September 29, 2014

MEATLESS MONDAY: PIONEER WOMAN TACO PIZZA!

Posted by Lori~

First up, I need to apologize for my lack of posts recently.  I have been busy getting my law school application together and then it hit me.  A really bad cold, soar throat, etc.  I was finally feeling better and then it hit AGAIN!  Don't you hate feeling sick.  It sucks!

Saturday night, I was feeling better (before dinner) and I whipped up this delicious pizza.  I mean, this pizza was DE-LICIOUS!  And healthy.  And meat-free!   It's crazy.  

First up, you need to make pizza dough.  I of course forgot the yeast and so I did a quick Google search for a pizza dough recipe without yeast.  I came up with several options, but opted for the recipe that includes baking powder, flower, salt, water, and olive oil.  

 
Spread out the dough on a well-oiled pan (or I chose to use parchment paper).



Next up, you need to prepare your beans.  Heat them up on the stove and add taco seasoning.  You can even make your own taco seasoning to make this recipe completely Paleo friendly!

The Pioneer Woman used a potato masher to mash the beans, but we had to get creative, because we do not own a masher!  Steve whipped out the mortar and pestle.  Not the greatest solution, but it worked.

Continue to heat until it is a re-fried bean consistency.

Spread the bean mixture on your pizza dough and add shredded cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for around 10 minutes (keep an eye on it).

Now, it is time to add lots of veggies.  Even better, they came from my garden!

The Pioneer Woman recommended making your own tortilla strips; however, we already had these in the cupboard.  You could also skip this step to make your pizza healthier.


Finally, mix sour cream with hot sauce, and drizzle it onto the pizza (for me it was more like drop it in spoonfuls onto the pizza).

It turned out GREAT.  Mur-Man scarfed it down! 

September 18, 2014

Baby L has arrived!

Posted by Ethne~

Hey everyone!  Guess what?  It's raining babies!  Grizz and her husband Cor had their little boy, L, on Sunday and Slags and I went down to visit them last night.

He is so cute!  It never fails that I forget how tiny 7 lbs, 13 oz is!!

Snug as a bug with Auntie Ethne!

We think he looks like Grizz's dad, Shorty, so we have been calling him combinations of Shorty, Jr., and Shortstuff - that's what you get when you're a twin to your grandpa and the friends making the observations have known your mom and Shorty since 1st/2nd grade! :)  Even Grizz's mom, Claire, thought that her new grand baby looked an awful lot like her husband.  So funny.

Big sis, L, just wanted to play with Daddy, but since Grizz and Cor had only been home from the hospital for a few hours, I don't think anything had quite settled in.  She was just glad Mom and Dad were home.

Congratulations you guys!

September 11, 2014

VERDICT WATCH: Oscar Pistorius!

Posted by Ethne~

Today is the day the judge in the Oscar Pistorius case reveals her verdict!  

So far, she's found him NOT GUILTY of pre-meditated murder and murder, but could still find him guilty of culpable homicide (like our negligent homicide).  Fascinating!

According to the news, though, she didn't believe everything presented by the defense and the prosecution.  Who knows what will happen?!  She said his actions were negligent when he killed Reeva, then she adjourned trial till tomorrow.  Come on!!

Keep watching for the rest of her decision.

September 10, 2014

FRESH PEAR SALAD!

Posted by Lori~

I haven't stepped on a scale lately, but I still think I am dropping some pounds (and I am thrilled!).  Steve and I are looking to sign-up for a wellness program through our clinic, which will hopefully motivate us even more.  I am feeling good.  

You haven't seen a photo of me lately, but I am also growing my hair long (and I went blonde)!  More blonde than my typical hair color!  And, I like it.  I feel younger.  And...I am using hot rollers every day.  I forgot how much I loved those curls.  I should do a hot roller tutorial very soon for you WOMS!  I swear by them.

Now, onto my fresh salad I created!  We have an abundance of delicious fruit in our house right now.  And, I wanted to do something with the fresh pears.  




Mur-Man picked the lettuce straight out of the garden.  FINALLY, I AM EATING OUR PRODUCE.  I can't exactly show you a photo of our garden, because it is in rough shape!  Full of weeds, but also full of produce.



I diced up the pears as well as 1/2 a red onion and added it to the lettuce.




The dressing was easy and delicious:  olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and Dijon mustard.  So YUMMY!  AND SO HEALTHY!


For dessert we had peaches and fat-free half and half. 


