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      I love cooking with my grandchildren and they love to feel like the chef as we cook.  Cooking is such a learning opportunity when it comes to science and mathematics, (you know, those STEM activities). We try to create learning opportunities for our children and grandchildren as often as we can, and have fun while we are at it.  (Saturday, Lindsey gave you an example with theseboard books, that I just love! And, don't forget to check out our Dollar Tree Stem Activity Ideas for Easter here).   When I came across a recipe for Grasshopper Pie in our local grocer's magazine, I knew it was the perfect no-bake recipe that would have enough jobs for all five of my grandchildren who are in my home at the moment and it would be something they would enjoy eating afterwards.  Put that together with the fun name, this was a winning recipe.  It would make a great dessert for St. Patrick's Day or Easter.  I had made this pie years ago with ice cream, but this is a lighter, fluffier version. Here is how I made it happen with 5 young kids doing the work.

Division of Labor

     I put my 4 older grandchildren into pairs.  The 4 and 6 year olds worked together on the crust.  The 9 and 10 year olds worked together on the filling.  The 3 year old did the decorating at the end. It worked out great! I was able to send the oldest 2 off to play while I worked with the crust team! 
     The crust team counted, rolled and crushed Oreos in a plastic bag with the rolling pin.  We could have used a food processor, but that wouldn't have been as much fun. After the cookies were crushed, we added the butter to the bag, resealed it and then mushed it all around to mix it together.  Then, we poured the crumbs into the pie dish and used a fork to spread and form the mixture to the pie dish. We popped it in the refrigerator and I had those two kids go and get the other two for their turn.  Remember that it is important to talk about the process with the kids so that they start to understand the whys and the science of cooking.  For example, when things are warm, they can become liquid, when they are cooled, they become solid again.
     The older two checked the weight with me on the container of marshmallow cream so make sure we had the right amount.  I set my granddaughter to melting it over a low heat on the stove as I watched her carefully.  When it was melted, she put in the extract and the greed food coloring.  She mixed it in very well.  While it cooled slightly, my grandson and I got the cream whipping.  He measured out 1  1/2 cups of heavy cream.  Then we measured out the powdered sugar and discussed why we needed to use different measuring cups.  Then, we talked about the air in the whipped cream and how we needed to keep the air in it.  So, we folded in the marshmallow cream mixture and they each took turns learning to do that.  
     After the filling was spread into the crust, it was the 3 year olds turn to sprinkle on the Easter colored M & Ms.  Look at his chubby little hand.  Counting the M & Ms is a good skill for young kids. Also, naming the colors.
     

Final Touches

     The hardest part of the process was to let the pie cool long enough to set before eating it.  Using a clock,  we did it and the kids were so excited for everyone to try their handiwork.  I added one final touch before serving and that was to drizzle on some chocolate syrup to give it that little something extra. 

Here is the whole recipe, adapted from Fry's Food Store's My Magazine! 

Grasshopper Pie

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Hey guys it’s Alicia and I have a really fun recipe for you today. I’m starting my Irish recipes. If you don’t know what I’m talking about I’ve been doing a series of posts of international recipes you can find German recipes here and my Ecuadorian recipes here from February. I still actually have one Ecuadorian recipe left. March is Ireland.

And today we have a twist on a classic Irish dish.

So in Ireland there’s a dish called bacon and cabbage and it’s a sliced boiled ham with boiled cabbage. But I found this Donal Skehan recipe where he made it into a mini pies.

I really like this idea so I thought I would make a larger version.

His recipe calls for bacon joint and I didn’t know what that was. I looked it up and I found that in Ireland and other parts of Europe much of the pig is referred to as bacon (as opposed to what Americans think of as bacon) except for the leg because that is ham. Specifically, a bacon joint is from the front end of the pig and marbled with fat. So I decided I would just get some pork shoulder and brine it with some seasonings commonly used in Irish cooking.

