Shamrock Rice Crispy Treats

It is March! There's a ton of snow on the ground! 

St. Patrick's Day is around the corner, and I'm trying to get on top of this blog. Many times we do things, but I fail to write about it. So here I am being all productive.

I hope you find these treats as cute and yummy as we do.

What you need:

• 5c. Rice Crispy Cereal
• 7 oz Marshmallow Cream 
• 4 TBS. Butter
• Wilton Colored Chocolate Disks
• Shamrock Cookie Cutter

What to do:

• Make rice crispy treats (I use this recipe: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1613,152172-234205,00.html)
• Put the treats in a pan and let cool
• Cut the treats with cookie cutter and place on plate
• Melt the Wilton Disks in the microwave
• Use a small spatula to spread on top of the treats.
• Let set
• Enjoy!

Picture instructions below.

Candy Melts

 

Spread in Pan

 

Cut out Treats

 

All done! Don't they look cute and yummy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cabin Fever is Setting In

My kids are the kind that want to be outside from sun up to sun down. They don't care if the weather is good or bad. However, I am not as adventurous or tolerant of our Midwestern climate. It has been pretty cold this winter and we just got roughly eight inches of snow last week. We did get out and play in it more than once, but eight inches is difficult to navigate when you are dressed like Ralphy's little brother in The Christmas Story.

Since we are projected to get about eight more inches on top of the eight we already have, I thought it would be a good idea to get these kids out of the house to run and play.

Yesterday, we went over to Clinton, IA to check out the Discovery Center. It was pretty cool for the size of town it is located in. Not to mention, I really liked that all the exhibits were on one level that was all open. So I could stay close to Bubba while letting Misses explore and make friends. Below, you will find pictures of the fun we had yesterday.

Train Engine

Train Engine

Train Table

School House

Ambulance

Mini Golf

 





There were many more exhibits, but I wanted to play too, so I put the camera away.

If you are ever up around Clinton, IA check out the Discovery Center. It is worth the $4.00 per person entry fee. The staff is very friendly.



Thankful Wreath Activity/Craft



Not to long ago, I saw a wreath crafted on Pinterest (at least I think it was Pinterest). Anyway, it was a Thankful Wreath. When I saw it, I thought, that would be a good activity for Misses and I for Thanksgiving and to reiterate gratefulness.

So I took myself over the the craft section of the store. I do not frequent this area, but I found the materials needed to complete the wreath.

Materials:
1. Wreath foam form
2. Ribbon in the color of your choice
3. Straight pins
4. Construction paper

After I got all the things we needed, I set forth to wrap the ribbon around the form. One spool was not enough, but I had some fabric scraps and that covered the rest. Then I drew little leaves on the construction paper. After I drew the leaves, Misses and I started saying all the things we were thankful for. I wrote all the responses on the leaves; we both cut the leaves out. Next, I used the straight pins to hold the leaves on the wreath. They are easily pushed into the form and add alittle silver pop. Finally, we hung the wreath in our dining room.

I wish I would have thought to take a pic of the finished product, but I didn't. Using the pins also allows for use year after year.

Rainbow Cupcakes

Misses recently turned 5! This year for her birthday, she wanted rainbow cupcakes. I groaned just a little at this. I do not care for making cupcakes. Since that is what she wanted, we looked on the Internet for some inspiration. In no time, we found a picture of cupcakes with sky blue frosting and candy rainbows on top.

After finding what we were going to do. I gathered the supplies.

What you need:
1. Box of cake mix (I use whatever I have on hand.)
2. Ingredients for frosting     (see: Thomas Cake for recipe)
3. Cup cake papers
4. Sour rainbow Airheads (I found them at Walmart.)

What to do:
1. Make the cup cakes according to the box instructions.
2. Make the frosting.
3. Frost the cupcakes with the blue frosting.
4. Cut the Airheads to the length you want for the rainbows.
5. Pipe 2 white frosting lines on top the blue and push the Airheads into them.
6. Pipe the white frosting around the Airheads to hold them in place and look pretty.

 

Here they are all finished. They are easy to make and very cute.



Homemade Valentine's Saves $$

This year Misses is in preschool. Her class has 20 students in it, and Misses needed to take a Valentine to school for each of them. After a couple trips to the store, looking at the options and prices for Valentines, I decided to see if Misses could make her own.