September 9, 2014

The cat has 9 lives!

Posted by Ethne~

Hey everyone!  Good news!  Theodore's weight loss wasn't due to his kidney disease - it was due to a new disease...something that affects his potassium levels and appetite.

But it's treatable.  And not life threatening.

What a relief!  He's getting the meds for it and he's already started gaining weight back.

I'll tell you the tale of Theodore one day.  He's a lucky little scrapper.

August 29, 2014

UH-MASON TEACHER GIFT!

Posted by Lori~

Mur-Man is off and running on his second year of pre-school.  So far, so good!  Of course, we had to arrive with some A-DOR-ABLE teacher gifts.

Thank you to Smashed Peas and Carrots for providing the free printable here!




Smashed peas stuffed their mason jars with goodies, but I left them empty.  I still think they turned out cute.  These cups were purchased at Wal-Mart for under $5.00/mason cup! 

August 26, 2014

Please think of my cat today.

Posted by Ethne~

Hey guys.  Please say a little prayer for my cat, Theodore.  He's lost quite a bit of weight and I'm waiting for blood test results from the vet today.  It's possible he has developed a thyroid condition, the vet thought, so I hope it's just that...and not something more concerning.


I'll let you know what I find out.  And thanks for your good thoughts. xo

August 25, 2014

DIRT CUPS

Posted by Lori~

Two weekends ago, Ethne and I were together and we were busy preparing for the MOST ADORABLE baby shower ever.  The Pokey Puppy themed shower.  I promise to show photos of the entire spread, but I have one more tutorial for you.

We wanted the food to match the theme.  April whipped up this sign (straight out of the book)....


Dirt cups are perfect (complete with mini fences of course).

Making dirt cups is SUPER EASY!  The supplies needed are:  chocolate pudding, cold milk, Oreo cookies, whipped cream, and worms. 

Combine the pudding with the milk and let is set (around 5 minutes if you use the instant pudding).  Follow the portion size recommended for the milk. 


Stir in one container of whipped cream and roughly 1 cup of crushed Oreo cookies.  You will use roughly 15 cookies/batch of dirt cups.


Of course, this would not be complete without mini fences.  At first I thought I would make my own, but when I found them at Joanne's fabric (plus a 40% off coupon), it was easier to purchase them.  Ethne did the cutting.  We ended up doing four slats/cup. 


All that's left is to fill the cups with the pudding, add the remaining crushed Oreo cookies to the tops and insert your fence and worms. 


They turned out A-DOR-ABLE!



August 21, 2014

I'm Throwing a Kid Birthday Party!

Posted by Ethne~

Hey guys!

So what is your take on kid birthday parties?  I'm hosting my first one this year for the girls.  For a few various reasons they've had kids at their parties before, but never a kid-exclusive party.

I solicited my sister, Whit, and sister-in-law, Heather, to help me out with hosting it.  And I was originally thinking I'd do a party at my house, with a Frozen theme.  The girls loved the theme idea.  But then I got to talking with a few different people and did some Google searching for party destinations in our big city, MN, area, and found lots of good ideas.  Which you pay for, of course.

The two top contenders were Cheap Skate (old school roller rink - pretty reasonable prices) and Zero Gravity Trampoline Park (slightly more expensive, but still not unreasonable) up here in our north suburban area.  The trampoline park won out because I could invite my 4-year-old nephew (age limit is 3 - some places could only do ages 5+ or 7+), the price included pizza, beverages, cupcakes and t-shirts for the guests of honor, and I know my girls will have no problems jumping.  

So I'll let them expend their unbelievable energy for an hour, have snacks and gifts in our private room (which I figure I can decorate with a few Frozen things - Party City has me covered there), and then leave the clean-up for someone else!

For this year, that's the plan...we'll see how it goes over!

August 20, 2014

STRAWBERRY POMS!

Posted by Lori~

This past weekend, I was fortunate to go to Big City, MN and stay with my partner-in-crime Ethne.  Mur-Man and I were there to celebrate our friend Roxanne's baby shower!  The theme was Pokey Puppy and it turned out A-DOR-ABLE!  

I promise to show photos of the entire party very soon, but first-up I wanted to give you a QUICK tutorial on a project that Ethne and I whipped up on the evening prior to the shower.  

Remember, I did a tutorial on how to make tissue poms here.  

But, this is a spin on the traditional poms instead they are strawberry poms.

