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! 

Reusable Makeup Remover Pads

Today's project came from a post on "One Good Thing By Jillie" 

Make your own eye makeup remover and pads 

She has many great DIY projects, but I have had this one pinned for a while and finally brought out the scraps to give it a try. I haven't made the eye makeup remover but I did whip up 6 of these. Still debating if I will keep them for myself or add them to my homemade Christmas gift stash. 

These were very simple and I used scraps of soft flannel that I had in my craft room. I also have some old baby receiving blankets that I think would also work well. 

 These took me about an hour, and that is with a three year old hanging out on my lap while I worked on these (starting her love of sewing young ;))

They are not perfectly square or identical, but for their use they will work great. I plan on giving these in a small mesh lingerie bag. They have small ones at the Dollar Tree 3 in a pack for a dollar!  That way they can be stored and washed in the small mesh bag. 

These would make a cute gift with a brand new mascara or eye shadow, for the makeup lover in your life!

Reusable Produce Bags

The weather has been awful and we have been locked up inside with not much to do. Today I was rummaging through my craft room trying to find little art activities to keep the little one busy. Hand that girl a pair of safety scissors and some fabric and she will tell you she is sewing!

While she worked on her "sewing" I started a few possible Christmas Gift ideas.

These easy bags were made using a sheer fabric so that you can easily see the produce inside. I think they would look adorable with a grocery store gift card included. If you know anyone who would appreciate them, they are a fun little rainy day project. 

I made these with scraps I had around my sewing room, and hand appliqued the fruits/veggies on them.
It didn't take much time but did require a steady hand for the applique part. I free-handed all the shapes. 

If you want to make your own little drawstring tote, there are many great tutorials on how to do it.
One that I found to be really helpful with diagrams is the one linked below:

Easy Drawstring Bag Tutorial

Dinner Tonight and Why I Love My Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker...

Crock Pot...

What ever you call it ... I call it AMAZING!

I often tell people that if I had known about the awesomeness of slow cookers when I was in college I would have eaten  A LOT better!

I lived in a shared room apartment style dorm with NO oven, NO range, ONLY a microwave! I ate a ton of ramen and microwaved burritos lets just put it that way.

The slow cooker can take a simple piece of meat, some liquid and turn it into a meal while you are out living life.

I love to use my slow cooker about once a week if not more. My favorite is to use it on the weekends when I know we will be out or busy all day. 8 hours on low and ta - da dinner is DONE!

Tonight I am trying a new recipe and I am sincerely hoping it turns out good.

The recipe can be found here - linked below

French Dip Sandwiches

Only thing I changed was I added a can of french onion soup (since we don't do real onion in our house) which should help make a nice dipping sauce too.

So far my house smells divine and I can tell you that it was a cinch to put together, even with a three year old hanging on my leg.

This was a fantastic dinner! I served it on mini yeast rolls and put the drippings in little dipping cups for everyone to dip their mini sandwich.

We had mashed potatoes and corn as a side (picked by my three year old - how could I resist?)

I will definitely make this again! 

Awesome Banana Bread

Amazing Awesome Banana Bread!

Every time I make this banana bread, my husband is all smiles! 

I am not sure where the recipe came from, but I have made some modifications to the original that I will share with you. 

This recipe can be easily adapted to make muffins, mini loaves, or large loaves. The loaf below is one of two that I made for a friend (see Giving Meals post) 

The original calls for nuts, but most times I leave them out. You can substitute nuts, or chocolate chips, or leave them out like I do. 

Amazing Banana Bread

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk (* see my "substitution below") 
• 1 cup mashed bananas (the riper the better)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or chocolate or any choice nut or omit)
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup veggie oil (or 1/2 cup applesauce for lighter version
• 1 1/2 cup white sugar (the original called for 2 cups, but I promise it is sweet enough with this amount. If I use extremely ripe bananas I have even made this successfully with only 1 cup. The ripe bananas have a ton of sweetness)
• 1/2 tsp. salt

I tend to be a bit lazy when it comes to sifting etc. So I make this in my kitchen aide mixer so I only have to dirty one bowl. 

