Glitter Grapes

Driving down the road to the soccer party my heart sank, the dessert my daughter and I had prepared wasn't in the car.

"Can anyone see the grapes?"

Gasp. I knew where they were. 

Hubby screeched to a halt and the bowl of glitter grapes careened down the front windshield and all over the road. The kids at the party only got to munch on 20 grapes that miraculously resisted gravity.  The serving bowl was metal and unbroken. The amazing thing? An almost empty bowl of grapes at a soccer team party on a table full of desserts earned me 2 wide-eyed exclamations of their awesomeness. 

I found Glitter Grapes on Pinterest but have since seen the recipe all over the Internet. They are sometimes called Sour Patch Grapes or Leprechaun Candy.  For my directions I combined the best tips from all the recipes I found (yippee for you!). Doesn't the idea of glittering grapes and little girls just go together? A healthy(ish) princess party snack? These crowd pleasers are especially fabulous if you serve them very cold, even frozen, on a hot day. 

Ingredients
Seedless Grapes 
1 or 2 packages of Jell-O Mix, unmade

Directions
1. Remove the grapes from their stem. 
2. Wash the grapes thoroughly. You want the grapes to be wet. 
3. Pour the Jell-O into a shallow bowl and spoon the mix over the grapes. 
4. Chill covered grapes for an least an hour. 
5. Eat. Smile. Wonder if Sour Patch Grapes might not be a better name for these. 

You can use any flavor combination you want but some that you will love: our fav--green grapes with Melon Fusion Jell-O (pictured above and inspired by suggested by Puresugar), red grapes with  cherry.  Or for try unusual color combinations like green grapes with blue Jell-O. 

Participating in the Heart at Home Blog Hop today where bloggers share favorite summer recipes. Check it out here. 

My gift to you: A warm cup of homemade Chai

If I knew your name, and your phone number, I would invite you over for some chai. A warm cup of brown tea, made with milk and spices that once were exotic. I grew up drinking chai long before it made its way into the sugar sweetened version found in coffee shops today. My best friend was Indian and his mother would serve the delicious stuff. I never knew what it was called but I still long for the rich flavor she served. After serving you my imitation Chai, we would chat and if God granted, sit on the couches, moving inch by inch with the hours to stay in the sunny spots. Or perhaps you'd prefer grandpa's leather rocker, the one he used to sit in while I snuggled in his lap. Either way, come in, let's chat and get to know one another better.

Thank you for reading my thoughts this fall and winter. Because I am grateful, I am sharing my favorite recipe of instant spiced Chai mix. It is a winter staple around here, beloved by even my girls. And if you really want to make your girls feel special, add a mountain of whip cream (the real kind where you and your daughter do the whipping) and some chocolate sprinkles and put it in a pretty cup. Sometimes it is good to indulge the princesses.

And if you need last minute gifts for neighbors or friends or teachers, pour a bunch in a mason jar, tie with a ribbon and add a pretty tag with instructions.

This forgiving recipe can be played with until you find the mix you love the most. I go heavy on the spices but you can decrease their amounts.

Instant Chai Mix

• 1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
• 1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
• 1 cup French vanilla flavored powdered non-dairy creamer
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar (or Splenda)*
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened, decaffeinated  instant tea
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/2teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• *I've used 1/4 cup Stevia powder too. 

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine milk powder, non-dairy creamer, vanilla flavored creamer, sugar and instant tea. Stir in ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. In a blender or food processor, blend 1 cup at a time, until mixture is the consistency of fine powder.
2. To serve: Stir 2 heaping tablespoons Chai tea mixture into a mug of hot water.

Lunch Grab bag

Pizza Muffin from Eating Well could
be a new lunchbox favorite. 

I love the idea of a grab bag. It is filled with an odd assortment of things and you pick out one you want.  I love to create idea grab bags: grab bags for craft ideas, grab bags for organization: grab bags for discipline, grab bags for rewards I don't have real bags, but documents on my computer, full of ideas.

I also have a group of friends. We are all moms of girls who attend the same elementary school. I call our group Raising Girls. We try to fill each other's grab bags with whatever the topic is for the month. Sometimes the bags get full, sometimes we are all stumped by the behavior of our children and there is not much to share. Either way, it feels like support.

Last year I shared with my friends a bunch of articles for ways to pack a healthy lunch. Here is part of the email I sent them: 


Eating Healthy. I know there are a wide variety of opinions on this topic, but hearing each other's struggles and philosophies, even when radically different will challenge and encourage us in our quest to help our girls grow into healthy (in all ways) women. 
These sites give ideas for lunches:
Top 10 Packable Lunches  
This article from Family Education lists creative lunch box foods, but they require time. Maybe you and your girls could spend quality time Sunday afternoon in the kitchen prepping some of these for the week ahead. 
Kids lunches beyond the sandwich
Laptop lunches--a site that sells the popular Bento boxes--a system designed to help keep lunches "green". They are pricey, but may be worth it...The site has some lunch ideas too. 
Family Fun--the author of this article sorted through 500 reader suggestions on how to keep lunch packing healthy and easy.  
Eating Well tips for kids' lunches-- A long list of creative and yummy looking recipes that pack well in a lunch box. I guarantee there will be at least three ideas on this list that will appeal to any kid. 


So do you have other suggestions?