Give Peas a Chance

2012 Bento 12, 13

2012-01-28T11:38:00.002-05:00

Turkey salads

Turkey on skewers

Lettuce, carrots, bell peppers

Dressing

Crackers

Tropical Traditions- GIVEAWAY

2012-01-28T00:01:00.016-05:00

Yay! Tropical Traditions! I love this company. You can read the two other reviews and giveaways I've done for this company here and here. For this giveaway Tropical Traditions is offering one of their fantastic Organic Hair Oils. Made with their Gold Label Virgin Coconut oil, I knew it was good. I was just concerned that my hair would be all oily. Not at all! I use it after I shower. Just a small drop. I put it on the ends of my hair and that's it. No more frizzes! My hair is long, straight and if it's frizzy at all it just looks a mess. So this product is awesome for me. It makes the girls hair shiny also, not greasy. Just soft. Lightly scented, because I choose lavender. It doesn't linger and isn't overpowering though, so it's nice.
Here is more information from the Tropical Traditions website-

Tropical Traditions has formulated three different hair oils using our organic Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil along with other high quality organic oils known to nourish hair. Along with the base of organic Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil, we included organic jojoba oil, organic macadamia nut oil, organic rosehip oil, organic shea butter, and organic carrot seed oil in each formulation. Two of the formulations are scented with the highest quality organic essential oils available, imported from France: Rosemary and Lavender. There are no other ingredients besides these high quality organic oils: NO SILICONES, NO SULFATES, and NO ALCOHOLS.

Suggested Uses:
For dry scalp: Rub into hair and scalp at least 30 minutes before showering, or before bed at night. Wear a shower cap or towel to protect bedding.
As a conditioner: As a deep conditioner, work through scalp and hair before washing. Leave in for 15 minutes to overnight. For a leave-in conditioner, work a small amount through wet hair before styling and drying.
Shine Serum: Rub a small amount in the palms of your hands and gently run over dry hair. Scrunch for curly hair or rake for straight hair.
Ingredients: organic jojoba, organic Gold Label Standard Virgin Coconut Oil, organic macadamia nut oil, organic rosehip oil, organic shea butter, and organic carrot seed oil. Rosemary also contains organic rosemary essential oil and Lavender contains organic lavender essential oil.

Tropical Traditions has a list of recipes that look and sound wonderful- for their edible ingredients on their site, you can find those HERE.

You can follow them on Twitter via @troptraditions

Their Facebok page is HERE.

Enter to win some Coconut Hair Oil below, open to US customers that are 18 years or older. Enter via rafflecopter. Did you know that if you enter one rafflecopter giveaway you don't have to keep signing in to enter other giveaways? So easy! I love rafflecopter.

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cinnamon Spiced Almonds (Bread Machine)

2012-01-27T19:42:00.001-05:00

I love candied nuts. So good, but so expensive to buy premade! I love making these in my bread maker/ bread machine, but you can do them on the stove top also. I like almonds when I use the bread maker because they don't break up as easily as pecans and walnuts. Because the paddle in the bread machine does break some of the nuts up. You do need to have a bread machine that has a jam cycle, and you will also need to keep an eye on the nuts so they don't burn. So do NOT just set this on the jam cycle and leave your house.

1 cup sugar
3 cups raw almonds
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
heaping tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt

Put everything in the pan of your bread machine and stir it up. Set the jam cycle. Once the nuts are being mixed, keep an eye on them. Make sure they aren't getting over roasted. I just set my timer to check them every 10-15 minutes and then every five once I see it's getting close to done. Once the sugar crystallizes and coats the nuts remove the nuts and spread them out on a cookie sheet to cool (they will be HOT and so will the pan, be careful).
Note- every time the bread machine is heating up to make these it smells like something is burning, just check it. Mine is usually because I have some dry flour at the bottom of the heating element. Because I don't ever bake in my bread machine.

To make this on the stove top grab a heavy bottomed sauce pan that is roomy enough to stir everything in, you can use a dutch oven too. Just keep in mind that it's easier to use a sauce pan because the water can evaporate quicker, a dutch oven has higher sides. Combine all the ingredients in the pan. Over medium to medium-high heat stir the nuts until the sugar melts. Keep stirring until the nuts are coated and until the sugar crystallizes. Cool as directed above.

Free Friday

2012-01-27T11:11:00.080-05:00

It's almost Valentine's day. This year I'm planning on baking a couple treats, for DH to take to school and for the girls. I'm just not sure what I'll be making. I do plan on making some cookie dough truffles for Diva. (After Christmas, the thought of bringing another toy into this house as a gift makes me woozy. I may eat my words on Valentine's day.) I don't like making too many desserts and such unless I know that we're taking them somewhere or DH is taking them somewhere. I just don't want them here, or I'll eat them. It's better to have a cookie and send the rest off. We usually don't do much for Valentine's day, we have a nice dinner and just hang out. We'll probably end up going out or having dinner here and snuggling on the couch with a movie. No real traditions. We may do some crafts with the girls or something.

