Mommy Octopus

Today is Cinco De Mayo. What better way to celebrate than with a Cinco De Mayo Feista!  Here are some fun ways to make this an awesome day:

First up, you have to have FOOD!  I’m talking homemade salsa and chips, chicken enchiladas, Sopapillas for dessert, and whatever else you want to come up with.

You can make your own piñata and stuff full of goodies or make your own maracas for some musical fun.  There are a number of coloring pages to print as well.

Are you doing anything special today?

 

It’s getting hot out there, time to make a cool snack.  This ice cream recipe is fun and easy.  Get the kids to help and you can all be eating a tasty homemade treat in just about 5 minutes!

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup salt (Kosher or rock salt works best, but table salt is ok too)
• Ice cubes (you’ll need enough to fill the gallon-size bag about half full)
• 1 pint-size Ziplock bag
• 1 gallon-size Ziplock bag

First, combine the sugar, half and half, and vanilla extract in the pint-size bag and seal it tightly.

Next, place the salt and the ice in the gallon-size bag, then place the sealed smaller bag inside as well. Seal the larger bag.

Now shake the bags until the mixture hardens (this takes about 5 minutes). Keep feeling the small bag to determine when it’s done.

Finally, take the smaller bag out of the larger one and add any add-ins you want (think chocolate chips, M&M’s, fruit).

You can use all kinds of flavors and add-ins to make each batch different!

Enjoy!

I was looking for some handwriting practice for my son and cursive practice for my daughter and came across a neat site called HandwritingWorksheets.com.  I gave it a whirl and now have bookmarked this site.  I can type in their name or whatever I want them to practice writing and it automatically generates a worksheet.  Super cool!  You can choose between Print, D’Nealian, or Cursive writing styles.  Thought I’d share this neat time saver website with ya’ll.  Go check it out!

For Tasty Tuesday this week, I’m bringing back an oldie but a goodie that I posted this fall since I’m making these today!  In the spring/summer months, it gets really hectic around here with so much to do and so much sunshine to enjoy.  I take a day and make enough biscuits to put away for a while in the freezer. It helps prevent waste and overeating as well by just pulling out the number I need.  Here’s how to make your own freezer biscuits:

First, gather the following ingredients:

• 5 cups self rising flour
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 1 cup butter or shortening
• 1 3/4 cup buttermilk or milk

Add everything into the bowl and stir well until the dough has formed.  If it seems too sticky, add in a little extra flour as needed.

Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch and use a cup or a cookie cutter to form the biscuits.

Place the biscuits on a pan.  It’s okay to have them super close together since they will not be rising.  If you have more than one layer, be sure and place wax paper in between the layers so they do not stick together.

Immediately put the biscuits into the freezer, making sure that they stay flat.

After a few hours when they are frozen, remove them from the pan and place in a freezer safe bag and return the bag of biscuits to the freezer.

Pull biscuits from bag as needed and bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Yum!  Give it a try and see what you think!

Every summer, it’s a battle around here to fight off those pesky fruit flies since we keep lots of fresh fruits and veggies on hand.  They always seem to come around no matter how clean I keep the kitchen!  A friend told me a trick a few years ago on how to get rid of them and I’m going to show you today!  It’s very simple and inexpensive.

Simply fill a cup or bowl with an inch or two of apple cider vinegar.  Add in 4 drops of your liquid dish detergent such as Dawn or Palmolive, and stir.  Set it out where the flies are congregating and wait.  Within a few hours, you’ll notice several flies in the bottom of the cup, dead.

Simple and painless!  Sure beats swatting!  Do you have any tricks to keep bugs out of your house?

Mmmm… My favorite season is upon us…. Strawberry Pickin’ Season!  Words can’t describe a fresh picked strawberry!  I took my crew out picking strawberries on Saturday.  We had a blast!  I’m not sure what we are going to do with all of the strawberries yet.  I’m sure we will make some strawberry jam in the bread machine, possibly a strawberry shortcake, and most definitely we’ll eat them like crazy!  If you live in my area, here’s a list of the local strawberry patches that I am aware of.  Let me know if you know any others not listed or if you have any feedback on these patches.  Normally we go to the one at Moon Farms since it’s closer.

Washington Farms: It’s always best to call or check their website before you head out to Washington Farms.  Sometimes they get slammed with visitors and will be picked out for the day.  Washington Farms is open from 8am-8pm Mon-Saturday as long as they have ripe berries.  They are closed Sunday.   Prices are $10 for a gallon of pick your own berries or $12 for pre-picked.

Moon Farms: Moon Farms is open Monday-Saturday from 9-6 and Sundays from 2-6.  One thing that I particularly love about Moon Farms is that they have fresh homemade strawberry ice cream available to buy!  You haven’t lived until you’ve tried fresh strawberry ice cream!  It’s rather dangerous on my wallet that Moon Farms is located so close by!  Pick your own berries in a gallon bucket for $10 or pre-picked for $12.

Rocky Ridge Farm: Rocky Ride farms is open Monday- Friday 1-6 and Saturday from 10-6.  Clsoed on Sunday. Pick your own berries in a gallon bucket for $10 or pre-picked for $12.  Located in Lexington.  I haven’t been to this location, so would love to hear from those that have!

A friend of mine recently made this nifty project from something she saw on Pinterest from Just Make Stuff.  I fell in love with it and of course had to make it as well.  What a super simple concept!  You can get an 8×10 frame for really cheap at a garage sale or even at Walmart.  Print the PDF found HERE or make your own to frame and use a dry erase marker to leave a sweet note.  These are great for spouses, kids, or anyone that you want to feel special.  Since you’re using dry erase on the glass over the paper, you can write something new every day!

Thanks to Nora of Just Make Stuff for letting me share this awesome idea as well as her PDF and to my friend Angel for sharing it with me.