ENTERTAINMENT – Page 27 – Whole Heartily

Nick and Fennec’s Pawpsicle Recipe (Zootopia)

INTRODUCTION

Welcome back friends! This week we’ll be creating the pawpsicles (popsicles) the enterprising Nick Wilde and Fennec create and sell to the lemmings in Disney’s Zootopia.

Nick and Fennec's Pawpsicle (Popsicle) Recipe from Disney's Zootopia. Pawpsicles are featured after Nick and Fennec hustle a jumbo-pop from Judy and Jumbeaux Cafe’s owner, then turn it into their own smaller pawpsicles to sell for a profit.

Nick and Fennec's Pawpsicle (Popsicle) Recipe from Disney's Zootopia. These are sweet, juicy and delicious, although they start to melt quickly so eat quickly! I wanted to use real fruit to make these with only minimal sugar added. Quite honestly, these probably would have been just as delicious without adding any sugar. I think I want to try that too!

PAWPSICLES

1 cup of raspberries
1 cup of strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup of sugar, divided
1 tablespoon of vanilla
2 cups of cherry juice
Silicone paw print molds
Popsicle sticks

INSTRUCTIONS (PAWPSICLES)

Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare a parchment lined sheet pan.
Combine the raspberries, strawberries, vanilla and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a large bowl and stir to combine.
Place the combined ingredients onto the parchment-lined sheet pan and place it in the oven. Roast for 20 minutes.
In a saucepan, heat the cherry juice and 1/4 cup of sugar for about five minutes or until the sugar dissolves, then pour it into a bowl to cool.
Once the fruit in the oven has roasted, add it into the bowl with the cherry juice, then place the bowl in the refrigerator to cool.
Once cool, puree and pour the juice into the paw print molds and place in freezer for 5 or more hours.
Serve and enjoy!

Zoey’s Bedtime Stories

Reading has always been very special to me. I remember my mom reading to me as a child and I believe it had a profound impact on my love for reading and books, not to mention my performance in school. I want to continue that tradition with Zoey. I want her to hear my voice, hear the diction and the pronunciation, see the beautiful images and eventually enjoy the stories.

Zoey’s Bedtime Story (#ZoeysBedtimeStory) is nighttime ritual I started in January of this year. Every night before her bedtime, I read Zoey a book (sometimes the books last two nights if they turn out to be too long). I can honestly say there are very few books that have captured her attention yet (when we started she was 5 months old, now she’s almost 10 months old). She’s more interested in just about everything else, but that doesn’t discourage me. I’ll keep going until she feels like paying attention and that’s when the real fun will begin!

Please come follow along on my Instagram where I post which book we’re reading each night in my story, and every book I’ve read to her has been saved to the highlights on my profile.

Children and Young Adult Books for Zoey. I’ve also started a Pinterest Board of all the books I would like to read to Zoey or share with her someday. Check it out to get inspired and please let me know if there are any children books you would recommend; we love sharing stories!

The Outer Worlds Visual Companions Guide

If there’s one thing I do when I play a game (besides trying to relax and enjoy myself), it’s look up information. I get curious or stuck, and I find myself turning to the internet for answers. There are a lot of good guides out there that are super helpful, but what I don’t see are an abundance of simple and clean visual guides that lay out all the information in one place.

While I was playing Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds and it occurred to me after talking to my brother-in-law and cousin that it may be useful to have a simple, one page infographic with some basic information about all the companions you can recruit and play with in the game. This graphic has a photograph of each companion with the location and quest they can be recruited from, the name of their personal quest-line, their special abilities and what player skill they boost by being in your party.

Please let me know if there are any games you would like to see visual information or guides for in the future! I love helping people, discussing games and organizing information!

DIY Ocean Wave Sensory Bottle

DIY Ocean Wave Sensory Bottle With Summer solstice right around the corner, I was thinking about the beach and got inspired to make an ocean wave sensory bottle (not to mention I had all the ingredients already on hand)! Part of the fun in raising Zoey is making things that teach and fascinate her. And, if I’m being completely honest, I find sensory bottles fascinating too, so let’s make one!

