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How to Make Your Very Own Trick-or-Treat Bag

October 16, 2014 by

If your kids are eagerly anticipating October 31, you can extend the Halloween celebration a bit longer by helping them to create their own customized candy bags. Here are three simple and creative tutorials that will show you how.

Custom Candy Bag
For this simple bag, first find a favorite Halloween-related image online and print it out onto iron-on transfer paper. All it takes is a household iron to adhere the decal to a canvas tote bag, and your child will love that no one else has a bag like it.

Pillowcase Trick or Treat Bags
Pillowcases have been used as trick or treat bags for generations, but this fun DIY project gives them a spooky makeover. Have your little ones help you by tracing jack-o'-lantern or ghost faces onto black iron-on patches, then adhere them to a simple white pillowcase to fill with candy.

Quick & Easy Trick or Treat Bags
If you’re feeling especially crafty (and have basic sewing skills), this DIY treat bag involves using Halloween-themed fabric scraps to create actual tote bags for your little ghouls and goblins. Best of all, these bags are so sturdy that they can even be used for small school books or as a lunch sack.

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How to Find Pick-Your-Own Apples Near You

September 18, 2014 by

You’ve always wanted to take the kids apple picking, but finding an orchard seems a bit tricky. Fortunately, apple orchards are becoming increasingly popular, and they’re actually much more common than you might think! Here are two great websites that will help you locate places to pick apples locally.

Pick-Your-Own.org
Just like the name implies, this convenient website provides information about all of the different ways to pick apples across the country. Simply select our state’s name from the cumulative list, and the site will show you detailed information about the different facilities across the state. The orchards are even separated by county to make it easier to find one locally.

Local Harvest
This is a go-to site for all types of organic and local food information, but it’s also very beneficial for finding and researching information about apple orchards. Local Harvest’s interactive map enables you to browse by wide areas, and the site also offers information about upcoming events at the orchards. Once you find the closest place to pick apples, check the ratings from other members and read a full description of all of its facilities.

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How and What to Pack for a Sightseeing Trip

August 21, 2014 by

After months of saving, you finally booked that sightseeing trip that you’ve always dreamed of. Whether you’re backpacking across Europe or taking a car trip through South America, you’ll need to know what to pack before you go. Packing these four items will help you be prepared for your sightseeing adventure.

  1. A sturdy backpack. This is an essential for long days of sightseeing as it enables you to tote your belongings around without straining your arms. Choose one with a large main pocket for clothing and supplies and smaller inner pockets to stow away money, your passport, and other essential items.
  2. Maps and guides. Maps are important in areas where you don’t have reliable cell phone service, and they cut down on the time you spend asking for directions. If you’re traveling to an area where you don’t speak the language, it’s also smart to bring along a foreign language dictionary.
  3. Proper clothes. Bring a rain jacket if you’re traveling to rainy London, and wear layers that you can easily remove if you’re in steamy Vietnam. Be sure to look up the climate beforehand to avoid clothing discomfort.
  4. ​A camera. Although a camera isn’t exactly an essential item, you’ll surely want to remember your trip for years to come!

Travel Tips and Packing Lists [Eagle Creek]
15 Things to Pack for Sightseeing [Sue’s Travel Tips]
How to Pack for a Sightseeing Vacation [Independent Traveler]

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Give Your Stove the Night Off With This Trio of Creative Ceviche Recipes

July 24, 2014 by

Ceviche is a staple Peruvian dish that combines raw fish cured in citrus juices and given a signature flavor via spicy chili peppers and other seasonings. It’s become a very popular dish among American gourmet restaurants as well, and many chefs put their own unique spins on the traditional dish. Here are three creative ceviche recipes that you can make at home.

Tofu Lime Ceviche
This vegetarian ceviche uses plump tofu instead of the usual fish, so it’s completely safe for non-meat eaters. The lime juice, jalapeno, and cilantro give it a traditional flavor, while canned coconut milk adds a bit of a creamy finish.

Cauliflower Ceviche
Cauliflower is the star of the show in this flavorful dish, but it absorbs the flavor of the wonderful medley of seasonings around it. Plump Roma tomatoes, roasted poblano peppers, and fresh lime juice all work together in this vegan ceviche.

Ceviche Verde
This dish looks and tastes just as good as the ceviche served in upscale restaurants, but it’s so easy that any amateur home chef can make it. The fish is cooked by an acidic chemical reaction with the lime juice, and an assortment of jalapenos, avocado, and other green ingredients give it a zesty, fresh flavor.

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Cooking 101: Fail-Proof Recipes for Pasta Sauce

June 19, 2014 by

Making your own pasta sauce may seem like something reserved for only the most skilled chefs, but you’d be surprised to know how simple it really is. Forgoing the store-bought sauces in favor of making your own is also beneficial to your health, as it eliminates the added sugars and preservatives that are often found in jarred pasta sauces. If you want to try your hand at preparing a zesty, flavorful sauce at home, here are three fail-proof recipes.

World’s Best Pasta Sauce!
This traditional pasta sauce is a versatile option that you can use for years to come. It includes the staple ingredients like tomato paste and a variety of Italian meats, plus flavorful spices ranging from dried basil to fennel seed. Once the ingredients are blended together, everything gets cooked slowly in a large Dutch oven.

