Recipes, DIY, Crafts, and More!
M is for MIRACULOUS.
O is for OUTSTANDING.
M is for MOTIVATING.
Moms are simply the best! It’s the greatest job that I could have asked for and I enjoy every fun, joyful, challenging, and spectacular moment of it. For all of the moms who spend each day being miraculous, outstanding and motivating, I hope that today is just as fantastic as you are!
P.S.- I would have shared these cookies with you, but I ate them already. 😉
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Today’s post may not be something new to some of you, but if you’re like me- a pineapple can seem intimidating. I don’t know if it’s the big leaves at the top or the pointy eyes that stare at me, but there is something about a pineapple that makes it seem a little scary to cut. I put together this tutorial to try and help ease your pineapple fears, if you have them.
And this is just one way to do it. There are many different ways but if you’re looking for bite-size chunks, this is the way to go.
While they may seem intimidating, inside pineapples are really just juicy and soft sweeties. We love pineapple around here but there are two factors that have always kept us away from purchasing them. 1) Price. I don’t want to pay $3.99 for a pineapple when I can buy it canned for $.99. 2) Difficulty. I don’t want to buy something I have to labor over when I can buy it already cut in a can. However, if #1 is right, then #2 can be canceled out.
Most things revolve around price for me! Aldi had their pineapples for only $.99 the other day and since I grabbed a few, I was chopping up pineapple left and right.
Let’s get started cutting our pineapples….
Start by washing your pineapple. I didn’t get a picture of me doing this, but you know how it goes. Run it under some water and pat it dry.
1) Remove the ends including the leaves and the bottom. Try to leave as much pineapple as you can, especially if your pineapple is a stubby, short one.
2) Using your knife, cut thin slices off the edges removing the skin. Try to leave as much pineapple there as you can…
…just be sure to keep your knife on the inside of the pineapple eyes. You don’t want to bite into any of those tough eyes later on.
Now you have a stripped and naked pineapple!
Now that we’ve violated the pineapple, it’s time to chop it up.
3) Cut the chunk into 4 big pieces like so. We’re getting so close.
4) Next, cut the middle triangle down each one to get remove the cores.
5) Cut the 4 larger pieces into 8 smaller pieces. Then chop those up into bite-size pieces.
You have officially conquered the pineapple!
See? Aren’t they pretty? This is the point where I can’t stop everyone from grabbing bites every 2 seconds.
These big bite-size juice pineapple pieces make amazing additions to fruit skewers for grilling you know!
I hope that this tutorial helps you to not be so scared of those rough yet tasty fruits.
Have you ever cut a pineapple before? Or do you stick with the pre-cut kind?
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My sister has been making fun of me lately. This isn’t really anything new because she has always done this. We’re 4 years apart so it’s what you would expect. Back in the day she would make fun of me for the way I walked or the way I’d say something. You know, silly, ridiculous picking-on-your-sister kinda stuff. Now that we’re older, I’m used to it. It came with the territory of being the family baby.
Nowadays it’s things like her latest picking about my use of chickpeas in recipes. She thinks I’m silly for using them in so many dishes and in things that you wouldn’t normally expect to find them in. It’s alright, she can just pick away because I love my chickpeas! And for the record, I love my sister too.Very much so. It’s her birthday today so I want to wish her a happy one! I might just buy her a can of chickpeas! 😉
Yes, I admit it. I am a fan of chickpeas, otherwise known as garbanzo beans. I like them right out of the can on salads, mixed into cookies or cakes, and my newest favorite- roasted in the oven for a snack! The best part of roasting them is that they can go savory or sweet. I have a sweet tooth the size of Texas so I usually go that route.
I came across a recipe for Sweet and Salty Roasted Chickpeas over at The Cupcake Project and HAD to make them! I made a few slight changes and they were incredible. These are so incredibly cheap and easy to make and it’s awesome that these make for such a healthy snack too.
The first step is the easiest. Bake them for 30 minutes without doing a thing. Of course you’ll want to bake them on parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. It’s only after they cook that you add the yumminess.
Then you transfer them to a bowl to mix in the olive oil, cinnamon and brown sugar. The next step isn’t as simple. Trying to not eat the entire batch is the hardest step of all.
I failed at this step.
I ate every single last chickpea.
Recipe adapted from The Cupcake Project.
Cheap, easy and incredibly delicious, chickpeas make an awesome roasted snack!
