Honey and Almond Salmon

This recipe was kind of a fly by the seat of my pants deal, as I just used what I had around. Luckily, it panned out! Even Beckett loved it! Score!

Ingredients:

* 1 pound of salmon

* 1/2 cup of almonds (finely chopped)

* 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar 

* 1/4 cup honey 

* Fresh rosemary 

* 1 teaspoon minced garlic

* 1 tablespoon lime juice 

Mix all ingredients, except almonds, and pour over salmon. Then sprinkle almonds over salmon and press down lightly. Drizzle Damon with honey. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20-30 minutes (depends how thick your piece is). 

Serves well with honey glazed carrots, salad, quiona, or sweet potato.

ABC Montessori Box

This week's nap time project: putting the kiddos' ABC box together. The purpose of the box is create a hands-on learning approach for the alphabet. 

What else does it do? This box assists your child in developing phonemic awareness and helps them to learn independently (once introduced).  You are building their literacy skills and confidence which will be a huge blessing as you enter preschool and kindergarten. Literacy is the foundation to a successful education. 

How did I find all my trinkets? 

I collected items from around try house, from the favor section at Party City, Toobs from Michael's Crafts (you can also find them on Amazon), a few miniatures in the dollhouse section,  and a few little items from the Dollar Store. Below I provide a list of items I used. If I couldn't find an item I wanted, I printed a small picture on card stock. 

As your child masters each letter, you can add to the box. It grows with the child! 

You also need in include a capital and lowercase letters. You can use letter tiles, magnets, foam letters, or wooden letters. 

I used a took storage chest and scrapbook alphabet stickers to label each drawer (the vowel stickers have dots; consonants are solid). NOTE: The children won't have access to the entire storage box, until all letters have been introduced. I will use small boxes to introduce letters at the beginning. 

If you look at the picture above you will notice the letters are not in alphabetical order. When you introduce the alphabet you typical start with the song, maybe a puzzle, flash cards. These are all great things and helpful to memorization.  The purpose of this box is to not only have children recognize (and memorize) the letters, but to also learn their sounds. This assists in developing early literacy skills. 

Before I list all of the trinkets in my alphabet box, I wanted to share a list of ways to use the box (there are also some great blog resources out there - check out Living Montessori for additional resources). 

1. Letter of the week (if you are starting early - say 20-28 months). Introduce the letter and objects. Get them out each morning, practice sounding them out. To extend- add a color page for the letter, a boon for each letter, a song, etc 

2. Choose a grouping of 3-4 letters per week. The letter grouping should contain one vowel and 2-3 consonants which should NOT sound the same or look the same (this is one of the reasons my alphabet box is not in alphabetical order).  Introduce them the same way as listed above, then play seek and find. "Can you find objects that sound like Ff?" 

3. Sort the objects by sound/letter. 

4. Find other objects around the house or outside (you may leave a few strategically lying around) and have them help sound the word out and add them to their box. 

TIPS:

1. Introduce one box/drawer at a time when beginning at age 2 or 3

2. Once all letters are introduced, group them in letter groups of 3-4 and explore.

3. Incorporate money, food items, shapes, colors, animals, and household items to assist in shaping a wide vocabulary. You are also then teaching math but introducing money and shapes! Bonus! 

4. Let kids play with the objects and explore. Maybe put them in water, kinetic sand, the tub, or in play doh. Do collect items and put them away each day or your box will become a disaster quickly. 

Okay - let's talk trinkets! My minimum was three per letter (although I got stuck a couple times, as you will notice). Most have more than three though! I will not give eight a time, but am listing all of my objects to give you options.

A - apple, asparagus, airplane, alligator 

B - balloon, barn, bucket, bear, bird, bananas, bowl, book

C - cow, cat, coral, car, camel

D - dime, dog, duck, dinosaur, donut, drill

E - elephant, eye (googly eye), egg

F - feather, farmer, flag, fork, frog, fish, french fries

G - gorilla, glue, guitar, giraffe (this one should be introduced later as it is not a hard g sound), golf clubs, gold 

H - horse, hippo, hedgehog, hay, hamburger

I - ice, infant (this should be introduced after ice as the sound is not the same), iguana (sounds like "e" - should be introduced later) 

J - jug, jet, 

K - kite, key, kaleidoscope, kitty

L - lion, lobster, lantern, links 

M - marker, mouse, measuring tape, Mickey, monkey

N - nut (as in nuts and bolts), nail polish, nickel, Nemo

O - oval (sounds like the letter o), octopus and octagon (this is that vowel sound we are trying to recognize) 

P - paint, Panther, pig, penny, pan, pot

Q - question mark, quarter, Quartz (rock)

R - rabbit, rectangle, rhino, rooster, ravioli 

S - star, spoon, starfish, square, sponge, sandwich, skunk (these words also work well when introduce consonant clusters - st, sp)

T - treasure, turtle, tractor, tiger 

U - umbrella (doesn't sound like "u") unicorn (hard "u" sound), 

V - violin, vegetables, violet 

W - wagon, whisk, Winnie the Pooh, warthog, wrench (wr consonant cluster A to be introduced later)

