Is it time for a muffin/coffee or tea break?

There is just something comforting about a homemade muffin -- straight out of the oven, moist, warm, deliciously nutritious~! Comfort!

Wouldn't you like to come over for a cup of coffee or tea and warm delicious homemade muffin? Let's make a date!

This recipe was actually given to me from a friend of mine and with scratch handwriting I wrote it down on a piece of note paper. I found this scratch paper when I was cleaning and organizing my office. I was so delighted! I hadn't made these in awhile -- and so inspired to make some!
However, I did not write the name of the original recipe on the paper-- so, I decided to call them Lil Daisies Fabulous Oatmeal Muffins!

I am delighted to share the recipe with you! I am going to make some either today or tomorrow -- because just writing about them is making my mouth water with a craving for them.

One thing I love about this recipe is that it is simple, but diverse! You can literally make them "your own" flavor and liking with just the snap of a few ingredients. It is a great recipe.
If you try them out -- I would love to hear what you came up with. Please share!


Lil Daisies Fabulous Oatmeal Muffins

Oven: 400 degrees
Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 18 or 12 large

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups cold liquid (cold coffee, milk, juice --anything cold --not hot!)
• 1 cup fruit pulp puree ( applesauce, pumpkin puree, smooshed bananas, -- any fruit pulp!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups flour

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Soak Oatmeal in cold liquid till softened about 10 -15 minutes
3. Add fruit pulp and mix
4. Stir in salt, soda, baking powder
5. Add flour, stir to blend. DON'T over stir!
6. Bake until lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean -- about 15 minutes.

NOTES:
* Can freeze these!!
* Can add in other ingredients at the of # 5 (right before baking) -- such as dried fruits (cranberries, raisins, apricots, cherries, etc.) or nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc.)

Enjoy! .....let's get together to share the yummy muffins and coffee or tea!

SPRING CLEAN CARNIVAL -- Week 5

So, my friends -- this is the last week of our carnival. I have had some faithful readers join in on the cleaning fun. If you have commented or linked up over the last 5 weeks, I will be sure to tally your entries and choose a winner at the end of this week. I hope to announce our cleaning guru next Monday!

You have all this week to put in your last entries. Remember, you get an entry for each room/area you have cleaned!

Last week we worked on the Living Room & Family Room. How did you do?
I will admit that it was another busy week for me and I didn't get all that I wanted accomplished in the rooms. I am hoping to finish up in the next few days and take some pictures to show you. I still need to show you pictures of our bedrooms....hopefully I will get to that soon.

As you know I have been nearing the end of my pregnancy and not able to get as much accomplished as I would like. I am taking it in stride and just being content with whatever gets done for my cleaning.

I am glad that this week should be an easy week for me: finishing up last minute details in other rooms but, mostly going to concentrate on a few areas.

This week: Laundry Room, Front Porch

My Plan:

FRONT PORCH

• Sweep front porch area, Shake rug, set-out pretty flowers
  
• wipe down the front door (inside & outside)

LAUNDRY ROOM

• wipe down dryer & washer.
  
• organize shelves in laundry room
  
• sweep & mop floors of laundry room
• empty garbage can & lint holder on dryer
• take out any empty bottles

Okay -- let's get to it!

MENU PLAN -- April 25th (Pulling it together)

It has been a long week for me: Pregnancy has really taken its toll on my body. I just don't have the energy or maneuver ability to do much these days. It gets frustrating, because the scent of "cleanliness" permeates my mind and senses -- I really want to clean, organize, and get things prepared for "the day" -- but, my body just won't allow it.

Well, the last few days have I been hit with the bug: "I just don't feel well and up to doing ANYTHING"! I just muster enough energy to maybe put a load of dishes on or a load of laundry -- maybe wipe the counters -- but, usually my main stay is in the bath tub soaking away the achies.

I suppose this ranting is going nowhere bound, especially since this is suppose to be a post about what we are eating this week? But, I guess with all the jibber jabber that I have not so eloquently just said, I am merely stating the fact, that I REALLY didn't want to meal plan this week.

Nothing sounds yummy or interesting except ice and maybe chocolate cookies! But, I don't think that would go over well with my family to eat this week. So, I mustered in the strength and went through some of my meal plan archives to be "inspired" per say. I looked in my pantry to see what we already had and finally came to some sort of "PLAN" for this week.

What do you do when you don't feel like cooking or meal planning?

Here is THE PLAN....

SUNDAY:
Leftover: Black Eyed Peas -- throwin' em in with some brown rice and a little tabasco-- Hoppin' John???

