Pigs In A Blanket

• 1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
• 4 hot dogs
• shredded cheese
  
• ketchup
• mustard

Directions Preheat oven to 375 F.

Separate crescent roll dough into 8 triangles. Take hot dogs and cut each on in half crosswise. Place each hot-dog half on the wide end of the crescent roll and sprinkle with cheese, then roll it up.

Space the hot-dog rolls evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake approximately 13-15 minutes until the rolls are brown and flaky. Let cool for a few minutes before serving with ketchup and/or mustard (These even go great with ranch!).

Recipe found here:

http://www.thebellalifeblog.com/2009/09/08/kid-friendly-recipe-pig-in-a-blanket/

My Favorite Snack

Find out ahead of time what each child's favorite snack is. Make a chart listing everyone's favorite. Then cook or prepare one or some of favorite snacks.

Blueberry Muffins

2 Tbs sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
Mix all of the above ingredients together. Add 2 Tbs of sugar to 1 cup of frozen blueberries. Mix slightly and gently add to the muffin batter. Bake at 400°F in muffin tins for approximately 25 minutes.

Berry Yogurt Popsicles

Blend natural yogurt, berries (fresh or frozen) and some sugar or honey; pour into popsicle containers or small dixie cups with popsicle sticks; freeze for a few hours and enjoy!

Kulfi (Indian Ice Cream)

1 quart (4 cups) milk
1/2 pint (1 cup) heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped pistachio nuts
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 Tbs vanilla
2 drops red food coloring

Combine milk and heavy cream in a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat about 20 minutes, until thick. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into paper cups, half full. Freeze for 1 hour. It should have the same consistency as soft sherbet.

Juice Popsicles

Ingredients and Supplies needed:
pineapples juice
grape juice
cranapple juice
popsicle sticks,
small paper cups
Mix any combination of the juices, or just use the flavors individually. Fill paper cups 3/4 full of juice. Place in the freezer. Insert popsicle sticks when the juice begins to freeze a little. When the popsicles are frozen, peel away the cups and enjoy.

Cheese Ball

Blend 8 ounces of cream cheese (softened),
1 stick of butter (softened),
2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
& 1/2 package of onion soup mix (such as Lypton's)

or use the following instead of the soup mix package, I found the recipe here:

4 tsp. dry minced onion
1/2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. beef bouillon or 4 cubes
1/8 tsp. celery salt.

Let the children add & mix, then give each one a portion to shape into a ball. The balls can be rolled in nuts & served with crackers or pretzels.

Numbers in Cooking, Peanut Butter Treats

You can make anything that includes numbers by counting and/or measuring.
Here is a fun suggestion:

Peanut Butter Treats
1/4 c butter
40 marshmallows
1/4 peanut butter
5 c rice crispies
1 c raisins
Melt butter over low heat in a saucepan. Add marshmallows and melt, while stirring. Add peanut butter & stir. Add cereal & raisins & stir. Press mixture into greased pan. Let them cool. Cut into bars before serving.

Worms in Mud

Make chocolate pudding together (see recipe below) and serve with gummy worms.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Cornstarch-Pudding/Detail.aspx

Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Place over medium heat, and stir in milk. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Let cool briefly, and serve warm, or chill in refrigerator until serving.

We hope you have as much fun and enjoy your worms and mud as much as we did! Yummy!

Magnetic Food

Talk about how iron is something that we need in our bodies for us to be healthy and then explain that iron is a type of metal that is attracted to magnets. Let the kids run a magnet through Cheerios (or some other type of food with added iron in it) to pick up and see the iron that it is added.

Guacamole Dip

1 medium avocado
2 Tablespoons of chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt,
Tablespoons of mayonnaise or salad dressing (like miracle whip)

Peel and cut the avocado into pieces and process at medium speed in a a blender. Add remaining ingredients and Blend. Serve with tortillas or corn chips.