X - x-ray, xylophone 

Y - your, yellow crayon, yogurt 

Z - zipper, zebra, zoo

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato and Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken thighs
• 2 Cups Sweet Potatoes
• 1 Cup Frozen Peas
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic
• 1 Tsp Ginger
• 1 Can Coconut Milk
• 1 Can Tomato Sauce
• ½ Cup Chicken Broth
• 2 Tablespoons Curry Powder (more if you want)
• 1 Tablespoon Cumin
• Sprinkle cayenne (more for more heat)
• 1 tsp salt
• Optional: Fresh cilantro, 1 lemon, halved

 

Instructions:

1. Layer sweet potatoes., peas, and chicken in slow cooker (or freezer bag)
2. Mix all remaining ingredients  in bowl and pour over chicken
3. Cook on low for 5 - 6 hours (8 hours if frozen)
4. Serve over rice

My Favorite Chicken Pot Pie

NOTE: This recipe makes two pot pies! I double the recipe to make 4 and share/freeze them for us and family or friends.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (I do carrots, peas, corn, green beans)
• ⅓ cup butter or margarine
• ½ cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup whole or evaporated milk 
• 2 cups roasted chicken, chopped
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups cooked and chopped russet potatoes 
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. pepper
• 4 unbaked pie crusts (homemade or store-bought)

INSTRUCTIONS

To Make the Filling

1. Sauté butter and onion in large skillet

2. Boil chopped russet potatoes for 12 -15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

3. Roast (or buy) a chicken using herbs and spices that are soft (Rosemary, thyme, etc)

4. Go back to skillet and add flour and stir until mixed and smooth.

5. Add broth and milk. Keep on medium and stir with whisk slowly until it bubbles and is thick (about 10-15 minutes). 

6. Mix in chicken, frozen veggies, salt, and pepper, and potatoes.

7. Let cool completely 

8. Place pie crust in pans. Fill and then top with a second crust. Fold edges under and crimp. Poke slits in the top. 

To bake now: 375 degrees for 30

Minutes; then let cool for 10.

To freeze: prepare same as above- cover with foil and place in freezer. When ready to cook it can go straight to the oven from frozen. Bake at 375 for 75 minutes. 

Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken

Ingredients

• 3 - 4 chicken breasts cut into large cubes
• 1 cup canned coconut milk
• 3/4 cup chunky natural peanut butter
• 2 - 3 teaspoons minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

Optional :

• 1/3 cup chopped peanuts, for garnish
• Fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Directions

1. Place chicken in slow cooker or freezer bag.
2. Stir together coconut milk, peanut butter, garlic, honey, soy sauce, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, and red pepper flakes; mix until (mostly) smooth) 
3. Pour mixture over chicken. 
4. Freeze or cook in slow cooker on low for 4 hours ( 5 - 6 if frozen).
5. Serve chicken and sauce over cooked white or brown rice, cooked rice noodles, or stuffed inside large lettuce leaves, as wraps. Garnish with chopped peanuts, fresh cilantro, and additional red pepper flakes, if desired.

Note: Slow cooker times may vary depending on your slow cooker

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken with Carrots

Ingredients:

• 6 - 8 chicken thighs or 3 - 4 chicken breasts
• 16 ounces baby carrots
• 1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions: 

1. Place chicken  and carrots in slow cooker or freezer bag
2. Mix all remaining ingredients with a whisk and pour over chicken
3. Cook on low 4 - 5 hours (6 - 8 if frozen)

Note: Slow cooker time may vary depending on your slow cooker

Slow Cooker Cashew Nut Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 - 4 boneless chicken breasts (chopped into large chunks)
• 3 tbsp cornstarch (this is optional - see below)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 garlic gloves minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger (less if not freshly grated)
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup of cashews

Instructions

1. Optional: in ziplock bag put cornstarch and pepper and chicken and coat - then brown in skillet (about 2 minutes per side). If freezing this meal - skip this step (I don't do it in general but some people like it a little crispy and this will give you that texture).

2. Combine all ingredients except cornstarch and chicken. Mix well.
3. Put chicken in slow cooker (or in freezer bag) and pour mixture over.
4. Freeze or put in slow cooker for 4 hours on low (5 - 6 hours on low if frozen)

Note: Slow cooker times may vary depending on your slow cooker 

Woodland Themed Birthday

I found a variety of woodland animals this fall at the craft store and saved them for this day! The squirrel was hot glued to the sign! I just printed the sign at Walgreens and Used modge podge to attach it to canvas! 

We did easy food this year: pork and chicken BBQ sandwiches, baked mac and cheese, hickory and brown sugar baked beans, mini apples, and mixed berries! 

Mini apples are so fun for toddlers!

The dessert bar! We had chocolate cupcakes with vanilla marshmallow frosting and crystal "snow" (sprinkles). Hedgehog donut holes, extra large marshmallow s'more pops, "bear poop" (chocolate covered cranberries), and S'mores trail mix. 

The s'mores pops were so easy! Just melt dark and semisweet chocolate in a bowl and dip extra large marshmallows, sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs! 

The hedgehog donut holes were so fun! Just make or buy plain donut holes, make a powdered sugar/milk "glue," and roll in chocolate sprinkles! Use an edible marker to draw eyes and a nose! 

Cupcake heaven! These are the easiest cupcakes! I used marshmallow / vanilla icing and then rolled them in white sprinkles. I made them a little messy when icing, so it would look like snow. The toppers are round wood cutouts from the craft store with hot glued toothpicks. Easy breezy! 

Fun straws and evergreen trees to continue the theme. 

Lots of woodland animals, pine cones, and moss to decorate.  It maybe took 10 minutes to decorate the table.