First up, fold your red tissue paper into a square.  You will want to cut your red tissue paper into the following sizes.

4 - 10 inch squares
4 - 9 inch squares
4 - 8 inch squares
4 - 7 inch squares


Next up, you want to cut the stem.  Fold the green tissue paper into thirds and cut.  Next up, fold it accordion style and cut along all the seams. 


Accordion fold the squares of red tissue paper and round the ends.  Cut a long piece of wire and fold in half.  Wrap the wire around the red tissue paper twisting in-between the pieces.

This version is wrong!  We had our tissue in the wrong order for the shape of a strawberry! 
This version is right!
Fluff your tissue!  There you have it!  A-DOR-ABLE!


August 19, 2014

Hairstyling Tip: the Wet Brush

Posted by Ethne~

Hey guys!  I have a quick hairstyling tip for you today.  

Whit (my sister) and I were out shopping the other day (at Target) and found a hairbrush called Wet Brush.  She said she'd heard about them and thought we ought to have them.  They advertise being able to brush through your hair, wet or dry, with many fewer painful snarls, and less breakage, I assume.  

I do a whole lot of hairstyles each day (at least 3), and the girls will whine to beat the band with each snarl.  I was totally on board with trying this new thing.

Well it works!  Brushes through wet hair like butter (I don't know how it works, as it looks just like any other brush - they said fancy pants bristles), and even in the girls' dry hair it seems to hurt them a lot less and take much less time to brush the snags out in the morning.

So that's today's tip.  Get one.  At less than $10 at Target, you can't go wrong.

August 17, 2014

MEATLESS MONDAY: FRENCH/ITALIAN PASTA!

Posted by Lori~

I remember when I first started dating Steve, I discovered something I didn't like. I didn't like his version of spaghetti.  He would heat up a can of Ragu, boil some noodles, and call it good!  Not good enough for me. I like meat in my spaghetti.  

That is until I went to France. Our host dad Georges was a retired chef. He was an amazing cook that would whip up delicious, tasty, healthy dishes (not all healthy). His roots were Italian, but he grew up in France. He grew up so close to Italy you could see it from his village.

One dish he prepared was a simple pasta dish that I thought I could re-create. And guess what? I did!

It really was good, so good that Steve said I could keep making it.

First up, fry up some onions, mushrooms, olive oil, and garlic in the pan. Fry until the onions are tender.


While your veggies are frying, boil your noodles. Once the noodles are tender, drain the water and add the noodles to your frying pan veggies. Then, dump in a can of drained (not rinsed) italian diced italian tomatoes. Toss with more olive oil, crushed red pepper, and a little more garlic. Keep tossing until everything is hot throughout.


Plate and serve. The next step, is what really makes this dish taste like it did in France. And then, people can pour more olive oil over the noodles as well as fresh parmesan. Encourage this step, because this really makes it delicious!


It's meat-free, healthy, and can be made in under 30 minutes.  ENJOY!

August 15, 2014

PEACH KUCHEN BARS!

Posted by Lori~

One of my all-time favorite things about France was the fresh produce vendors lining the streets.  You could pick-up any fresh piece of fruit at any time.  It was magnificient.   My favorite was the peach.  I don't know about you, but in the US peaches are hit and miss (especially in ND).  Either they are so good the juice is running down your jaw or they are dry, chewy, and gross!  

The peaches in France were all DELICIOUS!

When I returned from France, I purchased a box of peaches from a local church that was having a fundraiser.  These were no ND peaches, they were Washington state peaches.  They were amazing.

One of my favorite desserts growing up, is peach kuchen bars.  Are they healthy?  Of course not!  But, they are OUT OF THIS WORLD!  

Supplies needed:
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar (if using canned peaches, reduce sugar to 2/3 cup)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup cream (I used fat free 1/2 and 1/2 and it worked great)
2 egg yolks
6 peaches (sliced with skin removed)

Instructions:
Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and 2 Tbsp sugar (from cup).  Work in margarine until crumbly.


 


Pat into a 9/13 pan.


Put in peach slices and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.





Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.





Mix egg yolk and cream.


 Pour over mixture and bake 30 minutes more.




This dessert is really yummy served a little warm with iced cream or whipped topping! 

I leave today for big city, MN for a WOM-WEEKEND with Ethne!  I cannot wait!  

Plus we are celebrating WOM-MOM follower and friend Roxanne at her baby shower!  I promise to share photos next week!

Have a fab one WOMS!