Homemade Cheeses!!

I am going to start a couple week long post where I am going to experiment making different types for instance mascarpone, ricotta, cream cheese, hopefully eventually ending with harder to make cheeses like mozzarella and cheddar. I will also be spotlighting different ways to use each cheese. Meaning I will pair making crackers and puff pastry ect… with the different cheese I make. This weekend was yogurt and we are going to try to make some homemade frozen yogurt tonight. I am thinking mascarpone is next week’s venture with homemade graham crackers to enjoy it with.


YUMMY!!!

Homemade Cheese Its!!

I am not a fan of all of the crap that is in the crackers the my kiddos LOVE to eat. If I let Jaedyn and Evelyn they would eat some sort of cracker for every meal. Obviously, I don't and wouldn't but it would be nice to be able to name everything in the crackers and also not have to spend an arm and a leg buying the special organic ones that honestly don't always taste that great. This is the awesome cheese it recipe I am trying today. There are a lot of different recipes available and I just picked this one because I have made some other things from this site with some success.

Jaedyn loves them! I could use a bit of stronger cheese since I used half sharp and half medium cheddar. I also think there would be great made with Parmesan. Maybe even a mix to eat with some Italian soup! ooh ideas!! :) anyways they are great and I am so going to make these again.

Hot/Cold Packs

I am making some more hot/cold packs today, I got the tutorial from here . I changed it a little and since the ones we have made so far have been such a big hit with JJs friends, we are going to make some more for birthdays.

start with the shape of material you are looking to have the final product look like. I started with a large rectangle for this one. (I have made circles and squares)

Then fold inside out and sew along the sides.

Then turn right side out and fill with rice about 3/4 way full (if you want it really full and tight or 1/2 if you want it a bit more loose) you can add a line down the middle stitching to make two pockets like I did as well. (I just forgot to take a picture of this part)

Then once full sew the top closed. I had to hand sew this part because I chose to fill the bags pretty full and I didn't want to break a needle if a piece of rice got in the way.

 You are done! I have added loops with ribbon to the side of some of these so the kids could carry them around and other fun little embellishments. This one is just for Jaedyn and it is not quiet as lopsided as the picture shows but I was not quiet as concerned with perfection here.

Homemade Yogurt! YUMMY

I love making this homemade if I can. I have used this easy Crock Pot Yogurt Recipe before and love it. I like a lot of the things Our Life Simplified (In the kitchen) has on her blog. I only made a quart of the yogurt because we are currently not using it fast enough and I would rather make it more often then waste any. I didnt use my saved cup of yogurt fast enough so I had to start over and use from store bought to get it started again as well.

My yogurt is currently all wrapped up (just to keep it warm) as its cultures away. It should be done by 9pm tonight. I am excited to have a yummy snack tomorrow am with some homemade strawberry jam mixed in. I am also going to try to make a small batch of homemade frozen yogurt with this for a dessert for tomorrow night. I will update tomorrow with how that goes.


UPDATED!!!

yogurts done

almost done frozen yogurt one hour into freezing



frozen yogurt after two hours

trick to frozen yogurt is glass or metal bowl/container and stir every 1/2 hour to break up ice crystals and keep it smooth.

homeschooling preschool......ready set go!

I know not everyone is into homeschooling their kids but, I have known since Jaedyn was a baby that I wanted to homeschool. I just see so many gaps in the educational system, but that is another topic all in its self. We have decided that we are going to take it year by year and see how we do with it as a family and what works for us. We are currently not going to do a co-op or anything since I have Evelyn, cant afford a babysitter, and Kevin is only home with us a little bit during the winter. I also think that at Jaedyns age play dates and outings with other kids provide enough peer "practice".

I just updated my calender wall and weather "center" so we can start looking at the weather each day as well as posting the date up to work on numbers and understanding the days of the week. (btw I love Velcro)

I am going to officially start school Monday January 9th. I figure it gives me the weekend and a deadline to get my butt in gear and make a basic lesson plan. I have not completely decided if we are doing letter of the week, two weeks, or month. I honestly am looking at letter of the week as a lot of work but I know it is probably best for him. We will see how it goes with this first week. The beauty of homeschooling is I can change it up anytime I see things are not working.

The current plan is to work the way through the alphabet with corresponding numbers, words, colors, and shapes, like first week A, 1, Apple, red, circle. Second week B, 2, bear, brown, square. Then once we have gone through the alphabet I will see how he is doing and I may start to do months with concepts.

We are also going to restart potty training now that he has shown more interest. So tonight I made a potty chart and a behavior chart using picture frames I already had hanging in the playroom. Jaedyn picked red as the background for the potty chart and I am using a dry erase marker to make marks when he goes in the toilet. This is going to save paper, time, and stickers :). The marks count as points and points are counted at the end of the day and then a certain activity is picked as a reward. We are NOT doing candy or toys as rewards.

The behavior chart was created because Jaedyn has been having trouble with his attitude as of late. He is extremely jealous of Evelyn and has been acting out a lot. So the same thing goes for good behavior. He still gets time outs for bad behavior but we wanted a physical reminder and reward for good behavior as well. We are going to do the same thing with points except that the more points means more books being read before bedtime with either myself or Kevin. We want the reward to be a positive activity and to not take away from his accomplishments by saying act a certain way and you will get candy or a toy. We already read each night before bed, this is just an extra incentive to get more books (he LOVES to be read to).

time for new decorations-Valentines Day!

