Beat the Heat with frozen snacks

Looking for easy frozen snacks the kids can help make? Here are three:

Cookies and Ice Cream Cake
Buy a bag of your favorite cookies, the bigger the better, and a container of ice cream – whatever kind will go best with the cookies you picked. Soften the ice cream just enough so you can spread it, and spread a layer of ice cream in the bottom of a loaf pan. Then spread a layer of ice cream on a cookie, add a second cookie and another layer of ice cream. Continue doing this until you have an stack of cookies and ice cream tall enough to go from one side of a loaf cake pan to the other. Unless you went end to end and the pan is already full, repeat the process enough times to fill the pan. Then press more ice cream around and over the cookies until all you see is ice cream and the loaf pan is full. Put it into the freezer to get very firm. When you are ready to serve the Cookies and Ice Cream Cake, warm the sides of the pan just enough for the contents to slide out. Slice and serve.

PB & Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches
12 graham crackers
1 box instant chocolate pudding (4 serving size)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
12 more graham crackers

Line bottom of rectangular cake pan with 12 crackers, all going the same direction. Mix pudding mix with milk and peanut butter until well blended and firm. Spread carefully on crackers. Place remaining 12 crackers on top in the same positions as first set of crackers. Freeze. After they have frozen, cut them apart and wrap them separately returning them to the freezer and serve on a hot afternoon.

Homemade Slushies
Mix your children’s favorite powdered beverage using only half the amount of water called for. Pour about 1/2 cup of the liquid into each of several tight-sealing sandwich bags and lay them flat in a cake pan. Put all into the freezer until bags are solid. When you want a slushie, take one bag out and put it into the microwave for a few seconds – only until frozen drink is barely softened. Then squeeze the bag to mix the contents and make it slushy. Eat it out of the bag with a spoon or pour it into a glass.

Then enjoy a dip in a swimming pool or play in the sprinkler.