Guest Blogger & Solar Hotdog Cooker Project

Hi everyone! I'm Jenni, just popping over from DisheveledMommy to share with you guys a really fun mom & kids activity.

This afternoon Crystal had posted on Facebook that she was going to try baking cookies in her HOT car, and posted a link to a site with pizza box cookers as well. Those reminded me of the shoebox hotdog cookers we used to make in school growing up in Phoenix. While it was only 102 (ha!) here today, and not the 110+ we had growing up, I figured it'd work. I bet it was only 102ish while we were still in school ;-)

I'm going to give you more of a "process" type instructions, rather than set directions, so you can easily adapt it for the supplies you have on hand. No one wants to run to the store, kids in tow, in this heat!

First you will need a shoebox, or similarly sized box with the flaps cut off. I have a slew of these boxes, but could not find an empty shoebox! They were all filled with treasures, socks, extra toiletries, etc. So I grabbed one of my small Amazon shipping boxes. Nice & sturdy. Plus, I already had cut the flaps off because I was going to cover it in contact paper to store my make up palettes in. (I now have a basket for them...)

Ok, so we have a box (preferably from our stash, ) now we need to grab some aluminum foil, some plastic wrap, (or plexiglass...) a gluestick just-in-case, some tape, and a few wooden skewers. I was super lucky & had a small bit of plexiglass just the right size.

Optional: a paper towel tube to place under the dogs in case they drip, cut in half, then each half cut in half longways in a curved fashion. Cover with foil. (More reflection!) The little one loved doing this!

Cover the inside of your box with foil, securing with tape around the outside edge, using a bit of gluestick if needed. I also went around my plexiglass with some electrical tape in case the edges were sharp.

Mark with a pen in about equal intervals along one long side of your box 2-4 places for skewer holes.
Poke these with the tip of a screwdriver and slide the skewers through. Poke the opposite side with the skewer. I didn't go through the other side with the screwdriver so they'd be snug.

Place the "drip pans" under each skewer.

To use, pull the skewers halfway back out the holes, tilt up and skewer a hotdog. Slide the dog down to the middle, and place the skewer back into the hole. When your skewers have been dogged, cover tightly with plastic wrap, or your plexiglass "lid" and place into direct sunlight. It may take a couple-few hours to cook, but it's fun!
You may need to place a rock under the cooker to get a good angle, adjust as the sun moves. You may also have to tape your lid a little, as I did today! (Definitely tape it if using plastic wrap!)

Pumpkin People. :)

Last weekend the girls and I spent Sunday making pumpkin heads for scarecrows. We have not had a chance to go to Goodwill to buy them clothes. As soon we do we plan to make each a full size body. For now I wanted to share a couple of photos of our family pumpkin style!

Fun Kid Food- Hot Dogs on a String?

Hot Dogs inserted onto noddles are the talk of my house today!

I saw this done by a blogger but I can't recall who. If my kids knew who the original person to do this was they would give them an award!

It is super simple ad kids love it!

*** Cut up your hot dogs into rounds

*** Have the kids insert them onto noddles.

*** Put in boiling water and cook until noddles are done

*** Drain and top with what ever you like. ( We like butter and Italian seasoning)

How to Make an Easter Bunny Cake

Start with 2 round cakes.

A cake mix makes the perfect amount for the two 8 inch round pans.

Put on cake on a board or cookie sheet. It need to be near the bottom but not all the way down.

Cut the second cake as shown in the photo above. This is going to make the bunny's ears and bowtie.

Flip the piece that you cut over and use it as a guide to cut the other side. This will insure that you get two ears the same.

Chop off the bottom inch of each ear. This helps the ears go flat against the head.

Place the bowtie at the bottom of the cake.

Decorate until your heart is content.

I let my kids do this one-

After School Snack

Every single day at 3:30 I have 7 kids get home from school. In the next 5 minutes I can expect to hear "What are we having for a snack" at lease 20 times. Sometimes I use after school to clean out the pantry. I throw together a few kinds of cereal, some nuts, marshmallows, and anything else that is in a bag, near empty , and taking up space. I then melt a few blocks of almond bark and toss it into the mix. I freeze for about 3-5 minutes, break apart, and let them dig in.

