The new staple in our diet

I was cursing Ann Hodgman last month for her falsely-advertised "Best Macaroni 'n' Cheese" -- the one my kids wouldn't even eat -- but I decided to give her another chance when I saw her recipe for Sweet Potato Biscuits in this month's Wondertime magazine. I'm a sucker for all things sweet potato.

First of all, let's take a moment to celebrate the fact that I made biscuits from scratch. It wasn't hard, but doesn't it sound hard? It sounded hard to me. But it wasn't! And I think the whole affair only took about 45 minutes (including baking). 

Okay, now we can celebrate the most important part: They were really good. So good that Owen, our little skeptic, the one who has to psych himself up to take a bite of anything new, ate FIVE of them. No, he didn't like the chili I served with them, but he couldn't get enough of the biscuits. As all of you out there with picky eaters know, this is quite a find. And sweet potatoes are good for you!

Highly recommended. This recipe gets 6 thumbs up over here. 

A Little Help Here?

I'm not crafty. I'm not the type of mom who regularly takes on "projects" with my kids. But I am trying to save money, so I thought it would be fun to make our own popsicles. Plus, Wondertime featured some popsicle recipes in the latest issue and the boys have been staring at that page for days now. 

Coincidentally, I had bought these popsicle molds years ago...I don't know if it was so long ago that I thought I'd make popsicles with the now-teenager or if I bought them after the boys were born and I was just planning ahead.

So last night we made the Creamy Orange Dream recipe. The mixing went fine, but they didn't freeze before bed, so I told the boys they could have them after breakfast today (it's just orange juice, yogurt and vanilla extract). 

Alas, when I went to pull the popsicles out this morning like a proud popsicle-making mama, all I got was stick. I tried twisting, I tried holding them so they'd melt a little...All the while, my little Owen stood studying the recipe saying, "It says you should leave the stick in." (Thanks, love.)

I am now considering scraping the insides out with a spoon and serving them as slush. Is this a sign from the universe that I should stick to store bought treats? Maybe. 

What I am trying to say here is HELP! How the f*#@ do I get the popsicles out of the molds??