Carleen's Crafty Kitchen: February 2014

Friday, February 21, 2014

Blueberry Ice Cream

Granted it's the middle of winter and if you live in the northeast then you know how bad it really is. But of course 1-1/2 feet of snow doesn't stop my family's sweet tooth for ice cram. I usually make my Homemade Strawberry Ice cream but unfortunately I ran out of frozen strawberries, BUT I did have frozen blueberries. Since I had to keep my promise for homemade ice cream I decided to use the blueberries. I changed around the recipe a little and came up with this yummy version.

Blueberry Ice Cream

1 and 1/2 cups of frozen Blueberries, partially thawed
2 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tub (16 oz) of frozen whipped cream, thawed

In a stand mixer, whip together partially thawed blueberries, egg whites and sugar. Whip for about 20 minutes or until it resembles extremely fluffy whipped cream. Fold in the whip cream, DO NOT stir. Stirring will cause both the whipped cream and blueberry mixture to deflate, so fold together. Once fully combined place in plastic containers and freeze for at least 4 hours before you plan to serve.

Thanks for stopping by, Become a Fan and follow My blog for more fun ideas~ Thank you, Carleen

Follow Carleen's Crafty Kitchen on Pinterest

Thursday, February 20, 2014

15 Activities For Children with Autism

Parents know how craft and activities is a big part of childhood, heck everyone loves crafts and having a bunch of fun. With autistic children certain crafts and activities can not only be fun but also help with learning and with sensory problem. I put together 15 great ideas to share with you today.

I Spy Alphabet Bottle

Alphabet bottle is not only fun to make, but keep your child focused. This will also help with recognizing the letters. Have them find a letter and imitate the sounds of each of those letters.

Homemade play dough

Hide toys within the play dough which will encourage to touch and it will hopefully help with the sensitivity. This project can also be a teaching tool with the child learning math and measurements

Homemade finger paint

Again most Autistic children have a sensitivity to certain textures. Even thou this is a messy project it's totally fun to do.

Squishy Bag

If finger pants are to messy for you, then this project is perfect for you. Another great way to teach the alphabet

Sensory table

This sensory stimulation is another device at home for sensitivity, most preschools have these just for that problem.

Matching game

match up the stick pair an place them side by side to complete each shape. This will help your child with learning about shapes

Bird feeder Ornaments

Great learning tool about Nature. Good for texture sensitivity

Smelling Station

Great guessing game and helps with fear of certain smells

Counting

Autistic Children needs hands on learning, Now a days in kindergarten one of the things they focus on is counting to 100, this project will help with counting and improving math skills.

Sensory shower play for kids
I think the title says it all, do I need to say anything more? Shaving cream is wonderful for sensory, heck you can get them clean while you're at it.

100 Free Dr. Seuss themed printable, crafts, recipes, and activities

Now who doesn't love Dr. Seuss? This provides great learning worksheets to support what your children are learning in school.

No sew t-shirt superhero capes
One of the things autistic children need is help with imagination.These superhero capes will help. Fun to make and no sewing skills are required

Benefits of climbing trees

You can learn a lot through play

Storytelling with illustrations

Learn how to make story time fun. For a list of books aimed for Autism children go here, they list books by age.

Fat Brain Toys

For Birthdays and holidays consider shopping online at "Fat Brain Toys" They carry toys, games and tools for children and adults with special development needs

Thank you for stopping by, become a follower of my blog to keep updated with all my great ideas~ Carleen :)

Follow Carleen's Crafty Kitchen on Pinterest

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Sloppy Joe Casserole

Coming up new easy recipes that would please a family of picky eaters are always hard. Sloppy Joes has always been a family favorite, but it gets tiresome after awhile. So I looked around for recipes to spruce it up a little and wound up combining a few recipes to come up with this new family favorite.



     Sloppy Joe Casserole
                                                                             serves 6

1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup red bell pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. prepared yellow mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
3 tsp. brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 box of Corn Muffin mix (8.5 oz.)
1egg
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350*. In a skillet brown ground beef, onion and bell pepper. Once meat is fully cooked, drain and return to the skillet. Over low heat mix the ground beef with garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, salt and pepper until the meat is well covered and sauce has thickened (about 2 or 3 minutes). Transfer the meat into a small casserole dish, preferably 8x8 dish. In a separate bowl mix together 1 box of corn muffin mix, egg, milk and cheese. Pour the corn muffin mixture over the ground beef evenly. bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the corn muffin top comes out clean.

1 (8.5 oz) box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Read more at http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/07/cornbread-sloppy-joe-casserole-recipe.html#HGGvSVKc1QlUAyi8.99

Thanks for stopping by, Become a Fan and follow My blog for more fun ideas~ Thank you, Carleen

Follow Carleen's Crafty Kitchen on Pinterest

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Easy Maxi Skirt Pattern

I don't know about the rest of you but I love skirts, you can just throw them on and go. Since spring is not that far away (hopefully), I went and looked in my closet only to see that it's time for new skirts. So I whipped out my sewing machine and thumbed through my fabric stash and put together a pretty skirt that's perfect for spring. Since I know I'm not the only one who loves maxi skirts and since it was so simple to put together that I thought it was perfect to share.

All you need is:
Fabric (yardage depends on waist measurements)
3/4 inch wide elastic
matching thread

To find out the amount of fabric you need, measure your waist line and double it (if you measured 35 inches double it and get 70 inches). For the the length, figure out how long you want it to hang and add 2 inches (if you want it to be 28 inches measure and cut it to 30 inches). With these measurements you will have a large rectangle.

Fold the fabric in half, width ways, with the right sides together. Before I sew the raw edges together, to prevent frying, I do what I call a rolled seam. I fold the raw edges a 1/4 inch in and then fold a second time 1/4 inch, pin, press, and stitch. This way the raw edges are tucked in and will prevent frying.

Stitch both sides together to form a side seam and press open. Pressing the seam open will help the fabric to lay flat against the body.

For the hem I follow the same procedure that I used for the rolled seam. I fold the raw edges a 1/4 inch in and then fold a second time 1/4 inch, pin, press, and stitch. (like what is shown in the first photo)

For the waistband fold over 1 and 1/4 inches, tucking the 1/4 inch under (this will help to prevent frying), pin, press and stitch closed leaving a 2 to 3 inch opening so you can thread in your elastic.

For the elastic, take the measurement where you want the skirt to sit and minus 1/2 to 1 inch (depending on how snug you want it, but remember elastic is very stretchy). To thread the elastic I take yarn, knot on the one end and stitch onto the elastic. The other end of the yarn I thread it into the eye of a tapestry needle and tie it into a knot to prevent the yarn from slipping out of the needle. Thread the elastic through the opening of the waistband of the skirt, keep threading, bunching up the fabric as you go. Make sure you don't loose the one end of the elastic into the fabric when threading, if you want you can safety pin the elastic to the opening of the waistband. Once you fully thread the elastic through, stitch the two ends of elastic together. Before you stitch the elastic, make sure it's not twisted. Stitch the opening to the waistband closed.

There you go...you now have a maxi skirt

Thanks for stopping by, Become a Fan and follow My blog for more fun ideas~ Thank you, Carleen

Follow Carleen's Crafty Kitchen on Pinterest