Oct 05 2020

A Pizza Treat that Tricks the Taste Buds – Recipe

It’s the month of Halloween! That is 31 days of fun ghoulish treats, tricks, and costumes. It is also the month of unimaginable amounts of candy. In fact, other than December, this is probably one of the harder months to get kids and adults to eat their vegetables. Why would we want that crazy healthy stuff when a smorgasbord of delicious sugar dances before us?

There is a fix for this Halloween phenomenon: make something that can’t possibly be healthy and secretly make it healthy. In other words, make a secret trick out of a yummy treat. Thanks to Disney’s Inside Out, we are given a delicious recipe called Anger’s Real Pizza that will trick the senses.

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Anger’s Real Pizza recipe puts almost a cup of veggies in the sauce. It hides them from view, tricking the family into eating something healthy. I love this because the family thinks they are getting this amazing treat of cheesy goodness and I know the secret trick. This puts a whole new spin of Trick or Treat. At this point I say it is totally cool to chuckle to yourself.

The recipe and instructions are below. Click print to make a hard copy and save it for future deliciousness.

Anger's Real Pizza

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

A delicious treat that tricks the taste buds.


Inspired by Disney’s movie Inside Out

Ingredients

    Hearty Vegetable Pizza Sauce
  • 3.5 cups organic tomato puree
  • 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil
  • 1 chopped garlic clove
  • 4 oz chopped onion
  • 1 whole zucchini chopped
  • 2 whole carrots chopped
  • 2 tspns salt
  • 2 tspns oregano
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
    • Pizza Dough
  • 4 cups all=purpose flour
  • 2 packages of active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tsp coarse salt
    • Toppings
  • 1 cup of Shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Black olives for eyes (optional)
  • Pepperoni cut to look like vampire teeth (optional;)
  • your choice of toppings (optional)

Directions

Make Sauce

  1. Heat garlic, onion, zucchini, and carrots in a pan for 10 min
  2. Add the rest of your sauce ingredients together in a pot and blend smooth with a hand blender or kitchen blender.
  3. Cook on low heat for 45 minutes.

Make Your Dough

  1. Put 1.5 cups of warm water in a large bowl and add both packages of yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes (until it gets foamy)
  2. Whisk your oil, sugar and salt into your yeast water.
  3. Add your flour and stir with a spoon until it forms into a sticky dough
  4. Transfer your dough into an oiled bowl and coat the surface with more oil.
  5. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour
  6. Turn out dough onto lightly floured work area and knead a few times before using

Build and Bake

  1. Spread your dough out evenly on a lightly oiled pizza pan or baking sheet
  2. Smother the surface of your dough evenly with sauce. The Saucier the better
  3. Smother the top with mozzarella cheese. The cheesier the better
  4. Bake at 475 F for 12-15 minutes until it looks perfectly awesome.


Anger’s Real Pizza recipe is also available to download in PDF form. Simply click the image below and to go to my blog post and download the recipe from there.

Oct 04 2020

Dish Scapes Creates a Spooktacular Haunted House and Game

It’s Halloween on Dish Scapes! What does that mean exactly? It means all things spooky are featured on channel 199 ! With a haunted house, witches, zombies, werewolves, man eating plants, ghosts, cats, rats, creepy sounds, and more, this month’s Dish Scape gets everyone into the Halloween mood.

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With this months spooktacular haunted house on Dish Scape, the audience also gets to enjoy and play a fun trivia game! If we answer the questions correctly we can be entered to win some really cool prizes! Three people will win a grand prize of $1000 credit for select items within the DISH Smart Home Services store, name listed on DISH scape, and DISH scape commemorative glass.. Find out more about the rules, prizes and conditions om dishwatchandwin.com.

The 10 game questions all relate to the Dish Scape scenery, which means we have to pay attention to what is going on. On the plus side, night and day cycle so there is always an opportunity to figure out what the answer is. Here are some examples of the questions asked. Tip: count the bats that fly by the screen.

Once we have answered all the questions, we then fill out the form which needs to include your account number, so be sure to have your account number on hand. If you don’t have it, here is how to find your Dish account number: click Menu -> My Dish -> Bills and Payments -> select a bill and write down your account number

Once the form is complete click Submit and wait for the email. If you get all the answers right, you will be entered for a chance to win the awesome prizes. We can enter every week with each new Spooktacular Dish Scape and trivia questions. Now let’s watch a haunted house!