For the girls I made these for the Valentine's to take to their classmates.

What are you all doing for Valentine's day? Do you have traditions? Give gifts?

I pulled up some older posts for ideas of desserts and thought I'd link them here.

Fortune cookies.

Nutella Pillows.

Cream Cheese Pillow Puffs.

Cherry Almond cookies.

Cream Cheese Butter cookies.

Strawberry Ice Cream sandwiches.

2012 Bentos 10,11

2012-01-26T11:35:00.004-05:00

Chinese sausage roll (Happy New Year all!)
Orange slices

Rice krispie treat- made with brown rice rice krispie cereal (not my cup of tea)

Marinated Tofu

2012-01-26T11:30:00.003-05:00

NOM NOM. Seriously. So very good. I love this with a medium firm tofu. The tofu can be eaten cold or it can be fried up first. Eaten just as is with the marinade or tossed with soba noodles and vegetables for a salad.

I didn't have scallions the night I made the one pictured above, but green onion/scallions add a great crunch and flavor. I don't mind it without the scallions because I eat very little scallions. Diva however loves them. the night I took this picture, Christmas night, I had cubed tofu out and the sauce on the side. So we put the tofu on fondue forks, heated it up in the broth then had it with the marinade/sauce. But the first picture is some I made recently for lunch.

You can use soy sauce, Tamari or Coconut aminos or even Bragg liquid aminos. I used the Coconut aminos because I have it on hand, Tamari is delish too.

Fried in a little oil first. Give it a little crunch.

If you like a crisp on the outside tofu you can pan fry it in a little bit of oil. If you want your tofu to really soak up all the goodness of the sauce you can press it first. Take your tofu and wrap it in some paper towels and put it on a rimmed baking sheet with a plate on top. Set a canned good on top of the tofu. Don't crush it though! Set this in the fridge and let the water press out of the tofu, before slicing or frying.

Cubed or sliced tofu (pressed, fried or just cold)

For the marinade/sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

2-4 teaspoons peeled ginger grated

5 tablespoons coconut aminos

1 jalapeno seeded- or a squirt of Sriracha Rooster brand sauce

1-2 teaspoons lime juice

salt to taste

Garnish

1-2 tablespoons scallions

1 Thai bird chili, sliced ribs/seeds removed - optional I don't use this if the girls are eating this. Or I make them a separate sauce.

Cilantro
Sesame seeds

For the marinade I just throw everything, but the sesame seeds in my Vitamix (thank you mom, dad and brother for my awesome Christmas gift!), I blend it up. Add the sesame seeds and give it a couple pulses to break them up.Chill, covered in the refrigerator until serving time.

Depending on presentation you can cube the tofu or slice it. Pour the marinade over the top and serve. Garnish with whatever garnishes you have on hand.

You can serve this with cold soba noodles, or a salad of julienne cucumber, carrot, radishes etc.

Lao omelet, Papaya salad and marinated tofu.

EIO Kids Cup- GIVEAWAY

2012-01-25T00:01:00.004-05:00

This, by far is one of the coolest kids cups I've seen and used. First off it's glass. I love that glass doesn't make water taste funny. It is easy to clean, you can put it in the dishwasher. BPA free since it's not plastic. EIO Kids cups are a great size, as a matter of fact they are a traditional 8 ounce canning jar! So versatile. Each cup comes with the easy to grip silicone sleeve. It's soft on kids hands and helps prevent slips. The spill resistant (not proof, but it's a training cup!) BPA free lid will fit most 8 ounce canning jars and I like that it's recesses so it helps kids learn to drink from cups! What a great training cup!

My "loves" about this cup-

1. Canning jars- made in the USA, the lids will fit mot canning jars.

2. Canning jars are thicker than most glasses.

3. BPA free lid that's been tested by the Intertek Group PLC.

4. The company is in Vermont.

5. You can put warm liquids in the glass jar, the silicone sleeve insulates it. It doesn't keep liquids hot, it's not made for that.

6. No spouts for my kids to chew on.

7. No valves or parts to lose.

Here is some information from the EIO site.

EIO Kids Cup is a uniquely designed training cup for ages 18 months to 5 years.
Graduating from bottle to cup has never been easier or healthier for a child than with the EIO Kids Cup. This one-of-a-kind glass trainer teaches toddlers how to sip from a cup, a speech development milestone for toddlers.
The EIO Kids Cup uses a BPA free, valve-free, screw-top cap, an 8oz. canning jar and an easy-to-grip silicone sleeve that transforms a glass canning jar into a spill-resistant, modern training cup.
The EIO Kids Cup makes learning to drink from a cup easy! This innovative product is endorsed by Dr. Jen Berman, author of Superbaby and recent winner of the 2011 PTPA Seal of Approval. It is available in Orange, Green, or Purple.
This is the last cup your kids will ever need. Learn & Grow with EIO today!