MONDAY:

• Angel Hair w/ Cherry Tomatoes & Basil
• Baby Greens w/ beets
• Crusty Bread

TUESDAY:

• Totchos -- Nachos made with Tater Tots instead of chips.
• Sliced Cantaloupe

WEDNESDAY:

• Orzo, Shrimp and Peas (See Recipe Below)
  
• Crusty Bread

THURSDAY:

• Something with these ingredients: Coconut Milk, Tofu...
• Any ideas??

FRIDAY: Family Night in celebration of my DH's birthday

• Grilled Mahi-Mahi Tacos
• Fruit Salad

SATURDAY:

• Leftover Buffet: Fend for yourself night-- whatever is in the fridge for consumption-even if it is just peanut butter or mayonnaise.

RECIPE FEATURE:

Orzo, Shrimp, Pea Dinner

Ingredients:

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 pound orzo
• 1 pound shrimp
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 lemon-squeezed
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• Cherry Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Artichokes, Feta Cheese (Optional Add-ins)

Method:

Bring 4 cups of chicken broth and turmeric to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and add the orzo. Stir occasionally. While that is cooking, saute garlic & shrimp in a little EVOO-- until pink-about 2 minutes or so on each side. Once orzo is cooked-should be tender, add olive oil (I used about 2 tablespoons), juice from a lemon, parsley, shrimp and salt and pepper. You can the optional add-in ingredients if you so desire to give the dish a twist! Serve and enjoy!

SPRING CLEAN CARNIVAL -- Week 4

Last week we combined weeks 3 & 4 and did bedrooms. How did you do?
I will admit that it was a busy week for me and I didn't get all that I wanted accomplished in the rooms. I am hoping to finish up in the next few days and take some pictures to show you.

As for this week: Living Room & Family Room

My Plan:

• Dust
• Vacuum floors, under & behind couches
• wipe down window sills
• Dust & clean entertainment center
• organize shelves, side tables, etc.
• baseboards (girls will get the pleasure of helping with this!)

If you one or both or another living space you will be working on -- don't forget to come back here and post what you accomplished so that you will be entered in to win the fabulous prize.

Remember what you are cleaning for?:


* TWIST Bamboo Cloth - contains three 100% Biodegradable bamboo clothes. Dusts- Polishes, All household uses! Made from Bamboo and Corn.


* Microfiber cleaning towels - contains two sunny yellow clothes


* Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Surface Wipes (Lavender Scent)


* Mrs. Meyers Clean Day All Purpose Soap Bar (Lemon Verbena Scent)


* 12 Lil Daisies Homemade Cleaner Recipe cards


* Lil Daisies Homemade Luxurious Linen scented Sachet


* Lil Daisies Wild Flower Mix for planting


* Lil Daisies "Daisy" flower mix for planting


* Meal Planning Pad (magnet)

* Lil Daisies Homemade Cleaning Apron (not shown in pic)

Is that enough to motivate you to clean at least one room in your house?

Remember you do not have to participate in every room to be entered into the challenge. Even if you clean just one room -- that gives you one entry into the prize. AND, it just may make you feel a little better to have at least one clean room done in your house...but, of course if you clean more than one room ...you will have more entries into winning the fabulous prize!


Okay let's don our aprons and get cleaning!

Menu Plan - April 18th (simple easy meals)

Here is my menu plan for this week. I realized that I have simple easy meals this week, with the exception of about one. This makes me happy! I also am incorporating some new meals this week as well. I have done something a little bit different in sharing my meals with you -- I have put a little blurb with each meal of the day, explaining how or what I am planning to make it -- just a few of my little secrets shared.


SUNDAY:

• "Breakfast Tacos"
• Shredded Hashbrowns

It is Sunday and I am not in a huge mood to cook a dinner. So, opt for an easy "Breakfast Tacos"... Corn Tortillas with Scrambled Eggs, Shredded Cheese, Black Beans, Scallions, Salsa, Sour Cream, and served with hashbrowns. We like to put the hashbrowns on the tacos too. It was a filling, yummy, delicious meal. Sometimes I just love having breakfast for dinner. Why is it that we don't have dinner for breakfast?

MONDAY:

• Garbanzo Bean Masala over Organic Millet
• Green Salad ( with Sugar Snap Peas, Red Cabbage, Gorgonzola Cheese)
• Homemade Rolls/Bread

I buy the Masala sauce from Trader Joes. We have had a this several times now and really like it. This dish is an easy quick fix -- which I like on most days lately. Simple & Easy. The sauce can be made with chicken, other meat, or tofu...but, we prefer the garbanzo beans. I saute the beans in a little oil and crisp them up, then add in the sauce. Millet -- I am loving this grain more and more. Last week I had made a millet dish with swiss chard and carrot --ohhh, it was sooo good. For this meal, I am cooking the millet with a little butter and broth. This will flavor it nicely. You could definitely omit the butter if you are watching the fats. The salad -- I am using green lettuce from our garden and throwing in some chopped snap peas, red cabbage, and some gorgonzola cheese. Simple. Homemade bread -- my darling hubby does this. REALLY yummy bread.

