Mashed Cauliflower

So, better late than never, right?! Well it's been a busy busy past two months between DH's work schedule, birthdays, Easter, etc. and it's another busy two months ahead for the same reason! Little E turned one year old- crazy how fast the time went by! Anyhoo, I figured it's about time I shared the remainder of my St. Patty's Day recipes with you!

Mashed Cauliflower

a staple side dish in our family

prepared much the same as mashed potatoes but with loads of nutrients!

Ingredients
- 2-3 heads of cauliflower (or 2 frozen family-size bags)
- 1/8 c. half and half
- 3 TB butter
- 2 TB Adobo seasoning (or garlic powder)
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions
(1) Place cauliflower in a stockpot and cover with water. If using fresh heads, cut off florets into stockpot and cover with water.
(2) Bring pot to a boil, and cook until cauliflower is very tender and very easily pierced with a fork.
(3) Drain cauliflower and return to pot.
(4) Add remaining ingredients and mash together with a potato masher.
(5) Serve and enjoy!!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

OK, so I know I totally forgot to finish up my series on our St. Patty's Day dinner. Things got a bit hectic when the lovely in-laws came to visit and then the DH got sent out to the field unexpectedly- I'll finish up that series this week, k? :) For now, I'll share our fabulous dinner from tonight! It was inspired by {this recipe} that I found via Pinterest. 

Serves: 4 (as a side dish) or 1 1/2 (as a main dish)
Recipe is easily doubled, tripled, etc. 

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 of a medium pepper finely chopped
1/2 of a medium cucumber finely chopped
2-3 stalks of green onion diced
2 small tomatoes diced

Cook quinoa according to directions. Generally it's 1 part quinoa, 2 parts water- cooked just like rice, but prewash the quinoa to remove any sediment. Let quinoa cool slightly (I usually turn off the heat and start chopping my veggies while the quinoa cools!). Chop vegetables and add to quinoa, mix, and serve warm or chilled.



Tzatziki Sauce

2/3c plain greek yogurt
1 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 of a medium cucumber, finely grated
1 TB olive oil
dash freshly ground pepper
dash freshly ground sea salt

Mix in a small dish. Adjust spices to taste. We like a heavy garlic influence :) Top your salad with a dollop of sauce and enjoy! This goes great on gyros, a regular lettuce salad, a dip for potato wedges... the possibilities are endless ;)

Brown Sugar Ginger Carrots

So onto the first part of our St Patty's Day spread! Brown sugar ginger carrots are a bit of a staple in our home! They pair well with most any other veggie or meat dish. We've also used maple syrup, sucanat, you could probably even use honey in place of the brown sugar! Feel free to experiment as you wish :)

* Brown Sugar Ginger Carrots *

Ingredients

1 lb. carrots

2 TB brown sugar

1/4 tsp powdered ginger

2 TB of butter

1/2 cup of water (or more)

*NOTE: this recipe easily doubles, triples, etc. So adjust to your family size and tastes!

Directions

(1) Cut carrots into smaller pieces, peeling the carrots if you wish. I usually cut the carrots in half lengthwise and then into thirds (and we leave the peels on for extra nutrients!).

(2) Add carrots to a medium saucepan. Add enough water to generously cover the carrots. In effect you'll be steaming the carrots, so you don't want them all completely submerged. You can always add more water later in the cooking process if they're getting low on liquid!

(3) Add butter, sugar, and ginger to saucepan.

(4) Cook over medium heat for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until carrots are easily pierced with a fork. Cook less if you prefer an al dente finish and/or for even more added nutrients!

Disney Food- Rose & Crown Pub and Dining Room

So we interrupt this week's special of St. Patty's Day food to bring you a brief run down of one of my favorite dining places at Disney World- the Rose & Crown Pub and Dining Room in Epcot's world showcase! Here's a quick overview of what we had on this past trip..

 I made a meal of side dishes- green beans, cauliflower and cheese gratin, and mashed potatoes. I truly cannot tell you which was my favorite dish- they were all fabulous!! And let's not forget my decaf British Breakfast tea in the corner ;) The Twinings Tea Cottage is just across the street from the Rose & Crown- unfortunately they don't have much black decaf tea for sale there, but they have lots of herbal and fruit teas for me to peruse :)

DH got the Cottage Pie (essentially a Shepard's Pie, for those Irish ladies reading!). He's always enjoyed this dish! The last two years the chef made me a vegetarian/gluten-free version- delish!

For dessert, I had the Queen's Cake (hubby had my eggnog shooter though!). Unfortunately, I've had better flourless cakes at other Disney dining establishments, but it will certainly satisfy your chocolate sweet tooth in a pinch! 

