[Project Dinner] Menu Planners

We are officially on summer break!

Moments after school let out last week, we headed for the hills.  Getting there was quite the adventure, but once we were there, life was pure bliss.  We spent five days in the embrace of our super awesome family cabin.  We played games and watched movies and went on hikes and read books.  Puzzles...did I mention puzzles?  We put together a crazy make-your-eyes-go-crossed puzzle that took almost two entire days.  We definitely ate far too many sweets.  Now we are back home and it is time to crack the whip, so to speak.  I have been working today on our summer calendar and job charts.  One of the things that I really want to focus on this summer is getting my older kids more involved in planning and preparing dinner for the family.  They are very good cooks.  Especially when it comes to desserts.  And they each help with dinner preparations quite regularly. You know, a salad here...mashed potatoes there, maybe steak or chicken on the BBQ.   But I am ready to turn over the reins.  I want them to find some recipes that they are interested in learning to make and prepare the entire meal from start to finish. 
 
So, my son will be cooking dinner on Tuesday nights and my daughter will be cooking on Wednesdays.  I bribed them with the knowledge that the cook will not have to do the dishes.  I am excited to see how they do.   I made this simple menu planner to help steer them in the right direction.  My hope is that they will think about it a little ahead of time and not resort to hot dogs and macaroni and cheese every time.  More than that, I am looking forward to some well balanced meals with multiple food groups represented.  Maybe they will learn a few new skills?  We shall see.

I thought maybe your kids would like to join us for the dinner challenge.  I'd love to hear what menus they come up with.  Enjoy this free download.  Hopefully it will make things a bit easier...and it looks cute on the fridge!

Hunger Games T-shirt

My teenage daughter is beside herself with excitement for The Hunger Games Movie.  She wanted something to mark the occasion.  She wanted a shirt.  Unfortunately, this didn't occur to her until it was too late to order a professionally designed shirt.  She's a little short on the funds anyway.  So, with some inspiration from an older cousin, she decided to make her own.  It came together very quickly.  Like in under an hour.  We are kicking it old school for this project.  This is what you need to do:

Gather your supplies:

clean plain cotton shirt
fabric paint
freezer paper
exacto knife
self-healing mat
piece of cardboard
sponge cut into pieces
clothespin


Paint your shirt:
1.  Print out your logo on a piece of paper.  The simpler the lines the better.
2.  Trace the logo onto a piece of freezer paper (the paper side--not the plastic side)

 
3.  Use an exacto knife and a self-healing mat to cut out the letters.

4.  Iron the freezer paper onto your shirt (be sure to put the plastic side down).
5.  Place a piece of cardboard inside your shirt to prevent the paint from bleeding to the other side.
6.  Using some fabric paint and a piece of sponge, stencil the paint onto the shirt.  Be sure to use up and down blotting motions.  We used a clothespin to hold the sponge.

7.  Carefully remove the freezer paper and let the paint dry completely according to the directions on the bottle.

8.  Wear your shirt to school with pride!

Italian Cream Soda

Have you jumped on the cream soda bandwagon?  As in Italian Cream Soda?  One of my very best friends in the whole wide world introduced me to homemade Italian Cream Sodas.  In fact, she gifted me all the supplies for Christmas.  Which was a way awesome gift if you ask me!  And my family has embraced the cream soda tradition wholeheartedly.  They are very simple and fun to individualize.

This is what you will need:

flavored syrup (Torani or DaVinci--whatever flavor you like best.  And let me tell you, there are hundreds of flavors!)
club soda or Sprite or 7-UP
whipping cream
crushed ice
a drinking glass
a fun stripey straw (optional)

Fill your glass with crushed ice.  Add 8 oz of club soda.

Top with 2 tablespoons of your favorite syrup.  I love how the color looks in the glass.  For this occasion, we chose raspberry...

...but the syrup options are endless.  Some of our favorites are orange (tastes just like a creamsicle!), raspberry, and strawberry.  But we have been known to mix flavors as well...blackberry peach comes to mind!  You could stop right there and you would have a wonderful Italian soda.  But why would you want to, when you could have a cream soda?  All you have to do is top your drink with a tablespoon of whipping cream and stir it in.  If you want to get all "fancy nancy", you could whip your cream first and dollop it on top of the soda.  Like so.

Yum.  That's it!

Italian sodas make everything more fun.  They take lunch from ho-hum to fabulous.  Or pizza night from pretty good to "holy cow" kind of good!  And they are a BIG hit with the teenage crowd.  Are you having a bunch of teens over for movie night this weekend?  Serve Italian sodas--they will love you!