Best Playdough Recipe - Microwaves !!!

I am not a fan of store-bought playdough. It dries out fast, hard to pick it all up and crumbly, lots of dye and smells weird. So, I asked my mom, a kindergarten teacher, for her suggestion and here is the WORLD'S BEST PLAYDOUGH recipe. (It lasts forever, perfectly moist and plyable, EASY - no cooking, just microwave! Hooray!)

What you need:

• 1 c. salt
• 2 c. flour
• 3 tsp. cream of tartar
• 2 c. water
• 2 TB. oil
• food coloring
• scents/extracts- optional (peppermint, lemon, orange)

What to do:

1. Mix dry ingredients in bowl, stir well
2. Add oil, water, food coloring **I divide for different colors and add extracts for smell.**
3. Stir until smooth consistency
4. Cook in microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring occassionally
5. Knead for 1 minute ** It's hot and so I knead thoroughly for about 4-5 minutes, very important
6. Return to microwave and cook for 2 minutes
7. Knead dough again for about 3 minutes.
   

So this round we did RED (err...pink and it was peppermint smelling!) , BLUE (which we did lemon smelling - what the dollar tree had since it takes a lot to cover up the salt smell) and ORANGE (which was Orange smelling!)

And here are my cherubs ~ 20 minutes later all playing with beautiful, pleasant smelling playdough! It was fun to work with each boy seperately for the 5 minutes to pick colors and their scent. Before that we all took turns stirring and adding ingredients. I enjoy cooking with my boys and ADORE the end product of this one. I promise in 15 minutes total you can have a batch of playdough made and ready (if only doing one color) and it will last for months (probably 6). From one hard working mom to another ~ Ciao!

Nourishing Protein Bars ~ World's Yummiest Dessert!

Here are some yummy protein bars that I have been telling everyone about! They are EGG-FREE for Gabriel, SUGAR-FREE, GRAIN/GLUTEN-FREE, and DAIRY-FREE for Corey. So in reality getting/finding a dessert that is eatable by the whole family is a massive struggle due to the logistics of cooking. Flour makes things rise and hold shape, or eggs do. My family can't do either because of somebody, so I usually end of making all kinds of different desserts. It is very sad though seeing Gabriel or Corey eyeing something and asking if they can have it, and telling them sadly NO. Argh..... So my quest for healthy, decently good desserts has been on my "to-do" list for a few years!

Well I found them! They are insanely DELICIOUS, extremely HEALTHY, and unbelievably EASY!

Nourishing Protein Bars - A Great Whole Food Snack

(Better than a LaraBar!)

• 2 C. almonds
• 1/4 C. pumpkin seeds, flax seeds or chia seeds (I did pumpkin)
• 1/2 C. dried prunes, dates or raisins (I did prunes)
• 1/2 C. shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 C. "plain" peanut butter or almond butter (I did PB)
• 1/2 t. sea salt

All of these items need to be pulsed together in your food processor until ground down. I don't have one so I did each ingredient separatedly in my Magic Bullet and then poured it into my Kitchen Aid and mixed.

• 1/2 C. coconut oil (melted)
• 1 TB. honey or maple syrup (I did honey)
• 2-3 t. vanilla extract (pure)

Melt coconut oil over very low heat. Remove from stove and stir in honey and vanilla. Add to food processor and pulse until forms a course paste. (I added to my Kitchen Aid and mixed thoroughly). Press into an 8X8 glass baking dish. Chill for 1 hour until hardens.

• a few squares dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

~~~~~ I did Ghiradelli 100% unsweetened cocoa chips. They have NO SUGAR and taste horrible alone, so I melted mine with some honey (1 TB) and 1 1/2 t. vanilla for my thin layer of frosting on the bars.

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring continuously. Spread melted chocolate over bars; return to refrigerator for 30 minutes, until chocolate hardens. Remove from refrigerator, cut into bars and serve. Makes about 12-16 bars. Store in the refrigerator. Try not to eat the whole pan in one day!!!!! Yum-O! :)

Enjoy, I am making a new batch again today and will try to add a picture, sorry but we ate them too fast! These are the best, and I will be bringing these to every function from now on! They are THAT good!

* These are suitable for People doing a NO Egg, Gluten, Grain, Dairy or Refined Sugar Diet. These are SCD diet approved for people with Crohn's Disease! Praise God for Good Food!