St.Patrick's Day Ideas

 St.Patrick's Day will be here in a couple of weeks.  St.Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays.  First because you wear green, and green is my favorite color.  Second it is in my Birthday month.  St.Patrick's Day is overlooked in the decoration departments at most stores.  Since Pinterest has come along I have been inspired to make a few of my own decorations.  I made some Valentine Heart Garlands this year and then I saw the clover idea and had to make it.  Follow this link to the instructions. 

 Me and Wendy the Wreath Fairy made this Leprechaun Hat and it was pretty easy.  We had some leftover 2x4 from a Halloween craft.  My handy husband cut the wood for us.  We made them a little bigger than she said in her instructions.  We did an 8" piece for the bottom and 2, 6" pieces for the top half.   We also glittered a piece of foam cut into a clover and added a bow.

Leprechaun Hat Instructions

One night my kids found this recipe to paint on bread  Take a regular piece of bread, add some food coloring to milk and paint on the bread with a clean paint brush.  Don't add to much milk paint or the bread will get soggy.  Pop the bread in the toaster and Voila!.  Would be fun for St. Patrick's Morning for breakfast.

Do you have traditions that you don't remember how you started?  We have green spaghetti on St. Patrick's Day every year.  I guess one St. Patrick's I wanted to do something fun and that is all we had for dinner so I colored the noodles.  You have to add the coloring after they are cooked, it does not work in the water (I have tried).  Easy Parmesan Chicken

Last year I set up a St Patrick's Treasure hunt and my girls loved it!  Here is a link to some free printable for the clue papers.

So it is a new month and Lilla Rose releases the Flexi of the Month.  Of course this month is something green and it is beautiful.  I am finally having my Grand Opening as a Lilla Rose Consultant this month!  If you would like to order this beauty or other Lilla Rose Hair Accessories you can order from my party and get reduced shipping.  Shop and Order from this link and it will be shipped to your door after I close my party.

We aren't drinking the Kool-Aid?

 Winter is almost over, I hope.  We are all getting cabin fever and some days my kids drive me a bit crazy.  So lets pretend it is summer and make some Kool-Aid!  We aren't going to drink it though.  I found a few recipes on Pinterest and one, long cold day we tested them.  First we tried Kool-Aid taffy.  I have never made taffy in my life!  Recipe 101, read recipe all the way through a couple times.  I sat there stirring and stirring this stuff and you weren't suppose to, so not sure if it affected the outcome.  Anyway the kids loved it!

Homemade Kool Aid Taffy

2 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup light corn syrup
1 1/3 cups water (room temperature)
2 tablespoons butter softened, plus a lot more for buttering hands
1 teaspoon salt
1 6g package unsweetened fruit flavored drink mix (like Kool Aid)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Butter a large jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with sides really well.

2. In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Add corn syrup, water, butter and salt and stir well until butter is melted.

3. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stop stirring. Cook mixture until candy thermometer read 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). This takes some time to get it to 250 degrees. Once it approaches 250 degrees watch very closely because it cooks quickly at the end.

4. Immediately remove from heat. (If you cook it too long it will turn out very hard.) Carefully stir in vanilla and drink mix. Stir well.

5. Pour mixture onto buttered baking pan. Allow to cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. (Try to pull as soon as it's comfortable to handle.)

6. Butter hands and begin pulling, as many time as it takes to become opaque and lighten in color, usually about 15 minutes of pulling. You will probably need to butter your hands a few times.

7. Pull into long rops and cut into bite sized pieces with buttered scissors or a buttered pizza cutter.

8. Wrap the pieces of taffy in squares of waxed paper and make sure to twist the ends really well to seal.

9. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place.

Recipe adapted from Home Cook'n Newsletter

Next up we made Kool-Aid Play Dough.  Love this recipe and have made it a few times.  It makes a super soft dough that lasts forever, and it smells yummy. 

Ingredients for Kool-Aid Playdough

1-2 packets Kool-Aid

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup boiling water

In a large bowl add all dry ingredients and mix well (salt, flour, cream of tartar, Kool-Aid). Add the oil and boiling water to the mixture and mix this with a large spoon until it becomes very firm. It should be cool enough to handle after a few minutes of stirring. Lay out some wax paper and flour for the last step. Use your hands and roll it in some more flour if it feels too sticky.

Recipe adapted from Suzis Crafts

 Dump out all your playdough stuff!

