DIY PLAY DOUGH

Yesterday I perused pinterest in search of fun things to do/make with toddlers, things that help them learn as well as have fun! Among other things I found an AWESOME play dough recipe that calls for JELL-O. Um, fun! Here's the link, you'll definitely want to do this with your kiddos on a rainy day or any day, really.

Noah and I had a lot of fun playing with our home-made play dough. We made pizza, cookies, a bird, we really enjoyed just squishing it with our hands AND since we used JELL-O (the berry flavor) it smelled really good, not to mention it's a pretty color. I know Noah really enjoyed it because he played with it quietly for a good 30-40 minutes. I'd say that's pretty good. We're definitely going to be making more, maybe even tomorrow. I think we'll make yellow so we can mix some blue with some yellow and make green! 

Here's the link to the recipe again (click the picture):

Yummy Chicken Salad

I was craving something healthy for lunch today so I decided to make chicken salad. My mom used to make tuna/chicken salad quite a bit and she would put mayonnaise, sweet relish, and onions in hers. I didn't have any relish or onions so I just threw things together that sounded good at the time.

I didn't measure the following ingredients, you can have fun with it...put in what you want!

• Canned white meat chicken


• Celery cut into small bits


• Dill


• Mayo (the kind made with olive oil...it's healthier!)


• Mustard, just the regular old yellow kind


• Onion powder

I ate it in a pita pocket with spinach and sliced cherry tomatoes with celery sticks and ranch dressing on the side. Yummy!

What do you put in your chicken salad?

Tipsy Tuesday - My Baked Potato Soup Recipe!

Are you guys ready for this weeks TIPSY TUESDAY?! I hope so! If not, get your posts ready and link up! I'm excited to see what everyone comes up with. :) (The link up is at the end of this post.)

This week I'm sharing my Baked Potato Soup Recipe (was posted on my old blog.) You should try it, you'll love it...promise. And I promise you it's easy as pie to throw together.

This is one of those recipes that you can definitely make into your own. I don't have exact measurements but I do have approximations. You should know I did this on a whim & didn't even know what we were going to have for dinner. I'm also no Pioneer Woman; the photos are from my iphone and are of poor quality. So, let me take you on this simple yet satisfying adventure.

1. First, you need two potatoes. I like the simple baking potatoes. Peel them and chop them to the consistency that you like. I left mine in inch or so chunks. We like it chunky.

2. Put the chunks in a pot and cover with water. Boil for 15 minutes or so just until you can pierce the potatoes with a fork easily.

3. Drain most of the water out, you'll need to leave a little bit. Now you need a can of chicken broth (you could really use any kind of broth) and a can of evaporated milk. I could literally drink a can of it, delicious. Add the whole can of broth to the pan but only a little less than half of the evaporated milk.

4. Time to season it up! This is where you will need to taste as you go. I never measure. A little garlic salt, (I just shake it for a few seconds over the pan), a little parsley (several good shakes), and a little onion powder (don't over do it). Don't be afraid!! Use your taste buds as a guide. Heck you can even branch out and add different kinds of seasonings. I just prefer these three.



5. Butter. DO NOT forget the butter. Approximately two & a half tablespoons...or more...you can't go wrong here.



6. You'll want to let this boil for a little while, about 10 minutes or so and then let it simmer for a few minutes to steam some of the liquid out and let the flavors mix. Let it get thick but not too thick or you'll have mashed potatoes instead of soup. (I like to mash the potatoes up just a LITTLE bit with a potato masher...just a little.)

7. While you're waiting for your soup to perfect get your toppings ready! We like center cut bacon. ALOT. And we like it crispy. We just put a couple paper towels on a plate and put one layer of bacon on top of that, throw it in the microwave for a few minutes until they're nice and crispy. (turkey bacon is pictured here but we prefer center cut)

8. Cheese, need I say more?

9. Self explanatory. Taste your soup before you add salt, especially if you use garlic salt. The garlic salt and the broth may have made it salty enough. I cannot stress enough to you the importance of letting your taste buds be your guide. :)

10. When your soup is to the consistency of your desires dip some up and top it with your favorites.

11. ENJOY!!!

*Recipe was made for two, if you are feeding more you may need to multiply the approximations. :o)

 

Best Blueberry Muffins EVER!