TUESDAY

• BBQ Mini-Meatball Burgers
• Sweet Potato chips
• Sugar snap Peas

Mini-Meatball Burger. Last week during lunch time, I created this little cute ditty. Trader Joes came out with a small mini hamburger bun (small = cute!) -- I bought some little meatballs. I cooked the meatballs in a little bit of Trader Joes BBQ sauce and then put 3 meatballs on each little mini-bun. I may top our burgers with a little crisp lettuce. Another simple and delish meal. Sweet Potato Chips : I haven't decided if I will make these or just break down and buy the chips already made. But, if I do make them -- it should end up being yummy. I love Sweet potatoes. Have any of you ever made these before?

WEDNESDAY

• Black Eyed Pea Corn Bread (See recipe below)
• Steamed Broccoli & Carrots

This will be a new recipe this week. I found the recipe on-line when I was searching for black eyed peas. I have made hoppin' John before with black eyed peas and also a salsa using the peas, but I wanted something a little different. I am switching up the recipe a bit -- because I already have a corn bread mix (from Trader Joes) and will use that instead of making the corn bread batter listed in the recipe. This will hopefully make the recipe a little bit more simple. (I must be having a "simple" theme this week?) I will also be using a veggie sausage instead of the pork.

THURSDAY

• Polenta Fries w/ Roasted Red Pepper Ketchup
• Grilled Veggies: Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Onion, Asparagus
• Grilled Sausages

Another "New" dish -- but, not as "simple" as the other dishes this week. There is some prep work involved. But, I have all the ingredients in the pantry and it really does sound yummy and unique. I am planning to make the Polenta part the night before -- that way it will be easy to do the second step in making the "french fry" part this night. I decided to "beefin" up the fries with some grilled veggies & sausages (weather permitting). I am looking forward to start using the grill more. I love when Spring and Summer are here -- the cooking becomes a lot more simple in that we use our outdoor grill A LOT. Beats the heat!

FRIDAY:

• Pizza -- Papa Ric's Homemade
• Fruit Slices (Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Melon)

This is my hubby's meal. He creates the pizzas -- preps the toppings, puts on the sauce, bakes them, creates them. I LOVE that! I will help but slicing up some fresh fruit to go along with our Pizza. Friday makes a fun family night of homemade pizzas & maybe a movie or bike ride or some sort of adventure as a family! The girls LOVE to help their Papa make the Pizza too! They don their aprons and chef hats and get in there and help out!


SATURDAY

• Pasta -- Penne w/ marinara
• Garlic Bread
• Green Salad

Just another simple dish. Nothing too fancy with this. I made throw in some fresh basil into the pasta. But, for the most part...simplicity!

Featured Recipe:

******************************************************
BLACK EYED PEA CORN BREAD

• 1 pound of bulk pork sausage
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup of white corn meal
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• One 4 ounce can of chopped green chilies, drained
• 3/4 cup of cream style corn
• 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
• One 15 ounce can of black eyed peas, drained

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 13"x9"x2" pan.
Cook sausage and onions in large skillet until sausage is browned. Drain and set aside. Combine corn meal, flour, salt and soda in a large bowl. In another bowl beat eggs, buttermilk and oil together. Combine with dry ingredients using a few quick strokes (batter does not need to be blended until smooth). Add sausage and onion, chilies, corn, cheese and black eyed peas. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 8 to 12 servings.
******************************************************

What's on your menu this week?

You can check for more menu plans over at Organizing Junkie!

Southwestern Corn Alfredo Fettuccine

The Development of the Dish:

This recipe was developed during a week night when I scoured through my pantry finding ingredients I had on hand to make dinner for that night. I had fettuccine and I also had black beans --so, I searched on-line for some sort of recipe that would include those items. I found a few different ideas and ended up creating this recipe. I had frozen sweet white corn, salsa, tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro that would make a really good mexican/spanish type meal. But, I didn't have any tortillas or chips -- so I adapted with fettuccine. This was the recipe I came up with and I have to say that my family loved it and it was mighty tasty!

