6 Month Blogiversary (& SURPRISE!)

Well, we made it. April Dreams has been around for half a year. We’ve been through many things- name changes, blog name changes, blog URL name changes, but one thing that has never changed is how much I love all of you.

Seriously, you’ve supported me through the ups and downs, high and lows, me disappearing for a little…

It means so much.

Usually, I include some stats but I’m saving that for my new year’s post. 2 posts in a row! Yay!

SQUEE!

oh goodness, did I… squeal? *is ashamed*

BUT OH MY PANCAKES HALF A YEAR.

And now, for the surprise…

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for your… well, regularly scheduled programming!

That’s right, the return of Series Snacks!

This Month, I will be doing Little House on the Prairie recipes, by request of Grace @ The Girl Upstairs.

Sorry for falling off this bandwagon for a while. As you can see, I’m making a real effort to get back on track with my blog!

Past Posts

Series Snacks: Percy Jackson! (7/15/16)

Series Snacks: Harry Potter! (7/10/16)

*cringes at the dates*

DISCLAIMER: These recipes are from the web, not my own. I will credit them properly. If they are my own, I will tell you. Please don’t blame me/ the recipe if you don’t like it. Thanks!

All recipes are from http://littlehouseontheprairie.com/

ROCK CANDY

!ask for help if you can’t use the stove by yourself!

Ingredients:

Sugar

Water

Natural Food Coloring

Flavoring of Your Choice

3 cups water

5 ¼ cups unbleached pure cane sugar, plus more for rolling

Recipe:

Run water over the bottom half of the skewers and roll the skewers in sugar.

Let it dry for 10 minutes

Clip the skewers in the smaller holes of clothespins

Balance the skewers (with the clothespins attached) on the canning jars and set aside

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water and sugar**

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes

Separate the mixture into the three jars***

Pour the sugar mixture into the canning jars and place the jars into separate gallon freezer bags to keep dust out*

Let the jars sit on a countertop at room temperature for 1-2 weeks until the desired amount of crystals has been achieved

Enjoy!

*If you want all of your rock candy to be the same color and/or the same flavor, add a few drops of each until it reaches the desired color and flavor

**You can just slip the bag over the jar and clothespin and skewer

***If you are doing separate colors/flavors, add a couple drops to each jar

EGGNOG

!ask for help if you can’t use a mixer by yourself!

Ingredients:

6 Eggs, separated

½ Cup Sugar

1 quart Whole Milk

2 cups Heavy Cream

½ tsp ground nutmeg

Recipe:

Separate eggs carefully and put egg yolks and egg whites into two separate mixing bowl

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together with a whisk well until fluffy

Add the milk and then the cream to the egg yolk mixture

Mix in any additional extracts and then set the bowl in the refrigerator to chill.

Use your mixer or a whisk to beat the egg whites into soft peaks

Pour your egg yolk and milk mixture into your serving bowl, carefully add the whipped egg whites to the top and then fold in

Spoon into individual mugs carefully, sprinkle nutmeg on the top and serve

Enjoy!

*Do not over whip the egg whites

JOHNNYCAKES

!ask for help if you can’t use a griddle by yourself!

Ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup boiling water

oil or shortening

Recipe:

Mix the corn meal, sugar, and salt together

Slowly add the boiling water to the cornmeal mixture, stir until just combined

Warm a griddle or frying pan (nonstick or cast iron) over medium heat

Spread a tablespoon of oil in the warm pan. Place about ¼ cup of batter on the griddle.

After the edges dry, wait about 30 seconds and then flip the johnny-cake over with a wide spatula

Press the center of the johnny-cake down with the spatula if needed*

Remove the cooked johnny-cake

Oil the griddle and begin again

Serve warm with maple syrup, molasses, gravy, or baked beans

*The second side does not take as long as the first to cook

CREAMED CARROTS

!ask for help if you can’t use a saucepan by yourself!

Recipe:

3 lbs. carrots

1 cup chicken broth or water

2 tbsp. butter, softened

2 tbsp. flour

¼ cup heavy cream or sour cream

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Ingriedients:

Scrub the carrots and slice them into a 2-quart saucepan, cutting disks about ⅛- to ¼-inch thick. Add broth or water, cover, and simmer until almost tender*

While the carrots are cooking, in a small bowl blend the butter and flour with a fork. Gradually add the cream to make a thin paste.

When the carrots are just tender, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the paste.

Blend well with a wooden spoon, but be careful not to bruise the carrots. Return briefly to the stovetop to heat the sauce.

Turn into a serving dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper

*about 10 minutes

PRAIRIE LEMONADE

!ask for help if you can’t use a juicer by yourself!

Ingredients:

½ cup sugar

1 cup hot tap water

2 lemons

2 cups cold water

12 ice cubes

lemon slices, for serving

Recipe:

In a pitcher, combine the sugar and hot tap water. Stir until all of the sugar is dissolved.

Slice the lemons in half and squeeze the lemons with your hands or a citrus juicer, until you have ½ cup of lemon juice.

Add the lemon juice, cold water, and ice to the pitcher. Stir to combine.

To serve, cut a slit in the lemon slices and attach them to the side of drinking glasses. Pour in the lemonade

PRINTABLES

That’s right, I’m starting giving printables on the recipes! They’re very much a work in progress, so expect them to evolve.

johnnycakeprintable rockcandyprintable prairielemonadeprintable eggnogprintable creamedcarrotsprintable

Thank You!

Well, that’s all I have for today. Did you enjoy this special 6 Month Blogiversary post? Is there another Series Snack you would like to see? Be sure to drop a comment!

And most importantly, thank you all for making this dream begin to come true.

stay lovely,

april