Christmas Help

Forest Manor
(317) 545-1204

Community School
(317) 638-4673

United Way
(317) 921-1208

George Washington High School
No phone number given.
2215 West Washington 46222-Christmas Party Dec 17 at 10:00 am

Holiday Helpers

Freezer Cooking with Slow Cooker Recipes

Basically, all you do is chop vegetables and assemble ingredients.
You dump the veggies into the gallon ziploc bags, then add the meat, then add the spices.

To cook, take out of freezer and set on counter for about 30 minutes, then dump contents of bag into slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.

Here are a couple of sample recipes:

Goulash

2cups chopped onions2.5 cups coarsely chopped green sweet peppers4 large beets, peeled and diced2 cups of carrots3 cloves garlic, minced3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into one inch cubes1 6-ounce can tomato paste4 teaspoons Hungarian paprika or regular paprika (I used regular)1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper4 cups hot cooked noodles1/2 dairy sour cream

Beef Roast with Root Vegetables
Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 celery root (celeriac), peeled and chopped
1 (5-pound) boneless beef roast, trimmed of fat
Salt and ground black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Prep Time Savers:
Seasoned Ground Beef
Shredded Chicken
Shredded Pork
Shredded Beef
Chopped Bell Peppers
Chopped Onions
Freezer Basil (Yay!!)
Crockpot Veggie Dump (for roasts and whole chickens)

Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments:

The rich color and wonderful scent of these cinnamon applesauce ornaments make them a lovely addition to your Christmas decor. Try hanging a few from a window sill, making the ribbons of different lengths so that the ornaments will hang at different levels, or simply add them to your Christmas tree.

Craft Supplies:Cookie Cutters, Ribbon,Toothpick, Fabric paint, Apple sauce, Cinnamon, Craft glue

Craft Project Instructions:Mix equal amounts of apple sauce and cinnamon and add 1 teaspoon of craft glue for every cup of applesauce. Have extra cinnamon on hand, you want a dough like texture.

Mix all the ingredients until you have a firm but wet dough. If you like you can substitute small amounts of cinnamon for a little nutmeg or ground cloves. Roll out your dough to at least 1/4 inch thickness (less than this will make your ornaments a little weak and they break easily) and cut shapes with cookie cutters. With a toothpick, poke a hole at the top of each ornament that is large enough for a ribbon to be pulled through. Place ornaments on a cooling rack or tray to dry completely. Depending on how large your ornaments are, drying could take a couple of days; it's best not to touch your ornaments during this time. You can also dry the ornaments in a 250 degree oven for a couple of hours. Once your ornaments are dry and if there are a few rough edges, you can easily remove the roughness with a little fine sandpaper. Sand your ornaments gently, as it doesn't take much to remove the little edges. Tie a ribbon through the hole and, if you like, you can paint these ornaments or add a little glitter. This is a great activity to do with children. From start to finish children will enjoy this creative outlet. These ornaments are easily saved, simply wrapped them in tissue paper and put in a box. I have some from 15 years ago, they still have a scent.

Magnetic Painting Activity

Magnetic Painting Activity-
http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com

This looks like a fun activity for children of all ages! With just paint, magnetic wand, magnetic balls and a clear surface you have a creative outlet for children.This activity could be modified to fit your space and the individual needs of the child. If the child/children want to save their artwork, then place paper directly over the artwork and quickly remove the paper.
Happy painting!

Easy ball pit

Easy steps to turning a pack-n-play into a ball pit

1. Remove any moblie and bassinet from your pack-n-play

2.Add a few dozen fun balls

3. Insert child!

It is just that easy!

(I found a couple of resources for the balls. Amazon, 100 balls for $11.95, Wal-Mart 100 balls for $16.95)

Turn An Old Crib Into A Work Bench

When your baby outgrows clothes and furniture, sometimes it's hard to find a way to repurpose it. There's always the option of giving it away or donating it. Here is an amazing idea I found on Pinterest on a repurpose for a crib. Now that the new standards for cribs are out, there are a lot of cribs that are no longer considered safe. So it is time to get creative with our old cribs. First the crib had a removable side door so it was easily removed. then use thick sheets of MDF to secure the mattress base and paint it with fun chalkboard paint. Using stick on hooks from a local discount store, help create simple and amble storage space to hang scissors, paper, pencils-you name it!

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeeoh/turn-an-old-crib-into-a-work-bench-a-little-learning-for-two-155012

Children can build from floor to ceiling in this LEGO-covered room

How cool is this! This could be adapted for child care settings. You could do half walls all around the room, or just in one area. This is a great way for children to save their LEGO projects.

Play is the building block of childhood learning, and this romper room, collaboratively designed by Lena Seow, Vrinda Khanna and Suzan Wines of I-Beam Designs. LEGO boards cover a wall of the room, from floor to ceiling. "Children can build with or against gravity," says Wines, adding that the child's ability to impact the basic architecture of the play area by building on the walls is a large part of the appeal. Everything the child build becomes an integral part of the play-space architecture until a new construction is made.

For older children who might not enjoy primary-colored LEGOS walls but still want this wall, spay paint the LEGO and the wall to the desired colors.

Turn something old, into something new

How many times have you tossed something like this out, or maybe you have past one up that has been thrown out. With some elbow grease and a few modifications you can turn this tired entertainment center into something fabulous. This could be for your own children or in a child care setting.