The Recipe:

• 12 oz whole wheat fettuccine
• 16 oz fresh or frozen sweet white corn, thawed
• 1 1/3 cup of milk
• 1/2 tsp cumin seed
• 2-3 large cloves garlic
• 1 tsp grapeseed or olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin seed
• 3 green scallions chopped
• 1 celery diced OR 1 bell pepper diced
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup of fresh or frozen corn, thawed
• 4 ounces of pepper jack cheese, or jack cheese
• cilantro, freshly chopped tomatoes, avocado chunks, lime
• black beans (seasoned with salt and pepper)
  

1. Cook fettuccine according to package directions -- just until al dente. Drain and keep warm 2. Meanwhile, in a food processor or a really good blender, puree corn, milk, garlic and 1/2 tsp cumin seed. Set aside. 3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add cumin, onion, and celery or bell pepper. Stir often until onion and celery are soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 4. Stir in corn/milk, 1 cup of corn, and cheese over medium heat until cheese melts.

5. Pour sauce over pasta and top with black beans. Garnish with cilantro, diced tomatoes, and avocado. 6. Season to taste with lime and salt

The BIG CLOTHING Sort ---

Our home was welcomed with about 7-8 bags of clothing given to us for our girls from various friends. I LOVE me some "Hand-Me-Down" Clothing! It is truly a blessing.

BUT ~ With SO MANY bags -- it was a must to make a day (or two or three) to sort through all of them and come up with a system that would work for us.

Rosi is making a bed for her baby next to the bags of clothing goods~

SIDENOTE (Sorta):
I have been trying to get our clothing/laundry dis-array into somewhat of order for the past few years. As most of you know -- LAUNDRY is my MOST disliked activity/chore/punishment (whatever you may call it) to do. I am not very good at keeping it maintained or organized in any manner. I have had several friends come and graciously help me fold and hang my huge MT. LAUNDRY piles while we chatted. (Thank you friends). But, I just can't rely on them for so long -- they may want to stop coming over to visit in fear of having to fold my laundry. Soo... I have read a couple of laundry makeover blog posts from some of favorite blogs and I got a few ideas for a new laundry system. I am going to try it out soon -- and let you know how it manages.

Okay -- but for the FIRST STEP in my Laundry/Clothes makeover. I had to go through ALL of my girls clothes. (This was just for my daughters -- not for the parents)

If any of you have girls than you know -- GIRLS HAVE LOTS OF CLOTHES!

Here is what I did!

1. Brought ALL of the clothes from the girls' closets, drawers, bins in the garage -- and set them in my living room.

2. Went through all the clothes we had & all the clothes given to us in the bags and sorted them into size. BABY (0-12 mths), TODDLER (12mths - 2T), 3T, 4T, 5T, 6, 7-UP.


3. Next, I sorted through each of those size piles (one at a time) and sorted by: Pants, Shorts, Dresses, Skirts, Shirts, Sweaters/Sweatshirts.

4. Then I took each of those piles and determined:

• what to keep currently in the closet & drawers,
• what to keep in bins for use later (seasonal or pass down to next child)
• what to give away to some lucky soul.

5. Then I placed each of those piles into their appropriate places:

• Current : Folded or hung in drawers/closet
• Later Use: Labeled Bins (by size) to be placed in garage
• Give Away: Garbage Bags -- to be given to first come it is yours!!

6. Repeat steps 3 -5 for each size pile.

WALLA~! Here is my nicely sorted & labeled bins!



It felt good to sort through and get rid of clothes -- to really simplify the amount of clothes they have. Who needs 10 skirts?? It has been a re-freshing feeling to have it DONE~

NEXT -- to create my laundry system..............

What do you do to organize your clothing? What about your laundry system? Would love to hear about your ideas and what works for you?

Spring Clean Carnival -- The Bathrooms! (Recipe Included)

I was glad to do the bathrooms this past week, because the last week was such a busy week and cleaning the kitchen was A LOT of work. It was nice to have a somewhat easier week with cleaning -- especially since I took on a big sorting clothes project this week!

The bathrooms were kind of fun to do -- I know that that sounds weird, huh? But, I think that I spent more time decorating and organizing than cleaning them. I like that part of it more. I have been in the process of moving rooms all around since February. We have done a major overhaul of switching rooms --and part of it was the bathrooms.

I don't have too many before pics because I had already been moving stuff from one bathroom to the other. The girls are now in the Master Bedroom and now claim the Master Bath as well. We took over the girls bath/ guest bath.

So, this week besides cleaning, I made it "our own" bathroom sanctuary! My guests like it too...because they don't feel like they have to go in a kid bathroom with toothpaste stuck all over the vanity!

