Guinness Beer Brownies with Soy Butter Fudge

Ok.. Ok... This might sound totally crazy, but if you like Guinness Beer and if you like brownies, then you will LOVE Guinness Beer brownies!!! :) They are AMAZING! I could eat the entire batch in one sitting. Wow!! They are super easy to make too! 

These brownies are also topped with soy butter fudge, however if you do not have anyone in your house with a peanut or tree nut allergy, then you can use peanut butter. My son is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, so we do not keep any peanut or tree nut products in the house. 

Here's what you need:

2 cups flour
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup coconut sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup coconut oil
8oz. Guinness Extra Stout Beer

What to do:

1. First, mix the dry ingredients (flour, coconut sugar, salt, baking soda, chocolate chips) together in a large bowl.

2. Then, add the unsweetened applesauce, vanilla, and coconut oil. Mix well.

Note: You might need to melt the coconut oil beforehand.

3. Measure out 8oz. of Guinness Extra Stout Beer. (Do not include the foam.)

4. Add the beer into the bowl and mix well.

5. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

6. Pour the brownie mix into an 8x8 pan that is lightly greased.

7. Bake for about 25-28 minutes.

8. Cool and add soy butter fudge on top.

(Note: See recipe below the picture.)

9. Enjoy!!! :)

Soy Butter Fudge

What you need:

2 tablespoons milk

1/3 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons coconut oil

3 tablespoons of soy butter

What to do:

1. Mix the milk and powdered sugar together in a bowl. Set aside. 

2. Microwave the coconut oil and soy butter for about 45 seconds. Add to milk and powdered sugar. 

3. Continously stir for about two minutes. 

4. Add to the top of the brownies. 

5. Refrigerate any leftovers. 

Michigan History for Toddlers!

Believe it or not, but toddlers can learn history! :) It may not be the way you think, but it can be done. Of course they are not reading text books either. The hands-on approach is much more suitable for them!

That brings me to what we did today! I have always wanted to go to the Ypsilanti Historical Museum, and I thought it would be fun to take my son there to learn about his city. So, I made a Michigan themed day. During the morning, Harry learned all about Michigan history. Then, in the afternoon, we went to lunch at our favorite restaurant in Ypsilanti, and we visited the museum afterwards. It was very exciting! :)

Here's a look at our activities:

1. Trading Post

Because trading was a way of life for early settlers, I made our own trading post with some basic items that early settlers traded. This demonstrated how settlers lived. This was a fun game for Harry!

2. Map of Michigan

I traced Harry's hands, and then he glued them on paper to make a map of Michigan. We also added a house to represent where we live. :)

3. Timeline

We made a timeline of some basic important events in Michigan History. The last half of the timeline is a little jumbled, but that's ok. Harry is still learning sequencing. 

4. Mud bricks

This was super cool!! I froze dirt and water in an ice cube tray to make these. This was a great sensory activity and history lesson. This demonstrated how people used to build things before modern machines. Harry loved this! We made towers and houses! :)

5. Michigan shaped cookies! 

I will admit... I really wanted to use my Michigan cookie cutters. Lol! I made soy butter cookies in the shape of Michigan. How cool! See my previous post for the recipe.

6. Lastly, we finished our day at the Ypsilanti Historical Museum! This place was awesome. Harry loved looking at everything! He especially loved the baby dolls, books, and toys. 

Soy Butter Cookies

Mmmmm.... Soy butter cookies are delicious!!! :)

Although... I so miss peanut butter cookies.  Well, I miss peanut butter anything, really. That's ok. We have found new alternatives since my son is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts.

I made these cookies in the shape of Michigan because Harry is learning about Michigan today. Fun! :)

Here's what you need:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons soy butter

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

2. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, coconut sugar, salt, and baking soda) in a large bowl.

3. Microwave the coconut oil and soy butter for about 45 seconds. Then pour into the large bowl. Mix well.

4.  Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

5. Cut out shapes, and place onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

6. Bake for about 15 minutes.

7. Cool and enjoy! :)

Mud Bricks

Mud bricks are a fun sensory activity and a cool history lesson. They are super simple to make too. All you need is dirt, water, and an ice cube tray. Just scoop some dirt into the ice cube tray, add water, and freeze them. There you go! Now you have mud bricks! :)

Once they are frozen, the fun begins!! I put them on a tray for Harry, and we made towers, houses, and shapes with them. 

Here's the history lesson: This is how people used to build things before we had machines. Have your child try to build a house with or anything with the bricks. 

Black Bean Avocado Bread

I know this sounds crazy, but it is really good!

My best friend and I like to make crazy things. We came up with this crazy creation. It is super healthy for you too. :) My son approves too!! :)

Here's what you need:

1 can (15oz) of black beans

1 avocado 

2 cups rice flour

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 

1/3 cup ground flaxseed

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/3 cup coconut sugar

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

What to do:

1. First, mix all of the dry ingredients (rice flour, flaxseed, baking soda, coconut sugar,  and salt in a large bowl. 

2. Drain the can of black beans. 

3. In a separate bowl, mash up the avocado, black beans, applesauce, and coconut oil together. 

4. Combine both bowls together, and mix well. 

5. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. 

6. Lightly greased an 8x8 pan, and pour the dough into it.

7. Bake for about 35-42 minutes until browned. 

8. Cool and enjoy! :)

Firetruck Activities!

Harry loves cars and trucks! I thought it would be fun to do some activities with firetrucks, AND we even went to the Fire House Museum! How exciting!!! :)

Here's what we did:

1. Paper Firetruck
Using construction paper, I cut out pieces for a firetruck. Harry glued them together.

2. "Put out the fire" sensory bin

I ripped up red, yellow, orange, and brown construction paper, and I placed it in a pan. I added 2 of Harry's toy firetrucks, and I filled up a squirt bottle with water. Harry then had to squirt the water on the paper to put out the fire! 

