I am not the best mom at including the kids when I’m cooking, so I try to set aside times for them to cook or bake. Today I got everything ready when they were in their rooms for quiet time. I told them quiet time was over with a, “Hurry and clean your room. We’re cooking today!” Hmm their rooms are always done in record time this way!
They measured and mixed the crust.
At this point I was wondering if I had made them wash their hands!
I was a little worried about how well things got mixed, but they were proud!
I didn’t need to worry. It was delicious. My kids love pumpkin pie but usually leave the crusts on their plates. They LOVED the shortbread crust! My husband, who is a die hard pie lover, did miss his pie crust though.
Pie filling:
2 (15 oz) cans Pumpkin pie filling
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups milk
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
The crust:
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cold butter
Mix until crumbly and pat into a 13x9x2 inch pan.
Fill with your favorite pie filling (enough for two pies.)
Bake at 425 for 15 min. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 50 min. longer.

Mom started spending Saturdays cooking with our girls. Together they make a bunch of meals to freeze or eat the following week. They love to help, and I know one day Mom will be thankful she spent all those hours teaching them, so they can take over the cooking!
I like your girls’ shirts, too! In a Christmas specialty gift catalog today I saw this pillow “I smile because you’re my sister (or brother). I laugh because there’s nothing you can do about it.” I loved that! So true sometimes… ๐
Teaching your children how to cook and bake is such a valuable life skill. Yes, it’s messy — but so much fun to share your knowledge with your kids. They did a fabulous job on the shortcake. Looks yummy!
Yum!
(I am the absolute WORST at letting my kids go crazy in the kitchen. I need to lighten up here:)))
Thanks for the recipe:)
Carly, Those shirts would be perfect! I do need to get them helping me more. At this point it is just so much easier to do things myself. I know that I’ll regret it though if I don’t take the time.
Nancy, You’re right. I really need to spend more time with them in the kitchen.
Dawn, Me too! I am working at it. ๐
Esther, you are not only teaching them how to do things, you are creating in them the unspoken knowledge of teamwork and pride in what they do and the love and fun of doing things that help the whole family and their own future ones. (long sentence there but you get my drift) When my mother wanted me to help with something I would ask how to do it and then she would say, “oh, never mind, it’s quicker for me to just do it myself.” That hurt and was frustrating for me. Mum was a wonderful, special lady, but she was always hurrying to get things done because she was so busy. It took longer for me to learn how to do things and still I find there are things I likely would be doing better if only …
Nothing against my dear mother, please understand. She really got a lot done.
Remember, Esther, that the things you do are not always for the sake of getting them done when you have children to prepare for this world. ๐ Keep at it. You are doing great.
That shortbread crust sounds so much tastier than a regular pastry crust and so much easier too. Great idea. By the way, I’m holding a CSN giveaway on my blog and you’re welcome to come by and enter. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2010/11/45-csn-giveaway.html
I bought 195 pounds of pumpkin a couple of days ago so I have lots of pumpkin to use in new recipes
That recipe is making my mouth water. Yum!!
That must have been a lot of fun! I will be doing a gingerbread village with my daughter today.
This recipe sounds delicious and I absolutely love your girls’ shirts!