A Skeleton Couple Halloween

 Two years ago I was pregnant during Halloween and searching for a good pregnancy costume. After spending some time on putting a pumpkin on a shirt around my belly, I saw a few other expectant mothers come up with something so cute! It all came from this site:
http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/10/our-last-minute-adult-costumes.html

Fast forward two years, and I find myself expecting another little bundle of joy, and cannot get over my desire to have my own little Skeleton family costumes :)

Supplies: 

Freezer paper (found this at the Grocery Store)

Pencil

X-acto knife

Iron

Black shirt (I found these at Hobby Lobby for $5)

White fabric paint

Paint brush

Step 1:

Search Pinterest for skeleton family costumes, and draw an outline based on something you like (or your own ideas ;) You'll want to draw on the paper-side of the Freezer Paper. As you can see, I had to number my ribs to make sure I had the same on each side ;)

 

Step 2:

I drew two sets of ribs... believe me, you'll need separate rib templates for each shirt you do!

To make the process quicker, I traced the 2nd set from the 1st one.

 

And then "stomach" portions for my husband and myself. I'll let you take a guess whose is whose ;)

 I had seen a lot of different version for things found in the husband's stomach, and they were all a bit too small, crowded or strait-lined for my taste. So, going with the fast-food theme, I made some slight changes with the lines, pointed the straw up, etc.

I also liked the happier, waving look of some of the skeletons I saw on on etsy. I would have loved to put a pink bow or blue bow tie on it to reveal the gender, but was told I'd need to wait until Thanksgiving to find out. Boo!

 Step 3:

Drawing was fun, but about half-way through, I started to realized I'd have to cut ALL these little small bones out. Luckily, I actually really enjoyed this part of the project! I used my quilting cutting mat and the cheapest x-acto knife Hobby Lobby carried ;) It was actually pretty simple and went by relatively fast!

Step 4:

Iron the template (waxy side down) onto your shirt so it will stick, and put your first coat of paint down. Let dry and put at least two more coats.After dry, peel off freezer paper (it will stick and tear--thus the reason to have a separate template for each shirt ;)

Step 5:

Put on and take pictures galore!  

My husband had desires to be Egore or some other Halloween fright....thus his reenactment in the picture ;) You can also add bones for the arms, make leggings, or make even make toddler size shirt with candycorn, goldfish and cheerios in the belly :)

100 Year Old Recipe for Huckleberry Gingerbread

Came across this free download of a 100 year old cookbook on Amazon today (http://amzn.to/11FarKQ) really interesting how simple all the recipes are! About 5 ingredients or less for most of them. Some look incredibly unhealthy (bread fried in bacon fat then smothered in butter), but others look pretty intriguing. 

This one in particular really caught my interest. I've never even conceived of pairing huckleberry and gingerbread flavors together, but it sounds delicious! I'd love to give this a try, and perhaps come up with a vegan recipe for it. 

Now my only question is where to get fresh huckleberry from???! 

Recipe: 

SOFT GINGERBREAD 
1 Cupful of Molasses 
1 Cupful of Sour Milk 
1/2 Cupful of Butter or Lard 
1 Teaspoonful of Ginger 
1 Teaspoonful of Soda 
1/2 Teaspoonful of Salt

Stir the soda into the molasses until it foams, add sour milk, ginger, salt and melted butter. Last of all, add flour enough for quite a stiff batter and bake. This makes one sheet. 


HUCKLEBERRY CAKE 
1) Pick over and wash and flour well one cupful of fresh huckleberries. 
2) Add these to the batter for soft gingerbread. Serve hot, with butter.

Love me Some Grapefruit

I remember hearing about the "Grapefruit Diet" years ago and literally thought my friend was crazy! I'm not promoting you eat only grapefruit, however, I've noticed over the years that the times in life when I had steady weight loss.....it was when I ate a grapefruit each morning!

I was surprised recently when my one year old started begging me for some bites of my grapefruit, so I began buying them more. And of course as I started to steadily eat & share them with her each morning, my weight consistently went down. Just sayin'.

So created this little "Benefits of" chart this morning as a quick reference to look back on and share. Of course, the one I posted on facebook reads "Aids in Indigestion".  Awesome. Just goes to show...a grapefruit can't always wake you up all the way in the morning! ;)

Happy eating ya'll!

Sweet Potato Hummus

This recipe is another Beth original, inspired by completely missing the boat with the Sweet Potato Veggie Burger recipe.

However, my version soon turned into what I thought looked like hummus:

And which I soon realized tasted like hummus too!

