Homemade Sunscreen

While we are on the topic of sharing good things, I wanted to pass this along.  I have made a few adjustments, and would love to hear what works for you! My only complaint is the whining children that I am rubbing the sunscreen on! 

Menu Plan Monday

After week one of Menu Planning, I think I am hooked.  For the first time ever I made only one trip to the grocery store, saved money and ate some really great food.

We are ready to kick off another week.  The shopping is done, and it should be smooth sailing from here.

Monday
Honey Sesame Chicken, Katie led the way with this one, and I am more than happy to follow for three reasons.
1. It got the Terpstra stamp of approval.
2. It involves a crockpot.
and...
3. Rice.  My #1 pregnancy craving. Enough said.

Tuesday
Pan Roasted Chicken with Green Beans.  This one is an oldie, but a goodie and instead of lemons we slice up green apples to give it our very own twist.

Wednesday
Taco Rice Bowl. Another Kt find, and it has been awhile since we indulged, so it is once again making an appearance on our table.

Thursday
It would be a normal week if we didn't have some salmon with rice.  And, for an extra special treat we will be having asparagus from the local produce stand.

Friday
Find your own dinner Friday.

Sweet Treat of the Week
Last week we had sweet success with Greek Yogurt Cupcakes, and we are hoping for the same with Sugar Free Vanilla Ice Cream this week.

Menu Plan Monday

I have been inspired once again, and I am debuting my first ever Meal Plan Monday.

The shopping is done, the plan is in place, and now all I have to do is pull the trigger at 4 p.m. each afternoon. If I can ignore the temptation and ease of frozen raviolis, my planning ahead will have been worth every minute.

Monday
We are kicking off the week with Sweet Potato Quinoa Burgers,  The boys say they "hate" black beans, but I am hoping to sneak them in to start off the week with  a score of   Mom: 1  Boys: 0

Tuesday
For the first time in awhile there is nothing on the schedule for a week night, so I will attempt a new dish, Spicy Peanut Chicken Salad, that has had my mouth watering since I saw it pinned for the first time.  I am going to substitute the noodles with brown rice and pray that it is just as yummy.

Wednesday
Our family favorite with be on the docket for tonight.   Salmon with brown rice.  Add some green onions, sweet peppers, avocado, and cherry tomatoes and we all wish there were leftovers.

Thursday
I will be giving a new Creamy Chicken Alfredo recipe a try.  Apparently spaghetti squash is out of season, so I will be replacing the squash with noodles.

Friday
Make your own meal night..... Everyone takes their pick of the remaining contents in the fridge.



What will be on your dinner table this week?

Clean Cooking #3: Quinoa Bites

After a brief hiatus, I am pulling up my boot straps and gettin' after #18 on my Year 32 List. 

For my first clean meal I made fried rice which has become a staple and has found its way to our dinner table once a week.

My second clean cooking attempt led me to whip up some quinoa burgers.  Although, they have not made a regular appearance on our plates, I do make them occasionally.

And, for my third clean cooking attempt these cute cheesy quinoa bites kept calling my name.

After a trip to the store to collect any missing ingredients, I was ready to roll.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa

2 large eggs

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese {I substituted dairy free}

2 stalks green onion {diced}

2 cloves garlic {I used garlic powder}

1 c. fresh chopped cilantro

1 c. shredded carrot

2 Tbs almond meal

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Put all of the ingredients into a large bowl,

and simply mix.

When all of the ingredients are mixed well, spray mini muffin tin with

non-stick cooking spray, and fill muffin cup to the brim.

 Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees and enjoy.

I am linking to...

Delightful Order

The Great Pumpkin Seed Battle

This year's pumpkin carving took an unexpected turn as we decided to try not one special pumpkin seed concoction, but four.  And to spice things up even more we decided to do a blind taste test and rank each special recipe.

In cup #1 we had a cinnamon and sugar mix.

Cup #2 had sea salt only.

Cup #3 sported Lawry's salt.

And, cup #4 was the most complex of all with
a combination of garlic, sea salt and pepper.

After careful consideration and lots of pumpkin seeds we came to a unanimous 
decision that the winner of our great pumpkin seed showdown was.....

Cup #1:
Cinnamon & Sugar.

What is your favorite pumpkin seed concoction?

Year 32 {Clean Cooking #2: Quinoa Burgers}

Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest?  I just can't seem to get enough and find new ideas each hour day, including the first two recipes for my clean cooking challenge.

For clean meal #1, we enjoyed fried rice,  and now that it is time to take another swing at a clean cooking I decided to try my hand at quinoa burgers.


The best part about this meal was that I already had most of the ingredients in the house and decided to be adventurous and substitute for the ingredients I didn't have, take that perfectionism!


 Here is the recipe I came up with: 


Quinoa Burgers

1/2 cup quinoa, well-rinsed under cold water
1 cup cooked corn
1 dash of minced onion
1 15-ounce can white beans {great northern beans},  drained and rinsed
1 slice of bread torn to bits
1 large egg
1 tablespoon red cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Toppings

Hummus
Roasted red peppers
Lettuce
Tomatoes

Directions:

Rinse quinoa. {Essential step for removing bitter taste}

Add rinsed quinoa with 1 cup water to rice cooker. {boiling is an option too}

While the rice is cooking, chop all veggies.

In a food processor, combine corn,

 

cooked quinoa,

egg,

bread crumbs,

red cayenne pepper,

and beans + olive oil

until they are mixed well.

Next, make into patties {note: I put mine in the freezer for 15 minutes to make
for less sticky patty making}

 

and cook approximately 10 minutes on each side until they are golden brown.