EIO Kids Cup is a uniquely designed training cup for ages 18 months to 5 years.
Graduating from bottle to cup has never been easier or healthier for a child than with the EIO Kids Cup. This one-of-a-kind glass trainer teaches toddlers how to sip from a cup, a speech development milestone for toddlers.
The EIO Kids Cup uses a BPA free, valve-free, screw-top cap, an 8oz. canning jar and an easy-to-grip silicone sleeve that transforms a glass canning jar into a spill-resistant, modern training cup.
The EIO Kids Cup makes learning to drink from a cup easy! This innovative product is endorsed by Dr. Jen Berman, author of Superbaby and recent winner of the 2011 PTPA Seal of Approval. It is available in Orange, Green, or Purple.
This is the last cup your kids will ever need. Learn & Grow with EIO today!

I highly recommend these cups. I wish they were around for my first born!

Where can you find these cups?

Are you in the USA and 18 years or over? Enter to win an EIO cup below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclaimer: I was provided a free sample/s of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. All pictures are from the companies site.

2012 Bento 8,9

2012-01-24T11:49:00.001-05:00

These lunches are so funny because the girls raved about them. I mean really. It was funny. But there you go. More frozen meatballs please.

Meatballs- I didn't make these, they were frozen!

Sweet chili garlic sauce

Carrots, cucumbers and kale

Italian dressing for one girl, Ranch dressing for the other

Sunsweet prune

Pop rocks- I'm sure it was the pop rocks.

SoYoung- Giveaway

2012-01-23T00:01:00.003-05:00

Isn't that a pretty bag? Would you believe me if I told it it was a lunch bag? So refreshing. No characters, cartoonish animal faces, just a pretty, chic bag that anyone can use. Have you heard of SoYoung? They make these functional bags, diaper bags and coolers that are just beautiful. Based in Canada, here is more information about the company from their site.

In the instant we meet our child for the first time, we are transformed by the sudden expansion of our hearts in a way we never thought possible.
SoYoung is about acting on this inspiration. It’s about the pursuit of possibility and watching an idea blossom into reality.
Our products strive to add beauty to the every day moments of life with children. We like clean design and ultra functionality. We like being prepared for surprises. And we treasure the unexpected moments of joy and laughter set against the backdrop of raising a family.

Catherine Choi, founder/president of the company is such a nice person. Emailing back and forth with questions and setting up this review was a breeze. You can tell that she puts love into these designs and loves her work! And as a mother she knows which features we all need to make our lives easier!

We were sent the lunch box that is pictured up top for review. You must watch the video on this. I love that kids can carry the lunch box, wear it like a purse, across the body OR as a back pack. GENIUS. The linen is beautiful and the deign, like I said is just so refreshing. You can pack a lot into this box, a bento box, one or two drinks and a snack- easily. This box is so cute and lightweight that I'm OK with Pixie putting a snack, a little toy and a book or two out with us for the day. And because she can wear it like a back pack, I don't end up carrying it. Here are some features this lunch box has- taken from the SoYoung site.

PVC-free, phthalate-free, and lead safe
Coated linen exterior with fully insulated lining.
Detachable long strap for wearing as messenger bag or backpack
Adjustable carrying handle allows lunch box to be secured to another bag or hung from a stroller.
Extra back pocket for cutlery, napkins, or artwork.
Care: wipe clean exterior, wash interior with warm soapy water.
Do not machine wash or dry.

Here are some other bags SoYoung carries (they have small and large cooler bags, and diaper bags.)

Cooler Bag.


Diaper Bag.

I just saw on their Facebook page a ADORABLE toddler back pack/lunch bag combo. Check it out here on the SoYoung Facebook page!

You can a find SoYoung
on the Web
on Twitter
and on Facebook
To find a retailer check HERE.

Are you 18 years of age or older in the USA? Enter to win a So Young bag- Blue Bicycle cooler bag (in small size)below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was provided a free sample/s of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.All pictures are from the companies site.

Fried Cabbage with Pancetta

2012-01-22T10:53:00.002-05:00

I love this. It's so good, like make it and eat it out of the pan good. The cabbage gets caramelized and a little sweet. I like it to get the crust on the edges. The salty pancetta, NOM NOM. I like coconut vinegar, I think it's a little more mild than apple cider or white. Use what you like or have on hand! I only add a little bacon grease or butter if the pancetta doesn't render much fat, it just depends on the pancetta.

I first saw this on a forum I post on. The girl that shared it uses bacon, which I have used also YUM. She also uses white vinegar. I have used white also, and it's good, I just use less of it.

1 small head of cabbage- chopped, about 1 inch pieces
1/4 pound pancetta- diced
bacon grease or butter- if needed
2-3 (or more to taste) tablespoons vinegar, I used coconut vinegar
salt
pepper

In a pan cook the pancetta until it renders fat/grease. Remove the pancetta from the pan. Add the cabbage to the pan. Let the cabbage cook without stirring until you get a little browning/crust then stir. Cook until the cabbage is as tender as you like it. Turn off the heat, stir in the vinegar and pancetta. Salt and pepper to taste.

