Toaster Oven Challenge: Chickpea Popcorn

In our house, roasted chickpeas are called "chickpea popcorn". It sounds so much more snack like and the kids love it. This is the perfect recipe for a toaster oven. All you need is a can of chickpeas, a pinch of salt, 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and some paprika.

Make sure you rinse the chickpeas and pat dry with a paper towel.  Otherwise, the chickpeas won't come out crunchy

Drizzle with olive oil and then add your seasoning.  If I'm making this for me and hubby, I'll use cayenne pepper for a bit of kick.

Bake in the toaster oven at 300F for 50 minutes.  Let it cool and eat!

It's been 2 months since I've actually used my oven... and I don't miss it at all!

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Tutorial: DIY Superhero Capes

The boys are totally into superheroes now.  Everything is about good and evil, punching, kicking, web slinging, extra vision, etc.  I love that they are into creative play so I made them some new capes.  Their old capes were too short and the necks were too small. The new capes are also reversible which means twice the amount of fun!  Baby Bunny loves Spiderman and Batman so naturally he got those for his cape.  Josh chose so many different heroes but in the end, I made him a Superman/Bizarro cape.  The capes fit them both, but the superman/bizarro is a couple of inches longer. 

Couldn't pry this away from Josh long enough to iron it...

Whenever we go out, Baby Bunny always wants to bring his superhero cape. We get compliments all the time and since they are so easy to make, here's a tutorial for you so you can make your own.

Materials:
1.  Old bib to trace
2.  1/2m of cotton fabric
3.  Scrap fabric for the logo (optional)
4.  Heat n Bond
5.  1" velcro

How to:
1.  Use your child's favourite bib as a template for your cape.  Make sure you choose one that fits now.
2.  Trace the neck outline of the bib onto your fabric.  Keep drawing a diagonal line to your desired length.  Cut 2 pieces
3.  Choose or draw your design onto some Heat n Bond (see my tutorial here) and iron it to your scrap fabric.  Iron your scrap fabric onto the RIGHT side of one of your cape pieces.  Top stitch the logo for extra security.  If you want yours to be reversible, then you'll do this step again with the other cape piece.
4.  Place the 2 cape pieces RIGHT sides together (logo facing in) and sew all the way around, leaving a small gap (about 3") for turning.
5.  Turn the cape inside out, press with a hot iron, and topstitch around the entire cape, closing up your small opening.
6.  Trim the velcro to fit the cape and sew it on.  Try it on your little one and you're done!

Here's the little guy with his cape.  When he first got it, he was so excited that he only wore it on his front.  Now he wears it on his back.

 

This kid is so funny

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!  Please leave a comment if you use this tutorial.  I would love to see some pics!

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Toaster Oven Challenge: Easter Cookies

I have a Moffat 1500 Gourmet from the 1960s that we inherited when we bought our bungalow.  It has this really cool eye level broiler and it's crazy old.   Anytime a new friend visits our home, eventually they ask about the broiler and the oven.   I'm quite sure that it's not very energy efficient so I am undergoing my very first toaster oven challenge.  Anything that I have ever made in the oven will have to go into the toaster oven instead.  My first challenge?  Cookies in the toaster oven.

I used my tried and true sugar cookie recipe (click here for the full recipe).  The only thing that I changed with the recipe was the bake time.   The original recipe requires you to bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes at 325F.  I baked them in the toaster oven for 20 minutes at 300F and turned the tray halfway through.  If you have a high end toaster oven, you probably won't need to turn the tray.

I made these cookies last year for Easter and the kids loved them so I decided to make some again for Joshie's friends at school. 

If you only need to make a small batch, don't freeze the dough.  Roll the dough, cut your shapes and place them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Pop the sheet in the freezer.  Once frozen, transfer the unbaked frozen cookie to an airtight container.  Whenever you want a fresh cookie, just take it out of the freezer, pop it in the oven, and you have a nice tasty cookie.

This time Baby Bunny helped me make the cookies.  It's so nice to have 2 helpers but it's also a lot messier.

Here's the finished product!

The bunny ones will be for his school friends.  All we need to do now is pop them into little treat bags, include a label, and some stickers.

Happy Easter everyone!!!