Mom Mart

Simple Vegetable Side Dish – Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts #Recipe

2014-12-18T13:50:00.000-06:00

As a child I was never a fan of brussels sprouts. I don’t know very many children that are. That is not to say that these children who love brussels sprouts don’t exist. I am quite sure that they do. I just don’t happen to know them. Growing up, I was never a fan… in fact I cannot remember ever having brussels sprouts as a child. I remember eating a lot of broccoli and green beans and peas, but not really brussels sprouts. Needless to say, I am much more adventurous with food as an adult than I ever was as a child. In fact I really enjoy brussels sprouts now and have fun playing around and finding fun ways to eat them. As a result I have a new balsamic roasted brussels sprout recipe to share with you today!

What you need:

1 bag of brussels sprouts {12oz bag of small/medium size}

¼ cup olive oil

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 400°

Rinse and trim the brussels sprouts and cut them in ½ through the center.

In a bowl combine the brussels sprouts, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, and pepper. Toss to coat evenly.

In one even layer, place the mixture on a baking sheet and roast for 25-30 minutes. *about ½ way through cooking, stop and mix up the brussels sprouts so that they cook evenly.

**optional- you can toss in some mushroom to roast with the brussels sprouts as well. They are delicious cooked this way too.

Be sure to serve this dish warm. It makes a difference. I really like this vegetable side dish and since it really is super quick and easy to make it is one that is perfect for those busy nights where time is precious. I am obsessed with balsamic vinegar right now. I have been eating it on salad, making roasted sandwiches with it… It is something I am totally craving right now.

I like roasted vegetables. Sometimes when I make this I toss in some mushrooms too, as they taste great cooked this way as well. I think next time I make this I will add some onion in too and see how that turns out. Right now I am loving this really tasty winter vegetable dish. I would pair it with a creamy main dish.

Love brussels sprouts? You should check out my other brussels sprout recipe: BlueCheese Brussels Sprouts.

This recipe is linked up at Delicious Dish Tuesday.

Http://MomMart.blogspot.com

A little bit at a time… decorating for the holidays with perfection in mind.

2014-12-10T13:28:00.001-06:00

I love looking at great chic Christmas displays. I think about color schemes and styles that I would like to try. I go to family and friends homes and get inspiration for things I would like to see in my own home. I am completely addicted to pinning holiday décor on Pinterest (who isn't)… but my own home can be somewhat lacking in holiday decorations.

I used to attribute this to the fact that I didn't have the time or energy to decorate seasonally. I worked. And then when I no longer worked, I had a baby… and then I had a baby and a toddler, and then I had two toddlers and another baby. We sold a house and we bought a new house and still my seasonal decorating was minimal. There was always an excuse. Always a reason why not.

I think that part of me never started to decorate because I had unrealistic expectations of what I wanted my home to look like. I would see pictures of homes with beautifully crafted centerpieces and picture perfect mantel displays and I would get intimidated. I would look at my mantel and see everything I needed to change in order to attain this image of perfection. I would get so flustered I would not know where to begin. And then once I would decide to begin – to do SOMETHING – I would get so caught up in all of my choices that I would just get completely overwhelmed all over again. Did I want to do gold theme Christmas décor? Did I want to do felt garland and modern pops of color all over? Did I want lots of garland or lots of ornaments? There were just so many choices.

… and then one day my husband asked me to get some holiday decorations for the house. There was no judgment on our current lack of décor, just a simple “hey, if you have some time can you pick up some more Christmas decorations for the house?” Apparently that was all I needed to get started, someone to ask. I looked on Pinterest for two days and looked at what I could do with what I had and I made a decision. This was not rocket science. I would NOT get caught up with unrealistic perfectionism. I would take it slowly and do what I could.

DEEP BREATH

I shopped at a few stores. I looked at what was out there. I looked at how much I was willing to spend and I made a choice. I love garland and greenery and since I have so much bold red already in my home décor I thought I would stick with simple and go with gold. I bought gold pine cone garland that glitters as well a ton of greenery. I tossed it around my chandelier in my dining room and atop my mantel. I even wrapped some around my banister. It is not much, but it is a start.

I am trying very hard to look at my decorations and be okay with what I have – proud of myself for having made a decision. I like my pine cones. I am trying to be okay with doing a little bit at a time instead of being blinded by what it could be – “the after” picture perfect idea I have in my head. Because lets be completely real for a minute, very few people can walk into a store and buy a whole room on a whim. I am not sure that I would want to do so even if I could. I like having a story behind the pictures hanging on my walls and I like the memories I have when I look at the figurines smiling on my shelves. While it can sometimes be hard to take things slowly, I feel by waiting and taking your time you end up with something that is more personal.

My friend Ann Marie over at White House Black Shutters talks about her struggle with UNREALISTICPERFECTIONISM – and it inspired me to write this post and to be okay with the idea of being a work in progress. The most I can do is a little bit at time and I need to be okay with that. I too am a work in progress (as is my home). I am right there with you Ann Marie - #TheStruggleIsReal.

I am proud of making a choice and starting to decorate. A little bit is better than nothing and you can never finish what you don’t start.

Http://MomMart.blogspot.com

DIY Finger Paint Recipe #CraftsForKids

2014-12-05T13:15:00.002-06:00

My children love to paint. It is one of their favorite activities to do when given a choice. They love all arts and crafts to be perfectly honest, but painting is one where they tend to think outside the lines and really let their creativity flow. I decided that we needed to give finger paint another chance – as the first time we tried it my children wanted nothing to do with it {they do not like to have sticky messy hands}. I was not going to waste my money on store bought finger paint if it wasn’t going to get used… so we made our own.

What you need:

3 tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt

½ cup corn starch

2 cups water

food coloring

1 tbsp liquid dish detergent

How to make it:

Combine the sugar, salt, corn starch, and water in a saucepan. Whisk until combined.

Stir over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens- stirring continuously.

One it is thickened pour in the liquid dish detergent and mix well.

Set aside and let cool.

Once it has cooled down pour into containers and add the desired food coloring.

We made two different batches of this homemade finger paint. The first time we made it we left out the liquid dish detergent and we had issues with the food coloring staining our hands. This is a big pet peeve of mine. So we tossed that batch and we tried again and added the dish detergent and it made all the difference in the world. We had NO issues with the food coloring staining our hands.

I love making homemade arts and crafts as well as creating our own art supplies. The kids love mixing and experimenting and I enjoy being a little thrifty. The kids call these little activities our “experiments”, and they request to do them often. With winter break just around the corner we will be doing more of these “experiments” at home. They are a great way of entertaining the kids and they help me to get my creative juices flowing.

Http://MomMart.blogspot.com