Oct 02 2020

Learn Sign Language with Blue and Josh in Blue’s Clues and You: Caring with Blue!

Blue’s Clues and You! Caring With Blue is coming to DVD this Tuesday October 6, 2020! It will feature four fun episodes and several special features the little fans will enjoy as they search, think, and solve Blue’s and Magenta’s clues.

The four episodes included on the Blue’s Clues & You! Caring with Blue DVD are:

  • Laugh with Blue
  • Getting Glasses with Magenta
  • Sad Day with Blue
  • Getting Healthy with Blue

The Blue’s Clues & You! Caring with Blue also includes fun special features:

  • Silly Town Skidoo
  • Skidoo to Blue’s School
  • Josh & Blue’s Superhero Skidoo
  • Josh & Blue’s VLOG!
    • Nursery Rhymes + Guessing Game!
    • Healthy Snacks Song + Magenta Gets Glasses!
    • Find the Snail + Play Time Sing Along!
    • Play Hide & Seek + Music Guessing Game!
    • Science Experiment + Sing Alongs!
  • Learn Sign Language with Josh & Blue
  • Learn How to Wash Your Hands with Josh & Blue
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I got the chance to review the DVD and here is what I thought.

This DVD contains episodes featuring Blue and her friends. Like other episodes, the audience is taken on an interactive journey to find clues and solve the puzzle. Kids will love searching the bright and colorful scenery for the clues hidden in the background. They will also love assisting the characters with choices and finding specific objects. For example, in the episode “Getting Glasses with Magenta,” the audience helps Magenta pick out a lovely pair of glasses. Can you guess which pair?

Not only are the episodes interactive but they also teach valuable lessons and empathy. For example, in “Getting Healthy with Blue”, Josh gets the sniffles. To care of Josh, Blue takes the audience on a search for clues to figure out what Josh needs to feel better. The little ones learn to care for those feeling under the weather and to be kind.

These sort of lessons and interactions are what we have come to expect and love about Blue’s Clues and You especially with the “Blue’s Clues and You! Caring With Blue” collection, which really takes on the idea of caring for each other. I love the fact it teaches the audience to care. However, this is not what I love the most about this DVD. I actually love the special feature Learn Sign Language with Josh & Blue the most!

It has been a goal of mine to learn Sign Language. I have recently started learning the basic words like thank you, how are you, girl, boy, and all the letters. It has been a fascinating journey so far and has come in handy several times. When I saw that Blue’s Clues and You actually helps kids learn this indispensable skill, I was ecstatic.

What is even more amazing, is that the creators of the Blue’s Clues and You! Caring With Blue DVD included flash cards featuring some of the Sign Language used in the film! The flash cards include signing for the words sad, scared, excited, funny, eyes, glasses, see, and sick. If the flash cards are not enough, the special feature, Learn Sign Language with Josh & Blue, shows the audience how to sign the words.

I absolutely love all the interactions, learning , and of course the lessons in Sign Language. My family and I will be practicing these new words together. Hopefully we will get to use them in conversation soon. 5 stars!

Grab a copy of Blue’s Clues and You: Caring with Blue from Amazon.com and start the journey of learning with the little ones in your house.

Be sure to also enter our amazing giveaway for a chance to win a copy of Blue’s Clues and You: Caring with Blue on DVD. Simply click the image below and complete the tasks on the rafflecopter form.

Oct 02 2020

Celebrate Halloween with These Printable Masks from The Croods!

The Croods: A New Age, or what I like to call Croods 2, will be coming out this Thanksgiving! I am very excited for this sequel, we have been waiting 7 long years for this. For more information, pictures, and to see the fun trailer check out my blog here.

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While we wait for the epic release, we can celebrate all things The Croods with some fun printable masks! These masks, supplied by Dreamworks, will be perfect for the most epic Halloween costumes. The PDF contains 3 masks featuring:

  • Chunky the Death Cat
  • Belt
  • Punch Monkey

Chunky Costume

With a species name like Macawnivore, Chunky has to be part parrot, so I recommend bright color clothes’ to match the mask. The ideal top would be a shirt that is yellow in the front and a teal or blue in the back, but that may be rather hard to find. So, I suggest a yellow shirt and a blue jacket (This will also help keep the costumer warm). To finish off the costume wear blue pants, white shoes, and create a fun tail out of your favorite material.

