Valentine's Arts & Crafts

The kids were invited to a Valentine sleepover party at Grandma's.

So we grabbed some supplies 

to make Twinkie minions for their cousins!

It was such an easy project we didn't even need the glue :)

We just used black duct tape 

to make the headband around the top and

the googly eyes were self-adhesive so they stuck right on.

Then I cut blue strips of paper -

and wrapped them around the Twinkies 

with a little tape and a message -

 "You're one in a minion!"

 The kids had never eaten Twinkies before,

 so not only did they love the fact 

that they were dressed as minions, 

but they enjoyed a tasty new treat as well!

After our minion crafting, we did a little painting.

We started by painting Walt's hand white -

 and pressing it onto some scrapbook paper.

 

Then we did it again with his other hand to make a heart.

He had a good time with his portion of the project.

Next, we moved on to painting Ruby's feet -

She went with pink.

We pressed her feet onto the same piece of paper 

that we used for Walt's hands to make another heart.

 

They each signed their name and we added some words -

and gave one to each set of their grandparents.

I think they turned out pretty cute!

Baking with Grandpa Woody!

Last time we were in Long Prairie

Grandpa Woody had a fun recipe for the kids - 

They made cookies with Jello!

 

You can use any flavor jello you want. 

Walt picked Berry Blue.

First you just cream together the butter, sugar,

eggs,

 and jello.

After a quick review of the recipe card -

Walt said we needed to add in a few more ingredients,

like vanilla, salt, baking soda,

 and flour.

Then you mix everything together well,

 until it looks like this -

 Finally, roll the dough into balls 

and then smash them down a little with a fork before baking.

 Here is what the tasty finished product looks like.

 The kids had a great time baking with Grandpa
and loved picking out which jello color to use.

It's a fun little recipe for kids!

Jello Cookies
3/4 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 package jello (any flavor)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Cream together butter, sugar, eggs and jello. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Roll into balls and flatten with fork. Bake for 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees.

Deep Dish Oatmeal Fudge Bars

I gave this pin a try the other day -

 

 and made some deep dish oatmeal fudge bars that were great
when served warm, right out of the oven with ice cream. 

First, I mixed butter, eggs and brown sugar together -

 and added in some milk and vanilla.

 

 Then I dumped in all of the dry ingredients, mixed it up well

and set the dough aside.

Then I grabbed a sauce pan and threw in butter, 

sweet and condensed milk, chocolate chips and vanilla,

stirring until fully melted.

 

Then spread three quarters of the oatmeal dough 

into a 9 x 13 inch pan -

  

and spread the chocolate on top.

Finally, just drop the remaining dough by spoonfuls on top -

and spread out to cover as much as possible.

It won't cover the chocolate layer completely, but don't worry.

After baking for about 25 minutes it will come out looking like this!

Let the bars cool and set up a little before cutting,

but then grab yourself a piece 

and serve it up with vanilla ice cream.

It's like a gooey, warm oatmeal cookie filled with fudge.

You really can't go wrong.

Deep Dish Oatmeal Fudge Bars

1 c. butter

2 eggs

2 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 c. brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. milk

3 c. old fashioned oats

Mix butter, eggs and brown sugar. Add vanilla and milk. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients.  Mix well.

In a saucepan over medium heat melt together:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 c. butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Spread 3/4 of the oatmeal mixture on the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 inch pan, pour chocolate mixture on top and spread evenly. Add remaining cookie mixture on top in spoonfuls. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Watch while baking because the top may tend to get done before the rest of the bars are completely cooked. If needed, put aluminum foil around the edges or over the top for about the last ten minutes if things are browning too much. Let cool before cutting and serving.

Avocado Hummus

I bought all of the ingredients to make an avocado hummus,

but as you can see in this photo -

by the time I got around to making it,

my lime had gone bad.

But I was having people over and needed an appetizer,

so I just grabbed my lime juice from the fridge and improvised!

  

The hardest step in this quick little recipe

is cubing the avocado.

After that,

you just throw everything into your food processor and blend.

I served it up with some pretzel chips. 

I believe we ended up adding some more cayenne pepper,

but remember it's a hummus dip.

So it's not necessarily bursting with flavor

and if you don't like hummus already, 

you probably won't go for this one either.

I, however, am a fan of hummus

and enjoyed the addition of avocados. 

Avocado Hummus
2 cans of white beans, drained and rinsed

2 avocados, cubed

juice from 1 lime

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Hello 2014!

If you've been a reader for awhile,

you know that I love the fresh start of a new year!

Whether you call them resolutions or goals,

or something else entirely,

it's always fun to have something new to plan for and work on.

This year, I kept it simple with two health and fitness related goals.

I wanted them to be realistic and achievable.

All I have to do is eat at least one piece of fruit every day 

and be active for at least 30 minutes.

Neither are tough,

but if I don't concsiously plan for them,

 they don't happen.

Thus, the resolutions.

The fruit one may sound silly,

heck it's a no brainer all summer when there

is tons of delicious fresh fruit available,

but I struggle during the winter when I get burned out on 

apples and bananas, which are all that seem to be around.

I never struggle to eat vegetables,

so I thought I'd work harder on fruit.

And now that it's Cuties season again -

these little babies have been helping me reach my daily goal.
And my kids love them too!

As for the 30 active minutes daily,

it's also not likely to be a struggle in the summer,

but it can be hard during some of these long, cold winter days.

But I've got this fun little product helping me stay on track.

 

Adam gave me a Fitbit for Christmas 

and it's by far my favorite gift . . . maybe ever! 

I love it THAT much.

It tells me how many steps I take in a day,

it tracks calories burned and distance, 

it even tracks my sleep pattern,

telling me how long I slept, how many times I was restless, when I was awake and for how long. 

It's so cool.

It syncs to my phone and computer

 so I always know where I'm at.

But most importantly for my resolution,

it tracks active minutes.

Minutes where you're really working out.

It comes with preset goals like taking 10,000 steps a day, 

but I knew if it was late in the evening and I had

3,000 steps left to go, it was unrealistic to believe 

I'd stay up and walk around until I hit 10,000 steps.

So instead, I just have to hit the 30 active minutes goal every day.

It's much easier to achieve and I have no excuse for not hitting it.

I've already had to do some jumping jacks before bed

just to ensure I make my 30 :)

But it's day 2 and I've gotten 

both my active minutes and my fruit in,

so I'm doing something right!

Anyone else out there working on new year's resolutions?