April Fools 2011 Edition

April Fools 2010 was a HIT! The kids were so surprised, and I am thinking I want to do something fun again for dinner for the 2011 edition. Here is what I am looking at...

Grilled Cheese from Family Fun (pound cake and frosting)

Lasagna from Food Network (pound cake jam, pudding, cream)



With Beans from Family Fun (chewy jolly ranchers)

Pizza from Newsodrome (cake, coconut, jam, and fruit roll ups)

Chicken Pot Pie from Family Fun (pudding candy, and pie crust)

Last year, we had fish sticks (wafers, peanut butter and crushed corn flakes), potatoes and gravy (ice cream and caramel), and edamame (green runts). The kids were SO SHOCKED! You should have seen the looks on their faces! I had the real thing in the oven, so the smell was authentic (and so my husband and I had something to eat). Here is the photo:

I haven't decided for sure, but I am thinking I am leaning towards the Lasagna and beans this year. What do you think?

Have a Happy & Creative Day!

Risa

April fools fooled my kids!

April Fools dinner was a hit!

We had Fish Sticks (wafer crackers, peanut butter, and cornflake crumbs)
Mashed Potatoes and gravy (vanilla ice cream, and caramel)
Edamame (sweet tarts jelly beans)

The air heads ended up being a weird color, so my friends used the colorful totsie rolls for peas. I just , bought a few bags of sweet tarts jelly beans, and fished out the green ones, because I thought it looked so much like edamame.

I made real dinner as well, with the same menu, so the house smelled like everything on their plate (and so my husband and I had something to eat). The kids loved it, and kept telling me it was the best dinner ever! My son asked over and over when we are going to have this dinner again, and if we can have it tomorrow night.

I wanted to give a shout-out to my girls who made this with me:

Christine, Candy, Brittney, and Haley... Thanks for making life fun! I love you all!!!

I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment!

April Fools ideas

April Fools Day is on Thursday, and I want to play a trick on my kids, and these are a few ideas I got from www.familyfun.com. They have a whole section of pranks listed on their website, and these are the ones I thought would be best for my family. What are you going to do? If you have any great ideas, please leave them in my comments section, or e-mail me: risabaker@gmail.com. Be sure to include blog links or photos. I will post them this weekend!



FAUX FISH STICKS AND PEAS

• Cornflakes
• Sugar wafer cookies
• Peanut butter

• Green taffy candy (we used green apple AirHeads)
• Seedless strawberry jam

1. For the fish sticks, place a couple of handfuls of cornflakes in a ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Cover 2 sugar wafer cookies with peanut butter, then toss them in the cornflake crumbs to coat.

2. For the peas, tear off and roll small pieces of the taffy candy into balls. If the taffy is too stiff to work with, microwave it for about 6 seconds.

3. For the ketchup, use a fork to stir a few teaspoons of the jam until it's smooth.

FAUX BERRY PIE

• "CHOCOLATE" MEAT LOAF FILLING
• 1/3 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon dark, unsulfured molasses
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• "STRAWBERRY" POTATO TOPPING
• 2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
• Salt
• 1/2 cup canned sliced beets (not pickled)
• 1/4 cup (or more) warm milk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1. Heat the oven to 350º. In a small saucepan, combine the barbecue sauce, milk, molasses, cocoa, and chili powder. Set the pan over medium heat and whisk the mixture until it is lukewarm and the cocoa is completely dissolved. Set it aside to cool.

2. Sauté the onions in the tablespoon of canola oil until they are transparent, about 7 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the salt, celery salt, pepper, and bread crumbs. Then add the beef, egg, sauce mixture, and onion. Thoroughly mix the ingredients using your hands or a wooden spoon.

4. Remove the pie shell from the freezer. (We placed ours in a Pyrex dish to help ensure that the pie would bake evenly.) Transfer the meat to the shell, spreading it evenly with a spoon. Bake it until the meat is cooked through, about 60 minutes.

5. While the pie is baking, prepare the mashed potato topping. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough water to completely submerge them. Salt the water lightly, cover the pot, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and cook the potatoes at a low boil until they are tender, about 12 minutes.

6. While the potatoes cook, puree the beets and 1/4 cup warm milk in a blender until only small bits of beet are left in the mixture. Set aside.

7. Drain the potatoes and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and pureed beets and, using an electric mixer, whip the mixture until it's smooth and fluffy. Add more milk if needed and salt to taste.

8. Spread the whipped potatoes over the top of the cooked meat pie with a spatula, as you would whipped cream, mounding it slightly in the center. Slice and serve the pie while the potatoes are still hot. Makes 8 servings.