Making Valentines is a great activity for my daughter. She loves to do all things crafty. Later that week, I was flipping through a magazine and saw a child stamping red hearts with a toilet paper roll. I instantly got excited. I know, I know, I'm a dork. I just love saving money.

I set forth to collect all the supplies we needed to make these cute Valentines. Luckily, I had everything we needed.

Supplies:
card stock
paint
toilet paper roll
marker

Instructions:
Cut the card stock in strips and then cut the strips in half. You are making a little post card Valentine. Then write Happy Valentine's Day! Next, bend the toilet paper roll into a heart shape. Have your child dip the roll into the paint, and stamp it onto the card.

 

 

 

Let them dry. If you want to add a piece of candy or pencil that is up to you. We added pencils by taping them to the back. The total cost of these Valentine's were $1.94 for the pencils, since I had all the other materials on hand. Not to mention, putting these together was a nice activity Misses and I were able to do together. 

Cheerio Snacks

Last Christmas, I made party mix for friends and family. I got a little over excited with the great cereal prices and now have 2 big boxes of plain Cheerios. My kids will not eat them plain. I will only eat them for breakfast with about a 1/4 cup of sugar added to them. You know, just enough to scrape it off the bottom of the bowl with each bite. That doesn't work for me right now, because I am trying to loose weight. So I turned to the trusty Pinterest to see what I could do with these Cheerios.

I had pinned this recipe awhile ago.

• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. corn syrup
• 1 c. creamy peanut butter
• 1 t. vanilla
• 5 c. Cheerios (the original recipe called for Honey Nut)
   I added red chocolate drizzle to the top of mine for Valentine's Day

In a large sauce pan, combine sugar and corn syrup. Bring to boil over medium heat.
Allow mixture to boil for one minute and remove from heat.
Add peanut butter and vanilla to mixture and mix until smooth.
Add Cheerios and mix until all coated.
Drop mixture by spoonful onto waxed paper and allow to cool.

Makes approximately 2 dozen.

Thanks to http://kathiecooks.blogspot.com/2010/01/cheerio-treats.html for this recipe.

If I did the math correctly, each treat has roughly 168 calories. I figured one to be the serving.


Trail Mix with Cheerios
This recipe, I made up by adding ingredients I already had on hand.

Ingredients

2c. Plain Cheerios
.5c. Blueberry Craisins
.5c. Cherry Craisins
1c. M&M

Put all in a large resealable container and enjoy!

Almost Old Mother Hubbard

As the nursery rhyme goes . . . Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to give her dog a bone. When she looked the cupboard was empty. This is almost the scenario in my house the last couple of days. As you can imagine, dinner here as needed to be creative and tasty. Which can be a difficult accomplishment with a picky husband and two little kids.

Okay, I need to explain why there is little food in my house right now. We are at the point where we need everything, and I coupon to help keep the food budget in check. I have Misses (4) and Bubba (20 mos.) with me almost all the time. I know from interesting experience that trying to buy a lot of groceries and use coupons at the same time does not make for a delightful time for any one within a 20 foot radius. Not to mention, Bubba likes to throw things out of the cart while we are shopping. I can't prevent that from happening when the cart is over flowing. Plus, it has been pretty cold out, and I haven't wanted to bring all the groceries in alone with my little helpers. Tomorrow, there will be full cupboards, since my husband has a day off!

Since there was little food this evening, I found all the stuff I needed to make homemade pizza.

Ingredients:


Pie crust
Cheese
Pepperoni
Tomato Sauce







Instructions:

Lay out pie crust on baking sheet and use a fork
to poke holes in it.

Bake it in the oven for 10 min.









Remove it from the oven and spread the sauce on top.

Add the pepperoni.

Spread the cheese on top.












Then add any other toppings you like or have on hand. We added onions and green peppers. Put it back in the oven for the 15 min. or until crust is fully cooked and cheese is melted.




This meal was pretty good. The crust is a little doughy, but very good.

So if you find yourself in a similar situation, don't pick up the phone and call for take out. Look at what you have and get creative. Misses liked helping me make this pizza. The lack of food in the house made for a fun activity and bonding time for us.