Free Friday

2012-01-20T13:09:00.012-05:00

Red Sauce

Zucchini noodles

Pasta

Meatballs- I didn't make these

Basil

SO good.

2012 Bento 6,7

2012-01-19T14:55:00.000-05:00

Grilled Chicken- with a garlic chile dipping sauce

Asian Style Coleslaw
Pretzels

Fruit Jelly

Beef Wellington- HH6 cooking club

2012-01-19T13:15:00.001-05:00

Beef Wellington. Goodness, I've wanted to make this since before Piglet was born. Piglet is 6 years old. I remember looking at recipes and pouring over recipes. I love mushrooms, beef, puff pastry. I just never got around to making this because-

1. There are 3 of us that like mushrooms, 2 that don't (more on that later.)

2. Paté, 4 of us who either love or will eat it. One of us that won't eat it at all.

3. Cooking any steaks is hit or miss for me. I like rare to medium rare. My two youngest girls like medium rare. My oldest likes medium well, and my husband likes well done. The odds are always against me. That's why my husband does the steak around here, he's good at it.

Then came the email for the HouseHold 6 cooking club post! I didn't think twice about what to make. Beef Wellington. Without the mustard. Light on mushrooms on two of them, because my younger girls don't like mushrooms. Our rule in this house is that you eat a couple of bites of everything in case your taste buds have changed, but I'm not going to pile on mushrooms if you don't like them. This works well for us, the girls are pretty good at eating what we put in front of them. My only real exceptions are organ meats, bugs, and delicacies like balut. And sushi too. But, my kids eat all of those things. That being said I also made one of the Wellingtons without paté, because DH won't eat it. But I didn't mind all these changes because it was dish that was once in a while meal. Usually though, I'm not a short order cook. :)

Here is this months challenge:

Prepare a dish that you have never made before but always wanted to try. Tell us why you have taken quite some time to make this dish.

So how did it turn out? My two youngest girls ate the mushrooms, all of them, didn't even stop to ask if they were mushrooms. Everyone ate and liked the dish. DH, Diva and I love mushrooms so we ate ours. DH said his fillet was cooked like he liked it, the rest turned out perfect too. Actually, I could have had mine a little more rare but it was a medium rare. Usually I under cook DH's steaks. The thing is, it's work to cook everybody's steak different already. Then when you wrap it up in the oven it's harder for me.

The best part is that this is SO easy to make, it just takes time. It's not a weeknight meal, but it's easy. The mushroom duxelles can be prepared the night before and the filets can be browned beforehand also. So all you have to do is wrap and bake the Wellingtons. Perfect for entertaining on special occasions.

I read several recipes online for these, even the recipe at Pepperidge Farms. Some called for prosciutto wrapped filets- Tyler Florence's "Ultimate Beef Wellington", some called for mustard, some called for foie gras (Emeril, I don't have your salary), paté, some none. Some recipes had sauces you could make to serve with the Beef Wellington. It was kind of overwhelming. I decided I would just take those recipes and use their methods.

I used individual filets instead of a whole one because that's what I could find. A whole filet/tenderloin would work beautifully, everyone just gets less of the puff pastry and you have to bake it longer. I chose ghee to brown the filets because I love the flavor of ghee. You can use butter or olive oil. I used a combination of baby portobella mushrooms and button mushrooms. I thought I had a package of King Oysters in the fridge but I couldn't find them. I wanted to use them. I did not add shallots or onions to the mushrooms either. One thing I may do next time is squeeze the liquid out of the mushrooms after cooking to make sure they are extra dry. My Beef Wellingtons weren't soggy but any more liquid and they would have been. To roll out the puff pastry, I used two sheets of parchment paper, like I did here. I love this method because I don't have to worry about such a mess. That, and I have 1000 sheets of parchment :). No, really I do from my Love Abounds days.

Beef Wellington
Filets
10 minutes to cook filets, 1 -24 hours to chill. I browned mine a few hours ahead of time and let them chill.

4-5 beef filets about 1 and 1/2 inch thick

Salt and pepper
Ghee or extra virgin olive oil

Mushroom Duxelles
Make and chill these when you prepare the filets.
3 packages of mushrooms (8 ounces each)

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or more if using fresh-leaves only)

1-2 cloves of garlic minced
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil, ghee or butter

To wrap and finish the dish
2 ounces of Paté- optional
2 packages of Pepperidge Farms sheets of puff pastry

Flour for rolling out pastry
1 large egg, whisked with a little water for an egg wash

Filets- Trim fat from filets as needed. Tie each filet so that it is round. This will help it cook evenly.

Salt and pepper on all sides. Heat a sauce pan with ghee or olive oil. Sear the meat on all sides. Just until browned.

Remove from pan. Wrap filets in foil and put them in the refrigerator to chill.

Duxelles

Clean the mushrooms, in a food processor process the mushrooms until finely chopped. Do this in batches.

