"Play-dough" candy

Here is a recipe for some food storage candy that Mom sent. She said it was originally from me, probably when I was in grade school.


Peanut Butter Kisses
Makes about 24 kisses

2 cups dry (powdered, non-instant) milk
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut
Mix dry milk, peanut butter, and honey in two-quart bowl. Roll dough into balls. Roll balls in coconut.

I gave the children the crumbly mess and let them mix it up and play with it. It was sort of like edible play dough. I let them roll their snakes and balls and figures in some sprinkles. The candy doesn't really taste that good, but it is edible.
Lucy even enjoyed playing with the stuff and eating bits of it.

In praise of peanut butter

Let us all sing songs in praise of peanut butter. Besides being the almost perfect food (unless you are allergic to peanuts, of course), peanut butter is a very good cleaner for some sticky items. Actually it is probably the peanut oil that is the cleaner, but we are more likely to have jars of peanut butter than peanut oil sitting around the house. So let's just talk about the cleaning properties of peanut butter. If you have a glass object with a sticky mess left on it from a sales sticker or a label, you can rub peanut butter on it and it will remove the sticky mess. Then you just wash the item in hot, soapy water, or put it in the dishwasher. Peanut butter will remove tar and other nasty sticky things from hands and other items. When we went camping recently, one child said, "What's this, Mommy?" and showed me hands and arms covered with pine gum or pine sap. I washed him with soap and water, but he was still sticky. "Use peanut butter," said Daddy. I didn't have any peanut butter, but I did have a leftover peanut butter sandwich. I opened the sandwich, rubbed it all over the little boy's arms and hands, washed him all off, and the pine gum was gone. What is even better, is that the peanut butter used in cleaning can be old, generic, rancid, non-organic, and cheap. We keep a jar of this stuff under the kitchen sink just to be used for cleaning.

Quiet Book

In an attempt to (1) practice sewing techniques and (2) keep children occupied during church meetings, I remade our quiet book. Here's the completed project.
The cover is an attempt at a crazy quilt pattern.Each page has a little saying on it, which you can't really read in these photos. This one says "I am a child of God.""Jesus created the plants" and "I can be a missionary and share the gospel.""I am thankful for my food" and "I love to read the scriptures.""Sunday is a time to remember Jesus" and "Jesus created the animals."
"Jesus made the insects" and "I am thankful for my clothes."
"The Book of Mormon teaches me about Jesus" and "I am happy when I share."
"I know Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus" and "I can be brave like the pioneers and follow the prophet."
The back cover. It was a fun learning project, though it took a long time.

Dinner recipes

[Just a reminder: My goal is to write something about once a week, so don't get your expectations up hoping there will be new information every day.]

Grilled fish
Fish fillets of your choice (we used catfish)
Butter, melted
Seasoning

Preheat your outdoor gas grill on high. Then turn down the middle burners. You want to keep the temperature about 350 degrees. Take a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil and turn up the edges a bit to make a disposable baking sheet. Place the fish on the sheet. Drizzle butter on the fish and sprinkle with your seasoning. For example, I used Cajun on one and Northwoods on the others (Penzey's). Place the "pan" on the grill, put the cover down, and cook for about 10 minutes. The fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork. Serve with rice and a salad for a complete dinner. The children liked this meal.

Parenting advice

I was reading a book on how to deal with your five-year-old in an attempt to get a good idea, when I came across a paragraph on discipline. It said that discipline (punishment) should be only reserved for behaviors that (1) threaten physical harm, (2) destroy or threaten to destroy property, or (3) annoy you beyond a reasonable amount. So, I thought, what actions (especially if you add "mental" or "emotional" to physical harm) would be left out of this? Most behavior in our home during the day seem to fall into one of these three categories. I finished the book and decided my five-year-old was not one of their typical five-year-olds; there didn't seem to be much help there. Good parenting book suggestions are always welcome

Dinner recipes again

I've been searching for a good buttermilk cornbread recipe and found one that is better than the one we have in the cookbook. It is based on a recipe from the book, Ultimate Bread. Sorry I don't have photos. We ate all the chili and only have a few pieces of cornbread left.

Buttermilk cornbread

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 Tb. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup milk (powdered milk works fine)
2 Tb. butter, melted

Mix the dry ingredients and add the liquids. Don't stir the batter too much. Pour into a 9x9 pan and cook for 20-25 minutes in a 400-degree oven. You can grease the pan and put it in the oven for about 10 minutes to get hot before you pour in the batter. This makes a nice crust on the edge of the cornbread--nice unless your children don't eat any crusts.

Dinner recipes

Here is another recipe we tried this week. It was a bit spicy, but would work well if I hadn't put in all four chipotle peppers.

Beef chili

1 lb. ground beef
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (15-oz) can kidney beans, well rinsed
1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
2 Tb. brown sugar
1/2 Tb. chili powder (depending on taste)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeded and minced (optional)

Brown the beef and sauté the onion. Either add the rest of the ingredients and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or put all the ingredients in a greased slow cooker and cook on low for 5 hours or so.