Happy Meal at MummyDonald's!

The kids have been sick of all the spaghetti and baked pasta every time I use minced beef. I personaly have been thinking about burgers (not the most healthy thing) as I am loving the Cheese Shaker fries from Macs. So I decided to use the minced beef to make my own patties. Pan fried them after seasoning and added them to buttered burger buns with cheese and tomato ketchup. The fires were oven baked and since I had an extra packet of the Cheese Shaker fries from Macs, I sprinkled it over them. Kids were delighted! Contented tummies with a slightly healthier version of the Happy Meal at home.

Little Writer at Work...

I have been spending too much time with Jedidiah in his work as since he started K2, he has been having Chinese and English spelling. An early start and an appetizer of what lies ahead in our stressful education system! So much that I have been neglecting time with Krisalyn and helping her in her writing and reading.

Her learning style is very different from Jedidiah and she is one who needs alot of encouragement and praise to motivate her. I told her that I had bought a special exercise book just for her and that it was mummy's own book just for her! She looked so happy and really put her heart into writing her letters. The cutest part was when I praised her writing, she said:

"Mummy, its because I asked Jesus to help me!"

Am grateful for her simple childlike faith!

Fun with Lanterns!

This was the kids' very first time with paper lanterns so we decided to let them have some fun! Thanks to a very very nice aunty from church who gave the kiddies these lanterns, they had much fun especially since they were Jedidiah's favourite Angry Bird ones! Baby Keziah is missing as we snuck out for a littlel while when she was in zzzzz land! Thanks again Aunty C if you see this! :) the kiddies love you!

Jelly Hearts Cheesecake

Ingredients:

For the crust-

300 grams digestive biscuits

150 grams melted butter

For the cheesecake layer-

500 grams cream cheese (placed in room temperature for 2 to 3 hours to soften)

1 tablespoon &1/2 gelatin powder

1 cup &1/4 boiling water

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

12 strawberries

For the jelly layer-

160 grams strawberry flavoured jelly

1 cup &1/2 boiling water

1 cup &1/2 cold water

Preparation:

1Place 150g of butter in a oven proof bowl.

2Cover the bowl loosely with cling film wrap or use a microwave oven food cover. Microwave for 30 to 40 seconds at high till butter is melted.

3Dip a brush into the melted butter and butter a large rectangular pan generously. I used a 13 X 10 X 2 inch glass pan.

4Note: You can line the pan with a large piece baking paper. This will make removal of the jelly hearts from the pan alot easier. And you wouldn’t have to worry about the crust sticking to the base of the pan. If you line the pan with baking paper, butter the baking paper all over as well.

5Place 300g of digestive biscuits in a food processor. Process till they become fine crumbs.

6Place the crumbs in a large bowl and add the melted butter. Stir well to combine.

7Place the biscuits-butter mixture in the pan. Using a potato masher or a large glass with a flat surface, pack the mixture tightly into the pan.

8Once the crust is made, place the pan in the fridge and chill until ready to use.

9Add 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of gelatin powder in a bowl. Add 1 & 1/4 cups of boiling water to the gelatin powder. Stir well till all the gelatin has dissolved. Set aside to cool.

10Place 500g of cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Add 2/3 cups of sugar.

11Using an electric whisk, combine the cheese and sugar. The cream cheese must be soft otherwise it will be very hard to mix here. Whisk till the mixture is light and fluffy.

12Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture.

13Add the cooled gelatin mixture a little at a time. Whisk well to combine.

14The finished mixture should be a runny smooth liquid. Like a milkshake. If there are lumps, run the mixture through a sieve.

15Remove the pan from the fridge. Using a fork, prick holes all over the biscuit base.

16Pour the cream cheese mixture on to the biscuit base.

17Let the mixture rest in room temperature for about 10 minutes.

18In the meantime, cut the strawberries. Cut them first in half. Look for the thicker side and cut lengthwise across it so that each strawberry heart is thick. Then at the top of the strawberries, slice off the white tops with the leaves and cut a deep V in the centre.

19Press each strawberry half into the cream cheese mixture. Let the strawberry sink in gently. Space the strawberries 1 inch to 1.5 inches apart. Cover the pan with cling film wrap.

20Place the pan in the fridge. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

21Use strawberry jelly powder to make the top layer. Place 160g strawberry jelly powder in a bowl. Add 1 & 1/2 cups of boiling water. Whisk well till jelly powder has dissolved. Add 1 & 1/2 cups of cold water. Mix well.

22Ensure that the jelly-water mixture has cooled. And pour it over the cream cheese layer.

23Pour just enough jelly to cover the strawberries.

24Cover with cling film wrap again. Chill for at least 4 hours.

25Use a sharp knife with a thin blade to cut the jelly hearts. Prepare a large jar of boiling water. Dip the knife into the water. Wipe it off and cut. Repeat that with every cut to get a nice clean cut with no crumbs sticking at the sides.

26If you lined the pan with baking paper, the crust should not stick to the pan. If you didn’t line with baking paper, set the pan on a hot/warm surface for a few minutes before removing the jelly hearts. The heat will warm the butter at the base and make it easier to remove the jelly hearts.

27Cut into nice small pieces of jelly hearts cheese cake.

28Store covered in the fridge.

Recipe from : http://www.foodista.com/recipe/DCQLWDBL/strawberry-jelly-hearts

Thank you for being our teachers!

Teacher's Day is here again so its time for the kids to squeeze thier creative juices! I had to think hard too about what to help them with and decided on bracelets! Manged to get a huge box of beads for kiddies to make little decorative pieces and it came with elasitc string and all for about $12 in all. Very worth the money!

The beads were really tiny so I took the initiative to help Krisalyn make her share of the beads. This was my version:

But she surprised me when she managed to string them on herself as I though the beads were way too samll and I couldn't even put them on properly. This was her's and I really think it's so much nicer and more interesting than mine!

These were Jedi's versions:

Kids are definiely MORE creative! mine look really boring compared to theirs!

Then the kids made cookies and wrote little cards and stuck them on the little containers. Was a great attempt by Krisalyn as she wrote her name on her own.

And this was the finished product for their dear teachers:

Happy Teacher's Day to all who have input little nuggets of wisdom to the minds of our little ones!