Pioneer Day Wrap Up!

Finally....I am back! 

I know I promised more Pioneer Day stuff so Here are some of the things that we did to Celebrate this Pioneer Day!   I just didnt get a chance to post them earlier but I thought I would post the ideas for future Pioneer reference, Cowboy Days, Rodeo Ideas or just Fun.

We are definitely scaling back our party-ing due to the need to sell our house...and keep it clean! 

Ahhh....Super Mommy activities sure are messy! 

1.  Pioneer Flapjacks.  My son made these Flap Jacks at school when they were learning about Cowboys last year, so I tucked the little recipe away with our Pioneer Day supplies.  They are so easy and yummy!  And the kids can feel like Pioneers or Cowboys as they make their "starter" the night before.  I typed the recipe up for you super mommies below.  These would be fun on Cowboy or Rodeo days too!

Pioneer Flapjacks

In a large non metallic bowl, mix 2 C warm water with 1 T yeast. Let sit for a few minutes until dissolved. Add 2 C flour and stir. Cover. Let sit overnight in a warm place. (The kitchen counter will be fine.) The starter will raise and fall. In the morning you can make your Sour Dough Pancakes or as we call them Pioneer Flap Jacks.

Pioneer Flapjacks (Sour Dough Pancakes)

1 C Sour Dough Starter

2 T Cooking Oil

1 Egg

2 T Sugar

¾ C Flour

1 t Baking Soda

¼ t Salt

Add the oil to the starter. Mix. Beat the egg and mix it into the starter. Add the sugar and flour. Stir. Mix the soda and salt together in a small amount of milk. Quickly stir into the starter. Let it sit for a few minutes, then cook and enjoy.

(They were a big hit at our house!  And we ate them outside like real Pioneers.)

2.  Gunny Sack and Three Legged races.  These games are so old fashioned but I really dont think my kids have ever even heard of them.  My little guy is in one of our old pillowcases since I didnt find time to get some real bags from an animal feed store but I will get some one of these days...they are just so old fashioned looking that I can't resist adding them to the Pioneer Day box!

3.  Pioneer Stories.  This site has 3 interesteing stories about Pioneer Children if you are looking for some to read.  And then you can make some Covered Wagons like these to eat .  I used lifesavers, skewer sticks, large marshmallows, and graham crackers.  Just slip your skewer sticks into the lifesavers, add a 1/4 of a graham cracker, and set the marshamallows on.  So Easy!  And we had this little toy ox that we added too!

4.  Whittling...we let the kids do some whittling this year. (the older guy got  real pocket knife but little guys can use plastic butter knives and a bar of soap.)  I thought it would be fun to do by the fire (if you have a backyard fire pit).  We have a little chiminea in the back and the kiddos have been begging to have a fire in it.  I would recommend doing the whittling before it gets dark though! 

5.  Make Floats in Mason Jars! 

Red, White, and Blueberry Float...I let the kiddos make a fun and patriotic treat I saw on our house hunting trip to California last week (it is a variation from the one I saw at Dennys).  It isnt really Pioneer-ish but I figured we could put it in a Mason Jar and that will make it look old fashioned!  Pioneers and Patriotic go together perfectly!

Rootbeer Floats.  Here  is a fun recipe for easy homemade rootbeer (using seltzer water) and they were served in a jar! If you are really feeling like a Super Mommy, you could even make your own icecream!  We know the Pioneers had to do that!  My sister in law, Jen, has balls similar to these that they like to make homemade icecream with.  Or we have made it in a bag with this fun and easy recipe...just be careful not to get salt water into your icecream when you open it!  That totally ruins it!

I hope everyone had a great Pioneer Day!!

5 of our Favorite Pioneer Day Traditions

1.  Cook in a Dutch Oven:  Believe it or not the Pioneers did bring their Dutch Ovens across the plains!  You could do a main dish, side dish and/or a dessert in the Dutch Oven!  We grilled chicken on the BBQ and made peach cobbler in our Dutch Oven.  Here is my SUPER EASY recipe from my camp cooking class in college (I know).

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler:

INGREDIENTS:

1 quart peaches (I use my home canned ones)

1 yellow cake mix

1 can Sprite

Pour in all ingredients in the order listed and do not stir.  Then cook with 10-14 coals on both top and bottom until golden brown on top.  Top with icecream or whipped cream.

*note:  if you want the cobbler to be firmly set up (like a cake), you may want to drain 1/2 of the liquid from your quart of peaches.  We like ours more juicy (like a warm pie) so we dont drain any juice.

2.  Have a Taffy Pull:  Last year, we did our Pioneer Day Taffy Pull out on the back patio using the gas burner on our BBQ grill.  The weather was perfect and it saved my house from the mess!  I found this recipe online and it is the recipe we used. 

Salt Water Taffy

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup light corn syrup

2/3 cup water

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vegetable glycerine (sold at most party or natural food stores)

2 tbsp. butter

4 drops each of red and blue food coloring

2 tsp. lemon juice

In a large saucepan, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, water, salt and glycerine with a wooden spoon. Cook over medium heat, stirring now and then until a candy thermometer reads 255 degrees. Stir in the butter. Divide the mixture into three equal portions. Mix red food coloring into one batch, blue into another and leave one plain. Pour each batch onto a greased flat pan and fold over the edges with a spatula to keep them from hardening.

When the candy is cool enough to handle, brush with lemon juice. Then, with well-buttered hands, each child can stretch one of the batches into a long rope until elastic (about five minutes). Finally, twist together the ropes, cut into pieces and wrap individually in waxed paper.

3.  Have a Corn on the Cob Eating Contest:  Anyone who dared, could enter this contest, at last years Pioneer Day Party!  The rules were the contestant had to eat all of the corn from the cob, swallow and show an empty mouth, then run to the back fence and toss the cob over and run back to the finish line.  It was pretty fun...and funny to watch!

4.  Dress up!  And Decorate a Wagon:  We dug out our old bonnets, hats, and anything else we could use as Pioneer clothing. Then we made our stroller into a covered wagon. Just cover the open canopy using a white sheet and safety pins. Then attach brown strip of cardboard to the bottom with some brown or clear packing tape...it looked pretty good! (I wish I had a better photo but this is the best I had! The oldest cousins got elected to be the oxen...)

5.  Play Pioneer Night Games:  Last year the kids (I had my 3 and 5 cousins sleeping over) were outside until dark and they all started playing hide and seek, sardines, and capture the flag.  I am not sure Pioneers played those exact games, but I remember thinking that I could certainly imagine the Pioneer kids playing in the warm dusky evenings before bed. I realized that my kids do not get a chance to play those simple games very often.  I practically had to drag them all inside and it was after 11pm!

Those are some of the things that we did last year...5 more fun ideas that we are trying this year will be posted next week....

10 Fun Ideas for Your Pioneer Day Celebrating

COMING SOON! (I am on vacation until Monday...)