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We have had lots of rain the last few days. The weather has been very cold and gloomy.

The yard is very muddy so the kids have not been playing outside. This means that it was time for a fun distraction. So today we made some painted bread. We have not done it in awhile so it was a lot of fun. Kids love creating things that they can also eat. Painted bread is a fast, cheap, and easy craft.

Painted Bread

Painted bread is super simple and kids of all ages can do it and have fun. Just fill a few small cups with water and food coloring and start painting some bread. Make sure to not get the bread too wet and mushy. When you are all done you can either toast the bread or let it air dry. Eat them toasted, with butter, or make a sandwich. That boring lunch meat or cheese sandwich is now a beautiful masterpiece they made themselves.

If you would like to see some other silly food you can go to the main website and check out the Fun Food page.

I have recently had some extra time to try out new recipes. It helps to have the girls home over the summer! I made this recipe because I was busy cleaning and I did not want to shower, get all done up, and then drive to the next town to buy buns. That would take too much time out of my day.

I was going to make some Italian Beef Sandwiches for dinner but I forgot to get buns. I knew I had plenty of flour and yeast so I asked myself, "Why couldn't I make them myself?". Homemade bread is one of my downfalls. I love the smell of homemade bread. I am however lazy in the kitchen so my family gets to eat very tasty but ugly foods.



These are my very ugly but yummy homemade buns.

YOU WILL NEED

• 2 envelopes active dry yeast
• 3 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 8 cups all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

1. In a bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add 1 tablespoon sugar; let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Add remaining warm water and sugar. Mix in oil, salt and 4 cups flour until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.
   
3. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
4. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. (I find that the perfect place is my above the stove microwave with the light under it turned on. It warms the microwave up perfectly)
5. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into equal pieces.
   
6. Shape each into an oval. Place 2" apart on greased baking sheets. (Mine are ugly because my lazy method was to flatten the dough and just cut into pieces with a pizza cutter)
7. With a knife, cut a 1/4" deep slash across the top of each. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 20 minutes.
   
8. Bake at 400F for 13-18 minutes or until golden brown.

Kids love playing with dough so this would be a great one to get the kids involved with. The kids can help knead the dough and shape the buns.

Life has been crazy this last week. My parents came for their once a year trip from Arizona. When they leave it really gets me missing living in Arizona by them. It does make for an extra crazy week though. As soon as they left the girls wanted to just sit and relax. So I made them their favorite goofy food... Fried Worm Sandwiches.

We have been making these for years. They can always get a giggle out of my girls and they are simple to make.

All you need to do is cut hot dogs into strips lengthwise and them cook them. Cooking them can be as simple as throwing them in the microwave or you can cook them in a frying pan. Either way the strips start to plump up and curl as they cook. This makes them into the silly looking worms.

I like to serve them in a big pile on a plate so the kids can pick up the "worms" themselves and make their own Fried Worm Sandwiches. This also makes a great fun and cheap meal for kids parties.

The Super Bowl is looked forward to by many people each year. When people think of the Super Bowl they always think of food too. The day is usually full of snack foods and big meals. It can often end up more like a holiday with all of the cooking and eating involved. I find it easier to make fast snacks. I do not like spending a whole day stuck in the kitchen. One of my favorites is Pigs In A Blanket.


Pigs In A Blanket is super easy to make and kids love helping out. All you need is a package of little smokies and a tube of refrigerated crescent rolls. The crescent rolls are too big so you will need to cut each one into 3 or more smaller pieces. Then just have the kids roll the sausages up in the dough. The pigs in a blanket then get baked on a greased baking sheet at 375 degreese for about 8 minutes or until brown.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons lemon zest
4 to 5 lemons
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from the lemons)
3 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups sugar

1. Scrape the 2 teaspoons of zest from one of the lemons, then cut all of the lemons in half and juice them. Measure 1 cup, reserving the rest for another use.

2. Use a melon baller or spoon to remove any remaining pulp.

3. In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the water to a boil, then add the lemon juice and zest and boil for 2 minutes.

4. Transfer the liquid to a mixing bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature. Place the bowl in the freezer until the mixture begins to freeze, several hours or overnight. Use a fork to break up the ice, then stir it until fluffy.

*NOTE - If we have berries that are getting too ripe we will cut them up and add them as we boil the liquid.


Coffee Can Ice Cream

I know a lot of your are afraid to make homemade ice cream because you think it is too hard to do. This is a way to get the kids to do the hard work and they think it is fun.

INGREDIENTS:

(1) 1-pound coffee can with lid
(1) 3-pound coffee can with lid
1 pint of half and half (milk can be used instead)
1 egg, beaten (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup, or 1/4 cup of strawberries

PREPARATION:

Add all of the above ingredients to the 1 pound coffee can; mix well. Put the lid on the coffee can and secure with duct tape. Place the 1 pound coffee can into the 3 pound coffee can. Surround with crushed ice and rock salt and place the lid onto the 3 pound coffee can.Have your kids sit on the ground and roll back and forth 3 to 4 feet apart.Roll for 8 to 10 minutes.(The kids can kick the can back and forth as well.)Check to see if the ice cream is hard; if it isn't, replace the lid, add more ice and rock salt. Roll for another 8 minutes. Remove the lid to the 1 pound can and serve in bowls.

Serves 4-6 people.

Cool Product

Okay after all this time of us making coffee can ice cream some brilliant inventor came up with this and probably made it rich. I saw it a few months ago and keep forgetting to buy one. It would make it all so much easier. The kids would still have fun rolling it around too.

Memorial Day here was warm and sunny. Now today it got cloudy and pretty cold outside. After all the fun outside yesterday the kids do not want to go out in the cold today. So I am forced to think of something to keep them occupied after school. I do not want to deal with the "I'm bored" statement for the rest of the day. So I decided that we will make some playdough. The kids also want an after school snack so edible playdough it is.

I will be making Peanut Butter playdough from the Edible Playdough page on the main site. If you would like to see more edible playdough you can check out that page. You will also find recipes for cream cheese playdough, chocolate playdough, and frosting playdough.


Peanut Butter Playdough

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
2 cups powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, using your hands.
Dough should feel soft and pliable.
Form shapes and be creative!
You can add other foods like M&M's or peanuts for eyes, mouths, etc
Storage: When not using, MUST be stored in an airtight container.



If you want this to be a small portion of another snack you can have your kids make small things that can be put on top of graham crackers or apple slices. They could also place their creations on bread.

My kids love doing this "craft" because it is edible, fun, and they can be creative. I hope you will try at least one of the edible playdoughs. They can be a lot of fun.