Ingredients
Method
Notes
IF (that is a big if) your chickpeas are still around the next day, they probably won't taste as good. They are best eaten right away or within a few hours, just FYI.
P.S.- A very BIG Happy Birthday to my sister! I love you!
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Do you ever have those days when you start thinking about dinner and your mind just goes completely blank? This happens to me a lot so I do my best to prepare a meal plan for the week. Though we rarely actually stick to it. Most weeks I come up with my menu on my own, but some weeks I go to the family to see what they would like. I recently asked my husband if he had any suggestions for dinners and of all things that he could come up with, he asked for crispy chicken caesar wraps.
Yes, like the ones at Wendy’s. Very original right?
Honestly, he had a great idea. I love those things! He often gets those on his lunch breaks. He thinks they are “healthy”. You know, because they are wraps. And not burgers. I love man-thinking don’t you? I’ll just let him keep thinking that. But I did want to try and create them at home so that I could know exactly what was going into them and to make them healthier.
All I can say is YUM. Being a frugal person, I can’t tell you that these are going to be cheaper than spending the $.99 on ones at Wendy’s. But I can tell you that the ones you make at home will be bigger, homemade, and a bit healthier.
These wraps are made with a cheese that I’ve never really worked with before- Asiago. I’m not too fond of it by itself. You really don’t want to take a big bite out of that block of cheese. But in these wraps with the caesar dressing and lettuce and crispy chicken, it’s wonderful!
The caesar dressing that I made was a healthier version that I adapted a bit from Cooking Light. It uses nonfat yogurt, dijon mustard, and other yummy lowfat ingredients to create this familiar dressing. I suggest using this recipe on your salads too! It’s fabulous.
The chicken breasts that I used were quite large so they ended up only being crispy on the outside. Hubby commented that it was almost like they weren’t crispy because there was so much meat inside them making them seem grilled. So I do suggest using smaller chicken breasts in order to get a crispier crunch.
I used the shallow fried chicken recipe from my Chicken and Waffles post but added some dill to the breading to give it a green and caesar flavor. It was a great addition. See those flecks of dill on the chicken?
Skip the drive-thru and try these next time!
A healthy alternative to Wendy's Crispy Chicken Caesar Wrap.
Ingredients
Method
Notes
You won't need a ton of Asiago cheese, so feel free to buy the smallest amount that you can find.
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I’ve been leaning on my crockpot the last few weeks. Soccer games, school events, church events, life is busy. It’s so nice to have a little appliance that does the hard work for you, isn’t it?
We were planning a trip to the park for dinner last week and I knew it was going to be a busy day. On the menu for our picnic was either going to be peanut butter and jelly or lunch meat sandwiches which are necessarily a bad choice, but are quite possibly a little lame. And sure we could have stopped by Subway and gotten $5 subs, but to be honest I’m a cheapo and didn’t want to spend the money. So when picking up groceries that week I grabbed some hoagie rolls so that we could make up our own subs.
It wasn’t until the day of the park outing that I got the bright idea to put these in the crockpot. On my cooking journey, I’m learning that just about anything can be put in a crockpot. So why the heck not place some yummy subs in the crockpot to cook away all day and get toasty, warm, and gooey?
I started out by making up everybody’s sub their way. Mine consisted of a lot of good stuff like chicken breast, turkey, beef, cucumbers, onions, and more. And my daughter’s had just the meat and no cheese or anything else. This is one reason that I absolutely loved this idea. Each person can have whatever they want and yet they all cook at the same time.
I placed some balls of aluminum foil in the bottom of the crockpot to avoid any burning. I think it’s best to keep them in the middle and away from the sides as well. They have a better chance at cooking evenly this way.
Here’s what they looked like in all of their foil splendor. At this point I was just crossing my fingers that when I went to remove them they wouldn’t be charred balls of mush. Hey, I’ve never done this before. I did my best not to look at them throughout the day and managed to only peek once. Only to find out that they were doing just fine.
To my surprise, when it was time to leave for the picnic I popped them out and they were everything I’d imaged. Warm, gooey (cheese), browned, a little bit toasty, the onions were softened, and they looked fabulous. These will now always be favorite picnic food! I love that this is so versatile and you can change it up however you please.
Who needs Subway when you can make your own tasty subs at home in your crockpot?
Ingredients
Method
Notes
If you put a lot of cheese, it will try to stick to the foil so be careful on how much you put on your sandwich.
I would wait until AFTER they have cooked to place any sauces or mayos on your sub. This can make them very soggy.
