Fried Avacadoes

If you love avacadoes as much as me, you have to try this recipe.  (I found it here)
Sunday night we made grilled teriayki chicken with mashed potatoes and I decided to try these.
oh. my. word.

Ingredients:
Avocado Fries:
Oil For Frying
2 Avocados
2 Eggs, beaten
1 and 1/3 Cup Bread Crumbs
1 Teaspoon Lemon Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon Lemon Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Cumin
Cilantro Lemon Dipping Sauce:5 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro, chopped
Juice from 1/2 of Lemon

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, lemon pepper, salt and cumin. Set it aside. Cut the avocados in half and then slice them vertically into 4 inch by 1 inch wedges. Set them aside. Heat the vegetable oil to 335 degrees Fahrenheit in a large frying pan, adding enough oil so that the oil is about 3 to four inches deep. Dredge the avocado slices in the breadcrumb mixture, then in the egg mixture, then in the breadcrumb mixture again. Place them in the hot oil and fry them for about 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon or tongs, and set them on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Allow them to dry for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a serving tray and serve them immediately with the Cilantro Lemon Dipping Sauce.

For the Cilantro Lemon Dipping Sauce, place the mayonnaise, cilantro, and lemon juice in a blender and mix until smooth and creamy in texture.

YUMMY!

Banana Boats

A lot of you liked my shot of smores, so I thought I'd share my newest little treat with you.

Take a banana, or two, and cut them into a few pieces.  Slice them in half, and lay them on a small cookie sheet.  Stuff them with small chocolate chips ( I used white chocolate, but milk chocolate would be yummy too) and top them with mini marshmallows.

Bake them in the oven at 350 for about 8 minutes.

Delicious and quick!  And with the bananas, it's kind of healthy!  :)
Enjoy!

Shot of Smores

You are either going to think this is completely disgusting or totally genius.

It's my new sweet tooth cure and I call it a smore shot.

I take a cupcake liner and put a marshmallow in it.  I put two squares of Hershey's chocolate on top and then put it in the microwave for 12 seconds.

Then I quickly put the whole thing in my mouth before any of my kids catch me.

Gross or yummy?

Ha!

Here's to a wonderful and blessed weekend...

Random Musings

I probably should have worked this morning, but I suddenly felt the need to slow down and enjoy the day.  I am usually too frugal to buy fresh flowers, but today I indulged myself.  Aren't they pretty? :)

Thanks to my friend Crystal, I can barely walk today.  I started the 30 day shred yesterday.  Come on, join us!  You'll be glad you did! :)

ThankyouThankyouThankyou to all of you who ordered prints yesterday to benefit the unfortunate events in Japan.  I have ordered the prints and am happy to report that I made a nice donation with the proceeds here this morning.  :)

A couple of you have sent me an email or etsy note asking about this piece:

I put it on sale and will donate the proceeds to the disaster fund again.  If you're interested it's here. :)

Last but not least on my random notes for today, I wanted to share with you a great home-made spaghetti sauce recipe.  I used to be a spaghetti sauce from a jar kind of person until recently.  My husband kind of begged me to make it from scratch and I finally did it.  I will never go back.  It's totally worth the time and effort to walk into your kitchen to the smell of sauce that's been simmering all day...

Ingredients:

4 (14.5 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes

2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce

4 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

3 cups water

4 cups fresh sliced mushrooms

2 onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 teaspoons white sugar

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

2 pinches baking soda

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1.Mix together whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, mushrooms, onions, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper, basil, and 1 pinch of baking soda in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 4 hours minimum.

2.Stir in another pinch of baking soda; the sauce will foam. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and almost brown. Make sure to scrape the sides of the pan in to the sauce.

3.After the sauce is fork consistency, stir in Parmesan cheese. Watch that the cheese does not burn. Taste sauce. If it is too tangy or acidic, add another pinch of baking soda and simmer another 1/2 hour.

4.Cool, cover, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, reheat and serve.

(from allrecipes.com)

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Have a good Tuesday!  :)

xo,

Chrissie

Snacky Snack Snack

I like to eat. A lot!   

I almost always cook a big meal at night for supper.

But during the day I never really have a big lunch...

I do a lot. of . snacking...

Wanna see?

Now that you've seen some of my snacking habits, do you have any suggestions for me?
I'd love to try something new!
What are your favorite snacks?

