Prairie Dog Jerky

We've had a problem on our property...prairie dogs! Although they seem cute, they eat everything, make holes that can hurt horses, etc., and are a nusiance.

We've been trying really hard lately (like most of you!) to be frugal. The economy has been hard on everyone in one way or another. So, I decided to solve two problems at once and create... Prairie Dog Jerky!

I didn't have the heart to kill them but Gourmet Dad was happy to get out his pellet gun and do the skinning for me. And, I was happy to prepare the meat...what a team! If you do not own a dehydrator, you can use your oven on the lowest setting and leave the oven door slightly ajar for air circulation. Easy! Feel free to adjust the spices, you can get as creative as you want. Also, in many areas Prairie Dogs carry diseases, so please make sure you cook the meat thoroughly. Prairie Dog Jerky Ingredients: • 1 Tablespoon liquid smoke • 2 Tablespoons soy sauce • 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, or to taste • 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce • 1-1/2 teaspoons mesquite flavoring liquid • 2 teaspoons light brown sugar, packed • 1 Tablespoon onion powder • 2 teaspoons garlic powder • 1 teaspoon kosher salt • 1 pound prairie dog meat, sliced thin

Directions: Combine liquid smoke, soy sauce, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mesquite flavoring, onion powder, garlic powder, and kosher salt in a large zip-top bag. Add prairie dog strips to the marinade, seal, and squish to coat all the meat. Re-open the bag, squeeze out all the air, re-seal, and refrigerate 12 to 24 hours. Remove prairie dog strips from marinade and gently pat off excess moisture with a paper towel. Place strips in a single layer, with space in between, on dehydrator racks. Dehydrate until prairie dog jerky is leathery and chewy but not crisp enough to snap when bent. Store jerky in sealed bags in the refrigerator. NOTES: Please try to find single prairie dogs. They mate for life and it would be terrible to leave one of them without a spouse...One more note...Happy April Fool’s Day!! Please do not eat Prairie Dogs! If you're looking for some fun April Fool's Day dinner ideas, go here!:)

Mysterious Mustaches

Sometimes in Winter we get a little crazy...

I remember seeing an adorable Tootsie Roll Mustache video tutorial last Fall from Kellie over at Little Nummies. It's a great activity to beat those winter blues!

Little H was giggling so hard she could barely keep her mustache straight...

You can download the template I used here or the one Kellie used here...
Basically, all you do is melt Tootsie Rolls in the microwave, mash together, roll them out like dough, cut out mustaches and attach a sucker stick!
Check out Kellie's video for the whole process. I also wrapped our sucker sticks in black floral tape just for fun, it's definitely not necessary.
You can also let the kids go freestyle and make their own...check out this hairy beast! Yowza!

Doing this again, I might make them out of chocolate candy melts. It would also be super easy and they'd set up harder. But, either way you have a fun treat!

"W" is for Wiggly Watermelon

Does this look like real watermelon to you? My kids were fooled at a distance and upon investigation were delighted to munch on this fun treat!

The weather is getting warmer and gorgeous watermelons were on sale last week! So, I decided to do double duty--cut out and eat the melon then use the rind for this fun and refreshing treat! You can use sugar-free jello to make it healthier. I'm planning on taking this to summer parties so I can enjoy a fun dessert without the guilt.:)

Wiggly Watermelon
Ingredients:
Watermelon rind

4 large boxes red jell-o (6 oz., we used cherry)

5 cups water (DO NOT follow the water instructions on the jell-o box, your "watermelon" will not hold its shape)
1/4 c. mini chocolate chips

note: this recipe is for ONE half of a large watermelon. If you want to use both halves, double the jell-o and water.

Directions:
Cut melon in half and scoop out fruit with a melon baller or spoon. Make sure to get all the way down to the green rind. Stand the melon on its end. You may have to shave a little bit off the bottom to get it to stand upright, just don't cut all the way through and make a hole in the rind.:)

Boil water, add jello, and mix well. Pour into prepared melon rind.

Place in the refrigerator. When mixture is firm but not completely set, push mini-chocolate chips into the jell-o with a chopstick. Let set completely in the fridge.

When ready to serve, slice with a sharp knife and enjoy!

April Fools Vegetables

I love April Fools! This year we're in a bit of a time crunch, so I needed something easy, funny, and fast. This is what the kids think they're getting for dessert...
When they work up the nerve to take a closer look, guess what's inside?

April Fools Vegetables

Ingredients:
Vegetables (any that you can hollow out)
Candy (raid the pantry!)
Ziploc baggies (optional, if you have candies that are unwrapped)

Directions:
Carefully hollow out your vegetables and remove seeds, etc. I cut the bottoms off the cabbage and brussel sprouts then with a paring knife cut out the core. Place candy inside, put back together, and arrange on a plate. Serve as "dessert". April Fools! Use leftover veggies for soup or stir fry. Here's a video tutorial on getting the candy in the vegetables:

You can check out some other fun April Fools Day ideas here. Have fun!