Since the Christmas holiays are over, it is time to get some new things up so the house doesnt look so bare and it gives me an excuse to do projects with my little man. (he is currently pushing his way up into my lap like the little cuddler he is). we just made a fun puzzle piece wreath from left over cardboard, a few puzzels that are missing pieces, some left over acrylic paint and some left over Christmas ribbon. We also decided to add some fun glitter dots to the heart. I had all of these on hand and even if I had to buy the paint, just watch for a sale at either JoAnn's, Michael's, or Hobby Lobby. They often have acrylic paint for as little as $1 a bottle. This project does not use a lot either.

Materials:
-old cardboard box
-old puzzel pieces
-red pink silver gold or purple paint (at least two colors)
-hot glue gun and glue
-left over complimenting ribbon
-paint brushes
-glitter glue (optional)
-heart stickers or cut outs (optional)

1. We took the left over cardboard box and cut a rough heart shape out of it. It has to be hollow so cut the outside shape first and then the inside of the heart out.

2. Then we started hot glueing the puzzel pieces on randomly. I let jj pick the pieces and stick them on while I added the glue.

3.After that was done we went ahead and painted out heart metalic red.

4. I then got the idea to make an L out of cardboard and do the same thing with the puzzel pieces except that we cut hte pieces up so that they were a bit smaller. This is fun because an L stands for out last name of Lind as well as Love. (since this is a Valentines Day wreath)
5. We then painted the L pink to compliment the red heart.

6. Then once it is all dry we added silver glittler glue dots to both the heart and the L.
7. We then connected the L with hot glue to the heart.

8. Now as soon as it dies all the way, we are going to use the left over ribbon to hang the wreath on a wreath hook on out door.
 

 DONE!!! (not the best picture color but it was night time and I just wanted to get it posted)



December Projects!

These are a few things that JJ and did during the month of December! I did not get pictures of everything since we ate some of the things. We made homemade biscotti, multiple cookies and cheese cakes, and cupcakes for parties.

Jj and I made this YUMMY homemade eggnog french toast bake.    -1 1/2 cups homemade eggnog   -one Pyrex rectangle dish filled with day old bread  -4 eggs  -1/2 tsp nutmeg  -2 tbl cinnamon  -1/4 tsp cloves  -1/2 package cooked bacon   -5 cooked sausages or 1/4 pound cooked ground pork    we just layered it in the Pyrex and let it soak for a few hours in the fridge. then we baked it covered with tin foil for 25 mins at 400degrees and then uncovered for 10 mins at 375 to finish.   cranberry glaze  -1/2 cup dried cranberry  -1/2 cup raspberry jam  -1/4 cup water   -1/4 cup maple syrup  cook on stove top until it bubbles and thickens. pour over the top of the eggnog french toast bake when it is done and on your plate :)

We also made this fun wreath out of left over dollar store Christmas decorations like the green garland, ornaments (from a friend who moved), and a bow my aunt had made us a few years prior. I used some hot glue and an old wreath circle I had left over from crafts my mom and I used to do when I was a kid. This is what we got! :)

We also made some fun toddler projects like this handprint raindeer and tissue paper snowman.

We also made salt ornament hand prints but I forgot to take a picture before we put them away.

school is in session!

I am going to start JJ with some homeschooling preschool this next week. We always work in learning things as we go but this is going to be the first time I start doing an actual planned out lesson plan with certain letters and numbers and shapes we focus on each week. I am starting out doing it a certain letter, a certain number, a certain shape, color and a corresponding animal/noun a week. We will go from there. Next week is A, 1, circle, red and apple. I am keeping it pretty basic for now and we will go through the alphabet with corresponding numbers, shapes, colors, and nouns every week through 26 then I will go from there and add things and make it a bit more involved as he is ready. I will be using the library and getting a few books a week to go with the theme and we will also be doing some art project too. I wish I had started in September to go with the seasons a bit more but that's ok. We will just use our day/month/weather chart and talk about seasons separate from the letters/numbers of the week.

I plan to add sounds and go back through the alphabet after this first round. We will have story/singing time everyday probably in the am and I am going to start getting him up at a certain time to start (just like we would if he was leaving for preschool). This will help me keep on track as well.

I am going to blog about this on here as well. If anyone has suggestions I would love to hear them. We are also going to be continuing our daily living things like helping to cook and learning to measure as part of our homeschool experience as well.

chew on this!?!

I made Evelyn some teething biscuits and she loves them. I made them into a circle with a hole in the center to allow her to hold onto them. Recipe from A bird and a bean blog I love her recipes.

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
4 tablespoons water (or enough to bring dough together)

Dump out onto counter to knead for about three minutes. Add flour if needed to make the dough workable. Then roll out to about 1/4 inch thick and cut out shapes to bake. 300 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Just watch for a dry looking cookie. Then set out and dry. The cookies will continue to dry and get hard as they cool.

goal homemade food to make this year

I have been working on my list of things I want to try this year. I have just made the list so far for things I would like to try cooking/baking. This is what I have so far:

Graham crackers

Cheese-its

Wheat thins

English muffins

Naan

Pop tarts

Pizza bites

Marshmallows

Gummy candies

Caramel

My own ranch, taco, and onion seasoning mixes

Granola bars

Master homemade noodles

Ice cream

Chocolate cups and other filled treats

Sushi

Gluten free baking

Bagels

Frozen yogurt

I also have a goal of at least 4 new breakfasts, 4 new lunches, and 4 new dinners a week (like things I have either never made the kids or not very often) I am getting tired of the same stand-bys and I would like to work on expanding jjs pallet

I will add to this as I discover other things.

I have also started a DIY list for things I would like to learn to make that is not food.

Learn to:

Crochet

Knit

Sew: sleeves, diaper covers, quilt, zippers, button (with machine), cording, how to add PLU, and how to add batting.

These lists look ambitious but I am determined to homeschool jj by working with him learning as we go. I want this year to be productive and hopefully I will have learned some new things I can continue to make as the kids grow.