Kitchen Geography: Teaching landforms the fun way!

We are sharing a fun way we used to review all the different types of Landforms Miss K is learning about in Geography and Science this year. This project is a twist on the typical clay model. We made a Landform cake!

The base is a sweet Scone Dough. The kids used it like play dough. Following a picture from a favorite Science book, Miss K shaped an island complete with a peninsula, coastlines, bay, and a gulf.  Using the last of the dough they made hills, rivers, canyon, plateaus and a mountain.

After baking and cooling our island was ready to decorate. The 'paint' was powedered sugar and water and food coloring. Mixing up the correct colors were trial and error but it was a good art lesson in itself!

This is the finished product. At this point the  kids were begging to eat it. However I was a mean mama and asked them to label it first.

If you want a tasty way for your kids to learn Geography (and a sweet treat to go with your coffee) give this project a try too!

Easy Chicken Pot Pie Turnovers

I am on a mission to use up the contents of the fridge and freezer. My inspiration for this recipe was the 2 frozen precooked chicken breasts, sour cream and our stock pile of frozen empanada wrappers.

If you don't have this random set of ingredients lurking in your kitchen then you will need:

1 small onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 stick of celery, diced
1 teaspoon Olive oil
2 Table spoons parmesan cheese
1 Teaspoon garlic powder
4 Tablespoons Sour cream
2 packets of Goya empanada wrappers (find them in the freezer section), defrosted as per directions on Package
2 Grilled Chicken breast (I used the Tyson grilled ready cooked ones, defrosted as per directions on Package) and cubed
1 egg, whisked for egg wash.

Line two baking trays with parchment paper or grease well and heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Saute onions, carrots and celery until Onion is cooked through. Take off the heat and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl add chicken, parmesan, garlic powder, and sour cream and the sautéed veggies. Mix throughly.

Lay out the empanada wrapped on the trays and spoon approximately 3 tablespoons of filling onto each round. Close each wrapper by crimping the edges with a fork. Brush the empanadas with egg wash and bake for 15 mins or until golden brown.

The kids and Daddy enjoyed these with Cheese soup...which is a whole other set of random ingredients!

Well I'm off the pack some more but feel free to distract me by telling me what meals you have created lately to 'use up stuff'.

Pirate themed Summer Fun for Kids for the Poppins Book Nook

This month we are sharing a great collection of books by one of our favorite New Zealand authors and the Pirate activities that have been keeping us cool this month. Margaret Mahy wrote over a 100 hundred children's books and pirates were clearly one of her favorite characters!

The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate is a about a shy man with an office job takes two weeks leave  to help his Mother relive her youth -as a Pirate!
It is a bright and fun book full of characters that try to put him off setting sail. You'll have to check this one out to see if he finds his sea legs!

The Great Piratical Rumbustification is a treat because it is also illustrated by Quentin Blake who also illustrated many of Roald Dahl's books. Pirate turned Babysitter, Orpheus Clinker, manages to turn his latest sitting job into an all out pirate party. Be sure to read this one out loud because it is one of the best examples of Ms. Mahy's fun alliteration that kids love.









The Horrendous Hullabaloo switches the pirate theme up to show that not all pirates behave badly! Peregrine Pirate has left his aunt and parrot at home for the last time. He never takes them to his parties so Polly and his Aunt decide to through their own Parrot Pirate Party at homes. Oh no!

Our pirate fun this month continued with two cool projects: Frozen Gold Doubloons treats and Pirate Bath Treasure.

This a very simple treat the kids were able to make themselves. We mixed together:

• 4 Oz Container of Vanilla flavored Greek Yogurt
• 1 Mashed ripe banana
• 1 Tablespoon of Peanut or Almond Butter

Spoon the mixture into a ice cube tray and freeze until solid (approx 2-4 hrs). We love the Fred and Friends Have an Ice Day Icetray.

The bath time treasures I made for my little pirates can be used as body and hair wash!

Here's what you need!

1 Packet of Gelatin (2 1/2 teaspoons)

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 c kids’ shampoo and body wash (we used Sauve Kids Wash)

1/2 teaspoon cooking oil

Mixing bowl and spoon

Square plastic container to use as a mold

Plastic knife

Directions

1. Prepare the mold by greasing it with the vegetable oil

2. Pour the hot water into the mixing bowl and add the gelatin.

3. Whip the mixture quickly until the gelatin has dissolved.

4. Add the shampoo and mix until completely combined.

5. Pour the mixture into a container and place in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours.

6. When the jelly is set, turn out onto a paper napkin and cut into a 1 inch cubes

7. Store the cubes in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.

I hope we inspired you to grab a pirate book or two and have some fun! Please take some time to look at all the other creative posts from the rest of the Poppins Book Nook bloggers this month!

An InLinkz Link-up

Yummy Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins- Sugar Free, Gluten free, Dairy and Egg free

A muffin with no added sugar, gluten or animal products doesn't have to be boring. Thanks to my GERD I am back to eating a fairly plain diet. I usually these Oat muffins from Happy Herbivore and adapt them to be a but more GERD friendly. These yummy muffins are sweetened with 'Date syrup'. I find that this kind of sweetness doesn't cause the burn that anything with sugar or honey does. 