In the same pan with all the browned goodness from the fillets add 1 tablespoon of butter, ghee or olive oil. Add the mushrooms, thyme and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and dry. Dry is important here if you don't want soggy puff pastry. EW. Season with salt and pepper. Let this cool.

To wrap the filets, take off the butchers twine. Remove the puff pastry from the refrigerator 15 minutes before you are going to use it. It should be fully thawed. I did have one piece of puff pastry that was torn, no biggie, I just patched it up at the seam and rolled it out and it was fine.
1. Place one filet in the center of a rolled out pastry sheet. (Just roll it out to where it will fold onto the filet evenly.)

2. Spread paté on the puff pastry. Top with duxelles, one filet then more paté and duxelles on top. Leave room to seal the pastry. *Notes on wrapping a whole filet are at the end of the post.
3. Cut four squares out of the puff pastry, to form a cross. Make sure the strips of pastry that are left over are wide enough to cover the filets.
4. Fold the pastry one strip at a time over the filet and filing. Brush the strips with egg wash so they seal.

5. Once the filling is enclosed in the pastry check for any tears and patch them up by pinching the pastry closed. Use egg wash if needed.
6. Turn the Beef Wellington's over, seam side down. Add any scraps of pastry you have on top to decorate. Egg wash helps keep this all in place too. 7. Place them on a dry cookie sheet in the refrigerator. Don't cover them. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

8. Once the oven is preheated brush egg wash over the tops of the pastry. Cut slits on top of each one to let steam escape.
9. Bake on a parchment lined jelly roll pan/baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Check to see if the pastry is getting over browned. If it is place a sheet of foil on top of them. Do not seal the edges.

10. Use a meat thermometer to make sure your filets are cooked to your liking. Cook until the pastry is golden brown and the filets are done. (I cooked mine for about 10 minutes more.)
11. Let the Beef Wellington's rest for 5-10 minutes while keeping warm before serving.
Aren't they pretty? I'm so pleased with how they turned out!

I served these with roasted broccoli and roasted Brussel sprouts, but that's a whole other post. These were big, so the younger girls shared one and Diva and I shared one. We had leftovers, which I heated in the oven... for breakfast. No lie.

* These two pieces only have paté on the bottom. I didn't have six sheets of puff pastry so I didn't want these too thick. Especially since it was for my younger girls. I just this piece of pastry in half, folded the ends over the filet and mushrooms.

Notes
* I was able to wrap the smaller filets, 2 filets per sheet of puff pastry. The bigger thicker filets I used one sheet of puff pastry per filet.
* If you are doing a whole filet spread the paté on the pastry, leaving room on the edges to seal it. Top with the duxelles, roll up the pastry. Pinch to seal the edges, use the egg wash to help with that.
* This dish takes time to make, so plan accordingly. The filets need to be chilled after browning so that they don't over cook in the oven later.

* A food processor helps with the mushrooms, to get them finely chopped. You can chop them by hand though.

*You need butchers twine to tie up the filets if they aren't round, they cook more evenly when tied also.

Find HH6 Cooking club on Facebook HERE.

Want to see what the other HH6 bloggers are up to?

WENDI @ Breezy's Bites http://txbreeze.blogspot.com/

HEATHER @ Cheeseburger In Glacial Ice http://glacial-ice.blogspot.com/

RACHEL @ Come What May http://the-come-what-may.blogspot.com/

JACKIE @ Cooking With Mrs Sea Monster http://mrsseamonster.blogspot.com/

SARAH @ The Ginger Cooks http://www.thegingercooks.blogspot.com/

AMY @ The Journey of a Young Chef http://thejourneyofayoungchef.blogspot.com/

KATIE @ Katie Did... http://katiedid127.blogspot.com/

KAREN @My Goal Is Simple http://mygoalissimple.com/

JULI @ Pictures Of All My Princesses http://www.picturesofaprincess.blogspot.com/

HOLLY @ The Pioneer Apron http://thepioneerapron.blogspot.com/

KATHERINE @ Please Give Peas A Chance http://pleasegivepeasachance.blogspot.com/

LINDSEY @ Rebecca's Persuasions From The Oven http://las8704.blogspot.com/

ROWENA @ Saraplicious! Kitchen http://sarapliciouskitchen.com/

CAIT @ The Patriotic Baker http://thepatrioticbaker.com/

Asian Style Coleslaw

2012-01-19T11:59:00.001-05:00

I've already posted this recipe HERE. I haven't made it in a while, so I did the other day and the older girls loved it. So I thought I would post again.

Asian Style Coleslaw with Ramen noodles

Dressing

2 tablespoons sugar

3-4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

1 package of seasoning from beef Ramen noodles (I use Mama brand noodles)

1/2 cup oil- something that is neutral in taste

2 tablespoons sesame oil

Salad

2 tablespoons sesame seeds- toasted

1/2 cup sliced almonds- toasted

green onion chopped (about 1/4 cup ish?)