Great Grandma’s Pasta Sauce
If your own grandmother wasn’t much of a sauce maker, feel free to adopt this tasty recipe as your own. It uses simple ground beef, tomatoes, and Italian spices to give it a hearty texture that tastes straight out of the old country.

Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce
If you want to create a sauce that tastes like gourmet without the gourmet cooking skills, this recipe is the one to use. Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse shares his unique recipe that includes unexpected ingredients like hot sauce, balsamic vinegar, and an impressive amount of garlic.

Public Domain/Public Domain
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Greet a Snack Attack With These 5 Creative Popcorn Recipes

May 14, 2014 by

The typical movie theater buttered popcorn is delicious, but sometimes you just want a little something extra from your popcorn. These creative recipes will show you a variety of surprising toppings to spice up your snack, from sweet to savory and every flavor in between.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Popcorn [Swanky]
It may seem strange, but the sweet flavors from everyone’s favorite childhood lunch sandwich work just as well as a topping on your evening snack. Peanut butter and jelly popcorn takes only a few simple ingredients, and it even uses white chocolate for an extra boost of sweetness.

Nutted Popcorn [Real Simple]
Popcorn and nuts are both popular snacks, and this fun recipe combines the two into one filling bowl. Pecans, almonds, and pumpkin seeds stick to each popcorn kernel with a light, cinnamon flavored syrup, much like the kettle corn at county fairs and baseball games.

Samoa Popcorn [Babble]
Achieve the taste of the beloved Girl Scout cookie by drizzling toasted coconut, caramel, and chocolate over your salted popcorn.

Spicy Nutella Popcorn [Healthy Jalapeno]
Nutella is everyone’s favorite sweet spread, and adding spicy ancho chile powder takes this popcorn from a common snack to a gourmet treat.

Bacon and Cheese Popcorn [Popcorn.org]
Bacon is an increasingly popular addition to many dishes, and it works just as well on popcorn. In just five minutes and with a few simple ingredients, you can enjoy this bacon and cheese popcorn snack.

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Math-Themed Board Games to Improve Your Reasoning

April 17, 2014 by

You likely haven’t played a game focused on mathematics since elementary school, but these challenging games may be worth re-visiting. If you think a math-focused board game seems boring or difficult, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much fun these logic games are.

Go
Go is a Chinese board game played on a grid of 19×19 lines. The two players each get either black or white stone pieces, and the object of the game is to get one’s stones to surround a larger total area of the board than the opponent’s.

Checkers
While you may have played Checkers as a child, most people haven’t attempted this fun game in their adult years. Using two different colored pieces on a grid-style board, players move diagonally across the board to “jump” over opposing pieces and capture them. Checkers also helps to build logic and strategy skills, and it is simple enough to be played by people of all ages.

Chess
While Chess is often regarded as complicated, its rules are actually fairly simple. It is a two-player game that uses a variety of different pieces, including kings, queens, pawns, knights, bishops, and rooks. Each pieces has different abilities, but the main objective of the game is to capture the opponent’s pieces and “checkmate” his or her king by cornering it in such a way that it cannot escape.

Public Domain/Openclipart.org
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Creative Vegetable Recipes

March 20, 2014 by

Even if you recognize their numerous health benefits and their daily necessity, it is often difficult to think of creative and flavorful ways to prepare veggies. These unique vegetable recipes might just inspire your creativity:

Asparagus With Lemon Sauce
Ideal for any meal that needs a refreshing zest of flavor, lemon sauce on asparagus makes the vegetable simply delicious. With just a few household ingredients that are low in fat and calories, you can create an elegant side dish to pair with chicken, fish or other main courses.

Creamy Squash Soup With Shredded Apples
Turn an otherwise intimidating squash into a hearty and flavorful soup for the fall and winter seasons. This simple recipe combines squash with apples, pumpkin pie spice and other spices to create a truly original soup with only 4 grams of fat per serving.

Grilled Romaine Lettuce With Caesar Dressing
If you’ve never tried grilling romaine lettuce, you’re in for a real treat with this fast and easy recipe. Grilling the hearty lettuce gives it a smoky, charred flavor, while topping it with a light Caesar dressing balances it out with a delightfully creamy finish.

For more creative and healthy vegetable recipes, visit the NIH website here.

Public Domain/Public Domain
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Learn About Economic Indicators from the ESA

February 20, 2014 by

The U.S. Economics and Statistics Administration, or ESA, releases monthly and quarterly Principal Federal Economic Indicators that businesses often rely on for decision-making. The ESA’s website lists these indicators and puts them into a national and global economic context. Here are three key economic indicators worth knowing:

Gross Domestic Product
GDP is an economic indicator that comprehensively measures the economic health of the nation. It is made up of the total value of the country’s production, as well as domestic goods purchases made by individuals, businesses, foreign people, and the government.

Personal Income and Spending
This report details all income that comes from wages, salaries, pension plan contributions, rental properties, and dividends and interest for every household in the nation. It also includes the total spent on both durable and nondurable goods and the amount put in savings.

Advance Monthly Retail Sales
This report is released every month and details the dollar value from goods sold in the country. It includes everything from clothing to gasoline to furniture, and the information is taken from the Census Bureau.

Public Domain/Public Domain

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Happy Presidents’ Day

February 17, 2014 by

Remembering the courage and vision of past and present leaders, we honor and share the spirit of Presidents' Day together as a nation.

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