Mathcounts

Mathcouts http://mathcounts.org/ is a non-profit organzation that engages middles school (6th-8th grade) students in challenging math progams.

Kaylin and I have looked at their Competitions Series and are working through some of the problems.  We also like looking at the problem of the week.

Yes Kaylin is only in the 3rd grade however this is nothing wrong with exposing her to new and different concepts and working through them with her.

Dehydrated Oranges

I got ~15lbs of baby oranges for free.  I knew that we would not be able to eat all of these oranges before they went bad so I though I might try dehydrating them.  I searched the web and found that there have been other people that have dehydrated them so I thought why not.

1. Rinse orange off and cut stem end off

2. Cut down the center and then slice

3. Have girls help lay out on trays

4. Load up the dehydrator and set at 135F

 5. Wait 8-12 hrs depending on how thick your slices.  Check slices to ensure that they are completely dry.

6. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.  The girls really like eating these.  Sometimes they will just eat the orange part and other times they will eat the whole thing (rind included).

Homemade Cheese Crackers

I want to try out this recipe from Homestead in the Hills of Tennessee http://homesteadinthehillsoftennessee.blogspot.com/2013/12/here-is-homemade-cheese-crackerrecipe.html

Homemade Cheese Crackers

Here is a cheese cracker recipe that I recently made. They are great with humus, cheese dips, and bean dips.

• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 8 oz. block of cream cheese
• 1 stick butter
• 3 cups shredded cheese
• 1.5-2.5 cups milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Then cut in the cream cheese and butter. Add cheese and mix well. I forgot to measure the milk when I made these so just stir in enough milk to make the dough come together without being sticky.

Roll out thin on a floured surface. Cut into squares and bake on cookie sheets for 15-25 minutes, until slightly golden. Enjoy!