1 package of coleslaw

dry Ramen noodles broken

Place all the ingredients for the dressing into a blender except the oils. Blend and slowly drizzle in oils. (If I'm in a hurry I put it all in a jar and have the kids shake it up.)

Toss salad ingredients in with the dressing and serve immediately.

You can make the dressing before hand also. I don't toss everything together. I make the dressing and toss just what we will eat together and store the rest separately.

NurturMe- GIVEAWAY

2012-01-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

My girls are pass the baby food stage, so I don't buy baby food, ever. I actually didn't buy much of it when the kids were at that stage. Then I had the opportunity to try some of the Nurturme baby food , and I didn't think twice. I'll tell you why in a bit. First here is some information about this baby food and the company.

From the Nurturme site

NurturMe is the first and only certified-organic, all natural and gluten-free baby food made from nutrient-rich, quick-dried fruits and veggies. Our revolutionary approach feeds off our basic instinct to nurture. That’s why our food gives your baby better nutrients, provides you versatility and takes care of Mother Earth.

Our Philosophy centers around achieving optimal health and nutritional value for infants (“good for me”), bringing convenience into the lives of busy parents, and reducing the impact on the environment (“good for we”).

I love that these little packets are light weight, gluten free and for feeding babies you can adjust how thick you want the food. It doesn't all have to be one runny consistency. You can mix them up with breast milk, water or forumla. For an older child (depending on allergies), you can use any milk- rice, almond, goat's milk or cow. Because these packets are so light weight a couple thrown in a diaper bag will take up very little room and not add extra weight.

One of the reasons I was excited to try these NurturMe packets is because they are freeze dried powders. For those of you with babies and toddlers you can mix this into oatmeal, mac and cheese, pasta dishes, soups, and quick bread recipes without making the dish you are preparing runny or soggy.

I like to make the girls steel cut oats for breakfast. I always make it plain and let them add mix ins. The NurturMe baby food packets are great if I don't have bananas or fruit to mix in. The carrot packet is perfect for a carrot cake oatmeal. One packet of NurturMe carrots, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, brown sugar and walnuts in a bowl of hot oats. How easy is that?

I've seen NurturMe products at Target and on Amazon, for a complete list of stores online and near you please check HERE.

You can also find NurturMe on

Facebook- where you can sign up for a free packet (you can also enter the giveaway below to win some!)

Twitter

Are you 18 or over in the US? Would you like to enter to win some NurturMe? NurturMe is offering a gift box of items for giveaway, just enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mini corn dog muffins

2012-01-18T10:08:00.001-05:00

My kids and I love these. I use my mini muffin tin so that there is a good hotdog to corn muffin ratio. These freeze really well also. You can use a cornbread mix or your favorite cornbread recipe. I just baked the cut hotdogs in the batter.

Lamest post ever but so very good. And easy to freeze for quick lunches!

For Baby Riley

2012-01-17T12:41:00.001-05:00

It's with a heavy heart that I write this post. There is an auction going on right now on Hyena Cart for Baby Riley's family. Please take a moment to read their story and pray for them. If you can consider a donation or bid on some of the gorgeous items that are up.

Her story. (Pictures of infant loss are on this link.)

Some of the items at the Charity Store you can bid on.


Puddlefoot.

Handspun yarns.

Love Abounds- Sipping Chocolat Con Chilie

There is so much more, please check it out.

American Girl Bistro/Tea (Tysons Corner/DC)

2012-01-17T11:20:00.003-05:00

When my brother and parents were in town for Thanksgiving, as an early Christmas celebration we took the girls to tea at the American Girl Bistro. They were so very excited, we got them out of school early. We also let them open some Christmas gifts from Uncle J. (I let them open all their gifts from him while he was here to see them.) Uncle J spoiled them! The girls were so surprised to see their gifts. Diva got Marie-Grace, Piglet got Bitty Twins and Pixie got a Bitty Baby. He also got them tons of accessories, clothing, books, it was a mini American Girl store in my living room.

The American Girl doll store in Tyson's Corner is actually in Virgina not in Washington DC. It's not far from DC though. It's at one of my favorite malls in the area. The store is not huge, it's a great size though. Not overwhelming and still has great variety. Everything a girl could want, and then some. The decor is true to the AG style. I love the store. The employees are friendly and helpful.
When we got to the Bistro we were a little early. So we sat around, the girls looked at more dolls and books. The staff was able to sit us 5 minutes earlier than our reservation time. Note about reservations- I made mine online since it was a big party. But each time I've gone there and have seen people ask about availability for smaller parties they have been able to wait to be seated. Still, I would make reservations. It's easy to do over the phone or online, and American Girl highly recommends them.

The Bistro was clean, roomy and of course there were doll chairs. I let the girls bring their new dolls. If you don't have a doll you can use one of the ones at the Bistro. I was also told on the phone that teddy bears and such were more than welcome. Once seated we were asked for drink orders. The waitress and manager came over to confirm Diva's nut allergy and let us know that nothing had nuts in it. (Awesome.) We all ordered tea, except Pixie. The girls got little books to color on while we waited. We waited about 20 minutes for our food to come. We used the cards provided on the table to ask each other questions and pass the time also.

