Clara's Blue Slime

Clara found the recipe for this gloppy slime on Our Best Bites blog.

We got really excited about it and made it straight away.

The ingredients cost me around $1.50 and Clara did all the prep work.

We had lots of fun playing around with it.

When Jim wakes up from his nap I'm sure he'll love it too.

Blue Slime

1 teaspoon borax powder
1 1/2 C water, divided
4 oz (1/2 C)  Elmer’s glue, clear or white
food coloring

Add borax powder to 1 cup of water (I mixed it right in my 1 C measure) and stir to dissolve.
Set aside.  Pour glue into a medium mixing bowl and add 1/2 C water. Add a few drops of food coloring until desired color is reached and then stir to mix glue solution until smooth.  Pour the borax mixture into the glue mixture and watch the solids start to form.  Stir for a few moments and then use your hands to gather the mass.  The mixture will be very soft and wet.  Keep kneading until it firms up and feels dry.  Discard excess liquid in bowl. The more you knead and play with the slime the firmer it will become.  Store in a ziplock bag or air tight container and the slime will keep indefinitely.

Guest Post by Clara Stowe: Granola Parfaits

Mom suggested that we make parfaits for our snack.

So, I started making mine.

When I was almost finished making mine, I started making one for Mom.

They tasted awesome!

Mom and I had to add more granola while we were eating them.

Now I'm going to tell you how to make them!

I hope you like them as much as we did.

~Clara

Fruit and Granola Yogurt Parfaits

~your favourite granola (For mine, I used a peanut butter granola that my mom makes for me.  For my mom's I used her granola with nuts and cherries.)
~your favourite yogurt (Mine: Strawberry Rhubarb. Mom's: Vanilla)
~sliced strawberries
~fresh and/or frozen blueberries
~strawberry or mint leaves for garnish

Fill about 1/3 of the jar with yogurt, then fill 1/3 of the jar with granola, then another 1/3 of the jar yogurt again.
Then put on your sliced strawberries. (Just do one layer of strawberries.)
Then do one layer of blueberries.
(I put a small circle of frozen blueberries on the top of mine.)
You use the yogurt like glue so everything stays.

Garnish.

Birthday Cake

When we sat down to think about Clara's birthday party this year, she was very decided about what she wanted to serve; Oreo Ice Cream cake, S'more Bars and Ritz mini cheese sandwiches. The ice cream cake recipe is one I know I will use again and again. The base is a very simple, thinn-ish layer of chocolate cake, topped with a tub of ice cream, topped with sweetened vanilla-infused heavy cream, topped with a crumble of oreo cookies. The cake could be modified by using any other ice cream flavour and topping. Candy cane ice cream on Christmas Eve, with crushed After Eights on top would be amazing...

Ice Cream Cake

1C All Purpose Flour

1/4C cocoa powder

2t baking powder

1/4t salt

3/4C sugar

3/4C milk, warmed

1 egg
1/3C oil

1T vanilla

1/2 gallon Ice Cream any flavour

1 1/2C Whipped cream

3Tbsp sugar

1t Vanilla

Topping of your choice: crushed chocolates, candies, cookies or sprinkles...

Heat oven to 325*

1. Put flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a sifter and sift into a large bowl. Stir in sugar with a whisk.

In a separate bowl, whisk milk, egg, oil and vanilla until well blended.

Pour egg mixture into flour and whisk.

Pour into a 9x13 inch dish (pre greased).

Bake 20mins. Cool completely. Freeze 30mins.

2. Remove ice cream and soften 15mins or so on the counter.

Spread over the cake, cover with plastic and freeze 4 hours.

3. Whip cream with sugar and vanilla about 3mins, until stiff peaks form.

4. Crush topping.

5. Spread whipped cream on ice cream and top with whatever you just crushed.

6. Freeze again until ready to eat.

Cut with a knife dipped in warm water.