Target the Stars Blog

I'm so excited to share this news with you. Crafty contributor Jill Dubien's cute food was featured on Dr. Oz today !

Ingredients: 2 cooked chicken breasts cut in 1 inch pieces (optional for vegetarian) 1 cup cooked rice 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 eggs 2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal 1 teaspoon grated and peeled fresh ginger 1 carrot, chopped ½ cup diced red bell pepper (about 1 small pepper) 2 tablespoons soy sauce ½ teaspoon sugar ½ cup chicken stock 1 cup snow peas, trimmed, sliced on the diagonal into thirds  Directions: Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add eggs and scramble.   Add carrot and cook for 3 minutes.   Add chicken, snow peas, scallions, and ginger, cook for 3 minutes. Add rice and bell pepper , cook 2 minutes. Stir together soy sauce, sugar and stock then add to skillet. Cook an additional 3 minutes and serve. Serves 4-6.

Ingredients: 10 ounces couscous 1 cup craisins 3/4 cup chopped green onions 3/4 cup chopped red pepper 1/3 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup olive oil 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper  Directions: In a large bowl, prepare couscous according to package directions. Place in large bowl and fluff with a fork. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chilled.   Stir in craisins , onions, and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, oil, paprika, salt, and pepper; pour over couscous and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. 6-8 servings.

Ingredients: 3 brown or blackened bananas ½ cup (1 stick) softened butter 1 egg ½ cup sugar ½ cup honey 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour and baking soda in a bowl, set aside. Mix bananas, butter, egg, sugar, honey, and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda then mix incrementally into banana and sugar mixture. Pour into muffin cups and bake about 20 minutes (60 minutes if using a loaf pan) until fork comes cleanly through the center of the muffin or loaf.

Ingredients: 4 (6 ounce) chicken breasts salt and black pepper ¾ cup bread crumbs   (optional for Gluten Free) 3 tablespoons olive oil ¼ cup sour cream 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 stalks celery, sliced 1 Granny Smith apple, cut into matchsticks 1 tablespoon chives, chopped  Directions:    Slice chicken breasts into two inch pieces and season with salt and pepper then coat with bread crumbs. Heat 2 Tbsp of   oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until brown and cooked through adding more oil to the skillet if necessary. Place chicken on a plate. In a large bowl, whisk together sour cream, mustard, and lemon juice. Stir in chicken, celery, apple, and chives. 4-6 servings.

A simple craft that teaches about the letter Y and the color yellow and provides an excellent opportunity for your child to practice small motor skills such as cutting and gluing. Materials Needed: construction paper black marker magazine pictures Scissors glue Directions: 1. Using a black marker, trace a large Y onto a sheet of construction paper. 2. Cut out yellow pictures from a magazine and glue them into the Y shape.

Materials Needed: construction paper – black, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and brown black marker glue scissors Directions: Cut strips of construction paper as follows: blue – 5 inches by 1 inch green – 4.5 inches by 1 inch yellow – 4 inches by 1 inch orange – 3.5 inches by 1 inch red – 3 inches by 1 inch  Cut out little drum sticks from the brown paper. Glue the colored strips on to the black construction paper in the shape of a xylophone and draw two little black dots on the end of each colored strip of paper. Glue the brown drum sticks on top of the xylophone.

Materials Needed: 8 1/2 x 11 plain white paper hot glue gun and LOTS of glue sticks sponge paint brush paint (brown, red, green, black, silver and/or gold) Mod Podge   Directions:   Begin by rolling paper into a narrow funnel. You want one end to be just a bit wider than the other. Stick the tip of the glue gun into the narrow end of the wand first. You are going to fill the entire tube with glue. Don't miss any sections. Squirt glue into the wand until you can see it about 3/4 of the way full through the entire tube. Allow to cool for a moment. Fill the remainder of the way, through the wider end and allow to cool completely. Tube should be entirely full. When cooled it will be solid and near unbreakable. Each wand will take approx. 3-4 hot glue sticks. Squeeze a small bead of glue on the top or narrow end of the wand. This will give the wand a nice rounded finish on top. Once the wand is completely cool, use a sponge brush to lightly brush your base paint

Materials Needed: cone shaped birthday hat paper plate newspaper bowl 2 cups flour 1 cup water acrylic paint – green, brown and tan ¼ cup baking soda ½ cup vinegar 5-6 drops red food coloring Directions Cut ½ inch off the top of a birthday hat and place it on a paper plate. Tear newspaper into strips 2 inches by 8 inches.   Combine 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of water then mix well.   Dip the newspaper strips one at a time into the flour paste and place them completely over the birthday hat maintaining the hole at the top and the cone shape. Allow the hat to dry overnight. Paint the hat with acrylic paint to make it look more realistic. Use natural colors such as green, brown and tan. Allow the paint to dry for 3 or more hours. Pour ¼ cup of baking soda into the center of the volcano. Combine ½ cup of white vinegar and 5-6 drops of red food coloring in a bowl. Stir until completely mixed.   Pour the red vinegar into the center of the vo

Materials Needed: cone-shaped birthday party hat paper plate or newspaper crafting glue glitter ribbon rhinestones and/or sequins foam brush Directions: Spread crafting glue over the outside of the cone with a foam brush. Wrap ribbon around the outside of the cone starting at the tip and working your way down diagonally. Cut the ribbon and tuck it under the cone with a little glue.   Glue a few rhinestones or sequins in between the ribbon then sprinkle glitter over the cone while holding it over a paper plate to catch the excess. Set the cone down, point facing up, on the plate and let it dry for at least 20 minutes. Punch a hole on either side of the cone’s base and tie the elastic to make a strap.

Materials Needed: small terra cotta pot acrylic paint soft, feathery, boa-like material glue gun or pins two foam balls, sized to fit in the pot colorful foam paper sheet bendable floral arrangement stick white Duck tape roll bright green Duck tape sheet sharp kitchen scissors Directions: Trace the top of the terra cotta pot onto the craft foam. Cut out the circle and set aside. Paint the terra cotta pot a bright fun color and set aside to dry. Carefully cut one foam ball in half and place   it in the pot. Cut the floral arrangement stick to 16 inches. Wrap it first with white Duck tape, overlapping the tape to fully cover the stick. From the green Duck tape sheet, cut ¼ inch strips along the vertical edge. Peel the backing and carefully tape the green Duck tape at a diagonal down the stick. Overlap new strips when needed. When you’ve finished, carefully push one end of the stick through the center of the foam circle and then into the foam ball half u

Materials Needed: newspaper or paper towels wax paper crayons pencil sharpener heart-shaped cookie cutter marker or pen scissors glue iron (for crafting use only) ironing board 2 towels construction paper hole puncher string or ribbon Directions: Use newspaper or paper towels to protect your work space. Peel paper off crayons and sharpen with a pencil sharpener. Place shavings between two pieces of wax paper.    Place an old towel on your ironing board. Preheat your iron on a low setting just warm enough to melt the crayons. Place the wax paper and crayons on the towel and put another towel on top. With gentle pressure , place your iron on the towel and hold for 10-15 seconds. Check to see if the crayons have melted and repeat if necessary.   After it has cooled, use your cookie cutter to trace the heart onto the wax paper and cut the shape. You can add an outline of the heart by tracing the cookie cutter on two pieces of constructio