How to Cook Pasta in the Microwave

0 Comments/ in Cooking for College Students, Meal Ideas / by Kirstylee

December 31, 2012

Can I cook pasta in the microwave? How do I cook pasta in the microwave?

I just moved in to a new apartment and I’m so excited about it! The only problem is that all of our stuff has been in storage for months and, even though we boxed it all, it feels dirty. I decided that I wanted to wash all the dishes before we use them. That is a long process! In the mean time I still wanted to cook dinner so we could have healthy food to eat. I discovered that you can cook pasta in the microwave! Who’d have thought right? Well we did and just put some store bought sauce on it; super easy! So, today I wanted to share how to cook pasta in the microwave with you.

Cooking pasta in the microwave is actually pretty simple and not much different than cooking it on the stove. First, you put the desired amount of pasta in a microwaveable bowl.

How to Cook Pasta in the Microwave -- Moms Have Questions Too

Next, fill the bowl with water, enough to cover all the pasta and then a little more.

How to Cook Pasta in the Microwave -- Moms Have Questions Too

Put the bowl in the microwave for about 10 minutes. About half way through, you’ll want to stir the pasta a little bit so it doesn’t stick to itself.

How to Cook Pasta in the Microwave -- Moms Have Questions Too

After the 10 minutes is up, check the pasta to see if it is done. It shouldn’t be crunchy at all. If it is, just pop it back in for a couple more minutes (if most of the water is gone add a little more).

Once the pasta is all the way cooked, strain the pasta and use however you’d like!

How to Cook Pasta in the Microwave -- Moms Have Questions Too

Like I said above, after we cooked the pasta in the microwave we just added some store bought pasta. However, below is one of my favorite recipes for pasta that I got from an America’s Test Kitchen cookbook. If you are in charge of food for New Year’s Eve, this is a great meal that is pretty simple to make and people will love!

Chicken with Spinach and Farfalle

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into ¼” strips
Salt and Pepper
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pound farfalle or penne pasta
1 (6 ounce) bag baby spinach
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted

Directions:

Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot (or cook in the microwave as indicated above). Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Cook half of chicken until no longer pink, about 3 minutes; transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining butter and chicken.

Add garlic to empty skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in cream, lemon zest and lemon juice and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cover.

Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup cooking water, and retun to pot. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking pan until golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add sauce, spinach, Parmesan, pine nuts, and browned chicken to pot and toss to combine, adding reserved pasta water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Chicken with Spinach and Farfalle Pasta Recipe-- Moms Have Questions Too

We love this recipe and it always seems to serve more than the 4 servings America’s Test Kitchen says it will.

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

Color Games for Toddlers Part 3 — Paint Chip Matching

1 Comment/ in Fun Activites at Home, Preschool and Teaching Ideas, Toddler Activities / by Kirstylee

December 28, 2012

What is a color game using paint chips that I can play with my toddler?

If you haven’t seen them already, this is part three of our Color Games for Toddlers Series. Normally they will be posted on Thursdays but with the holiday this week today’s post is a day off.

Paint chips seem to be inspiration for everything these days. I have seen them used for cutting practice, paint chip coasters, paint chip calendar, paint chip baby mobile, paint chip art and paint chip matchbook notebooks. Today I am going to show you how to use them for a color game for toddlers.

I started with the paint chips that have 4 colors on them. Choose 7-10 different paint chips, all with different colors. I chose red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and brown.

You only need to have two squares for each color. I chose the bottom two squares for each color. Cut out the two squares for each color and put them aside. Don’t forget to recycle the extra squares using any of the ideas above. I’ll probably have Little Bear use them for cutting practice, and then maybe I’ll make a calendar with them. Color Games for Toddlers Paint Chip Matching -- Moms Have Questions Too

Next, I laminated the squares that I was going to use. I have a Scotch laminator that I bought for $30. I bought lamination packets from Sam’s Club (200 sheets for $20), but you can also buy Scotch lamination sheets (100 sheets for $15) which is still a pretty great deal. Of course, laminating is purely optional, but with two messy boys, it sure is nice to have have my activities laminated.

Now you will need to find an object to stick half of the squares to. I used a shoe box lid because we had one lying around, but really, any sturdy surface will do. Choose which squares you want on the sturdy surface (the lighter shades or the darker shades). I chose to put the lighter shades onto the shoe box lid. I glued them on using a hot glue gun.

Once that is complete, you can add some Velcro to the top of the squares that are on your sturdy surface, and onto the back of the other squares. I opted not to do this because I don’t currently have any Velcro on hand. I think I may go back and add some though because it is hard for Smiley Man to make a match when using something as slippery as laminated paint chips. You could also add magnets instead of Velcro, but if you do, be sure to supervise your child while they are playing this game. Magnets are very dangerous if swallowed.

Color Games for Toddlers Paint Chip Matching -- Moms Have Questions Too

To play the game, set the shoe box lid covered with paint chip squares in front of your child (or on their lap). Point to each color and name it. If your child is learning the color names or knows the color names, have him say the names with you.

Next, pick up one loose square at a time. Name it (or have your child name it), then have them place it on top of the same color square that is on the shoe box lid. You may or may not decide to talk about how the colors are not exactly the same shade, but they are still the same color.

Color Games for Toddlers Paint Chip Matching -- Moms Have Questions Too

To store this game, put all the loose squares into a ziplock bag or an envelope and staple it to the back of the shoe box lid.

Color Games for Toddlers Paint Chip Matching -- Moms Have Questions Too

Be sure to take a look at all of my ideas for color games for toddlers!

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

New Year’s Eve Celebrations for Kids

0 Comments/ in Fun Activites at Home, Holiday, New Year's Eve, Preschool Activities, Toddler Activities / by Kirstylee

December 27, 2012

What are some fun New Year’s Eve Celebrations for Kids?

Woohoo 2013 is coming! We safely made it past the Mayan predicted end of the world! Be honest, I’m not the only who has been thinking about that, right? Well, 2013 is coming fast and I want to have mega New Years Eve Celebrations because who doesn’t love mega celebrations?