Invite your bored friends over!

And pretend it is a warm summer day!

Cinnamon Rolls for Barbie

My local grocery store puts a recipe with their sales for the week and last week they had a recipe for mini cinnamon rolls.  Me and the girls have already made these a few times and the last time we made them I thought that Barbie would love them because they are just her size.

 1. Cut the crust off of some bread slices.

2. Roll the slice of bread super flat.

3. Butter bread with softened butter or we used butter spread.

4. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar

 5. Roll up bread and cut into slices.

6. You could make a frosting with a little powdered sugar and water if you wanted also.  But we didn't mind them plain.

 The girls then designed their own photo shoot.  This was Audrey's set up.  Audrey picked the clothes and props.

This was Aria's design.  She said they were at a family reunion.

Barbie has got to keep her trim figure, so I don't think she will mind if we eat them all.



Flaxseed is our Friend

Since I have started thinking about what I have been putting in my mouth and trying a lot more recipes.  Some of the recipes have flaxseed listed in the ingredients.  I did not know what flaxseed was so I headed to the store to find it.  You can find flaxseed in a couple of forms, oil, oil capsules, whole flaxseed or ground flaxseed.  Flaxseed comes from the flax plant and is gluten free.  I have only tried the ground flaxseed, which you can find down the baking aisle or in the vitamin section in your grocery store.  Flaxseed has a nice nutty flavor and is full of a lot of good things for you.  You can add ground flaxseed to your baked goods, on top of your morning cereal or in your yogurt.

FLAXSEED FACTS:

Flaxseed contains fiber.  Just two tablespoons of flaxseed meal delivers 4 grams of fiber; as much fiber as 1 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal!  Studies suggest that when flaxseed meal is added to the diet, harmful LDL cholesterol drops, while good HDL cholesterol stays put.  Regularity improves, also.

Flaxseed contains high levels of natural antioxidants called ligans.  The ligans in flaxseed can bind with circulating substances that might promote unchecked cell growth.  Many food plants have some ligans, but flaxseed has at least 75 times more than any other.  To get the lignans that are in just two tablespoons of flaxseed meal, you'd need to eat about 30 cups of fresh broccoli.

Flaxseed is a mega-source for the plant version of omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid.  The oil in flaxseed is about 50% alpha-linolenic acid.  Canola and walnut oils, the next highest sources, have about 10 %.  But most foods have far less.  One serving of flaxseed meal contains 2400 milligrams of omega-3.

Flaxseed as an egg substitute (I have not tried this, but sounds interesting)

Flaxseed meal makes a great egg substitute for most recipes.  For one egg, simply mix 1 Tbsp flaxseed meal with 3 Tbsp water in a small bowl and let sit for two minutes.  Add to a recipe as you would an egg.

This information is from Bob's Red Mill, a manufacturer of flaxseed meal.

 I have never baked with whole wheat flour, that just sounds horrible!  I am just not a whole wheat fan, I have a texture problem, we will save that for another day.  Anyway these were great and I did not mind the whole wheat part, I think the applesauce helped in that department. 

Chef Meg's Blueberry Flax Seed Muffins

1 cup quick oats
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp baking soda
1⁄4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1⁄4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3⁄4 cup brown sugar
1 cup blueberries, washed and dried
1 tbsp flaxseeds, roughly ground

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Spray the muffin
pan with nonstick cooking spray or line the
wells with paper liners.

2. In a small bowl, combine the oats and buttermilk
and let the mixture stand at room temperature
for 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine
the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon,
and salt; mix with a fork to blend and set
aside.

3. In a large bowl and using a hand mixer, beat
the egg, applesauce, and brown sugar at medium
speed for 3 minutes.

4. Blend the oat-buttermilk mixture into the egg
mixture, then stir in the flour mixture until just
combined (try not to overwork the mixture).
Fold in the blueberries. Fill muffin cups 3⁄4 full
and top with a sprinkle of ground flaxseed.

5. Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted
into the center comes out clean.

Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 14

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 119.2

Total Fat: 1.4 g
Cholesterol: 15.9 mg
Sodium: 274.5 mg
Total Carbs: 28.4 g

Dietary Fiber: 2.8 g

Protein: 3.1 g

Recipe adapted from SparkPeople

This next recipe is one of my favorites.  I have made them a few times and they are great for the kids. 