Chocolate Eggs & Bacon

I haven't made these in years and have forgotten how fun and easy they are. Yesterday, Tracy sent me an email with these adorable pretzel squares (yummy, cute, and easy...very cool!) and they reminded me of those eggs & bacon treats I really enjoyed making as a kid. So, of course we had to whip up a batch. My girls got all giggly when they put the M & M's on and realized they really do look like "eggs"! If you need a fun treat in under 5 minutes, this is a great go-to idea.

Bacon & Eggs
Ingredients:
Small pretzel sticks
White chocolate chips, candy melts, or white chocolate bark
Yellow M&M's
Wax Paper

Instructions:
Lay out a sheet of wax paper on countertop. Lay 2 pretzel sticks side by side on wax paper. Put a small blob (about a teaspoon) of melted white chocolate in center to hold pretzels together and form the "egg white". Place a yellow M&M in center of chocolate for yolk. Let harden at room temperature, then peel off and eat. You can store them in an airtight container for up to a week.

Backwards, Crazy Dinner

We got a little silly yesterday....we've been talking about letter "B" so I decided to have a "backwards" dinner. You could do this for April Fools' or any time you need to have a little fun. I printed this little sign and the girls took it to the bathroom mirror to read. Then, we proceeded to have:
Meatloaf in Mugs:
(I baked them in a cupcake pan for about 30 minutes then put them in mugs. I was afraid the mugs would be too hot if I baked the meatloves in them. This worked great! My favorite meatloaf recipe is here.).
Ice Cream Cone Potatoes w/ Pea & Carrot Sprinkles:
(make your favorite mashed potatoes, put them in a ziploc baggie, snip the end and squirt into ice cream cones. Put a few cooked peas and carrots on the top for "sprinkles". I also put some peas and carrots in the bottom of the cone).
Peach & Honey Smoothies on a plate:
(I just threw some frozen peaches, vanilla protein powder, skim milk, and honey in the blender).

So, if you're feeling wild, have some fun with the family and have dinner a little Backwards! Happy Cooking!

Eyeballs, Eyeballs Everywhere!

How about an hour of work for a month full of fun food? These easy hard icing eyeballs take about an hour or less and you'll have decorations for the rest of Halloween (they'll last for months in an airtight container). Actually, they'd be cute anytime you need something fun on your food! For some reason, it cracks my kids up to see "eyeballs" on their food. Eyeballs, Eyeballs Everywhere
Ingredients:
Royal Icing (recipes below)
Black Food Coloring (or cocoa powder)
Wax Paper
Circular cake decorating frosting tip or Ziploc Freezer Bag
Directions: Tape wax paper to counter or table. Using black food coloring, tint 1/4 of your icing black (if you don't have black food coloring, you can use cocoa powder to make a dark brown--add a little water if your icing gets too thick). Using a cake decorating bag with a circular tip (or simply use a freezer ziploc bag and cut off a tiny bit of one corner if you don't have cake decorating supplies). Using white first, squeeze out a counter full of dots:

Add a small amount of black for the pupil (you can still do this while the white is wet):

Let dry overnight, peel off (the kids love this part!) and store in an airtight container, they will last for months. Pull a few out anytime you want to jazz up your food!

ROYAL ICING (Egg White Recipe)
Ingredients:
3 egg whites, room temperature
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
Combine ingredients, beat at high speed for 7-10 minutes.

ROYAL ICING (Meringue Powder recipe)
Ingredients:
3 tbsp. meringue powder (you can get this in the wedding/cake supplies at Wal-Mart)
1 lb. confectioners' sugar
6 tbsp. warm water (in humidity use less water)
Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks at low speed. Yield approximately 3 cups.

Notes: Please keep icing covered with a damp cloth or paper towel while not in use, otherwise it will harden. To attach eyeballs to food, moisten the back of the eyeball with a little water and it will stick to most anything.

April Fools!

When the kids wake up this morning, the kitchen table will be upside down! We're going to sit cross-legged on the floor and eat cereal with purple milk on our upside-down table.:)

I also made a fake job chart with all sorts of silly "jobs" for them to do during the day.

For dinner, we're going to have "Backwards Night" with these two great recipes from Family Fun. The "dinner" is actually dessert and the "cupcakes" are meatloaf with potato frosting.
You can get the "Fools Dinner" here and the "Meatloaf Cupcakes" here.

Happy Fooling!

Did you do anything fun or have any tricky ideas? Please share!