The Bunny Just Hopped In

It is almost midnight and the Easter Bunny just left. I think the girls will be very happy when they wake up in the morning. As for Momma Bunny she is hopping off to bed.

Happy Easter All!

Bird Nest Eggs - Suzie's first VIDEO!

This is my first cooking video. I may get brave enough to make a live on in the future.

If you are still looking for Easter treats this one is very fast and super cute. You only need three ingredients and less than an hour. Get the kids involved. They will love it!

Tissue Paper Eggs- Easter Craft

Easter is almost here but you still have time to do this simple craft. My kids really enjoyed making these.

You will need-

Tissue Paper

Glue

Balloons

String

Water

Wax Paper



Getting Started-

Tear or glue tissue paper into irregular 1" pieces.

Blow up your balloons and tie them.

Mix glue half and half with water

Cover the work area with wax paper

Place overlapping pieces of tissue paper over the balloon. Cover with a coat of the glue solution over tissue paper. Continue until entire balloon has about 4-5 layers of tissue.

Hang from strings to dry. I tie the string on to the end of the balloon, the tied part.

Let dry about 24 hours or until dry.

When dry cut a hole in the egg and remove the balloon.

Fill with grass and candy.

Six kids and 60 cups!

It was the end of the first day of spring break and I was headed to the sink to wash dishes when I realized that every single cup and glass in the house was dirty! There must have been sixty of them! I knew that this was going to get old quick. It was the first day and I was already fed up with it. Dishes are after all my least favorite chore.

I got out some hooks and hung them under the cabinets and hung up six cups. Each child knows which cups is theirs and is totally responsible for it. That includes washing it after each use and hanging it back up.

It has saved me lots of time doing dishes. I am glad that we started it early so that they are used to it before summer gets here.

How to make a Boutique Style Hair Bow

My little Diva in her Little Diva Tutu

www.littledivatutus.com

The have a full line of
tutus for all ages and sizes!
They are handmade in the USA

I got one for each of my girls and they love them.

Homemade Bow Holder

I found this old charming medicine cabinet door in the trash and thought it would make a cute bow holder. I tacked on a hanger on the back and glued on some ribbon to clip the bows to.

How to make silly putty or goo.

Pour one cup of white school glue into a bowl.

















If you want it a color other than white add food color and stir.

Pour in 1/2 cup of liquid starch.

Mixture should form a ball and pull away from edge of container. Mix well until it does this. Then remove and squeeze out the excess liquid.

Lunchbox ideas

It is almost time for all the kids to start school. As a mom of three I was thinking about the cost of feeding three kids school lunches. In a few years I will be looking at 7.00 a day to feed my kids lunch. I know there are other moms out there who could use some frugal ideas. Here is a list of school lunch ideas that I complied. If you have more suggestions please leave them in the comments.


*Sandwiches*

Sandwiches made with

Crackers
Raisin Bread
Croissants
Biscuits
Pita Bread
Tortillas - (corn or Flour)
Bagels
English Muffins
Dinner Rolls
French or Italian Bread


Sandwich Filling Ideas:


Tuna
Egg salad
Turkey
Ham
Cheeses
Various Cold cuts
Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon
Shrimp or Crab Salad
Chicken Salad, Ham Salad
BLT's
Hummus
Tuna Salad (add cut up grapes for a sweet delicious treat!)
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Nut Butter
Almond Butter
Apple Butter
Cream Cheese and Jelly
Peanut Butter & Banana Slices
Salmon Salad
Cheese Whiz & Deli Meat
Pot Roast Sandwiches

*Hot Lunch Ideas*
(heat and put in a thermos)



Baked Beans
Soups- any & all!
Chop Suey
Pasta's
Stir-Fry's
Chili
Rice
Ramen Noodle Soup


