Blog - Gluesticks Blog

Homemade Marinade Recipes

July 5, 2013 By Brandy 2 Comments

One of our favorite meals are kebobs.Â We love experimenting with different marinade recipes and packets for our meats and usually go back to our staple recipes.Â Â Lately my husband has beenÂ sometimes leaving the meat off of the skewers and using aÂ grill pan over the flame and they turn out just as good! I think they are fun to eat off of the stick though and the kids always seem to enjoy food from a stick.

This timeÂ I used green peppers, onions, and pineapple along with the beef and chicken breast.

Soaking the skewers overnight in water prevents them from burning when on the grill. Load them up with your favorite meats and veggies and grill to perfection!

I have a couple combinations for marinades that we have used for years.
When it comes to store bought marinades we like McCormick's White Wine and Herb and Mesquite.

Our Beef Marinade
(I use this for roasts and steaks as well)

2 c. hot water
¼ c. beef base
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. vinegar

Marinate 4-8 hours.

Our Chicken Marinade

1 c. chicken broth
½ c. soy sauce
½ c. Italian salad dressing
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. garlic powder

Marinate 4-8 hours

Soy Sauce

Yep. Just plain ol' soy sauce. It works great for all meats. We use it for tilapia, halibut, shrimp, chicken, and steak. Sometimes less is more.

Cardstock Busy Book {No Sewing Required}

July 2, 2013 By Brandy 4 Comments

Today I thought I would share our cardstock busy book with you! I made this several years ago for my kids and it has received a lot of use since. Some of the pieces are missing (like the snowman's mouth), but it still works and they still enjoy using it.

If you can't sew, don't enjoy sewing, or don't have time to pain-stakingly hand stitch page after page to make a quiet book, this style of book is for you. Now, this isn't to be confused with a "quiet" book.Â Since it is put together with a lot of velcro, it is a "busy" book 😉

3 rings keep it together. Nice and simple.

Each page as well as eachÂ accessory was laminated to protect it. Velcro sticky dots make attaching each piece super easy.

A manila envelope added to the back stores all of the accessories.

And there you have it! Coming up with the different layouts was so much fun. Here is a quick break down of the ones I created, but the possibilities are endless!

If you don't have a die cutting machine like a cricut you can still make one. There are all sort of fun scrapbooking pre-cut accessories at the craft store and the ones that were super basic like the stop light, you could just cut by hand!

If Â you are feeling a bit more adventurous, you can check out our otherÂ Quiet BookÂ that took a bit longer to make, but the kids love just as well.

Peanut Butter Pops {A Guest Post By My 4 Year Old}

June 11, 2013 By Brandy 4 Comments

We have a very picky toddler who doesn't care for protein and carbs. She isÂ a fruit/veggie and dairy kind of gal and so I have to try to sneak protein and good fats into her when I can. Last night I was making her a peanut butter pop (which she handed back to me) and Kaylee, my 4 year old, wanted to make one for herself.

Before I knew it, she had grabbed a spoon and was helping herself to the peanut butter. Then she said, "Can you make a video of me making a one so that I can show others how to do it?"

You'd think she was the daughter of a blogger or something.

So without further adieu, here is a guest post and video tutorial on making a peanut butter pop by Kaylee! A fun little treat that a kid can make all by themselves and customize it however they want.

Enjoy!

Baked Chicken Nuggets With Steamed Dill Potatoes

June 10, 2013 By Brandy 49 Comments

A kid-friendly dinner idea for any night of the week. These baked chicken nuggets are easy to make and made with Italian breadcrumbs for extra flavor. Serve with steamed dill potatoes and fresh green beans for a dinner the whole family will love!

I like finding ways to treat my kids to a favorite meal item and do it in a healthier way. This time in the form of chicken nuggets. Baked chicken nuggets are a favorite over here. They come together in 30 minutes and pair perfectly with our dill potatoes. My mom made Italian bread crumb coated chicken (her own version of Shake and Bake) all the time when we were kids and we loved it! This recipe is inspired from her baked Italian chicken. Only in nugget form.