Start with the bananas, egg, oil, sugar, and buttermilk - mix that with your mixer until smooth. Next dump the dry ingredients into the bowl. I measure right there and dump in. No mess - no fuss. Turn the kitchen aide mixer on and walk away a minute. I use this minute to put my flour container and supplies back in the pantry. Also grease your pan. I use generic canola oil spray which works great in my opinion.

Bake at 350 degrees for appx. 1 hour. A large loaf pan with the entire batter will take 1 hour and 20 minutes. Always start your timer for about 40 and check on it every 10 or so until done. If you are making muffins they will take considerably less time and I would start checking after 20 minutes. Better to check and it not be done than to let them get over cooked. The secret to moist baked goods is to under cook them slightly. There is a certain amount of carry over cooking that takes place when you take the baked good out of the oven. 

For the buttermilk substitution. I almost never have buttermilk in the house because it always goes bad before I come up with enough uses for it. So instead I take a liquid measuring cup and put 1 TBL of white vinegar in the bottom. Then add milk enough to make 1 cup on your measuring cup.  Stir slightly and then let sit for 5 minutes. Use as you would buttermilk. I just measure out the 1/3 and place the rest in the fridge. 1 cup does not go to waste as much as an entire container of buttermilk. I usually will whip up some buttermilk pancakes the following morning if I have any on hand.

ENJOY! 

I would love to hear if you made this recipe and enjoyed it!

Giving Meals

I'm going to let you in on a little secret ;) I've never actually received a meal for a new baby,  but I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to make meals for giving.It truly is better to give than to receive, and I feel blessed that I am able to give in this way. 

There are many meal ideas on Pinterest but I tend to stick to simple meals that can be easily frozen or reheated as needed.  

This meal is a simple spaghetti meat sauce using jar sauce,  and a TBL of jarred pesto sauce for some extra seasoning.  

I cooked up a pound of spaghetti and tossed it with some butter and a sprinkle of garlic salt.  The butter keeps it from sticking in the container and makes it easy to scoop out. 

To round out the meal I also included a bag of salad,  croutons, and some bakery garlic bread. 

Don't forget to include plastic silverware,  plates,  and some napkins.  

This particular friend does not like desserts,  but loves my homemade banana bread. I included a loaf of that in there as well.  It can serve as "dessert", breakfast,  our a midnight snack while feeding ;). 

There are many ideas of meals and sides to take to new moms or those in need.  You can even just pick up ready made foods.  The most important thing is to make it a gift from the heart.  Any meal will, I am sure,  be appreciated!  

Some other meal ideas that travel well: 

• Taco Meat, with all the fixings and some tortilla chips
• Stuffed Shells, rolls, salad, and a dessert
• Macaroni and Cheese, BBQ shredded chicken, a veggie, and some slider buns
• Meatballs with sauce, slider buns, and a batch of spaghetti (can be eaten many ways)
• A rotisserie chicken and some sides from the deli (no cooking involved but will still be appreciated)
• Homemade chicken noodle soup, salad, dinner rolls and fruit salad
• Hearty Beef Stew and cornbread, and a dessert 
• Baked Potato Bar - several baked potatoes wrapped in foil and all the fixings to go with them

Stroller re-do

We have had this stroller for quite sometime.  It was well loved and falling apart.  Before my little girl came to love it, it was well loved by three other little girls as well.  The cover barely held on anymore and eventually was thrown to the side.  It wasn't unusual to see my little one strolling her baby along on just the frame.  Thankfully the frame was still intact and strong.  It felt wasteful to just toss it out and buy a new one when I could sew a new cover easily. 

I took the old cover and my handy seam ripper and took it apart. I kept the Velcro straps so that I could sew them to the new cover. 

Next, I used the existing fabric to trace the pattern.  Finally, I pinned everything together and sewed it up.  The final cover isn't perfect, but it works - and my little girl couldn't be happier! 

Keeping busy this summer

In my many pinterest pins,  I try to find things that will provide some level of entertainment and learning experiences for my 3 year old.  Today it was Bread in a Bag from Craft Gossip.com Perfect for a rainy day,  clean up was a breeze, and as a bonus the house smells great!