The Soapy Milk Experiment

I'm trying to think of fun things to do with Brody this Summer since he thinks that I'm "so boring." So I looked up some kid science experiments. The lengths I go to to be the "cool mom."

Here are the supplies we used:

Milk (about 1 cup)

 Dish Soap (just a couple squirts)

Food coloring (a few drops of a couple different colors)

We used a pie dish but any kind of bowl will do. I had Brody drop some food coloring onto the dish. We used 4 colors just for fun.

 

Then we poured the milk in, about a cup

 

We watched as the colors blended with the milk 

 

Then we squirted in some dish soap and watched the colors go crazy! 

 

The colors were dancing in the milk/soap mixture and never stopped moving

 

I explained to Brody that the milk has fat in it and the dish soap doesn't like fat. The soap was trying to push all the fat away which made the colors dance. 

This experiment was a lot cooler than I thought it would be.

 

Chow Mein

I LOVE me some chow mein! Its my favorite thing to get at Panda Express. I wanted to make a version of it at home that was a but healthy than what a restaurant would offer. Here is what I came up with:

1/2 of a small head of lettuce

1 1/2 c. chopped celery

1 whole small onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic diced 

1/2 c. soy sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

black pepper to taste 

2-3 tsp oil 

3 packages of YakiSoba noodles (buy any flavor because you will throw out the flavor packet and just used the noodles) 

Avocado Egg Salad

THIS, my friends, is one tasty snack. I was looking for something different to make that was healthy and somewhat cheap. This snack fits the bill. Here is what you'll need:

2 tbsp lemon juice

5-6 hard boiled eggs (chilled) 

onions

cilantro

pepper

salt or garlic salt

2 ripe avocados 

1 tbsp mustard (not pictured because it doesn't like to be photographed..... i used honey Dijon) 

Peel avocados and mash them in a bowl

Dice the eggs, onion and cilantro then add it to the bowl along with the salt and pepper (to taste), lemon juice and mustard. 

I didn't add measurements for some of the ingredients because it really just depends on how much you like. 

Mix it up til its pretty 

Spread it on your favorite bread and enjoy!! 

I use an organic multi grain bread that is sweetened with honey. Its the bomb diggity. AND I toast it first. YUMMMM....

Valentines

I was so excited to put together Valentines for Brody's Kindergarten class. I wanted to do something other than candy so of course I turned to Pinterest. Here is what I did.

I took red paper and cut it into small cards 

 Then I simply wrote a silly Valentine "You're all that and a bag of chips!" 

 

 Staple it to a bag of chips and BAM you got yourself a  Valentine. 

 

Brody was NOT happy about this being his Valentine to give to the class. He wanted to give candy. I assured him that this was a great gift. I tried to explain to him why the card was funny but he didn't understand. His older friend Emilee explained to him "Brody this is really funny! Last year, a kid gave us toothbrushes, you DONT want to be that guy. You're the chip guy! That's awesome!" He still wasnt convinced. Then when he handed them out in class a few kids told him it was cool so he was finally happy about it.

Taco Bites

I made these yesterday on Super Bowl Sunday. However, I did not make them for the big game but for later that night. We needed a post game snack. We were so worked up and hungry after the team named after and animal won the big sportsing game. 

Here is what you'll need:

1 pound of ground turkey or beef

one packet of taco seasoning 

tomato chopped

onion chopped

cilantro

sour cream

black or pinto beans

won ton wrappers

grated cheese 

 Brown the meat, drain the fat, add taco season, add 1/2 cup water and then let it cook for a few min. 

 Preheat oven to 350.

 Place won ton wrapper in a mini cupcake tin like so

I like to do them every other so they have some space. Place a "dollop"of beans on the bottom, followed by your ground meat. Add a little but of grated cheese to the top and bake at 350 for 7-8 min. 

Add all your favorite toppings: tomato, onion, cilantro, sour cream.... you can even add the evil olive if you want.

So yummy and so easy to make. 

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars

Oh my goodness these are so YUM! I was worried I would ruin them but I think it would be pretty hard to do that. 

My family goes thru A LOT of granola bars. It can be pretty expensive! And then I worry about all the junk that are in the ones that I buy at the market. I wanted to make my own to save money (not really sure if I actually ended up saving money. I'm bad at math so if any of you know a mathematician, let me know so they can do the math for me) and also because they are healthier. 

Here is what you will need:

2 1/2 c. Rice Krispies 

1 3/4 c. quick oats 

1 c. chopped almonds 

1/2 c. honey

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 c. peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. mini chocolate chips plus additional 1/2 c. of mini chocolate chips

Combine rice krispies, quick oats, and chopped almonds in a large bowl. 

In a sauce pan, mix honey, sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Over medium/low heat, stir until mixture comes to a complete boil for 30-60 seconds. 

Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth

add 1/2 c. of chocolate chips to peanut butter mixture. Mix until melted. 

Immediately pour over dry ingredients and mix well

(If you wait and the peanut butter mix cools, it will be hard to mix with the dry ingredients, Then when you go to cut out a bar, some of it will crumble. How do I know this? Cause its what I did. WINNER!) 

Press mixture into a greased 9x13 pan.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes before adding the additional 1/2 c. of chocolate chips to the top.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well these turned out. My kids loved them (however, my one year old will eat anything). I'm for sure making these from now on instead of buying them. 

BBQ Pineapple Meatballs

This year for Christmas Eve I was put in charge of meatballs for the family gathering. BIG responsibility. If the meatballs aren't perfect, Christmas is ruined. OK, not really, but the Seitz family loves their balls.

I'm not a big fan of Swedish meatballs, which I think is what is normally made for our Christmas Eve gathering. I figured, its 78 degrees outside, lets get tropical, yo. Here is what you will need for your "Tropical Christmas Eve" meatballs:

WOW! Only 3 ingredients!? Its a Christmas miracle! 

I was able to fit 1 1/2 bags of meatballs in my crock pot. I used a whole bottle of bbq sauce and a can of pineapple chunks. I cut the pineapple chunks a little smaller.

I placed the meatballs in the crock pot, covered them with the sauce, then added the pineapple. I mixed it to make sure the meatballs were completely covered. 

There you go, rocket science. 

I cooked them on low for 4 hours. 

I got a million compliments on my meatballs. Literally. Like to the point where it was like, "OK, people, I get it."

Super easy. Super yummy. Super super.