Finally, serve on a warm toasted, whole wheat bun, topped with hummus, 
roasted red pepper, tomato and a side of sweet potato chips

 
 and enjoy a delicious burger with a perfect blend of crunchy, sweet, and spice.

Mmmmm...so yummy that even our pickiest eater gave it two thumbs up. 



I linked to a bowl full of lemons.

I've been P{inspired}...

It was approximately three months ago that my life changed forever.... 

After a couple email invites from Katie, I finally logged on and signed in to see what this Pinterest was all about, and it was love at first sight! 

Now 547 pins later, I can say without a doubt, that what started as a mere fling filled with little substance, has now blossomed into a full blown love affair.

And here are the Top 5 Reasons why I love Pinterest.

1. It stimulates both my left brain and  my right brain at the same time.  The left side of my brain is pleased with the nice and neatly organized structure of Pinterest, and the right side of my brain dances with joy each time I see something new and creative. It's the best of both worlds, creative and logical, all at the same time.

2. There is a place to find everything. And, I mean everything.  If you're looking for a pair of boots and where to buy them...pinterest it.   If you are looking for a new recipe to try...pinterest it.  If you are looking for outfits to wear for family pictures....pinterest it.  If you want to know how to make homemade Mod Podge....pinterest it.  If you have no idea what Mod Podge is but want to find a craft to make with it.... yep, you guessed it, pinterest it.  I can almost say I like it better than Google, because with each search there's a picture. Who knew?

3. Fun with friends. What can I say, I am a girl who loves community and there is no better virtual place to find it than Pinterest.  It's like taking one long shopping trip with your best friends.

4. It's Real. Most pins are from real people, leading real lives. 

5. It's P{inspiring}. I cannot tell you how many times I have been to Hobby Lobby since I was introduced to Pinterest.  I have never been so motivated to craft, and it's all thanks to Pinterest.

Since I started my pinning journey I have made,
 

 T.V. Tickets

P{inspiration}

Not just 1 Topiary....

but 2 Topiaries
P{inspiration}

 A Memory Jar
P{inspiration}
 

A Letter {H}

P{inspiration}

A 'Store me I'm Important' Clipboard 
{one for each boy}
P{inspiration}

A Peanut Butter 'Cheese Ball'

P{inspiration}

and...Clean Eating Fried Rice
P{inspiration}

 

How have you been P{inspired}?

Clean Cooking

According to the list, my goal is to to make one clean meal a month. 

Tonight, I crossed the first month off list with great success. 

Thanks to my great pinning friends, I found my first recipe on Pinterest.

All it took was organic rice, edamame, and broccoli

mixed with some soy sauce, rice vinegar, & garlic to create

the most delicious clean meal that got two thumbs-up all around.

{Recipe}

Back to the Basics:{Canning Peaches}

As if canning tomatoes wasn't a big enough leap for this non-culinary girl, my mom and I decided to can not one, but two 1/2 bushels of peaches.  It seemed as if it would be a lot of work, but in reality, canning peaches was much more enjoyable than canning tomatoes.  If I can do it, you can do it!

Steps for canning Red Haven Peaches.

Step 1: Start with several {at least 1/2 bushel} of ripe peaches.  *I have found that 1/2 bushel will yield 10 wide mouth jars of canned peaches.

Step 2: Heat peaches in a warm bath.  I recommend trying one or two at first to gauge how long the peaches need to soak.  If peaches are soaked for too long they will be too mushy to effectively pit.

Step 3: While the peaches are bathing, fill another pot with an inch or so of water and begin heating jars by placing them upside down into the pot

Step 4: Transfer warm peaches to cold water.

Step 5: When peaches are cool, cut around the center, gently twist into halves and, if done perfectly, the skin will peel right off. {Note: I had several that were not done perfectly, in that case just salvage what you can because a peach is a peach}

Step 6: Place peach halves in a bowl.

Meanwhile: {because, I am not quite sure of the perfect time} in yet another pan, begin to heat the mixture you will be pouring over the peaches.  We chose a mixture that was 3:1 water to sugar and simply used the mason jar to measure.  Mix well and heat until sugar water is warm.

Step 7: Place halved peaches into jar, pit side down.

Step 8: Pour warm sugar water over peaches.

Step 9: As passed down to my mother from her mother, this step may be the most important, unknown step to caners around the world...  After the sugar water is poured over the peaches, take a butter knife and slide it down the sides of the jar to release any bubbles in the jar. 

Step 10: Wipe around the mouth of the jar, clearing it of any residue.

Step 11: Top the jar with lids, tighten with rings and place into a pressure cooker or canning pot.

Step 12: Line up handles of pressure cooker.

Step 13: Line up knobby thing {anyone know the technical name? mom? grandma?} so that the 5 is on the bottom.  The arrow is pointing to what remains of the 5 on this gem of a 1979 pressure cooker. Why you do this? I am not quite sure, but I do know that it is crucial, so go with it.

Step 14: Once the all important 5 is lined up turn the burner on high until you hear a vigorous rattle.  Once you hear the rattle, turn the burner down a bit, resulting in a less constant rattle, but one that is intermittent separated by 10 seconds or so. After turning it down set the timer for 10 minutes and let the pressure cooker work it's magic.

Step 15: When the 10 minutes is done, turn off the burner and wait for the handles to release. Once the handles are released you may take the lid off of the pressure cooker and take hot jars out.  *be sure to line your counter tops with towels to protect the surface. 

Step 16: Stock your cupboards and enjoy.


And there you have it....word has it that today may be the last day to enjoy fresh Red Haven peaches. Be sure to grab yourself one of the last batches, some mason jars,and a canning companion and give it a try...why not?