I wish Target was my closet...

When I was younger I remember wishing a store could be my closet.  Everyday I could just walk in and pick my outfit, and that would be that.  I kind of forgot about that wish until today... when I was walking around Target trying to find collared blouses for my girls' costumes for the Scandinavian Festival.

I literally had to walk away from the baby clothes... oh my goodness.  I don't go to Target nearly as often as I used to.  Mainly due to having 3 kids, and because it is a financially tempting place... and we can't afford it.  I wanted to grab so many outfits for Anja - they are ridiculously cute.  My dream of having a store for my closet came swooshing in as I wished I could have Target as my kids' closets.  If money were not an issue, I think I would have a shopping addiction - especially for little girl clothing.

As I left Target I thought about what I had been doing.. making clothes for my girls'.  My mom used to make me really cute clothes when I was little.  She has been my inspiration for me to try sewing clothes for my girls... clothes scare me... I can create my own sewing inventions and confidently go to it.. but clothes make those rings around my armpits glow.

But... I was really proud of myself.  I made the girls' dresses for the Scandinavian Festival we are heading to in August.

I even made Lina a summer dress recently!  I have had to make alterations (umm.. clothing is intimidating, I can't say that enough!), but I think they turned out!

So, when Target is too cute, and our belts are too tight, I will go to my fabric stash and try to make something else.  It may not be as cute, but it will be cute - hopefully :)

When you know it is good...

I love me a good deal.  When I saw large mangoes at Kroger for 3 for 99c last week I was very excited.  When I checked them out, I saw they were in great condition, and was even more excited.  (Today I actually returned to get a few more mangoes before the sale ends tomorrow - it is rare to find them this inexpensive!).

So, naturally I posted about the great sale, and set to work on making something delicious.  I had seen a post about a mango and lime sorbet, and after being saddened by not having any lime on hand, I changed my thinking and thought about the ingredients we had on hand.

I began by cutting up two large mangoes.  I then wanted to add some coconut, but we had just finished our can of coconut milk last week.  However, I had some creme de coconut on hand from making myself some tropical treats.

Before adding the creme de coconut, I knew I needed a liquid source.  We had apple juice, but I wanted something better.  We also had pineapple juice - the 100% not from concentrate kind.  Score!

So, I put 2 6-oz cans into the mix and 2 spoonfuls of the creme de coconut.  I blended the mix.. and tasted a bit (I had to use self-restraint here!).

Then to the refrigerator the mix went while Jon and I both ran 2 miles at the park with the kids.

When we returned I pulled out the mixture that had been left in the blender container, remixed it, and poured it into our icecream maker.  Jon went about bathing the older kids and getting them ready for bed while I prepped Anja for bed.

About 20 minutes later we returned to our sorbet.

You know you made something awesome when the first words out of your husband's words are - " What did you put in this?  It is freakin amazing!" - and I didn't even have to ask what he thought.

You are even more affirmed when your 4 year-old keeps licking his bowl even after he already cleaned it.

So, I would highly recommend this recipe.  Enjoy!

Mango Pineapple Coconut Sorbet
 - 2 large mangoes cut up
 - 2 6-oz cans 100% not from concentrate pineapple juice
 - 2 spoonfuls of creme de coconut

Mix all ingredients in a blender.  Put in fridge to cool (this helps the mixture freeze faster).  Remove from fridge and reblend simply to mix everything back up.  Pour in icecream maker and keep an eye on it until the mixture is frozen.  Enjoy - and try to not eat too much!  This makes about 5 individual portions (~1 cup each).

Lemon Honey Popsicles

A few weeks back I noticed 2 lone lemons laying in my fruit bin.  They were so sad and pitiful, and so I knew they needed a purpose in their lives.  Since it is summer, I knew exactly what they should be turned into: popsicles.

Though Jon and I haven't determined exactly how our sugar life looks these days, we have come to agree that the use of raw honey is one of the better types of sugar to use.  While I don't care for the flavor of honey in my coffee, I love the flavor of honey in my tea and when partnered with lemons.  So, in partnering with the concept of lemonade as a simple lemon juice-sugar-water mix, I came up with this recipe.

Now, I am a math girl, but I totally botched the end amount this recipe would make.  I didn't realize I only had enough for 3 popsicles until after I poured the golden liquid into the molds... and I didn't really care to make a mess by pouring out and adding more water, didn't have any more lemons, and didn't know if adding water would make the recipe too watery... yeah, umm.. about that.

But, they turned out amazing.  I think I discovered the perfect ratio - the golden ration!  I was glad Jon didn't care to try one (he isn't a popsicle kind of guy), because I loved them.. and I was really glad when Lina couldn't finish hers because it was too big, because mama got to finish it :)

So, here is my throw-together recipe with the use of 2 lemons.  Overall, I believe the main thing is to have equal parts of lemon juice and honey.

