Category: Series

June 18, 2012 | Crystal Paine

4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Edible Peanut Butter Playdough (Day 2)

Kathrynne woke up with a fever today. So much of my day was spent caring for her — and much of the other normal stuff just got shelved. By late afternoon, she was finally feeling a little better, so Kaitlynn and Silas and I let her rest while we stole away to the kitchen to make peanut butter playdough.

Kaitlynn and Silas had a lot of fun helping me mix up the playdough and then I gave them each a ball of dough and a few toppings on a plate plus a cookie sheet and let them just have at it. They had a lot of fun making their own creations and pictures with the playdough on the cookie sheet.

And then they had even more fun bringing it to show Kathrynne and then all eating their creations together.

The whole project was simple, very inexpensive (we just used ingredients we already had on hand!), and easy to clean up. After the Flubber mess, the fact that I didn’t have to spend quite a bit of time scrubbing goo off the walls and the kitchen table after we were finished was a bit of a welcome relief. 🙂

Peanut Butter Playdough Recipe

1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 to 1 cup powdered milk
Toppings to decorate playdough: chocolate chips, jelly beans, M&M’s, sunflower seeds, raisins, chopped fruit, shredded coconut, etc.

Mix first three ingredients together until nice dough is formed (add more powdered milk if the dough is too sticky). Let children form into shapes and decorate.

If you don’t have powdered milk, here are two other recipes I found:

Peanut Butter Playdough #2: 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of peanut butter, + 1 tablespoon of honey

Peanut Butter Playdough #3: 4 cups of peanut butter, 1 cup of light corn syrup, + 2 cups of powdered sugar

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: There seems to be some confusion as to what to link up with this series. Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

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June 15, 2012 | Crystal Paine

4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Homemade Flubber (Day 1)

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We kicked off our 4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun series by making Homemade Flubber.

In case you’re scratching your head wondering what I’m talking about, “Flubber” originated from Disney’s 1961 film The Absent-Minded Professor (I’m not sure that I’ve even seen the movie, but I’m familiar with the storyline!).

My children were totally stoked about this project. Getting to play with slimy goop? Yes, please, bring it on!

They were highly motivated to finish their chores and to-do lists for the day in order to get make Flubber (or “icky” as Silas dubbed it!) And they all loved making it.

Our first batch flopped because we didn’t completely dissolve the glue in the water. But we still got some slimy goo from it that children thought was very cool.

The second batch actually looked like it was supposed to. And everyone had a blast playing with it.

The only problem was that 3-year-old Silas got a little “into “it and started flinging it on the wall and letting it drip all down the front of him.

So my advice to you moms is: if you decide to try this recipe, do it during naptime or when your really young ones are otherwise occupied. Or, let them play with it outside in old play clothes and then let everyone have a water fight afterward to clean themselves off. 🙂

Homemade Flubber Recipe

1 1/2 cups warm water, divided
1 teaspoon Borax
1 4-oz. bottle glue (we used both Elmer’s glue and cheap off-brand glue and both seemed to work well)
food coloring

Dissolve Borax in 1/2 cup warm water. Set bowl aside.

In another bowl, pour the entire bottle of glue into one cup warm water, add a few drops of food color, and completely mix together. Mixture should resemble a thin paste with no globs of glue still intact.

Pour Borax mixture over glue mixture. Start stirring and it should immediately begin turning into a slimy mixture.

Once it’s mixed together and resembles slime, allow your children to have fun with it — preferably outside or at the kitchen table.

Store leftover Flubber in a ziptop bag for up to two weeks.

Note: Adult supervision at all times is a must with this recipe as Borax is toxic. Check the comments for other non-toxic alternatives.

Original recipe from Whitfield’s Home in the Country.

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

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June 1, 2012 | Crystal Paine

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Freezer-Friendly Chocolate Banana Bread (Day 20)

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We made it to Day 20 — woohoo! If you’ve followed along and joined me in any or all of the daily freezer cooking challenges, you deserve a huge congratulations for making it this far.

Chocolate Banana Bread is usually really simple to whip up. But it took me longer than usual this time around.

First off, I mixed the dry ingredients together and got ready to add the cocoa only to discover we had no cocoa. I was confused as to why on earth this chocolate-loving family would be out of cocoa — especially since I was sure we had just had a full container.

Then I remembered…

…A few weeks ago when I was baking something with Silas, I left the kitchen table where we were working to go get something from the refrigerator. I got sidetracked doing something else in the kitchen for a minute and forgot to pay attention to what was happening at the kitchen table. Big mistake.

Needless to say, when I came back, I found that he had managed to spill the entire contents of the cocoa container out on my kitchen table. And yes, I had to take a picture to document it as I’m sure we’ll be looking back at these things some day and laughing quite heartily about all of his epic messes . 🙂

At any rate, I had to make a quick trip to Walmart to get some more cocoa. I figured Walmart would have a good price on some generic brand of cocoa.Wrong. I discovered that Walmart only stocks Hershey’s or Tollhouse (what’s with that?!), so I paid a whopping $2.58 for a canister of cocoa and tried again to make the bread.

