April Fool's Day--not just a kids holiday

My introduction to April Fool's Day began 39 years ago when my father phoned my grandmother announcing the birth of her 4th grandchild.  My grandmother laughed and said "April Fools".  Well this was not a joke but my birthday!!

I can remember playing jokes as early as 3rd grade on my teacher.  I remember it was soo good she actually got mad, maybe because she thought she might have choked. My mother had some old faux grapes around the house and knowing my teacher was a health nut, I washed a small bunch and placed them still a bit damp into a plastic baggie.  I then offered her one at snack time...well you can probably see how this ended.

 I was thinking this year I might do this to my kids in their lunch box as I have some fake fruit sitting in a bowl....Can you tell which is not fake?

Now that my children are older and can handle some mild tricks I will share with you a few of them.

Last year my son's teachers were even fooled with this one.  Fill a sugary snack bag with a healthy one.  The teachers tried to take it away and Charlie said "why it is just carrots!!

Just open the bag carefully at the ends, replace the snack and use double face tape to reclose it.

At breakfast put a few drops of food coloring at the bottom of their cereal bowls, fill it with cereal and when they come down for breakfast and you put the milk in they will be surprised by the color change!!

There are so many good looking gummies out there.  How about making a fruit salad and adding a bug either edible or toy.  It will probably make them jump at first.  Or put a whole inside of an apple and have a gummy worm stick out.  I tried this last year but I think by the time they went to eat it the worm had fallen into the lunch box.

This year I was thinking I might try to change out the Smucker's Peanut butter sandwiches with a turkey one they I cut out and crimp the edges with... Will let you know how it works out.

Would love to hear what your plans are this April Fool's Day....

Easter Egg Nests

I have made these little treats for the past couple of years and both adults and children enjoy them.  The Egg nests are edible party favors or place holders at the Easter table.  You could also use these for parties at school instead of cupcakes or as a teacher or neighbor treat.  They are really easy to make, and the kids will enjoy filling the nests with the treats.   (However, the adult might want to stick to the nest building because it is pretty sticky.)

You will need :

1. one bag of Chow Mein Noodles
2. 1/2 bag of mini marshmallows
3. 2 tablespoons of Butter
4. 1 tablespoon of Vanilla (optional)
5. Egg shaped candies such as Robin Eggs, my favorite, or jelly beans, chocolate peanut or almond m& ms.
6. A Chick shaped peep. You alsocould do a chocolate chick as well if you can find them.

Simply microwave the butter on high in a glass bowl for 45 seconds or until slightly melted

Add the marshmallows and microwave for another 1 to 2 minutes until the marshmallows are melted.  

If using  vanilla add now and mix them together until they incorporate into a gooey mix just like rice krispie treats.

Add the chow mein noodles and mix until they are all coated.

Add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the mixture into 11 greased cupcake tins.  It is easiest to use a buttered piece of saran wrap or bottom of a small glass to help shape the nest design and make an indentation in middle.

Add your eggs and peeps and let cool for at least 1 hr.

I then placed them into a cellophane gift bag and added a ribbon.  You can attach a gift tag or name onto the ribbon as well.

 

TIP

You could also probably do this with melted white chocolate instead of the marshmallow mixture if you prefer that taste.  RIce krispies or broken small pretzel sticks would also work in place of the chow mein noodles.

Easter Egg Surprise Soaps

I saw this craft in Family Fun in their December issue as snowball soap surprise.  I did not really find the time to do it then but ripped it out of the magazine thinking I could modify it for Easter.

The hardest part of this activity was actually finding a small Easter toy to insert into the finished egg.  I ended up finding these small place in water and grow toys but not sure how they will do once the soap gets wet....The whistles were too large.

 I originally thought I would need the plastic eggs to shape the soap, but the soap will shape as easily as any play dough.  We made a few smaller ones in egg shapes for decorative soaps to put out by the sink.

 I also had some soap dye from a previous project and mixed the dye into a ball of soap as I was shaping it.  It is more festive for the holiday but a little messy.

The kids had fun seeing the soap grated and shaping the eggs.

These would make fun party favors for a dinosaur party filled with those tiny plastic dinosaur shaped toys


Materials

• Food processor or cheese grater
• 4 (4.5-ounce) bars of Ivory soap

• 8 tiny plastic toys

Instructions

1. 
   
   
   Use a food processor fitted with the grater attachment to shred the four bars of soap. (You can also grate the bars by hand with a cheese grater.) Pour the soap pieces into a large bowl.
2. 
   
   With your hands, mix in about a half cup of lukewarm water, a little bit at a time, until the mixture is squishy and claylike.  I was a little cautious the first egg and did not add enough water and it did not try as hard as the later ones.
3. 
   