Lemon Honey Popsicles - The Golden Ratio
- 2 lemons (soft and juicy!)
- equal parts honey for amount of juice
- 2/3C water (or 2 parts water to your 1 part golden liquid)

Juice your lemons (notice my handy-dandy juicer.. you really should invest in one!)  Then add your honey.  Try to add equal parts honey to your lemon juice

 Add water to make 2 parts water to 1 part liquid goal.  Then fill up your popsicle molds.

 Share with your kids.. really, sharing is caring, right?

 Then, enjoy your own :)

 Anja got a lick, and will get hers later when I feed her - I do it for the children :)

Tomato, Basil and Chicken Linguine!

Yes, we do have a lot of basil.  Our plants have proved to be great producers, and it looks like my thumb is growing a green tint :)

Our tomatoes, while abundant in number, have paused in their ripening.  Until the heat wave rolled through we had anywhere from 2-6 tomatoes ripened each day.  We got our first red tomato in 2 weeks today.  Jon and I both missed it, but Ezzie caught it.  He brought it in to me as a special gift just for me - I love his sweet heart.

So, tonight's dinner was inspired by a pinterest post that only had pictures attached.  I went ahead and purchased tomatoes at Kroger.  They happened to be local, and if you look at the pic, amazingly gorgeous!

So, here is the recipe we discovered tonight that we absolutely loved.  It reminded me of a true Italian dish.  When I traveled to Italy back in 2005 I was surprised by how Italian food tasted very different from "Italian" food here in the states.  A key difference I found was in the Italians' use of fresh ingredients, including herbs, and not having many processed items in their cooking.  If you enjoy tomatoes and basil, you may find yourself falling for this recipe too :)

The ingredients:
- 1lb Linguini, or other pasta
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1lb boneless skinless chicken
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 amazing tomatoes, or how every many you want!
- A bunch of basil - about 1 C loose leaves
- 1/4 C butter sliced
- Grated parmesan, if desired
- A touch of sea salt at the end, if desired

Step 1: Begin to boil your water for pasta now, and prepare your pasta as you go.  For the heart of the meal, in a nice pan, heat oil over M or ML heat.  Then add minced garlic.  We love our mincer!  Allow to heat just until fragrant, and then add your chicken.  

Step 2: Cook chicken until browned, and then flip and cook the other side until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.  Then add chopped tomatoes.  Stir and allow the juices to bubble.  Allow to cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Step 3:  Add the basil and inhale!  If you have a handy chicken spoon holder, or pig as some members of our family received one Christmas, place your spoon there after stirring and just stand and breathe in the goodness!

Step 4: Add in your butter, and turn heat to high.  Get a good boil going on and cook for another 2-3 minutes to meld the flavors.

Step 5: Drain and add in the pasta that is al dente.  Allow to boil for about 2-3 minutes until there is just a small amount of liquid in the pant.  Turn off the heat and mix as needed while you allow the mixture to cool enough for the sauce to begin clinging to the pasta.

Step 6: Grate fresh parmesan over your amazing pasta.

Add a sprinkle of sea salt if you like (it really brightens the flavors!), and enjoy!

When life gives you lemons...

About a year ago I was at Kroger and I came across an amazing deal.  They had bags of lemons for only 99c!  People who know me well would not be shocked that I told the old woman buying produce next to me, told the next person I ran into at the bread section, and the woman behind me in line about this amazing deal.  Everyone looked at me strangely - I don't think they appreciate good deals :)  Not wanting to be a hoarder and wanting to let others in on the deal I didn't grab every bag.  However I did come home with a lot of lemons.

One of my favorite desserts of all times is lemon bars.  While we are definitely taking baby steps in changing our health patterns (we recently began running... and have actually been doing well with exercise!), this is one recipe I will not be altering or looking for a new recipe with.  This is a tried and true recipe my mom introduced me to.  I plan on forcing giving this to my children, and making sure my grandkids feast on them (and if we never have grandkids.. then someone :)).

Even with making my lemon bars, which my college friends love... just letting you know they are *that* good, I still had plenty of lemons left over.  I looked up storing lemon juice and discovered that you can store the zest too.  I love using zest in recipes, and thought this was brilliant.

So, I went to zesting and juicing my lemons and freezing the juice in a mason jar, and the zest in another container.  My hands were a little sensitive later, but the squeezer Jon and I have is the best thing every for juicing!  If you have sensitive hands, or simply want something worth the investment, this is it!  Here it is below :)

I highly recommend you go out and buy it.. like now :)

 So, I have been really impressed with how the juice and zest has kept up it's flavor.  I normally would pull out the juice in the morning of the day I was going to use the juice, and just use the melted amount - which always was about what I needed.

For the zest I simply pull out the container when I begin prepping.  Zest defrosts incredibly fast!

So, today I was about to use up the 2 lemons we had and it crossed my mind that my zest was low, and that I should probably zest these lemons first.  Seriously, you would think I would be doing this every time I came across a lemon, lime or orange, but I have not.  Yet, I am not beginning.  That is what matters, right?

