sure of the company but for 99 cents I can buy just enough of whatever herb I need and not feel bad that I'm wasting the rest! 

Ravioli with Smoked Salmon and Vodka Cream Sauce
from One Perfect Bite

Yield:  4 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup vodka
1-1/4 cups whipping cream
4 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon, cut into strips about 1/4-inch wide x 2-inches long
1 pound fresh or frozen cheese-filled ravioli
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet, large enough to hold ravioli and sauce. Add red pepper flakes and saute for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Remove pan from heat and carefully add vodka. When pan has stopped sizzling return it to a burner set on medium-high heat and cook until vodka has nearly evaporated. Add cream and bring to a boil over high heat. Add salmon, reduce heat to very low and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the salmon to steep and infuse the cream. Salt and pepper to taste.

2) Meanwhile, bring a 6-quart pot of water to a boil. Salt water, add ravioli and cook, per package instructions, until just until tender. Drain. Add ravioli to salmon-cream mixture and toss gently to coat. Evenly divide ravioli among 4 shallow pasta bowls; spoon any additional sauce evenly over pasta.
Mommy & Daddy Rating: 1 thumb up.