DIY Ocean Wave Sensory Bottle

SUPPLIES

16 ounce clear, plastic bottle
Funnel
8 ounces of water
Blue and green food coloring.
8 ounces of baby oil
Glue

DIY Ocean Wave Sensory Bottle

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the funnel in the mouth of your bottle and use it to fill the bottle with 8 ounces of water.
Remove the funnel and add several drops of blue and green food coloring until you reach your desired shade of ocean aqua. I used 8 drops of blue and 2 drops of green, as you can see that led to a very deep shade of blue green.
Screw the lid back onto the bottle and shake the water until the food coloring is well incorporated, then remove the lid and replace the funnel.
Add up to 8 ounces of baby oil.
If your child is older and you worry about him/her undoing the lid, you can coat the inside of the lid with glue, then screw it back onto the bottle. This will secure the lid and make it harder for little ones to unscrew the lid and create a leak or spill the bottle’s contents. If you’re still concerned they may be able to get the lid off, please use cooking oil instead of baby oil.

Tabletop Game – Let’s Play Kanoodle!

Tabletop Game Let's Play Kanoodle I’m always on the look-out for a fun, entertaining way to pass the time, like a good tabletop game! I purchased Kanoodle by educational insights, as a stocking stuffer for my husband and we ignored it for too long! This game is a great way to pass the time and a good way to stimulate your brain!

Tabletop Game Let's Play Kanoodle Kanoodle is a solitaire game for ages 7 and up, of two and three dimensional puzzles to solve using up to 12 puzzles pieces called “noodles”. You pick a puzzle from the included booklet, and put the intended number of noodles on the board as shown on the diagram. Do not move noodles that are already in position and solve each puzzle by filling up the empty space with the remaining noodles.

The first two levels, called “Pro” and “Super Pro”, are great for beginners with only one or two noodles needed to solve each puzzle. As the levels increase the puzzle’s difficulty does as well with larger empty spaces to fill with more noodles. The three dimensional puzzles are significantly more difficult so it’s best to start with the two dimensional puzzles and work your way up.

Tabletop Game Let's Play Kanoodle I have completed all of the two dimensional puzzles, I am now working on the three dimensional puzzles and I intend to complete them all! Check it out!

Kanoodle – This looks like an updated version of the one I’m playing, with more puzzles!
Kanoodle Jr. – Beginner’s Kanoodle for little ones ages 4 through 7.
Kanoodle Extreme – Over 100 more puzzles than the original included from the start!
Kanoodle Genius – For those who have mastered the original Kanoodle or Kanoodle Extreme and are looking for more challenge.
Kanoodle Head to Head – A 2 player versus game.

DIY Chalkboard – Made from a Vintage Wall Frame

DIY upcycled chalkboard made from vintage wall frame. Years ago, I purchased an old empty frame from a Goodwill store. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to use it for, I just knew that I loved the decals on each corner and wanted to fix it up and give it a home. After years of procrastinating while the frame sat around and gathered dust, I finally decided to paint it and create a chalkboard.

DIY upcycled chalkboard made from vintage wall frame. First, remove and sand one side of the mounting board to smooth it out. Once it’s as smooth as you prefer clean it off and prime it, then begin layering coats of chalkboard paint until you’ve reached your desired chalkboard depth and texture.

Scuff the frame with sanding paper all over to allow for the paint to adhere better. Clean the frame and prime it, then begin layering coats of white paint until you’ve reached your desired depth of color (or lack of color in my case since I used white); I used acrylic paint.

DIY upcycled chalkboard made from vintage wall frame. Once both pieces are dry, you can reassemble the frame. Before writing or drawing on the chalkboard, you’ll need to prime it by coating it with chalk.

DIY upcycled chalkboard made from vintage wall frame. As you can see I just wrote the first thing that came to my mind here, but I intend on leaving this frame up as decor year round and changing it for different events, seasons or holidays!

DIY upcycled chalkboard made from vintage wall frame.

Check out the Summer Game Fest!

Summer Game Fest Logo Playing video games is one of my favorite ways to decompress and relax. If I can’t be playing, then listening to video game news and chatter via podcasts or videos comes in a close second, especially when it gives me something to look forward to!

So, if you haven’t heard of the Summer Game Fest, and you enjoy video game news and culture, you’re missing out!

Summer Game Fest is a digital herald for the video game industry from May to August 2020. From the comfort of our homes we can watch showcase events from publishers, play select content, and experience in-game events.

Here are the scheduled events as of today, June 1st, 2020, but I’m sure they will change and evolve as the Summer goes on.

June Summer Game Fest scheduled events as of June 1st, 2020. July Summer Game Fest scheduled events as of June 1st, 2020. August Summer Game Fest scheduled events as of June 1st, 2020. Visit www.summergamefest.com to sign up for notifications and learn more. I recommend following their twitter account for the most up to date information.

A word of warning for families, there is some content that has been aired for mature audiences. There are warnings at the beginning of each video, but if you come in at the middle you may miss that. If this is something that may affect and concern you, I would watch them away from little eyes.