The moral of the story?  When life gives you lemons, learn how to make the most of them.  So, happy zesting to you who love the zing of citrus!

Basil Pesto - so simple and easy!

I did not grow up being fond of pesto.  I actually kind of avoided it.  Then we found ourselves having a bunch of cilantro left over years ago, and I found a simple cilantro pesto recipe (to be talked about later!), and fell in love.

We have been blessed with a lot of basil in our garden.  The other day Ezzie and I headed out and picked quite a bit.  Our basil is still quite bushy too!

Ezzie picking basil.  The basil is between two bell pepper plants.  He is such a great picker!

3 Bowls Full!

Basil will only grow during the warm months here, so Jon and I have talked about what to do with it.  We eat it fresh almost daily, but we can't keep up with it's growth, and we'd like to enjoy it in the cold months too.  We could freeze it, but this kind of is overwhelming to me.  What is the best way to freeze basil?  Will it taste ok?  Will I forget we even have it and then have wasted-freezer-burned-basil?  So, I'd rather make, and freeze, pesto.  Weird, and maybe illogical that making a recipe and freezing it seems easier and better in my mind, but whatever - we will have pesto at our command! ;)

If you are in need/want of an easy and yummy pesto recipe, here is what we do.  We love it.

Do you remember those bowls of basil?  Each one will make a recipe of pesto that will work for 1lb of pasta.

To each bowl's worth add:
- Fresh grated Parmesan 1/4 C
- Lemon zest 1/8-1/4 t
- A sprinkle of red pepper flakes (this is to your taste or heat level!)
- 1/8 t of salt (beware - it is very very easy to oversalt.  You may even want to omit the salt until you are using the pesto in your dish)

I then add in 2-3 garlic cloves and about 1/4 C olive oil.

 Then the processing begins. I add enough olive oil for a nice paste to develop.

Once done, I put a baggie inside a cup, invert the top, fill, and close!

 This little baggie goes into the freezer.  Once we are ready to use it, we simply drain our pasta, place it in the pot and heat until the parmesan is bubbling.  With the heat off, we then return the pasta to the pot and turn to coat.  So easy, and so yummy!

The thing I like about this recipe is that I almost always have the ingredients on hand.  The only ingredient that might be a miss is the lemon zest, but I froze a ton of that about a year ago, and we still use it! (It is still good :))

So, for your folks who like the recipe in one place apart from the pics, this is for you (and for me... I am one of those people :)).  Even though I eyeball this recipe most of the time (who wants the extra clean-up of measuring utensils???), here is the estimated recipe for you measuring folks who love to use lots of spoons and such :)

Basil Pesto - super easy
- 1 bunch basil (or 1.5-2 C loose basil leaves)
- 1/4 C grated parmesan
- 1/8 t lemon zest
- 1/8 t red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
- 1/8 t salt
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1/4-1/2 C extra virgin olive oil

Add all ingredients to a food processor with 1/4C oil.  Process well.  Scrape down sides if necessary.  Continue processing and adding oil until everything is mixing well.

To freeze: place in plastic baggie, squeeze out extra air, close, squish contents flat and freeze!

To prepare: heat until parmesan is bubbly, and then add to your favorite pasta (1lb works for this recipe), meat, quinoa, etc.

Enjoy!

A garden

If you checked the color of my thumb, you would see it is black.  Since the dawn of my memories, I have killed every plant I have ever tried to grow - with the exception of a tomato plant a year ago.  We finally got one tomato in about November.  I kid you not - and this was after an entire summer of watering the stupid plant - it is beautiful though, no?

Well, this year Jon convinced me to try gardening.  It kind of freaked me out.  Well, after drawing up diagrams, and convincing Jon that we needed a smaller garden, we began the prep.  We donned our boots (which I LOVE.. thanks Marla!) took our turns tilling, getting fresh compost on a wet day, testing the soil and fertilizing, picking out plants, putting up fencing and prepping.

 

 And then... our garden started growing... real plants.  I cannot tell you how ecstatic I was!  I had very little faith that anything would grow - remember I kill anything I try to grow - with the exception of my kids and dog.  We got our first jalapeno, tomato, green bean shoot, etc.

And I found myself loving each visit to the garden.  It has actually become quite therapeutic!  Our garden is growing.  Part of eating healthier, for us, is trying to grow some of our own crops.  We are really enjoying the fruits that are being harvested already.  The kids also are growing a love for gardening.  It is love.

Those poles are for our cherry tomato plants.. they are over 8 feet tall!

So, we are loving all of our fresh produce.  Our biggest producer, you ask?  Our basil!  Our sweet basil plants are producing so much that I am making pesto (I'll post on this later :)) and freezing it for future meals.  We also have a thai basil plant that almost died, but it is beautiful and bushy now.  We aren't sure when exactly to harvest the leaves, but are so excited that it is alive.

As our garden produces and we make various recipes from it, I will keep you posted :)