Remember when we used to buy paper copies of recipes instead of looking them up online? This blackberry pork chops recipe was originally published in an edition of, "Cooking Light." We made it and it tasted so amazing, but it called for 1 3/4 cup of fresh blackberries, which are often out of season or very costly. Our version of the blackberry pork tenderloin recipe replaces the fresh blackberries with blackberry all-fruit spread and the pork chops with pork tenderloins. Of course, a garnish of fresh blackberries, if you can find them, makes a pretty plate. For a beautiful Christmas brunch, serve it along side blackberry cobbler. Enjoy!
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Make these cute turkeys, the perfect sensory playcooking activity to do with kids. The easy peanut butter ball recipe tastes like peanut butter fudge. Enjoy!
How to Make Peanut Butter Balls: In a large bowl, blend together peanut butter, condensed milk, and confectioner's sugar. Then knead with hands to soften.
Divide into small pieces. Roll into 1" balls.
Optional: Roll ball into crushed peanuts or powdered sugar.
Chill for 20 minutes before decorating and keep chilled while working.
Add 3 Pieces of candy corn point down to make Turkey's feathers.
Add 2 Chocolate Chips for eyes. Add 1 Peanut for beak.
Make ahead and freeze.
Warning: These are addictive- so good!
Happy Turkey Day!
You might also like Turkey Songs for your Preschool Class.
Peanut Butter Ball Turkeys with Candy Corn. Tastes like Peanut Butter Fudge.
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In 2010, Santa brought the little one a doughnut maker. She asked for a cupcake maker, but it was the hot item and hard to find that year.
Mommy was tired after all of the Christmas doings, so Daddy was in charge of making the doughnuts. I never even saw one. I heard, "They were so good!" Mommy has been very busy. Mommy experienced the Easy Bake Oven with the teenager. It took Mommy over a year to make the doughnuts.
As a kid, I had a Holly Hobbie, Old-fashioned, Easy Bake Oven. What fun I had baking cookies and cakes on the floor of my bedroom... Wait that seems like an odd memory, true, but odd. I have no memory of my mother helping with this endeavor. I do remember my Dad eating the results. As a matter of fact, I remember my Dad eating teenager's Easy Bake Cookies and Cakes.
Remember how the cookies tasted baked in your Holly Hobbie Easy Bake Oven.
I also had a Baby Alive growing up. You mixed the baby food and she pooped and peed. I liked her food. I thought. "It was so good!" Easy Bake and Super Doughnut Factory food tastes exactly like Baby Alive food. My, how my tastes have changed. And, for those of you who read my post on doll collecting, yes, somewhere, I have both of these items. (Hoarder, Hoarder, Hoarder)
This year (2011), my son wanted a doughnut maker. He knew exactly which one he wanted. Grandpa took us shopping and when we explained that we needed to leave the toy aisle and find the small appliance aisle both Daddy and Grandpa were perplexed. My son is very practical. He also asked Grandpa for a new, winter coat. So, he got this one.
Mommy has been ridden with guilt. Knowing she should make the little one's doughnuts but not wanting to make the doughnuts. So, I had a brilliant idea. We'd have a doughnut maker bake-off. Doesn't that sound like fun?
What I learned from said Doughnut Maker Bake-off:
Good ideas- aren't always. The genius idea to rid the house of Easy-Bake and Super Doughnut Maker packets would be more genius if I secretly tossed them. Easy-Bake is a Misnomer. Super Doughnut is a Misnomer.
What's Super about it? Doughnuts are tiny. You mix them in a tiny bowl with a tiny spoon, put them in a "machine" that squeezes supposedly squeezes them back out into a tiny muffin tray. We are not elfs, we are humans. The extra step is not easy, super, or fun. It works better if you use the tiny spoon to place the batter in the tiny muffin tray. Then you add the filling. HA ha ha ha ha. Finally you stick it into the microwave for 45 seconds. Voila! Easy.
Mommy taught the teenager how to use the microwave with her Easy-Bake supplies when she kept getting the pans stuck in her oven. I should have invented the 'Super Easy Cake Maker', I would be swimming in the dough. Yep, dough.
If you put something off for an entire year forget the guilt; I'm sure you had a good reason. Someone's got to clean this thing! I've made my last Easy-Bake or Kiddie Baker item ever.
