Vinegar Broccoli Slaw

I love Christy Jordan over at SouthernPlate.com! I have made many of her recipes, and they have quickly become recipes that I make as part of my monthly rotation. She makes real food with real ingredients for everyday living.

She posted recently on her Facebook page her Crunchy Refrigerator Salad

I decided to give it a try and see if it would last as long as she said. I am hoping it will be a quick side I can pack for lunches once the school year gets started.

You can click the link to see her recipe (the original) but I have included my changes below.

Vinegar Broccoli Slaw

• 1 bag cole slaw mix
• 1 bag fresh broccoli florets (look in the produce section) - I used 1/2 the bag
• handful of baby carrots (cut into smaller chunks - you can use shredded or rounds too if that is what you have
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup veggie oil
• 2 TBL water
• 1 packet ranch dressing mix (the powder packet) 

In a large bowl mix the vinegar, oil, sugar, water, and ranch dressing packet until well combined
Cut 1/2 the bag of broccoli florets into smaller bite size pieces (this is preference, you can leave them whole too)
Cut a large handful (about 1 cup) of baby carrots into bite size chunks
Mix all together until well coated
Refrigerate overnight, mix before eating
This will keep at least a week in the fridge

Do not worry if it seems to not have made enough liquid, the vegetables start to release more liquid as they sit.

Homemade Pizza Dough

We love pizza is our house!

It is a great quick fix meal if you have a well stocked pantry and fridge. 

Here is my go to quick recipe for dough that does not need to rise. 

Quick Pizza Dough

1 TBL rapid rise yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water (microwave 1 cup water for 40 seconds)
2 TBL oil (we use veggie but Olive oil is good too)
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

In a mixing bowl mix yeast, sugar,  and water.  Let sit for 10-15 min or until it looks foamy on top. 

Add flour, oil,  garlic salt, Italian seasoning

Using your dough hook attachment,  mix together until soft dough forms. About 5 minutes. 

If you don't have a mixer,  you can make it by hand, just make sure to knead until soft, elastic and no longer sticky. 

Now for the secret of not having to leave the dough to rise -

Pop the dough in the microwave for 30 seconds to proof the dough.  Take out and shape on your pan. 

Prebake dough for 5-6 minutes in oven preheated to 400 degrees. 

Take out and decorate however you like.  Bake for 15-20 minutes on lower rack until cooked to your liking. 

Here is our pizza! 

Beach umbrella fix -up

I've been on the lookout of an inexpensive beach umbrella that was light weight.  Of course I should have bought one at the beginning of summer when they were everywhere!  Of course, now that I am ready to buy one -my Wal-Mart has been out of stock for a while. 

I finally found a great umbrella at my local goodwill - and for only 8 dollars!

The carrying bag was in awful condition but the actual umbrella looked great!  I took it home and began to fix it up.

 

 Here is the BEFORE:

And here is the AFTER:

I made a long tote bag and added an extra long handle so it could be thrown over the shoulder. Can't wait to take it to the beach!

Easy summer birthday gift

These water bombs have been floating all over Pinterest.  I have made them a few times now  and I can promise they are an easy craft to make. With a few supplies from the dollar store and things you most likely have at home you can make them too! Don't forget to scroll down to see the final product! 

Here is how I made them: 

Sponge bombs:

First you take two cellulose sponges and cut them into 4 strips. Don't worry about being too exact, they are going to be tied together and you won't even notice any imperfections. When you have each cut into strips, lay them on top of each other. You will also need a length of string to tie them together.

 

 Next, you are going to gather the string around the center and pinch. Tie double knots on each side as tight as you can. Trim any excess string and then fluff out the sponges. You are DONE!

 

I took a bucket and some acrylic paint to decorate his name, added a mesh bag at the bottom to store all the sponges when they are wet and drying. I also included a few other water goodies. This is an easy gift that can be put together for those summer babies in your life.

Breakfast for Dinner

We spent most of this beautiful summer day outside by the pool. I even packed the cooler with snacks, lunch, and drinks so we wouldn't have to go back inside until we were ready.

After a long day, we decided that dinner tonight would be something quick. Takeout was an option, but we were too tired to get into the car to pick it up. Also, living out in the boonies equals no delivery options either!

After staring at the pantry for a good while, we decided it was a breakfast for dinner kinda night!
Eaten of course in our pajamas too! I love summer!


Here is what was on the menu:

French toast (tried the one linked for the first time) Seriously amazing! I think I will try a thicker bread like the recipe mentioned. I had just sandwich bread so we used that, but it had the best crunchy crust with soft fluffy insides. I think the flour and egg helped create a nice crust and kept it moist inside.

Scrambled Eggs

& Bacon

YUM!

Cookie sheet magnet board

Today's naptime project involves spray paint and dollar store cookie sheets.  Hoping to replicate these found here: 

Magnet Memo Board

I am thinking they will be Christmas presents with some cute magnets like these ( Marble Magnets ). I have made the marble magnets before with scrapbook paper and modge podge and it is a VERY easy and quick project.

 

So far this is what I have. I think I am going to add some ribbon and embellishments and of course the magnets. These will be going into the Christmas gift stash!

Total cost so far: 9.77 - for two gifts that is NOT BAD at all!
2.00 (2 cookie trays from dollar tree - 1 dollar each)
3.77 spray paint
2.00 scrap book paper (wish I would have bought more while they were on sale)
mod podge I had from about 2 years ago, can't remember the price but was already in my craft room
2.00embellishments (ribbon and some felt that matches to make flowers)

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

While at the store this week I saw these awesome bags of ripe bananas marked down to 19 cents a pound.  This entire bag cost me roughly 42 cents! I had planned on making a few batches of banana bread, but I thought I would give a few other banana recipes a try.

This one seemed interesting and I had basically everything in the house already. 

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies with Chocolate Chips

I had everything BUT the chocolate chips....I did have these awesome chips in the pantry though...CINNAMON CHIPS!They are just little chips that look like chocolate chips but have a cinnamony (I made that word up) taste. I also didn't have unsalted butter, so I used what I had and omitted the salt from the recipe. It worked :)

Once again I just threw everything into the kitchen aide mixer, so only one bowl was used. Here is the dough. If you have a cookie dough addiction, I would think twice before making these - this dough was SO GOOD! Evelyn was helping me so I did let her lick the beater, but I will say I took my fair share of tastes too. YUMMY!

These are them fresh out of the oven! I would highly recommend making these. They were soft and fluffy without being overly sweet. They were perfect with a cup of coffee on a rainy day!