Lisa: Easy Art and Sloppy Jose`s!!

Hello, once again! Summer is cruising right along at our house!  We are trying to squeeze all the fun we can out of our short break time here!  Between camps and parties and road trips, we are sure enjoying the warm weather and all the chances to be outside.  But on the days we can't be outside, my children (at least most of them) enjoy crafts and creating!  One of the things that we have found to be fun is using the bright summer sun to trace pictures.

 It is super simple and helps my children who don't think they are very good artists to be creative!  What we do is to tape a picture onto a window that has a lot of sun coming through.  Then place a thin paper over the top and also tape it to the window.  (We used a piece of paper from a sketch pad but I think printer paper or most plain white papers would work.)  Then just have the children trace the outlines of the picture and presto change-o, you have art!

   
I wish I had a picture of the originals!  It is fun to see how they compare but oh well!!  It is fun for the kids to color these in like they would a coloring book.  Using water color paints is fun, too! 

********************************************************************************

As I said on Friday, I really hate to turn my oven on in the summer so I thought I'd show you another recipe I came up with that helps to keep our poor air conditioner from over heating in the summer: Sloppy Jose`s!!  I can't exactly remember how it came to be but there was some discussion about Sloppy Joes and I thought that I could probably come up with something that had a Mexican flavor to it!  And thus was born the Sloppy Jose`!

Sloppy Jose`s
1 lb. ground turkey, browned (you could use ground beef but we prefer ground turkey!)
1/2-3/4c. salsa
2 t. cumin
1t. chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1c. shredded cheese (cheddar, monterey jack, etc)
1/2 c. cilantro
1/4c. sliced green onions
6-8 large burrito sized tortillas

Combine in the same skillet used to brown the meat the salsa, cumin, chili powder, and salt and pepper.  Let simmer for a few minutes.  Add cheese and let cook until cheese is melted.  Remove from heat and add cilantro and green onions.  Take a tortilla and place about 1/2-1 c. of the meat mixture in the center of the tortilla. Fold up one half and then fold over the edges all the way around the meat until you have encase the meat in the tortilla shell.

 Repeat with remaining meat and tortillas.  Next, heat a skillet to 300-350 degrees.  Spray the skillet with a cooking spray like Pam and place meat filled tortillas on the skillet seam side down.  Spray the tops of the tortillas.  Flip when they are golden brown (about 5-7 minutes).  Serve with sour cream and salsa or just eat plain. 

These are such a hit at our house!!  I hope you enjoy!

 Lisa