Cooking with Simon, Soy Cream - 3 points, Chocolate Corn Pop Clusters- 3 points

Weight Watchers has been sending me challenges to try as part of the Points Plus system. The one for this week was to invite someone into the kitchen to cook with me. It was supposed to be someone who does not normally help me. I am surrounded by very helpful people, so it was difficult to think of someone who is often around but not often doing kitchen duty. Then it came to me - Simon!

My nephew is often under foot when I am cooking, but he has never helped much. He has mashed bananas a few times, but we have never walked step by step through a  recipe together. I was working on a cooking project for us and happened to come across a recipe for soy cream in his High Five magazine. It was lots of fun to make!

Chocolate Soy Cream
1/2 cup chocolate soy milk
1 tbsp sugar
lots of ice
7 tbsp salt

1. Place several cups of ice in a gallon sized Ziplock bag. Top with salt.
2. In a quart size Ziplock bag, combine soy milk and sugar. Seal the bag tightly and place it on top of the ice in the gallon bag.
3. Pour more ice in over the soy milk bag. Seal the gallon bag tightly.
4. Shake the gallon bag for 5-10 minutes, until the soy mixture has hardened. (This part was lots and lots of fun. We wore gloves to protect our hands and made up very complex songs like, "Shake it, Simon, shake it. Shake it, Auntie, shake it!")
5. Yields 1, 3 point serving

Stone is having a dessert party tomorrow (his kids picked the theme) but has lots and lots and lots of graduate work to do this week. Last night, Simon and I graciously volunteered to help him by making Stone's contribution to the party. I looked around my kitchen - which is looking very much like the larder of a teacher who has come to the last budget week of the month (in other words, poorly stocked). Hmmm...what do I have? Corn Pops. Chocolate chips.

So, I searched the blogusphere and found a recipe for chocolate Corn Pop clusters at Sunday Treats. We had a blast making them. Simon especially enjoyed melting the chocolate in the microwave. "It look like chocolate yogurt, Auntie!"

Chocolate Corn Pop Clusters from Sunday Treats where they were adapted from Kellog's
2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups butterscotch chips
4 tbsp peanut butter
8 cups Corn Pops

1. Combine chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and peanut butter in a large, microwave safe bowl. To melt, microwave on high, stirring at 30 second intervals until smooth.
2. Add Corn Pops to bowl and stir to coat.
3. Drop by rounded tablespoons full onto waxed paper. Cool until firm.
4. Yields 50, 3 point servings

Please keep in mind that Simon is the one who spooned these out. I think he did an excellent job for a two year old!

Do you think he likes them?

Now, on a completely separate note. My friend Deborah took a trip to China to do volunteer work at an orphanage. While she was there, she fell in love with a beautiful little boy named Jack who has special needs. She and her husband (along with their four little girls) are in the process of adopting Jack. It is very expensive, and they need all the help they can get. If you are a coffee lover, please consider looking at this post. You can order some delicious, fair trade, organic coffee and help bring Jack home. In any case, I hope that you will send loving thoughts to this family as they work to complete the piles of paperwork that stand between Jack and the family who wants him to come home.