What has stood out to me thus far:

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING
Call of the Sea
Unreal Engine 5
Ghost of Tsushima – GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING
Last of Us Part II – GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING

Luigi’s Mansion 3 – Complete Gem Guide by Floor

I just finished playing Nintendo’s Luigi’s Mansion 3 and loved every minute of it! As soon as I started playing I knew I wanted to create a complete, yet condensed, guide to collecting the game’s many (so many) gems. I took handwritten notes while I played and boy did that remind me fondly of the good ol’ days when you sometimes had to write down a game’s pertinent information in order to progress.

These infographics are organized by floor; I’ve provided each gem’s room, location and gadget(s) needed to find it. It is a lot of information and even condensed I had to create three separate pages to convey all the information. The first guide has the two basement levels through floor four, the second guide has floors five through ten, and the third guide has floors eleven through fifteen.

Please let me know if there are any games you would like to see visual information or guides for in the future! I love helping people, discussing games and organizing information!

“Reflection” Lyric Page from Disney’s Mulan

I love singing to Baby Zoey and she loves being sung to!

I mean who can blame her? Her mom is communicating to her in singsong; making eye contact, smiling, and dancing or making funny movements. I haven’t sung so much in years (harsh comments in high school broke my confidence) and it feels good! I am opening back up and throwing myself into showing her my love through music and I think it’s having a positive affect on her and me.

I used to know all the songs from Disney movies by heart, but I’m a little rusty. I’ve started making lyric pages to refresh my memory or teach me new songs I’ve never known! Feel free to save them to your phone for a quick reference, and please let me know if there are any songs you would like to see lyric pages for!

The Hua Family Pork Dumpling Recipe (Mulan)

INTRODUCTION

Welcome back friends! This week we’ll be cooking up the dumplings or potstickers featured in Disney’s Mulan.

Mushu's Happy Porridge and Faa Family Dumpling Recipe from Disney's Mulan. This recipe is featured twice, once when the Hua family is eating dinner before Mulan departs for training, and again when Mushu pulls one out to roast towards the end of the film.

The Faa Family and Mushu's Pork Dumpling or Potsticker Recipe from Disney's Mulan. Dumplings, in this case potstickers, are delicious! This recipe would have been (and could be) easier if I had used store-bought wonton wrappers, but I was looking in the wrong place and couldn’t find them. It’s a happy accident though, now the whole recipe has been made from scratch!

DUMPLING DOUGH

2 cups of all-purpose flour (plus a little extra for kneading)
1 egg
3⁄4 teaspoon of salt
1⁄2 cup of water
Cornstarch (for rolling out the dough)

INSTRUCTIONS (DUMPLING DOUGH)

Place the flour into a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, salt, and water.
Create a well in the center of the flour and pour in the wet ingredients.
Mix everything together with a spoon (or your hands), until the mixture begins to come together.
Turn the dough onto a hard surface, dusted with flour and knead for about 3 to 5 minutes. The dough should be firm, but smooth when you are done. If your dough is too tacky, add a little extra flour to your counter.
Place the dough back in a floured bowl, cover it with a damp towel, and let it rest for 1 hour.
Divide the dough in half. Cover one half of the dough with your towel.
Lightly dust your counter-top with cornstarch (NOT flour), and roll half of the dough as thin as you can. Mine came out a little thick. but it worked out just fine!
Cut the sheet into 3 inch circles (you can use a cookie cutter, I used a cup).
Repeat with the remaining dough until you’ve cut the maximum number of circles.

PORK DUMPLINGS (POTSTICKERS)

1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 cup chopped head cabbage
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
3/4 teaspoon of sesame oil (or more to taste)
1 lightly beaten egg white
6 Tablespoon vegetable oil (for light frying)

INSTRUCTIONS (PORK DUMPLINGS)

Season the ground pork to your preference and cook it In a skillet on medium high heat until it’s golden brown.
Add the chopped cabbage and green onion to the skillet midway through so they can cook and get soft as the ground pork finishes.
Place the individual dumpling wrappers on a clean, dry surface and scoop about a tablespoon of filling in the center of each one.
Moisten the edge of each wrapper with the beaten egg white before folding.
Pull the edge of each wrapper over the filling and use your fingers to crimp the edge into a folded fan pattern (see images above).
Add 3 to 6 tablespoons of vegetable oil to a wok or deep skillet on medium heat.
Place the dumplings in single layer on the bottom of pan and fry them on each surface until browned (about 2 to 3 minutes each side).
Remove from the heat and enjoy!