In fact, I had to dump in TONS of flour into it to finally get it to form patties--and the whole thing ended up having the consistency of really bad cookies. And definitely did not make only7-8 large patties, but more like 20 medium patties that have now set up residence in my freezer! Needless to say, I won't ever be making that recipe again.....as a veggie burger ;)

However, here is the hummus recipe I came up with that is so tasty:

Ingredients:
1 Sweet Potato
2 cans drained White Kidney Beans (Garbanzo or Navy beans should work fine as well)
2 Tbs Tahini (I had no clue what this was! Turns out, it's roasted sesame seed paste. It's a Mediterranean item...and we had to ask a manager at Smith's before we found it!)
2 tsp "Perfect Pinch" Garlic & Herb, salt free seasoning by McCormick
1/2 tsp iodized sea salt
1 tsp pepper
Veggies of your choice

Directions:
1. Roast your sweet potato, cool & peel. (Roasting is easy and tasty--use a knife or fork to stab holes in your yam, place it on the oven rack with a aluminum foil covered cookie tray on the wrack beneath it to catch drippings, cook at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes)

2. Add sweet potato, cans of beans, tahini, seasonings & veggies into a food processor (I used our Ninja blender).

3. Blend until smooth, and serve!

Now, the beauty of this recipe is that you can change it up each time! Just keep tasting your mix until you enjoy the flavor. For this one, I added a "broccoli slaw" mix from the grocery store--it contained broccoli, carrots and cabbage. I love the roasted red pepper hummus at the grocery store, so we'll try that next. My husband really loved the flavor boost added by the McCormick mix mentioned above--here it is:

Beth's Pesto Pasta

This is my own little recipe that turned out SO GOOD.

My husband and I were on the first night of our week long challenge to eat healthy, and I needed to serve a dinner without any meat in it. That my husband would actually LIKE.

I tried adding a pre-made pesto sauce to noodles, but it was so blah-ho-hum. So, knowing what a huge hit the flavor was from my Roasted Garlic Broccoli the night before, I decided to piggy back the flavor onto my Pesto dish.

The result was deee-lish! So great that it's simple & easy to make as well!

(Again, I rarely measure when creating...just do your best. It's a forgiving recipe!)

Ingredients
1/3 to 1/2 a box of pasta (I chose organic, whole wheat, angel hair pasta..Simple Truth brand from Smiths)
Pesto
Parmesan Cheese
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Thyme
Iodized Sea Salt (don't forget to use iodized! Lack of iodine in the diet is highly linked to mental retardation in unborn babies. Your body needs it!)
Diced Tomatoes


Directions
Cook your chosen pasta per directions on the box, drain but don't let cool down

In your serving bowl, mix warm pasta with drizzled olive oil, 2 spoonfuls of pesto & a good serving of Parmesan cheese. These items tend to clump onto your spoon. (The warmth of the noodles helps it all separate and not clump...I also "cut" the noodles in half with my spoon a few times while mixing.)

Lightly sprinkle on salt to bring out flavors, mix.

Add Garlic powder, Onion powder, and thyme. Sprinkle a bit of each, mix and taste until you have desired results.

Garnish the top with diced tomato and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  This will get the "ooooooohhhhh--fancy!" reaction from your husband ;)

Note: We used this as a main dish, served with a side salad. To boost the protein content, we sprinkled on hemp seed, which contains 10 g of protein per 3 Tb. They are finely chopped and add a nice texture to this dish!

Roasted Garlic Broccoli

This has recently become a family favorite--every time I bake a batch, it's practically inhaled by my husband and one year old! For whatever reason, the taste closely resembles french fries. A great one to try for those who usually turn up their nose at broccoli ;)

Unfortunately, I'm not much of a measurer-er. I usually eye-ball how much ingredients I put on, and have done my best to describe the amounts in the description. Seriously though, you can't do a lot of harm to these. Give them a try!

Ingredients
1-2 Heads of broccoli
Olive oil
Garlic Powder
Onion Flakes
Thyme

Directions
Set oven to 400 degrees

Cover cookie sheet in foil

Rinse the broccoli

Cut into florets (keep some big for the Pops, and make some small ones for the toddlers...and for those who like 'em a little crunchy--like me!)

Set florets on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil

Sprinkle on garlic powder, making sure to hit every floret ;)

Add a few onion flakes & lightly sprinkle the Thyme over everything

Mix everything together on the pan. I like to rub the florets right into the mix to get them good and coated.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes (watch & experiment to get a roasted to crunchy variety).

These usually disappear within 2 minutes....followed by requests that I make some more. Just change the foil on the pan, and repeat! Makes for a delicious, healthy snack you can feel good about feeding your family ;)

Butternut Squash French Fries

This picture is self-explanatory. I picked it up from pinterest. However, when I followed the link, it was to a general page that had reposted it themselves. If anyone knows the origin (or exact recipe), let me know! I like to give credit where credit is due ;)

Mommom's Black Bean Veggie Burgers

A few things:
1) I call my grandmother Mommom....it's an East Coast thing ;)
2) I gag on almost anything that remotely tastes like beans...
3)...except for this recipe!

My grandparents went Vegan a few years back, and adapted this recipe to their taste. I cautiously had one while visiting them, and was SO SURPRISED. It was delicious!