No-Bake Energy Bites

(makes 18-20 bites)

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything above in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy! Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Recipe adapted from Smashed Peas and Carrots

Makin' Our Own Snow!

 Look! It is snowing outside! 

We had a brown Christmas this year and still no snow in sight!  Yesterday's temperature was in the fifties!  So we decided to make our own snow.   If you want to make your own fancy snowflakes here is a link for some fun patterns.

Then we made a snowman!

 After that we ate snowflakes, what kid doesn't love to eat snow?

 My 7 year old and I folded warmed, thin style tortillas and cut out shapes, like you would a paper snowflake but with a tortilla.  My 3 year old used mini cookie cutters to make her snowflake.

 Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with colored sugar or cinnamon and sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes until lightly brown and crispy.  I over baked mine, so keep an eye on them.  Click here for the complete recipe and more photos.

Peanut Butter Cookie Granola

We are getting ready for an adventure and what do you need for a long trip.....Granola! I love me some granola or a good trail mix it is the best of both worlds, a little salty then a little sweet. I came across this concoction from Pillsbury Bake-off Cookbook. I love, love this recipe and going to be making it many times. I love the crunchy bits of cookie, with oats, coconut and the hints of cinnamon. It is going to be a great trip and this granola will help us get through the long waits in the airport and on the plane. Enjoy!


INGREDIENTS:

1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated peanut butter cookies
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup Sliced Almonds
1 cup Chopped Pecans (I used dry roasted peanuts)
1 cup flaked coconut
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 cup mini chips semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

DIRECTIONS:

Let cookie dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes to soften.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 325°F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with sides with nonstick foil or cooking parchment paper. In large bowl, mix cookie dough and cinnamon. Add oats, almonds, pecans, coconut, raisins and cranberries; knead into dough until well blended. Crumble mixture evenly on cookie sheets.

Bake both cookie sheets at the same time 17 to 22 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes and rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking, until light golden brown. Cool completely on cookie sheets, about 30 minutes.

Break granola into smaller pieces if necessary. In large bowl, mix granola, chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Store in large resealable food-storage plastic bag, or store in 1/2-cup amounts in small food-storage bags for ready-to-go snacks. Store up to 3 days.

Healthy Snacks for Kids

Kohl's has launched a healthy kids website that has a recipe and activity book you can print out. My kids love to snack and they get bored with the same old piece of fruit or box of raisins. So I thought it would be fun to jazz up our diet a bit. I also thought it would be great for me also to try some new things. I am horrible at eating healthy. Below I added some recipes from the website and if my children and I liked them.

The first recipe we tried was called Carrot Raisin Salad or Carrot Slaw I renamed it.

Carrot Raisin Salad

Ingredients:

4 medium carrots (shredded)
¼ cup raisins
2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

Stir carrots, raisins, sugar and lemon in a medium sized bowl. Serve chilled.

Makes 4 servings.

Verdict: Aria (age 6) who loves raw carrots, said it was sour and only took one bite and ate no more. Audrey (age 20 months) gobbled it up! Me (age old) thought it was okay, did think the lemon juice was a little strong, but would make it again.

Golden Apple Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1 golden delicious apple, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup apple juice
1/3 cup water
Dash of cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
1/3 cup quick-cook rolled oats, uncooked

Directions:

Mix apples, juice, water, cinnamon and nutmeg in a microwave safe medium-sized bowl. Have your parents help you microwave your mix for 1-2 minutes until hot and apples are soft. Stir-in rolled oats. Cover and let stand several minutes until it is cooled before serving. Makes 1 serving.

Verdict: Aria (age 6) took one bite and said the oatmeal tasted weird and ate no more. Audrey (age 20 months) took a couple bites but only liked the apples. Me (age only as old as you feel) ate most of it. I thought the apples were yummy and I also had a problem with the oatmeal texture, but I have always had that problem. I think I would make it again and maybe add some brown sugar to it.

Frozen Banana Treat

Ingredients:

1 banana
honey
nuts or granola

Directions:

Peel banana. Have you parents help you slice the banana into small chunks. Roll the chunks in honey and then into the granola or nuts. Put the chunks into a small baggie and then put in the freezer for 4-6 hours. Take out of the freezer and enjoy your treat

Verdict: Aria (age 6) I offered her one and she said she did not like bananas and ate none of it. Audrey (age 20 months) loved it and ate quite a few. Me (age unknown) thought this was my favorite snack and would definitely make them again.