Belt Costume

Belt is an easy costume to make. Print the mask, wear brown pants, and a brown shirt. TADA! Just don’t try to help keep peoples pants up.

Punch Monkey

The Punch Monkey costume will be similar to the Chunky costume. Get a white shirt, gray jacket, gray pants, and gray shoes. Make a gray, white, and orange stripped tail out of your favorite materials and attach it to the pants. If you want to add the yellow/orange to the shoulders, add a scarf. This will help keep the costumer warm and it adds a bit more color.

To get the masks: Simply click the image below and save the PDF to your computer. The print and follow the instructions to create. From there add some perfect clothes to match the colors and begin the Halloween madness.

Oct 01 2020

Start October With These Frankenstein’s Marshmallow Pops – Recipe

It’s October first and that means Halloween is just 30 days away! This year Halloween will have an extra hour of fun thanks to Daylight Savings Time, it will feature a full moon, and it lands on the weekend. We have the trifecta of awesomeness! Gearing towards this amazing event I have decided to share some of my favorite Halloween treats, crafts, and activities, some old and some new.

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To celebrate the start of October, I thought I would share a fun marshmallow recipe the whole family can enjoy, Frankenstein’s Marshmallow Pops inspired from the movie Hotel Transylvania 2. I especially like this recipe because the pops are easy to make and require very few ingredients. It also has no baking time and only requires the melting and cooling of chocolate. Another reason I enjoy this recipe is because I don’t have to have any decorating talents. As long as I can dip a marshmallow, I can make these Frankenstein’s Marshmallow pops. Use the recipe below to make your own and show off your decorating skills *wink*.

Frankenstein Marshmallow Pops Recipe

  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

A Delicios spooky marshmallow pop.



NOTE: Adults should complete all the tasks dealing with melting/heating

Ingredients

  • Green Candy Melts
  • Marshmallows (The bigger the better)
  • Small Pretzel Rods
  • Semisweet chocolate chips
  • Edible red and black markers
  • Candy Eyes
  • Toothpicks
  • Lollipop sticks

Directions

  1. Melt the green candy melts in a microwave or double boiler according to the package directions until they are fully melted.
  2. Push the lollipop sticks into the marshmallows. Then dip the Marshmallows into the melted candy, turning to cover them completely. Stand the marshmallows upright in a glass filled with uncooked rice or oatmeal and place the glass in the fridge until the chocolate has cooled and hardened slightly, about 5 min
  3. Melt the chocolate chipes in a microwave or double broiler until smooth. Dip the tops of each of the coated marshmallows in the chocolate to form the hair. Using a toothpick, drag the choclae downntoward the base of the marshmallow to form spikes of hair. Return the marshma;;pws to the fridge until the chocolate has hardened, about 5 min
  4. Break the ends off of the pretzel rods to form the small (about 1/8 inch) “bolts” for Frankenstein’s neck. Carefully push one piece of pretzel into each side of the matchmallow about 1/3 of the way from the bottom
  5. Using a toothpick and the remaining melted chocolate, dab teo small dots of chocolate onto each marshmallow and press on the candy eyeballs
  6. Using the black edible marker, draw on a mouth, and then using the red edible marker, draw on a laceration on Grankenstein’s forehead. Enjoy the marshmallow pops immediately or store them in an air-tight contained in the fridge until ready to serve.

To get the fun Graphic recipe click the image below and save the PDF to your computer. Then print and create for a yummy good time.

Sep 28 2020

Fast & Furious: Spy Racers Heads to Rio de Janeiro in Season 2

The Spy Racers are heading to Rio on October 9th in their brand new second season of Fast and Furious: Spy Racers. This time Tony and his crew embark on their first international mission to Brazil. Once in Rio, they discover that Ms. Nowhere’s latest recruit and formidable fellow racer, Layla Gray, is missing in action during an undercover mission. Unwilling to leave family behind, Tony and the Spy Racers don secret identities to find Layla, but end up uncovering a sinister plot that keeps them guessing at every turn. 

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Inspired by Universal’s blockbuster Fast & Furious franchise, teenager Tony Toretto follows in the footsteps of his cousin Dom when he and his friends are recruited by a government agency to infiltrate an elite racing league serving as a front for a nefarious crime organization bent on world domination. 