Be sure to read a book or talk about how avocados grow on trees.

Crunchy or Pureed?

Get a few common snacks (carrots, fruits, etc.) and their baby food equivalents. Let the kids try them and compare their texture and how that affects the taste.

Cinnamon Wheels (Rolls)

Make a bread dough or buy a tube of biscuits from the store to use. Let the children help roll them out flat and then into spirals/wheels and top with cinnamon and sugar. Bake and eat. Delicious!

Here is our favorite recipe to use:

Cinnamon Rolls

•2 cups milk
•1 cup butter
•3/4 cup sugar
•4 eggs
•2 Tbs of yeast
•1 tsp salt
•1 Tbs sugar
•2 Tbs vanilla
•1/2 cup warm water
•1 Tbs lemon extract
•Approximately 8 cups flour

Scald Milk. Combine yeast, water, sugar. Add butter, sugar, salt, eggs and milk (after milk has cooled). Add remaining ingredients. Makes a sticky dough, not stiff. Let rise until double, covered. Punch down. Roll out into a long rectangle. Spread with either a cinnamon mixture (brown sugar, softened butter and cinnamon stirred together) and top with raisins and chopped pecans, or spread it with and orange mixture (white sugar, butter and grated orange peel). Roll up into a spiral. Use string to cut into individual rolls. Place on a greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise until double. Bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes.

Seaweed & Fish Tasting

Buy different types of seaweed (health food or ethnic grocery store) and fish for your children to taste a small portion of each type. Encourage them talk about which types they like the most and least.

Mini Cheesecakes

Place 1 vanilla wafer in each lined muffin tin.
Mix 16 oz softened cream cheese,
1/2 c. sugar,
& 1 tsp vanilla on medium speed until well blended.
Add 2 eggs and mix well.
Pour mixture into tins.
Bake for 25 min. at 325°F.
Top with fruit.
Makes 12.

Breadsticks

3/4c. warm water
2 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs oil
2 cups flour
1 beaten egg

Dissolve yeast in water. Add salt, sugar, and oil. Mix in flour. Knead the dough. Divide dough and roll into snakes or hoses. Brush with a beaten egg. Bbake 10-12min at 425ºF.

Rice Krispies Treats

Melt 3 Tbs butter in large saucepan on low heat.
Add 40 large marshmallows (10 oz), stir until melted.
Remove from heat.
Add 6 cups rice krispies cereal, stir.
Quickly press mixture evenly into a greased 9x13 pan.
Cool, cut, serve.
Kids can make these to give to friends or for a friendship party treat.

Making Pretzels

Mix together:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbs yeast
1 Tbs sugar
Set aside for 5 minutes.
Mix together in a separate bowl:
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour
Add yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and mix together to make dough. Roll the dough into a long snake. Cut the dough into small sections with scissors. Form individual shapes. Brush beaten egg on the pretzels shapes with a pastry brush and sprinkle with coarse slat. Bake at 425°F for 12 minutes.

cutting the pretzel dough apart with kitchen scissors

painting on some beaten egg with a pastry brush

watching and waiting for them to bake

enjoying the finished product

Yummy pretzels!

Animal Cookies

Mix together in a bowl:
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar,
1 cup butter,
1 egg,
1 tsp vanilla
& 1/2 tsp almond extract.
Then add:
2 1/2 cups flour,
1 tsp baking soda,
& 1 tsp cream of tartar.
Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Roll to 1/2” thick, cut into animals shapes.
Bake at 375° fro 7-10 min on greased cookie sheet.

Miss Muffet’s Curds

Warm up 2 cups of whole milk and add 1 tsp of vinegar. Stir as curds (milk solids) separate from whey (liquid). Strain curds, gently press with paper towel. Sprinkle with salt, refrigerate and eat as cottage cheese. You could also flavor it (cinnamon, orange, vanilla, pb, etc), stir it & eat it warm on crackers.

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