A Cookie Cutter Diva's Life

More fun today as part of my oldest History lesson about Slavs. He made Kirsov's Pudding which was pretty gross in my opinion lol but it was fun to make for him!
Title: Kirsov's Pudding
Categories: Russian, Ethnic, Vegetable, Desserts, Slavic
Yield: 6 Servings

4 Lg. sweet potatos - peeled & grated
1 c Molasses*
1/2 c Buttermilk
2 Eggs
1/2 c Melted butter
1/2 ts Salt
* Honey may be substituted for molasses. I had this dish made both ways. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2 qt. baking dish. Beat eggs, add the molasses or honey, melted butter, & salt. Stir in the grated sweet potatos. Pour this mixture into the baking dish. Bake for 2 hours or until the pudding is a dark, caramel color. Be sure to grate the sweet potatos just befor eusing them as they will turn dark and not look as appetizing when cooked.

We only did a few of these since we didn't have everything but here is what we are doing!
Mummy Experiment
Egyptian mummy
The earliest Egyptian mummies date back to around 3200 B.C. Hieroglyphics from tombs describe how the mummification process evolved over time. In the beginning, preparers would simply treat the body by covering it with a natural salt, called natron (baking soda), to help dry it out, and then wrap it in bandages soaked in a type of resin.
Around 1500 B.C., the art of mummification reached its peak. Before treating the body, morticians would remove the brain and many vital organs. Then they would pack the abdominal cavity with natron, sand, or sawdust and immerse the body in more natron for about 40 days. After that, the body was washed, repacked with spices and more natron, and wrapped in bandages. The whole process took about 70 days.
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Mummy Experiment
Have you ever wondered why every time you eat salty foods, you get thirsty? Or why fresh vegetables tend to shrivel up when you sprinkle salt on them? The answer is simple. Salt is a desiccant - it helps remove water from things, including human bodies. Which is why the Ancient Egyptians used salts when they were mummifying bodies.
In this experiment, you can test different salt compounds and to find out which makes the best mummified apple.
Materials

2 fresh apples
large box of table salt
large box of Epsom salts
large box of baking soda
knife
eight 12-oz disposable plastic cups
measuring cup
large mixing bowl
pen
masking tape
sensitive balance or food scale (optional)
paper and pencil
Slice the two apples into quarters so that you have eight slices similar in size. Place a piece of tape on each cup and write the words "starting weight." Select one slice, weigh it, and record the weight on the outside of cup 1. Follow the same procedure with the other seven apple slices until each cup has been labeled with the appropriate starting weight. If you don't have a scale, try to cut all the apple pieces to the same size.
Put 1/2 cup of baking soda into cup 1, making sure to completely cover the apple. Write the words "baking soda only" on the outside label.
Fill cup 2 with 1/2 cup Epsom salts and label.
Fill cup 3 with 1/2 cup table salt and label.
Fill cup 4 with 50:50 mix of Epsom and table salt then label.
Fill cup 5 with 50:50 mix of table salt and baking soda and label.
Fill cup 6 with 50:50 mix of baking soda and Epsom salts and label.
Fill cup 7 with a mixture of 1/3 baking soda, 1/3 Epsom salts, and 1/3 table salt and label.
At this point, seven cups should have an apple piece and 1/2 cup of salt mixture. Cup 8 should have just a piece of apple as control for the experiment.
Place the cups on a shelf out of direct sunlight and let them sit for seven days.
After a week has gone by, take out each apple slice, brush off as much salt as possible, and reweigh. (Do not rinse the apple off because that will rehydrate it.).
Compare the starting and ending weights of each slice and calculate the percentage of weight which is moisture lost for each by dividing the difference in weight by the starting weight.
If you don't have a weigh scale, put the apple pieces in order of size (make sure to keep track of which piece was in which cup!
Questions

Which salt would seem to work best at making an apple mummy?
Would you have achieved the same results if you used a whole, un-peeled apple? Try it and find out.
What was the point of leaving one of the apple slices in a cup without any salt at all?
Where did the moisture in the slices go? How could you confirm this?
jars for holding salt to make a Egyptian mummy Salts and special drying solutions played important roles in preserving mummies, but they also served another purpose. Before refrigerators and freezers, people had to preserve food by pickling, drying, salting, and smoking. Visit a local food store and see how many foods you can find that have been preserved the same way as mummies. Try your hand at drying different fruits. How do the textures and tastes compare?

Today we had fun with learning about King Tut and Pyramids doing lots of fun activities and crafts!!
1) We designed our own Sarcophagus with a print out from here http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/design-a-sarcophagus
2) Wrote our name in Egyptian Letters
3) Made a Fun Egyptian Hat
What You Need
Cut Strips of Construction Paper glued together to make a head piece
Cut Construction paper in half then decorated for the sides
Rolled up Foil to make a Snake for the front

Today we made a recycled dalmatian craft for part of our science lesson where we learned about rescue dogs!

