Broccoli Bites

So I wanted to make something different for dinner, make a vegetable a little more "fun" for the kids. I came across this recipe for Broccoli Bites and what a great treat they were! Obviously I wouldn't serve these all the time, but they were a nice change for the side dish. It was kind've a way of combining the vegetable with a starch. A healthier starch option! LOL. Anyway, long story short... get your kids in the kitchen helping you make these... try them out - they were delicious!

Broccoli Cheese Bites (adapted from My Tasty Treasures & WholeSomeBabyFood.com):
16 oz. chopped broccoli (I used fresh steamed broccoli, it holds together better than raw)
1 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese
2 eggs & 1 egg white
1 cup of Panko Breadcrumbs or seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
1tbls Minced garlic
Basil, Parsley, garlic powder & pepper

1) Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
2) With your hands, form small patties and lay on a parchment lined baking sheet.
3) Bake at 375F for 25 minutes, turning the patties after the first 15 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy!

Pan-Roasted Chicken With Lemon-Garlic Veggies

This is a super easy to throw together dinner and is SO healthy and delicious. I used all organic ingredients, including the extra virgin olive oil. I also partially cooked the potatoes before placing them in the pan so they would be tender to start with, all the food comes out cooked together in the end this way. It is great when you are entertaining because you make it a little in advance and can visit  with everyone as they arrive and serve it with no hectic last minute side items ect.

I didn't have a picture from the last time I made it, so I used one from the internet of the original recipe! It doesn't show the carrots in the picture - so don't forget them they give you beta-carotenes, vitamin A, minerals and anti-oxidants in ample amounts.

I've made and altered this recipe 4 different times, and the last time it came out so delicious, the recipe follows ;) 

Pan-Roasted Chicken With Lemon-Garlic Veggies

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemons, 1/2 thinly sliced, 1/2 juiced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Rosemary & Basil to taste
• Onion Slices
• Green Beans
• Carrots, sliced in 1/2
• 8 small red potatoes, quartered
• 4 organic chicken breasts (boneless/skinless)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the lemon slices & Onion slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet.
2. In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, basil, rosemary and pepper; add the green beans and carrots and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and carrots and arrange them on top of the lemon slices. Add the potatoes to the same olive-oil mixture and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, arrange the potatoes along the inside edge of the dish or skillet on top of the green beans. Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive-oil mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the chicken, in the dish or skillet. Pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken.
3. Roast for 50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet. Place the beans and potatoes back in oven for 10 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender. Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates; divide the green beans and potatoes equally. Serve warm.

Green Beans health benefits overview- Green beans are a heart friendly vegetable. Not only are they a good source of cholesterol lowering soluble fiber, they also contain the antioxidant vitamins A and C which help to prevent oxidation of cholesterol - a forerunner to arterial plaque and heart disease. They're also a good source of potassium and magnesium to normalize blood pressure and take some of the load off of the heart.

Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe

Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe
It cost approximately $5.50 for the ingredients and lasts a two person family well over a year. Saving us around $100. I was skeptical at first, but now am a total convert.

You need
*A bar of Fels-Naptha (found in the detergent aisle) $.97
*Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (found in detergent aisle) $2.45
*Borax (I used 20 mule team) $1.99
*Bucket (5 gallon or you can get a large mop bucket  at the dollar store)
*Three gallons of water


1) Grate the bar of soap with a regular cheese grater. I preheat two gallons of water in pots on the stove, since I don't have a large enough pot for that I split the recipe and have two one gallon pots going. Add the soap curls evenly to the water, add 1 total cup washing soda, and 1 total cup borax. Heat the solution until all of the curls are melted, the water will turn a yellow color due to the coloration of the bar.

2) Stir occasionally as the soap curls melt. Add essential oils if you'd like. I usually add a combination of lavender, orange and lemon! Sounds like a weird combo but it smells delightful. While you are waiting fill the bucket with one gallon of room temperature water. After the curls are completely melted, add the detergent to the water in the bucket, pour slowly, and mix well.

3) Cover the bucket and allow to set over night (or for 12 hours). I always cover mine with aluminum foil or Glad Press & Seal. The following morning or 12 hours later, remove the cover and mix the solution. It will be a firm gel. I chop up the solution with a wooden spoon and use my electric hand mixer to blend the solution. After it is well mixed pour it into containers to save.

This is a very low sudsing formula and safe to use in any washer. I use 1/2 cup per load.

This recipe yields 96 loads, so it costs about $.05 per load!

Clean & Green!