This was my plan:

* Sinks
* Toilets
* Tubs
* Mirrors
* Under cupboards
* Drawers -- clean & organize
* Floors
* Wash Shower curtains and area rugs

I did NOT clean the bathtubs this week-- Ahem, I was a little bit clever and put my girls to work for me! The Lil Daisies cleaned it for me! Nice! I made a safe cleanser for them to use. And they LOVED it. I gave them a bowl of homemade soft scrub and each a sponge and they got in the tub and scrubbed away. It smelled so good in there! After rinsing they -- enjoyed a nice warm bath in the CLEAN tub!
I am telling you -- it is a great way to have your tub cleaned!!. Just a warning tip -- it is slippery, so I have them start at the top and then go down to the bottom of the tub -- that way they can be on their knees and not slip in the tub while cleaning.

HOMEMADE SOFT SCRUB CLEANER

1/2 Cup of Baking
Soda Liquid Castile Soap
5 drops Lavender essential oil and/ or 5 drops Tea Tree essential oil

Simply pour about 1/2 cup of baking soda into a bowl, and add enough liquid detergent to make a texture like frosting. Scoop the mixture onto a sponge, and wash the surface. This is the perfect recipe for cleaning the bathtub because it rinses easily and doesn’t leave grit.

Note: I used Dr. Bronner's Lavender Liquid Castile Soap -- therefore, did not need to add the essential oil. The Lavender smells so nice and clean! The essential oil is optional --but, if you have plain Liquid Castile soap -- I prefer to add it because the smell is just yummy!

OKAY OFF TO VIEW THE BATHROOMS~

BEFORE:

AFTER:

THE GIRLS BATHROOM:

I organized the girls hair pretties. So far it is working out great. I found containers that I already had and used them to separate each of the hair accessories: clips, hair-bands, head bands, larger foofy hairties....

The girls top drawer contains organized toothbrushing station.... the containers make it easier to maintain --that way the toothpaste and toothbrushes are not just thrown in the drawer and mixed around into a big mess.

The girls bottom drawer is organized with hair brushes (also a box to hold brushes -- to maintain organization), hair dryers, curling irons, etc.


Created Potty Books for Rosi in both bathrooms. She loves to read while going on her potty. This container keeps the book in one place rather than all over the back of the toilet or on the floor. It is her own Potty Library!

THE GROWN-UP BATHROOM

I bought myself a new floor rug -- it was time for a new fresh one! I also created a new picture frame over our toilet (I will have to share how I did this in another post)


Organized the drawers: going from a much larger bathroom space to a smaller space was a bit of a challenge -- but, it was a good time to purge old stuff, minimize toiletries, and find better solutions to organizing what I had. I now enjoy the simplicity of it all.

Healthy Snackin'

Sometimes it is so easy to just grab some fruit snacks (which are basically pure refined sugar), or some candy, even granola bars for a snack. For quite sometime, I would take an easy route and give my kids gold fish, candy, fruit snacks for an afternoon snack --- my husband kindly told me that they were really not healthy choices. I agree. I desire to give my kids healthy snacks, but also wanted it to be easy and readily accessible for them.

So, I really thought through some ideas to create easy healthy snacks for myself and my family.

Pre-cut, wash your fruits and veggies!

Fresh fruits: We have a basket on the counter that my kids are welcome to grab at: oranges, apples, bananas, etc. I also like to have already washed grapes cut and ready to eat in the fridge. Chunks of fruit like pineapple and melons already cut and prepared --placed in a container in the fridge.

Fresh Veggies: Cut up them up ahead. Slice cucumbers, celery washed and cut, baby carrots, sugar snap peas.

What goes better with these fresh fruit and veggies??

DIPS!

My kids LOVE to eat anything with dip! There are a lot of things that make a good dip already prepared:

Hummus
Peanut/ Almond/ Cashew Butter
Ranch Dressing
Yogurt
Salsa


OR you can make up some dips ahead time too. Here are a few recipes:

Basic Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

1 8-ounce package cream cheese,softened
3 tablespoons sugar or Agave Nectar
1 cup sour cream or Mascarpone
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy.

Variations:

Almond Fruit Dip:

Add 3 tablespoons finely chopped almonds and 1 1/2 teaspoons almond liqueur to the basic recipe. Garnish with 1 tablespoon finely chopped almonds, if desired.

Raspberry Fruit Dip:

Puree 1 cup sweetened raspberries (aprox. 1 10-ounce package). Spoon half the basic recipe into a serving dish and smooth. Top with half the raspberry puree and smooth. Repeat.

Lemon Fruit Dip:

Add zest of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 extra tablespoon sugar to the basic cream cheese fruit dip recipe.

Marshmallow Fruit Dip:

Add 1/2 cup marshmallow creme to the basic recipe.

All recipes: Chill and serve with assorted fruit dippers such as bananas, grapes, kiwi, apple, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, and papaya, cut into bite-size pieces, if necessary. Bagel bites are good, too. Makes 2 to 3 cups.

