Frozen Zebra Pudding Pops - Letter "Z"

And here we are... at our last letter. Now Olivia has started Pre-K and baby Thad is due soon so it's probably best that we wrap up this "Cooking Through the Alphabet" project. I adapted this recipe from one I found at http://www.amug.org/~jbpratt/education/theme/alphabet/abcsnacking.html. There are lots of good educational snack ideas on this site.

Ingredients:

3 oz. or 5 oz. paper cups

1 box of chocolate pudding

1 box of vanilla pudding

popsicle craft sticks

Directions:

Prepare the pudding as directed on the box. Take small paper cups and alternate layers of chocolate and vanilla pudding. Put a popsicle craft stick in the middle. Place in the freezer for several hours. Cut or tear the paper cup off the pudding pop and enjoy! 

I accidentally bought the Cook & Serve Jello-O. It would have been easier with instant pudding instead.

mixing it together before we cooked it

before they got frozen

Yummy treat for dessert! Perfect for a hot day!

Traffic Light - Letter "L"

This was a very simple, no-bake Letter "L" recipe.
The recipe comes from the book: Look 'n' Cook: Step-by Step Recipes for Young Chefs Preschool/ Kindergarten (The Mailbox)

1. Spread peanut butter on the graham cracker.
2. Red light - place a red m&m at the top
3. Yellow light - place a yellow m&m in the middle
4. Green light - place a green m&m at the bottom
5. Go! (eat)

3 simple ingredients:
1. 1 box of graham crackers
2. 1 jar of peanut butter
3. 1 pack of m&m's
*If you are a teacher please remember to check for peanut allergies prior to using this recipe.

Sawyer has already requested that we make these for his lunchbox for school, haha :)

Resurrection Rolls - Letter "R"

It's empty!

Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!

so delicious!

Recipe and Instructions for Easter Rolls that tell the true meaning of Easter, which is the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Ingredients needed:
Crescent rolls
Melted butter
Large Marshmallows
Cinnamon
Sugar
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
Give each child one triangle of crescent rolls.
Explain that the crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.
Read Matthew 27: 57-61

1. Give each child a marshmallow.
This represents Jesus.

2. Have him/her dip the marshmallow in melted butter.
This represents the oils of embalming.

3. Now dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar.
This represents the spices used to anoint the body.

4. Then wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside.)
This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.

5. Place all in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.
The oven represents the tomb--while you are waiting for the rolls to bake, read Matthew 27:62-66.

6. Remove rolls from oven and let them cool slightly.
Now the children can then open their rolls (cloths) and discover that Jesus is no longer there! HE IS RISEN!!!!
(The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.)

~ Now read Matthew 28:1-10

Enjoy your warm rolls as you rejoice at the good news of Easter!

*Recipe found on Cowboys-4-Christ's Facebook page

A Queen's Quesadilla - Letter "Q"

Here is the Queen holding her Quesadilla! 

This was fun and easy to make!!

 Ingredients:

jelly beans

shredded cheddar cheese

butter

tortilla

 Directions:

1. In a warm skillet we melted the butter, added the tortilla, and then put shredded cheese on it. We folded the tortilla over and flipped it a few times while it was cooking and the cheese was melting.

2. Then we took a butter knife and cut out a crown pattern.

3. Lastly we added the jelly beans as jewels to the crown. 

Nutty Fudge - Letter "N"

YUM!!

It turned out VERY delicious!! 

Ingredients

8 ounces unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound powdered sugar

Directions

Combine the butter and peanut butter in a 4-quart microwave-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes. (Use caution when removing this mixture from the microwave, it will be very hot.) Add the vanilla and powdered sugar to the peanut butter mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. The mixture will become hard to stir and lose its sheen. Spread into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan lined with parchment paper. Fold the excess parchment paper so it covers the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool, about 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Recipe found at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/peanut-butter-fudge-recipe/index.html

Jell-o Jigglers - Letter "J"

what you need

2-1/2

cups  boiling water (Do not add cold water.)