   For each snowball, scoop up a heaping handful of soap and mold it into a ball. Poke a deep hole in the center with your finger, insert a toy, and refill the hole. Lay the finished snowballs on a cookie sheet and let them dry thoroughly. Makes 8. I dried them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper overnight.  

Banana Snack Cake

Ever in the mood for banana bread, but don't feel like waiting an hour to let it bake. This afternoon with one kid home sick and another on her way home in 45 minutes we baked a Banana Snack Cake.  Because it was prepared in a 9x13 pan the cooking time was lowered but the consistency was the same.

My kids begged for more and I even eliminated the oil and added applesauce in it's place.  This could also be the reason it was so moist.    I also checked the cake about a minute b/f the minimal time and it was done.  So often I set my timer and rely on the directions that the timing will be right and things come out dry...I guess the tip with this is just get to know your oven:)

Happy baking and snacking...

Here is the recipe:
Adapted from Crazy Plates


Banana Snack Cake


2 Cups White Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp each baking powder and baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup  sugar(I used organic cane sugar)
2 whole eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup mashed, ripened banana 
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or toffee bits is all I had and used!!


Prehead oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x 13 pan with non-stick cooking spray


Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and set aside
In a larger bowl mix together sugar, eggs, and applesauce.  Add bananas, sour cream and vanilla.  Beat again until smooth.


Add the dry ingredients slowly.  The batter will be thick.  Fold in chips.
Spoon batter into pan and bake for 25 to 28 mins or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely on a wire rack.  Cut into 16 pieces.

Shamrocks put away, easter eggs begin to sway

Well this is another close holiday switch.  With the leprechauns and their mischief behind us it is time to think about Easter.  (although don't get too comfortable because April 1st is a special day for me)

One of my favorite and easy ways to dress up for easter is with plastic eggs and the chandelier.   Simply use those dozens of plastic eggs your child has collected through the years or buy some fun glittery or shiny ones cheaply at about any store.  Make sure they have 2 holes at one end.
    ( Yesterday I saw a sleeve of glittered eggs already strung for this at    BenFranklin for $2.99. would not be surprised if Michael's had something similiar.  The only disadvantage would be that you had no control of the length of the ribbon)

Simply use thin ribbon, bought cheaply also at most craft stores, to string through and tie inside the egg.  Be sure to measure them equally for the best look.
Hang them for the light fixture and you have a festive touch to your dining area.

Extra eggs look great in a glass bowl on a side table too.

St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

I remembered late this morning that I had a dozen cupcakes in my freezer with st. patrick's day paper liners.  I had to think of something besides just white or green frosting.  I looked inside my pantry and found a jar of white frosting, marshmallows large and small, green sprinkles, green chocolate discs and green food dye.  

This is what I came up with and how I got to this progression.

First I thought I could just cut the large marshmallows into thirds and put the sticky side down into the sprinkles.  They were ok but thought too much white showing.

Then I thought I would cut up the marshmallows into thirds

Dip them into green chocolate and make little chocolate stems.

I had plenty of frosting left over so I thought I would microwave it for 30 to 45 seconds, dye it green and dip the cut up marshmallows into the frosting.
Then cut up one of the discs into stems and dip them as well.  The frosting sets up very quickly and smoothly.





Also tried it with mini marshmallows...





They will not win any awards but I had fun coming up with new creations with things on hand.  Do think they look a little better off camers!!

Which one do you like best??

Irish Soda Bread

Before I got married, St. Patrick's Day was usually celebrated by putting on a green shirt at the last minute during my school days and then when I was older celebrating with the rest of the city of Chicago doing pub crawls and observing the green dyed Chicago River.  Well after marrying my Irish husband, I decided I would share some of his ethnic traditions.  Although I really have not mastered corned beef and cabbage, I have tried a few Irish Soda bread recipes the past 10 years and think this one might be the winner.

No surprise to me, it was a Barefoot Contessa recipe. When St. Patrick's day was approaching I was browsing in my books for recipes and found her Irish Soda bread.  Why not give it a try, Ina claims she has tried several different recipes and really enjoys this one.  With the addition of orange zest and currants who can go wrong.

It was so easy and quite delicious If I can say so myself.  Just be aware it is a very wet dough so don't think you did something wrong.  I actually substituted 1/2 of the white flour for wheat flour and used powdered buttermilk.  So whether you are Irish or just want to pretend you are this one day, try this Irish soda bread.  However, I think I will make it again through out the year,  as it was very much enjoyed as a warm and quick breakfast bread at my house.

Irish Soda Bread Recipe 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for currants 4 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1½ teaspoons kosher salt 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch diced 1¾ cups cold buttermilk, shaken 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten 1 teaspoon grated orange zest 1 cup dried currants   Buy a Signed Book or Buy on Amazon.com

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour. With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Combine the currants with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix into the dough. It will be very wet. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound. Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

St Patrick's Day Leprechaun Tricks

A few years ago  our Family Fun Magazine had ideas for leprechaun Traps.  The kids searched through the ideas and decided on this one.  We made some gold pieces out of candy wrappers and instead of a wooden ladder we used one from a toy fire truck.  The kids were quite surprised when they woke up and found that the tricky leprechaun had been to the trap but escaped.