Tea was $11 per person. Which is a fair price, since nice tea rooms will run you $20+. There was enough food. But I will admit, the tea was nothing special. It kills me to say that because I wanted to experience to be so much more. Because the girls LOVE American Girl and I love that they do. Believe me, we're huge American Girl fans, this just didn't live up to everything else that American Girl does. I'm not saying people shouldn't go, it's the experience after all.

The tea was just regular tea bags. What did I expect? Specialty tea. Seriously, I did. Not any tea I can buy a box of at Safeway. Maybe it's because one day I want to open a tea room- and detail is important to me. Making people feel like this is an amazing event that you want to keep in the back of your head for more celebrations and so on. Wouldn't little bags with the American Girl logo be cute? Moving on.
The food. :(. Oh the food, so much potential for American Girl to really set the standard for kid's tea parties. But it was just, there. It was any old food you could do at home. We ate, but there wasn't anything there that any of us said, "I have GOT to come back for more of this." I guess I understand that this is food that is geared towards kids and is "safe", as far as what a lot of kids will eat. But, I'm not one of those parents who will dumb down my kids palettes either. So the regular plain sandwiches or chicken nuggets are just blah "kid" foods. I understand picky eaters, I do. But you can still do awesome things with traditionally "safe" kids foods.

The sandwiches were regular variety sandwiches, the bread was store bought bread. Or it tasted like it and looked like it. The bagels were definitely store bought and not fresh. Which, I understand you can't always bake and make everything from scratch. But specialty ingredients, like breads aren't hard to come by. I did like the Rancho ham sandwich the best out of all of them.

The cake pops were so dry and sweet. You could tell someone had left them in a cooler, because there was beads of condensation around them. They must have dried out there. We couldn't eat them.

The yogurt for dipping the fruit was, again it tasted like someone opened a container of store bought yogurt and put it in a bowl. The little muffins were pretty good. Moist, flavorful. But I don't remember the actual flavor.

Pixie's mac and cheese came out nice and hot, which was awesome.

The girls LOVED the Jello orange slices. LOVED them. LOL.

I'm not saying we didn't eat. We did. It just wasn't great food. Maybe we'll try hot food next time.
Our service at tea started out wonderfully. But once our drink order was taken and we got our food we weren't checked on. We did wave our waitress down for drink refills, napkins and our check. It wasn't busy, there were empty tables, but it's a newer place.
So, that was tea at American Girl for us. The kids had fun, of course. That was important to me. They haven't asked to go back though. That may or may not be a good thing. Maybe the store is still new and they are working out staffing kinks and figuring out what works for them. I hope so. Because I would love for it to be a place I can take the girls on special occasions. This of course is just my opinion and people may feel very differently about their experiences.

Here is a menu taken off of the American Girl site, for tea in DC.
Bistro Sample Menus: Winter
Menus are representative only and are subject to change
TEA
The American Girls Tea®
Enjoy a special dining experience with a variety of dainty tea sandwiches and assorted sweet treats.
Your tea service also includes a pot of hot cocoa or tea.
Savory Beginnings
Kaya’s fresh fruit kabobs
Marie-Grace and Cécile’s petite fruit muffins
Addy’s all-star turkey tea sandwich
Turkey, mayonaise, and provolone on a festive star-shaped tea sandwich
Josefina’s rancho ham sandwich
Ham with honey mustard and lettuce on a soft pretzel roll
Rebecca’s cucumber tea sandwich
A mini bagel with cream cheese and thinly sliced cucumbers
Sweet Treats
Kit’s garden party pink cupcake
Molly’s favorite brownie lollipop
Julie’s groovy Jell-O® Smile
Served weekdays 2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

ID cards for kids

2012-01-16T09:52:00.000-05:00

If you order prints from ... well, just about anywhere. You get these little thumbnail sheets. Well I took some of the pictures and made little ID cards for my kids. I made their cards on the back of my "Mommy calling cards" that they used for play dates.

I'm also going to cut out these little thumbnails and make cupcake toppers, bento picks and, a little cake banner like this one on the Smurf cupcakes.

I've also seen people make magnets with these thumbnails. I think the girls will enjoy using them to make mini books and greeting cards.

What do you do with your thumbnails?

Free Friday

2012-01-13T09:50:00.004-05:00

Piglet.

I thought I posted this already. How cute is this growth chart that MIL made for us? I love that when we move we can take it with us! It's so cute. Looks just like a yard stick! I didn't want a huge one, we have no room.

I think the hardest part for MIL was measuring out the lines and writing all the numbers. I'm marking heights, names, and what the girls want to be when they grow up. I think last time I asked Pixie she said a dog. LOL.

