Four Foods on Friday

Fun, Crafts and Recipes is hosting Four Foods on Friday and here are the questions she gave us this week.

#1. Name one cookbook, cooking website or food blog that you frequently use.
I love my Taste of Home magazines, my Taste of Home cookbooks and using the Taste of Home website.

#2. Do you watch any cooking shows on tv? Which ones?
I don’t watch much TV at all, so I don’t watch any cooking shows.

#3. Are you in a cooking rut? Name a food or dish that you’d like to find a recipe for.
I’m definitely in a cooking rut.  We’ve been eating the same things over and over again.  I need to find something new and exciting and different.  We have a lot of chicken because my toddler will usually eat it so I am looking for new ways for making chicken.

#4. Share a recipe created by somebody else that you haven’t tried but would like to.
My bloggy friend Pam shared a recipe for a Pasta Salad that sounds delicious and I want to try it.  Here it is:

Pasta Salad
Need:
2 bottles of Italian Zesty dressing
1/4 lb hard salami
1/4 lb ham
1/4 lb provolone cheese
1/8 lb pepperoni
1 large box rigatoni pasta (or your favorite kind)
2 stalks celery
1/2 jar olives (go on last)
2 large tomato
1 pack dry Italian mix

Directions:
Cook noodles (let cool before mixing with other ingredients). Dice ingredients. Mix 1 large Italian zesty dressing and pack of dry mix. (I pour dry mix into dressing bottle and shake it up to mix it together) In large container, combine noodles, diced ingredients, and mixed dressing. Be sure to mix/toss ingredients well so everything is coated with the dressing. Let sit overnight. About 2 to 3 hours before serving, add olives and the other bottle of dressing.

Stop by Fun, Crafts and Recipes if you’d like to play along.

Tags: Four Foods on Friday

Alphabet Fun

I recently started making a new alphabet book for Hailey. This is a really simple way to practice letters. Just squirt some finger paint onto a plate. Enjoy playing with the finger paint- write words, letters, numbers. Draw pictures or just play with it. Then when your child is done playing with the paint you can write the letter you want to be on the plate when it dries. Once the plates are dry you can put them together to make a book. Hailey loves her book!

Tags: alphabet book, finger painting, fun with the alphabet, Toddler and Preschool Activities

Open Ended Painting

For toddlers painting (or any “art” activity) is all about the process.  Toddlers don’t care much about what they are making, so long as they are having fun making it.

Finger painting is a great activity to do with toddlers.  Most of them love getting messy (although some do not like it and that is perfectly normal too).  And they are curious about how it feels.  It’s great for talking about colors and for mixing primary colors together to see what happens. 

This activity for finger painting is perfect for toddlers- or anyone really.

What you’ll need:

Finger paint
Table/highchair
Paper

Put some finger paint on the highchair or table and let your toddler paint the table. 

 Hailey loved painting her tray.

When she was done I took a piece of paper and and pressed it onto her painting- a way to save the painting she had done. 

The finished pictures, hanging to dry.

Tags: finger painting with toddlers

Spicy Cheeseburger Soup

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups water
2 cups cubed peeled potatoes
2 small carrots, grated
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
2-1/2 cups milk, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8 ounces process American cheese, cubed
1/4 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions:
In a large saucepan, combine the first nine ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. 
Stir in beef and 2 cups of milk; heat through. Combine flour and remaining milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Add cayenne if desired. Top with bacon just before serving. Yield: 6-8 servings (about 2 quarts).

 In a large saucepan, combine the first nine ingredients 

Stir in beef and 2 cups of milk; heat through. Combine flour and remaining milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted.

The finished product- a yummy cup of Spicy Cheeseburger Soup.

Tags: Spicy Cheeseburger Soup