Honey-Yogurt Dip

• 2 cups vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Coconut Fruit Dip

1/2 C. softened cream cheese (4 oz., or half a block)
1/2 C. sour cream
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. sweetened shredded coconut

Combine all ingredients well.

Veggie Dip


1 8oz container of Greek style yogurt (1 cup)
2 tablespoons grated onion (sweet preferred)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoon fresh chopped mint
2 teaspoons of honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, stir all ingredients together and serve immediately or chill in refridgerater.


A FEW MORE SNACK TIPS:

Some other healthy "grab" snacks are healthy homemade muffins, or bagels or I like to make a pre-made dry snack-mix -- it is less expensive to make than to buy the already made chex mix! AND...it is more healthy too! You can moderate what you put into it!


SNACK MIX RECIPE

What you will need:
1 large bowl
1 container to hold mix
Choice of snack mix favorites:

Pretzels
Seeds: Sunflower, Pumpkin,
Coconut
Dried Fruits: Cranberries, Apricots, Raisins
Choc. Chips, Butterscotch chips
Banana Chips
Nuts: Cashews, Almonds, Peanuts, etc.
Popcorn
Cereal

I choose from the list of my snack mix favorites and place them in a big bowl. I will mix them up and add them to the container to store for easy snackin'. You can sometimes add spices to create different flavored themed snack mixes.

SPRING CLEAN CARNIVAL -- Week 3

Last week we worked on the bathrooms. I have a post to share with you about my bathrooms, unfortunately I am not near my c0mputer with pictures. So, I will post that tomorrow for you. I was happy to not only get some cleaning done in the bathrooms, but some organizing and decorating. We had switched bathrooms about a month ago with the girls, so I had made our "new" bathrooms our own. It was fun.

NOTE OF CHANGE: I was looking at the calendar that I had set-up for the Spring Clean Carnival and realized that it would be getting REALLY close to when we are having our baby. AND, I have some other things I need to do to get ready for when baby arrives -- like sorting through baby clothes & things and also meal planning.

So, with that said, I am going to adjust the schedule to end a week earlier. This week was scheduled for bedrooms -- so I will combine week three & four together. Remember, if you do all you rooms, you will get an entry for EACH room. Just make sure to comment to let me know how many rooms you have done.

This week, we are working on BEDROOMS (any bedroom/office, etc.)

Here is my plan:

Bedrooms:

• Windows
• Dust
  
• Floor Boards (kids will do this for me)
• Floors
• Wipe down doors
• Clean up clutter/make beds/etc.

Office:

• Clear-up clutter
• Dust
  
• Organize
• Window sill
• Floors

Okay -- Blessings this week as you clean! I hope that you are feeling good about getting some cleaning done in your house! Don't forget to come back here and enter!!

Menu Plan - April 12

In attempt to use up some EGGS - I am making a couple of "egg recipes" this week. I have several new recipes this week that we are going to try out. We will have to give you a critique after eating them.

We have gone off schedule the last few weeks in meal planning. I am hoping to get back on schedule and since baby will be coming in a month, I am needing to plan for when baby arrives.


For those of you that have had babies -- have you meal planned ahead? And, what did you do? Freezer meals? Menu plans? I have done several different things with my other three girls -- but, I am interested in hearing some of your ideas? Please share.


Here is what our palettes will be trying this week:

MONDAY:
Pasta
Green Salad
Sesame Carrots

TUESDAY:
Sunday Morning Egg Casserole
Toast

WEDNESDAY
Cucumber Cashew Burgers
Sliced Peaches

THURSDAY
Egg Curry
Flatbread

FRIDAY
Pizza
Asian Salad


You can find MORE meal plans and recipe links over at Organizing Junkie!

No Man Can Eat 50 eggs...

Ah, remember the classic scene from Cool Hand Luke? What a classic movie! I thought it was a good title to this post because in the Lil Daisies home:

Easter fun = 48 hard boiled eggs!

What to do with all the eggs? Usually, it boils (pun intended) down to these choices:

• Deviled (Angeled) Eggs
• Egg Salad Sandwiches (assorted versions)
• Potato Salad
• Eat Plain

Now, I do like to have boiled eggs this way, but there is only so much I can handle-- before I want to try something different, something new.

The day after Easter, I posted on Facebook asking the question --what can you do with hard boiled eggs besides the above? And...well, I didn't get many new ideas from what is the normal: Egg Salad, Potato Salad, Deviled Eggs....

I did get a few good answers though. One of my friends mentioned this recipe (of which she said was suprisingly REALLY good): Asparagus with Ham and Eggs. So, I thought about giving this recipe a try as well as some others I found searching the web for leftover hard boiled eggs.