Last year I changed my life to live healthier. I learned how to grow an organic garden (and fell in love with it), and started running and exercising. This year I decided in addition to living healthier, I needed to start getting rid of some of the chemicals in my house, and not just out of my food. After a lot of research I found that making your own "all natural" cleaning products is actually much much much cheaper than buying them, and they work just as well (or even better!). My kids (4 & 2 1/2) are able to help make them buy stirring and pouring, and they have a blast watching the baking soda foam up when added to vinegar. They enjoy helping me clean because they are apart of the whole process from start to finish with making the products, packaging them (I let them help decorate a new label each time for each product), and finally, trying them out. Next I hope to tackel things like "oatmeal scrubs" and lotions ect. My options are endless!!!

The cleaning products I use can be made from the following ingredients:


Baking Soda is a very simple and effective surface cleaner. It is similar to commercial powdered abrasive cleaners and has the added benefit of being an odor absorber. Baking soda can be used alone or with water and a sponge to scrub out tough stains like a scouring powder. You can leave baking soda on particularly tough stains (even pots and pans) for 15-20 minutes before wiping away.


White Vinegar is another all-purpose cleaner. Vinegar is a deodorizer, like baking soda, and is also a disinfectant. Because it is colorless and contains no colorants, it will not stain. Vinegar does not work well on marble or on grout, where vinegar’s acidity may cause damage. The vinegar smell lingers while wet, but quickly dissipates while drying. Vinegar is also an effective stain remover on sinks, floors, stovetops, chrome and countertops, and can even be used to remove rings from your toilet bowl. Finally, adding half a cup of vinegar to your rinse cycle acts as a natural fabric softener.


Lemon Juice, another highly acidic liquid, works extremely well on hard-water stains and on built-up soap scum. You can mix lemon juice with vinegar and/or baking soda to make a paste similar to the Soft Scrub brand cleaning scrub or mix it with olive oil for a wood-furniture polish.


Borax (sodium borate) works as a laundry soap but is a great disinfectant and all-purpose cleaner and can be mixed with water baking soda or white vinegar. Here are basic recipes I use for cleaning (I clean and reuse spray bottles and glass jars for storage and always label all of my products).


Soft Scrubber (like scrubbing bubbles)- Mix baking soda and water, vinegar or lemon juice to form a creamy paste. For tougher jobs, mix ¼ cup borax, ½ teaspoon lemon oil and enough vegetable oil-based liquid soap (such as Murphys Oil Soap) to form a creamy paste.


Glass Cleaner - Mix 1/8 cup vinegar with 1 quart of water.


Toilet Bowl Cleaner - Sprinkle baking soda and lemon juice into the toilet and walk away. Later scrub with a toilet brush. For “bachelor pad” toilets, spray vinegar around the bowl, sprinkle with baking soda and scrub.


All-purpose cleaner - Dilute equal parts water and vinegar. Vinegar can also be used straight from the bottle on tough stains and mineral deposits.


Automatic Dishwasher Detergent - 1 ½ tablespoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon Borax.


For Laundry, I use: Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, Borax, Fels Naptha Soap & Essential oil for fragrence.


Draino - Baking soda and vinegar

Amazing Cake Balls

Amazing Cake Balls

So I made these last weekend for my daughters 4th birthday party, and they were such a hit! I actually had 1 person tell me they were so good, she had to close her eyes to eat them... to really take in the moment! You can mix and match all different flavor combinations, I used white cake, white & chocolate almond bark, and made a homemade marshmallow cream frosting for the inside (although you can buy any container of premade frosting).

Ingredients:

1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)

frosting (16 oz.) (my recipe below)

1 package chocolate bark (regular or whitechocolate)wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

2. Mix thoroughly with frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)

3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)

4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)

5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.

6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.) I also only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot.

Marshmallow Cream Frosting

Ingredients
· 7 ounces marshmallow cream
· 1/2 cup butter softened
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
· 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
· 1-2 tablespoons milk

Instructions
Mix all ingredients together until smooth. I beat this for several minutes.
Use to frost cupcakes, cakes, and other desserts.

My Dr Seuss Baby Shower

So my baby shower was actually in October but I'm finally getting around to updating my blog :/ Life is amazing but crazy! Wanted to share my themed babyshower pictures with everyone, it turned out AMAZING! My sister and I made almost all the decorations, and had Dr Seuss quotes printed out all around the house.

We had Dr Seuss themed food (which was my favorite part, so cute!) Green Eggs & Ham, Truffula Fruit, 3 Cheese Trees, Yinks Pink Ink Drink (Pink Lemonaid), ABC Cookies (sugar cookies with B's for BOY), Thing 1 & Thing 2 Cupcakes, One Fish Two Fish (not all red and blue fish) multi colored goldfish crackers, Yertles Turtles, Hop on Pop (corn), Cat in the Hat Veggie Tray...



We made Lorax Trees to go all over the house, a "Dr Seuss Book Chandelier", we even had our game theme based on guessing how many fish were in the jar. It was simply amazing.