These are the perfect picnic, bake sale, bring to a friend kind of dessert.  They are similar to Special K bars except they are made with all natural peanut butter and Rice Krispies instead of Special K…..  I do not in any way suggest these are healthy, they are full of calories, but they are certainly YUMMY…  Here’s the scoop:

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups homemade sugar syrup (recipe here) or corn syrup

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

9 cups cereal

Heat brown sugar, sugar syrup…  When blended add peanut butter.  Remove from heat and mix in the cereal.  Press into a 9×13 inch pan and allow to cool…

FROSTING:

Melt 12 ounces chocolate chips and 12 ounces butterscotch chips over low heat.  Pour over the cooled bars and let set…  Cut into bars and enjoy!

YUMMY!

Anyone who knows my Dad, Larry, knows that he is the town “Pickle Man”…  He makes all sorts of different kinds of pickles from dill to sour, refrigerators to sweet.  He keeps his recipes in a box in his garage… They are all scribble scratched up with notes and formulas, changes and additions.  One of my boys favorite thing to do at G’s house is help him make and eat pickles…  I decided that this Father’s Day I would make him a book of recipes from the boys… It’s still in progress, but it has pictures of my boys helping to harvest the cucumbers, onions, dill etc.. that you need for pickling, as well as photographs of his famous pickles themselves!   The pictures coincide with the different recipes I’ve tried to translate into readable form .  I also included some of our other favorite recipes that we enjoy at “G’s” house just because I had the pages to do so !   I’m ordering the finished product from a site called paper coutier that has excellent deals right now.  They have tons of varieties of books (from recipe books to journals) you can personalize for that special dad or grandpa in your family!

I love this time of year…  planting my garden, picking rhubarb, making rhubarb desserts …  My Dad has rhubarb plants, I do not but I take his when ever I can…  I highly suggest this pie, you will love it!  MMMMM…..  Not too sweet, not too sour, just perfect!

Ingredients

Last night Shaeffer had his Montessori graduation.  We love Montessori and it was a bitter sweet time.  We are still debating whether to send him to Montessori for Kindergarten so I guess if we do that he will graduate twice .  Any ways, they had a pot luck dinner prior to the ceremony and it was organized so well.  The sign up for pot luck included all the basics, appetizer, salad, fruit, entree, paper products, drinks and kid food…  KID FOOD=GENIUS, I mean why didn’t I think of that… They had an entire table of kid food, which I find perfect because my kids are not huge fans of random salads and casseroles (yes I wanted to say hot dish).  One family brought little PB& J sammy’s with the crusts cut off… There were mini hot dogs, nuggets, cheese and crackers, etc..  It was adorable.  We brought PIZZA BITES for this table…  Pretty easy and very yummy!  I think these would be a great appetizer for a party or even a fun dinner at home.  You can fill your bites with what ever you want.  I did pepperoni for ease, but anything would be yummy!  Here’s The Scoop:

PIZZA BITES

Ingredients:
½ batch pizza dough (enough for 1 pizza)- I used Pioneer Woman’s, but you could probably buy it too…
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, sliced
Sliced pepperoni (I used Mini Pepperoni)

For topping:
Olive oil
Italian seasoning
Shredded Parmesan

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate or cake pan.  Divide the pizza dough into 20 equal sized pieces.  Take one of the dough pieces, top with a cube of cheese and a slice or two of pepperoni.  Pull the edges of the dough around the fillings and pinch closed.  Place seam-side down in the baking dish.  Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.

Lightly brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil.  Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.  Serve warm, with dipping sauce as desired.

Recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1/2 pound softened butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour

For the filling:

• 6 extra-large eggs
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (5 lemons)
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup flour
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions

This summer the boys and I are going to go on a “Summer Safari”…  There are several reasons I want to do this, but most of all it’s a way to stay engaged in learning while on a bit of a break…  We are going to study the continent of Africa, their culture, and the animals that live there.   We are most certainly going to do some reading, writing and of course CRAFTS to go with our unit…  Please join us and add your links to the comment section if you’ve done cute activities that relate to a SAFARI …  We will probably start our journey at the end of June…  Can’t wait!

So I had this thought the other day…  I’m not sure why exactly, maybe it’s because my Mom was a single parent, maybe it’s because my cute older neighbor lives alone and her family is so far away, maybe it’s because God has an idea for me… Not sure, but here it goes…

Who helps single Mom’s celebrate Mother’s Day?  What do people who are all alone do on the day we honor Mom’s?  What if you are a mom who lost a child, or a mom who hasn’t been able to have a child?  Who remembers these people?  I remember being a little girl and bringing home the handmade gift I made in class, but that was it.  No one took me shopping for my mom, I didn’t make her special meals, and she most certainly didn’t get the day “off”.   I know she loved my handmade gifts more than anything, but I’m also sure it would have been nice to be treated a little bit like a queen .   I wonder what my sweet little neighbor will be doing tomorrow?  She has a grown son and grandchildren, but they live far away…  I wonder how my friend who lost her two year old son feels on Mother’s Day or our other friends who are unable to get pregnant?  It’s just heartbreaking for me to think of all these people who maybe wish the day would come and go or for whom the day does come and go without so much as a “thanks mom”…

This is the first Mother’s Day we are away from my Mom.  I know she’s ok with it, she has lots of friends to celebrate with and our boys sent her some special gifts and treats, but there are tons of Mom’s out there where Mother’s Day might actually be hard…  So my idea is this… Let’s brighten someones day just a little…

I asked the boys what they would like to get for Ms. Janet (our neighbor) for Mother’s Day…  They told me she loves fruit and especially kiwi.  Shaeffer wanted to give her flowers and Sutton wanted to draw her a picture in a frame.  It took me a little under an hour to run out and gather up all of their ideas and put them together in a basket for her.  We are going to bring it over in the morning and wish her a happy Mother’s Day.

I’m wondering if you can do the same?  Is there a neighbor, a friend, someone at church that you could just bring a something little to?  Stop and pick up some flowers in the morning, maybe muffins or scones…. If it’s someone you don’t know maybe just a gift card for a cup of coffee…  I just think we could help make Mother’s Day a little more special for those in our community who otherwise may see the day come and go without being honored for the Mom’s they are or want to be!

Will You Join Me for The Mother’s Day Challenge?   

I don’t always feel crafty, sometimes I’m the opposite of crafty, sometimes I’m just in a slump, and sometimes I’d just rather play outside…  This happens to be one of those weeks.  I’m not really sure why, but I’m fine with it.  We’ve spent a lot of time outside riding bikes, exploring and playing with balls.  We’ve spent a lot of time entertaining friends for dinner and cleaning up the toy room after all the fun has been had…

This week also happens to be Teacher Appreciation Week.  I have seen some adorable ideas on Pinterest and am amazed by your creativity.  I love spoiling teachers-especially since I know how it feels to be spoiled.  I also know that spoiling teachers sometimes means giving them things they can do that don’t always relate to school… Meals out, time with their family, books, and gift cards are all special to that person who helps make a difference in your child’s life.  This week we are donating some food for special lunches, buying coffee and treats, drawing thank you pictures and spending a little money on some gift cards…    Not super crafty, but from one teacher to another I know they will be appreciated!  I guess what I’m saying is that you don’t have to be crafty or cutsie to thank your teacher, just thoughtful!

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week at my son’s school.  As you know, I have a special place in my heart for teachers .  Our school does special meals for the teachers all week long and I volunteered to bring in a couple of items.  Today was side dish….  I opted for one of our favorite summer dishes, Chicken/Turkey cherry pasta salad.  I have made this with both “meats”  and it is equally as great.  I’ve also made it with smoked turkey from the deli, leftover turkey from a special meal, and chicken…  No matter which way, it’s awesome!  I’m awful at measuring this out, basically the amounts don’t really matter, but if you are a measurer, Here’s the scoop:

Ingredients:

SALAD

• 1 pound rotelle pasta
• 1.5-2 lbs diced cooked turkey or chicken breast
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1 medium diced onion (I often use green onions)
• 4 diced celery stalks
• 1 cup toasted whole almonds or chopped pecans (optional)
• 1/2 bottle of Brianna’s Poppy Seed Dressing OR recipe below (I usually go with the bottle)
• DRESSING (if you don’t use Brianna’s Poppy Seed Dressing from a Bottle)
  • 2 cups mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • This is the one I made this morning for the teachers…  I hope they enjoy it

The boys and I made these sombreros today as a little craft for Cinco de Mayo.  We’re having a little FIESTA with some neighbors tomorrow afternoon and we thought they’d make cute centerpieces.  So not only were they fun to make, but they serve a purpose, as well….  They were also super easy to put together.  All you need is a paper plate, paper cup, some pipe cleaners, puff balls and glue!  I twisted the pipe cleaners around the bottom of each cup and cut off the ends for the boys.  They rest they were able to manage themselves…  We practiced patterns and counting while we were making them too!  The other idea I had was to punch a hole on either side of the cups and thread them with ribbon to make a cute banner…  What ever you choose I think they’ll be a hit at your fiesta too!