Muffin Tin Omelets

"sorry for the poor pic"

These are ham and cheese..they were so yummy. 

I think these would be great to make for a crowd.

Nice and easy!

Here is a link to a the EHow website with the recipie for muffin tin omelets.

cook-eggs-muffin-pan

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Our dog turned 4 in March.  We make a big deal about birthdays in our house (even the dogs!)

Personally I prefer to put my time,energy and love into celebrating the birth of a loved one over a commercialized holiday.

So to celebrate our pups big day we made her homemade dog treats! This is something I have wanted to do anyway...I want to stop buying commercially made treats for her.  This was our trial run at it, and it was so EASY and so much FUN we will be making all her treats for now on. Don't forget the added lessons in cooking, measuring, reading directions, taking turns and using your hands to make something for someone else!

The boys love to cook with me and really enjoyed making them and tasting them too! They are just like really cookies minus the sweetness!

She LOVED them!

Recipe:

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

2C Whole wheat Flour

1Tb baking powder

1/2 C peanut butter

1C milk

1/2 C oatmeal

(I ground mine in a coffee grinder, but it did not say to do this)

Preheat oven 375- grease pan

mix: flour,baking powder, & oatmeal

add, peanut butter & milk

roll out on floured surface, cut with cookie cutters or pizza wheel

bake for 20 mins

Winter and Penguin Activities

If you cant beat'em join'em as the saying goes right! We are embracing this VERY snowy winter and put together some fun winter activities! (we just got another foot of snow last night!)

 I made a winter wonderland! I layed out white batting that I had on the floor for snow/ice. I put out a basket labeled winter clothes for dress-up, made an ice fishing kit: small white bucket, ice holes cut out of felt, rods made from wooden spoons and ribbon, and some golden felt fish to catch.  In the bucket I put a blue play silk for water to keep their fish in that they catch. I also made snow balls with white nylons and batting, this made for some fun snow ball fights inthe house!

 We colored ice and froze it so we could watch the colors melt together.... this was not as fun as we thought it was going to be and they lost interest in it pretty quick, and it turned their hands black with food coloring! My friend Janelle suggested using the colored ice to paint with and it will look like water colors!

 I put this box together for the pin punching.

 During a swap I received this wonderful cork board from Honey, for some reason Mason thought it would look good if he decorated it? Oh well...in the box is the cork board, paper, shapes for tracing and a test tube with a pencil and a push pin in it.

 Lots of penguin books from the library, some penguins and a wooded egg for practicing holding the egg on their feet like a daddy penguin.

 I found this activities on one of these great blogs, but can not find it now..the activity is to paint a tree then use "snow paint" to add snow to the trees. To make snow paint you need, white paint, white glue and shaving cream.
I found it I got it from fairydustteaching.blogspot.com

Snow dough:

2c flour

2c water

1/3 c salt

2Tbls olive oil

2 Tbls cream of tartar

glitter

cook in pot over med/high heat , KEEP STIRRING until done

make balls and put glitter inside, as the children play with them the glitter comes out!

insta snow this stuff is so cool and it feels like real snow! We added some penguins and fake ice to the bin.

 Another swap item from honey was this diagram of the life cycle of a penguin, also in this tray are animal research cards I got from http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/assets/PDF/Introductory_Animal_Research.pdf free download.

 Penguin color hat matching

 Honey again gave these ice crystals and wooden penguin, James enjoys using the tongs and putting them into the ice cube tray and making patterns.

 These are glass pieces (used for a fish tank) that work great as ice for counting and playing

 I made this tray: blue felt on the bottom, white felt from ice burgs, glass ice, Toob animals, penguins, polar bear, moose, dear, white wolf, seal and fish.

Lots of winter, snow books, The Snowy Day is a great book. 

That adorable polar bear was made by Honey at http://mondorfment.blogspot.com/

Apple Cranberry Muffins

I just made these yummy muffins...we woke up this morning with no heat? So I decided to bake to heat up the house! I exchanged the white flour for wheat and they were very yummy.  The cranberries (saved in my frezer from cranberry season here in MA) give it a tart taste so I recommend adding the sprinkle of powdered sugar on the top for a little added sweetness! I love the If You Care baking 100% unbleached baking cups. Enjoy!

Apple Cranberry Muffins

Makes 12

4 Tbs Butter or Margarine

1 egg

1/2 C Sugar

graded rind of one lg orange

1 C flour (white or wheat)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tes ground ginger

1/4 tsp salt

1-2 apples

1 C cranberries

1/2 C walnuts, chopped

confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or use paper liners
2. Melt the butter or margarine over gentle heat. Set aside to cool.
3. Place the egg in a mixing bowl and whisk lightly.  Add melted butter and whisk to combine.
4. Add the sugar, orange rind, and juice. Whisk to blend, then set aside.
5. In a large bowl, sift togerther the flour,baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and salt. Set aside.
6. Quarter, core and peel the apples (I use an Apple Peeler ), chop in a coarse dice to obtain 1 1/4 cups.
7. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture.  With a spoon, stir until just blended.
8. Add the apples, cranberries, and walnuts and stir to blend.
9. Fill cups three-quarters full and bake until tops spring back when touched lightly, 25-30 mins.  Transfer to a rack to cool.
10. Dust with confectioner's sugar, if desired.