Here are a few other fun tricks we share every St. Pat's Day that your kids might enjoy as well.  All you need is some green food dye, a green marker, and sleeping children!!
1.  A few days before st. patrick's day, I observe the milk carton and when I am close to the end, I open another carton.  I save the almost empty one to add green food dye the night before so the kids will be served green milk on st. pat's morning.

2. We also leave some green food dye in the toilet bowl.  

 3.To show off the mischief of the leprechaun,many objects are misplaced and upside down in the house as well.

4. Lastly, if I know the kids have been asleep for a while, I leave a little green marker mark on their face or hands and say the leprechaun has left you with a kiss.

And Make sure you little lephrechaun are dressed for the occasion.  Here is my latest festive headband creation.

This is one holiday that there are no gifts just good clean fun and mischief.  Love to hear what mischief your leprechaun has done at your house.

Quick tip-homemade Bread Crumbs

How often do we find ourselves with ends of sandwich bread the kids refuse to eat even if you try to put them upside down? Or you have the end of artisan bread that you just did not get to and it has begun to harden. You can bring these scraps to the duck pond for an activity. (I often put these pieces along with ones that got a little moldy into a freezer bag in the freezer for those spontaneous trips).

However, you can also utilize these leftovers for homemade bread crumbs.

For the sandwich bread pieces you can toast them in the toaster or oven to dry them out some, not burnt, then place into a food processor and pulse to a crumb consistency.

For the large chunks of crusty bread that probably naturally hardened up, you can simply use a box grater to get crumbs or slice and place into the food processor as well.

Store the crumbs in a plastic bag or container to use in your favorite recipes. The crumbs will stay fresh for about a week outside the fridge. In the fridge they may get soggy but can be used in any recipe that calls for bread crumbs as a filler not used as a coating, ie. Meatballs, meatloaf.

Spring Break Clean up

Well it is that time of year again when schools will be out for a week and families will be heading to the beach, ski slopes or local parks.  I know it would be easy to just send the kids out the the beach everyday and walk over trash like it doesn't exist.  I am not a tree hugger but I want my kids to appreciate their surroundings and maybe think twice about letting a juice box straw fall into the sand.

I will repeat this activity this year on spring break and hope some of you will think about it as well.  

Before I allowed the children to play at the beach, I gave them each a plastic grocery bag and told them to fill it up with garbage.  The beach we visit on the east coast of Florida has no lack of trash so it was easy to fill their bag.  I think they were amazed as I as to the variety and amount of things people throw into our waters.  They actually got excited about doing it every morning and would ask me for the bags.   If they are reluctant put a time limit on it and see who can collect the most garbage.

This does not just have to be done at the beach, take a few minutes before you play at the park to look around and pick up some scraps of trash, even in the parking lot.  Maybe it will catch on and the environment will thank you.

Roast Beef with Veggies

Like most of us we have very busy days and the last thing I want to do at night is wash a bunch of dishes after a meal.  When I saw this recipe in an Everyday Food Show about a year ago I could not resist trying a meal that you cook your veggies and main course in one pan and in about 1 hr!

I have since made it a couple of times and thought I would share.  The best part of this meal is if it you don't eat it all in one sitting, save some extra meat for sandwiches the next day or if you have extra veggies you can make them into fajitas for another meal.

Today I could not find organic peppers in different colors so I just used all red and you can probably substitute any veggies in season that do well with roasting.  Next time I might try some cauliflower...

Roast Beef with Onions, Peppers and Potatoes

serves 4

• 3 red bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), cut into 1-inch-wide strips
• 2 yellow bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), cut into 1-inch-wide strips
• 2 medium red onions, halved and cut into 1-inch wedges
• 3/4 pound white new potatoes, well scrubbed and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled (3 left whole and 2 cut into 12 slivers)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 1/2 pounds eye-of-round beef roast
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place peppers, onions, potatoes, and whole garlic cloves on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with half the oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
2. Using a paring knife, make 12 small slits in top and sides of roast; push in garlic slivers. Move vegetables to sides of sheet. Place beef in center, and coat with remaining oil; rub all over with 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and thyme.
3. Roast 40 to 50 minutes, tossing vegetables occasionally, until tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of beef registers 130 degrees for medium-rare. Let meat stand 10 minutes, loosely tented with aluminum foil to keep warm. Cut half into very thin slices (reserve remaining half for leftovers). Serve with vegetables.
4. Cool remaining beef to room temperature; place in an airtight container, or wrap in plastic, and refrigerate.