Sonic and Knuckles (Lions) Photo Board

 

Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are known as Sonic and Knuckles this season, so we decided to create a photo board prop for fun. 

I drew the design first with pencil, then outlined it with black Sharpie, and finally painted it with acrylic paint. The board came from Dollar General. I cut out the face part for the photo opportunities. 

Hot Cocoa Day Party

 

For National Hot Cocoa Day, we decided to use our Ninja Slushi to make a frozen version. 

I mixed 2 1/2 cups milk, 1/2 cup whipping cream, and three packets of hot cocoa. I put it in the machine and hit the milkshake setting. It was delicious and made about four cups this size. 

Rudolph Party with Beef Sliders

For the 65 anniversary of Rudolph, we decided to have a dinner party. I found a lot of Rudolph snacks and merchandise at the Dollar Tree. We also had reindeer sliders, Sam the Snowman cheeseball, silver and gold (Hershey) nuggets, and a hot cocoa bar. 

To make the beef sliders, brown one pound of hamburger with one diced onion, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp paprika and 1 Tbps minced garlic. Drain the grease. 

Cut Hawaiian rolls in half and place on a baking sheet. Put the cooked burger on the bottom half of the rolls. 

Top with cooked onion rings and shredded cheese (I used cheddar and mozzarella.) Put the top of the rolls back on. 

Brush the top with butter and bake for 10 minutes. 

You can put an optional sauce on top of the burger. For that, mix 1/2 cup mayo, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/8 cup mustard, and 1 Tbsp relish. 

 

Grinch Party and Cake

 

We always have an annual Grinch party. This one was complete with shaved beef, Who-hash, Who-pudding, Grinch cookies, biscuits, Grinch punch, and green Jello. I also decorated a mini Grinch cake this year. I had  Grinch and Max figures I added to the top. To help the fondant tree stand up, I put a straw through the cake and used a skewer stick in the bottom of the tree and ran it down through the straw.

Hot Cocoa Sensory Bin

 

I used dry pinto beans for this bin. I cut the pom poms off of a piece of garland I found at Dollar Tree, found some plastic candy canes, and got scoops and cups from the Dollar Tree. 

Hassleback Potatoes

 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. 

Put your potatoes on a cutting board between to metal straws (or something similar). Slice very thinly, without cutting all the way through the potato. 

Put the cut potatoes on the baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and paper. Use your hands to coat the olive oil around the whole potato. 

Bake for about 50 minutes. 

In a bowl, mix together 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 Tbsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp salt. After the potatoes have baked for 50 minutes, take them out and spread the butter over them, making sure to get butter in the slices. 

Bake for another 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are crisp on the edges and tender in the middle.