S'more Sticks

 What a fun project this was!  My little boy LOVED smashing the graham crackers and then sprinkling them on top.

Ingredients:
-marshmallows
-chocolate chips (we used half a bag for 10 pops)
-graham crackers
-sticks

Directions:
-Poke each marshmallow with a stick
-Melt chocolate in the microwave (20 second intervals)
-Dip marshmallow in chocolate and put somewhere upright to dry (put foam inside a pail)
-Crush graham crackers (my son did this in a sandwich bag) and sprinkle on top of chocolate before it hardens
-I let harden in the fridge before I put them in a bag and tied them with a ribbon

Enjoy!
~Heather

VOLCANOES!!!!

An activity that keeps my boys busy for hours (no joke) is volcano making with baking soda, food coloring and vinegar.  It's easy to do and so entertaining for them...the clean-up is totally worth it...trust me!

Materials Needed:
-vinegar dyed with food coloring (red is the favorite at our house)
-box of baking soda
-droppers (we use medicine syringes and the boys call them "squirters")
-bowl or pan to hold the baking soda

Directions:
-Pour the baking soda into a bowl or pan...my boys have me make hills so they look like real volcanoes
-Mix the vinegar and food coloring in small bowls....we do a few colors at a time
-Use the dropper to suck up vinegar and drip on the baking soda....instant volcano eruption

Have fun!

~Heather

Zucchini bread muffins

I love zucchini but after a few times of sautéing it, I have to try something new. I wasn't in the mood for bread but found this muffin recipe and thought I would try it out this morning.

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 cups of sugar
1 cup oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour
2 cups grated/chopped, unpeeled zucchini
3 tsp vanilla

Recipe:
Beat eggs, sugar, oil and spices. Add in flour & zucchini- mix. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. My recipe made 18-19 muffins.

There is a recipe for a cream cheese frosting. I didn't make it just because I wanted to save on some calories so instead I topped them with lite cool whip. However, I am freezing some of the muffins so I will make the frosting recipe in the future.

Frosting recipe:
4 oz softened cream cheese
1/4 c. butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp milk

Stir until smooth and put on muffins.

I can't attest to the frosting yet but these muffins were delicious! Thank you mommyimhungry.blogspot.com for the recipe!

~Susan

Something healthy... Asparagus!

I really enjoy baking more than cooking. My hubby is such a 'meat and potatoes' kind of guy that I rarely try and branch out because most often he's not as impressed as I am. But, once in awhile I will bring out a good recipe that he really enjoys!

Italian marinated bacon wrapped Asparagus

Recipe:

1 bunch of fresh asparagus

1 bottle of italian salad dressing

1 package of bacon (any flavor)

Rinse your asparagus, then in a gallon zip lot bag place the asparagus spears and the entire bottle of italian dressing. Marinate in your fridge at least 1.5 hours. Once marinated, take your spears out in groups of 4-5, take a slice of bacon and wrap around the spears (I had extra bacon, so I wrapped 2 pieces around). Put in your oven on 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

These were delicious! Now if only I could get my toddler to enjoy asparagus like we do :)

~Susan

Our designer visors!

When I'm shopping, I'm always looking in the sale/clearance/dollar bins for fun things we can use for crafts..while visiting some of our family, I spotted these visors at Wal-Mart for $1/each and the package of glittery stars for $4.97. The older kids (meaning 2 1/2 yrs and up) had a BLAST decorating their visors and wore them out to play every day after that!

Supplies:
Foam Visors/Crowns/Tiaras (you can buy these at craft stores, retail stores etc.-typically under $1)
Package of self stick shapes/letters ($4-6)

~Susan

Smores Bites

We need to bring a dish/dessert to our annual neighborhood block party this weekend. I wanted something different yet fun for all ages. I found this recipe and had to do a test run before the event just to make sure they were what I wanted. My taste testers said they were "yummy", so I think they're a go....plus they were pretty simple to make with only 5 ingredients and short cook times!!

This is my 'test run' and I was a bit short on chocolate because we only had 2 bars instead of 4...I'm sure my next bunch will turn out even better with the addition of more!

Ingredients (24 cups):
1 pkg of graham crackers (7-8 crackers which is equivalent to one of the 3 pkgs you get in a full box)
4- 1.55 oz Hershey chocolate bars
12 regular size marshmallows OR about 96 mini marshmallows (4 per cup)
6 Tbsp. of butter
1/4 c. powdered sugar

Recipe:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Crush your graham crackers either using a food processor or in a large gallon zip loc bag. Melt your 6 Tbsp of butter in the microwave, add in your 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and your crushed graham crackers-stir. Using a 24 cup mini-muffin pan- coat the cups either with butter or non-stick cooking spray, then press the graham cracker mixture into each cup---COOK for 5 mins or until bubbly. Remove from oven. Break apart 2 of your Hershey bars and place 1 rectangular piece in each cup on top of the crust. Then, add marshmallows on top--if you are using reg. size ones- you should cut them in 1/2 with scissors and place them cut side down *put a little water on your scissor blade to alleviate sticking) if you use mini marshmallows I placed about 4 on top of each cup. Put your pan back in the oven for 1-2 mins. or until marshmallows are softened. Remove from oven and let cool for 15-20 mins. Once cooled, carefully remove each cup from pan (I used a small metal teaspoon to help) and place on a cooling rack. Break apart your let 2 Hershey bars and melt them in the microwave in 20 second intervals-stirring in between. Once melted, take cups one by one and dip the tops in the melted chocolate- then return to the cooling rack right side up for them to set.

Enjoy!

I can't wait to see how the neighbors like these and also use this in the winter when it's too cold to make smores outside!

~Susan

Colors of the Rainbow--melting crayons!

This can be done so many different ways depending on what colors and shapes you want. We had a regular, round mini muffin pan...here's how ours turned out!

Super simple and a great activity for enhancing your child's fine motor skills! It took a lot of work to peel off the wrappers on the crayons we ended up using :)

Supplies:
1-2 boxes of 24 ct. crayons
Muffin pan (any shape--hearts would be cute for Valentine's day!)

Heat your oven to 225 degrees and put them in for 15 mins. Let them cool completely before removing.

~Susan

White Chocolate Chex Mix

Ingredients:
1 bag of white chocolate chips
variety of nuts (our favorites are almonds, peanuts and cashews)
Chex cereal
pretzel sticks
M and M's

-Lay out all ingredients, except the white chocolate chips, on wax paper
-Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave stirring at 20 second intervals (usually melts within a minute or so in my microwave)
-Pour white chocolate over ingredients and mix around with your hands to ensure everything gets covered with yummy chocolate goodness
-Let dry on wax paper
-Once dry, break apart and enjoy

I LOVE this snack mix!!!  Feel free to omit or add your own ingredients...I also like to use holiday M & M's to be really festive!

~Heather