Muses of Megret

What’s going on?

Lots around here, actually.

Kitchen upheavals, puppy transitions, and recovery from a root canal I had this morning. Needless to say, I don’t have a whole lot to say at the moment. I’ll be back in a day or two.

Till then!

WFMW - “Best Summer Recipes” Edition

For this Works for Me Wednesday, I am re-posting one of my favorite go-to snack/dessert recipes for the kids in the summertime: Freezer Cream! (I originally posted it last summer.)

So, Wednesday was National Ice Cream Day. (How’d I know? I go here every month.) In lieu of either just buying ice cream at the grocery store (boring!) OR surrendering to the high-fat ice cream churn recipes (and having to go outside in the heat to run the thing), I turned to an old stand-by. Now, whether or not this can be classified as ice cream is negotiable. It’s more like an ice milk….but we affectionately term it “freezer cream.” It’s simply a frozen creamy dessert that takes nothing more than your household freezer to set.

I think in my memory’s dark recesses I remember posting this recipe a couple of summers ago, but I’ll do it again, simply because it’s such a tradition at our house (and was at my mother’s house when she was growing up, too…she has stories to tell about this stuff…). And because it’s so tasty. And if you use fat-free milk like I do, it’s an almost guilt-free treat. Kids AND mothers all over the world are happy. I know I am.

BLACK CHERRY FREEZER CREAM

1-2/3 c. Pet evaporated milk (1 tall can)
2/3 c. sugar
1 envelope black cherry cool aid mix (or any flavor that sounds good to you in cream-form)

Chill milk in metal bowl until almost frozen at edges, 20-30 minutes. Using cold beaters, whip at high speed till fluffy.
Add 2/3 c. sugar and 1 envelope cool-aid mix. Whip until stiff. Cover with foil and freeze in metal bowl till firm, 3 to 4 hours. Scoop into ice cream cones or bowls. Serves 4.

Gardner watching the mixing process

The finished, frozen product

Gardner enjoying the fruits of his labor :0)

Before I go, I want to share a few of our other favorite summertime treats:

Frozen Limeade Slushies and “Magic Milkshakes”

Fresh Fruit Pavlovas

Chocolate Covered Banana Pops

Go on over to We Are THAT Family for more summertime recipes via WFMW!

Herding animals.

Plastic animals, I mean.

If your house is like mine, it’s teeming with plastic play animals of all kinds. Several different scales….not all matching….some old, some new….some with paint printed in the wrong places. Yet kids for some reason love these little molded plastic creatures, and for that reason, we have lots of them.

I bought three bags of plastic dinos for our prehistoric unit last year. One of G’s great-grandparents gave him a massive box full of zoo and safari animals. And then there are the random animals gained (or passed down) from fast food meals, cereal boxes, and grocery store vending machines.

Instead of having them spread all over the house in several toyboxes, gathering dust in the corners of these huge receptacles, I thought it might be fun to gather them all up together and put them into one spot.

I found an extra wooden toy crate and filled it up with every animal I could find, even the fish scattered within the net bathtub toy bags.

Would you believe it? The kids have been playing with this box o’ animals for five days straight. It’s as if they’ve never seen these toy animals before. There’s role playing, wild animal fighting among couch cushions, and even a school of scaly fish to keep the Ariel doll company. I have big plans involving a homemade backyard zoo, exhibits filled with all these little plastic guys. And let’s not forget the power of this combination: Plastic animals and Play-Doh.