2012 Bento 4,5

2012-01-12T09:11:00.001-05:00

Tortilla roll ups with turkey, carrots, orange bell peppers, herb cream cheese (I just mix cream cheese with my dry ranch dressing mix)

Easy Peasy Stuffed peppers

Kiwi

Jelly's

Valentine's Day Cards 2012

2012-01-11T22:16:00.001-05:00

I saw these on Pinterest and I had to make them. I know, it's early. But I figured I'd get them done and printed. Then all I have to do is mount them and add the treat. I am going to put lollipops in them. Pretty much self explanatory looking at these but, here's how I did mine.

1- Take the picture (Hardest part if you don't know what you're doing, ummm me.)

2- Photoshop with a greeting, name and date.

I put Happy Valentine's Day to a "Sweet" friend and stuff like that. I also made one for Piglet that says "You've got the 'write' stuff" for pencils, perfect if you cant take edible treats to school.

3- Get the pictures printed. (Mount them on colored card stock, I haven't gotten to this point yet, LOL.)

4- Using an exacto knife or razor cut slits above and below the child's fist on the picture.

5- Slide the treat through, and secure with a small piece of tape on the back.

Here are some more sayings and gift ideas-

I "mustache" you to be my valentine. - A mustache Photoshopped on the card. (Any treat can be added, but mustache lollipops would be cute and so would these fun/free printables on straws!)

I'm stuck on you.- pieces of gum, sticker strips

You've got the write stuff/ you're write for me.- pencils

You make my life colorful.- crayons, colored pencils, friendship braclets

I'm stuck on you.- friendship safety pins

School/class would knot be the same without you.- friendship bracelets (I saw this on pinterest!)

You ROCK.- rock candy on sticks

Hugs and Kisses.- you can thread the little strip of paper through the pictures

Anything with "sweet".- lollipops, pixie sticks, Twizzlers

You light up my life.- Glow sticks (sparklers would be awesome for a party with adult supervision)

What other fun things can you think of? I'd love to hear, leave me a comment.
Are you making Valentine's this year?

Vegetable "noodles", Vegetable slicer.

2012-01-11T14:55:00.000-05:00

I tagged this post primal/paleo because you can just leave out the grain noodles and use lentils as the binder in the meatballs. The plate you see up top there is Our Favorite Spaghetti Sauce, meatballs- I've used ground up lentils in place of binder NOM NOM, and a mixture of zucchini and regular wheat pasta. I did a mixture because I didn't want to change it all up on the kids at once. They all ate the zucchini, which I just blanched in the same pot as the pasta, at the end of the pasta cooking time. Then I drained it all together. They even said they LIKED it. So I'll be adding more and more zucchini and using less pasta. I have no issue with pasta I love pasta, but I like adding vegetables when I can into our diet. The thing is, I don't like whole wheat pasta. LOL. As light as the zucchini is, it still has a good bite to it- I can't wait to try it with this 3 ingredient red sauce!

This post is more about my handy dandy slicer. I use it for zucchini, carrots, daikon radishes, potatoes, etc. I can't wait to use it with cucumber and beets also.

Whew, worse than usual picture.

I got my slicer at TJ Maxx I have wanted one for years though. It was on clearance for $16. It is this same kind, I just have blue plastic blade plates. I've had this for a while now and I've used it quite a bit. It's easy to use, easy to clean.
I just sent my parents one for Christmas too!


	Amazon

Garden Vegetable soup- crock pot

2012-01-10T14:30:00.000-05:00

You can find the method for this recipe here. I put rib in chicken breasts in the crock pot with salt and pepper. Then I sauteed all the vegetables and put them in the crock pot, with the spices, broth, tomatoes. When the chicken was done I took it out to shred it so it wouldn't get over down.I put kale in this soup and I put the kale in 20 minutes before serving, I don't like it mushy. I didn't put the corn in until about 10 minutes before serving.

Here is a cut and paste from the post linked above.

Again this is more of a method than a recipe...

Chicken breasts- broiled with salt and pepper cut into bit sized pieces
Minced garlic clove
Chopped red bell pepper
Chopped carrots
Chopped celery
Chopped onion
Chopped zucchini
Fresh green beans cut into ¾ in size
Frozen corn
Low sodium chicken broth (2 1/2 boxes)
Can of diced tomatoes
Bay leaf
Italian seasoning
Sea salt
Black pepper
Lime juice

Garnish-
Chopped parsley
Chopped celery leaves
Lime wedges

Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed stockpot over medium low heat. Once heated sweat garlic and onion with a little salt. Add carrots, green beans, bell pepper, celery, bay leaf and Italian seasoning, cook for about 5 minuets, stir. Add zucchini, roasted chicken and any juices, broth, salt and pepper. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Once simmering lower heat and cook until vegetables are fork tender. Add corn kernels a little before cooking time is up. Remove from heat and add about 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice. Discard Bay leaves. Serve with garnishes.

2012 Bento 3

2012-01-10T10:03:00.000-05:00

Looking past this picture (so sorry for this horrible picture)

Grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato wrap

Broccoli Salad

Mandarin oranges and jubees