Pumpkin and a Cake Mix

Not long ago I heard about a lower fat chocolate muffin recipe that is super easy to make. I love chocolate so I went looking for the recipe. I discovered the Hungry Girl website and found the recipe. All you need is a boxed cake mix and a 15oz can of solid pack pumpkin. I used a Betty Crocker chocolate fudge cake mix and one 15 oz can of all natural solid pack pure pumpkin. Don't add any other ingredients. Mix the pumpkin and cake mix together and then separate it into muffin tins. I used an ice cream scoop as the mixture is very thick. It says to bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes but I found that 20 minutes was a bit to long in my oven so I would advise checking them after 15 minutes.

If you want to make this recipe with your children, they can help pour the cake mix and spoon out the pumpkin but stirring will be difficult for little kids as the mixture is very thick. You could let your kids help scoop the mixture into the muffin tins when finished. My kids thought the best part of this recipe was getting to lick the spoon and ice cream scoop at the end. I don't usually let my kids lick the spoon for muffins and cakes because of the raw eggs but since this recipe didn't need any eggs or oil, they were able to lick the spoons clean. These muffins received a thumbs up from my kids.

I don't know if you have already heard of or tried these muffins but since they are so easy and turned out well, I wanted to share. I also read that you can use any flavor of cake mix with the can of pumpkin to change the muffin flavor.

Enjoy!

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Natural Sunscreen and Bug Repellent

I've been trying to make the switch to all natural products. I haven't switched over to natural sunscreen or bug spray yet. Over the holiday weekend I tried some all natural bug spray on me and the kids and the smell was extremely offensive. I was literally feeling ill after just a few minutes and had to go inside, shower and change my clothes. I didn't want to make my children go inside, take a bath and miss out on Fourth of July fun but I did encourage them to run through the sprinkler hoping the water would rinse off some of the foul bug spray odor. The bug spray was a citronella base and the stuff didn't even keep the mosquitoes away. It didn't repel bugs but it did repel people. We all ended up using some Deep Woods Cutter to repel the bugs. I would still like to find something natural but I'm unsure of what really works and obviously, I need to stay clear of the citronella stuff.

The other topic on my mind is natural sunscreen. I've heard of California Baby, Jason's Natural and Burt's Bees. Has anyone tried these or others? Today I found a recipe for "Make Your Own Natural Sunscreen". I haven't had the chance to price the ingredients but the store bought natural sunscreen is between $12.00 to $15.00 per tube at the stores near me.

I would love to hear from anyone who has tried natural sunscreens and/or insect repellents that work, whether homemade or store bought. Please leave me a comment or email me at kim@lessonplansplus.com to let me know what works for you and your family.

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Homemade Popsicles and other Cool Treats

I have been enjoying making Popsicles with my kids this summer. Homemade Popsicles are fun to make and even better to eat.

One of our favorites is what we call Smoothie Pops. We place two bananas (the kids slice them first), a small hand full of fresh strawberries and about 1/4 cup of vanilla yogurt into the blender. After everything is well blended I pour the mixture into Popsicle molds and then freeze them until we are ready for our cool and tasty treats.





I bought my Popsicle molds at Target. Mine make 4 Popsicles and the cost for the molds was $3.99. I like them because they keep the Popsicles from dripping. If you don't have Popsicle molds you could also use small paper cups and Popsicle sticks.

We also enjoy making Banana Pops. We slice a small banana in half or a large banana into thirds. We insert a Popsicle stick into the banana length wise and then cover the banana in chocolate pudding (you can make chocolate pudding or to make it even easier, give each of your children a store bought chocolate pudding cup). I lined a rectangular plastic container with wax paper and we lined the wax paper with the banana pops. We also put colored sugar and sprinkles on the chocolate covered bananas. You could leave them as is or add chopped nuts if you like. I put the cover on the container and placed it in the freezer for several hours.

I remember making all sorts of Popsicles when I was a kid. My sister and I filled ice cube trays with our favorite concoctions. We used toothpicks for the sticks. We also filled the little paper Dixie cups and used Popsicle sticks. One of my favorite Popsicles was simply pouring lemonade into my mold and freezing it. I also used to enjoy making chocolate pudding Popsicles. Many of our Popsicles were simply frozen juice. As simple as it is, we also enjoyed eating plain ice cubes on a stick. You might be surprised how much your children enjoy plain ice. You can even add some food coloring to make it more fun.

Another of my favorite childhood treats was something that my mom made for us. She broke a graham cracker in half and then put whipping cream (Like Cool Whip) on top of the graham cracker. Next she put sprinkles or chocolate chips on the whipping cream, topped it with the other graham cracker halve and then froze them.

Weekly Challenge: Make a Homemade Popsicle or another summertime treat with your children this week. Let me know what you enjoyed.

I'm always looking for new recipes to try with my children. If you have a favorite homemade treat that is great for a hot summer day, please share it with me. You can leave a comment or email me at kim@lessonplansplus.com.

