Thank You for Helping Me Grow

Teacher Appreciation Week was last week at my children’s school and I am late. There is a lot happening here at SuperMOMdel World Headquarters.  Matter of fact, I have not even posted a Freestyle Friday Craft in more than a month.  Do you forgive me?  Thank you , I need lots of grace!

My children have really great teachers.  Next week, is the last day of school.  Last night, I starting my “Growth” project.  Now here is my disclaimer.  I do have a “supplies” list but as the project progressed it took on a life of its own. I made a lot of adjustments mid way but still want to give you options.

Materials: Chalkboard paint, small flowers pots purchased from The DollarTree, Mod Podge, foam brushes, pipe cleaners, white spoons

I purchased a set of 3 small flower pots for $1.  I used chalkboard paint I picked up from Lowe’s.  It took about two coats, less than 20 minutes to dry. Around the rim of the flower paint I used white acrylic paint to cover the areas where the chalkboard paint spilled over.

The after picture of both flower pots painted

My 4 year-old daughter says it looks like a flower and that is all that matters. 🙂

When I started this project I had my own ideas on how to make a flower out of a pipe cleaner. As you can see from the above it came out “ok” but there is a great tutorial online.  Thank God for Google.  You can watch the video here.  I followed the tutorial. It was very easy but I thought the flower would be too busy.

The finished product: Still not sure I am going to use due the size of my flower pot

Now that the flower pots are dried it is time to mix up the “Dirt” pudding for the inside. I first heard about “Dirt” pudding when I was working freelance at a Law Firm. We were having a party for one of our colleagues and wanted something fun. One of the women made this pudding in a bucket and served it with a shovel. Super cute presentation, trust me on this one. Mine is the quick and “dirt(y)”, (no pun intended) version. You can see the “real” recipe below. This would also be very cool at a little boys birthday party.

I used store brought pudding but I will mix in chopped up Oreo cookies, everything is better with Oreo cookies, right? And of course you can’t have dirt without worms…gummy worms that is.

I lined the flower pots with clear wrap, so the teachers can eat right out of it. (Smarty Pants). I filled it with the pudding and cut around the edge to make it look a little cleaner.

Finally, I covered the top with chopped up Oreo cookies and added two gummy worms. I also work in chalk around the flower-pot: Thank You For Helping Me Grow.

So, what do you think? Is this a good idea?

In His Super Grace

Ro:)

DIRT DESSERT

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Lg. flower-pot or sand bucket 2 pkgs. Oreos, crushed 2 pkgs. French vanilla instant pudding with 3 1/2 c. milk 12 oz. Cool Whip, thawed 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese 1 c. powdered sugar 1 tsp. vanilla

You want to make sure the cream cheese and Cool Whip are really soft, makes it easier to mix. Also, note the mixture stays fluffiest if instead of mixing the cream cheese mixture in with the pudding, you fold it in.  And you can use more Oreos than called for.

Mix Cool Whip, powdered sugar, vanilla, softened cream cheese; mix pudding mixture separately and then add to other mixture. Use foil in bottom of clay pot. Layer Oreos, then pudding mixture, ending with Oreos on the top. Plant with artificial flowers and gummy worms. Serve with sand shovel.

Dip Baby, Dip!

 Tis’ the season for holiday parties… And I think you would agree a holiday party is not complete without a good dip.  In this blog entry I have included my recipe for a super easy and super yummy spinach dip. I don’t know about you but store brought spinach dip is yucky. There I said it. But in this recipe you get the best of both worlds: spinach and cheese….ahh, cheese! Enjoy and may your holidays be delicious!  Oh by the way, you can use the “Fat Free” brand if you chose.

In His Super Grace

Ro:)

SPINACH DIP RECIPE

The original recipe calls for spinach, green beans and asparagus.  I told you this was healthy!  But today we will use Frozen Spinach (see below), you can use canned or fresh. I just get the frozen spinach because at my neighborhood Food Lion it’s $.99. 8oz. of sour cream, a can of asparagus tips, again you can use frozen or fresh, Shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese

First, set your oven on 350 degrees.

Thaw out your frozen spinach, drain extra water. You want spinach dry.   Then add a can of asparagus.

The Mix: Spinach & Asparagus

Grab a spoon, mix in the 8 ounce of sour cream until it is a creamy, add in a dash of pepper, salt and red pepper(not too much)

Now here comes the fun part, THE CHEESE!!! I purchased the 4 blend Italian cheese. You can use shredded mozzarella and powder parmesan, however I like purchasing this because its affordable and I just like how it bakes with real cheese and now the powdered cheese. I put in a handful of cheese, or 1 cup(for those of you who need measurements). Take your spoon and mix in the cheese then sprinkle more cheese on the top(however much you desire). 

Cook for about 30-45 minutes until golden brown on the top, stir once so the cheese will blend in and not just coating the top.

Viola! Serve with tortilla or pita chips!