It might be possible to persuade me into feeding Baby Alive. Thank goodness the little one doesn't like dolls, especially babies. I've changed enough diapers in my life. After she ate microscopic, microwaved, mini-doughnuts made from year old ingredients, we grabbed a box of cake, followed the recipe for cake-like cookies, spooned them into the practical doughnut maker, popped them out after two minutes, and coated them with powdered sugar. Now that was easy.
Daddy ate the doughnuts. None of these doughnuts are fat-fried, I guess that's a plus. Here are some of our other Easy doughnut/fun food recipe attempts that really work!
Ahh, Ye olde Yule Log. What's a Yule Log, you ask? Depends who you ask. Are you hungry or do you want to keep warm for the holidays? Find out the history of the Yule Log. Is it food - yes and also no! Apparently, the dessert cake, Chocolate Yule Log, was created after the one you place in your fireplace. This traditional Yule Log recipe is delicious, but it also serves as a great family tradition when you make it with your children. Watch the Yule Log video below while you bake. Enjoy!
How to Make a Yule Log
This spongy, oil-less Yule Log cake comes from Taste of Home as part of its Chocolate Cherry Cream-Filled Log Recipe. We made a few adjustments. Instead of the whipped cream filling, we used a Cherry Almond Buttercream with chopped Chocolate Covered Cherries folded in. Top your cake roll with chocolate ganache, melted milk chocolate chips, or just dust with some powdered sugar. We made our Yule Log festive by adding green paper leaves that adorn the cherries. You can also make the leaves with edible ganache.
Hallmark's Yule Log Video You Tube
Yule Log Cake:
Ingredients:
4 eggs, separated
1/3 c. plus 1/2 c. sugar, divided
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. baking cocoa
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. water
Confectioner's sugar
Directions:
1. Place egg whites in a small bowl and let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature. Line a greased 15 in. x 10 in. x 1 in. baking pan with waxed paper. Grease the paper and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks on high for 5 minutes or until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually beat in 1/3 c. sugar. Beat in vanilla.
3. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together twice. Gradually add to the yolk mixture alternately with 1/3 c. water. Beat well after each addition.
4. In a small bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in 1/2 c. sugar, 1 T. at a time, on high speed until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold egg whites into batter. Spread evenly into prepared pan.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 5 minutes. Dust a kitchen towel completely with confectioner's sugar. Invert the cake onto the towel. Carefully peel off the waxed paper. Roll up the cake in the towel, starting with the short side. Cool completely on a wire rack.
6. Prepare Cherry Almond Buttercream.
7. Unroll cake. Spread filling evenly over the cake to within 1/2 in. of the edges. Roll the cake again, without the towel. Place seam side down on a serving platter. Top as desired. Slice off the uneven ends of the cake before serving.
Cherry Almond Buttercream with Chocolate Covered Cherries:
Ingredients:
3 c. Confectioner's sugar
1 stick butter, softened
3 t. almond extract
2 T. milk
2 T. maraschino cherry juice
6 chocolate covered cherries, coarsely chopped
Directions:
1. Beat butter until creamy.
2. Add confectioner's sugar and beat until combined. Add almond extract and cherry juice and beat until combined. Add milk, if necessary, for consistency. Beat until smooth.
3. Gently fold in chopped candy.
Kids Can Cook this Easy Holiday Cranberry Muffin Recipe
Make mom breakfast in bed for the holidays or Mother's Day with our Kitchen KidsCranberry Muffin Recipe from "Kids Creative Chaos Cooks Cookbook" full of recipes to mix and make with minimal adult supervision.
Holiday Cranberry Muffin Recipe. Easy for kids to make.
You need:
English Muffins 1 Can of Jellied Cranberry Sauce Cinnamon Brown Sugar How to make: Toast Muffins in toaster or toaster oven. Open the cranberry sauce and slide it out of the can. Slice into thin circles. Place cranberry slices on muffins. Sprinkle with brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon. Place in toaster oven or on a cookie sheet in a warm oven at 375 degrees for 5 minutes. Serve warm. Recommended Reading:
Wondering how to make fluffy pancakes from scratch? This scratch pancake recipe is the best. We've made the homemade pancake recipe several times, and it always produces golden, delicious pancakes. The key to making these amazing pancakes is the vinegar used to "sour" the milk, so don't skimp on the quantity or souring time. Enjoy!
