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How To Keep Your Kids Busy Over Spring Break

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Spring break is almost here!  We are sticking pretty close to home this year and it made me think about what we are going to do to keep ourselves busy.  This blog is all about home and family.  I love to share cooking, sewing, gardening, and art projects that we are doing around here so I thought I’d let you in on my secret weapon.  I must confess that I don’t always come up with amazing ideas on my own to keep my daughter busy.  I love books and I’m always on the lookout for fun How-To books for her.  Over the past few years, these have provided hours of entertainment.
*In full disclosure, I’m part of the Amazon Affiliate program, so if you choose to buy a product by clicking on it, I get a little kick-back.  I promise, I wouldn’t tell you to buy these books unless I really and truly loved them.*
First up is the Mom and Me Cookbook.  I have a pretty big children’s cookbook collection and this one is my absolute favorite.  
If you’re up for a little sewing, this book has some great projects for beginners.  My daughter and niece made both of the projects on the front of the book, had a great time, and learned a new skill.
 
 
If gardening is your thing, then this next book is great for getting a few little projects going.

 
 
The next item is something that I don’t actually own, but it is on my wish list.  I’ve been wanting to do some experimenting with wire art in the classroom and at home.  I thought this would be a good way to start and see how we like it.

 
 
I bought this pipe cleaner book when we were on vacation and needed an activity for our down-time.  It was a great way to keep kids busy.  Did you know the best way to cut pipe cleaners is with nail clippers?  The book comes with pipe cleaners and shows you how to make all sorts of different animals.

 
 
Ok, this one is awesome.  Have you ever heard of watercolor pencils?  You color with them, like normal pencils, but then you add water to the colored-on paper with a paintbrush.  It makes it look like a watercolor painting!  You might be thinking, “Ok, that’s great, but I can’t draw.”  Well, neither can I!  This book walks you through the drawing process, step by step, and you end up with a pretty cool product.  My daughter liked this one and even framed a few of her paintings.

 

My last suggestion is the Loopdedoo.  It’s a little “machine” that helps you make friendship bracelets out of embroidery floss.  Each bracelet takes just minutes and there are tons of different looks you can make.  This was a Christmas present one year and it kept my daughter busy for the entire break.

I can’t wait for Spring Break.  Sigh.  Arts and crafts, gardening, sewing, and baking are on my To Do list.  Doesn’t that sound lovely?

Happy shopping!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day – My Favorite Sugar Cookies

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Here’s a repost of my sugar cookie recipe, if you’re looking for a yummy St. Patrick’s Day treat.

My kids and I spent the afternoon making one of our favorite cookies…frosted sugar cookies. I make these cookies for most holidays, to share at our volunteer tea at school, to take to Seaside, and simple snowflakes to give as gifts at Christmas. Here’s the recipe:

Just kidding. Here’s the real recipe:

2 Cups Flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 TBSP butter

1/3 Cup shortening

3/4 Cup sugar

1 egg

1 TBSP milk

1 tsp vanilla

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Cookies for Christmas

Beat butter and shortening until fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Beat well. Add dry ingredients. Beat until well mixed. (I usually make a triple batch. They freeze well.)

The dough needs to be refrigerated for about 3 hours to make it easier to handle.

I like a thick sugar cookie. That way they are soft, rather than crispy. I roll them to 1/4 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 375 for seven minutes.


I frost my cookies with a simple powdered sugar and milk frosting. I don’t ever use a recipe. I just pour in a little powdered sugar and a little milk until I get a consistency I like. The Wilton food coloring paste is the only way to go. You can buy it at Michael’s. It gives a much more vivid color than regular food coloring. Stir it up until the color is well blended.

I love to frost my cookies and then use a little sanding sugar from William Sonoma. Oh, they’re just so pretty. It’s a tradition my kids love and it makes the house smell great too.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

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Warm chocolate chip cookies on a cold night… what could be better? How about a warm chocolate chip cookie wrapped into a pie?  I made a chocolate chip cookie pie a few years ago and my hubby didn’t like it too much.  Well, I’ve revamped my recipe and I think this is a winner.  I took it, along with an apple pie, to Thanksgiving and the kids fought over the last piece on Leftover Eating Day.  Yes, our family devotes an entire dinner party just to eating leftovers.
 