Happy Monday,
Chrissie

 

Linking up here for  Life Made Lovely Monday :)

Some thoughts on food...

I haven't actually seen the movie Food Inc. (although I plan to soon). I watched an Oprah show where they spoke about the film and showed some clips from the film. It was enough to make me start really thinking about our food intake.

Have you ever considered that most of what we put in our bodies isn't really food?

The preservatives, the food colorings, the additives, the sugar and high fructose corn syrup...the food that we all feed to our kids and ourselves.

It's no wonder that most of us suffer from daily ailments: allergies, headaches, bad periods, depression and anxiety, stomach aches. We aren't eating REAL FOOD!

How is it that I'll be 35 this year and I've been eating "fake food" almost my whole life?Let me quickly add that I am by no means an expert. I am the guiltiest of guilty. I thought we were doing pretty good because we don't keep soda in the house. I only buy 100% whole wheat bread. We drink 2% milk...BUT- we have a long ways to go.

We have started with our small garden. We decided on The Easy-Care Bag Garden. You simply set out purchased bags of topsoil, cut open the bags, and plant the seeds and seedlings right in the topsoil. By the second year, it should be fully functional as a food garden with 15 vegetables and 5 herbs producing steadily from early summer to late fall. Our garden right now should yield:

• carrots


• cucumbers


• spinach


• sugar snap peas


• 3 types of tomatoes


• blueberries


• strawberries


• a papaya tree


• basil


• thyme


• oregano


• rosemary


• sage
  
  A couple of other things we've done...replaced our milk with organic, bought the kids some all natural cereals (try the fruit-o's, they are good!), and introduced two more servings of vegetables a day.

Also, check out this book too. It'll get you thinking...I promise.

I'll be back soon with some art and sewing to show you.

I've been busy and I can't wait to share!:)

Friday...a book, a recipe, and some inspiration

Happy Friday Friends.
My kids have been on Spring Break this week, and while we had a very good time, my husband informed me that I have the day off today!
Which means I can catch up on a couple of projects and get ready for Sissy's birthday without being responsible for feeding, entertaining, and changing diapers.
YAY!!
Here is a collage of inspiration for the week...

1. more pillows... closeup., 2. heart´s heart - multicolor, 3. Chloe, Beatrice, Pixie, Poppy, Olive, 4. doll quilt, 5. Polkadot shoes, 6. matruschka pimpinellskova #2, 7. matruschka pimpinellskova #2, 8. Oilily fabric brooches, 9. van dik hout - mijn houten hart, 10. love on a wire, 11. turquoisepink1, 12. flowers for hairpins 1

On another note, I make steamed broccoli about once a week, and was getting rather tired of it. I tried this cold broccoli salad for Easter and I highly recommend it. My kids were munching on it like little rabbits:)

• Large head of broccoli
• 10 slices of bacon, cooked crisp
• 5 green onions
• 1/2 cup of raisins
• 1 cup mayo
• 2 tsp. vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar

Cut the broccoli into florets, add cooked bacon to it along with green onions, raisins. Mix mayo, vinegar and sugar together and toss with broccoli mixture.

Lastly, I actually read this back in December but picked it up from the library again. It is not a Christian based parenting book, but it has to be one of my favorites ever.

“If you are raising children in these anxious times, you need this book. It will inspire you, reassure you, and, most important of all, it will remind you that less is more, that simplicity trumps complication, that rhythm and routine bring peace to the soul. In this profound and practical guide, Kim John Payne offers parents a doable, step-by-step approach to simplifying everyday family life, from the toy box to the dinner table. In the process, he reveals to us the rewards to be found in slowing down, savoring our children’s childhoods, and more fully enjoying our own adult lives.”—Katrina Kenison, author of Mitten Strings for God

Here is wishing you a wonderful weekend.

xo,

Chrissie

Easy Presents for Kids Parties, a Yummy Dinner, and Family Reading

If you have little kids like me, then they probably get invited to a lot of birthday parties. I always encourage my kids to make their friends a gift.
I know it's a lot easier to go to Target and drop $15 or $20, but I just happen to think that hand-made gifts are special.
This is a really easy and fun project to make for kids birthday parties. Banners to hang in the friends room! For this one, Ashton picked out the papers that his friend liked and I cut the triangles out for him. We printed her name out on the computer and used pop-dots to adhere them.

