flipflopnana

Mini Grilled Cheese Recipe

2011-02-10T17:27:00.005-05:00

I have been on a quest for some new recipes lately and tried several out this last week. Today I tested a Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwich recipe from the current Clean Eating magazine.

These little sandwiches proved to be quite filling and pretty yummy. We each ate 2 mini sandwiches and it was the perfect amount for lunch. The recipe states that their are 217 calories for 2 sandwiches. My sandwiches probably had just a bit more calories than that as I did make a couple of adjustments.

I was able to find all organic ingredients except for the bread. Really wish I had access to organic fresh bread near me. I have tried making my bread but just have not been able to get the hang of it since moving to Florida, not even in a bread maker.

Anyway here is my revamped recipe. This really is a keeper and I will be making it again soon. Hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients:
1 cup of canned or cooked black beans mashed or pureed.
2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 whole grain baguette
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast
salsa
butter

Prepare your chicken any way that you choose (grill, baked, etc) I chose to boil mine in a little chicken stock and then shredded and seasoned it with a little taco seasoning.

While chicken is cooking season your beans with the fresh cilantro, salt and pepper to taste. I also added some fresh salsa to spice the beans up a bit.

Slice your baguette into about 32 pieces 1/4 inch thick. Lightly butter each piece just on one side and lay on a tray or cutting board butter side down.

Sprinkle a little shredded cheese on half of the slices, next layer some beans, then chicken, and a little more cheese. Top with the other pieces of bread.

Preheat a skillet on med to med low heat. Grill each sandwich 2-3 minutes per side until bread is a light golden brown and cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Anything Is Possible

2011-02-09T16:08:00.004-05:00

I watch my 5 year old granddaughter for a few hours everyday. I never know what she will come up with each day. Well yesterday she comes to me and says that Big Baby needs a new dress.

Okay, but how are we going to make it? We are always making something but usually out of construction paper. She gets a piece of paper and draws up this beautiful design and says, Grandma, I know you can make it, you can make anything. How can you resist a cutie like that?

Needless to say we made a trip into town today so that she could pick out the perfect fabric and now grandma is drawing a pattern. We will see how it turns out.

Now if I could just keep her attitude that ANYTHING is possible as I go through each day. She sure helps to remind me.

Believe in the Power of True Love

2011-02-08T21:54:00.001-05:00

Valentine's Day is almost upon us and as I was searching for some fun gifts I found this Disney Precious Moment Collectible and fell in love with it. Needless to say it spurred a page on Squidoo featuring Disney gifts and love quotes for Valentine's Day.

See all of my fun picks at: Disney Valentine Gifts

Precious Moments Disney Collection-Believe In The Power of True Love

Treat Dry, Damaged Hair with Bananas!

2010-04-01T13:24:00.001-04:00

Nope not an April Fool's Joke!

I caught an episode of Dr Oz the other day where he was discussing the age of our hair. The women that he tested both showed their hair aging faster than they were. I have also noticed my hair getting dryer and more frizzy with each year that I enjoy.
Dr Oz's solution was to apply pureed bananas to your hair and let sit for 15 min and then wash as usual.
I decided to give it a try as what could it hurt? It is all natural and not very expensive.

I put 2 overripe bananas in the blender and made a puree - hint: get it as smooth as possible or you will have a time getting little banana pieces out of your hair.
I applied it to my hair and ended up leaving it on for about 30 minutes as I ended up a bit sidetracked.

The results after my hair has dried?
Believe it or not this simple treatment has already left my hair softer and shinier. I am amazed that something so simple has worked so well. I am not sure how often you should use the banana treatment, but thought I would do it again next week and see what happens.

So if you are finding your hair dry and dull give bananas a try and let me know your results!

I Finally Got My Shape - Ups!

2010-03-15T10:43:00.001-04:00

Skechers Shape Ups Metabolize - Womens

I have really been wanting a pair of Skecher's ShapeUps since I tried them on a while ago.

They really are the most comfortable shoe I have ever tried. Well, I finally was able to get a pair and wore them for the first time.
The claims of toning your legs were not really what grabbed me but the comfort of the shoe really had me hooked, I figured IF they did help tone my legs that would be a plus.
I am a barefoot or flip flop person and you hardly ever see a pair of shoes on me unless I am doing a lot of walking. So to say I find a shoe comfortable is a BIG deal as I do not like wearing shoes at all.

Well I tried my ShapeUps for the first time yesterday and I must say I felt a bit wobbly at first. My feet kept wanting to roll side to side, so I had to concentrate on my step for a bit to make sure that I stepped down on my heel and then rolled forward on the shoe. It really did not take long at all to get it down and after just a few minutes I did not have to think about it again.