 
 
Recipe:
1 unbaked pie crust (I always make my own)
 
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips 
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place butter and shortening in a bowl and beat together.  Add brown sugar and white sugar. Beat. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together.  Add flour and salt and stir until mixed together.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Pour into unbaked pie shell.  As the pie is baking, I sprinkle a few more mini chocolate chips onto the pie. (The chocolate sinks to the bottom of the pie as it bakes, so this makes it pretty on top.) Bake at 350 for 55 minutes. 
 
Enjoy your warm cookie pie!
Happy baking!
 
 

When Rolls Don’t Rise Fast Enough

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On Thanksgiving I was assigned rolls for both of the parties we were going to.  Cinnamon rolls were for one party and dinner rolls were for the other.  I ran into a little problem with my timing.  It has been SO cold out lately and my house wasn’t as toasty as usual, so my rolls weren’t rising as quickly as I would have liked.  
Enter my favorite trick for helping rolls rise faster:
The heating pad.
I placed the heating pad under the rolls and turned it to high.  The yeast in the rolls like heat, which makes them rise quickly.

Most of the time, when I’m making bread or rolls, I have the oven on and I can just set the pan of rising rolls on the stove top.  Since my oven wasn’t going, this was a great way to get the rolls off of the cold counter top and start doing their thing.
While we’re sharing tips and tricks, I always use my old bread machine on the DOUGH CYCLE to make my bread and roll dough.  It saves so much time.  I throw the ingredients in, set it to dough, and it beeps at me when it has had enough time to mix and rise.
I know a lot of people don’t bake with yeast because it’s kind of scary.  Yeast is tricky because you have to make sure your ingredients are warm, not too hot and not too cold.  But, I’m here to tell you that it’s really not that hard.  Oh, and once you have your heating pad out you might as well put it on a comfy chair and snuggle up to watch a good show on tv.
Happy baking and stay warm!

Kid Sized Apple Pies

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My Kid Sized Apple Pies are now posted on LeapFrog’s Learning Path!  Talk about SUPER cute and yummy!  I really loved making these with the kids.  We used our apple corer, peeler, slicer which makes any  apple activity fun.  I’m in charge of a couple of pies on Thanksgiving, and I’m thinking my daughter might have to make these to bring to the party.

If you’re interested in the recipe and how to use canning rings to bake them up, click over to LeapFrog’s Learning Path.

Jam and Cream Cheese Braid

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Don’t you just want to reach through your screen and take a bite? This is a recipe that my grandma always made on Christmas. It quickly became a favorite in our family. I mean, how can you go wrong with cream cheese filling? It was destined to be a favorite.

This recipe is really simple and it is made the night before you serve it. There is such joy in pulling something this beautiful out of the oven and knowing that the dishes are already done.

Here’s the recipe:

Bread:
1/2 Cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
2 1/2 Cups Bisquick (I told you it was simple!)
1 beaten egg
1 Tbsp sugar

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Combine all ingredients to make the dough for the bread part of the braid. Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead until it is no longer sticky.

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Roll the dough into a 14″x9″ rectangle.

Filling:
1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 Cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Combine all ingredients. Spread the filling down the middle third of the dough. (For the record, my kids and hubby like it best when I leave out the lemon juice.)

Slice the outer edges of the dough in one inch strips.

Fold the strips over the filling at an angle.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Once the braid is out of the oven, it’s time to top it with a little homemade raspberry jam.

It cooks for about 5 more minutes. Then it is the perfect golden brown, with the warm raspberry jam rolling down the sides.

I have the perfect tray for serving my jam and cheese braid. I’ve had this piece for years and I think this is the only thing I serve in it.

It’s the perfect Sunday morning treat.

Happy baking!

Sally Blake’s Pumpkin Cake

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Dear Sally Blake,

I’ve never met you before but I eat your pumpkin cake every year.  Somewhere along the road of life, you met my sister, fed her some of your yummy pumpkin cake, and she wrote down the recipe.  Eventually, I tried that pumpkin cake and thought it was worth adding to my recipe book.

Sally, I made your pumpkin cake for my family last week, like I do every year at about this time, and they fell in love all over again.  They tell me I should make it more often, even when it’s not pumpkin season.  They tell me it’s the best treat I could make on cold fall evening.

Thanks, Sally Blake, wherever you are.

Happy Fall,
Becca

And here’s Sally Blake’s Pumpkin Cake Recipe:

4 eggs
1 3/4 Cup sugar
1 Cup oil
1 16ox can of pumpkin
2 Cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

Combine wet ingredients.  Then fold in dry ingredients. Pour into an ungreased 9×13 pan and bake for 30-45 minutes.  Sally’s recipe says to bake it for 30 minutes, but I’ve always needed 45 with my oven.  Remove from oven when the cake springs back when you touch the middle. Cool completely.

