21) Make Waffles
Jose makes the yummiest waffles ever. EVER.
His recipe (I think…he has it written on a paper plate and it’s not very easy to read…):
Mix together:
3 3/4 c. flour, sifted
6 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. baking powder
2 1/4 tsp. salt
After thoroughly mixed, make a well in the center and pour in:
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3 c. milk
3 eggs
Mix well. Pour in waffle maker.
16) Make Play-Doh
The days of summer are dwindling down. The first day of Fall is Sept. 22 and we still have plenty of stuff on this list.
School has started for the kids and for me. The kids started two days before I did and I greatly enjoyed being the teacher for those two days! Things must be going pretty smoothly in my absence because everyday when I come home from the law school, all the kids’ work is done and they have all kinds of neat things to tell me about. They had an art lesson the other day on drawing realistic eyes and they were amazing. Yesterday, I was home by noon and was able to join in on their afternoon music lesson. They are learning about Debussy and we listened to Afternoon of a Faun. The music was so relaxing that I fell asleep. Seriously. Jose and the kids didn’t, but I was out like a light.
We are still trying to squeeze in our bucket list activities in where we can. There’s no dance this week, so we have time after school.
We actually made this Play-doh last week, but my computer was being repaired so I couldn’t share it with you until now.
I got the recipe from Playdoughrecipe.org. I had to change the amount of flour we used, but other than that, the recipe is the same.
Jello Playdough Recipe
from playdoughrecipe.org
1 1/2 c. plus 1/4 c. white flour
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. cream of tartar
2 tbsp. cooking oil
1 c. warm water
1 3 oz. pkg. Jello
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a dutch oven or big sauce pan. Stir until thoroughly combined.
2. Cook over low heat for approximately 20-30 minutes. Keep stirring so the bottom doesn’t burn.
3. When it thickens into a big ball, remove from pan and allow to cool on a piece of wax paper.
4. Once cooled, begin to knead it. You will most likely need to add additional flour at this point because this dough was very sticky for us. So sticky that I knew I was going to find it everywhere… A few handfuls at a time, I probably added about 1/4 cup of flour here.
5. Throw in glitter, if you have some on hand and so desire (we didn’t this time).
6. Have fun!
Last night, we had our living room sleepover. First, the kids enjoyed FROSTIES. This had more to do with how hard they are working to earn money for dance than it had to do with the living room sleepover, but it fit in well.
The kids also love pistachios and Jose found some on sale for $3.99, so he was pretty excited. Again, I apologize about Bizi’s hair… And, again, I swear I brush it.
Then, we watched “Daddy Day Care.” And…the kids crashed.
13) Treat Thursdays
For Treat Thursday, we made Samoas Bars (a.k.a. Caramel Delights Bars). Like the Girl Scout Cookies. This yummy recipe is from Foodologie.
Wanna make your own? Follow this recipe.
Samoas Bars
from Foodologie
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 c. shredded coconut
12 oz. caramels
3 T. milk
20 oz. chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar together. Add in egg and vanilla. Mix throughly. Mix in the flour and salt just until combined. Press into a 9 x 13 pan. (I’m not sure if you have to grease it first, since it’s cookies, but I did just to be safe. I have kitchen troubles, so I try to avoid mishaps by just greasing the heck out of everything…which is NOT good advice because it can cause its own troubles…) Bake about 20 minutes. Cool.
While that’s cooling, start toasting your coconut. Lower the oven temp to 300 and spread out the coconut on a baking sheet. This was supposed to take about 10 minutes, and I’m sure it does for most people. For me, it took about 25. At about 20 minutes, I moved my oven rack to the highest space and it went a little faster. Just keep an eye on it and turn about every five minutes. When golden, remove from oven and cool.
Next, you melt the caramels. Most people will do this in a microwave. Put the caramels in a bowl with the milk, microwave for 3-4 minutes, remembering to stir every 30 seconds. You can also do this on the stove, just FYI. For those of us who are less technologically advanced…
When the caramels are evenly melted, add the coconut and stir well. Then, spread this mixture onto the cookie base. The folks at Foodologie recommend greasing your spatula for this or spraying with a bit of Pam. That would’ve been a great idea had I noticed it earlier… But ours turned out okay, too. :)
When the caramel/coconut mixture is completely cool, cut the bars. Now, it’s time for the chocolate. Melt in the microwave (or on the stove…), stirring every 30 seconds. Dip the bottom of each bar in the chocolate and then set on wax paper or parchment paper. Pipe the remaining chocolate on top in little stripes (you can use a Ziploc bag for this, snipping off the corner) just like on real Samoas!
Allow to cool (refrigeration is acceptable and will let you eat them sooner! YAY!).
Enjoy! :)
