Krissy's Creations--Button Pretzels

Sometimes it's fun to let the little ones make their own snacks. This one is so simple--my four and five year-olds can do almost all the work. Krissy (age five) and cousin Grady (age four) made these today.

Take square pretzels and place a Hershey's Hug on the center of each one. Place in 200 degree oven for four minutes. They will retain their shape, but will come out soft. Place an M & M on the center of each and press down slightly. I usually stick them in the fridge for a bit to harden them up because the kids want to eat them right away. You can use Hershey's Kisses too, but they don't get as shiny and are not quite as pretty.

Salted Chocolate Caramel Turtles

I made these this afternoon and they turned out so good!

Here is the recipe for these fabulous looking treats:

Ingredients

8 ounces pecans
14 ounce bag of caramels
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
10 ounce bag of dark chocolate chips
3-4 ounces white chocolate
Fleur de Sel (Sea Salt)

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange in clusters of 5-6 pecans. Place under broiler for 90 seconds to toast.
2. Unwrap caramels and heat with milk and vanilla until melted. I used a double boiler to avoid burning them.
3. Spoon caramel mixture over pecan clusters and let stand until caramel hardens, at least thirty minutes.
4. Melt chocolate chips. I used the double boiler for this again. Reserve 1/4 cup of chocolate. Spoon the rest over caramel layer.
5. Let stand until firm--about thirty minutes again.
6. Chop up white chocolate and melt in microwave. Spoon over chocolate layer.
7. Put reserved chocolate in a sealed plastic bag and cut a tiny hole in the corner; then drizzle over white chocolate. I did it this way, but I think next time I will just drizzle it with a spoon.
8. Sprinkle with Fleur de Sel. 

Seven Rules for Proper Grandparenting

Rule 1—Exercise  When you first pick up the grandchildren, one of the first things you want to do is make sure they are thoroughly exercised. There are several ways to do this. You can put them through tiring muscle building paces…

…or you can just let them play.

Be sure to let them take little breaks.

Rule 2—Keep the trips short Kids love to travel, but only for about five minutes or so. In order to avoid the constant “When are we going to get there?” and “I have to go potty NOW!” noises, it is best to plan several very short trips. Some kids like to travel by horse.

Others like to travel on the backs of kitties…

…or down slides.

Some prefer the more traditional types of travel.

And then there are the wacky ones who would rather whiz around in a giant banana. 

Rule 3—Take a Walk  In case the exercise and travel have not quite worn them out, it is always a good idea to talk a walk outside. 

Rule 4—Be Prepared For Anything  You never know what they might find… 

Fortunately for the children, my dog found this snake first, so it is quite dead. Not so fortunate for the snake.

Rule 5—Let them help make their own food. Children will be much more likely to eat their fruits and vegetables if they play a part in making it. In this case, they made palm trees.

Rule 6—Dinner and a Movie Not just for adults. Kids love eating while they watch something good on TV. Here we are eating pizza and palm trees while watching Little House on the Prairie. 

Rule 7—Sugar Them Up This is where most grandparents can use a little guidance. The tendency is to sugar them up too early in the game. The time to sugar them up is just before you take them home.

Now they are ready to get in the car and get back to mom and dad.

The perfect ending to a perfect day. 

Easy Beer Bread--1 Hour from Start to Finish

Are you running late and would like to have warm home-baked bread for dinner? You can make this bread in the time it takes to pre-heat the oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes and it's done!

Ingredients:

3 cups self-rising flour*
1/4 cup sugar
12 oz. beer

*If you do not have self-rising flour, you will need to add 1 T. Baking powder and 1 1/2 tsp. salt.

Directions:

Mix ingredients together and place in greased bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. The crust will be hard and the inside soft.

The kind of beer you use will change the flavor, so experiment a bit. I have made this with Mike's Hard Cranberry Lemonade and put 1/2 cup of craisins in it for a sweeter taste. It's really good and so easy to make in a pinch!