I prepared the brine 3 days before I planned to make the pie. I let my pork marinate in the brine that whole time. When it was done I boiled it in enough water to cover the pork, until the pork was just done. The meat came out very tender and juicy. It was quite delicious. I didn’t want to over cook it because I knew it’d be getting a bake in the oven.

Later when I realized he had a video (after I had already bought my ingredients) I saw that he was actually using ham! Ham would be good in this recipe as well. But I do really like the flavor my pork got from the brine.

Pork Brine 

For the crust of my pie I used the recipe we shared with you before, Mom’s Pie Crust. A classic recipe in my family. I made the dough and then refrigerated it while I prepared the filling for the pie. This made the dough a bit easier to handle.

The filling is full of vegetables and a beautiful white sauce. Not too many spices but the mustard adds something special to the filling. It doesn’t taste mustardy, yet you can taste it. I know that doesn’t make sense but if you make it you’ll see what I’m talking about. It’s a very subtle flavor that adds depth to the sauce.

And it’s so delicious! My husband was skeptical at first because everything is basically boiled and there weren’t many spices besides salt and pepper. But he kept telling me “This is so good babes!” And he went for seconds so I consider this a win.

I made my pie based on Donal’s recipe but changed a few things, so I include here my version of a Bacon and Cabbage Pie.

Irish Bacon And Cabbage Pot Pie

Check back next week for another Irish recipe and later this week for another Ecuadorian recipe!

And if you want even more Irish fun, Check out the Dating Divas Irish Date Night! They have activities and recipes for you to enjoy with your spouse or significant other! Just click on the picture below!

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     What do you like to do with oranges when you have an over-abundance of them? Last week we became the grateful recipients of some delicious, tree sweetened oranges.  I already was able to can some Cranberry Orange Marmalade, but that only made a small dent in our inventory.  I promised you more recipes, and today I have a really sweet one for you, perfect for a Valentine's Day dessert. 
     Everyone has probably heard of citrus curds.  Lemon curd is the most well known.  It is delicious on scones or in a pie.  I have seen recipes for grapefruit curd as well. So, I thought why not an orange curd?  Of course, it turned out sweet and wonderful.  But, you know how I am, the gears started turning and I thought about how much we like chocolate with oranges.  Those chocolate covered orange sticks are a family favorite, and those chocolates that are shaped like an orange come to mind.  So, I thought, why not an orange curd meringue pie with a layer of chocolate ganache?  I hadn't really even made a ganache before.  It was so easy! If you haven't made one, you will wonder what you have waited for. 
​       So, lets start making this delight, one step at a time. 

First I made the Orange Curd.  After you make it, it has to cool for an hour.  During that time is when I made the pie crust and the ganache.  Here is the orange curd recipe:

Orange Curd

After I put the pie shell in the oven, I made the chocolate ganache.  Here is the recipe:

Dark Chocolate Ganache

     Seriously, that is it! So simple!  Depending on how sweet you want the ganache, use that sweet of chocolate in it. 
     After the shell is out and slightly cooled, I spread a thin layer of the ganache over the bottom of the shell.  I had enough to coat two pies. Then I let it cool a bit.

     When the ganache is fairly cool, spread the orange curd over the top of it. 

The final step is to add the meringue. I whipped up the 6 whites that were left over with a little cream of tartar and when they started to get whipped, I added sugar (to taste) until stiff peaks formed.  Then, I piled it onto the pie.

Now, you put it in the oven set at 450 degrees F for about 5 min.  (Well, as you can tell, I left mine in a little longer.  I got distracted.  What you really want is for the meringue to be set with golden brown parts on the peaks.)

     Now, you need to refrigerate the pie until it is set.  We had a little trouble waiting quite long enough, but the result was delicious. 

     There was enough orange curd for 1- 9" pie.  If you are wondering what I did with the other ganache coated pie shell, I filled it with chocolate pudding and topped it with whipped heavy cream! you can't go wrong with that! 
​        Now, for the rest of these oranges, I will let you know how my orange chicken turns out!