We Had A Visitor

My kids woke up this morning and discovered small green hand and feet prints on them!  We had a leprechaun visit during the night!

They followed his feet and discovered he had played a few tricks and left them a treat.

The little guy apparently stopped to use our facilities.  He has green pee.  Who knew?

Green milk, of course.  They used to do that when I was a kid.

More prints led to . . .

A nice stash of candy in green wrappers!  Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Photo Album and Recipe Cookbook

A few months ago I wanted to organize my recipes better so I could find things easier.  I use 4x6 cards and didn't want to have to type or rewrite everything.  I thought about using a three ring binder with some plastic sheets that hold 4x6 cards.  But then I found this cute photo album at TJMaxx.

It holds 4x6 photos.  In other words it makes the PERFECT recipe holder.  It's a whole lot smaller than a binder and works wonderfully.  If you need a way to keep track of recipe cards go find yourself a cute album!

Summer Squash Pumpkin Applesauce Almond Muffins

I put together this recipe weeks ago when I had some summer squash in a Bountiful Basket.  I have made them twice again since then.  They are super delicious and super healthy.  I combined a few different recipes and swapped out some of the oil for apple sauce and the vanilla for almond extract.  I even used some whole wheat flour to make them extra healthy.  In any event if you make these, they won't last long.  At least they don't around our house.  In fact, this lonesome guy is the only one left for me to take a picture of.  I think I will eat him right now.  With butter.

Summer Squash Pumpkin Applesauce Almond Muffins

3 eggs
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. applesauce
1 t. pure almond extract
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. cloves
1 c. grated summer squash
1 c. pumpkin puree
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. white flour

Bake at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean.  Probably 20-30 minutes.  I didn't time it.

Colored Shaving Cream

I saw a pin on Pinterest for shaving cream colored with food coloring.  The pin said it made great bath paints, but when a friend suggested using cookie sheets I knew our afternoon boredom buster was born.  My kids loved it!  I have to say, however, that aprons would have been nice.

Japanese Curry

I have been looking for a recipe to make Japanese curry from scratch--i.e. without the store bought roux that has a bunch of stuff that is not so nice.  I found this video today and it seems simple enough.  I think I'll give it a try.

What I did with a bunch of limes

I got a bunch of limes with my Bountiful Basket last Saturday.  I didn't think I would be able to use them all before they went bad so I zested them up and sqeezed them good.  I put 1 Tablespoon of zest in individual bags in the freezer and put the juice in an ice cube tray.  Now I can throw lime zest or juice in small amounts in different recipes.

Homemade Play Dough from the Pantry

Homemade play dough is so easy.  And after the volcano it was time to make some more.  Here's how.

1 c. flour

1/2 c. salt

2 t. cream of tartar

1 c. water

2 T. oil

food coloring

Put all the ingredients in a pot.

Mix.

Cook on medium heat (nothing hotter) while stirring.

After a few minutes it will start to get lumpy.

Keep cooking until it forms a ball.

Knead it a bit on an orange table.  Well, the orange table is optional.  It will be a bit too warm for a toddler to handle but I was able to straight out of the pan.  It cools fairly quickly.  Pull out your cookie cutters and expect an hour's worth of entertainment.  Well, you should at least be able to check your email in peace, maybe go to the bathroom if you're lucky.

Erupting Volcanos

I'm always amazed at the things that a toddler can get fixated on.  And the enthusiasm of his fixation.  Yesterday Little Man spent the morning pretending to erupt like a volcano.  It was pretty impressive.  To help feed his hungry little mind we made the proverbial science fair volcano.  Considering he is almost three and a half and I didn't get to do this until about 7th grade, I told myself that my little guy is advanced.

I'm not sure I actually need to give instructions for this, but here is what I used:

1. pie plate
2. empty spice jar
3. homemade play dough
4. baking soda 
5. vinegar

I let him do it as many times as he wanted, which was about fifteen.  My favorite part was hearing him say, "That't amazing, hun?"  and "That's spec-tack-ler!"

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

When I make these I always eat them until I'm sick because it's like I've died an gone to elementary school lunch heaven.  Yummy is all I have to say.

1 1/4 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 c. powdered sugar
3 c. graham cracker crumbs (or 8oz. which is half a box)
2 c. chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet) (I used some Belgian chocolate because that's what I had)
1/2 c. peanut butter

Cream the 1 1/4 c. of peanut butter and the butter.  Add the powdered sugar and graham cracker crumbs.  Mix well.  Press into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.  Melt chocolate chips in microwave 30 seconds at a time until smooth.  Add 1/2 c. peanut butter.  Spread on top of crumbs.  Eat until your get sick.

Weekly Meal Think

I'm still trying to get organized enough to put together a meal plan.  But I got a Bountiful Basket this week so I already have a few things in mind.

• Jerusalem Artichoke Soup
• Summer Squash Bread (because summer squash is not my favorite and I still have some frozen from last summer so sticking it in a sugary bread sounds nice.)  Although this squash dressing sounds good too.
• Stuffed pork chops with cream cheese and spinach--something like this only in pork.  Maybe rolled in bread crumbs and baked.  I'll wing it.  
• Since my hubby doesn't like cukes, I am thinking Asian Refrigerator Pickles for myself to snack on.  Maybe it will help me put down the chocolate and peanut butter.  Probably not.
• Zesty Taco Casserole.  I had some cottage cheese I needed to use up so I made this and froze it.  I think we'll probably eat it this week.  I am curious how it will turn out.

Well, there you have it.  My musings about food.  It's looking a little bit vegetarian over all but that never hurt anyone.  Anyone else have plans for meals this week?