DH had the Jaffa Tarts for dessert- orange-cream filled cakes with chocolate ganache. He found them quite tasty! (AJ over at The Disney Food Blog was asking about these today. She has an awesome in-depth article about the Rose & Crown- head on over and check it out!!)

The really neat thing about Rose & Crown is that you can get a great seat for the evening fireworks show, Illuminations (my favorite Disney evening show!). If you get the coveted outdoor patio dining location, you're set! If you're inside, or in a less perfect outdoor seat, we've had the waiters hold our food for us so we could scoot outside and stand on the patio to view the show! So fabulous!!

I'll come back and edit this post later to add on some more dishes we've had in past years ;)

St. Patty's Day flag spread

Happy Saint Patrick's Day 

So last night we started our St. Patrick's Day celebrating by hosting dinner for some wonderful friends! Throughout the upcoming week I'll share the recipes that we created, including:
- baked asparagus with smoked cheddar {recipe}
- mashed cauliflower {recipe}
- brown sugar ginger carrots {recipe}
- potato leek crockpot soup {recipe}
- Irish soda bread {recipe}

For today though, I'll just leave you with a photo of our St. Patty's Day flag spread! Yummm-mmmy!!! Come on back tomorrow for our first recipe- Brown Sugar Ginger Carrots :)

Interchangeable St Patty's Day Wreath

So today's post is a bit of a re-post from {last year}, but updated to include this year's wreath! When I created this wreath last year, I wanted it to be reusable, so all of the decorations are pinned on! Super simple solution to avoid wrapping twine around umpteen different wreath bases (I also use this wreath base for my Mother's Day wreath and my spring wreath)! So check out the original wreath and this year's wreath, and read on for a tutorial on how I made it!

• styrofoam wreath base
• festive fabric
• yarn (for background and balls)
• felt (for shamrocks and banner)
• straight pins & 2 decorative pins
• twine (I used The Twinery's cantaloupe)
• eyelets
• eyelet setter (I use a Crop-A-Dile)
• ink (I used Stazon's timber brown)
• stamps (I used Unity's February Kit of the Month 2012)
• scissors (regular and pinking shears)

.: WREATH BASE :.

• wrap the wreath in yarn- wrap a few times and then tighten, wrap a few more times, then tighten again, etc. This will ensure that none of your foam base shows through the yarn!

.: FABRIC FLOWERS :.

• cut out circles from your festive fabric in varying sizes. these will be used to make the "flowers" (6-10 circles per flower)
• put a straight pin through the center of each circle, and pin into the wreath. pin the centers of the circles close to each other to create a nice full flower. Continue pinning circles until you get a flower "fullness" that suits you :) most of mine are ~8 circles per flower, with some being fewer and some being more.

.: SHAMROCKS :.

• create your felt shamrocks (I used this tutorial here)
• pin shamrocks to wreath using straight pins. I tried to hide the pins in some of the folds of felt near the center of the shamrock.

.: TWINE BALLS :.

• create yarn balls (good tutorial here) - I use two fingers to start my yarn balls, especially since the ones on this wreath are smaller, and I change directions every ~8 loops. Once you reach your desired ball size, carefully tie off the yarn.
• pin balls to wreath with straight pins. I put the pin through a few yarn strands and then the knot where I tied off the yarn.

.: BANNER :.

• stamp images onto felt and cut out with pinking shears (or regular scissors)
• attach eyelets to each corner of felt and connect with twine
• attach banner to wreath with decorative pins
• hang wreath and enjoy! :)

.: Above :.
The final product from 2012 and the above tutorial!

.: Below :.
The final product for 2013! I used last year's shamrocks and yarn balls and added a few diecut shamrocks on crisscrossing twine. I also pinned on a small sign that has our apartment address (removed in the picture for privacy) as the numbering system is often confused by our mail carriers - easy and pretty solution to make sure they deliver packages to the right door!

.: linking up here :.
Favorite Projects of 2013 @ The CSI Project

Nedesembeğenirsin Link Party Etkinliği

  

Easy DIY Christmas Ornaments

Hey all!!
So I love making Christmas ornaments... this year we won't be making one because we're traveling extensively throughout this holiday season, and I'm instead using the time at home sewing Christmas outfits for the wee one! Anyhoo, here's a roundup of some previous ornaments I've made and links to read my prior posts on how to make each of them. Enjoy :)

(1) Ribbon Roll Ornaments

Super easy and could be a fun craft for even the kids to make! 

(2) Ribbon Ball Ornament

Very easy- great for mass producing if you give out ornaments to family & friends!

