Homemade Play Dough

I'm really excited to share my new play dough recipe with all of you! After several play dough recipes, and much tweeking, I'm finally satisfied with the final product! This version is non toxic, and won't harm your child if consumed. However, I don't recommend eating it. Lol! This play dough will keep for several weeks, even months, in the refrigerator. I do recommend putting it in an air tight container, and placing it in the fridge after each use. We use old PlayDoh containers to store ours! 

• What you'll need:

Small Bowls for "Each Color"

Fork for "Each Color"

Measuring Spoons

Measuring Cups

Pastry Board

Air Tight Containers

• Dough Recipe for "Each Bowl (Color)":

1/2 TBSP Vegetable Oil

Food Coloring Gel

1/2 C Hot Water

1 C Flour

1/4 C Table Salt

1 TBSP Cream of Tartar

Additional Flour for kneading

Directions:

If you would like to go with standard colors, as shown above, place 4 small bowls onto a flat surface. Warm up 2 Cups of Water in the microwave for approximately 2 minutes. Put 1/2 TBSP of vegetable oil into each bowl. Squirt approximately 6-10 drops of gel food coloring into each bowl. You may use liquid food coloring if that's all you have. We used colors Green, Yellow, Red, & Blue. Refer to the back of your food coloring box on how to mix food coloring for more colors. The more food coloring, the brighter your colors will be. Pour 1/2 C of the hot water into each bowl. Wisk with a fork until color dissolves. I use a different fork for each color, so our colors don't mix. Pour 1/2 C Flour, 1/4 C Table Salt, & 1 TBSP of Cream of Tartar into each bowl. Mix with fork until smooth. Add an additional 1/2 C Flour to each bowl, and mix until smooth. Sprinkle flour onto Pastry Board or flat surface. Get ready to knead your dough! This is the fun part. Start with one color at a time. Smother your dough ball with flour. *Knead your dough, adding more flour until your dough ball is to your liking. The dough should not be sticky, and not too dry. Slam your dough ball onto your pastry board a few times until it's just right. My kid loves this part. Throwing dough is lots of fun! Set your perfectly perfect dough ball aside. Scrape off your pastry board each time as to not mix the colors. Repeat kneading process with each dough ball. 

*Tip: Add more flour if your dough ball is too moist. If your dough ball is too dry, wet your hand with water, and knead the dough until it's smooth again. 

Enjoy!! 

Cream Cheese Baked Ziti

What you'll need:

9x13 Casserole Dish

Large Skillet

Large Pot

Strainer

Spoon

Spatula

Ingredients:

1/2 pound Ziti (Barilla)

1 lb Lean Ground Beef

1/4 tsp minced Garlic or 1 Clove Fresh Garlic

1/2 tsp dried Oregano

1/2 tsp dried chopped Onion

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper

4 oz Cream Cheese (Neufchâtel)

24 oz Red Sauce (Bertolli Five Cheese)

4 oz Italian Five Cheese Shredded Cheese -or- Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Follow directions on Ziti pasta box. Cook, drain, and rinse. Pour into 9x13 casserole dish. Meanwhile, brown lean ground beef with garlic, oregano, onion, salt, and pepper. Drain and Rinse. Throw back into skillet. Add cream cheese. Melt. Add red sauce. Stir. Pour over Ziti pasta. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Top with shredded cheese. Bake until cheese is melted, and sauce is bubbling. Roughly about 20 minutes. 

This dish feeds 4 people. Enjoy!

Christine's Healthy Banana Pancakes

Christine's Healthy Banana Pancakes 

• high in protein, fiber, potassium •

Healthy option to start off your morning, eat pre or post workout, as a snack, etc. 

Great way to load up on ENERGY! Serve up plain, with maple syrup (or your favorite syrup), or local honey!

I had a lot of fun playing around with these pancakes! And they were so good! I did have to experiment! So, it did take a little time. I wanted something high in protein, fiber, and potassium. I think I got exactly what I intended! 

What you'll need:

A bowl

Measuring cups & spoons

A potato masher (or just the fork with do)

A fork

A Magic Bullet (or some type of grinder or food processor)

A griddle

A turner (or as I call it in Texas, a spatula)

Christine's Healthy Banana Pancakes Recipe

• makes 6 medium sized pancakes •

1/3 C Mashed Bananas (1 ripe banana)

1/2 C unsweetened apple sauce

2 eggs (slightly beaten)

1/3 C whole grain Oats (grind into a fine powder)

1/3 C whole almonds (grind into a fine powder)

1 tsp cinnamon 

2 tsp local honey

1 tsp vanilla

*optional: 1-2 tsp baking powder

In a bowl, mash bananas. Stir in Apple Sauce (with fork, or you can grab a spoon). In a separate bowl, slightly beat the eggs with a fork, then pour them into your banana and apple sauce mixture. Set aside. Grind up oats. Pour into mixture. Grind up almonds. Pour into mixture. Add cinnamon, local honey, and vanilla. Stir until smooth. You can test out this concoction without baking powder for a more wholesome wet pancake, or go ahead and stir in the baking powder. You're more than welcome to experiment by adding a little baking powder at a time, testing how you like your pancake. Or just go wild, and throw the whole amount in for a fuller pancake. 

