I've been on this health kick and staying away from sugars and artificial sweeteners. After realizing how many sugar free water packs I was consuming I decided to try the fresh fruit water idea's I've been seeing on pintrest. I'll link you to the ones I did here dont worry :)
I was really excited to try the strawberry lime water. I LOVE strawberries! Sadly Im not such a lime fan and with water turned out a little too bitter for my taste. Next time I think Im going to try lemons instead because I love lemons! If you like limes you will enjoy this one :) The strawberries do start to fall apart so this is one you want to drink fast. If you're like me you like to drink different flavors throughout the day. Its best to try and do this one within 24 hours. I let it sit for 8 hours and the longer it sat the more bitter it got.
The cucumber lemon water is more my speed. Its light and refreshing without the sour taste. You get just a hint of lemon and cucumber. I've heard people add mint so Im going to try that out next go around. You can refill this one too which is nice. I don't feel like Im wasting food that way. After sitting for 24 hours I tried it. Im in love and will be keeping this in my fridge :)
Next I want to try raspberry mint and a few tropical sounding ones!
I often get asked what do we eat for dinner. I don't make recipe videos for every meal so I decided to just do a blog post. This year I kept a calendar and every meal we had I wrote it in. I'll link any recipe I have. If you see anything you want me to share let me know!
You'll need:
cupcake pan
cupcake wrappers
2 16 oz refrigerated jumbo buttery biscuit rolls (packs tubes whatever you call them)
9 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 PACKED cup of brown sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 14 oz can of sweet condensed milk
Preheat your oven to 375. This is going to make 12 very plump muffins. One roll of biscuits will make 8 and two will make 12 PLUMP muffins. For the three of us two each was plenty so these would be great for when the family comes in. Pretty cheap, tasty and filling!! Promise they'll be a hit.
Step one:
Mix your brown sugar and cinnamon together. Then in a separate bowl melt your butter.
Step two:
To your melted butter add ROUGHLY 6 teaspoons of your brown sugar mix. You want this deep brown color.
Step three:
Add a thin layer of the sauce to each cupcake wrapper. If you run out just mix more no big deal ;) cooking should be stress free so no worries! I did just enough to cover the bottom of the liner. Once you add the dough it filled to the top. Reason for this is to give the bottom a nice crunch without being too hard. The brown sugar mix will caramelize mmmmm.
Step four:
Take your biscuits and cut them in three. Kind of like a little peace sign :)
Step five:
Roll your three pieces in the mixture. I kneaded in the mixture so it would work into the center of the balls.
Step six:
Take one ball and lay it down in the sauce.
Add another ball beside it but kind of on top
Then your third piece on top.
Step seven:
With the remaining biscuits cut each into three and repeat. Add one ball to each muffin. These are going to fluff up! You could always just keep them nice and small and make 4 more but Im not one to make more dishes then needed and we were hungry ha ha so this worked out best!
Step eight:
Bake for the time recommended on the back of your biscuit roll. Mine said to do 11-15 minutes but after 12 minutes they were still gooey. So 15 was perfect they came out soft and golden brown.
Step nine:
Once you pull these out of the oven pour your sweet condensed milk over each one. I found the eyeball method worked best. You can feel free to measure if you wish. I live by the have fun and cook worry about the mess later philosophy!
Finally step ten:
ENJOY!!!!
I hope you try at least one of the three recipes. Rumbly in my tumbly adapted her recipe from someone else :) so you now have three options neat huh! Playing with recipes is what makes cooking fun so change things up if you think something will taste better! Happy eating ;)
Peanut butter cookies! My favorite recipe I always go back to. Doesn't crumbly and isnt super peanut buttery either. Just perfect! Great for taking camping or for the holidays. My family devours these every time I make them!
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup margarine or vegetable shortening (I use margarine)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour (all purpose)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 375
combine peanut butter, margarine, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl. beat until smooth and creamy
In a separate bowl combine flour and salt. Add mixture into peanut butter mix slowly! (I do about half a cup at a time.)
On a cookies sheet (I spray mine for a crispy edge) drop about a teaspoon and DONT FLATTEN! Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake for 8-10 minutes ( I stick with 10 seems to work for my oven) Let cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack.
I found if you flatten them they turn into pancakes and fall apart. So I skip the fork pattern and just keep it in drops. You can also add 3/4 cups chocolate chips to the batter ;)
Its been about two months since I had my little guy and we finally go through all the freezer meal I had prepped. For the most party it went really well but there we had a few flops too. So here is my break down of each meal. For recipes and instructions on how I prepped these meals Click below!