Ingredients
Black Bean-VEGGIE BURGERS--(Makes 8 Patties)
1 can Black Beans (rinsed & drained)
1 can tomatoes with zesty mild chilies (drained)
1 garlic clove, minced or 1 teas. garlic powder
1 teas. onion powder
1 small onion (chopped)
1 cup carrots (finely chopped)
1 cup parsley or cilantro
1 teas. salt
2 teas. smoked flavoring (optional)
2 cups "QUICK" oatmeal
8 whole grain buns

(Fresh veggie toppings--Lettuce, tomato, onion or whatever you like
on burger)

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put first 9 ingredients in a food processor or blender. Mix well. Pour into a large bowl.

Add Oats and mix well. Form into 1/2 cup patties.

Place each patty on a sprayed cookie sheet (or aluminum foil or parchment paper) and bake 8 minutes.

Turn patties over and place under the broiler for a additional 2 minutes or until nicely brown.

(If you want to freeze them, place each patty in a sandwich bag, then place all patties in a freezer bag and freeze)

To use--Remove sandwich bag from patty, place on a microwave safe plate and heat 2-1/4 minutes.

ENJOY!! Love you,-Mommom (gotta include her personal note ;)

Thai Coconut Soup in 5 Ingredients

courtesy of ZenFamilyHabits.net

Ingredients

3/4lb (350g) fresh Singapore noodles
2oz (60g) Laksa paste or other Thai curry paste
1 large can (1 1/2 cups) coconut cream
2 cups mixed chopped vegetables (suggestion: red pepper, zucchini, carrots)
handful fresh basil leaves

Directions
Place noodles in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for 1 minute then massage to loosen into individual strands. Drain.

Meanwhile heat 2 tablespoons of peanut or other vegetable oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add curry paste and stir fry for 30 seconds. Quickly add coconut cream and 2 cups boiling water.

Bring to the boil and add vegetables. Simmer for 2 minutes or until vegetables are cooked to your liking.

To serve, divide noodles between 3 bowls. Pour over soup and vegetables and top with basil leaves.

We are going to try this with quinoa noodles...

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers

from lunchboxbunch.com

 I can't wait to try this and tweak the recipe a bit. Here it is in all its original glory:

You simply take a baked sweet potato, some soft canned beans (I used cannellini white beans) add in a few accents, mash, saute and serve. You can also bake for a healthier preparation. And you could add in other whole food ingredients too like brown rice, finely chopped apple, hemp seeds - whatever! The sweet potato is such a nice binder - you can really get creative if you choose.


Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers
makes 7-8 large patties

2 cans cannellini white beans, drained
1 large sweet potato, baked/peeled/mashed (about 2 cups)
2 Tbsp tahini
2 tsp maple or agave syrup
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning OR Cajun seasoning (or another fave spice!)
1/4 cup wheat flour
optional: additional seasoning (whatever you have on hand - I used a few dashes cayenne, black pepper and a scoop of nutritional yeast)
salt to taste if needed

plentiful Panko crumbs
safflower oil for pan

burgers: avocado, Dijon mustard, grain buns, romaine, onion, olive oil, pepper

Directions:

1. Bake sweet potato. Peel, place in large mixing bowl.
2. Add drained beans to mixing bowl. Mash beans and potato together.
3. Mash in seasoning, flour and any additional seasoning. Your mixture will be quite soft and moist. But you should be able to form a patty. Add more flour or a scoop of breadcrumbs - or dry rice to thicken the mixture if needed.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp safflower oil in a pan over high heat.
5. Form a patty from mixture and coat in Panko crumbs. Thick coating. Then drop the patty in the pan. Repeat until the pan is filled. Cook until browned on both sides. You could also bake. If baking, use less Panko.
6. Transfer cooked patties to paper towel. Cool for a few minutes.
7. Serve on toasted bun with lotsa toppings.

Note: yes this patty does fall kind of apart as you eat it. But that is OK because it tastes yumm


original post:
http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2012/02/easy-sweet-potato-veggie-burgers-with.html

Welcome to my attempt at organization ;)

This site is simple: a catch-all for the great ideas I see out there, but can't quite pin to pinterest. Sometimes someone will post it on facebook....can't be pinned. Sometimes, I'll see it while out and about, snap a picture of it...and loose it forever. Or, on rare occasion, I even create something amazing myself...but often forget how I did it, or where I put my notes on it!

Here, I can post things I want to try (or want to remember) to my heart's content. Please note that on recipes that are not my own, the original source, and brains behind it all, will be posted. In fact, the text will look Just. Like. This.

Plus, I just needed a place where I could use chevron in my favorite colors ;)

If you are visiting, I hope this collection of great ideas and delicious recipes can help inspire you as well. Feel free to pin a page or two yourself, or even share on facebook/twitter ;) (see side bar)----->