Home Made Nutrigrain Bars, by The Home School Den

A fellow Homeschooler posted this recipie on her blog, they look so yummy! I thought I would share.  Hopefully I get time to make these soon!
She also has a link to a video about High Fructrose Corn Syrup that I have not watched yet.
Home Made Nutrigrain bars, by The Homeschool Den

Fruit Leather

Fruit Leather....

"What is it?" This is what most people or kids that I give it to say. Well it is like a fruit roll up, remember those sticky, chewy, round thin rolls of what was supposed to be fruit you could peel off a piece of plastic that we used to eat when we were little? Well they are like that only...better and better for you!

This batch was strawberry.

1. First I blended 2 quarts of cleaned, trimmed strawberries with 1/2 cup of honey.

This filled the tray 1 and 1/2 times...

2. I poured it into the food dehydrator, and went to bed! 

I used the solid sheet that it comes with for making fruit rolls.

3. 8 to 15 hrs later, when there is no sticky wet spots left, I cut it into strips, wrapped them in soy wax paper and stored them in a mason jar.

I also did this with blueberries.  My verdict...First of all the blueberries one go over done, so keep checking it. It was still edible but chewier. My husband Warren liked it in his lunch, because he could eat some fruit with out having to actually eat fruit on the job site with is tough (I guess?) .  I think you use way to much fruit to make way to little fruit leather, I could eat that whole fruit roll in one sitting (I wouldn't) but its not like it is filling, so it is not that satisfying, so I tend to eat more of it.  It was a nice snack while it lasted and it taste amazing! Not to mention there is NO JUNK in it! Also it was supper easy to make. 

Not sure if i will do it again with locally grown fresh fruit.  I would however make it with fruit that is on sale off season, or from somewhere like BJ's wholesale club for Warren's lunch.

Life is Peachy!

This year for the first time I canned peaches! I have lived in New England my whole life and until this year, for some reason never realized I could get locally grown peaches right down the street.  I always thought they did not grow around here?
 I noticed last year while picking blueberries at Ward's Berry Farm that they had peach trees and a sign that said Pick your own Peaches!  So I accually remember this summer so go back!

I bought a flat of peaches, well accually a box.  There was 17 pounds for $28.00.
Many of you may not know this but I am allergic to most RAW fruit!? I started when I was 20 years old, all of a sudden after a life time of eating raw friut I developed an allergy? Anyway I can not eat peaches unless they are cooked or canned.  I love peaches!  I wanted to also enjoy fresh locally grown peaches too! This was my soulution.
With help from my mom and this wonderful book...Ball-Complete-Book-Home-Preserving,
I got started!

1. After washing them because although they are locally grown they are saddly not organic. I placed them in boiling water for 1 min.







2. I dipped them in ice cold water...this makes the skins slip right off!








3. This is my mom spipping off the skins,cutting them in halve and taking     out the pit.  Thanks for helping mom!






4. I dipped them into a solution of 4 cups water to 1/4 cup lemon juice. This keeps the fruit from turning brown.





5. I dont have a pic of it, but next I used a slotted spoon to layer the peaches into the hot jars, that were in the canner waiting.  I layered them pit side down so they would fit nicly in the jar and then laddles boiling water into the jars leaving a 1/2 inch head space. Then I slid a plastic stick in the jar around the peached to release the air bubbles. I put the lids on next.  Then I put the jars into the canner and water bath processed them for 20 mins for pints and 25 mins for quarts.



6. TA-DA! Now I have 8 pints and 6 quarts of nice, yummy canned peaches!!  It really was easy, it took us 2 1/2 hrs including processing time for 2 batches.

What to do with all that Zucchinin?

As I find them I am going to compile a list of Zucchini recipies.
Zucchini Carrot Muffins

Sherry's Zucchini Bread (my MIL)
1c. Oil
2c. Sugar
Beat in 3 eggs, one at a time
2c. Grated Zucchini
    Then add...
Sifted together:  3c. Flour
                         3 tsp Cinnamon
                         1 tsp Baking Soda
                          1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1c. Rasins (optional)
Bake @ 325 for 1hr (may vary depending on oven, test with a knife in the middle)

Homemade Granola

Here is a link to the Creative Homesteading Blog, with a wonderful recipie for homemade granola cereal you can make with yuor kids!
Athena's Granola

Breakfast Cookies

I met this wonderful women named Jannelle at the Green Fair in Stoughton a couple of weeks ago.  She is also adventuring in homesteading.  She shared with me a recipe for breakfast cookies.....yes I said breakfast COOKIES!  You want to be your child's hero,,,give them cookies for breakfast!  I thought they were so yummy!  They taste like oatmeal raisin cookies, but there is more hidden healthy stuff that is good for you and your kids...(I also added a handful of mini choc. chips, because I am a chocoholic!) Here is a link to Jannelle's post about how to make Breakfast Cookies.

I did substitute 1/2 cup of the oats for wheat germ, to make them extra healthy!
Thank you Jannelle for sharing.