Little Nibblers and Fondue

One of my favorite things about meal time would have to be getting the kids involved. Dinner is much more fun when everyone has a hand in it. Not only do they eat better, but they see the time and effort it takes to prepare something.

In a world full of convenience foods and fast food joints it's hard to "find the time" to make dinner. There are some days that "Sam's Pizza Shack" or "McFast Fry" is the only place I can think of, but most nights I try my hardest to come up with something new, exciting, and EASY! I'm lucky enough to have some slow days to sit and think about it at work. In my business it's feast or famine. That is why I started my blog. To give other mothers some new ideas, and for them to share some with me.

One of my "go to" staples for an easy and quick dinner is finger food. Nibblers, as we call them in the Hollis house. That can be anything from cubed chicken, to cheese, to fruit kabobs. Anything! I try to always make them well rounded and fun. But I find that if it doesn't look overwhelming, they will eat it!

So tonight we're going to try some fondue. Maybe a meat one, or a cheese one. I haven't decided yet. But this requires some planning and a lunch break trip to the grocery.

If I do a meat fondue then the recipe I'll use is:

8 cups of chicken broth and 1 cup of dry white wine. (The alcohol will cook off! You won't have drunk kids). I also through in a few spices.

In a pot, bring the chicken broth and wine to a boil. Transfer to the fondue pot when the broth is boiling.

Then you take whatever veggies, or meats you want and put them on the fondue skewer and place in the stock until cooked through.

If you don't like that recipe, try this one:

Bearnaise Sauce
(4 tbsp)
Dry white wine
(4 tbsp)
Tarragon vinegar
(1 tsp)
Green onions, finely chopped
(1 tsp)
Parsley, finely chopped
(1/4 tsp)
Thyme
(1/4 tsp)
Tarragon
3
Egg yolks
(1/2 cup)
Butter
Salt and pepper
1. In a pot, mix the wine, vinegar, green onions, parsley, thyme and tarragon.
2. Bring to a boil and let boil until reduced by half.
3. Strain the liquid.
4. Let cool.
5. Gradually whisk in the egg yolks and butter.
6. Whisk until desired consistency.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. If prepared ahead of time, keep refrigerated.
9. Serve.


And check out http://www.bestfondue.com/ for more recipes! ENJOY!