He decorated each triangle from the banner differently. For the one below, he found the cupcakes in a coloring book and after coloring them with crayons he cut and glued them on. He also used buttons, glitter, a picture of Hannah Montana, and some pretty ribbon. With a little bit of guidance, any child can make one of these. It can be customized to each individual childs interests and likes so easily.

On another note, I am totally addicted to this cookbook. I use it at least once or twice a week. Tonite I made the Marlboro Man steak sandwiches and made this cornbread. YUUUUUUUUM!! Oh yeah, it's not the healthiest dinner, so I made sure to make a big salad too:)

Lastly, we started reading together as a family a couple of weeks ago. We are a big reading house...I myself am an avid reader and I encourage reading of all kinds with my kids. I personally think that if you are a good reader, you will be a curious and good student. But that's another post for another time.

We started reading a chapter book out loud every night before bed. I am trying to pick books that will keep the attention of a very wide range...3 1/2, 5, and almost 10. That in itself is a bit of a challenge. We read this one last week:

It is set in 1912 and it's about a Jewish family with five daughters growing up in New York. I loved all the lessons the book presented and all the kids enjoyed it.

Tonite we started Ramona Quimby, Age 8. These were my favorites growing up. They are so funny and well-written, and so far the kids like this one as well.

Do you have any suggestions for family reading? I would love to continue this tradition and need some more books that would be appropriate for my wide age range!

Thanks friends. I hope you had a lovely weekend!

xo,

Chrissie

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day! We've kind of had a Valentines Week around here, between classroom parties and card-making, love is in the air!:)

Fresh flowers are always appropriate...
I thought of this centerpiece at the very last minute. I just filled this glass vase with large sweethearts and put a small candle on top. I wish I had thought of it earlier!
I made my family a sweet dinner last night. Thai ribs, homemade mac n cheese, and steamed broccoli. It went over very well. The ribs are absolutely delicious.
Thai-Style Ribs

3 1/2 lbs of pork baby back ribs, racks cut in half

1 can of frozen organe-pineapple frozen juice concentrate (thawed)

3/4 c soy sauce

1/4 c creamy peanut butter

1/4 c minced fresh cilantro

2 tbls minced fresh ginger

1 pressed garlic clove

2 tsp sugar

• Place ribs in a large shallow dish or zip-top freezer bag
• Combine juice concentrate and next 6 ingredients in a small bowl with a wire whisk. Reserve 3/4 c mixture in refrigerator for dipping. Pour remaining mixture evenly over ribs; cover and seal. Chill for 8 hours
• Remove ribs from marinade, discarding marinade. Place 1 rack of ribs on the bottom of your slow cooker, stand remaining ribs around the edge of slow cooker. Cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 hours.
• Heat reserved sauce and serve with ribs.
• (My husband ended putting them on the grill for a little while after they were done.)

THESE ARE DELICIOUS!!!

Of course, Valentine Day cupcakes for dessert.

We went to church this morning and this afternoon we are surprising the kids with a trip to play putt-putt. I'm excited!

I hope your day is full of fun and love. Happy Valentines Day!

xo, Chrissie

Give us this day our daily bread...

I've always had this romantic/housewife notion of making fresh bread for my family. Real bread. Served to them nice and warm...:) So when I found this bread machine at a garage sale last year (gulp, has it been that long?) I traded over a $10 bill for it.
It came with a bunch of cookbooks (five, I think), and lots of hand-written recipes. Someone used this machine a lot.

But it still works really well! Four hours after mixing minimal (and all-natural ) ingredients together, I had a small loaf of white bread. I started with the most basic recipe I could find.

I laid it on the kitchen table for the kids so they could smell the freshness when they woke up in the morning. However, someone got to it before I could slice it up.

Next up...something sweet. Perhaps cinnamon bread!

And now I can cross off #9.

Speaking of food, you have to try this recipe. It is delicious and perfect for a cold evening. By the way, have you heard that it's been freezing here in Florida? Literally, freezing. So I am cooking lots of hearty warm meals. This one is delicious.

We omitted the black olives due to some pickiness, and served it with yellow rice. Almost the whole pan was gone after dinner.
Stay warm on this Tuesday Friends. I'm off to do a little sewing!:)