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This is a simple and inexpensive breakfast casserole that uses refrigerator biscuits. Need to feed the family or unexpected guests in pinch? This easy biscuit sausage casserole recipe will do the trick. Enjoy!
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How to Make Easy Biscuit Sausage Casserole Recipe
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground sausage
2 T flour
1 c. milk, divided
Salt and pepper
6 eggs, beaten
1 can refrigerator biscuits
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large skillet, brown sausage. Reserve 2 T grease. Drain sausage; rinse with warm water.
3. Return reserved sausage grease to skillet. Add flour; stir well. With stirring, add 3/4 c. milk. Cook over medium heat until gravy thickens. Stir in sausage. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add beaten eggs and remaining 1/4 c. milk to a clean skillet. Scramble eggs until done. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Place scrambled eggs in a 8 x 8 in. baking dish. Cover with sausage gravy. Top with uncooked biscuits.
6. Bake at 400 degrees until biscuits are golden, approx. 10 min.
We've had many great years teaching messy play and preschool classes for The Play Connection and hope the future will send even more blessings our way. Here are our top sensory and messy play preschool activities from 2013. What a blast from the past!
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Here is a listing of our top posts of 2013. Many offer great ideas for fun, preschool activities, clip art, and lots of fun for kids! Enjoy!
There are many Homeschool Lessons in this series, so make sure you click the labels under each post. (Still Life, Water Coloring for Kids, Weaving, Self-Portrait activities, Building Models for Science, Christmas Gingerbread House how to diy, Color Theory Lessons, Primary Colors, and even some History along the way - it's art to me how we've designed our lives throughout the years. I hope you will follow along on the journey.)
We published a Kitchen Kids Cookbook with mix and make recipes for kids. We helped fund raise for Santa's Elves of Indy, we started Homeschooling through INCA (Indiana Connections Academy,) and we moved to a house in the country.
2013 holds many dreams as we look forward to gardening, raising chickens, goats, and hopefully bunnies and alpacas, get that YA novel published, and share a few of the many stage plays and skits for kids I've written over the years. Bring it! I am excited to get started :-) What does your future hold? Leave a comment and let us know.
Edible art and crafts for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas for Kid's to make.
I am excited to announce our first Kitchen Kid's Series Cookbook is available for purchase. Starting today, you can purchase a print version at Createspace for under $3. Now available at Amazon.com, so be sure to include it in your wishlist.
Holiday Treats is full of simple mix and make recipes for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve with easy to follow instructions for kids of all ages. We've also added a few games to keep the kiddos busy while Mama or Daddy cooks in the kitchen. The perfect gift for budding bakers. Do you remember your first cookbook? Tell us about your favorite holiday recipe in the comment section below. We love to hear from you.
So, I've been saving this old container of dirty, antique bottles to do some bottle crafts for kids. I dug them up on an abandoned property where an old cabin had once sat. More recently, it had been an abandoned dump. It was a treasure trove of trash.
Old, antique amber and cobalt decorative bottles.
I found old crocks and a 1925 or 1928, Christmas edition, Coca-Cola bottle worth absolutely nothing! It was cracked. There was a mint-condition, amber, Clorox bottle, once worth around $40, until we moved and let our craziest driver friend pull the trailer (which I had poorly packed) and an awesome yellow bottle that had melted in the most beautiful Salvador Dali fashion (beauty is in the eye of the beholder)! I'm not a purist; I like to mix them in with my reproductions and other decorative, cheap, glass bottles.
Old medicine, ketchup, and syrup bottles.
What can you do with old bottles? My mother painted this beautiful, decorative bottle and gave it to me as a gift. It came filled with real Vanilla Beans and Vodka. Here's the Recipe for Home-made Vanilla Extract. It came complete with a 'Do not open until' tag, and a cork, of course. Yum!
We also had a craft-fail extraordinaire. I decided to put a bow on it and call it precious. Rock salt and glue are supposed to make a crystal coating for a candle votive. Um, no- not for us.
Rock salt and blue decorative bottle craft fail.
You don't have to dig in a dump for your jars. I found some very nice amber glass jars and bottles. I'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment and share your creative glass projects with us.
TIP: Those dirty, old bottles went from trash to treasure when I squirted in a little hand-sanitizer, a sprinkle of salt, and about an inch of hot water. It worked like magic ~ just slosh! I had tried to clean them before, but this bottle cleaning recipe made them sparkle.
Do you love pancake syrup? Without pancakes we have little excuse to eat it. Some people dip sausages in syrup, while others mix it in with their oatmeal, but let's face it, pancakes were invented to make eating gallons of maple syrup socially acceptable. We've designed this shareable quote for Facebook- just in time for Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday is February 28, 2017 and IHOP Pancake Day is March 7, 2017). Keep scrolling for related maple syrup breakfast recipes and things to do with maple syrup. Enjoy!
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All of us here at Kids Creative Chaos wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Happy Holidays!
We hope you'll drop by our Family of fun pages.
Join us on Pinterest for Pin it! to win it and online scavenger hunt Find us on Facebook and Twitter too. For more holiday fun check out our Holiday Recipe Book with great ideas for cooking with kids from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day and look for our fun book of holiday skits coming in January 2013. Recommended Reading:
Easter Peeps Dirt Dessert Place Setting Table Display
This post is sponsored by DollarTree.com.I received the products mentioned here for free from Dollar Tree. This post also contains affiliate links. I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on the links.
Planning an Easter Dinner? We love all things Edible Art for Easter, especially when they serve double duty as a decorative place setting display for the table. These Peeps Dirt Dessert Cups will brighten up your Easter Holiday table. Everything you need is available at the Dollar Tree online where you can buy Easter decor in bulk. So, make a bunch of Easter Dirt Pudding Cups Party Favors for the entire family. Scroll down for more Easter Activities and Ideas to make your Easter holiday get together unforgettable. Enjoy!
Rushed Time before School can Turn into Memorable Moments with a Daily Conversation added to your Family Mission
Make everyday count with Breakfast conversation bites.
If you are like me, your early morning routine is rushed, scattered, and not always in the best of family spirits. We try, but getting ready and organized for school is hectic. If only, we were well organized and had enough time to prep he everything the night before- but our lifestyles don't always allow for such structured free time. I'm a Homeschool Mommy. It sounds far easier than it is - well, it did to me. As the principal, teacher, gym instructor, and music director, (plus my full-time job as a social media manager) life is often stressed, and I rarely have time to focus on the little things... the important things.
Kellogg’s® Frosted Mini-Wheats® and Scholastic partnered and then contacted me to write about #mini-missions™ it hit home. We do a lot of things for others. We are always up to something for community service or helping friends. It is time to focus on us! So, this week, we did just that. Thanksgiving is nearing, and it is a good time to remember what we are thankful for this year. Our Mini-mission is to continue to collect toys and clothing for area Christmas drives. November is a great month to collect donations as people are beginning to get into the holiday spirit. Sometimes, we collect gift wrap and tape to donate. Other times, we get clothing, books, or toys. Always, we remind ourselves how giving back does the heart good.
Each day at breakfast, we focused on a simple conversation starter. This is a great way to learn more about your kids' interest and what makes their mind tick. My children love to explore theoretical concepts... you know, why is the sky blue? So, I went with it. Plan out a conversation starter each day. Do your homework. If you are going to ask and answer questions like, 'why is the sky blue', you better know your stuff. Research ideas online the night before. Here are a few of our conversation starters, and the fun answers we came up with for our conversation bites #mini-missions™.
Day One
Q: What is your favorite memory from helping with community service this year?
A: I don't know.
Momteruption: Try again.
A: Cake Pops?
Momteruption: What about them?
A: They were good!
Momteruption: Well... they were good weren't they, but what else?
A: I am happy April made the cake pops and donated her time for Santa's Elves of Indy.
A: I was happy to help Daddy that day.
Mom: It is nice to spend time as a family working to help others!
Day Two
Q: Today is the first day of the rest of your life what are you going to do?
A: Ride on Nebu (our pet bird.)
Momteruption: Try again.
A: Ride on a Tiger.
Momteruption: Something, you can do today!
A: I don't know.
Momteruption: Well.. I would try to be more positive from this day forward and always think about what I can do to make life better.
A: I will take care of the chickens!
Momteruption: *sigh* Well, that's a good start.
Day Three
Q: Why is it important to sit down and eat a healthy breakfast?
A: Because food is fuel!
A: Because you are hungry and need food to live.
Momteruption: Those are both good reasons. Food is like fuel it gives us important vitamins and mineral.