Tim Hedrick and Bret Haaland serve as executive producers and showrunners. Vin Diesel, Neal H. Moritz and Chris Morgan also executive produce and serve as producers on the live-action Fast & Furious franchise. Fast & Furious: Spy Racers features the talented voices of Tyler Posey (Alone; Teen Wolf) as “Tony Toretto,” Charlet Chung (Overwatch; Chuck) as “Echo,” Luke Youngblood (Community) as “Frostee Benson,” Jorge Diaz (Jane the Virgin) as “Cisco Renaldo,” Camille Ramsey (American Vandal) as “Layla Gray,” Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton;  Altered Carbon) as “Ms. Nowhere,” and Avrielle Corti (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts) as “Rafaela.

In celebration Universal and DreamWorks Animation have released the second season trailer found below!

Sep 23 2020

All are Beautiful in Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs

Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs came out on DVD and Blu-ray Sept 22, 2020. This modern take on Snow White turns the story upside down. This time the princes are looking for a princess to save them, Snow White finds red slippers, and this story take us on a journey of self discovery.

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I got the opportunity to watch Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs and here is what I thought. SPOILERS BELOW

The movie begins right in the thick of things as seven princes known as the Fearless Seven get cursed for attacking a fairy princess. Well, it was a lot more than that. They actually attacked the princess because they thought she was ugly and ugly means she had to be a witch. Imagine their surprise when they found out that a princess can come in all shapes and sizes.

Poof

Due to their arrogance, the fairy princess changes the Fearless Seven into little green dwarfs/. This curse can only be broken by getting a kiss from the most beautiful princess in the world. At this point, I am on the side of the fairy princess. Those seven egotistical “heroes” needed a good lesson…besides, it worked in Beauty and the Beast, why not here.

Fairy Princess from Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs.

Similar to the Beauty and the Beast story, Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs shares the theme that we shouldn’t judge by appearance because beauty is found within. Unlike Beauty and the Beast, Red Shoes expands on the theme exploring the fact that everyone is beautiful. Whether someone is big, little, tall, short, old, young, or even green, they are all sparkling gems.

This lesson isn’t just for the little green men. Snow White must also deal with the never ending stupid thrown her way as she searches for her dad. In a world that only sees the outward appearance, she is a misfit because she doesn’t match the idea of beautiful. Most people won’t even help her in her true form. However, once she wears a pair of red magical shoes, Snow White goes from big to thin in the blink of an eye and everyone becomes accommodating. There is a scene where she takes off her magic shoes to escape her pursuers only to be teased and tormented for her weight. It is a sad reminder of what actually happens in the world today.

Snow White with the Red Shoes on

The audience of Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs gets to embark on the adventure to self discovery with the Fearless Seven and Snow White. From shoes growing on trees to monsters made out of wood, the magical journey reminds us that things are not always what they seem.

Putting the story, moral, theme, and journey of self discovery aside, I want to talk about the title of the movie, Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs. That little bitty title had me confused beyond all reason. Why? Because how does one spell the plural form of dwarf?

When I first started getting info about Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs, long before I saw the film, I immediately contacted a fellow writer with that exact question. I was certain that the creators of Red Shoes had spelled the plural form of dwarf wrong. Growing up in the age of Lord of the Rings and Tolkien, I thought the spelling should have been dwarves with a v. After a short discussion, my friend and I decided that both forms are correct.

What’s funny is our discussion somehow ended up on the big screen. The movie has the running joke on how to spell the plural of dwarf. I was laughing so hard. Is it DWARFS with an F or DWARVES with a v? Thank you so much Lionsgate for keeping us literary grammar nerds happy.

With a great message, wonderful action, delightful adventure, and a few hilarious jokes, I give Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs (Dwarves) five stars.

Be Sure to enter the Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs DVD giveaway for a chance to win this move on DVD. Click the image below and follow the instruction to enter.

Sep 22 2020

Celebrate Unity and Kindness With A Fun Printable Paper Doll Craft!

Happy first day of fall! I can’t wait for cool breezes, hoodies, pumpkin spice everything, warm boots and more! It is my favorite season. Nickelodeon Parents is also celebrating the first day of fall with their release of Nick Jr.: Fantastic Fall! on DVD!

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While Thanksgiving is still a few months away, it’s never too early to celebrate unity and gratitude. In celebration of today’s DVD release of Nick Jr.: Fantastic Fall!, we’re excited to share this Unity Paper Doll Chain craft!

Take a moment to talk to your child about inclusivity and diversity while making this craft. Print, cut out, and let your kid color in his or her favorite cutie-pie characters, from Blue’s Clues to Bubble Guppies.