I absolutely love muffins, but I never can seem to find a home-made recipe that I like more than the store bought boxed muffin mixes. Well, I'm here to say that I have found "the one." The thing that gets me about them is their texture. They're moist and fluffy where most home-made recipes are dense and on the dry side. Needless to say this recipe stole my heart.

Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins

Fresh out of the oven...

The Stand Alone

Oh, it found a friend and they clothed themselves in butter. :)

Ok, here's the recipe (out of a Woman's Day magazine...March 2011)

Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins

Active: 15 min Total: 35 min

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup whole milk 

1 large egg beaten

6 oz fresh blueberries (1 & 1/2 cups)

1.) Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12- cup muffin tin with paper liners or coat with cooking spray.

2.) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup of the sugar; make a well in the center.

3.) Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once it melts, swirl the pan until the butter begins to brown and smell nutty, 2 to 3 minutes; remove from the heat. 

4.) Pour the butter, milk and egg into the well of flour and stir to combine (a few lumps in the batter are okay- don't over mix); fold in the blueberries. Divide the batter among the muffin cups; sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 16 to 20 minutes. Let cool before unmolding.

per serving: 213 calories, 4 G Protein, 30 G Car. 1 G Fiber, 9 G Fat (5 G Sat. Fat), 40 MG Chol. 188 MG SOD

On the Spot Potato Soup Recipe

This is one of those recipes that you can definitely make your own. I don't have exact measurements but I do have approximations. You should know I did this on a whim & didn't even know what we were going to have for dinner. I'm also no Pioneer Woman; the photos are from my iphone and are of poor quality. So, let me take you on this simple yet satisfying adventure.

1. First, you need two potatoes. I like the simple baking potatoes. Peel them and chop them to the consistency that you like. I left mine in inch or so chunks. We like it chunky. 

2. Put the chunks in a pot and cover with water. Boil for 15 minutes or so just until you can pierce the potatoes with a fork easily.

3. Drain most of the water out, you'll need to leave a little bit. Now you need a can of chicken broth (you could really use any kind of broth) and a can of evaporated milk. I could literally drink a can of it, delicious. Add the whole can of broth to the pan but only a little less than half of the evaporated milk.

4. Time to season it up! This is where you will need to taste as you go. I never measure. A little garlic salt, (I just shake it for a few seconds over the pan), a little parsley (several good shakes), and a little onion powder (don't over do it). Don't be afraid!! Use your taste buds as a guide. Heck you can even branch out and add different kinds of seasonings. I just prefer these three.

5. Butter. DO NOT forget the butter. Approximately two & a half tablespoons...or more...you can't go wrong here.

6. You'll want to let this boil for a little while, about 10 minutes or so and then let it simmer for a few minutes to steam some of the liquid out and let the flavors mix. Let it get thick but not too thick or you'll have mashed potatoes instead of soup. (I like to mash the potatoes up just a LITTLE bit with a potato masher...just a little.)

7. While you're waiting for your soup to perfect get your toppings ready! We like turkey bacon. ALOT. And we like it crispy. We just put a couple paper towels on a plate and put one layer of bacon on top of that, throw it in the microwave for a few minutes until they're nice and crispy.

8. Cheese, need I say more?

9. Self explanatory. Taste your soup before you add salt, especially if you use garlic salt. The garlic salt and the broth may have made it salty enough. I cannot stress enough to you the importance of letting your taste buds be your guide. :)

10. When your soup is to the consistency of your desires dip some up and top it with your favorites. 

11. ENJOY!!!

*Recipe was made for two, if you are feeding more you may need to multiply the approximations. :o)

Yummy Black Bean Burrito!

Have you had the veggie black bean burrito from Taco Bueno? It's my fav!! And I've learned to make my own! Here are the ingredients...

Can of Bush's seasoned black beans
Tortilla
Steamed white rice
Kraft Authentic Mexican Style cheese (it's white...queso, asadero, manchego..shredded cheese)
Any kind of salsa you like.

Cook the beans up and smash them with a potato masher. Put a little bit of rice on the tortilla, then the beans, cheese, and salsa! Enjoy with chips and salsa. Be careful to not over stuff the burrito or it can get messy!