Now I only wore my Shape-Ups to the grocery store to pick up a few things yesterday and really could not feel it working any muscles other that my feet feeling a bit more tired than usual. But, after getting home and taking my shoes off I could tell that my posture was different and could feel it in my abdomen a bit.

This morning my leg and glute muscles are not sore but they do feel as though I used them more yesterday. Hmmm. You know my feet and legs actually feel as though they are yearning for me to put my shoes back on a bit. I never wear shoes in the house, but I think I will slip them on today while I pick up and do laundry.

Oh, I do hope I will not have to change my name over these shoes!

This is the style that I decided on, it is also the best price that I could find. I find that these shoes run true to size, so ordering online did not worry me a bit.

Be sure to stop back - I will keep you updated my Shape-Ups and if they actually do work.

Why Such A Big Deal Over A Shoe? Skechers Shape Ups

2010-01-20T13:14:00.007-05:00

I keep seeing these commercials about Shape Ups and their claims of how they will help you get fit without stepping foot in a gym. I really have not paid much attention to the ads, but now I need to replace my sneakers so I started noticing them.

Shoes tend to last me a very long time as I usually am barefoot or in flip flops. There are times that I have to don a pair of shoes, especially if it involves a lot of walking. So this ad has now caught my attention since I need shoes.

I usually start my shoe buying with research to find the most comfortable shoe available. I don't concentrate on price too much as they will last at least 3 years, so even if I pay $100 for shoes that is only a little more than $30 a year. If I buy a cheap shoe I end up paying more than that a year.

After much research I had to find out what the big deal is about these shoes. I have read and watched I can't even begin to tell you how many testimonials. For the most part they are all good.

I have learned how Shape Ups work to tone your leg and buttock muscles. They are even supposed to help your posture. I know that they may feel awkward at first but your body will adjust so I need to give them a little time.

Because of all the testimonials about the comfort of Shape Ups, I just had to try a pair. Let me tell you, they did not feel awkward at all to me, this may be due to the fact that I do not usually wear shoes. They were the cushioniest shoe that I have ever tried. I kind of felt like Tigger with a bounce in my step. I could even see how it could help tone your muscles as I could feel different muscles working and I did stand straighter. Hmmm, no wonder so many people are raving about this shoe.

The price is more than I usually pay, but it really doesn't bother me too much as I haven't ever found a shoe this comfortable and they do look like a quality shoe that will last me. So that is it, I am hooked, I have to have a pair of Shape Ups.

I did not like the styles available where I tried the shoes and since I now know how they fit and my normal size seems to be fine I am heading over to Amazon where I can get a great price and free shipping.

Now I have to decide which pair I want:

How Do Shape Ups Work?

What I did with my RedGage Winnings

2009-08-21T17:39:00.001-04:00

I signed up on RedGage a couple of months ago and started earning money immediately, granted it is not making me rich, but it did give me the extra cash for this little trip and it was fun. I received my RedGage visa just a couple of weeks ago.

RedGage gives you the power to share your blogs, pictures, videos, documents, and links all in one convenient place. But, the most exciting part is... RedGage is a website that pays you for the content you create. It is easy, not work at all and is actually so much fun meeting people and seeing what they have to share.

I was so excited to have made money here from the moment I joined the site and then I won one of the daily contests. Oh what fun!

I really wanted to do something special with the money. Spending the time with my grandkids is always a special time, so I decided to treat my daughter and granddaughter (Alyssa) to a girl's day out.

Alyssa and I have been wanting to go to The Butterfly Rainforest exhibit at The Museum of Natural History in Gainesville Fl. so that is what we did.

We had a wonderful day. It was about an hour drive, so we even stopped for lunch before our visit.

The museum had 2 different butterfly exhibits and of course we had to go into the rainforest exhibit first. The whole place is so beautiful I have never seen so many butterflies flying all around you. I was able to get some great photos, although it was hard to capture good photos of the butterflies.

Alyssa always has to do what grandma does so luckily I brought an extra camera. Alyssa is only 4 but she sure took some great photos. This was her first time really using a camera
and she did not have a hard time getting photos of butterflies at all, they just seemed to pose for her.
The traveling butterfly exhibit was a lot of fun also. We pretended that we were caterpillars and as we went through the exhibit we were transformed into beautiful butterflies. Alyssa decided we were all Monarch Butterflies and had to spend the rest of the day flying around as butterflies. It was fun watching everyone laugh at us.

Read more about our day at Our Butterfly Rainforest Adventure

We had an amazing day with some great memories.
I probably would not have splurged on this little day trip if it were not for RedGage.

Come and check RedGage out if you are not a member, you can sign up HERE.