Nickelodeon Parents

To get the paper doll craft click the image below and download the PDF to your computer. Then print and create!

Be sure to enter the Fantastic Fall DVD giveaway for a chance to win a copy of the DVD!

Sep 22 2020

A First Look at The Croods: A New Age

After seven years Dreamworks has announced a new Croods movie, The Croods: A New Age! My family watches and rewatches The Croods weekly; it is one of our favorite animated features. To hear that we are finally getting another Croods adventure is beyond exciting! Not only has the news been released but we also have epic images and a trailer! Get a first look with the information below and watch the hilarious trailer.

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The Croods have survived their fair share of dangers and disasters, from fanged prehistoric beasts to surviving the end of the world, but now they will face their biggest challenge of all: another family

The Croods (left) meet The Bettermans (right) in DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age, directed by Joel Crawford. The Croods (from left): Thunk (Clark Duke), Gran (Cloris Leachman), Sandy (Kailey Crawford), Grug (Nicolas Cage), Ugga (Catherine Keener) and Eep (Emma Stone). The Bettermans (from near right): Phil (Peter Dinklage) and Hope (Leslie Mann).

The Croods need a new place to live. So, the first prehistoric family sets off into the world in search of a safer place to call home. When they discover an idyllic walled-in paradise that meets all their needs, they think their problems are solved … except for one thing. Another family already lives there: the Bettermans.

(clockwise, from top left) Sandy Crood (Kailey Crawford), Grug Crood (Nicolas Cage), Thunk Crood (Clark Duke), Gran (Cloris Leachman), Eep Crood (Emma Stone) and Ugga Crood (Catherine Keener) in DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age, directed by Joel Crawford.

The Bettermans (emphasis on the “better”)—with their elaborate tree house, amazing inventions and irrigated acres of fresh produce—are a couple of steps above the Croods on the evolutionary ladder. When they take the Croods in as the world’s first houseguests, it isn’t long before tensions escalate between the cave family and the modern family.

(from left) Eep Crood (Emma Stone) and Dawn Betterman (Kelly Marie Tran) in DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age, directed by Joel Crawford.

Just when all seems lost, a new threat will propel both families on an epic adventure outside the safety of the wall, one that will force them to embrace their differences, draw strength from each other and forge a future together.

Guy (Ryan Reynolds) and his pet sloth Belt in DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age, directed by Joel Crawford.

The Croods: A New Age features the voice talent of returning stars Nicolas Cage as Grug Crood, Catherine Keener as Ugga Crood, Emma Stone as their daughter, Eep; Ryan Reynolds as Eep’s boyfriend, Guy; Clark Duke (Hot Tub Time Machine) as Thunk and Cloris Leachman as Gran. They’re joined by new stars Peter Dinklage (HBO’s Game of Thrones) as Phil Betterman, Leslie Mann (Blockers) as Hope Betterman, and Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars: Episode VIII-The Last Jedi) as their daughter, Dawn.

The film is directed by Joel Crawford, who has worked on multiple DreamWorks Animation films, including Trolls and the Kung Fu Panda franchise, and is produced by Mark Swift (Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted).

Be sure to grab the activities and coloring pages of The Croods to get ready for the new movie. You can create a Chunky the Death Cat, create Belt, color Eep, Grug, Sandy, Thunk, Uga, and Guy, get door hangers, print bookmarks, print masks, create and play a memory game and more!. Click the image below and let the fun begin!

Sep 18 2020

Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs Printable Activities

Looking to add a little bit of magic to your weekend? Your wish is our command! In celebration of Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs, premiering on Digital and On Demand today and available to own on Blu-ray™ and DVD September 22, we’re excited to share a fun and easy Wooden Bears Paper Bag Puppets craft, as well as some super cute Coloring Sheets. 

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The Wooden Bears Paper Bag Puppet is a fun craft to make with the family. With only a few supplies needed the whole family will become part of the magic in no time.

he supplies needed are:

  • Paper Lunch Bags
  • Brown and tan paper
  • scissors
  • Glue stick
  • Bear printable

To get the printable click the image below and save the PDF to your computer. Then print and create!

The coloring pages are a wonderful little gem to have. With a simple print and a few crayons the kids (and us adults) will be busy in no time. The coloring pages feature the Dwarfs and Snow White. Simply click the image below to download the PDF that contains the 3 epic coloring pages.