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Thursday, April 9, 2009

Frugal Family Fun - More Than Just Coloring Easter Eggs

This weekend, if you have children, chances are you will be one of many who will have stained fingers from coloring Easter Eggs. As part of the weekly Frugal Family Fun series, I would like to provide you with some ideas to make coloring the eggs even more special and unique than the egg stands and stickers that come in the flat boxes. Having said that, I just purchased the flat-box coloring kit and will be using it with some of the ideas listed here.

Decorating Easter Eggs can be as simple or elaborate as you prefer. Most of the ideas listed will use supplies you probably already have at home. With a quick web search, you will find ideas for the elaborate projects.

Wrap the egg in rubber bands before setting in dye cup. We've tried this one before and it works very well.
Add some vegetable oil to the dye for a shiny effect - This is a new one we will be trying this year.
Use crayons, light or white will look good with darker dyes. You will see the dye will not be absorbed where the crayon was used. This works best when the egg is still warm enough for the wax from the crayon to soften and melt on the egg as you color.
If you are feeling especially creative, pull out some paintbrushes and acrylic paints and let your imagination run wild. (If you will be eating the eggs, please don't forget to ensure that the paints are non-toxic.)
If you are interested in natural methods for dying the eggs, check out Blissfully Domestic's article, Coloring Easter Eggs Naturally.

Does your family dye Easter eggs using another technique?

This post is linked to:

Frugal Friday by Life as Mom.

Labels: Everything Egg, Frugal Family Fun Series, fun with the kids, holiday ideas

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Thursday, April 09, 2009 2 Comments

Monday, April 6, 2009

Everything Egg - Use Them Up

With Easter quickly approaching, you probably have seen reduced egg prices and will likely be boiling some this weekend. Over the next few days, I will be giving you some egg info, food prep suggestions and decorating ideas, so check back often to see what's new.

If you plan on coloring eggs or even if you are just a frugal shopper, you will want to take advantage of the lower egg prices. Of course, it's not a bargain if you do not use them before they expire. Read on for some ideas on using them up and if you have other ideas, please leave me a comment. I'd love to hear your ideas too.

First and simplest, my kids love them as a filling, protein-laden snack. Just add a little salt and pepper and enjoy.

A classic stand-by, egg salad is quite filling for growing children. Smash the eggs with a fork and add the salt and pepper to taste before adding the other ingredients. Add a little mustard, mayo and pickle relish to taste.

Making meat loaf? Hollow out a cavity once the meat is in the pan, place 2 hard-boiled eggs in the cavity and place the remaining meat on top of the eggs so that they are covered. (Cheese is also great to hide inside the meat loaf.) Then, bake as normal.

**Update. I've received quite a bit of comments and questions about the eggs inside of meatloaf, so I found a recipe to show you what I'm talking about. It's not the same one I use, but the one at Eggland's Best will give you an idea of what it looks like.**

Eggs are perfect in almost any salad - potato salad, macaroni salad, tuna or on top of a tossed salad.

Of course, we can't omit the obligatory Deviled Eggs. I like to use a Crinkle Cutter to slice the eggs in half. (This is the same crinkle cutter that apparently makes carrot sticks taste better. You can read about it in this veggie post.) Prepare your favorite recipe and place into a pastry bag or a zippered plastic bag and snip off the corner. This makes refilling the eggs much neater and prettier than using a spoon. For extra flavor, sometimes I add ranch dressing and a little less mayo.

If you still need unique ideas for Devilled Eggs, check out DevilledEggs.org. I would have never guessed there are more than 50 ways to fix these eggs.

If you need some pointers on boiling the perfect egg or a way to save on them through the year, check back tomorrow.

This post is linked to:

Kitchen Tip Tuesday at Tammy's Recipes

I Am Blissfully Domestic at Blissfully Domestic

Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays at Blessed With Grace

Labels: Everything Egg, food, holiday ideas, recipes, tips

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Monday, April 06, 2009 10 Comments

Monday, February 16, 2009

Celebrate President's Day with This Edible Craft

Are your children home from school today or do you homeschool? If so, this is a great edible craft to make in honor of President's Day.

Grab a bag of pretzel rods and peanut butter and summon your inner architect. Your children can build their own log cabins with these two simple supplies. Just use the pretzel rods as logs and use the peanut butter to hold the "logs" together.

There is no right or wrong, so get creative and have fun!

We plan to make one later so there are no pics to show yet, but if you try this, please leave a comment on how it turned out or post a picture of it on your blog and come back and let me know. Have fun!

Labels: fun with the kids, holiday ideas

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Monday, February 16, 2009 2 Comments

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Frugal and Free Valentine Ideas for the Kids

Whether you have procrastinated in planning anything fun for your kids this Valentine's Day or if you are too cash-strapped to consider much, let these ideas serve as a spring board to finding something that works for your family. Most of the time, children do not care WHAT you did, but rather that you simply DID.

Serve red food all day. My kids loved this when they were younger. For breakfast you could serve toast with strawberry jelly (cut into a heart shape of course), bacon strips, red grapes, and strawberry (or at least pink colored) milk. For lunch, you could serve tomato soup, red pepper strips (see pic under post title) and apple wedges with peanut butter. For dinner, you could have pasta with marinara sauce, salad with tomatoes and maybe even a red dressing like Catalina. Don't forget the candles; kids like them too. What is in your pantry? One of the keys to frugality is being creative and using what you already have.

Look in your Christmas decor and birthday supply boxes to see if you can come up with any appropriately colored plates, napkins, etc. Anything different from an average day will be great. Don't forget to stock up on the plain colored partyware when it is on clearance after Valentine's Day. Depending on the colors, they can be used for birthdays, 4th of July, and Christmas.

Wear lots of red. This is especially good for the younger children, let them see how much red they can wear. It's ok if they don't match today!

Let them have a lunch date with their "friends." Suggest they bring their most treasured doll or stuffed animal to the table for a meal. When my children were younger, they loved setting a place for one of their dolls or animals and then sharing a meal with them.

Gather lots of white, red and pink paper. Cut out an abundance of hearts and teach them to do the same. Then, rather than instructing them to make the classical butterflies and mice from hearts, let them create creatures on their own. Provide them with white supplies like cotton balls, coffee filters and Q-Tips. You may be surprised at what they create.

Use the library - venture out for some Valentine books and don't forget to look in the video/ DVD section for some Valentine-themed children's movies.

If you try any of these ideas or have any to share with me, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!

For more frugal Valentine craft ideas, you can visit Money Saving Mom.

For more homemaking tips, visit my main page.

Labels: frugality, fun with the kids, holiday ideas, tips

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Thursday, February 12, 2009 0 Comments

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