Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Outdoor Play Challenge, part 1

I have challenged myself to try at least one new fun thing outside with my kids every week this Spring and Summer.  I am getting a lot of great ideas from Pinterest, so if you want to follow me over there you can see things as I pin them!
This first week we tried out these "Bouncing Bubbles" since my girls are prime bubble age.  They love to chase them around the yard, so this pin sounded like fun.
Here is a direct link to the site with the recipe.

I had to triple the recipe to make enough to fill up the bottom of this roasting pan.  The directions say they work better if the solution sits overnight- I found they didn't work at all until the next day, since there was too much air in there from stirring it.
These bubbles did not work with a coathanger "wand".  Bummer.
BUT- we found some items around the house to experiment with, and this stencil worked great, as did a traditional bubble wand.
Overall, I would give this idea an 8 because it worked, but I was really hoping to make gigantic bubbles with a wire hanger and couldn't.  If you have a recipe that would work better for that, please share!!!
Thanks and stay tuned for my next outdoor play activity!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

A Nice-Weather Goal

Okay, I'm putting this goal out there publicly, so now I have to do it!
I want to do a special project with my kids outdoors at least once per week.  Pinterest will be so helpful for this!  I have so many fun ideas pinned, and I want to actually DO them, haha!
Up first?  A super bouncing bubble recipe.  Stay tuned- I will take photos and write a review of the pin. 
Make sure you follow me on Pinterest too so you can see some of the fun things I pin!
Enjoy this nice weather :)

Monday, April 1, 2013

My version of "Broccomole"


So, is it just me, or is Broccomole taking over Pinterest?  I thought I'd throw my own recipe into the mix, since I don't care for the others out there.  Its nutritious, delicious, and pretty!

What you'll need:
-Food processor or really good blender
-4 Cups of fresh chopped broccoli
-1 large onion, sliced
-2-4 cloves of garlic (what you prefer)
-1 block of neufchatel or lowfat cream cheese
- 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt
-Salt and pepper to taste
-Olive oil to preferred texture

This will make a large portion (about 7 cups!)- I kept half in my fridge and froze the other half for another time!  Its so low fat that you can eat a bunch!

Directions:
-Toss the onion, garlic cloves, and broccoli in some olive oil and roast in over at 400 degrees F for about 1/2 hour (until browned and soft)
-When you remove from oven, toss it all in the food processor and blend well.  Add some of the olive oil to help it process.
-Add in the block of cream cheese and yogurt and blend well.
-Blend in salt and pepper to taste.  Add more olive oil if you want it "looser".

THAT'S IT!!!


I love this version I made, because it is a great dip, as well as a good pasta sauce too!  It is tasty warm, but you can scoop it cold out of the fridge too :)

I hope you enjoy my version of this tasty dip!