Home School ~ Learning ABC

So here I am trying to find time to blog again...I've started a new adventure since the last time I wrote anything on here...I'm now home schooling my 5 year old son in Pre-K and I'm really enjoying it. Colton loves to learn but his attention span is very short, so I have to come up with fun and creative ways for him to learn. I've been trying to teach him letters and numbers.  I've seen these dot art letters on pinterest and finally bought some dot art markers. Colton loves doing them! It's perfect for him. 

Vegetarian Cheese Balls

~Vegetarian Spaghetti Cheese Balls~
2 cups saltine cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup almond nuts, chopped fine
6 eggs
1 cup finely chopped onion2 Tbs garlic powder
2 tsp sea alt
3 Tbs soy flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Mix and add enough water to make into
an easy dough to handle, shape into small round balls.
Bake 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
(check often, turn over if need to)

Blueberry Pie Recipe

~Blueberry Pie Recipe~
4 cups blueberries
1 cup white sugar (or evaporated cane sugar)
4 TBS cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
1 TBS butter1 TBS lemon juice
(and my homemade pie pastry crust...recipe below)
Mix berries with sugar, flour, salt, and lemon juice.
Put berry filling into pastry, cut butter on top, and cover with
top pastry crust. Bake 450 degrees , 10 minutes, reduce temperature to
350 degrees and bake 20 to 30 minutes.
~Homemade Pie Pastry Crust~
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup oil
Cut and mix those 2 ingredients together
add 1/4 cup milk and pinch of salt.
Mix and roll between wax paper.

Sweet Bread Recipe

~My Sweet Bread Recipe~
2 cups warm milk
2 scant TBS dry yeast
6 cups bread flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt1/4 cup oil
1 egg
(honey for brushing)
In large bowl, dissolve yeast in milk. Stir in sugar and salt.
Add 3 cups flour and mix well. Add oil and egg, mix well.
Add remaining flour, knead until dough is soft, don't over knead.
Cover and let rise one hour. Shape into loaves and raise
30 minutes. (or until doubled in size.) Bake 375 degrees for
about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and brush top with honey. Let cool. Yum! This makes 2 loaves.

My Lemon Cheesecake

~My Lemon Cheesecake~
Ingredients:
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup evaporated pure cane sugar
3 eggs1 teaspoon vanilla
1 fresh lemon...use the zest and juice of the lemon
one graham cracker pie crust*
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
2. Pour into crust and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from the oven and let cool.
3. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
(*Homemade Graham Cracker Crust- one package of graham cracker crushed, 1 stick butter melted, and 1/4 cup evaporated cane sugar or white sugar. Mix and press into pie dish.)

Raspberry Chocolate Muffins

♥ ~Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins~ ♥
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
2/3 cup evaporated cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup low-fat milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Combine the egg, milk, oil, orange juice and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in raspberries and chocolate chips. Fill paper-lined muffin cups or cups coated with nonstick cooking spray two-thirds full.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

My Vegan Herb Bread

~Vegan Herb Bread Recipe~
Ingredients:
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil1/2 cup tofu
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup lukewarm water

Directions:
In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together 1/4 cup lukewarm water, yeast and 2 tablespoons flour. Let stand 5 minutes until foamy.
To the proofed yeast mixture, add olive oil, tofu, salt, herbs and flours and stir to combine.
Attach dough hook and slowly mix in enough of the lukewarm water so that dough comes together and pulls away from sides of the bowl. Increase speed to medium and knead 3-5 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic (or, stir water into dough with a wooden spoon until you’ve got a cohesive dough, then remove from bowl and knead on a lightly floured counter top 10-15 minutes until smooth and elastic).
Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Remove risen dough from bowl and shape into bread loaf. Place in a lightly oiled loaf pan, cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes; remove from pan and let cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing.