Making meals together and Monday's recipe

I know I have talked about having the kids at home some already, but summer is a great time to experiment with new recipes you might not have time to explore with your kids during the hustle and bustle of the school year. Challenge your kids to find a recipe online that they would like to make-they'll probably be happy it won't count toward their computer time- and then go to the grocery store together to get the ingredients. Give them some guidelines, such as:

• nutritional information has to be provided
• 30% or less of calories from fat
• you can specify a certain number of ingredients or types of ingredients

While at the grocery store, you can also spend some time examining labels, differences in portion sizes listed on the labels, and also pricing of food. For example, have them compare two different sizes of pasta bags and the costs and see which is a better bargain. It's a good lesson in economics and math, and science.

Let me know if your family finds a great family friendly recipe. I'd love to see it or hear about it. I've included a recipe today for a snack we make at our camp that is everyone's favorite called Apple Ladybugs. It's fun to make and looks cute! Enjoy!

Apple Ladybugs

Ingredients

2 red apples
1/4 cup M&Ms
1 tablespoon peanut butter
8 thin pretzel sticks

Directions
1. Slice apples in half from top to bottom
2. Scoop out the cores using a knife or melon baller. If you have an apple corer, core them first, then slice.
3. Place each apple half flat side down on a small plate.
4. Dab peanut butter on to the back of the 'lady bug', then stick M&Ms onto the dabs for spots. Use this method to make eyes too.
5. Stick one end of each pretzel stick into peanut butter, then press into the apples to make antennae (sometimes you may need to make a little slit with a knife to get the pretzels in).