4 More Family-Friendly Dinner Ideas!

Sheet pan Fajitas

Keilbasa and Potatoes

Stroganoff Loaf

Sausage and Turkey Slow Cooker Chili

plate with beans, chicken nuggets and potatoes

Baked Chicken Nuggets

scroll down for printable version AND a great side dish to accompany these nuggets!

Ingredients:

1 ¼ lb. boneless, skinless chicken tenders
½ c. melted butter
¾ c. Italian bread crumbs
⅓ c. Parmesan cheese
½ tsp. kosher salt

Directions:

In a shallow dish, melt butter.

In another shallow dish combine dry ingredients.

Cut chicken tenders into 1 ½" cubes. Toss in melted butter and dip roll in bread crumb mixture. Bake on a lightly greased baking sheet at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Steamed Red Potatoes with Dill

Cube up as many red potatoes as your family will need. I used 8 for our family of six. I have a steamer stacking pan that I use for these. You can boil your potatoes if you don't have a way to steam them. Sprinkle kosher salt on your potatoes and steam until fork tender. Toss with 3 tablespoons butter and sprinkle with dill.

Â Be sure to serve this dinner with our homemade Amish dinner rolls!

Print Pin

No ratings yet

Baked Chicken Nuggets

These baked chicken nuggets are easy to make and made with Italian breadcrumbs for extra flavor. Serve with steamed dill potatoes and fresh green beans for a dinner the whole family will love!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 626kcal

Author Brandy Nelson

Ingredients

1 ¼ lb. boneless skinless chicken tenders
½ cup melted butter
¾ cup Italian bread crumbs
⅓ cup Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

In a shallow dish, melt butter.
In another shallow dish combine dry ingredients.
Cut chicken tenders into 1 ½" cubes.
Toss in melted butter and dip roll in bread crumb mixture.
Bake on a lightly greased baking sheet at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

Air Fryer Version: Preheat air fryer to 390 degrees for 5 minutes. Place in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Set timer to 8 minutes. You may need to make these in 2-3 batches.

Nutrition

Calories: 626kcal

The Perfect Ice Cream Sandwich Cookie

May 31, 2013 By Brandy 6 Comments

Crispy, chewy and the perfect cookie to stack for ice cream sandwiches! Make a batch and serve with your favorite flavor of ice cream this summer!

These are "Poor Man" Cookies. There aren't anyÂ eggs, milk, or nutsÂ in them. Just plain, basic ingredients and somehow they end up being the richest, melt in your mouth, oatmeal cookie...EVER. Crispy on the outside, soft in the center, and a hint of toasted coconut flavor, although they do not contain coconut. Maybe it's all of the brown sugar that makes them so rich in flavor? I'm not sure, but they are amazing. So if you have allergies, these cookies are for you. If you don't have allergies, add a scoop of ice cream because they make a delicious sandwich cookie!

Â They stack well and hold up perfectly to the weight and pressure of the ice cream in the center.

Poor Man's Cookies
Taste of Home

1 cup shortening**

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup sugar

¼ cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoons salt

2 cups rolled oats

In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in water and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in oats.

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350Â° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to stand 2 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool. Yield: 3 dozen.

My Notes & Tips for Making Bigger Cookies for Ice Cream Sandwiches:

**No-name brands of shortening seem to work better than Crisco. Don't ask me why, they just do. I've found this to be true with some frosting recipes that I make.

A cookie scoop (medium sized) works great for getting a nice standard cookie that flattens nicely. No more than 6 to a cookie sheet as they spread. This recipe will make 24 cookies using a medium scoop which turns out to beÂ a dozen ice cream sandwiches.

Make sure to allow cookies to set for a minute or two before removing to a rack.

When cookies have cooled, completely, add a small scoop of ice cream on top of one cookie and GENTLY press another cookie on top. Freeze 5-10 minutes and serve!

Here are 29 more cookie recipes that we've tried and reviewed!

Phineas and Ferb Summer Bucket List for Kids

May 30, 2013 By Brandy 2 Comments

Make your summer a bit more memorable this year with a Phineas and Ferb summer bucket list! Build a rocket, fight a mummy and give a monkey a shower!