The chicken pulls turned out great! I thawed the bag overnight in the freezer and then put it into my crockpot the next morning. I thawed this meal because the sauce would have made the meal stick in the bag. This meal tasted as if I threw it together the same day. The flavor was still there and it was still moist! Suggestion buy the buns fresh if you can :) if not don't freeze the buns as long. Try buying those closer to the time you'll be eating them. Mine were a tiny bit freezer burnt which made the buns crumble a bit.
Chicken Fajitas! These bad boys are so yummy and so easy to make. I didn't bother thawing these out. I just tossed everything in the dish, topped with our favorite seasoning and cooked. The pepers and onions came out fine. I was worried they'd be soggy but nope perfect! The shells lasted too so you can purchases them without worrying about freezer burn. Topped with sour cream, cheese and next time Im adding some tomatoes and lettuce yum!
Now I don't have a picture of the Chicken noodle soup. However that turned out really good. The celery, carrots, onions and chicken all came out fine. I tossed it frozen into my crockpot with the chicken broth and seasoning. Added cooked noodles and thats it. Nothing tasted frozen or altered!
Creamy sweet pork roast. This is by far one of our families favorite meals. We serve with a side of mashed potatoes and some sort of veggie. I thawed this meal in the fridge overnight because of the sauce. Then next morning tossed it in the crockpot. The sauce didnt taste off and was full of flavor. This one was a win!
Now the Stuffed shells gave me some problems. This meal I put in a foil pan with the sauce. Put in the oven frozen. It took 4-5 hours to cook and once I took it out.....the meal was just sad. The sauce seemed to have disappeared and it tasted so dry.
The fix for this meal. Next time Im going to stuff the shells and place on parchment paper. Once frozen place in a freezer bag. That way I can take out as many as I need, thaw overnight to avoid long cook time and add as much sauce as I want.
Next fail was the sausage ziti. This meal I thawed in the fridge for 48 hours. It still took 2-3 hours to cook all the way through. We had the same problem with the sauce. It seemed to have dried up. I had a few cans of sauce so I added them. It still didnt save this dish. DO NOT MAKE AND FREEZE THIS MEAL. I highly suggest you avoid it......
The chicken broccoli casserole. This meal does not freeze well. We've had this dish before and its really good but frozen not so much. I added fresh rice and it cooked in a decent time. Sadly the broccoli came out mushy and the chicken chewy. There wasnt much flavor left either which was a big disappointment. So this is one I say AVOID freezing its just not as good.....
The Pepperoncini beef roast sandwiches was pretty straight forward. Thawed the meat and buns, cooked and enjoyed! Super easy :) The same can be said for the ranch pork chops. We had those with a side of potatoes and veggies. Super easy ones!
Stove top chilli. This one made me nervous. I was so scared the beans would be mushy or the flavor would be lost. I thawed in the fridge over night flat. Tossed it into the pan and reheated. To my surprise it was amazing. It tasted just like leftovers! I love leftover chili better then same day chili. The spices absorb into the meal and just give it more of a kick. So this is our number one highly suggest freezing meal!
Banana bread didnt taste as good as a freshly baked bread does. However heating it in the microwave for just a few seconds and adding butter really made a difference. I can say fresh bread is so much better but in a pinch this wasnt too bad. I do make loaves and freeze them now. To bring them back to life I just reheat and eat.
Finally our second favorite meal. The breakfast sandwiches! These are a daily thing in this house now. For english muffins theres nothing special that needs done. Just cover in a damp paper towel and microwave for a minute and enjoy! Now the bagels thats another story. For these I suggest you thaw overnight and then place in a damp paper towel and heat for a minute. This will keep the bagel from getting chewy and the eggs from getting dry. When we place in the microwave frozen it was awful! Even defrosting in the microwave didnt help. So unless you use bagel thins I say overnight in the fridge for sure.
Hope this helps and I'd love to hear about your freezer meal adventures!!!!!
Having a three year old I often get asked by expecting mothers "what should I have at home?" So I decided to make a list and share it with you. My hospital will send me home with a lot so I really don't need much. You may want to ask your hospital what they will give you and baby.
What I will be sent home with from the hospital
Stool softener
Iron pills
Pain medication
"ice" pads (these are pads but ice packs ha ha)
Peri bottle (use to rinse down there instead of using toilet paper)
Hospital contacts (nurses desk etc)
What I purchased myself
Antibacterial hand soaps by each sink
paper towels by kitchen sink to dry hands
hand towels in bathrooms
Tucks pads with witch hazel (good for keeping clean)
Dermoplast for pain
stain remover for clothes (babies and yours)
rubbing alcohol for sticky band aid removal ha ha
free and clear soap for baby
overnight pads
regular pads
tylenol for partner
cleaning wipes (lysol, clorox) for wiping off handles and anything guest may touch
Be sure you have a stash of the items you use everyday. If you have family close by you may not need to be so prepared. I'd ask family before you deliver if they can bring meals over or items if you need something last minute. Really you wont need much! Good luck on your delivery!!!