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Father's Day Chocolate Peanut Butter Dessert

Several years ago, my friend and former co-worker Cindy brought this dessert to a work potluck. The dessert was an instant hit. I asked for the recipe and have since made it several times. It's a great recipe and it's easy to involve the kids in the preparation. My children especially enjoying crushing the cookies. I think this would make a great Father's Day dessert. I know that the daddy in this house loves the combination of chocolate and peanut butter.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dessert
2- 1/4 cups crushed peanut butter cookies (you can make your own ahead of time or use store bought)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine melted (I use a light version)
2 Packages (3 oz each) cream cheese (I use fat-free)
1 cup Powdered Sugar
1 container (8 oz) whipped topping (I use fat-free)
2-1/2 cups cold milk
2 packages (3.9 oz each) instant chocolate pudding mix

In a bowl combine crushed cookies, sugar and butter. Press into an ungreased 13 X 9 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

Beat cream cheese and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Fold in 1 cup of whipped topping. Spread over cooled crust. In a separate bowl, beat milk and pudding mix until thickened. Spread over cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped topping. You can also sprinkle additional crushed cookie pieces on top of the dessert as a garnish. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Enjoy!

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Homemade Bathtub Paint

I've always thought about buying bathtub paint for my kids but have yet to do it. I happened to find a recipe for homemade bathtub paint and I'm going to give it a try soon. It's easy to make and the ingredients are very inexpensive. It's the weekend now and I find that I tend to let my kids linger and play longer in the tub on the weekends since daddy is home to help and we are less rushed. The weekend seems like a great time to give this bathtub paint a try. Art in the tub! Fun and easy to clean. Sounds like a winner to me!

The Recipe for this tub paint was found at FamilyFun.Com

Color-me-clean Tub Paints
½ cup liquid hand soap, clear or white
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Food coloring

Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Combine the soap and cornstarch in a small bowl. 2. Divide the mixture into separate containers, then add food coloring one drop at a time. Caution: Test the paints on a small area of your tub or wall first to make sure they won't leave a stain; darker hues may be more difficult to wash off. Tips: Apply to tub and body with fingers or paintbrushes. Use bathroom cleanser to clean the tub if any color remains. Keep any leftover paints in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to three days.

If you try it with your kids too, I would love to know how they (and you) liked it.

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Homemade Play dough

If your Memorial Day weekend was as busy and active as mine was then everyone might be in need of a quiet day at home. One of our favorite things to do on a lazy day at home is play with play dough. I have a couple of recipes for play dough that I've made many times. Enjoy!

Favorite Cooked Play dough
2 cups water
1/2 cup salt
Combine the salt and water then boil until dissolved. Add a few drops of food coloring.
While the mixture is still very hot add the following:
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons alum or cream of tarter
2 cups flour

Peanut Butter Play dough
2 1/2 cups of peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups powdered milk
Mix the peanut butter and honey well and then add powdered milk until the dough is soft but not sticky. This play dough is edible.

For a few more fun recipes, visit the recipe page of my website http://www.lessonplansplus.com/recipes.html

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Dutch Spice Cookies

I've been thinking about taking my children to a place called Windmill Island. Windmill Island is home to a 240 year old working Dutch windmill and over 150,000 tulips are are in bloom this time of year. While I was looking over the Windmill Island website I started remembering the times I went there as a child. When I think of Windmill's, I also think of the Windmill cookies we used to buy from the store when I was a kid. I don't have a Windmill shaped cookie cutter but I do have a yummy recipe for Dutch Spice Cookies that brought back some good memories of baking as a child. Maybe I'll be able to find myself a Windmill shaped cookie cutter at Windmill Island. Whether I find one or not, I plan to enjoy this recipe with my kids and sharing is nice so....enjoy!

Dutch Spice Cookies (recipe from the "Cookies for Kids" cookbook that my mom had when I was a little girl)

Ingredients
1 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Directions
Beat butter with an electric mixer until softened. Add brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg, beat well. In a separate bowl stir together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating until well mixed. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.

Preheat oven to 350. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten with a floured cookie stamp or the bottom of a drinking glass with a design in it.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown on bottom.

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Recipe For Fun: Pizzas

Recipe for individual mini pizzas:

I like using refrigerated biscuits but you can also use half of an English muffin or half of a bagel.
Each person can put his/her own sauce and choice of toppings on the mini pizza. I like to put several topping choices out in small bowls. Bake biscuits according to directions on tube or if using a bagel or English muffin, bake until cheese melts.

Tip: You can offer the traditional pizza sauce and toppings or get creative and try something different like barbeque sauce instead of pizza sauce and chicken instead of ham or pepperoni. One time my children and I even made breakfast style pizzas with maple syrup, bacon and cheese.

For more fun recipes check out the recipe section of my website: http://www.lessonplansplus.com/recipes.html

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