A few years ago we had one of the best staycations for summer break! We only made one trip out of town so we had many days to hang out at our favorite local places.

phineas and ferb summer bucket list poster

I created this fun Summer Bucket List (Phineas & Ferb Style) to give us a fun jump start to summer.

Along with the suggestions from the Phineas & Ferb theme song, we added our own ie: go to the zoo, have a picnic, etc. It took us until the last day of summer to complete the list since we didn't want to rush through it and do you now what? It was one of THE BEST summers we've had!

Phineas and Ferb Summer Bucket List

Whenever I've shared this ideas with friends they've asked how we carried out each task in the Phineas and Ferb theme song.

Would you like to know how we gave a monkey a shower or located Frankenstein's brain? Keep reading!

More activities for kids to add to a Phineas and Ferb summer bucket list:

Soda Bottle Sprinkler

DIY Pocket Fan

Make Your Own Moon Sand

Homemade Bubble Gum Ice Cream

Goldfish Glycerin Soap

Phineas & Ferb Summer Bucket List Activities

Building a Rocket

For this task we made balloon rockets and shot them across the living room. I have an entire post on quick and easy science experiments for kids. You can get the details on our rockets there!

Fighting a Mummy

My FAVORITE one so far. I love when I can persuade my husband to make a fool of himself for the sake of the children. The kids were all camped out in the same room that night so it was easy to scare them all in one swoop!

Climbing Up The Eiffel Tower

This one was pretty simple. There are several parks in our town with structures like this. We simply had a day at the park and marked this one off the list! It's the closest thing to a tower as we were going to get.

Discovering Something That Doesn't Exist

It's pretty hard to discover something that doesn't exist. So we created something new. Something that hadn't existed before. This one was dad's idea and involved lots of chocolate. The kids filled up mini loaf pans with a layer of melting chocolate, then added marshmallows and a small store-bought brownie followed by another layer of melting chocolate to seal it all up. Then they added sprinkles and let it set up. These chocolate loaves were pretty good!

Phineas and Ferb Bucket List inflatable monkey in shower

Giving a Monkey a Shower

I bought this monkey on ebay from a party supply company. He was perfect and water proof. So hung him in the kids' shower before sending them to take their evening showers. They thought it was hilarious and soaped him right up.

kids playing in lake summer bucket list activity

Surfing Tidal Waves

These aren't exactly tidal waves, but we did the best we could one afternoon at a local lake. The kids loved when the boats went by and the wakes came in. They were like mini waves!

Phineas and Ferb Bucket List nano bot kit

Creating Nanobots

These cute wind up robots (nanobots) were from a kids craft kit that we purchased. They could design, add stickers and wind them up!

Phineas and Ferb Bucket List child holding green balloon that looks like a brain

Locating Frankenstein's Brain

Who knew that the location of Frankenstein's brain was actually in our house! I blew up a small green balloon and added squiggly lines with a permanent marker to make it look like a brain. Then I put it in a plastic cake saver container and hid it upstairs. Aaron randomly walked past it one afternoon and was pretty proud that he was on the one to find it!

Finding a Dodo Bird

Finding a Dodo bird was one that I had to think about for a bit. I printed Jojo the Dodo from cardstock, and he arrived in an envelope telling the kids about his world travels, where he came from, and facts about Dodo birds. He also let them know that he was pretty special since he is the only living Dodo bird (they are extinct).

Painting a Continent

The kids painted an earth on our back patio with chalk paints. Not only did they paint one continent, they ended up with all of them! They finished this one the day before school started. In the nick of time!

Driving Your Sister Insane!

Goodness, this girl makes the best faces! She insisted on sitting IN the shopping cart one afternoon, and I told her she'd get squished. I don't play around! She thought it was hilarious, and it was the perfect "Driving Your Sister Insane" photo.

And that's a wrap! Have you ever created a bucket list or summer list with your kids? What was their favorite activity?

Tissue Paper Vase: A Quick and Easy Kids Craft!

May 16, 2013 By Brandy 31 Comments

This tissue paper vase is such a fun project for kids!Â Just brush mod podge over the glass, add the tissue paper circles, then add another coat of mod podge to make it water resistant!

This post contains affiliate links.

Kaylee has an unhealthy obsession with flowers, so I decided to enable the obsession a bit more and help her make her own little vase.

bottle of Mod Podge, tissue circles and a foam brush

Tissue Paper Vase: A Quick and Easy Kids Craft!

Supplies Needed:

Vase or glass jar

mod podge

sponge brush

tissue paper cut or tornÂ into any shape

She brushed the vase with a light coat of mod podge and began applying small circles of tissue paper to it. You could use ANY shape of tissue paper or even just tear the tissue into small squares or pieces. Mod podge dries quickly, so just work in small sections as you go.

We let the edges overhang so that every edge was covered and just trimmed them later when they were dry.

vase covered with Mod Podge and tissue paper circles

Every last inch was covered in tissue dots. Layered all over each other, making sure to press them down as we went for a smooth finish.

After it had dried, we added a layer of mod podge on top to seal the vase and water-proof it.

After it dried she had a beautiful little confetti vase. She kept telling me how awesome it was and how fun it was to make. I think we will be making more.

Even though we sealed it to protect it from water dripping on it, it is not dishwasher safe.Â She added a Â sweet smelling flower from the front yard, and it was immediately the center of attention on our kitchen table.

We used this same technique to make our tissue paper jewelry holders too!

Here are more fun tissue paper crafts for kids!

Make Your Own Yogurt Drinks

May 13, 2013 By Brandy 4 Comments

I buy yogurt almost every time I go to the grocery store. Fridge packs for school lunches, larger tubs to scoop out and add to smoothies, and whole milk babyÂ yogurts for Ruby. I eat it every day too. My kids love the drinkable yogurts that come in a 6-pack, but I rarely buy them because I think they areÂ over-priced. ThenÂ I got to thinking that all it isÂ is yogurt diluted down. How easy is that? It would sureÂ taste better if we used our favorite yogurts instead of the crazy flavors that they sell for kids like blue raspberry, etc.

To make your own yogurt drinks, just mix yogurt with milk until it is the consistency to go though a straw. Pour some in a small drink container for school lunches (be sure to add a little ice pack to keep it chilled) or just sip out of a cup. Ruby, who is about 18 months old, loves yogurt and is too independent to let me feed it to her. She usually makes a HUGE mess every morning and yogurt ends up being wasted as it hits the floor. After I started adding a tablespoon of milk to it and putting it in a small cup with a lid and straw, the mess and waste has been completely eliminated and she still has her independence.

child drinking yogurt smoothie with straw

Mmm!

Spaghetti with Brown Butter and Mizithra Cheese {a lighter version}

May 10, 2013 By Brandy 2 Comments

My all time favorite pasta dish has always been the Spaghetti with Brown Butter and Mizithra Cheese that is made at the Spaghetti factory. Until I had it there, I hadn't ever heard of Mizithra (or Myzithra) cheese. The flavor is amazing! I splurged and bought a package of cheese when we went there last time, but IÂ have also purchased it from the specialty cheese section at the grocery store. If you are local here to Sacramento you can find it at Sprouts.

My kids absolutely love it and I love that it only requires 3 ingredients to make a quick dinner that everyone is excited to eat. Here is my lighter version of the dish (much less butter left on the plate this way). The Mizithra Cheese blend at the Spaghetti Factory has Parmesan cheese mixed in with it. Mizithra is very pungent and I prefer it mixed with the Parmesan. It's the perfect blend. So when I make it on my own I grate up both hard cheeses and blend them together in a 3 to 1 ratio (Mizithra being the smaller amount).

1 box spaghetti, cooked according to directions

¼. c butter

MizithraÂ & Parmesan cheeses, grated

While pasta is boiling, melt butter on med heat. Once all butter has melted, kick the heat up to med-high until it begins to brown and then immediately remove from heat and set aside.

Drain pasta and toss with butter. Serve with a handful of the Mizithra cheese blend.

pasta with cheese and butter on white plate

Serve with a nice big green salad. So simple, yet SO good.