I thought I would share with you some of the recipes that I am thinking about making with my 48 hard boiled eggs. Some of the recipes were great because they used A LOT of eggs and I have A LOT to use up! Some of the recipes were really unique -- like cookies? Mmm...to make cookies with hard boiled eggs? Yay -- right up my ally!

After I try these recipes, I hope to share with you the "end" result and critique of what Lil Daisies thought of it. If you have some other recipes that use up hard boiled eggs, I would love to hear! Because we all know that we need some new good recipes for hard boiled eggs -- "No Man can Eat 50 eggs!!"

THE RECIPES

Sunday Morning Egg Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 4 tablespoons dry sherry, divided
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 8 oz sour cream
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 2 oz. jar chopped pimiento, drained
• 10 oz. package frozen green peas, thawed and drained
• 14 hard-cooked eggs, cut lengthwise into 4 wedges
• 8 oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs {2 slices bread}
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted

Method

Preheat oven to 375°F

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet; add 2 tablespoons sherry and mushrooms, and cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Drain well; set aside.

Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sherry, soup, and next 6 ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook 2 minutes or until mixture is bubbly; stir in mushrooms and peas. Arrange egg wedges and water chestnuts in bottom of a lightly greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Pour soup mixture evenly over top. Combine bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle over soup mixture.

Bake in preheated 375°F oven for 20 minutes or until top is golden.

South African Curry Eggs

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 1/2 teaspoons hot curry powder
• 2 tablespoons cake flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Freshly milled black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon brown vinegar
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups water
• 6 hard boiled eggs, shelled and halved

METHOD

Heat butter in a saucepan and sauté onions gently until just browned. Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, mix curry powder, flour, salt, pepper and sugar into the vinegar.

Incorporate curry mixture into onions and stir, slowly adding the water. Simmer continuously for 10-15 minutes.

Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Arrange halved eggs on a warm dish, and gently spoon on the curry sauce.

Serve with rice

EGG CURRY
Slightly adapted from The Great Curries of India, by Camellia Panjabi, this curry comes from the Chettinad region and serves 2-3.

Ingredients:

6 large eggs, hardboiled
3 tsp ground coriander
1-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or paprika
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp cumin seed
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 x 1/4 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
2 large cloves of garlic
2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil or grapeseed oil
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seed
2-inch cinnamon stick
8 oz onions, finely chopped
8 oz tomatoes (fresh or canned), finely chopped
Kosher salt
7 oz canned coconut milk
Juice of 1/2 lime

METHOD:

Peel the eggs and halve them lengthwise. Set aside.

In a blender, put the coriander, cayenne or paprika, 1 tsp fennel seed, cumin seed, turmeric, ginger and garlic. Add 2 Tbsp water and blend to a thick paste.

Heat the oil in a deep sauté pan or small Dutch oven. Fry the fenugreek seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds and cinnamon stick for 10 seconds. Add the onion, and sauté until lightly colored. Add the spice paste and continue cooking for 7 minutes; it will darken in color from the coriander, but do not overcook. Add a few drops of water if the onions stick to the pan. Then, add the tomatoes, and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add 3 cups of water with salt to taste, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, to make a smooth gravy. Just before serving, add the coconut milk and bring to the boil. Add the lime juice, taste, and add more salt if necessary. Gently place the hardboiled eggs, yolks facing up, into the sauce. Place in a serving dish, and serve with brown or white basmati or jasmine rice.

Hard Cooked Egg Cookies

Ingredients:

• Zest of 1 lemon + 1/2 tsp lemon extract

10 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter

4 hard cooked/boiled eggs, peeled

1 egg

3 cups allpurpose flour

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1/2 cup sugar

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together lemon zest, lemon extract, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor. Add in hard boiled eggs and process until fully incorporated. Mix in egg. Add flour and pulse until dough just comes together.

At this point you can chill the dough for a bit if your kitchen is very hot, otherwise roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is 1/4 inch thick and cut into rounds with a 2 inch cookie or biscuit cutter. Dip the cut cookies into the egg white then dredge in the sugar. Arrange on baking sheet - cookies will not spread - and bake until just beginning to brown at the edges, about 12 minutes.

Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 4 dozen.

LIL DAISIES IS GROWING!

Lil Daisies seems to be growing in many ways -- Each girl seems to have grown just a little bit more these past few months! -- maybe it is prophetic with our blog too? I hope for Lil Daisies blog to grow too...

SOPHIA - has lost some teeth!


LYDIA - rides her bike without training wheels -- and 3 days after started to do "tricks" on her bike!

ROSALIA - has now moved from baby bed to toddler bed. She is a big girl now -- and LOVES her new bed. She even slept the entire night in her new bed!


