Story Time and a Jam Sandwich Craft

My kids are too stinking cute. I love their creativity and eagerness to dig into any project and give it their own unique touches. Several times a week Roo will ask to make a craft, similarly several times a week Harper will raid our craft closet and take off with anything she can reach... We now know they like to craft; if you add a good story into the mix it quickly turns from like to love.

A few weeks ago we checked out The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord. I thought this would be a fun book to check out, it also seemed like a good way to explain wasps to Harper and give Roo a reminder to avoid them!

I also hoped that a story about a giant jam sandwich and a cute craft would inspire my son to try something new. Something he has been adamant about not trying, jelly and jam!

                                                                  

In the story, 4000 wasps descend upon a town. They are quite a bother but the townspeople roll up their sleeves and get to work making one giant wasp trap jam sandwich!

The kids found the book entertaining. Roo was not sold on the idea of jam at all. He said "That's not good. That's sick." He was pretty determined that he wouldn't like jelly, nor jam. 

Up next we made Jam Sandwiches. My kids go CRAZY for paper food crafts. Like drop everything,  We are making a sandwich!? From paper?! Will there be glue sticks involved?

Getting ready, supplies needed

I cut 2 slices of bread shapes in off white paper

I cut 2 slightly larger slices of bread shapes in brown paper

I offered my kids red finger paint and paint brushes

Of course, glue sticks were needed.

Baby Wipes... You will want these!

Instructions

I gave each kid a brown slice of bread and a glue stick

They smeared glue around the brown paper and topped it with the off white paper

That was pretty satisfying to the kids. They really like to glue things!

They were thrilled to see the finger paint and paint brushes!

I told them to paint the jam on their toast. They agreed this was pretty great. Glue and paint after a story? It couldn't get much better!

This was a great activity for the kids. They always want to help me cook, so to create their own food craft was a hit. 

After the story and the craft, I made a peanut butter and jelly for Harper, Roo came in and watched me spreading the glob of jelly around. With a very serious face he told me "That is sick. Bleck. No jelly for me please. I will have honey."

I love that kid. He is definitely a guy who knows what he wants. 

You also might enjoy this Paper Cookie Craft idea for preschoolers.

How To Make Paw Print Cupcakes

My best friend, my original baby, my dog, turned 10 a few weeks ago! To celebrate the day we got both of the dogs their favorite treats! A plain burger from Wendy's and a kiddie sized vanilla frosty... {Don't judge... my kids feed them everything and this is simply the favorite people food among my dogs...} but I couldn't stop there. I am a mom of furry babies and human ones too! My kids get really psyched for a birthday! The dogs are no exception!

This year, my 5-year-old declared that we should "invite everyone over!" to celebrate this awesome day, the birthday of one of our dogs...

Considering half of the everyone he wanted to invite are several hours away from our house, I asked him if we could compromise and have a little party with just us. He looked skeptical... he asked, "What about balloons and presents mom?" I said "Well, Fritz {dog} doesn't really like toys anymore, he is kind of like... a grandpa among dogs. He likes to eat burgers and ice cream on his birthday."

My 5 year old frowned. He said "Can there be cake? No? Maybe grandma should come, she can bring cookies..." I laughed at this. Gotta give the kid credit, he wants a treat too! 

We could have made homemade cupcakes, but you know, I have kids! Time for cupcakes was not planned on that day. I turned to a box mix and a can of icing... no special recipe to mention here. 

But, I do have an idea for decorating any kind of cupcakes! This easy (and cheap!) decoration idea might just leave a paw print on the hearts and tummies of everyone you share one with!

You will need per 12 cupcakes:

36 Junior Mints (you will need 3 per cupcake)

12 mini York Peppermint Patties 

Directions:

Bake Cupcakes according to the package.

Allow to cool completely.

Frost the cupcakes.

Place the York Peppermint Miniatures
near the bottom edge of the cupcake.

Add 3 Junior Mints
to the top of the York Peppermint Patty to make the toes.

Now you have a delicious and minty addition to your cupcakes! This is my favorite cupcake decorating tip! It is so easy to make and they are fun! 

Please do not feed these Paw Print Cupcakes to your dog! Yes, I know I made these for the dogs birthday and I told you that the dog got his favorite people food treats for his birthday- but I truly do not like my dogs to eat a lot of people food. I know, I am a sweet mom and all but I seriously, between friends, I NAG at my kids every day about feeding the dogs. Also, your dog should never have chocolate as a treat. It is very dangerous for the health of any dog!

I hope you liked hearing about my best friends birthday and I hope that you liked our special cupcakes!

You might also enjoy this Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake Recipe!

Easy Cheesy Chicken Tacos {$7 Dinner Series}

My favorite meals to prepare for my family are easy, economical and packed full of veggies. The less time I spend cooking and cleaning up the better. I would much rather play with my kids or read them a story after dinner than spend an hour cleaning up! I would also prefer to have time to listen to my son talk about his school day over cooking!

This recipe for Easy Cheesy Chicken Tacos meets all of my criteria for a great meal! This is so easy to make and you can create this recipe for about $7 with smart shopping!

To begin here is a run down of what I purchased to create this dinner for my family and how much each ingredient cost.

Tyson 2/5 pound bag of frozen chicken breast, sale price of $4.99. I used 1/2 of the package  for a total of $2.49
1 jar of Meijer brand salsa, sale price of $1.00
1 pacakge of Meijer brand soft flour tortillas $1.49
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese 1.00
2 ounces of cream cheese .33 (a 6 oz package was .99)
1/2 an onion  ( sale price of 67 cents for a small sweet onion) .33
1/2 a green pepper .50



For a total of $7.14

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup of cooked chicken breast
1 jar of salsa
1 package of tortillas
1/2 cup of shredded  cheese
1/3 package of cream cheese
1/2 an onion
1/2 a green pepper


Directions 
Cook your chicken in a pan of boiling water when it has reached the recommended internal temperature, remove it from heat, allow to cool to a temperature you can work with and cut it into small chunks.

Cut your onion and green pepper into small chunks

Add salsa, cream cheese, shredded cheese, chicken and chopped veggies to a medium size pan, over medium heat, allow the cream cheese and shredded cheese to melt, stirring several times. Once the cheese is melted you can serve this on soft tortillas for an easy meal your family will love.

Garnish with Sour cream or hot sauce if desired.

I often serve this with a side of Spanish Rice, or a light salad. The best part is this is one meal my entire family loves!


You might also enjoy this Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe from my $7 Dinner Series.

Feed Me Fine Motor Activity

I have always encouraged fine motor play in my children. Not only is it important for their development, but there are so many ways to offer an invitation to fine motor play!

A well-meaning friend purchased tennis balls for my senior dogs. Bless her heart, but my pooches are too old to do much fetching. As much as we love the dogs, truth be told, they are hounds and have always been prone to take it easy; to sleep in bed only waking for food, water, and a walk. As I type, both are snoozing on pillows at my feet. No fetch will be played willingly by these dogs!

My kids were delighted. Balls! In the house?! YAY!!

I acted fast. With a moment of my time and some very basic supplies, my kids were distracted from the idea of throwing balls and were enthralled with the idea of feeding the ball.

To make a feed me ball you will need

A tennis ball
A utility knife
2 peel and stick eyes or a black magic marker to draw eyes
A few pom poms or cotton balls

The first step is the trickiest. Use caution while using the utility knife to cut a slit in the tennis ball, this will become the mouth.

Next affix or draw the eyes. We went with what we had on hand and used small stick on eyes. The kids and I agreed that really big eyes would be lots of fun!

After the eyes have been added you can offer the pom poms or cotton balls along with the ball.

Play combined with fine motor skill development is ideal for kids of a variety of ages. Both of my kids have fun feeding things to the ball over the years. From cotton balls to barbie doll shoes. The fine motor aspects remain, but we have added in simple math, counting, and color sorting to the ways we use the feed me ball.

You might also enjoy these 7 Ways to Entertain a 3 Year Old.

Blueberry Turkey Burgers with Blueberry Ketchup

I love blueberries! They are pretty, sweet and a summertime treat. Every summer my family visits a little blueberry patch on the outskirts of town and we pick blueberries then feast on them in every way imaginable.

My friends at the Blueberry Council shared this fun recipe with me, and I didn't hesitate to squeal with delight at the idea of sharing it with you.

Blueberry Turkey Burgers with Blueberry Ketchup

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey

3/4 cup fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon minced lemongrass (optional)*

1 teaspoon coarse black pepper

2 tablespoons soy sauce

4 poppy seed hamburger buns

Lettuce and sliced red onion, optional

Blueberry Ketchup (recipe follows)

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine turkey, blueberries, ginger, lemongrass and black pepper; mix well.

Form mixture into 4 patties.

Brush soy sauce on both sides of burgers.

In an oiled skillet over medium-high heat, grill patties until cooked thoroughly, about 4 minutes each side.

Serve on buns with lettuce, sliced red onion and blueberry ketchup.

* Peel away woody outer layer from the bottom portion of the lemongrass stalk; mince inner flesh.

Quick notes:

Yield: 4 portions

Blueberry Ketchup

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries

1/2 cup minced onion

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon pickled ginger (gari) or minced fresh ginger

Directions:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine blueberries, onion, vinegar, sugar, ginger and salt.

Bring to a simmer; cook about 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Remove to blender or food processor; whirl until smooth.

Refrigerate until ready to use. 

How do you like your blueberries? Tell me about your favorite way to eat blueberries in a comment, pretty please ;)

You might want to hop over and check out the recipe for Fresh Blueberry Napoleons as well 

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