Make a Dalmation:
Clean 8 quart Kool-aid canister (or similar powdered drink container)
Paper
Pen
White, black, and red felt (we used construction paper)
Scissors
Black permanent marker
Two wiggle eyes (2 mm)
Tacky glue
White Sock

As part of our lesson today learning about the Slavs we made pottery clay!
Air Dry or Bake Clay #2
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup hot water
1/8 cup cold water
1/4 cup cornstarch
In a saucepan, boil salt and hot water.
Stir cornstarch and cold water together in a separate bowl. Once the cornstarch dissolves, add this mixture to the boiling water. Whisk constantly
Reduce heat to low and cook until mixture is a stiff dough. Make sure to stir constantly so it doesn't burn.
Drop dough onto table and, once cool, knead for 5 minutes until firm.
Roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thickness and cut with cookie cutters (just like you would cookies).
Store extra in a plastic bag for up to 3 weeks.
You can let air dry for 48 hours (in a dry, breezy location)
OR Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Bake on a foil covered cookie sheet for about 1 hour
Paint with acrylic or tempra paints. (acrylic cover better, but don't wash out of clothes)

Saw this on pinterest and absolutely fell in love with it and had to make it for the kids! This is a fun way to practice spelling for the older kids and letters for the younger kids!
Cut out some construction paper in 4 squares and write a letter on each one
Lay them out over the floor
Cover with clear shower curtain
Tape one side of the shower curtain and pull over the letters and cut to cover only over the letters
Tape all sides down tight with packing tape
Run a few strips of tape over the to of it to hold down securely
Now your kids are ready for some fun!!! My kids couldn't even wait to try it out and it's not even school time and they are jumping around spelling things!

great way to reward your homeschoolers for reading!

http://bookitprogram.com/enrollment/homeschool.asp

one of my favs but the family is not however as big of a fan! Still super yummy but I love all mexican type recipes lol \

1 tomato chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped chicken
1 can of black beans rinsed and drained
2-3 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups of mexican blend cheese
1 tsp of ground cumin

Mix first 3 ingredients in a bowl.
Pour half the mixture into a casserole dish, top with half of the cheese, then layer with strips of flour tortillas til covered.
Pour the rest of the mixture on top and repeat again making a new layer.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Some more fun today! I organized my dresser drawer by separating my underwear and socks with cut up soda can boxes, then my bathroom drawer!
Then I cut up pringle cans and a sunny d jug and decorated it with wrapping paper to organize some stuff on the desk!

My fun today! I have been saving old wine bottles and painted them today red, white and blue to match my kitchen then with chalk board paint so we can write messages on them! Compliments of pinterest!

South Dakota Meat Loaf

Ingredients:

1 egg, lightly beaten



1/3 cup evaporated milk

2 tbs worcestershire sauce

3/4 cup quick-cooking oats

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp rubbed sage

1/8 tsp pepper

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

1/4 cup ketchup

In a large bowl, combine the egg, milk, worcestershire sauce, oats, onion, salt, sage, and pepper. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.

Press into an ungreased 8in x 4in loaf pan Bake, uncovered at 350 for 1-1/4 hours, drain.

Spread ketchup over meat loaf Bake 10 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink

Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Dinner tonight! First time I've cooked a real meal in this house since getting food poisoning at a local restaurant a week ago :(
This is one of my favorite easy quick recipes!
Beef Enchiladas
1 lb ground beef 1 can enchilada sauce 8 flour tortillas 1 Cup Queso Dip
Brown Beef in Skillet and drain. Set Aside
Poor 1/3 enchilada sauce over a baking dish
Mix beef and 1/3 enchilada sauce in a bowl.
Put about 2 spoonfuls in a flour tortilla, roll and put inside of a baking dish. Repeat til all 8 are done and baking dish lined with enchiladas.
Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and top with cup of queso dip
bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes uncovered

Finally updated the kids chore charts to look a little bit better then the big poster board we had that I wrote on! This looks a little more organized! And I made one for myself to try to keep myself a little more "organized" on my cleaning schedule! Granted I do the stuff mostly anyways it's nice to have a list to go off of to remind me hey did I do this today and feel organized! The one with pictures if for the toddler of the house :)

even though this report was done a few years back I thought this was just way to cool not to share or for people to forget! Such a neat part of history!! Check out this video on this underground city here in Leavenworth that was found with windows, doors, possible stores and more underground!
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b9c_1218221301

Dinner tonight! Super yummy and easy!!!




Throw 4-6 chicken breast (frozen is fine)in the crock pot
Mix together the following ingredients for sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
3 tsp worshire sauce

pour over chicken and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours

Lunch today! Super super yummy!!!!
INGREDIENTS
Print This Recipe Print This Recipe
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup pecans finely chopped
1/2 cups grapes sliced in halves
1 cup chicken fully cooked and chopped
1 small gala apple chopped
crescents, rolls, or bread
INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise, chopped pecans, grapes, chicken and apple. Chill in fridge for about 30 minutes. (Not necessary, I just like it better chilled.) Serve on crescents, rolls, or sandwich bread.

The last few days have been full of great great savings!!!
*My wonderful rough son tore up his brand new shoes from 2 weeks ago and I found him some super great new ones for $6 on clearance that he loves with skulls on them!
Saved about $100 on my grocerie trips! Got a huge cart full of groceries for $100! Lots of great sales going on with buy one get one free ON TOP of my coupons so that was a huge huge plus!!
Free Slurpees for 7 11's birthday yesterday
Free Movie Rental yesterday
Free meals at chickfila for dressing like a cow today for cow appreciation day! Kids always have fun getting dressed up and making cow outfits and saved about $35!
Free Parents Night Out tonight!

Contact me to host a party today! Online or in home! www.laciyoung.scentsy.us

we had a wonderful holiday here! Started out spending it at my ex's side with the boys grandparents and my brother there as well and did a little bbq and a birthday party for their uncle. Then we headed off near the city to spend it with my husbands side and did a bbq, swam and shot off some fire works! Lots of fun

Finally got some much much needed alone time and got away to our favorite Bed and Breakfast not to far from our home town since we were close and could have family watch the kids. We are on a mission to stay in every room there at least once! This will be our 3rd room we stayed in and this one was the Santa Fe theme and very unique and romantic! We had a wonderful time! We haven't been there in 4yrs!