Some EASY PEASY treats

We made this super quick and easy LCM bar equivalent slice last week from Katrina at The Organised Housewife and they disappeared VERY quickly.  With the ingredients of only rice bubbles, peanut butter, marshmallows & butter it is not healthy in the slightest, but sooooo good and so quick to make!  Winner!

Thanks to your fantastic suggestions here and on facebook, we used some of our mandarines in this delicious mandarine cake.  Another winner!  Anna always makes cooking with the kids fun due to her fantastic illustrations that make it sooooo easy!  Thanks Anna!  

Do you ever cook recipes that you find on blogs?

I'd love to know if you have ever tried any Frog, Goose & Bear recipes.  I am so glad that I have got so many of my regular easy recipes on this site now.  I don't even use my recipe folder any more, I just go straight to my blog for the recipe.  Particularly handy when away from home, or if someone asks me for a recipe!  Always a thrill as I'm actually not a great cook. I have many, many disasters as my poor family members will attest!  I'd rather be doing other things than cooking, so any recipe that is quick and easy and is also delicious is definitely a winner in my book!  I figure there are many people in the same boat which is why I share recipes on my blog which make me look good with little effort from myself and no need for great cooking skill!

SNOWDROPS & STUFF

As has become a tradition at our house we've been experimenting with a few early spring Snowdrops.  Popping them in food dye and waiting for the colour to travel up the stem to the petals.  Never gets old.  It also works on celery and apparently with carnations.

If you are after some more fun outdoor winter crafts you can find two more Frog, Goose & Bear tutorials on Kidspot for Fairy Garden Terrariums & Fizzy Chalkpaint.

There is now a Frog, Goose & Bear facebook page if you'd like to keep up to date with all things Frog, Goose & Bear.

Olympic Opening Ceremony tomorrow!!  Might even have to get into the spirit and get the kids hyped by printing up some these adorable Olympic Printables from Tinyme.

Enjoy your weekend!

MANDARINES

What should I do with my hundreds & thousands of sweet & ripe mini mandarines that are growing on the two trees in our front yard?  

Do you have any recipes to share?  I can't think of a single one, so we've been eating them by the bucket load and giving away bags full every day.  Hundreds remain.

Do you say mandarines (man-dah-reen) or mandarin (man-dah-rin)?  Is it an Aussie thing or a state thing?  Or am I in the minority having called them mandarines for my whole life?

After typing it in the latter way, it seems there are quite a few out there after all that might be worth a try!

*That last pic is of the most recent fairy garden.  

Pirate Party Invitations...

We're getting ready for a pirate party here at FGB headquarters.  

This week we made invitations.  Plastic bottles, sand, shells & a pirate treasure map.    

For the maps we used these free printable invitations thanks to Betsy from B.Nute.

How far in advance do you start planning your kids parties?

Any pirate party ideas for me?

For more FGB party ideas, head over here.

MY upcycled tshirt CREATIVE SPACE

I've been doing quite a lot of creative stuff over the last couple of months, just haven't managed to blog about it.  This is one of my favourites.  A scarf made by recycling a t-shirt.

I have spotted them on quite a few places over blogland & pinterest and was keen to give them a try.  My first couple of attempts were not so great, but after some tips from a super stylish friend, I'm very happy with the current design and have started giving them away as gifts.  We made them at MOPS last term also and they were quite the hit.

It's a super quick & inexpensive gift and doesn't involve any sewing at all!

I didn't have any old t-shirts, but I purchased some XXXXL t-shirts (the larger the better) from Kmart for less than $5.  

I have been meaning to write up a tutorial & take detailed pics and I'll let you know when I do, but, basically it is made by cutting an old t-shirt horizontally into one inch strips, stretching each strip slightly till it starts to curl and then tying each strip into a knot to form a loop.  I used fabric from one of the sleeves, cut in a long rectangular shape, & wrapped it around the joins and just tucked it in.*

Joining in again today with Creative Spaces over at Village Voices.  

Have you tried making one of these scarves or recycled a piece of clothing and made it into something else?

UPDATE: I have now written up a full tutorial of how I made this tshirt scarf.  You can find it over here.

P.S.  I've started a Frog, Goose & Bear facebook page if any of you are interested in getting updates on my blog, craft tutorials, kids parties, markets, recipes, etc. via facebook.

* If you follow these instructions or these or these you should be fine.  Mine is roughly based on these.

EASY PEASY DINNER WINNER WITH GOOSE

Earlier this year, for school, Goose (grade 3) had to cook a healthy meal for the family and then present it to the class.  As we took photos of each step, I thought I might share this easy peasy three course meal with you and maybe your kids could give it a try! 

ENTREE

Pumpkin Soup with Toasted Cheese Skewers

MAIN

Baked Crispy Chicken Strips & Salad

DESSERT

Mixed Berries & Yoghurt

PUMPKIN SOUP

Melt 1 tbs of butter & fry one chopped onion in saucepan.

Add 500g pumpkin, 2.5 cups of chicken stock, a sprinkle of ground cloves & nutmeg, 1/2 tsp sugar, 2 drops of tabasco sauce to the saucepan & simmer.

When pumpkin is soft, puree with handheld blender.

Add lemon juice & cream to taste.

Serve in mug with mini toasted cheese sandwiches on skewers. 

BAKED CRISPY CHICKEN STRIPS

Set oven to 230C.  Make the breadcrumbs by placing some frozen bread into the food processor.

Place breadcrumbs, flour & egg into three separate bowls. 

Lightly coat each chicken strip with flour, then egg & then breadcrumbs.

It's messy work, but that's half the fun!

Once crumbed, place on a lightly greased baking tray, spray with oil and cook at 230C for 30 mins or until golden brown.

 Serve with a salad & dipping sauce.

Although not particularly healthy we use a yummy dipping sauce that we make from 1/3 cup tomato sauce, 2 tbs American mustard, 1 tbs honey & 1 tbs brown sugar.

 BERRIES & YOGHURT

Self explanatory really, but we just popped some raspberries, blackberries, strawberries & blueberries into a bowl with a dollop of yoghurt on the top.

Do you let your kids loose in the kitchen?  Is it more trouble than it's worth?  Or an important life skill?

For a long list of our other easy peasy recipes - we only do simple here - you might like to head over here.

Ebony's Farm Party

Early last month, I did my first ever party planning gig for a friend's gorgeous 3 year old daughter.  Thoroughly exhausting, but I absolutely loved it and was thrilled with how it all worked out!  The party was held in the 'party barn' at Coopers Settlement Children's Farm.  The perfect setting for a farm party!

Prepare for photo overload...

If you're as into parties as I am, you might like to check out some more FGB parties over here.

- A huge thank you to the highly talented Cathie for making the cupcakes and the deliciously bright pink birthday cake!! If you'd like to make your own cupcakes just like these ones, Cathie has written a very easy to follow tutorial here. 


- Thanks also to the wonderful Maxabella for the pigs-in-mud, marshmallow eggs & toffee apples, ideas & tips - they were all huge hits!  


- Thanks so much to Holleigh for giving me the chance to let my creative juices flow and for your amazing generosity & encouragement throughout.  I honestly loved it - even if I fell down in a heap at the end!  Your friendship is one that I treasure.  

- Cow hats - available here.
- Cowboy/Cowgirl cookie printable labels can be found here & the delicious Aust. cookie recipe (with more super cool labels) can be found here.
- Eggs in nest recipe can be found here.
- Yes, the rest of the party may just be available in some form sometime soon in an FBG party pack in the not tooooo distant future.  I just need to find some time somewhere... along with time to start that etsy store... soon might just be a relative word...