Category: Recipes

Playdough is a great way to work on fine motor skill development and something we have out in nursery every day. The children are always involved in making it which is a great opportunity for conversation, weighing and measuring are great for early numeracy development too!

Have a go at making your own playdough at home, you can add colour or different scents to it too! We were using dried out oranges, cinnamon sticks and ginger in our playdough just before we broke up!

Best Ever No-Cook Play Dough Recipe!

You need:

• 2 cups plain flour (all purpose)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil  (baby oil and coconut oil work too)
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
• 1 to 1.5 cups boiling water (adding in increments until it feels just right)
• gel food colouring (optional)
• few drops glycerine (my secret ingredient for stretch and shine!)

Method:

• Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil in a large mixing bowl
• Add food colouring to the boiling water then into the dry ingredients
• Stir continuously until it becomes a sticky, combined dough
• Add the glycerine (optional)
• Allow it to cool down then take it out of the bowl and knead it vigorously for a couple of minutes until all of the stickiness has gone. * This is the most important part of the process, so keep at it until it’s the perfect consistency!*
• If it remains a little sticky then add a touch more flour until just right

Here is a recipe from Mrs Hughson for Sticky Honey Cakes. Yum!

Here is Mrs Hughson’s Lemon Cheesecake recipe. It looks yummy!

The children at nursery LOVE macaroni cheese so you will probably have a clean plate if you make this with them

Ingredients

• 250g/9oz macaroni
• 40g/1½oz butter
• 40g/1½ plain flour
• 600ml/1 pint 1½fl oz milk
• 250g/9oz cheddar, grated
• 50g/2oz Parmesan (or a similar vegetarian alternative), finely grated

Method

1. Cook the macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 8–10 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
2. Melt the butter over a medium heat in a saucepan slightly larger than that used for the macaroni. Add the flour and stir to form a roux, cooking for a few minutes.
3. Gradually whisk in the milk, a little at a time. Cook for 10–15 minutes to a thickened and smooth sauce.
4. Meanwhile, preheat the grill to hot.
5. Remove the sauce from the hob, add 175g/6oz of the cheese and stir until it is well combined and melted.
6. Add the macaroni to the sauce and mix well. Transfer to a deep suitably-sized ovenproof dish.
7. Sprinkle over the remaining Cheddar and the Parmesan and place the dish under the hot grill. Cook until the cheese is browned and bubbling.
8. Serve straightaway!

Thank you to everyone who has already completed the questionnaire that was emailed out this morning and posted here on the nursery blog.

One parent/carer had a suggestion of sharing some snack ideas that we do at nursery. We thought this was a great suggestion so under “Home Learning” in the menu is a new page for snack ideas.

Please feel free to share with us your other favourite snacks that you give your children and we can add them to the list.

Snack Ideas

Miss Neil made French Toast today for her son’s snack. It looks delicious!

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These banana pancakes from BBC recipes are really easy to make and they do not have any added sugar apart from the natural sugar in the bananas. They make a delicious snack and are fun to make with the children.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easy-banana-pancakes

Mrs Hughson was busy baking a carrot cake over the Easter holidays. Here is her recipe if anyone wants to try it! Yum!

Miss Banks made delicious looking scones today!

Ingredients:

350g self-raising flour, plus more for dusting

1 tsp baking powder

85g butter

3 tbsp caster sugar

175ml milk

1 tsp vanilla

beaten egg, to glaze

Method:

* Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas

* Pour 350g self-raising flour into a large bowl with 1 tsp baking powder, then mix.

* Add 85g butter, then rub in with your fingers until the mix looks like fine crumbs then stir in 3 tbsp caster sugar.

* Put 175ml milk into a jug and heat in the microwave for about 30 secs until warm, but not hot.

* Add 1 tsp vanilla extract then set aside for a moment.

* Put a baking  tray in the oven.

* Make a well in the dry mix, then add the liquid and combine it quickly with a cutlery knife – it will seem pretty wet at first.

* Scatter some flour onto the work surface and tip the dough out. Sprinkle the dough and your hands with a little more flour, then fold the dough over 2-3 times until it’s a little smoother. Pat into a round about 4cm deep.

* Take a 5cm cutter and dip it into some flour. Plunge into the dough, then repeat until you have used all the dough.

* Brush the tops with a beaten egg, then carefully place onto the hot baking tray.

* Bake for 10 mins until risen and golden on the top. Eat warm or cold with a topping of your choice or just plain!

Enjoy!