**Extras that you can throw in**

Vegetable sticks with a small container of salad dressing for dipping
Fresh fruit
Pretzels
Raisins
Hard boiled eggs
Cherry tomatoes
Celery sticks filled with cream cheese or peanut butter and raisins
Applesauce
Fresh veggies and hummus
Granola bars
Fruit yogurt
Pudding
Crackers--plain or with peanut butter or cheese
Cheese sticks
Red bell pepper strips
Baked potato
Muffins
Cupcake
Graham crackers
Fortune cookies
Jello snacks
Dried fruit
Fruit leather
Nuts
Tortilla chips with a small jar of salsa
Small bags of popcorn

*Drinks*

Tea
Milk
Water
Juice
Soy Shakes
Cocoa
Apple Cider

Dora Backpack Party Favor

This year my two oldest daughter had a Dora the Explorer birthday party. I made these backpack to put treats in. They also included a map and some items to help them find the birthday cake which Swiper had taken.

These were so simple to make. I folded a piece of felt in half and cut off a small piece on the top. I then cut that piece in two to make straps in the back. The sides and bottom was hot glued together. I glued on the straps and some eyes and a mouth, which were also made of felt. They took minutes to make and were a huge hit.

Awesome Bread Pudding

(shown without the sauce)

My best friend Melissa has the best recipe for bread pudding. She usually makes it with bananas but I love it with peaches. Make it and take it to a pot luck. Your friends and family will adore it.





Then check out her blog.





4 cups cubed day-old French or sourdough bread (1-inch pieces)


1/4 cup margarine, melted


3 eggs


2 cups milk


1/2 cup sugar


2 teaspoons vanilla extract


1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg


1/2 teaspoon salt


1 cup sliced firm bananas or sliced peaches (1/4-inch pieces)





Sauce:


3 tablespoons butter or margarine


2 tablespoons sugar


1 tablespoon cornstarch


3/4 cup milk


1/4 cup light corn syrup


1 teaspoon vanilla extract





Place the bread cubes in a greased 2-qt. casserole; pour butter over and toss to coat. In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs; add milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in bananas.Poor over bread cubes and stir to coat.Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.





Meanwhile, for sauce, melt better in a small saucepan.Combine sugar and cornstarch; add to butter. Stir in milk and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture comes to a full boil.Boil for 1 minute.Remove from heat; stir in the vanilla. Serve warm sauce over warm pudding.
Yield: 6 servings

Tip... If your bread is not a day old just cut it up and let it set in a warm over for 5 minutes.

Kids love high sugar cereals.

Every time we take a trip down the cereal aisle I get to hear it. The kids want the fun colored, high sugar cereal that they see on television. Me on the other hand would rather grab Cheerios. I have finally found a way to make us both happy.

I buy a box of each. I mix 1/2 box of the high sugar stuff into a whole box of the healthy stuff. I use a ice cream bucket but any container would work. This way we both get what we want.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut
1 roll refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough

1 . Heat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and egg until smooth. Stir in coconut. 2 . In ungreased, 9- or 8-inch square pan, break up half of cookie dough. With floured fingers, press dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust. Spread cream cheese mixture over dough. Crumble and sprinkle remaining half of dough over cream cheese mixture. 3 . Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until chilled. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store in refrigerator.

Recycle broken crayons

Recycle those broken up crayons in minutes.

Peel off all paper and break into small pieces. Put a few pieces n each hole of a muffin tin. I used a mini muffin tin. Add enough to cover the bottom.

Pop in the oven at 300 degrees for 5 minutes or until melted. then throw them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until set. Turn over and tap to remove them.

Easy Play Dough

Play Dough

This is a super easy recipe that will save you alot of money.

You will need

2 cups baking soda

1 cup cornstarch

1 1/4 cup water

(food coloring, if you like)

In a medium-size saucepan, stir together baking soda, cornstarch and water

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it resembles mashed potatoes. Cover with a damp cloth and allow it to cool.

Knead the dough. Add food color at this point. Knead to mix in food color.

ENJOY!

Keep in a zip style bag between uses.