(3) Money Gift Ornament

A fun way to gift money!

(4) Cross Stitch Ornament

Tons of easy designs can be found in magazine and online! 

.: linking up here :.
December Point of View @ Organize and Decorate Everything

Frugal DIY Christmas Wreath

So here's our Christmas wreath from 2 years ago! It's probably the decor item that I'm still most pleased about :) It was not only super simple, but pretty cheap too- at most $10! I originally posted it {here}, but wanted to share again with this Blessed holiday Christmas season upon us :)

Here's a lil DIY breakdown for ya...

.: materials :.

ribbon

ornaments

wire

branches

.: instructions :.

(1) start off by trimming and arranging the branches how you'd like them.

(2) take some wire and wrap it in and around the top of the branches. You don't have to worry too much about whether the wire shows since the ribbon and ornaments will cover it!

(3) string your choice of ornaments on individual wires and wrap around branches. Some wires I wrapped around the top and some wires I actually weaved into the middle area of the branches in order to get the ornaments to lay how I wanted them.

(4) Top off your branches with a big bow!

(5) String some extra wire to the back of your arrangement and use this to attach to a hook for hanging.

(6) Step back and enjoy your beautiful wreath!

See! Super simple! And cheap too... the ornaments were left over from other arrangements I had done, but I got the big ones in a larger set for $5 and the smaller ones in a big set also for $5. The ribbon was left over from other bows I bought, but that roll was $5 at most. The branches were free {yay}... call them a "gift" with purchase of our Christmas tree ;) So for the amount of each product I used, the whole wreath couldn't have cost more than $10... and you'd pay at least twice that in most stores!

.: Frugal Tip of the Day :.

Most Christmas tree shops or nurseries have tons of extra branches lying around. If you ask nicely, they will likely be more than happy to let you take a few off their hands ;)

.: linking up here :.


.: originally linked up at :.

Weekend Wrap-up Party @ tatertots and jello

Show and Tell Saturdays @ be different act normal

10 Tips on Tuesday: Disney edition

Tips on Tuesday:: Disney Edition

Today I'll share some great Disney tip blog posts that I recently found! We're gearing up for our own family trip to Disney World and we'll be celebrating a lot of fun things while we're there- Baby E's first trip, her 8 month birthday, and DH and my 4th anniversary. It's also the first anniversary that we'll be spending at Disney, which is where we were supposed to honeymoon (unfortunately the Army had other plans, but that's a story for another day!). So, without further ado, we're off...

 

#1- 31 Days to Planning your Disney Trip
OK, of course I'm going to start off with my own series of tips hehe. I spent 31 days last month sharing tips about the parks, transportation, dining, and other fun stuff, so be sure to check it out ;)

#2- Door Side Delivery
Oh my word! I wish I'd known about this sooner. So... depending on where you're staying in Orlando, you can get groceries delivered to you! Check out their website to see if they service where you'll be.

#3- Getting Ready for Mickey (Part 1)
Such a creative lady!! She has super fun ideas and tips- and this is just part one in her series, I'm off to read the rest! Here are a few ideas from her post...

• Disney Bingo, a fun game and helps kids get familiar with characters they'll see but may not be familiar with as much
• Secret Decoder Message, a super fun way to break the news to the kiddos that they're going to Disney World!
• Pressed Penny/Quarter Money, festive way to keep track of monies
• Tip Holder, a festive way to leave tip money for housekeeping

#4- Getting Ready for Mickey (Part 2)
OK, so I couldn't help myself, I had to link up some more from Counting Coconuts (see #3 above). Here's some of her continued fabulous ideas for Disney...

• DPS, Disney Planning Syndrome, tips for schedule planning!
• DIY Disney Tees
• Gifts for the kiddos
• Disney movie nights

#5- Getting Ready for Mickey (Part 4)
OK, so seriously, Counting Coconuts has some amazing ideas hehe (see #3 and #4 above). This is the last of hers that I'll link to today- I'd say just head over to her blog and look around for more crazy awesome Disneyness :) Here's a few highlights from this post...

• Learning Presidents, for a little homeschooling at Disney
• Mickey Mini Unit, fun Disney-themed homeschooling
• Disney pillowcases, these would be super easy to make
• Invites, special personalized invites to character meals, etc.

#6- Logistics for Leaving to See the Mouse

Fun article designating different jobs for various ages of the kiddos, so everyone can help get ready to go to Disney! Remember, "delegating" is not a bad word. 