Oatmeal breakfast muffins

No sugar added, dairy and gluten free

2 cups gluten free Oat Flour (learn how to make your own here)

1/4 cup gluten free old fashioned oats

1/4 cup chopped dates

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

3/4 cup non dairy milk (I used almond milk)

1 teaspoon ground flax seed

2 tablespoons cold water

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoon dried mulberry berries (almond milk)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ripe banana

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

Pinch of salt

• Heat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly spray 8 cups in a 12 cup non stick muffin tin.

• Prepare the 'date syrup': heat the dates and 1/4 of water in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute in high. Set aside to soak and cool for 30 minutes. 

• Prepare flax seed egg: in a glass or mug, whisk flax seed and 2 tablespoon of cold water until frothy. Set aside.

• In large bowl mix together the Oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger. 

• When the dates are cooled, place them in a blender or food processor. On top of this add the non diary milk, mulberry berries, olive oil, banana and vanilla essence. Pulse the mixture until it is smoothie consistency. 

• Pour the date mixture and the flax seed 'egg' into the dry ingredients and stir until nearly combined. Add the oatmeal and mix a 2-3 more times.

• Spoon mixture into 8 muffin tins and bake for 15-18 minutes.

If you are all good with eggs and/or diary than by all means substitute:

• the flax seed and water for 1 large egg 
• Non diary milk for skim fat milk

I would be really interested to hear your  tips and tricks for adding some variety to a GERD diet!

Making halloween masks for 18" Dolls and Alton's Pumpkin Pie

After a visit to the Pumpkin Patch, the kids wanted to host a Fall party for their dolls. They have 'Our Generation Girls' which are the same size as the 'American Girl Dolls'.


Rather than make costumes for them I suggested we make masks. While Miss K finished off her math Mini Piwi and I traced mask shapes onto card and collected up some decorating supplies.

Here is what they come up with before Daddy arrived home from work.

The leaf princess mask

A Kitty Cat

Later Mini Piwi asked me to help her thread some of the leaf decorations onto floss to make a dolls necklace.

The Party included eating the Pie we made from a Pumpkin we chose at the Pumpkin Patch.

 We used Alton Brown's Pumpkin Pie recipe which has a base made from Gingersnaps. Mini Piwi had a great time bashing the cookies into crumbs.

The Pie was very popular!

EHM's Johnny Appleseed Unit study review and Giveaway!

This post contains affiliate links. The opinions in this review are my own.

Last week we were learning all about the man who helped spread the love of apples around the USA. The Johnny Appleseed unit study is one of the new offerings from Enchanted Homeschooling Mom Members only website. If you are a member, it is free to download right now! If you have not yet signed up, be sure to enter our giveaway to win a lifetime membership.

This was a unit study we all enjoyed. The girls listened to the story of Johnny Appleseed provided in the 30 page printable unit. As I read it aloud they were the making a cute pan hat craft.

Our 7 yr old loved the writing and reading activities. This year she is really showing a love for creative writing and history. Our 3 yr old glue stick fan loved the craft and labeling the apples. We completed the apple investigations together. The girls cut up quite a few apple to check if different colored apples had the same number of seeds! All those apple slices reminded me that I still had some empanada wrappers in the freezer. There was only one thing left to make...



Image from EHM website

Last year we purchased a lifetime membership from EHM to take advantage of all of the amazing Christmas printables. It was probably one of the most cost effective curriculum purchases I have made. To do we have used using over 25 units and printables from Jill's collection. Take a look at all the resources Click here for all the details

 For $15 you get lifetime access to  all the printable goodies on the Members only website.

As an affiliate of the E.H.M. Member's Only Website, I have been given the opportunity to give away one free lifetime membership to one lucky reader. PLUS one other reader will win a free copy of the Johnny Appleseed Unit Study.
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Exploring the Ballad of Mulan through cooking

This year Miss K is using Reading Rewards, Level 3 . Last week's Literature Unit was centered around the retelling of Ancient poem The Ballad of Mulan* by Author Song Nan Zhang. As well as the activities in the lesson plan we decided to try and cook something that went with our theme.

Miss K asked to try Crab Ragoons. While not traditional Chinese cuisine that are on the Menu at many Asian style Restaurants. Piwi Daddy  had just watched an America's Test Kitchen episode about deep frying and decided to give it a go.

I made the filling and assembled the ragoons and then handed them over to be fried...
If you want to make this as an additional to your China Unit study then this is what you will need...

Ingredients:

• 20 wonton wrappers
• 1 brick of cream cheese (we used reduced fat)
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• Pinch of black pepper
• 4oz Flaked 'Krab'
• A cup of water for 'sealing the wrappers'
• Canola oil for deep frying

Add the cream cheese, Krab, sugar, onion powder, black pepper to a bowl and mix to combine.
Place a teaspoon of the mixture in the middle of each wonton wrapper. I made purse shaped Ragoons but you could make triangle shapes if you prefer. Either way just seal the edges by brushing a little water on the edges of the wrapper before folding it around the filling.

