Kid Friendly Tuna Salad

We were headed to make lunch when H, who only likes to eat certain things ( I don't care much for the label "picky eater") says I think we should have chicken nuggets.  My reply was we don't have enough time to cook them, since we make ours homemade.    She then says okay lets make Tuna and put it on crackers.  I had planned for us to have Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches.  But I was interested as this is something I would have never guessed she would eat.  I told her she and F could make lunch.  She was head chef and had to tell F and I what to do.

She gathered her materials.
A bowl
sweet pickle relish
mayo or miracle whip
crackers ( circle ones)
two cans of Tuna fish in water

There was no measuring here they just added and tasted until it was just right.  The younger girls R and T were grabbing the tuna plain and eating it before anything was added.  They enjoyed it.  They mixed it together, set the table, and called us all to eat.  What a great impromptu meal!

What have you made that you didn't think your kids would eat and they did?

Homemade Fish sticks

I haven't served my family processed chicken nuggets in just about a year now.  We have fish sticks once in a great while only because I didn't know if fish sticks would turn out right homemade.  We gave it a try and they devoured them.  We will be making again!


I made them just about the same way I make chicken nuggets:


1 package fish fillets ( I used a frozen bag and thawed it)

2 egg
2/3 cup bread crumbs ( I used seasoned) 
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese ( wanted to use fresh but only have the kind in the green container)
2 tablespoon  butter, melted

Pre heat 450

My fish were long so I cut them into squares.  I let the kids do the work.  They are so good at cracking eggs.  The eggs went in one bowl and the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in another.   I sprayed a cookie sheet so they wouldn't stick and let them go to work.  They  first dipped the fish in the egg and then in the crumbs.  At first there was so bickering. Someone was always in the other ones way.  Then they came up with an assembly line ( now that's not what they call it)  but they gave jobs and set up a line and worked together.  What a sight!  F did it for a little while and then just watched.  I think she was a little disgusted, wait to see her face below. Pour the  melted butter over the the sticks.  Put them in at 450  

we let them cook for about 5 min and then flipped them to cook on the other for 5 more min.  I was worried about them sticking and not cooking on both sides.  So use your judgement on how long. 

Fish I used for Aldi 

Of course R had to taste it.  She liked getting her hands in it. 

C took over while F watched.  

Monthly Menu

I am finally getting the hang of a monthly menu.  Erica over at Confessions of a Homeschooler posts one every month.  I have taken some of her recipes and adapted them to the child care program and my family. I find her blog extremely helpful. I will begin to post them here since I want to have it available for my parents to view.It really helps with my spending to.    I also plan to start to cooking dinners for the whole month over a weekend..  This month is so busy I think it will come with the new year.  Wonder if that is something Daddy -O I can do together.

Taco Bowl

 The kids think these are so cute. I just took tortillas, heated them in the microwave between moist paper towels.  So they were more pliable. I then formed them in the largest muffin pan I had.  Don't forget to spray the pan with cooking spray. I spray the shells too and sprinkle a little salt on them.  Put them in the oven 350 for about 10 mins.  Check them if they are golden brown they are ready.    Just add your filling and serve.

Lunch-able made at home

 My kids love the Kraft Lunchables.  It is a bit costly if I would get it for all the kids and they always want more.  Here is our version: I let them cut the cheese.  This was the first time they did this.  They did not want to stop we did two bricks of cheese while they were learning.  It was a great time.  The older kids cut some and gave to the younger ones.

C was singing a song about how yummy this was.  They made sandwiches and mixed in the veggies.

I did let them pick out of the veggies we had, its always different, but they eat them better when they are in sticks.

 I have even served it with a juice box for the added excitement.

Hard Boil Eggs

The kids are always asking for me to make hard boiled eggs.  This time I let them make them and here is what we did:

• Put the eggs in a pot very carefully 
• Add cold water enough to cover the eggs
• Bring  pot of water to a boil keep the water at a simmer, cover for 10 minutes
• Take the eggs out carefully and run under cold water
• Peel and enjoy

Crock Pot Ground Beef

I hit a great sale at Kroger this week on Ground Beef.  Each pack I got has at least 3 lbs. I was thinking how long it would take for me to cook it.  I wondered if I could cook it in a crock pot.  I put it on high and popped in and out through out the morning.  It worked!   It turned out great.  I kept crumbling it and mixing it around.  It turned out better than in the pan.  If you were short on time however this may not be the way you want to cook it.  I drained it, bagged it up, and put it in the freezer.  So far I did Taco and just browned.  

What do you mix with your ground beef and freeze for a quick meal?  

Kool- Aid Playdough

Found this recipe on DLTK.com ( really enjoy that site)

The kids had a great time making this.  It is a keeper!   I have been taking a step back with the older ones and letting them take over while we work in the kitchen. They have been reading and matching the measuring cups up.  They are even helping and teaching the younger ones.  I like recipes like this because they are able to see what happens if they don't add the ingredients correctly and easily.   

Also like it as R still tastes everything.  Give it a try! Let me know how it goes!

Kool-Aid Playdough
Ingredients:
 • 1 1/4 cup flour
 • 1/4 cup salt
 • 1 pkg unsweetened Kool-aid ( powder)
 • 1 cup boiling water ( they put it in the microwave about 2 min, I took it out )  
 • 1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Directions:
 1.  In a bowl, mix the dry 
 2.  Stir in water and oil ( I had them make a valley in the middle and watch the color it changed)
 3.  Knead with hands.
 4.  Store in ziploc bag for up to 2
 4.  months.
 5.  Use like playdough.
 6.  Smells wonderful and takes on the color
     of the koolaid. 