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Sometimes I wish that I had a dime for every time that my daughter came to me during the day saying “I’m huuuuuuuungry”. You don’t even have to have kids to know exactly what that statement sounds like. I can remember saying that to my mom when I was young. Even after my daughter has just eaten a complete meal, not 10 minutes later I hear those words come out of her mouth. So around here it’s imperative that we have healthy snacks available for these moments of huuuuuunger.
Some of the snacks of choice that I like to have on-hand are string cheese, peanut butter crackers, and fruit snacks. But we’re almost to summer and it’s time to cool off with some refreshing snacks on a hot day. My favorite store for produce, Aldi of course, had a great price on strawberries the other day and I stocked up! They also almost always have the best price on bananas in town. To me, nothing brings those two fruits together better than a smoothie! But if you don’t want to have to create a smoothie every time you would like one, the pops might just satisfy your strawberry banana smoothie craving!
I mixed a couple of bananas and several strawberries together with a little plain yogurt and a pinch of splenda and threw it all in several dixie cups. I popped popsicle sticks into each one and froze them to create these yummy smoothie pops.
It’s a snack that’s not only healthy but really satisfying and refreshing at the same time. And I love that making them in these cups make them fairly big. Maybe more than you would get from a store bought pop and way cheaper for sure!
A natural and refreshing popsicle made from fresh strawberries and bananas.
Ingredients
Method
Notes
You don't have to use "Dixie" cups. Use whatever cups you might have. We used plastic bathroom cups. Depending on the size, you may have more or less popsicles.
The sugar substitute addition is not completely necessary. The strawberries and bananas give it plenty of natural sweetness, I just like mine extra sweet!
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I went through a phase a couple months ago where all I wanted to do was make meals out of wonton wrappers. If you’re not familiar with them yet, they are found in the refrigerated section usually near the tofu and guacamole. I used to pass them at the grocery store all the time thinking who in their right mind has enough time to wrap up their own wontons or eggrolls? That was until I came across the recipe for Lasagna Cupcakes. Little did I know that those little wonton wrappers are fairly inexpensive and are (best of all) low in calories!
Using them to wrap things in and then bake can really satisfy the craving for that crispy crunch without adding all the fat of frying. And did you know they are incredibly versatile too? They can go either way…savory or sweet!
You can have 8 wonton wrappers for just 160 calories.
The other day I got a sweet tooth. Yes I know this is nothing new, but it’s how the story started so keep listening. So I got this sweet tooth and was also feeling a bit innovative. Ideas like that can either end really well or very badly. I was willing to take my chances.
I had a jar of sugar-free raspberry jam in the pantry and these wonton wrappers in the fridge. I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to use them together so I just kinda winged it really. I placed a wonton wrapper in each well of a mini muffin pan letting them curl where they wanted to. Then I dropped 1 tsp of my sugar-free raspberry jam in each wrapper. I baked them for a few minutes and took them out of the oven.
Berry Wontons! I felt like they needed the whipped cream for a finishing touch. These look like expensive hors d’Å“uvre that you would expect to see at a fancy party. So incredibly simple and yet fancy. That combination is my favorite.
And the best part? 1 of these Berry Wontons only has 30 calories!
Minus the whipped cream. Depending on your kind it will add a few calories, but not too much.
You can use whatever jam or jelly that you have on-hand. I just went the sugar-free way to reduce the calories. Any flavor would be so tasty!
Only 2 ingredients create a charming and tasty yet low-calorie snack!
Ingredients
Method
Notes
I also added a couple of fresh blueberries to a few of these. Adding fresh fruit if you have any on hand would make a great addition.
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There’s this obstacle that I come across in my cabinet every now and then. I usually just push it aside and continue looking for whatever I was looking for. I try my best not to pay much attention to it because it means that I will have to “deal” with it. I’m talking about the ever so yummy, yet easily hardened…..brown sugar. The molasses in brown sugar contains much more moisture than regular white sugar so it goes hard if this moisture is lost. It’s usually due to improper storage. Or in my case, lazy storage.
I don’t use it that often so it remains that ingredient way back behind the high and mighty flour, the sugar as white as the driven snow, and behind the fake but amazing artificial sweetener that saves me calories when I’m feeling fat. But I came across it the other day and decided that it was time.
It was time to deal with the rock that IS my brown sugar.
