Wicked Witch Treat Mix

So, instead of adding the cute witch hats to a batch of my Wicked Caramel Corn (which would be tasty), we went even easier (but very tasty) with a batch of air-popped popcorn (4 cups? 6 cups?), several cups (maybe 3-4 cups) Rice Chex cerals, 2 cups (or so) of pretzels rods, and about 1 cup of broken pecans mixed together then tossed with one 14-oz. bag of melted Wilton white candy melts, 1/8 cup of orange sprinkles and 1/8 cup of black & orange Halloween nonpareils. I really mostly eyeballed everything in my large rectangular roasting/sheet cake pan. That's how we do things around here. Thankfully, it worked out for us. 

We think the pretzel rods look like broomsticks, and the Chex a little like bristles. One child may have suggested that some wicked witches crashed their brooms - oh, the imaginations! Hmm... regardless, this is a tasty and cute treat mix with our witch hats tossed in bags for friends to enjoy!

Use It Up!

Leftover Halloween candy? Candy "buy-back?" Make Halloween Bark... Ours was 1/2 a package of Trader Joe's Halloween Joe Joes (crunched up), one small bag of Halloween pretzels, about a 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, and about 6 mini (assorted) chocolate mini candies, plus mini bags of M&M Peanut and regular. Spread in a 9/13 pan (sprayed, or lined with parchment.

Then, melt 1 bag of Ghiradelli white chocolate chips and one bag of Wilton white Candy Melts, and pour over the candy/cookie/nut mix. Then, chop another handful of Halloween-sized treats (more M&M's, Three Musketeers, Snickers, etc.), and sprinkle over the top with a healthy amount of pepitas thrown in for good measure (and protein + saltiness), and you get...
Halloween Bark! Cut into pieces, package, and give to your friends!! Happy Fall. Ours made five sandwich-sized bags full.

Guava Brigadeiros

I spotted these Brazilian candies on The Cookie Shop blog the other day, and they were a fun little project for the kids and their buddies today. I used guava jelly instead of strawberry jam because that's what I had, and yes, that's just the kind of gal I am. I also had Vietnamese coffee in the pantry the other day when I ran out of my standard Joe's Dark Roast from TJs ($2.99/lb. can't beat that). Clockwise from the top left are: Madeline's, Erik's, Aura's and Rowan's. The ones in the middle were mine.

Rr is for Rainbow!

Rainbow Jello that is... this week Madeline's class is studying the letter Rr, so we made a big batch of rainbow-striped Jello blocks to share with everyone. Thankfully, she's in a school where that's still allowed.

Math in the Kitchen: Sequencing

Popsicles by the numbers...

1. Gather banana (and other fruit - berries), Popsicle sticks and molds (or ice cube trays, etc.) and juice (preferably sneaky 100% veggie/fruit juice)
2. Peel banana, slice, stick on stick. 
3. Put in mold.
4. Pour in juice and toss in other fruit/berries.
5. Cover with foil to secure sticks, then freeze.
6. Enjoy!