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Archives for April 2013

Raspberry Cheesecake Popsicles

Here are the ingredients: 12 oz frozen (or fresh) raspberries 1 tablespoon sugar 2 tablespoons water 1 pkg cream cheese (8oz), softened 1/3 cup milk 2/3 cups confectioners sugar (aka powdered sugar) 1 teaspoon vanilla Pour your raspberries, sugar and water into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let the mixture gently boil for around 8-10 minutes. Once the time has elapsed you will pour your raspberry mixture into a blender or food processor and blend until it is a smooth puree. Set the raspberry puree aside in a small plastic bowl and let cool in the fridge (around 2 hours). In a small bowl combine the cream cheese, milk, confectioners sugar and vanilla and blend well until nice and smooth. You can either use a popsicle maker like I have or you can purchase popsicle molds at your local store. Insert the sticks and layer your raspberry puree and cheese cake batter in the mold. Let freeze until solid and enjoy!!! … [Read more...]

Fuel for Active Kids — #QuakerEpicAdventures

March was a crazy month for our family. Nutty started gymnastics on Mondays on top of swimming on Tuesdays and church on Wednesdays. Hubby and I shoot in a pool league on Thursdays. Uff-da (as we say in Minnesota)! I'm making some changes for this month! Unfortunately, there was a period of two weeks where gymnastics and swimming both fell on Monday evening (until I could reschedule swimming to Tuesdays). Nutty would get home from school at 4:15, change clothes, grab a quick snack, and head to swimming at 5:00, immediately after swimming and a shower, we'd head to gymnastics at 6:00. We didn't eat dinner till around 7:30pm!   So what did I give Nutty for a snack to keep her fueled for swimming and gymnastics? Granola bars of course! Quaker® Big Chewy Granola Bars to be exact.  They're bigger than most granola bars and with 14g of whole grains they gave her the fuel she needed to make it through till dinner. Unfortunately, the box we received to try for this post did … [Read more...]

Insects Made From Cereal

So as I am scheduling our posts for this week I realize that ALL of them are tasty treat related but we're still sticking to our regular schedule. Today's post is both a craft and a tasty treat. We're making insects from cereal. Ok, sounds gross, I know, but they're actually super cute! I told you they were cute.  To make them (and then eat them) with your kids, you'll need: Froot Loops, Fruity Cheerios, or the generic of either Pipe cleaners Large gum drops Candy sprinkles (optional) Frosting (optional) Scissors Toothpicks 1)  The inch worm is super easy and is good for younger kids.  Just curl a pipe cleaner slightly on one end and start stringing the cereal. 2)  Press a gum drop drop at the other end of the stringed pipe cleaner.  We found it easier to poke a hole in the gum drop with a tooth pick before trying to press it onto the pipe cleaner. 3)  Use a small amount of frosting and candy sprinkles to make a face on the gum drop. 4)  Use another … [Read more...]

Banana Cookies

Do you frequently buy bananas only to have them go bad before you eat them all? Are you sick of making banana bread all the time? How about making your family banana cookies! My mom made banana cookies all the time for my family growing up.  I don't know if it was just or fun or if it was because we frequently had over-ripe bananas.  Either way, they are yummy, easy to make, and I now make them for my family. You'll need: 2 1/4 cup flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp baking soda 2/3 cup margarine 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 2 ripe, mashed bananas Mix everything together, drop by large spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake at 400° F for 8-10 minutes. Check often while baking because some ovens are different and you don't want to over cook these.  The recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies. Yep, it's that easy!  What do you make with over-ripe bananas besides cookies and banana bread? … [Read more...]

11 Last Minute April Fools Activities For Kids

Today is April 1st which means it's April Fools Day.  I really wanted to play some kind of trick on you guys, our readers, by announcing we were quitting this blog, or by putting up a 404 NOT FOUND page in it's place for the day.  Lindsi convinced me it probably wasn't a good idea as people might take it seriously if they weren't paying attention.  So, instead of a joke on you, I'm letting you in on a few awesome, last minute tricks you can play on your family... 1)  Upside down/backwards house While your kids are at school today, turn everything that you can (photos, knick-knacks, whatever you can) upside down and/or backwards.  When your kids ask what happened, act like you have no clue that things are different.  If your kids are on spring break and are home today, slowly change things when they aren't in the room. 2)  Blue toothbrush Put a small drop of blue food coloring in the middle of your child's toothbrush sometime today.  When they go to brush their teeth tonight, … [Read more...]