Kidteruption: Yeah, like these on the Frosted Mini-Wheats™ box.
Momteruption: Exactly! It is a part of a healthy breakfast, we should have fruit and milk or juice too so we'll be ready to learn!
Kidteruption: Like Bananas!
This is just a sampling of our conversation bites. You can see, it is harder than it looks, but as the days the progressed, the kids began to warm up to the idea :)
Breakfast before School: Introduction to the Every Day is a Big Day program
When your family completes a Mini™ Mission, you can earn free Scholastic books for your family and a chance to win prizes for your school and community. Visit scholastic.com/minimissions to register your family for the Every Day is a Big Day program. Each month, log in and complete a new Mini™Mission to earn 2 free Scholastic books for your family.
When your family completes a Mini™ Mission, you are also entered into a sweepstakes where 131 prizes will be awarded to schools and communities each month. Download free monthly stories chronicling Mini’s™ adventures against the evil Skipper. Kellogg’s® Frosted Mini-Wheats® and Scholastic have partnered to bring you the Every Day is a Big Day program, created to benefit families, schools and communities across the country.
Your family is invited to complete monthly Mini™ Missions to get free books for your family. Also, each month you’ll be entered into a sweepstakes for the chance to win one of 131 valuable prizes for your school and community. As you earn books and enter the sweepstakes, your family is sure to have a blast and learn something new along the way!
Start here and register for your first monthly mission!
This is a sponsored conversation by me on behalf of Kellogg's(R) Frosted Mini-Wheats(R). The opinions and text are all mine.
Are you all out of fresh ideas for a Girls' Teen Birthday Party? We searched Pinterest and found some fun ideas that your teen daughter will love. It isn't a party without games, favors, and a fun theme!
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These kids played soccer with our giant volleyball. Grab a net, a truck load of sand, and turn your backyard into a beach volleyball court!
We found this very stylish Volleyball theme party idea at Kara's Party Ideas. I particularly like the chocolate fuel candy bars!
Throw a volleyball theme party for your daughter
like this one from Kara's Party Ideas.
Volleyball! With this party theme, make sure you schedule time to play a game of their favorite sport, but change it up a notch with giant, inflatable volleyballs. If you're really cool, and really want to impress, truck in a load of sand! Change the sport for an athletic teen boy's birthday party theme.
Afterward, chill out with volleyball cupcakes and healthy (or not so healthy snacks). It is a birthday party, you can take a little break!
Beach or Pool Party! I know, it has been done before. Really a pool party? But, you can make it your own! You've got leftover sand from last year's volleyball party, so use it! Bring on the sandals and fruity mocktails. Give the girls colorful beach towels in your daughter's favorite beach party colors. To make it extra spectacular, make sand castle cupcakes like these from Confections of a Sugarholic blog.
Sandcastle cupcake from Confections of a Sugarholic.
Glamping! Oh the fun that the girls can have while camping! S'mores, bonfire, and ghost stories in luxury. Set up a nail painting tent, a food tent, and a movie tent! The girl's can travel from glamorous tent to glamorous tent. Add a fuzzy rug in each tent and gather your beautician to do their hairs and nails, then visit the food tent and place an order. Let Dad in on the act, he can be a fancy concierge/delivery boy (make him wear a tux).
We Heart Parties has this beautiful party food setup with an owl theme. Don't let those hoots scare you when you are sleeping in the tent!
A Night on the Red Carpet! Have the guests wear prom-style party dresses for this Oscar party theme birthday. Roll out a "red carpet" leading to your front door, for party favors the girls can create Oscar sculptures, then practice their thank you speech at a mic stand as their friends present them with a handmade Oscar. Celebrate with a golden slice of birthday cake. For more Oscar Party Ideas visit DesignDazzle.com
Spa! Bring on the sliced cucumbers, body scrubs, nail polish, sleeping masks, and special fruit water. Did you know you can add glow sticks to clear nail polish to make them glow-in-the-dark?
50+ Easy Circle Time Games for Three, Four, and Five Years Group Time for preschoolers often happens several times a day, you need fres...
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and let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature. Line a greased 15 in. x 10 in. x 1 in. baking pan with 
. Grease the paper and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
, starting with the short side. Cool completely on a wire rack.
juice
and cherry juice and beat until combined. Add milk, if necessary, for consistency. Beat until smooth.
. I'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment and share your creative glass projects with us.
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