Thought of the Day - 48

 

Go to Costco.  This might sound funny but if you are really desperate to get out of the house take a trip to Costco for lunch.  You can't beat their $1.50 hot dog and soda and when you are finished with lunch walk around and try all the samples.

Thought of the Day - 47

Head over to the nearest Bass Pro Shop to catch the last of the Family Summer Camp 2011.  This Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday there will be crafts and fun activities for the kids.  My kids had a blast last Saturday making birdhouses and shooting a bb gun.  We got free samples of fudge too!  We made a day of it and while we there we even booked a vacation but that is another post.

Thought of the Day - 46

 

Join Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program: Kids earn a free book when they read 8 books.  Grades 1-6.

Another Summer Dessert

Apple Pie on a Stick.  This was by far my hubby's favorite dessert on our camping trip.  He knew I was making S'more but when I brought out the apples on a stick to roast over the fire he looked at me like I was crazy.  It only took one bite to change his mind.  He said this was just like biting into warm dutch apple pie.  This is how we did it. 

What you need:
Sticks for roasting
apples, preferably the ones used for baking
sugar
cinnamon

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.  You can make this way in advance which is nice if you are camping.  Place your apple on your stick but make sure it is on there good.  I suggest using a 2 prong roasting stick.  place your apple over the fire and rotate it until it is dark brown. 

Remove it from the fire.  Carefully remove the apple from the stick.  It will be very hot so remember to pack a pot holder if you are camping.  Using a fork, peel the apple.  Once you have most of the skin removed roll the apple in the sugar mixture.  Now at this point you can do 1 of 2 things.  You could eat it as is, which is the way I like it or you could place it back over the fire to roast e few minutes longer so the sugar and cinnamon can caramelize.  Either way just be careful not to drop your apple.  The first night I didn't get to eat my apple because I dropped it on the ground!  The next night my mom did the same thing!

Thought of the Day - 45

Head over to the Library.  I don't know about your library but our county libraries have free, fun activities all summer long.  The have a reading program for the children as well as the adults were you can earn some neat little prizes.  Last year they even tie dyed shirts!  You can rent movies cheap.  So get over to your library and "checkout" the fun!

Fun and Cheap Summer Desserts

Yesterday I blogged about camping and how I had a special surprise dessert planned every night.  I thought I would share them with you folks and give some suggestions on what worked for us and what didn't.  You don't have to go camping to enjoy these treats.  All these can be made in your home but the ones that require fire you might want to wait until the winter and try it in the fireplace.  And if you are worried about cooking something in your fireplace don't.  If Mrs. Ingalls can do it so can we, just do so at your own risk (I can see someone catching their house on fire trying this and then pointing to me. lol). 

Dessert #1  Peanut Butter and banana S'mores
I know this is a staple for camping with children but I had to kick it up a notch.  I can't do anything normal!

1 bag marshmallows
graham crackers
chocolate bars
peanut butter
sliced banana

I think most people know how to make S'mores so I am just going to give some tips instead of giving complete directions.

We found these "campfire" marshmallows.  They are huge and I thought they would be great.  I was wrong.  they were hard to cook all the way through, caught on fire easier and were harder to get off the stick.  It was almost to much marshmallow.  Next time I will stick with the normal sized one.

Next, I find the best way to roast the marshmallows is slowly rotate it OVER the fire, not in it.  Now my mom loves the burn, black "shell" that comes from sticking it directly in the fire but I personally don't.  I like to get mine evenly brown.

Lastly I suggest you prepare the graham crackers before you roast and to stagger the people who are roasting.  If you don't, before you know it you'll have 6 people wanting to make their S'mores at the same time.  Remember I did this while camping so I came prepared as well.  I brought a large cookie sheet where I could lay out 8 set at a time. 

This is how I assembled my upgraded version.
I spread peanut butter on the bottom graham cracker followed by the chocolate candy bar.  On top of the bar I placed sliced banana.  Then I finished it with the roasted marshmallow and the top cracker.  It was a hit!

Thought of the Day - 44

I have decided that July I will be giving tips on how to have a fun filled, free or nearly free summer.  I hope that you guys decided to get out there this summer with your children and have some fun!  My children have been out of school for 4 whole weeks now.  We have done more in those 4 weeks than we have in the past 4 summers and we still have a tons more to do.

So my first tip for a fun summer is to find camping fun, if you don't already.  We just got back from camping and boy did we have fun.  Yes it was a lot of work especially with 5 children but it was worth it.  As many of you know I am not really that fond being outdoors.  I prefer air conditioning and being bug free.  With that said I can tell you I had a blast.  I am forcing myself to like the outdoors like I use to as a child.  I use to love to fish and camp.  That all changed when I got married and started a family.  The last time I went camping my oldest, who is going to be 14 this month, was 2.  The hubby and I decided that was not so much fun since we had to sleep on the ground, it was freezing and I hated feeling dirty.  Before this last weekend the only time we went "camping" we went in an RV.

I can tell you that no matter the inconvenience or how uncomfortable we were at times there was nothing like seeing how happy the children and how much fun they were having!  I made it very exciting for me by planning a surprise dessert every night.  I can't wait for our next trip.  We ALL want to go camping again THIS SUMMER.  The best part is how cheap it was.  So do some research on the camp grounds in your area to find the best prices, pack a cooler and find a tent to borrow if you don't already have one and get camping.  For those of you who live in my area I will loan out all our gear.  That is if we aren't already using it!