Lesson 3 - Homemade Mac & Cheese

1 to 1-1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni Serves 6
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1-3/4 cups milk
8 ounces sharp American or Swiss cheese, process American cheese loaf or process cheese spread loaf, cut into 1/2 in. cubes, or shredded

1. To cook the macaroni, drop macaroni into 6 cups rapidly boiling water; add 4 teaspoons salt. Heat to rapid boiling (bubbles).
2. Cover tightly; remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes; drain.
3. Stir margarine, salt, and pepper over medium heat in a pan until margarine melts.
4. Stir in flour. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly; remove from heat.
5. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted.
6. Place macaroni in ungreased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Stir cheese sauce into macaroni. Bake uncovered in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.
   

Hot Cocoa Special

Check out this special edition of Splats! For Kids. So you thought that you already knew how to make hot cocoa? Watch this video to find out more ways how to make you cocoa.

Lesson 2- Bread

Learn to make a traditional style of white bread.

• 6 to 7 cups all-purpose or un-bleached flour
  
• 3 tablespoons sugar
  
• 1 tablespoon salt
  
• 2 tablespoons shortening
  
• 2 packages regular or quick-acting active dry yeast
  
• 2 1/4 cups very warm water

DIRECTIONS

Mix 3 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, shortening, and yeast in a 4-quart bowl; add warm water. Beat on low spead, scraping bowl fequently, one minute. Beat on medium speed scraping bowl frequently, one minute. Stir in enough remaining flour, one cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about ten minutes. Place in greased 2 1/2-quart bowl; turn grease side up. Cover and let rise in warm place until double, 40 to 60 minutes. (Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.)

Punch down dough; divide in to halves. Let rest 5 minutes. Shape in to two loaves, brush loaves lightly with margarine or butter if desired. Let rise until double, 35 to 50 minutes.

Heat oven to 425*. Place loaves on low rack. Bake until deep golden brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped, 25-30 minutes. Remove from pand. Brush loaves with brush loaves lightly with margarine or butter if desired.

Sandcastle Competition

We won the Sandcastle Competition at South Padre Island! The Prize was $100 dollars! This event gave us and idea, why does Splats! have to only teach cooking? So now we're Splats! For Kids, same website more fun! Now instead of teaching you kids a different recipe each week we're gonna teach a recipe one week and a craft or activity another. Eventually we want to make our shows longer so we can show both, but for now its one thing a week.

Cheers

P.S. This is our sandcastle

Lesson 1 - Sandies

Learn to make Sandies, a delicious melt-in-your-mouth cookie.

INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup butter
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the water and vanilla. Stir in the flour and pecans until well blended. Cover dough and chill for at least four hours.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Shape dough into walnut sized balls or crescents. Place 2 inches apart onto unprepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden. Roll in confectioners' sugar while still warm.