I wish I had a great tutorial for the frying part. I asked my husband how he did it and he said 'Keep the oil at 350 degrees and cook them until they turn golden, about 2 minutes'. If that makes as much sense to you as it did to me, I would suggest visiting a link at Americas' test Kitchen that explains how to deep fry a similar snack.

They turned out looking like 'real ones'. More Miss K and Piwi Daddy were pretty happy with the results.

* The Disney Movie 'Mulan' was loosely based on the Ancient Poem of Mulan by an unknown Author. We found several other books that had more information about Mulan.

Piwi Kids Summer Fun: Making Healthy Dog Cookies!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for visiting!

Making toys and treats for Perry and Butter is at the top of our Summer to-do list. Recently the kids had fun mixing up some Blueberry flavored treats for Butter. Miss K was itching to try all the cookie recipes in 'Feeding your Best Friend Better' by Rick Woodford. You can check out a review of this cookbook here.

We started with Blueberry Moons. Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC, kindly agreed to let us reproduce the recipe here.

Blueberry Moons (makes 100 cookies)

1 cup Frozen Blueberries

1/4 cup Beef, Chicken, Fish Stock

3 tablespoons Olive Oil or Safflower Oil

2 Cups Whole Wheat flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Microwave the Blueberries and stock in a Microwave safe bowl on high for two minutes. Combine Blueberry mixture, Flour, Baking Powder and Cinnamon in a food processor and pulse for about a minute or until the mixture gathers into a ball. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 10 inch square. Transfer to a baking sheet and cut into 1 inch squares with a pizza cutter. Bake for 25 minutes for a soft cookie or 40 minutes for a crunchy cookie. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet before breaking them apart at the cut lines.

The Kids really wanted to try out the new cookie cutters we bought when we ordered the book!

Allowance per day (1 inch square cookie): 10lb dog (2 cookies) 20lb (4 cookies) 40lb (6 cookies) 60lb (8 cookies) 80lb (10 cookies)

 Here are a look at the finished product....

 And the taste test.....

They were very popular! Here is Butter giving me 'sad eyes' for more!

Copycat Frosty Paws Recipe

We are excited to be part of the 2nd Annual Summer Celebration Giveaway Hop, hosted by Happy Mothering and The Vagabond Studio along with the Green Moms Network! We are excited to bring you eco-friendly prizes to help you celebrate the start of Summer! After entering my giveaway, be sure to visit the other blogs listed under the Rafflecopter form for your chance to win more great giveaways. 

Photo source

If you are looking for a way to help your Dog to beat the heat then try this recipe from 'The Dog Food Dude'. Our Basset Hound loved them! This recipe has been reproduced thanks to the kind Permission of Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC. They have also give us a copy to giveaway!

Peanut Butter Banana Ice 'cream' (makes 12 cubes)

Author note: The Molasses is included not only to sweeten the Ice 'Cream' a bit but also to provide important nutrients like Calcium, Iron, Magnesium and Potassium. Be Sure to buy Blackstrap Molasses to ensure that it contains the most important Vitamins and Mineral; other forms of Molasses are mostly just sugars. The Peanut Butter in this Ice Cream increases the fat content, so it is higher in calories. Please note the reduced feeding amounts. For older dogs with sensitive months, allow the frozen cubes to thaw for a few minutes before feeding.

Ingredients:

1/2 Ripe Banana

1 Cup plain Low fat Yogurt.
2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter (Natural style Preferred)
2 Tablespoons Blackstrap Molasses

Mash the Banana well in a medium bowl. Add all of the remaining ingredients and stir until smooth. Spoon into an ice cube tray and freeze 4 - 6 hours. Allowance Per Day (by dog weight): 10-20lb -1 cube, 40lb -2 Cubes, 60lb -3 cubes, 80lb -4 cubes.

Now onto the Giveaway!

One Lucky winner will receive a copy of Feed Your Best Friend Better: Easy, Nutritious Meals and Treats for Dogs and an Eco friendly Dog travel pack including a H204K9 Stainless Steel Dog Water bottle and an Earth Rated Poop Bag dispenser. The retail value of this prize is $40.

For more recipes and our review of this book:

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This contest will run through June 30, 2013 at 9:00 pm PST (July 1, 2013 at 12:00 am EST). The winner will be chosen the following day and announced on Learning and Growing the Piwi Way. No purchase necessary. US entries only. Must be 18 years or older to win. The Publisher provided me with a Free copy of this book to Giveaway.  I  had already purchased a copy and was under no obligation to review it. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to Learning and Growing the Piwi Way and not to Facebook. Please note that Learning and Growing the Piwi Way, Happy Mothering, the Green Moms Network and the Summer Celebration event bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. We will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. I will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor, please notify the blog you won a prize from within 4-6 weeks for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you.