Do you have any recipes that work well at your house, let us know we love to create and explore! 

Family Traditions: Jimmy's Pizza Crust

Growing up Jimmy a family friend would make pizza every Friday night and I believe he still does. I have memories of eating the dough he trimmed off and helping with the sauce, cheese and sausage.

I have since begun to make this every Tuesday. That is my shopping day and it ensures I eat before I go, otherwise I may spend more since I am hungry. This tradition has worked the kiddo's can almost make it themselves. The younger one's however just want eat the flour and explore in it. I am thinking I will get a bowl together so they can do just that. While the older ones and I do the measuring and mixing.

What you need:

• 3 3/4 cup flour
• 1 3/4c water
• 1/4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoons dry yeast
• ½ table spoon oil

What to do:

• Mix all the dry ingredients together
• In another bowl mix the liquids
• Make valley in the dry ingredients
• Pour liquid in there
• mix ( I use my hand a knead it a little).
• Leave in the bowl for 2 -3 hours.
• Roll out the dough (you may need to knead it and add flour. I roll it out and then flip it a few times)
• Make sure it is big enough to hang a little over the pan
• Grease the pan
• Trim the extra's hanging over

Best Bubbles

What you need:

1/2 gal of water

1/3 c liquid soap

1/3 c corn starch

1tsp baking powder

What you need to do:

Just them mix together

This made some really big bubbles.

I sent the kids around to gather things they wanted to try. They came back with...

Fly swatter: very cool when they spun around fast and bubbles landed cool

slotted spoon: worked great

spatula with holes: not so well

circle ring: big bubble but did not form to float away

team work. Love it when they work together to figure things out!

pipe cleaners made in a circle: not to good

bubble wands: worked but not as fun

cookie cutters: worked well

Apple slicer: fun

F really like it when they popped on her hand or she was able to hold them.

Chicken fruit salad

I doubled this recipe since I was feeding the kids and M today. So if it looks a little larger than yours it is.

What you need
1 5oz can of chicken, drained, and flanked
2 sweet pickles diced or relish
2 tablespoons mayo
1 apple diced
1 box of raisins or about 2/3 cup
Salt and pepper to taste


Did not have today but could add
1/2 a stalk celery, chopped
1 cup pecans, chopped

Add the chicken and the pickles

Add mayo and mix

Add apples

And mix

You can chill it for a while or just enjoy.



Note: We just came in from having a water balloon game T was soaked and I needed to start lunch. Thats why she is only in a diaper.

Paperless cookbook

I am posting our favorite recipes and things you may like to try. This will give me a paperless cookbook and be able to share. I know my mom will like it. The kids enjoy cooking to so you will get to see them explore new meals. I will try to post where it came from but I don't know where they all came from. Sorry. We also do a lot of e-mealz e-meals. Very helpful. Make sure you check it out!

Hope you enjoy it.

Crushed Ice

I bought a snow cone maker but it has been making them very watery. It has been CRAZY hot out so I was looking for something to keep them cool and busy.

I froze some kool-aid in ice cube trays in the morning and by afternoon they were ready. I did lemonade and strawberry. Just what I had. We never drink it anymore. Worried about all the dye.
We put the ice cubes in a zip lock bag, put a towel over and used a hammer to crush the ice. Everyone's favorite part. Sorry there are no pictures of that, was making sure the hammer stayed on the table and off little toes.

I wanted to layer the colors and make it look really cool. They just wanted to eat the ice.

We will do this again.
I thought the bag with get a hole and it did. Any ideas on what else to use ? An added tip we used the side of the hammer for some of it. Broke it up a little easier.

Face painting

Jenea over at I can teach my child had a great post on homemade face paint that she got from The Preschooler's Busy Book. ( which I have order ). So of course we had to try it out on this rainy afternoon.

I grabbed four small bowls. The kids mixed together 1 tsp corn starch and 1/2 tsp milk. I think we added a little more milk. oops. After that was mixed well we added 5 drops of food coloring.

Here is what we came up with. Note: I am not a face painter. We will be doing this again so we will see how I improve. But its a start!!

My attempt for Spider Man.

C doesn't know who the Hulk is. But he wanted green. He was going for a monster.

I later added red lines like his friend with the Spider Man face.

Little miss independent (R) would not let me do it at all.

F wanted blue with red lines.

Note : the boys in the back playing out their new roles.

T sat still and let me draw a sun and a star.

Too cute not to add!

And of course they all wanted to paint me, so there you go.

Note: the rainy-humid hair.

Kisses.....

more kisses.

Wanted to be like her big brother.

Eggs, broccoli, and spinach

I took two egg mixed in some veggies that I had broccoli and spinach ( my favorite). To add a little more flavor I added one wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese Swiss cheese. In a big mug or bowl. I have learned to spray it with oil first. Microwave about 45 sec or so.

So yummy Enjoy. Let me know what you think.

Homemade Moon Sand

Found a recipe somewhere a while back wish I could remember so I could give them credit. But it calls for colored sand. I did not have when we made. So we used the sand in the sand box. I think the kids would have liked it more if it was colored.

6 cups sand
3 cups of water
1 box of corn starch
Mix together

The little ones played with it for a while. It looked wet but had a different texture. What do you do with your moon sand?

Lemonade we all enjoy

Thanks to a friend of mine I have found a lemonade I feel comfortable giving to my kids and they even like it. It's so easy too.

I fill a pitcher with water. Add a 1/2 cup of lemon juice from concentrate. Then add a 1/4 cup of Agave.

Kroger just got Agave and I love that they did! They are getting so many new organic items. I will talk more about organics in another post.