It was exciting to find a soup that was Mexican-inspired but not with dairy (other than sour cream on top, which I consider optional). Obviously we don’t need to be dairy-free for the Chiplet now, but it is still nice to have the option for anyone who needs it to be that way.
I haven’t shared a hits and misses for awhile. And when I say “hits” I would say these are “okays” and “mehs” that I made in the winter. Let’s start with a meal that could be fine but it was a bit too salty for me.
If you’re looking for more activities to do around your house, here is another idea. I have found kids of all ages like bubbles, especially if you’re able to make big ones. I have a big wand in the shape of a turtle that makes really big bubbles, but I always run out of bubble solution. I looked to see if I could have some shipped to us, but the only ones I could find were too expensive for the amount of solution, or were small amounts that seemed wasteful. Obviously I don’t want to run to the store just for bubble solution, so I decided to try to make some, after scouting around online.
We have been doing lots of activities to keep things interesting around our house. We are lucky to have a yard, although it isn’t huge. Our backyard is a decent size for playing with our sports balls and other toys. Although our front yard is small, one perk is that it has a nice sidewalk. The kids like to ride their scooters and bikes, and we can even go around the neighborhood for walks/rides. But sometimes we stay right at the house and decorate the sidewalk with chalk.
Now, I’m not saying we are experts by any means, but for awhile we used to just color and draw random things. Now we have been using drawings for activities.
You’ve probably seen the above activity, but just in case, you take tape and mark off any shapes you want. Then, color in the design. Some people tape off the whole thing at the start and color it, but we conserved the tape by moving the tape as we finished each shape. I let the Fudgelet take charge after he saw what we were doing.
We didn’t make some perfect design, but it was fun and designed by a 5-year old.
Another fun chalk idea is drawing wings for the kids to get a picture as a butterfly/dragon/etc.
We have also done hopscotch, so don’t forget that classic, but for a twist, you can make it longer and do the alphabet in the squares. We also make contests to jump only on the two feet spots, or only on the single foot spots, etc.
Another drawing activity is just to draw dots like a geoboard.
The kids had fun connecting the dots and drawing shapes/letters. And of course we still do our regular scribbles, too.
Another art activity outside that doesn’t require chalk is painting or coloring large pieces of paper outside. We do this inside quite often, but sometimes taking an activity outside makes it more exciting. Plus, we did flowers so it was nice to paint them around actual flowers.
I drew flowers for them with a marker and then let them choose what they wanted to do. The Chiplet chose paint and the Fudgelet chose crayons.
Try to ignore our table which hadn’t been set up for spring yet, haha. I just moved the cover over a bit for the Fudgelet to color on it.
Stay tuned for more activities that are simple and able to be done at home.
I’ve been doing a lot of cooking, but trying to make more leftovers from meals, too. This is a great recipe for leftovers. You could easily make more chicken and vegetables to have multiple meals from this. Unfortunately I forgot to take a finished picture, but here is one from when I was reheating the leftovers with a side dish.
My phone and my picture editor haven’t been cooperating lately, so I just discovered a whole bunch of letters we missed. So, again, I apologize if the Chiplet seems to be getting older and younger at the same time with these posts. Today I bring to you the letter D.
These meatballs are great to make if you want to make a big batch like I did. You could halve the recipe and still have enough…but my family really likes meatballs so I prefer making a big batch all at once.
This was super easy and delicious. I did one baking dish with real cheese for most of us and a dairy-free cheese topping for the Chiplet in his batch.
I hope you try this!
Directions for Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Adapted from How Sweet Eats
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish, or a similar size. You will also need a smaller one as well, such as an 8×8 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl (I used the food processor after grinding the chicken), combine the chicken, eggs, olive oil. garlic, Parmesan, panko, salt, and pepper. Roll the mixture into 1-inch thick meatballs.
Pour some of the tomato sauce into the bottom of the baking dishes, then place the meatballs in the sauce.
Pour more sauce on top until it is as saucy as you like. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
Bake the meatballs until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle the basil on top and serve.
Directions for Chicken Parmesan Meatballs (without pictures)
Adapted from How Sweet Eats
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish, or a similar size. You will also need a smaller one as well, such as an 8×8 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl (I used the food processor after grinding the chicken), combine the chicken, eggs, olive oil. garlic, Parmesan, panko, salt, and pepper. Roll the mixture into 1-inch thick meatballs.
Pour some of the tomato sauce into the bottom of the baking dishes, then place the meatballs in the sauce. Pour more sauce on top until it is as saucy as you like. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Bake the meatballs until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle the basil on top and serve.
fudgingahead 