Recipes

What a yucky day outside......it is cold, windy and rainy....yuck!  I am really missing summer right now, I am NOT ready for this weather.  It really stinks when you have 7 or 8 kids that want to be outside and you need stuff for them to do.  Well, today I am going to give you some recipes of things you can make with your children when it's too crumby to go outside.  I also like to have a tub of items on hand for days like this.....I call it my rainy day box.  When I get that ready (hopefully in the next few weeks) I will fill you in on what I keep in my box to keep kids entertained. 

Thankfully we had library this morning, so we were able to get out of the house for about an hour!!!  But, this afternoon is going to be another story.....I will be bringing out the playdough for them to play with.  I made 3 double batches in June and it is still nice and soft.....as long as you keep in an airtight container or a ziploc baggy, it can keep for a very long time! (Note: the pictures below are from this summer!)

Maddox even liked the playdough!

The Best Playdough Ever (made above):
Combine in a bowl: 3 cups flour, 1 ½ cups salt, 6 teaspoons cream of tartar, 6 tablespoons oil, 3 cups water (food coloring optional).  Mix together.  Cook over low heat until a ball forms.  Cool.  Knead. Store in Ziploc bag.  I like to add kool-aid to color my playdough and make it smell good too!

Coffee Playdough:
3 cups flour, 1 ½ cups salt, 6 tablespoons oil, 6 teaspoons cream of tartar, 3 cups water, used wet grounds from the morning coffee.  Mix ingredients.  Cook over medium heat until a ball forms. Remove from heat and knead!

Edible Finger Paint (corn syrup tongue painting!):
Mix corn syrup and food coloring and let the kids paint with their fingers, brushes or even their tongues!  Stick and shiny art galore!

Knox Gelatin Mold:The ratio is 3/4 cup water to 1 packet of Knox.  (Take the number of cups of water your container holds and DIVIDE by .75)  This is how many packets of Knox you need.  In a saucepan, heat the water over low heat, add the packets of gelatin.  After it dissolves pour it into your container.  Let set over night.  BE SURE TO SPRAY YOUR CONTAINER WITH PAM FIRST! Allow the children to inject the knox mold with pipettes and eyedroppers filled with colored water!

Flubber:

1. Mix 2 cups water and 1 1/2 cups glue in a big bowl.

2. Add a squirt of liquid water color and then stir it up.

3. In a seperate small bowl mix together 2 cups water and 4 tablespoons Borax

4. After it's completely dissolved, pour the Borax mixture slowly and a little at a time into the glue and water mixture.  Pour a little, mix it a little, pour a little, mix a little.  Mix with your hands or a sturdy wooden spoon.  As you mix, it will become a flubber ball!

5. Store it in an airtight container or ziploc baggy for a few weeks.  When it begins to flick apart or when it gets too hard, it is time to make a new batch!  Play with it, explore it, try to get it to blow a bubble with a straw!  Watch it stretch as you hold it!

6. Vinegar takes it out of clothes, carpet, and fabric.  Mayo will take it out of hair!

 

 

 Homemade Sand:
 4 cups dried, used, coffee grounds, 2 cups cornmeal, 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt.  Stays fresh in an airtight container or Ziploc bags.

Clean Mud:
Grate 3 Bars of Ivory Soap. In a bowl mix the grated soap, 1 roll of toilet paper and some warm water.  Keep mixing until it forms the consistency of mashed potatoes!  You can store it in airtight container and reconstitute it with more water.  Dispose of Clean Mud in the trash not the drain!

Oobleck:
Mix equal parts cornstarch and water.

I have many more recipes that I will share with you another time.  Enjoy!


Tracy