Week SEVEN: Pear & Apple Crisp, Lasagna Roll Up and Simple Salad

PEAR AND APPLE CRISP
from Cooks.com
Ingredients:

• 5 to 6 cups sliced, pared apples (about 6 tart, firm apples) 
• 1 cup sifted flour
• 1/2 to 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 unbeaten egg
• 1/3 cup melted, cooled shortening
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Place apples in a greased 6 x 10-inch baking dish.
2. Mix the next 5 ingredients together with fork until crumbly, and sprinkle over the apples.
3. Top your apple and crumble mixture with shortening and cinnamon. 
4. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in a 350°F. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.

LASAGNA ROLL UP
Ingredients:

• 8 ounces dried lasagna noodles (do not substitute a no-boil version)
• Handmade ricotta (or 16 ounces store-bought ricotta)
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon dried basil or Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 jar tomato sauce

Directions:

1. Boil noodles according to package instructions, they should be barely al dente.
2. Once cooled, lay out on foil or parchment lightly coated in cooking spray.
3. Mix ricotta with Parmesan cheese, basil, and garlic.
4. Spoon 1/4 cup cheese mixture onto the noodle, spreading out evenly.
5. Add additional fillings such as cooked sausage or fresh spinach now.
6. Roll up the noodle and serve with tomato sauce for dipping.

SIMPLE SALAD
from AllRecipes.com
Ingredients:

• 1 large head romaine lettuce - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 large head iceberg - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
• 1 cup sliced red onion
• 1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimento peppers, drained
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, artichoke hearts, red onions and pimentos. 
2. Toss together.
3. Prepare the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and cheese. 
4. Refrigerate until chilled and pour over salad to coat. Toss and serve.

Book of the Week: "When a Monster is Born" by Sean Taylor, Illustrated by Nick Sharratt

Bubbles Academy is being transformed... to a spooky, sparkly, magical Halloween fun house! In celebration of the upcoming howl-iday, this week's book is When a Monster is Born, playfully illustrated by Nick Sharratt and wittily penned by Sean Taylor.

If you've read my bio, you've already heard of When a Monster is Born, since it is listed as one of my favorites, but it's worth mentioning again! The story is all about choices, so much in fact that every page is a new choice for the title character. It begins,

"When a Monster is Born, there are two possibilities... either it's a far-away-in-the-forests monster, or it's an under-your-bed monster..."  

We find out with the turn of the page that if it's a forest dwelling monster, then"that's that", but if it's an under-bed dweller, there are two more possibilities. In this case either it "eats you" (accompanied by a truly entertaining and not-at-all scary illustration) or "you make friends and take it to school".

This book is the perfect opportunity to talk with your little reader about how the choices we make shape our lives. It follows the monster choice-by-choice as he falls in love, gets married, and even has a baby of his own. It ends full circle with the newborn's choice of the far-away forest or under the bed.

Throughout the book, Sharratt's illustrations delight and entertain, they are the perfect companion to Mr. Taylor's text. It's the kind of book that makes it easy to read aloud, since the page turns allow for perfect comedic timing. It is on my must-read list for all the little bookworms in my life. Hope it delights your Halloween reader, too!

For some fun help getting into the Halloween spirit, join Miss Becca at Open Play Story Time this Thursday at 4:00 p.m. for the reading of When a Monster is Born! Then, join us as we celebrate Halloween all next week! Be sure to bring your little one out in costume to all of our classes October 24-29th.

"The Happy Song" by Elizabeth Mitchell

The Happy Song from The Mother Company on Vimeo.

Apple Picking and Making Memories

I have already mentioned my favorite pumpkin farm, but I'd like to share with you now another place that has captured the hearts of some other local families. County Line Orchard, located in Hobart Indiana (about an hour drive from Chicago), seems to be a real hidden gem!

With a hayride that brings your family out to pick their own pumpkins in the patch, age-appropriate rides, and apple trees at just the right height for picking with your children, this place seems created for families with young children in mind. I've heard it's a "must see" from several parents, with a few jokingly referring to it as "their little secret." However, it sounds so good I just couldn’t resist sharing it with you! For more information, visit their website here.

Week SIX: Recap!

We had a wonderful class today in Taste Buddies, learning how to make pretzels! They looked just like the soft pretzels you can find at a baseball stadium. We also made banana roll ups and chicken stew. It was a tasty menu today, and we all left with our stomachs full!

PRETZELS:

I had no idea pretzels were so easy to make. You can even use pre-packaged pizza dough if you don't have all of the ingredients at home. I would suggest having some mustard handy for dipping!

CHICKEN STEW:

This recipe makes enough to feed the whole family… and then some! If you make the full recipe, you can always freeze some of it for later. Just leave the potatoes out until you are ready to eat it. This is a great meal to feed a bunch of people and it's super healthy! 

BANANA ROLL UPS:

The original recipe says to melt the chocolate chips in the recipe. We just sprinkled them on top of our soy nut butter, and they tasted great! This is a great snack, I sometimes even eat it for breakfast.

Week SIX: Soft Pretzels, Chicken Stew and Banana Roll Ups

SOFT PRETZEL
Ingredients:

• 1 cake of compressed yeast or envelope of dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups of warm water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. In bowl, dissolve cake of compressed yeast or envelope of dry yeast.
2. Add water, sugar, salt and flour (enough so the dough is not sticky).
3. Knead dough until smooth.
4. On lightly floured board, cut off small pieces of dough. Roll in ropes and twist.
5. Bake on a lined cooking sheet until golden brown.

 

CHICKEN STEW
from Cooks.com
Ingredients:

• 1.5 pounds cooked chicken (no bones)
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 can vegetable broth
• 3 cans of water
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 6 potatoes, chunks
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• Green beans
• Yellow beans
• Carrots
• Cabbage
• Peas
• Corn

Directions:

1. In a large pot, sauté the celery and onion in oil until soft. 
2. Add broths, chicken and water (use chicken broth can to measure 3 cans of water). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer.
3. Add potatoes. Let simmer for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. 
4. Add vegetables; any favorite will do, frozen or fresh.
5. Simmer an additional 10 minutes until vegetables are tender.

NOTE: Corn starch can be added as a thickener.

 

BANANA ROLL UPS

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 1 whole wheat tortilla
• 1 tablespoon soy nut butter
• 1 tablespoon melted chocolate chips 

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate chips in microwave for 30 seconds or until soft.
2. Stir chocolate mixture with soy butter.
3. Spread on to tortilla.
4. Slice banana in half length wise, and put one half on tortilla.
5. Roll up like a burrito.

 

Book of the Week: SuperHero ABC by Bob McLeod

Want a book that's going to grow with your little one? Check out SuperHero ABC by Bob McLeod. You guessed it, I LOVE THIS BOOK. It is consistently a favorite among our young Bubblers. It's your standard A-B-C book, but with a classic comic book twist. Mr. McLeod is an experienced comic book writer and illustrator, and it shows in this heroic journey through the alphabet. You meet a new alliterative superhero on each page: starting with Astro-Man who is "Always Alert for an Alien Attack" and ending with The Zinger who "Zanily ZigZags through the Zero Zone!" I know your little hero will enjoy the heroic surprises on each page and will learn her ABCs at the same time!

A-B-C books generally don't make my "worthy of Story Time" list, but McLeod's clever details, and amusing character thought-bubble quotes make this engaging to read aloud. His details are truly worth a forth, fifth, or four-hundreth look at the pages!

Zoom out to meet all the heroes of SuperHero ABC at Open Play Story Time this Thursday at 4 p.m. It's going to be a SUPER time!