Homemade Soft Play Dough

If you are looking for quick project to do with the kids to keep them entertained, homemade play dough is always a favorite at my house. They can help make it by mixing and kneading and picking what color they want to make it and then when it's done they can of course play with it. For our batch we made red and yellow, then we could mix a little from both and also have... orange! (this was very exciting to a 2 year old!) This recipe makes quite a bit so if you only have one child you could half it. It will last quite awhile in an airtight container. I keep mine in the fridge.

Here's what you need:

1cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 Tbsp oil
food coloring

This can be cooked on the stove or in the microwave. Mix all ingredients in a pan or microwave safe bowl, if you are cooking on the stove, stir and cook until the ingredients leave the sides of the pan then remove it and let it cool.
For cooking in the microwave, mix in a microwave safe bowl. Cook 45 seconds then stir, cook another 45 seconds and stir. It should be done after that, if not then try another 25 seconds. Don't overcook, you want to stop when you can mix it and it stays together.
There are a couple ways to add the color, if you are just doing one color, you can add it to the oil and water before you mix with the dry ingredients. This is a little less messy, but I like doing more than one color so once it is cool enough to handle, I split the dough into sections and knead the food coloring in. Sometimes I use gloves and mix on a cookie sheet or cutting board, I haven't had the color stain anything...yet, but depending on the type of coloring you use, you might want to take precautions just in case. Have fun creating!

~Simply Angie

Grandma's Bread Pudding and Caramel Sauce

I was trying to think of something for dessert last night and homemade bread pudding was my choice. Our Dad was not a dessert lover but bread pudding was one of his favorites. Our grandma made the best bread pudding, hope you like it! Ingredients : 5 cups slightly dried out bread, any kind. I used Italian bread. 1/4 cup raisins (optional) 2 cups milk 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 T vanilla 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cinnamon Caramel Sauce Ingredients 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla Directions : Cut the bread in cubes. I cut some of the crust off (on about half of the bread). Place bread into a greased casserole dish or an 11x9 inch pan. Add raisins. Microwave milk and butter about 4 minutes on 60% power or heat in a saucepan over medium heat on the stove. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Slowly add the mixture to the egg and milk and butter

Grilled Orange Roughy

My favorite food choices are often related to family memories, so I wanted to share one of our favorite grilled fish recipes. Our Dad used to take us fishing and we grew up eating the fish we caught ourselves. Then came the time when we had to start buying fish, I searched for types of fish that didn't taste too "fishy". It's hard to accomplish that in the Midwest, we don't always have many choices. We were introduced to orange roughy during a trip to San Diego where my great-uncle treated us to some of the most wonderful seafood we had ever eaten at an establishment called Anthony's. It was the first time we had eaten orange roughy and it was white, flaky and not too fishy tasting. After a few experiments, this is my favorite method to prepare it at home. Serves 4 or 2 with leftovers! Ingredients: 4 orange roughy fillets 1/4 c fresh cilantro, I use a small handful * if you are not a cilantro fan use fresh dill, about 1/4 c chopped 2 tsp garlic powder o

Homemade Goulash

Last weekend I made meals for the freezer. It takes a few hours but this will save you time during the week (in case you have nights like I do when you don't feel like cooking) and your family will love it! I adapted this recipe from Paula Deen (it's called Bobby's Goulash). I used organic ingredients but use the products of your choice. I would have liked to use fresh tomatoes from the garden but my tomatoes weren't quite ready. You can also make it gluten-free by using gluten-free elbow macaroni. It's so tasty - my family loved it! Ingredients : 1 pound ground turkey 1 pound lean ground beef 1 -2 small onions, diced ( I used red onions) 1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce 2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice 3 cups water 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 T Italian seasoning 3 bay leaves 3 T soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce 1 T seasoning salt course ground pepper to taste 2 cups elbow macaroni (uncooked) Putting it together: Brown meat and onions in a lar

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