If you didn't see my freezer prep post you might want to read over that first. I give you some tips and tricks that helped me out. As a beginner it was pretty intimidating! If you've already read that post I'll hush up and let you check out the recipes and prep work for each one! http://rollercoasterofmotherhood.blogspot.com/2012/08/freezer-prep-before-baby.html
Crockpot Chicken pulls!
Freezer prep: For this one I grabbed a gallon size freezer bag and threw in my chicken breast. Then mixed the sauce in a bowl and tossed over the chicken. Pushed out all the air and wrote down the instructions on the bag. Also put a reminder that I needed to pull out buns which I also have in the freezer!
Serving with a side of macaroni and baked beans!
Chicken Fajitas in the oven!
Freezer prep: Grabbed a gallon size freezer bag and added my chopped chicken breast, green peppers and onion. I wrote on my bag that I need to add my cajun seasoning before cooking. Also have a reminder to pull out the tortilla shells. Which you guessed it are also sitting in the freezer!
Serving with sour cream and cheese. Now we may have to run and grab sour cream from the local store but its better then doing a full shopping trip. Most of the time we have sour cream in our fridge anyway so its a slim possibility.
Crockpot Chicken noodle soup
Freezer bag: I tossed in my chicken breast, carrots, onion and celery. I put on the bag to add chicken broth and seasonings before cooking in the crockpot. Also that I need to boil the noodles on the stove DO NOT do those in the crockpot! Cook time and everything is also on the bag.
Crockpot Creamy sweet pork roast
Freezer bag: I tossed together the sauce mix and threw it over the pork roast. Sealed it and wrote down the cook time and date.
Serving with mashed potatoes and a vegetable which I also wrote on the bag.
Stuffed Shells
Foil pan: I prepped everything as if I were going to throw it in the oven. I stuffed the shells with the cheese mix, 1 pound hamburger and spinach. Put a layer of sauce on the bottom of pan shells then sauce on top. Sprinkled with cheese and froze.
Wrote down cook time and temperature on pan and to serve with garlic bread or salad if desired.
Baked Sausage Ziti
Foil pan: Prepared as if I was going to throw it in the oven. For mine I added spinach and 1 pound of cooked italian sausage. Mixed all the stuff together and topped with cheese. Then placed in the oven with cooking instructions!
1 1/2 cups rice (uncooked measurement), cooked according to package instructions (should make 4 1/5 cups of cooked rice)
Instructions:
1. In covered saucepan, cook broccoli in water just until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. In greased 9 x 13 baking dish, spread broccoli across bottom and sprinkle chicken evenly on top. Generously sprinkle black pepper over chicken.
3. In mixing bowl, combine cream soups, mayonnaise, curry powder, and chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle paprika on top if desired.
4. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Spread cheese on top and bake 5-10 minutes longer, until melted and slightly browned.
5. While casserole is baking, cook rice. Serve the chicken and broccoli mixture over hot rice.
Now for freezing here's what I did. prepared everything up until the seasoning. When Im ready to cook Im going to then add in the curry and paprika. I also wrote that on the pan lid so I would remember and to serve over rice. Other then that I followed the step by step instructions then froze the meal! Now from what I read freezing mayo alone can cause it to separate and taste awful. However because you combined it with other ingredients it SHOULD be ok according to the things I looked at.....Let you know later ;)
Pepperoncini beef roast sandwiches
For this one I just froze the beef roast and buns. No prep work for this one!
This one I just froze the pork chops in a freezer bag. Put on there I needed to add the ranch pack and cream of chicken. Then also I need to add the potatoes and carrots to the crockpot before cooking. Simple as that!
These are pretty self explanatory. For ours I just used bagels and english muffins, turkey bacon, eggs and cheese. Put the sandwiches together as if I was going to eat one and then froze. Now word to the wise I suggest using bagel things or english muffins. The thick bagels didn't work too well I did a test run on them. Also you can do burrito style if you dont like english muffins to bagels. I wrapped each sandwich in cling wrap (plastic wrap saran wrap whatever you wanna call it) and then placed then all in one gallon size freezer bag. Im going to thaw out the night before and pop in a toaster oven the next morning. I suggest thawing before if you're using a microwave and wrapping it in a damp paper towel. Might help with it overcooking......
Stove top Chili
Banana bread
So thats it my friends! See you in a few months for an update on whether or not this was a fail or not!