 

* healthy whole pancakes are more wet, so if you want a drier pancake, add baking powder

** cook on medium to low temp depending for an even cook (these healthy pancakes do seem to take longer to cook than traditional pancakes

*** I'm constantly perfecting my concoctions, so if I think of a better way to make this pancake, I'll share!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Homemade Taco Seasoning

1 tbsp Chili Powder

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp Onion Powder

1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1/4 tsp Dried Oregano

1/2 tsp Paprika

1-1/2 tsp Ground Cumin

1 tsp Sea Salt

1 tsp Black Pepper

Mix all ingredients. Store in air tight container.

Use as much as you like to season your favorite dishes.

Christine's Homemade Honey Butter Biscuits

These are the best biscuits you'll ever taste! They're easy to make, too.

Ingredients:

3 C Flour
1 tbsp Sugar
4 1/2  tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C Butter (1 and 1/2 sticks of butter)
1 C Milk
1 tbsp Honey

2 tbsp butter
Extra honey to drizzle on biscuits
Extra flour to roll dough

What you'll need:

Large Bowl
Spoon
Measuring Cup
Measuring Spoons
Knife
Pastry Blender or Fork
Pastry Board or Wax Paper
Rolling Pin
Biscuit cutter or a large cup
Small Bowl
Basting Brush
Cookie Sheet
Non Stick Foil (if preferred)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Slice the butter into tablespoons. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using the pastry blender or fork until the mixture looks fine and crumbly. Stir in milk and honey. Stir the dough, or knead with your fingers, until the mixture has left the sides of the bowl. The dough should be soft and sticky.

3. Place your dough on a lightly floured Pastry Board or Wax Paper. Knead the dough about 10 times. Coat your rolling pin in a little bit of flour. Roll the dough out with the rolling pin until it is about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in thickness. (If you don't have a rolling pin, pat the dough out.)

4. Using a biscuit cutter or a large cup, cut into biscuits. If you're using a large cup, this yields about 6 biscuits. Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet lined in non stick foil (You don't have to use the non stick foil. I just prefer this myself.)
5. Bake biscuits for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. (Be sure to check the biscuits on the bottom as to not let them burn.) Meanwhile, melt about 2 tbsp of butter in a small bowl in the microwave.
6. Remove the biscuits from the oven, add a thin layer of melted butter onto each biscuit with a basting brush. (Set aside a little melted butter for your finished product.) Drizzle honey over each biscuit to your liking. Place biscuits back into the oven for about 2 minutes or until they look glossy. Remove the biscuits from the oven. Add a little more melted butter over the top of each biscuit.
7. Serve warm with honey.

Enjoy!

My 17 month old daughter enjoyed making biscuits with me just as much as I did making them with her. I am so happy to be passing on my passion to my daughter.

Christine's Banana Bread

This is the most moist, delicious banana bread you'll ever taste. This work of bakery art was years in the making. You'll never throw another ripened banana in the trash again! 

What you'll need:

1 large loaf pan, 2 small loaf pans, an 8x8 pan, or 8 mini loaf pans
*Coconut Oil (for greasing)
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
1 large mixing bowl
1 medium mixing bowl
2 small bowls
1 Spoon
1 wisk or fork

2 Cups of **Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
a pinch of salt
a pinch of baking powder

2 C Mashed Ripe Bananas
1/3 cup of melted butter 
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 C **Sugar

1/2 C chopped nuts, if desired


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease your pan with *coconut oil. Set aside.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder into a medium bowl. Set aside.
4. Place butter into a small glass bowl. Place into the microwave for a few seconds until fully melted. You may melt your butter in a saucepan if desired. Set aside.
5. Slightly beat the egg in the other small bowl with a fork or wisk. Set aside.
6. In a large bowl, combine the mashed bananas, melted butter, beaten egg, vanilla, and sugar. Stir until smooth.
7. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture. Stir until smooth and all ingredients are combined.
8. Stir in your favorite chopped nuts, if desired.
9. Pour the mixture into the desired greased baking dish. Bake between 30-60 minutes or until done. The smaller the pans, the less time it will take to bake! The loaf should look like above. You can do the toothpick check by inserting a toothpick into the middle. It should come out clean. The loaf should feel firm.

*You may use butter or cooking spray in place of coconut oil for greasing your pan. Greasing your pan with Coconut Oil actually makes the outside of the bread taste better.

**Unbleached Flour is preferred, along with Organic Unrefined Pure Cane Sugar 

Enjoy!

Mini Pizza

So, you have some left over hamburger buns and don't know what to do with them. And maybe you have some left over spaghetti sauce and you don't know what to do with that, either. Left over shredded cheese? These left overs can turn any lunch or dinner into an easy meal! Keep in mind that you can prep these beforehand and throw them into the freezer. Bake when ready. 

What you'll need:

Cookie Sheet
Hamburger Buns
Spaghetti Sauce or Pizza Sauce
Your favorite shredded cheese


1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lay each hamburger bun onto the cookie sheet.
3. Spread a layer (thin or thick) of sauce onto each hamburger buns.
4. *Sprinkle cheese over the sauce.
5. Bake for 10 minutes.

*If you have any left over ham or sausage, you can throw that on there, too.

Enjoy!