#7- Disney Binder

Since I'm an OCD planner, hehe, this is a post right up my alley! Amazing tutorial for creating your own Disney Binder complete with everything you'll need for your trip. Tons of free printables, too! I can only hope that I, one day, too, will have as many amazing printables as her :)

#8- Disney Resources

From the same website as #7 above, this is a great list of useful resources when planning your Disney trip. The "Charts and Data" I found especially useful since I've never been to WDW around the time we're going this year. Gave me a great idea for what to expect and which parks would be best on which dates.

#9- Easy WDW
This website has fabulous articles about crowds and events and tons of reviews about everything at Disney. When you go to the site, check out all the links on the right hand side- I've been using it extensively to help plan out our trip!!

#10- Your First Visit
Although it will certainly not be my first visit to WDW, I've been using this site to help plan our trip this year as well! Great articles about crowds, sample itineraries for the different months- I'd definitely check it out if it's your first or fiftieth trip!

Menu Plan Monday:: 04 Nov

So we recently started menu planning (and actually sticking with it!), so I figured I'd start sharing them! Generally I'll plan out one meal for each dinner. However, we're flexible- if we notice an abundance of leftovers, or we're just tired/busy one night, we'll nix the originally planned meal and instead have leftovers or a super easy 10-minute dinner of some sort.

Here is our menu plan from the past week! We tried a few new things and were pleasantly surprised! These recipes are all vegetarian (my carnivorous hubby had some crock pot meat with his meals) and are gluten-free, or I adapted them to be GF :) I added comments about what I did differently, if anything, when I made these... enjoy!

• scrambled egg beaters with shredded cheese
• Greek yogurt & apple slices
• Refrigerator Maple Blueberry Oatmeal
• Change Ups: substituted 1 1/2 tsp agave syrup for the maple syrup, used whole milk, upped the blueberries since I use a larger container, added some nuts upon consumption :) I also started doubling the recipe so its a more substantial meal.

• leftovers
• pasta
• salad
• ... anything quick I can throw together during the baby's nap!

.: Sunday :.
Broccoli Cheese & Rice Casserole
Notes... This is a new go-to recipe for us! Pretty easy to throw together and yummy! We plan on trying different cheeses to see if we can get an even better flavor. Also plan to add some cauliflower next time!
Change Ups...

• doubled the broccoli, which I also chopped up so you'd get bits of broccoli in every bite!
• upped the parm to ~1/2c.
• used GF flour
• substituted paprika for the mustard
• we too used brown rice

.: Monday :.
Black Bean Burgers

Notes... This is a staple in our family's "Fav Recipes." Easy to whip together, nutritious, and you can add toppings or spices to tailor this to your own family's likings!! You can see how I switched things up a bit below- I usually try something new with the spices every time!

Change Ups...

• substituted 1 whole chopped green onion (green and white parts) instead of the pureed onion
• used 2 cans of black beans, rinsed
• used GF flour (I've also used cornstarch instead)
• used Ezekiel bread (ran out of GF bread)
• used garlic powder instead of fresh (we were on a time crunch!)
• added ~1 tsp smoked paprika (we LOVE us some paprika in the SK household)
• added 1/4 tsp dried oregano

.: Tuesday :.
Quinoa Veggie Mac N Cheese

Notes... This is pretty similar to the Broccoli & Cheese Rice Casserole from Sunday. DH liked this quinoa version better, but I preferred the Rice version. Might try and combine the two next time!!

Change Ups... 

• used ~3c. broccoli & cauliflower for our "veggie," which I also chopped up so you'd get bits of veggie in every bite! 
• added Adobo seasoning
• used whole milk instead of soy/non-fat
• skipped the optional items and toppings

.: Wednesday :.
Smashed Cauliflower
leftover Quinoa Veggie Mac N Cheese
Baked Potato Fans

Notes... Being a vegetarian, I often create meals out of a few side dishes- tonight was one of those nights! I'll be posting the cauliflower recipe in the near future, so stay tuned ;)

Change Ups (to Baked Potato Fans)...

• left the skins on the potatoes, just took the eyes out
• poked holes in potatoes with a fork, then just popped them in the microwave on "potato" setting, no added water
• sprinkled potatoes with salt along with the olive oil before baking

.: Thursday :.
Leftovers
Green Monster Smoothies

Notes... The green monster smoothie ended up being Baby E's first food that she really enjoyed!! Go figure, but at least she's getting her leafy greens, hehe. 

.: Friday :.
Red Beans and Rice
Green Monster Smoothies
Notes... I'll get ya the link to the red beans & rice when DH gets home (he made them!).


.: Saturday :.
Leftovers



{linking up here...}
Homemaking Link Up @ Raising Homemakers
Gluten Free Weds @ Gluten Free Homemaker
EOA Link Up @ Deep Roots At Home