One way that I’ve always known about but have just been too lazy to do is placing a piece of bread inside a container with the brown sugar. The bread helps it regain it’s moisture leaving the brown sugar soft and fluffy. And that piece of bread? Yeah, it will become a rock itself.
I suggest using an end piece if you don’t want to use up your precious pretty pieces.
Way to save brown sugar #1: Place the brown sugar in a container with a piece of bread overnight. It may take up to a couple days. I always keep one in mine now in order to prevent this. You can just change out the pieces every now and then.
Or then there’s a microwave method. No, we’re not talking about making caramel. Adding a cup of water or placing a damp paper towel in with the brown sugar and nuking it for a few seconds can quickly give it back it’s moisture making it usable again.
Way to save brown sugar #2: Place the bag of brown sugar in the microwave open with a cup of water or very damp paper towel. Microwave for about 20 seconds. See if it’s softened to your liking and possibly put it back in for another 10 seconds or so if necessary.
And eventually you’ll have nice, moisturized, fluffy, ready-to-use brown sugar.
Do you have any other tips for softening brown sugar again? I’d love to hear them!
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You just know it’s summer when you can begin smelling people in your neighborhood grilling out. It’s such a awesome smoky smell. My husband is convinced that once the weather turns warm that it’s time to bust out the grill several times during the week. And I am completely fine with that. As long as we’re not eating gigantic steaks every night. Not only is that difficult on the wallet, but I do like a little variety now and then.
So needless to say, we’ve been getting a bit creative with what we grill. I think that it’s funny because unless it’s a steak or a huge tray full of hamburgers, hubby thinks it may not be worth turning on his grill for. Can you imagine what he thought when I suggested that we grill a few shrimp skewers?
Not to mention that these so called shrimp would be covered and marinated in a word that I have yet to introduce to my clan….pesto. Ah yes pesto. The shiny, slimy, green concoction that people eat over pasta or as part of some fancy meal. I had my work cut out for me when I decided to go the pesto route. But I was determined and excited to give it a try.
Exchanging the regular greens in pesto with cilantro and instead of using those ridiculously expensive pine nuts, I used slivered almonds. Giving this sauce the once over, hubby literally just looked at it once. He was not too excited about it. However, little did he know that his very shrimp that night would be slathered, soaked, and bathed in that slimy green mixture.
Not very long story short, he loved it! Can you believe it? I think one key factor in pesto that makes it appealing is the amount of parmesan cheese that you put in it. And the lime in this recipe really did wonders for the shrimp.
I even caught him dipping his marinated and grilled shrimp in the leftover pesto sauce! I can’t say as much for my daughter. I purposely left the pesto off of hers and she was content with her’s being plain. These were such fantastic and light shrimp that would be absolutely amazing on a shrimp taco.
Celebrate summer with this light and zesty cilantro lime shrimp!
Ingredients
Method
Notes
Toasting the almonds is completely optional. I didn't actually toast mine and it still tasted great.
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Happy Thursday! Almost to the weekend, hang in there.
We all have our ideas of the word simple, don’t we? I have a tendency to always make things difficult no matter how easy they could really be. It’s just part of my nature and if you ask my husband, he’ll be the first to tell you so.
Don’t you just hate when someone says “Oh, it’s simple. You just do this and this and this and this”. And before you know it, it’s difficult. Reminds me of high school geometry. What might be “simple” to one student is like pulling teeth to another.
With spring here and summer just around the corner now, fruits are fresh and abundant. Something we all see at gatherings and parties are those gigantic fruit trays with juicy melons and ruby strawberries galore. There’s nothing more tasty to accompany those fruits than with a creamy, sweet fruit dip.
For years my family has been making this incredible, yet simple fruit dip for just that. Only 2 ingredients make the smoothest, fluffiest, and creamy fruit dip perfect for any occasion.
The combination of fluffy marshmallow cream mixed with the thick and creamy cream cheese are so yummy together it’s ridiculous. If you have never made this stuff, I think it’s about time. I love to make this up to take along with fruit for a party.
You can usually find marshmallow cream for a buck and if you shop right, you can usually get cream cheese for around a buck too. Of course I prefer the neufchatel cheese for the less fattening version. Whip those too together and they are a match made in heaven.
I’m not just pulling your leg or yanking your chain. My 4 year old daughter made this completely by herself last weekend. It’s that simple.
This may be the easiest recipe you ever make. Fruit Dip with only 2 ingredients.
Ingredients
Method
Notes
Could that BE anymore simple?
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