Frosting Recipe:

Combine
3 oz of cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup of butter (softened)
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
a tiny bit of milk

Frost the cake with your cream cheese frosting and enjoy!  Thanks again, Sally Blake.  We love your pumpkin cake!

Kids in the Kitchen

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I really do believe my kids enjoy spending time in the kitchen with me.  I don’t think they are just trying to humor me.  Over the weekend, I had both of my kids in the kitchen at the same time.  One was making lunch and the other was making dessert.  
My son made the pesto, basil, tomato, and mozzarella pizza.
(He even picked the tomatoes and basil from the garden.)
My daughter made her Cowgirl Cookies.  They have chocolate chips, M&M’s and oatmeal.  The kids don’t love the oatmeal, but my hubby and I thought it was a pretty tasty cookie!

Considering the CRAZY work week I had last week, having my kids do the cooking on the weekend was a great treat.  (For the record, my hubby did all of the cooking during last week’s craziness.  So, it’s not like I needed a break from cooking, I just needed a break!)
You’ve just gotta love having your kids in the kitchen!

Cowgirl Cookies

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My daughter had her birthday party at the beginning of this month.  She wanted a cowgirl theme – with no pink cowgirl stuff.  It was to be a red cowgirl party and she certainly had opinions of what she wanted this party to look like.  She found pictures of her perfect party and proceeded to plan out her list of important features.  There were to be red bandannas, root beer in bottles, and several very specific games.  Cowgirl Cookies were not on the list, but at the last minute (when I couldn’t find pool noodles to make pool noodle horses for our race) I changed up one of the games to include making our own jars of Cowgirl Cookies.  I found the recipe on Bakerella.  I had every intention of cutting cute toppers, but we just ran out of time.
We made the jars with the dry ingredients.  To make the cookies, you just need to add the wet ingredients.  My daughter decided to make them on Saturday.  We poured the sugars in the bowl first and we added one stick of softened butter.  Once that was creamy, we put in one egg, 1 tsp of vanilla, and mixed it up.  Then we added the last of the dry ingredients.  We baked the cookies at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. 

My kids are not fans of oatmeal in cookies, but they ate them anyway and seemed to like them.

Here’s Bakerella’s Cowgirl Cookie recipe.  Please note that in her recipe, she uses melted butter.  I used softened butter and I also creamed the sugars and butter first.  I’m sure her way works just fine.  After all, she’s Bakeralla, but I just did this my way because that’s how I roll.  
Happy baking!

Best Peach Cobbler I’ve Ever Made

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When we were in Ellensburg, last week, we bought a box of local Regina peaches at a farm stand just off of the freeway.  We took them over to my cousin’s house with us and just about devoured them in the the two days we were there.  On the way home, we figured that we should probably buy another box since they were so good.  The day after we got home, my hubby requested peach cobbler.  I’m not a huge fan of warm fruit, but I figured I’d give it a try.  This recipe is a combination of a peach cobbler recipe that I found on Pinterest and another cobbler recipe that is a Pioneer Woman recipe.  I took my favorite things about both recipes and combined them into one.  
Friends, when my hubby tasted it he told me it was hands-down the best thing I have ever made. Not just the best cobbler I’ve ever made, but the all-around BEST THING – out of anyting that I have ever made.  Now, you should know that I bake and cook A LOT.  So, saying that this recipe was the best thing ever is really saying something.  The topping tasted kind of like a warm cookie and the peaches were absolutely perfect.  I chose the least ripe peaches I could find in the box so they wouldn’t be smooshy.  My hubby drizzled his ice cream and cobbler with caramel sauce, but I didn’t think that sounded very good, so here’s the picture without caramel.

Here’s the recipe:
6 fresh peaches, sliced
1/4 cup sugar to sprinkle on peaches
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup self-rising flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a large baking dish. (I used my large round Pampered Chef Stoneware.)  Place sliced and peeled peaches in the pan. Sprinkle the peaches with  1/4 cup sugar. Set aside.  Cream butter and 1 cup of sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Add flour and salt. MIx well.  Drop by spoonfuls onto the peaches and spread it around.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Cool slightly and serve with ice cream.  Top with caramel sauce if you think that sounds good.
Honestly, I can’t say it was the best thing I’ve ever made.  It was pretty tasty though, and you just can’t beat fresh peaches!
Happy baking!