Fluffy White Frosting

• 1/4 cup white corn syrup
• 2 egg whites
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla

• Yields: Enough for frosting one cake
• Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Orange Juice Chicken

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 T. prepared Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, divided
• 2 cups orange juice
• 2 T. butter
• 2 T. flour

Place the chicken in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Spread the mustard evenly over the chicken and sprinkle with the chopped onion. Coat lightly with 1/4 cup of the brown sugar and pour enough orange juice over all to cover the chicken. Dot the chicken with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes, then remove the extra sauce from the baking dish and pour it into a saucepan. Sprinkle the chicken with the remaining sugar and return to the oven.

Whisk the flour into the saucepan, add any leftover orange juice and heat on high until the sauce thickens. Remove the chicken from the oven and place it on a serving dish, pour the sauce over everything and serve.

• Yields: 4 servings
• Preparation Time: 1 hour

Finger Paint -- Cornstarch

Mix together 1/2 cup cornstarch with four cups of very cold water. Put it into a pot and turn the heat on high, letting the mixture come to a boil and continue to boil until it's thickened. Allow it to cool and pour into smaller containers such as baby food jars or plastic yogurt tubs, etc. Add several drops of food coloring to each jar and mix well. You should get about six jars of paint.

Finger Paint -- Liquid Starch

Instead of pre-making the paint, just pour a small amount of liquid starch onto a sheet of paper, sprinkle some powdered tempera paint on it and mix well with your fingers. Or let your kids do the mixing.

Finger Paint -- Powdered Detergent

Mix together 5 tablespoons of liquid tempera paint with one cup of powdered detergent (non-scented), and 1/4 cup water. Combine first two ingredients and slowly add water as needed. Keep on stirring until the consistency is smooth and creamy.

Flour Paint

Mix together till the mixture is thick, 3 cups flour, 2 tablespoons liquid soap and 3/4 cup water. Tint it with food coloring or powdered tempera paint.

Some finger painting hints:

• When finger painting, try to use a glossy paper or butcher paper.
• Adding liquid soap to the paints will help to prevent staining.
• Paints can also be poured into plastic meat trays (saved from grocery days) for easy access to little hands.

Bubble Solution

Combine 1/3 cup dish soap or baby shampoo, 1 1/4 cups water, 2 tsp sugar and food coloring and pour into a plastic container with a tight fitting lid. To blow bubbles, use straws, pipe cleaners formed into shapes, strawberry baskets, spoons with holes, etc.

Sand Sculpture

Put into a large pot, 2 cups sand, 1 cup water and 1 cup cornstarch. Mix together and turn heat on low until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Allow it to cool and you can begin molding it with your hands. It will take two or three days to set.

Cooked Play Dough

Combine in a saucepan 1 cup flour. 1 tsp cream of tartar and 1/2 cup salt. In a separate bowl combine 1 cup water, 1 tsp food coloring and 2 tbsp oil. Mix water mixture into the flour mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until a ball forms. Remove from heat and knead until smooth. Store in a container with a tight fitting lid.