Easy No Bake Recipe

This easy no bake recipe is one of my all time favorites. I've been making variations of it since I was a kid. If your kids like chocolate, they'll love these cute chocolate bird nests with mini Easter eggs.

It's a quick and easy recipe with no baking and minimal clean-up. I'm giving you both my original easy no bake recipe and an adapted vegan/dairy-free alternative. Both are equally easy. Just watch out if your kids get a caffeine high from cocoa; don't give them these to eat after dinner!

Easy No Bake Chocolate Easter Bird Nests

With this recipe your kids can learn measuring, mixing, spooning, and safe use of the microwave or stove.

Ingredients
2oz of butter or margarine
1/2 cup of hot cocoa mix (the kind that contains powdered milk)
1/2 cup of sweetened condensed milk
3 cups of cereal flakes - cornflakes or other
24-36 mini sugar-coated chocolate eggs or jelly beans

Dairy-free Alternative Ingredients
2oz of dairy-free margarine
6 tablespoons cocoa powder (the kind without milk)
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup of honey
3 cups of cereal flakes
24-36 mini sugar-coated chocolate eggs or jelly beans - make sure these are OK for your diet - if you can't find dairy-free/vegan use pieces of colored paper to decorate instead

Equipment
12 paper cup-cake cases, or a muffin pan, or ramekin bowls
small heat-proof bowl, cup, or mug (for the microwave) or a small pan
knife
dessert spoon
1/2 cup measure
tablespoon measure (if making the dairy-free option)
mixing bowl

Procedure

1. Gather all ingredients and equipment.
2. Measure all ingredients, apart from the butter/margarine and cereal flakes, and place in mixing bowl.
   
3. Cut off 20z of butter or margarine (half a stick) and place in the heat-proof cup or bowl or the pan.
   
4. Microwave the butter or margarine until melted (about 30 seconds) or heat in the pan on the stove until melted.
5. Pour the hot, melted butter or margarine into the other ingredients - do this for your child if you are not ready to trust them to do it safely.
6. Mix with the spoon.
7. Measure and add the cereal flakes then mix until all the flakes are coated.
   
8. Spoon mixture into cupcake cases, muffin pan cups, or ramekins.
9. Press down the center to make an indentation for the mini Easter eggs or jelly beans.
10. Arrange 2-3 Easter eggs or jelly beans in the center of each chocolate nest.
11. Allow to cool and set, which will take at least 60 minutes. You can speed this up by putting them in the fridge.
    
12. Enjoy!

Did you enjoy working in the kitchen when you were a kid? Do your kids enjoy working with you to make food, or are there frustrations?

Related posts:

• Easy, fun, lunch for kids - cheese beanos.
• Dinner so easy a 2 year old can do it!
• Get Earth Active with your family this spring.
• Green Kids Activities.
• Porridge Tales from Grandma's Kitchen.
  

Dinner So Easy a 2 Year Old Can Do It

Here's a dinner so easy a 2 year old can do it, or should I say, "So easy a caveman can do it!" That little Geico gecko guy and his caveman friend are pretty popular around my house. Anyway, this dinner bears a great resemblance to what I make at the end of a crazy day when my brain is wiped from homeschooling and writing, which happens more often than I'd like.



The 2 year obviously did get a little help - maybe with a can opener and a knife? If you want to be more sustainable, and you've mastered the art of canning, you can make this same meal from your own produce. Then again, if you've mastered canning why would you be coming here for a recipe?

This video is courtesy of YouTube.

I Love to Laugh

How can anyone resist a song called I Love to Laugh? Need the words? You'll find them at STlyrics.com. Looking for the soundtrack? It's available with Mary Poppins stuff at Amazon.com. Sorry homeschool readers, some people do get lost and end up here when they have no interest in homeschooling!

When Artist Girl and Game Boy were little they watched Disney's Mary Poppins over and over. What fabulous music and so many great lessons for life. I'm very fond of this movie, which was one of the first ones I saw myself as a child. I'm not sure which of the songs is my favorite, but I can't hear that song, "I Love to Laugh", without laughing a time or two.

I started with the intent to include lesson plans on Mary Poppins, but somehow this post has been hi-jacked by the song "I Love to Laugh"! So, let me know what makes you laugh. Send me a link for your funniest blog post. Why do you love to laugh, where, and at what? Mary Poppins will have to wait! Oh, and if you can tell me how to put up the option to e-mail me on blogger without getting a ton of spam I'd be very grateful!

To come later with Mary Poppins movie madness ...
Explore reading, London, Mary Poppins, banking, music, dancing, animation, penguins, fairground rides, morals and more. Whichever subject you want to cover with your kids, there's sure to be something inspiring from Mary Poppins.

From my readers:

• Sarah wants to know how often you lose your temper. Sarah, I think you gotta lighten up there girl, or is it just that knowing other people's inadeqacies makes you laugh? Do you have a cruel sense of humor?
• Julie recommends Luigi's blog - trot on over there to learn how to train your humans.