Category: Mama’s Kitchen

February Holidays

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog3 Comments

I will try to update this list with some fun activities as well. Feel free to click the links to find out more about the origins and meanings behind these special days. I plan to incorporate a few of these into our normal homeschool routine to add a little fun and excitement to our days. Have fun and maybe make up your own personal family holiday or tradition for the month!

This month is also know as:

  • American Heart Month
  • Black History Month
  • Canned Food Month
  • Great American Pie Month
  • National Cherry Month
  • National Children’s Dental Health Month
  • National Grapefruit Month

Sometimes the 100th day of school will fall somewhere in February as well. **see 100th day of school for more activities

I found this list and more here:

National Freedom Day (1st)

**see National Freedom Day for more activities

Ground Hog Day (2nd)

**see Groundhog Day for more activities

Feed the Birds Day (3rd)

**see here for lots of crafts kids can make on Pinterest

Send a Card to a Friend Day (7th)

**see here for lots of crafts kids can make on Pinterest

Kite Flying Day (8th)

**see here for lots of crafts kids can make on Pinterest

Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday (12th)

**see Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday for more activities

Valentine’s Day (14th)

**see Valentine’s Day for more activities

National Gum Drop Day (15th)

Random Acts of Kindness Day (17th)

**see here for lots of crafts kids can make on Pinterest

Cherry Pie Day (20th)

President’s Day (3rd Monday)

**see President’s Day for more activities

George Washington’s Birthday (22nd)

**see George Washington’s Birthday for more activities

National Tortilla Chip Day (24th)

National Pistachio Day (26th)

Tell a Fairy Tale Day (26th)

**see Tell a Fairy Tale Day for more activities

Polar Bear Day (27th)

**see Polar Bear Day for more activities

Mardi Gras / Fat Tuesday (varies)

**see Mardi Gras / Fat Tuesday for more activities

Leap Day  (29th)- not again until 2020, once every four years

**see Leap Day for more activities

Also check out:

It’s February (lots of fun activities listed)

Homeschool: February on Pinterest for crafts/activities related to the month of February.

National Freedom Day

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog2 Comments

National Freedom day is a day to celebrate America being free and freedom from slavery. Click here to learn more about this holiday.

Below are some of the activities I found to celebrate this day:

(Use at your own discretion.)

National Freedom Day – A Day to Celebrate America!

National Freedom Day on Pinterest

National Freedom Day

Easy Chicken Casserole

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog5 Comments

This is an oldie but goodie. My older kids loved this when they were younger. I think I have a couple of other variations that rotate through my menu plan but this was the first attempt at a chicken casserole that I made.

A lot of the older recipes I have are ones that were passed down or ones that I scribbled down on scraps of paper. These come from family and friends. Many of them come from dinners at our old church. They back good memories for me and I hope my kids will also be able to associate good memories to good food. Continue reading “Easy Chicken Casserole” →

Crockpot Taco Soup

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog13 Comments

A friend invited me over for lunch one day and served this wonderful concoction. I’m not sure if this is close to her recipe or not but this stuff is good, really good. You can also make this on the stovetop if you don’t have a crockpot.

We like to serve this over rice to make it stretch a little bit further. Continue reading “Crockpot Taco Soup” →

Fried Apple Pies

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog8 Comments

We made these in Home Ec. class and it was the first time I’d ever had one. I loved them so much I was constantly making them at home, from scratch, but there are easier ways to make them. They could also be made with other pie fillings as well.

I will give you the instructions to make them from scratch but you can also use store bought pie dough and pie filling, if you like. I know how busy things get and how crazy life can be.

These are also fun for the kids to help with. They can help to roll out the dough and cut the circles. They can also spoon the filling in and use the fork to seal the edges.

Fried Apple Pies

Ingredients:

  • Apple pie filling or use store bought
  • Whipped Pie Crust or use store bought
  • oil for frying
  • butter (optional)
  • flour, for rolling out crust
  • 2-3 T. cold water
  • powdered sugar (optional)

Glaze: (optional)

  • 3/4 c. confectioner’s sugar
  • 2-3 T. milk
  • 1 t. vanilla (optional)

Directions:

Roll the crust out on a lightly floured surface. (Too much flour = tough crust)

Take a small bowl or saucer and cut a circle out of the crust.

Place 2-3 T. of filling on each round.

Brush the edges with water and fold in half. Take a fork and lightly press down to seal the edges.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. You can add a small amount of butter to the oil, if you like.

Carefully add the pies to the pan and fry until golden brown, turning the pies as needed, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Drain on paper towels.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Or mix together the ingredients for the glaze and drizzle the pies when cooled.