Then, I discovered that my camera card was missing and when you’re supposed to blog about a cooking adventure, a camera card is sort of important seeing as a recipe post without pictures is kind of dull. 🙂

Where oh where could the camera card be? I searched high and low — only to finally find it in the load of clean laundry in the dryer. I had stuck it in the pocket of my jeans the day before and it made it through the washer and dryer unscathed. Hey at least it wasn’t buried at the bottom of the freezer like my camera cap!

Finally, I was able to get the recipe finished!

Freezer-Friendly Chocolate Banana Bread

1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe bananas, mashed well
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Stir the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. Carefully fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 65 minutes until the bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

To freeze: Cool completely. Slice and wrap in plastic wrap and foil or in a ziptop bag. Store in the freezer.

To serve: Pull out desired number of slices. Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Or, warm in the microwave.

Adapted from Joy of Baking

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May 31, 2012 | Crystal Paine

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (Day 19)

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This recipe is one of our longtime family favorites. These muffins are so good and freeze so well.

These also make a great dessert to add to a sack lunch. Just pull a frozen muffin out and stick it in a baggie in your sack lunch and by lunchtime, it’s all thawed and ready to eat.

If you want to try a bit of a different and healthier twist, The Frugal Girl remade this recipe using sweet potatoes, whole-wheat flour, and less oil.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

4 eggs
2 cups sugar or raw sugar (can be reduced)
1 (16 oz.) can pureed pumpkin (or two cups cooked and pureed fresh pumpkin)
1 1/2 cups oil (vegetable, Canola, or olive)
3 cups flour (whole-wheat, white, or any combination of both)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 cups chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil until smooth. Add in dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 16-20 minutes at 400 degrees.

To freeze: Thoroughly cool muffins and stick in an airtight freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 weeks.

To thaw: Let muffins thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Or, defrost individually for 1-2 minutes in the microwave.

Makes 24-30 muffins.

Did you do any freezer cooking today? If so, I’d love to see the results of your efforts! Link up your blog posts below or tell us about your success in the comments.

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May 29, 2012 | Crystal Paine

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Homemade Energy Bites (Day 18)

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So, I’m a day behind where I’d hoped to be, but I’m still plugging along — and can see the finish line in the very near future. Yay! And yay for a freezer full of good food!

Today’s project was making Energy Bites, a recipe I initially discovered on Smashed Peas and Carrots. This recipe is delicious, packed with nutrition, and so easily adaptable.

{Grinding the flax seeds in the coffee grinder.}

Homemade Energy Bites

2 cups oatmeal
1 cup peanut butter or other nut butter
2/3 cup honey
2 cup coconut flakes, wheat germ, sesame seeds, or a mixture of all three (can also substitute oatmeal or protein powder, if you prefer)
1 cup ground flaxseed
1 cup mini chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix all ingredients together. Roll into balls.

To freeze: Place balls on a cookie sheet and freeze for one to two hours. Remove from cookie sheet and place in an airtight ziptop freezer bag (or other airtight container).

To serve:Remove desired number of balls and thaw at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes. Can also warm for 30 seconds or so in the microwave. Or, you can be impatient like me and eat them straight from the freezer. 🙂

Makes around 3 dozen energy bites.

Original recipe from Smashed Peas and Carrots

Want more make-it-from-scratch ideas? I highly recommend Easy Homemade by Mandi Ehman. This ebook contains more than 60 recipes for homemade kitchen staples and it’s beautifully laid out, well-illustrated, and packed with great ideas and recipes.

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May 24, 2012 | Crystal Paine

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Easy Morning Glory Muffins (Day 17)

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These muffins are delicious and nutritious. When my friend, Angie, brought us some one day, I took one bite and knew they were winners.

I adapted the original recipe to make it healthier, but if you’re not worrying about sugar or calories, the original recipe is really good. 🙂

I’d recommend using muffin liners, if you buy them, as they seem to help these be a bit more moist. However, they are still delicious with less sugar and without muffin liners.

I used pureed carrots instead of shredded carrots this time around as that is what I already had in the freezer. I think it works a little better with shredded carrots — and the batter doesn’t look so orange, either!

Easy Morning Glory Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour (can also use white flour or a mixture of whole-wheat and white flour)
3/4 to 1 cup raw sugar (or sugar)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1 apple, peeled, cored, and shredded (or chopped)
3 eggs
1 cup coconut oil, melted (or oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the carrots, raisins, coconut, and apples.

In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into the carrot/flour mixture, just until moistened. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

To freeze: Cool completely and put in an airtight ziptop freezer bag.

To thaw: Pull out the desired number of muffins and thaw at room temperature for an hour or so. You can also warm them in the microwave.

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Did you do any freezer cooking today? If so, I’d love to see the results of your efforts! Link up your blog posts below or tell us about your success in the comments.

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