4 pkg.  (3 oz. each) JELL-O Gelatin, any flavor - Olivia chose the berry blue flavor

make it

STIR boiling water into dry gelatin mix in large bowl at least 3 min. until completely dissolved. Pour into 13x9-inch pan.

REFRIGERATE at least 3 hours or until firm.

DIP bottom of pan in warm water 15 sec. Cut into 24 decorative shapes using 2-inch cookie cutters, being careful to cut all the way through gelatin to bottom of pan. Lift JIGGLERS® from pan. Reserve scraps for snacking. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/jell-o-jigglers-53920.aspx

Teepees - Letter "T"

Ingredients:
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 box of sugar cones
sprinkles
1 box of cake mix - I like to use Funfetti.
pretzel sticks

Directions:
Using a muffin tin, fill the sugar cones with the cake mix. I stood mine up in cupcake holders so any batter that ran out wouldn't make a mess. Once the cake inside the cones has finished cooking, take it out of the oven and set it aside. Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Cut a small hole in the tops of the cones. Then dip the bottom and top of the cones in the chocolate. Add sprinkles to the bottom of the cones. Then put pretzel sticks at the top. Very cute and very yummy!

Here are some books I used with Olivia to teach her more about teepees and Indians. The books are long so we didn't read all of them, but the pictures are helpful.
If You Lived with the Sioux Indians by: Ann McGovern
Tipi: Home of the Nomadic Buffalo Hunters by: Paul Goble
Dancing Teepees by: Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

Eggs in a Nest - Letter "E"

This was such a fun recipe to make with Olivia! We had a great time! You can choose to make just chocolate, just butterscotch, or both. We chose to make both! The recipe yields 12 large nests of each kind.

Ingredients:
1- 12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1- 11 oz. bag butterscotch chips
1-  12 oz. bag of La Choy Chow Mein noodles
1- small bag of Brach's jelly beans
wax paper

Directions:
In a sauce pan (or in the microwave), melt the chocolate chips on low heat until creamy. Then add half the bag of noodles and stir thoroughly. While still hot, place spoonfuls of the mixture onto the wax paper. Next put jelly beans in the center. Repeat this with the butterscotch chips. They should be hard within 30 minutes. Very easy!! And very tasty!!

Look at that sweet hand!

This one cracked me up because she put LOTS of jelly beans on it!

I really expected the chocolate ones to be my favorite but I actually liked the butterscotch ones better!

Yummy Snowflakes - Letter "Y"

Ingredients:

• 6 flour tortillas
• 6 teaspoons oil or butter or cooking spray (for frying)
• powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Just like you would a paper snowflake, fold the tortillas and cut out shapes from it.

2. Open up the tortillas and see your snowflake.

#'s 3. and 4. are optional

3. Fry them.

4. Dust them with powdered sugar.

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Yummy-Snowflakes-Recipezaar

This book by Janet Craig is a great one to read before you start  making your snowflakes.

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Easy Key Lime Pie

Easy Key Lime Pie
by: Lori Boyd Pigott

Ingredients:
1 Graham cracker pie crust
1/3 c. Nellie & Joe's lime juice
3 heaping spoonfuls of Cool Whip
1(14 oz.) can condensed milk
a few drops of green food coloring

Diretions:
Mix the lime juice, cool whip, and condensed milk together. Add a few drops of green food coloring and stir well. Pour it into the pie crust. Chill until firm.
Optional: may add additional Cool Whip as topping

Bacon Wrapped Crackers

Here's a super easy appetizer recipe that all are sure to enjoy!!




Bacon Wrapped Crackers
By: Belinda Stradley

Eric and I tried these for the first time at a church function and we were immediately hooked! The combination is very unexpectantly delicious!! And so, so easy to make:)

Ingredients:
club crackers
1 pack of regular bacon
brown sugar (light or dark is fine)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 275. Take your pack of bacon and cut it in half. Take a club cracker and wrap one piece around the cracker, completely covering the cracker. Add the brown sugar on top. Repeat this until you run out of bacon. Cook in the oven on 275 for 45 minutes.