homemade

Homemade Playdough with Real Mom Vlogs

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So, I’ve never made playdough before.  I’m basically a stay at home mom of two girls who love any sort of sensory play more than anything else.  How can I not have made playdough?  Well, I haven’t, okay?  UNTIL TODAY!  Megan and I had plans to do a different crafty project with the kids, but it didn’t work out.  Luckily, Megan had everything on hand to make playdough, so we did.

Here’s a recipe I found a few places online.  One thing I love about this one is that it doesn’t need to cook or use hot water, so the kids can actually help mix it all up.  Also, like I said, Megan had all these things in her kitchen already.

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup salt
  • 1 cup cold water – bonus if you use hose water like we did
  • 1 Tbs oil (we used fractionated coconut oil)
  • A few drops of essential oils (we used Peace and Calming, and Peace and Calming II)

Directions are pretty easy.

Mix flour and salt.

Add water and oil.

Knead well.  Add more flour or water if needed.

Mix and knead until it comes together and is smooth, like playdough.

Add some Essential Oils.  We picked Peace and Calming II for half the batch, hoping it would turn everything orange, and Peace and Calming, hoping it would turn bluish/green.

As you can see, the colors in the oils didn’t really color the playdough, but the smell certainly came through!  These two three-year-olds played nicely with this playdough for close to an hour.

I think I’ll do this again.  It was easy, quick, and the kids really had fun playing with it.

Megan will post a vlog posted a vlog of the kids playing with the playdough if you want to see more about this whole thing!  Here’s a behind-the-scenes photo of Megan making the vlog.

 

Easy Homemade Beer Chili Recipe

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Chili

This recipe is something I’ve eaten my whole life.  My strongest memories of it are on winter days, sitting at the tile table my dad built, after my mom came home from teaching skiing.  I’m not entirely sure of the accuracy of this memory, but that doesn’t really matter.  What matters is that this is my comfort food.  And it’s really easy.

Baltica

Beer is key.  I love the subtle beer flavor that this chili recipe has.  It really makes it taste like chili to me.  I’ve made it before when we didn’t have beer to add, and it just wasn’t right.  This time, we had some Baltika 6 hanging around, so I threw that in.  This is a fun beer because it is a throwback to our time in Peace Corps, Azerbaijan.  I was even able to find all the ingredients to make this chili while we were in Azerbaijan.  I digress…  So without further ado…

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 Tbs chili powder (more or less to taste)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Beer – 1 can, or bottle, or half a 20, or however much you want to use.  I usually just use whatever we have around
  • 1 cup beef broth (I use a bullion cube and a cup of hot water)
  • 1 large can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1 small can (14.5 oz) tomato sauce
  • 1 extra-small can (4 oz) diced green chilies
  • 1 small can (14.5 oz) red kidney beans, drained

Directions:

  1. Brown and drain ground beef over medium-high heat.
  2. Add onions and saute until they begin to get soft.
  3. Add cumin seeds, chili powder, salt, and pepper and saute until aromas start to smell good.
  4. Pour in beer and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot.
  5. Add the rest of the ingredients except the beans, and simmer for at least 1/2 hour to let the flavors meld and develop.  The longer the better on this.
  6. Stir in beans when almost ready to serve.

When I was little, we would eat this chili with wheat crackers, so that’s what tastes right to me.  My husband prefers cornbread, so we have that sometimes.  Enjoy!