Cinco de Mayo kids snacks: Tacos and maracas, Ole!
I have a love hate relationship with snack day. Let’s start with the hate part. I have been jealous of the moms who are able to whip up twenty or so all-natural healthy individual kid-sized fruit pies on their snack day. Ugh! Really! I usually get whatever the very capable and professional bakers at Costco are able to whip up for me. But, I love it when it’s a holiday! I’m not sure why I need a theme to get my domestic creativity going, but I do, and I feel a holiday/snack day combo coming on.
What you’ll need for your Cinco de Mayo Tacos and Maracas:
A pack of lemon cream filled cookies (each cookie makes two tacos)
Chocolate hazelnut spread
Green icing (the tube is the easiest)
Round red cinnamon candy
Seedless Grapes
Pretzel sticks
Step 1 – Start with the taco shells.
Cut each cookie in half, so they are semi-circles and are now the shape of taco shells. Then separate the cookies with a knife, leaving the filling on one side and the other side bare.
Step 2 – Next is the filling for the tacos.
Soften the chocolate spread by whipping it. This will make it easier to handle and squeeze into the shells. With a frosting bag and tip* fill the bag with the spread and then squeeze the chocolate filling in the shells. The tacos now have “meat” and “cheese” in them.
*If you don’t have a frosting bag and tip, you can always fill a sandwich bag with the spread and then cut a small corner of the bag to create an opening and squeeze the filling out through the hole.
Step 3 – Last garnish the tacos.
Use the green icing to mimic the lettuce by drawing a wavy line across the filling in the taco shells. Then place a few cinnamon candies (these are the tomatoes) on top. The “tomatoes” will stay in place better if the “lettuce” is a little soft. My six year-old was very good at garnishing.
Store the tacos in the refrigerator while you make the maracas.
Step 4 – Time for the maracas.
Remove the grapes from the stems. Then gently push a pretzel stick into the grape where the stem was. The grape is the rattle and the pretzel is the handle (even if you try to shake them, they won’t make any noise, we tried). Then repeat. And repeat. And repeat until you have the number of maracas you want.
Now you are ready for the Cinco de Mayo fiesta para los ninos! With Azul moving to first grade next year, I bet I’m going to miss snack day, but I won’t miss the all-natural healthy individual kid-sized fruit pie envy.
HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!
Kids Valentine’s Day Cards That Rule!
These Valentine cards will be the envy of the other parents in your child’s class and the kids will like them too. And in reality, parental envy is why we put any effort into out-of-class projects.
What you need:
1) Colored card stock 8 ½ x 11.
2) 6 inch rulers. (One for each card you intend to make.)
3) Scissors and a paper-cutter. (Scissors alone will suffice, the paper makes long cuts easier.)
4) The ability to print or hand write your super cool cards.
5) If you don’t have one of the supplies on the list, just wing it. After all, they’re just kids.
Step #1 – Print or write out your greeting, you can use the PDF above or write them by hand. Make four cards on each piece of card stock and print a few extras, just in case. If you leave the “To” and “From” blank, this will allow your child to write their friend’s names and their own name as well. Sometimes it takes kids a while to write, don’t panic, just get a glass of wine and relax. Warning: the next step involves scissors, so don’t get carried away with the “relaxing.”
Step #2 – Once your child is done writing out the names, cut each card horizontally, separating the four cards. Next, you need to cut two vertical cuts on each side of the center greeting, about an inch and a half long. This will give you enough room to weave the ruler through the card. Your child’s small fingers are perfect for this job. There are no more sharp tools at this point if you want to “relax” a little more.
Step #3 – Last, place a small piece of tape on the back side of the card and ruler to hold the ruler in place.
All done, these cards really do rule. And so do you!
Happy Valentine’s Day and have fun.
How to make the best Holiday candy presents for the whole class!
They are super easy and fun for kids to make and eat.
This is all you need: a cookie sheet, peppermint candies, Pam, gift bags with ties and a preheated oven to 350 degrees.
Step #1 – Spray the cookie sheet with Pam.
*Tip- Spray the pan in front of an open dishwasher, the excess just gets washed away.
Step #2 – Then place a few candies in each cookie shape.
Step #3 – Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes or until melted.
Step #4 – Let the candy cool, then pop them out of the cookie sheet.
Step 5 – Gently place each candy in a gift bag and secure with ties.
Forget candy canes, make fun candy gifts this year!
Carmelina Hart 