3. Graham cracker firetruck

Using graham crackers, pretzels, homemade frosting, and peanut and tree nut free "oreo" cookies, we made firetrucks. Harry loved this activity! 

4. The Fire House Museum! 

This was soooooo cool!!! There is something for all ages. Harry had so much fun learning about firetrucks, fire safety, and exploring old firetrucks! :)

Carrot Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins

Carrot oatmeal cinnamon muffins! Yummy!! These are delicious and not "weird" from what I have been making lately. ;) These are pretty healthy for you too!! We even used carrots from our own garden. How cool!!

Here is what you need:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup milk

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups grated carrots

What to do:

1.Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Place cupcake wrappers in a muffin pan, or in my case grease the pan because you forgot the wrappers.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, which includes flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. 

3. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, applesauce, brown sugar, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Set aside.

4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix together.

5. Grate the carrots into a small bowl. Then, stir the carrots in with everything else.

6. Scoop into the muffin cups. The muffin cups should be filled to the top.

7. Sprinkle some oats on the top of the muffins. 

8. Bake for 20 minutes. Poke with a toothpick or fork. If it comes out clean, then the cupcakes are done! 

9. Cool and enjoy! :)

Breast Milk Cheese

Yep. This is what you think it is. It is breast milk cheese! It sounds totally crazy, but hey it works! I love experimenting with breast milk, and I thought I would try cheese. I succeeded!

Note: I had an over supply of breast milk for 14 months, so I have always had a freezer full of extra milk. Plus, I have donated about 2000 oz!!!!! Crazy!!! I like to find creative uses for my freezer supply. 

Here's what you need to make cheese:

16 oz. breast milk

2 teaspoons of plain yogurt

1 teaspoon salt

1 rennet tablet

What to do:

1. Inoculate the milk by heating it to room temperature, 68F degrees. Then add the yogurt (starter bacteria).  

2. Let stand for 6-88 hours at room temperature, 68F degrees. Keep it covered with a lid. 

3. Dissolve 1 rennet tablet in 1/4 cup cold water. Set aside.

4. Heat to 86 degrees Fahrenheit then add the dissolved rennet tablet and stir throughly.  Cover pot and don't disturb for an hour or two hours. 

(This depends on the type of curds you get. If you get soft curds, let sit for one hour. If the curds are hard, you are good to proceed!!)

5. Raise the temperature slowly while continuously stirring. You will eventually get a ricotta-like cheese paste/spread.

6. Place a cheese cloth in a container and set aside. 

7. Pour the cheese into a bowl while draining out the excess milk. 

(This is whey milk, and you can totally drink it!! It is super high in protein.)

8. Add a teaspoon of salt to the cheese and mix together. 

9. Place the cheese on the cloth in the container. Seal up and refrigerate for up to a week.

10. Enjoy!!! :)

Responsibility Chart

Believe it or not, but toddlers cam have responsibility too! Of course, you wouldn't give him the responsibility of mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, cooking dinner, etc.... They can certainly do simple around the house though. It is important to teach them responsibility too!

Harry loves to help feed Cece (our dog) breakfast in the mornings. We decided to give him the responsibility of feeding her. Of course, I am there supervising him. He does a great job feeding her, but he puts one piece of food in the bowl at a time. Ha! Cece is so patient with him and quietly waits until Harry tells her to eat. The magic word is "ok" or "go"...

Since he has been expressing interest in feeding her and helping feed her for awhile now, I made him a chart. (I have a degree in Emotional Impairment. Trust me. I know what I am doing.)

I made a very simple chart with poster board and construction paper. I cut out and card holders for each day. Then I made yes and no cards for each day.

Here's how it works:

*If Harry feeds Cece breakfast, then he gets a "yes" for that day.

*If Harry does not feed Cece breakfast, then he gets a "no" for the day.

*If Harry get 7 "yes", then he will get a reward of some sort on Saturdays. 

*Note: Harry is NOT punished for not feeding Cece. He is NOT punished for getting a "no" either. This is a simple way to teach him to follow through on a weekly/daily task.

Coconut Flat Bread

I have always to make bread, so I decided to experiment with making flat bread. I didn't suck! Lol!! In fact, it tastes good too. Yeah!! 

This flat bread is so easy to make, and you only 5 ingredients!!! Pretty cool!! It's even allergy friendly for Harry! :) 

What you need:

1 1/2  cup flour

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons of coconut oil

1 teaspoon olive oil

Note: The coconut oil gives the bread a nice coconut taste, hence the name coconut flat bread. ;)

What to do:

1. First, mix everything except the coconut oil together in a large bowl. 

2. Microwave the coconut oil for about 15 seconds, and then add to the bowl. Mix well. 

3. Then turn a burner on medium heat, and scoop a spoonful of the dough onto a nonstick pan.

4. Cook until lightly browned, and flip over to the other side and do the same.

5. Repeat step 4 until the dough is gone.

6. Cool and enjoy! :)

Vegetable Crafts and Activities

Since Harry is a picky eater, we spent a week learning and reading about vegetables!

Here's what we did:

1. Vegetable books

2. Pea Pod! 

Using paint, cotton balls, construction paper, and googly eyes, we made pea pods.

3. Color sorting with real and pretend vegetables

I used a combination of real and pretend vegetables, and Harry had to sort them by color. He loved it. :)

4. Carrot footprint

Just because :)

5. Vegetable Hop Scotch

This was to help Harry learn that vegetable come in all shapes and colors. I would call out a vegetable, and he had to find it. 

6. Painting with beans and lettuce

Using green beans and lettuce, we painted! Fun!! Harry loves to paint.