Cheap Fun Paper

Today was my turn to teach preschool again. I was excited to use our news paper roll and it was a great change of pace for the kids to get out of their seats and sit down on the ground to color. So I just had to post what great paper this is especially for large groups. They are the ends of the newspaper rolls. They sell them at the Idaho Press Tribune, in the front, for $2 a roll regardless of size. It is kinda hard to tell how much is on the roll in the picture but trust me we will not be running out any time soon. Such a great deal and fun for the kids to color on the floor. If you are not from this area call your local newspaper to see if they do this.

Making Pizza

Today was my turn to teach preschool. Thought it would be more crazy with 8 kids but it actually went really well. Making pizza was a hit so I thought I would share. The kids are learning shapes and this activity is great for shapes and colors. I first cut out triangles from paper grocery bags and fold over the end to make a crust. I cut out red circles for pepperoni, large orange triangles for cheese, small yellow rectangles for pineapple, pink squares for ham, small green triangles for bell peppers (the kids changed them to pickles though) and black circles with a hole punched through the center for olives. I started with cheese and from there used one shape at a time. They glued on one topping at a time so they could get familiar with the shape. They had a great time learning their shapes as well as pretending to be little chefs!

Caramel Popcorn

Well it's not really baking, more like microwaving but so yummy! For Sunday baking
we made caramel popcorn. We went to the pumpkin patch Saturday and it really put me in the fall mood. The girls didn't help with this one because the caramel gets really hot and sticky. I got the recipe from a friend of mine and is by far the best recipe for caramel corn, so thanks Courtney!

Microwave Carmel Corn
1 Bag of popped popcorn
1/3 C of butter
2/3 C firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 C light corn syrup
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla

Microwave butter in a 4qt microwave safe glass bowl until melted. Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup until mixture bubbles, stir once. Microwave on High 3 minutes without stirring. Stir in baking soda and vanilla. Stir in popcorn and mix well. Microwave at 70% power for 1 minute. Remove and stir. Repeat again at 70% power for 1 minute. Stir,once all mixes spread out onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper to cool.

I think next time I will add peanuts or candy. Beware you cannot just have one!!

Halloween Ghosts

I thought these were fun little friendly ghosts to add to our Halloween decorations. Supplies you will need: Cheese Cloth sold at Walmart or Joanne's,liquid starch,black felt for the eyes, hot glue glue gun, 2 cups and a small balloon. Tape 2 cups together and place a small blown up balloon in the top cup. Soak a piece of cheese cloth big enough to drape your balloon in the liquid starch. Drape over and let dry. We let ours dry overnight. Once dry pop the balloon with a needle and remove from cup. Add eyes with a hot glue gun. This was very kid friendly and a fun project. For step by step instructions visit:http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/ghost-craft-1010

Bite Size Caramel Apples

I love fall and everything about it, I have been trying to finds some fun things to do with the girls for when the weather gets colder. I found these on another blog and thought they were so cute. I love caramel apples but they are so big. These are perfect for kids! You need a melon baller to scoop out the apple balls. Dip into melted caramel and use pretzel sticks for the stick. Perfect for Fall!

Silly Squids

This was actually taken a while ago but I forgot to post. Hanna had a play date with a few of her friends. We made silly squids for lunch. I cut turkey hotdog into thirds and poked through whole wheat pasta. Let them boil until tender. The kids thought they were really fun.

Back to Blogging and Ice Cream Sundae Brownies

I have been MIA to the blogging world and have been really missing it. So I have made it a priority to get organized and get back to blogging! For Sunday baking I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs the Picky Palate. The brownies turned out really good, how could they not when ice cream is baked into them (like they did not already have enough calories). They have an extra gooyiness to them. I paired them with the ice cream that was used in the recipe. This will definatley be my go to brownie recipe.

Ice Cream Sundae Brownies

1 box brownie mix
2 eggs
1/2 c canola or vegatable oil
heaping 1/2 cup of you favorite ice cream (I used Ben and Jerry's Triple Caramel Chunk)
1/4 c of hot fudge topping or I used caramel topping (chilled)
1 1/2 c of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl mix the brownie mix, 2 eggs and oil until combined......and thick. Do not add the water to the brownie mix. Scoop in ice cream, chocolate chips, and ice cream topping. Mix until combined. Pour into a foil lined 9x13" baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center. Let brownies cool for 30 min and remove from baking dish, cut into squares and serve.