They grow so fast don't they??? I have to remember sometimes to slow down and take note of these changes and watch how lovely my girls are becoming each day. Take time to soak in the wonders of growing children.

Enjoy a snippet of Lydia racing Papa on her bike!

OOPS! I forgot a title to this post!! --Join in with me?

I hope that some of my readers will join in and share with others about the Lil Daisies Spring Clean Carnival. I would love some company in my insane pursuit of a clean spring home! Please?

Plus, I would love for someone to win the fabulous prize at the end of the Carnival. Need a reminder of what you could win?

I think so.


* TWIST Bamboo Cloth - contains three 100% Biodegradable bamboo clothes. Dusts- Polishes, All household uses! Made from Bamboo and Corn.


* Microfiber cleaning towels - contains two sunny yellow clothes


* Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Surface Wipes (Lavender Scent)


* Mrs. Meyers Clean Day All Purpose Soap Bar (Lemon Verbena Scent)


* 12 Lil Daisies Homemade Cleaner Recipe cards


* Lil Daisies Homemade Luxurious Linen scented Sachet


* Lil Daisies Wild Flower Mix for planting


* Lil Daisies "Daisy" flower mix for planting


* Meal Planning Pad (magnet)

* Lil Daisies Homemade Cleaning Apron (not shown in pic)

Is that enough to motivate you to clean at least one room in your house?

Remember you do not have to participate in every room to be entered into the challenge. Even if you clean just one room -- that gives you one entry into the prize. AND, it just may make you feel a little better to have at least one clean room done in your house...but, of course if you clean more than one room ...you will have more entries into winning the fabulous prize!

You can join in anytime --- We are currently at WEEK TWO !

You can enter through Mr. Linky at the end of the weekly posts or leave a comment at the weekly posts as well. ---I hope you will join me!

Fabulous Tip -- Homemade Household Wipes

As I was reading through blogs ~ I came across THIS post on how to make your own household cleaning wipes! I LOVED this idea! Fabuloso (if that is a word?)

Moneyless Mommas, Tara & Jessica were so creative in coming up with a safe, economical way to make your own household wipes! I found it in particular perfect timing for me, because somehow we ended up with two huge packs of paper towels from Costco! So, I was able to put some of these rolls to good use!

And, then I stumbled across this site and found cleaning wipes too! So, there are several places to find cleaning wipes when you do a google search.

I was inspired to make my own and thus I adapted both cleaning wipe places and came up with this!

Cleaning Wipes

Materials Needed:

• cylindrical or tall square plastic food storage container, 10-cup capacity. ( I found mine at Walmart - a two pack for 2.99)
• extra-large roll of paper towels - I used 1 roll bounty paper towel cut in half (my hubby cuts them in the garage with his power miter saw)
• cleaning agents of your choice (recipes follow)
• electric drill with 1/2-inch drill bit
• liquid measuring cups

Instructions:

In the garage or workshop area, place a small block of wood beneath the plastic food storage container lid. Use electric drill to drill a 1/2-inch diameter hole in the center of the container lid.

For best results, select an extra-large roll of good quality paper towels for this project. I used Bounty and that seemed to work very well. I am told that less-expensive towels fray or shred when pulled through the holder.

For cutting the roll in half using the electric knife:
Without removing the paper towel wrapper, use the electric knife to cut the paper towel roll into two shorter rolls. Save the second roll for a refill later. Be patient! It may take up to two minutes to cut through the towel roll and cardboard tube inside.
Otherwise -- bat your eyes and ask hubby to cut it in half for you using his power tool!


Remove the wrapper, and place one short paper towel roll inside plastic food storage container. Using a liquid measuring cup, gently pour one of the following cleaning solution recipes over the top of the paper towel roll.

You will need between 2 and 4 cups of cleaning solution, depending on the size and absorbency of the paper towel product selected. These recipes make about three cups of solution; increase or decrease amounts if needed.


Place the lid on the plastic food storage container, and allow paper towels to absorb cleaning solution for 4 hours to overnight.


Open the food storage container. Gently pull the wet cardboard tube from the center of the paper towel roll and discard. Carefully pull the end of the paper towels from the inside, where the cardboard roll had been. Thread the end of the towels through the hole in the lid, and replace the lid.Pull gently on the exposed end to separate the cleaning wipe.



RECIPES:

General Cleaning Surface Recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• optional: A few drops of favorite scented essential oil. I used lavender.

Disinfectant Cleaning Recipe:

• 1/4 - 1/2 cup of pine cleaning solution such as Pine Sol
• 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 cup of water

Window Glass Cleaning Recipe:

• 1/2 cup of rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar