New Bibs

A sneak peek at just one of the many NEW bibs
that will be coming into my store in the next few days!

Cat in the Hat HAT

Make your own Cat in the Hat HAT!

1 Sheet White Construction Paper, 9" x 12"
1 Sheet Red Construction Paper, 9" x 12" *
2 Paper Plates, middles cut out
Paint Brush
Glue

Draw a 2" line across the bottom of the white construction paper. Cut from the bottom of the paper up to the line every 2" apart, creating tabs.

Cut 3 - 2" x 12" strips from the red construction paper.

Cut the center out of both of the paper plates, leaving about a 2" brim.

Fold up all of the 2" tabs at the drawn line.

Turn the white paper over and glue the cut red strips on to the white paper. Glue the first strip on the bottom, one in the middle and one at the top of the hat brim. Roll the completed construction paper into a cylinder, right side facing out, and place one of the plates over it and leave it in the center of the roll. This will give you the exact sizing you will need for the hat to fit properly with the plates. You can glue the cylinders backside or use a stapler at the top and the bottom to secure it closed.



Place the remaining plate down and drizzle a small amount of glue on top of the plate brim.

Pull all of the tabs on the hat forward and place it on top of the paper plate brim and adhere it to the glue.

Drizzle a small amount on top of the tabs and pull the remaining plate down on top of the tabs, sandwiching the tabs between the two plates creating a completed rim.

Congratulations...
you are the proud owner of a Cat in the Hat HAT!

*An alternative to the red construction paper is to use red tissue or color red stripes with a red crayon or paint the red stripes on.

Dr Suess Goes High Tech

Happy Birthday!

Celebrating the creator, Theodor Suess Geisel

All iPhone applications for Dr. Suess are just 99 cents today!

Dr. Suess Books:

The Cat in the Hat
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Dr. Suess' ABC

Three of Dr. Suess beloved books on sale for 99 cents! It doesn't get more cheaper than that. A perfect way to occupy the kids in the car without having to pack the books.

Dr. Suess Cameras:

Dr. Suess Camera - The Cat in the Hat
Dr. Suess Camera - How the Grinch Stole Christmas

This application is going to be addictive! Take a shot of your child and place them inside the story with pictures of them as The Cat in the Hat or with reindeer ears!

Dr. Suess Games:


Grinchmas Games

This game is sure to have some fun hours of play with the lovable Grinch himself!

Search your iPhone Application Store
and download all these application today.

GREEN Eggs and SPAM

In celebration of Dr. Suess week!

We honor one of our most beloved children's writers,
Theodor Suess Geisel.



GREEN Eggs and SPAM

2 Eggs, Scrambled
2 Tablespoons Milk
1 - 2 Drops of Green Food Coloring
1 Can SPAM, sliced

♥ Slice your SPAM in 1/4" cuts.

♥ In a medium frying pan, over medium-heat, cook the SPAM until slightly browned and place on a plate with a paper towel.

♥ In a small bowl, add the eggs, milk and food coloring and mix together.

♥ Wipe the frying pan of any grease and over medium heat cook the eggs until done.

♥ Put them both on a plate and enjoy!

A recipe easy enough for the kids to make!

Footnote:

While I was teaching, during Dr. Suess week, I would read Green Eggs and Ham for the children and they would cook this recipe. It was a hit! Why SPAM? SPAM makes this a kid friendly recipe rather than dealing with ham. This is a one serving recipe.

Cream Puffs

A light and tasty treat!


1 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Butter, melted
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
4 Eggs, beaten

Vanilla Pudding Recipe (below) or 1 box Instant Vanilla Pudding

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

In a medium to large saucepan, bring the water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in the flour and reduce the heat to low and stir the mixture until it forms a ball. Remove from the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs and add them to the cooled flour mixture. Continue to stir the mixture until the pastry dough is smooth.

Using a scant 1/2 cup for each puff, drop the dough, about 3 inches apart, onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the puffs are firm and golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Vanilla Pudding:

1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
3 Cups Milk
3 Egg Yolks, slightly beaten
3 Tablespoons Butter
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Powdered Sugar (optional)

In a 2 quart saucepan, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together the milk and the egg yolks and slightly beat them together. Gradually add the milk mixture to the sugar mixture, stirring well.

Cook the mixture over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is bubbly and thickened. Reduce the heat and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.

Pour the pudding into a bowl and cover the pudding with plastic wrap, laying it on top of the pudding so it doesn't form a skin. Place the pudding in the refrigerator to chill. Do not stir or uncover the pudding while it chills.

If you don't want to make the pudding from scratch then cheat, cheat, cheat and make the instant pudding according to the boxed instructions.

To Assemble:

Cut the tops off the cream puffs and set them aside. Remove some of the insides of each puff. Spoon the chilled pudding into each puff, add the tops back on and set them to the side of each puff and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

Chinese Lantern

An easy art project for the kids to make for the Chinese New Year!

1 Sheet of Red Construction Paper
About 30" Gold Ribbon
Chinese Symbols, Stickers or Printed Paper Glue Scissors

Fold your sheet of construction paper in half placing the folded edge towards you and the open end at the top.

Taking your scissors; cut the construction paper from the bottom to the top in 1" strips leaving a 1 - 1 1/2" space from the top.

After you have made all the cuts across the paper open up the sheet and glue the ribbon across the bottom and the top of the uncut part of the lantern. Glue the Chinese symbols at the top and the bottom on top of the ribbon.

Taking the glue, run one long line of glue along the left side of the longest part of the sheet to the bottom of the sheet. Fold the left side of the sheet under the right side of the sheet forming a circle. Press down to secure it's position.

Glue or staple to remaining ribbon to the inside of the lantern on the top to hang it.

Congratulations, your all done!

Wonton Soup

A delicious hearty soup to celebrate the Chinese New Year

Filling:
12 ounces Ground Pork
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Garlic Clove, crushed
2 Tbsp Sherry
2 Scallions, chopped
1 Tsp Sesame Oil
1 Egg White
1/2 Tsp Cornstarch
1/2 Tsp Sugar
About 35 Wonton Wappers

Soup Stock:
6 Cups ChickenStock
1 Tsp Light Soy Sauce
1 Scallion, shredded
1 small carrot, cut into thin slices

Combine all the ingredients for the filling and mix well.

Place a small spoonful of the filling in the center of each wonton
wrapper.

Dampen the edges and gather up the wonton wrapper to form a pouch
enclosing the filling.

Cook the filled wontons in a pot of boiling water for 1 minute or
until they float to the top.

Remove the cooked wontons with a slotted spoon.

Bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the soy sauce, scallions,
carrots and wontons to the soup and simmer gently for 2 minutes.