Rainbow Salad

I made up this recipe for a Whole Health picnic at our church and when I posted the picture on Instagram and Facebook, 

I got a lot of messages for the recipe. But as many of you know, I don't measure, I just "eyeball it" as some cooks say, so I will do my best to walk you through the recipe for this dish. 

Rainbow Salad

1-15 ounce can of black beans

2 ears of corn

1 tbsp of butter

2-3 mini peppers (orange)

1 large mango

1 avocado

1/4 of a red onion

2 c. grape tomatoes

Dressing

Large handful of cilantro

1 large lemon

1 lime

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

The first two things that need to be done are the beans and the corn. 

Take out a saucepan, drain and rinse the beans. Add them to the saucepan (you can add salt if you like) 

and cover with water, cook on a low setting for 10-15 minutes. 

While the beans are cooking, you will get your ears of corn ready as well. 

Line a pan with aluminum foil, place the corn in the pan. Melt the butter and brush it on the corn. 

Place your corn in the oven on broil for about 5-10 minutes or until it is browned. 

Check it often or you will end up with burnt corn. 

You can chop the following ingredients while you are waiting for the others to cook: 

peppers, mango, avocado, and red onion. 

Set aside in a large bowl. 

The grape tomatoes need to be halved not chopped, then add to the mix. 

After your beans and corn are done and have sufficiently cooled, cut the corn off the cob,
drain the beans and add to the mix in the bowl.

Then, the dressing was basically done like this:

Chop a huge handful of cilantro and add it to the bowl. 

(Save a little to sprinkle over the top when you are done)

Zest the lime and lemon over the bowl, then slice them in half and add the juices to the mix.

Drizzle olive oil over the top, do 5-6 turns of a pepper mill and add a teaspoon of salt to the mix.

Fold the mixture to coat everything and you are ready to serve. 

Enjoy!!

Homemade Granola Bars

I've been trying to figure out healthy things that my family can eat when we're hungry, 

that are quick and easy, but also nutritious. 
I started googling energy bars/granola bar recipes 

and after a little research came up with two recipes. 

Regular Granola Bars:

1 & 2/3 cups rolled oats

1/3 cup whole wheat flour 

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. apple pie spice

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

3 tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup toasted coconut flakes

Peanut Butter Granola Bars:

1 & 2/3 cups rolled oats

1/3 cup whole wheat flour 

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

3 tbsp. peanut butter

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup toasted coconut flakes

1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. 

Place the mixture into the baking pan and pat down firmly. 

Bake for 20 minutes, top should be golden brown.

Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy!!

Shrimp Po' Boys

Here's what we had for dinner tonight and it was delicious!

I served it with sweet potato fries, topped with a sprinkling of old bay seasoning.

Here is the recipe for the coleslaw which is great on its own or served like you see it above.

Coleslaw:

2 cups of a coleslaw mix

1 large carrot shredded

1 granny smith apple shredded

(a cheese grater works well for shredding 

the carrot and apple)

Dressing:

1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger or ginger paste

2-3 tablespoons of your favorite poppy seed dressing 

(mine is shown below)

NOTE: For this particular meal I added 1/2 tsp of old bay seasoning to the dressing, if you were doing it as a side dish, you could leave it out.

Picky Eaters

I have a child who is a picky eater, I'm sure many of you can relate. It is a giant pain in the you-know-where when it comes to dinner time cause I have to make one meal for myself and the hubby and another meal for her.

About two weeks ago, I came up with a brilliant solution. I was in the frozen foods aisle at the grocery store and came upon the frozen dinners selection. I picked out a couple that I thought she would like and decided that I was going to break this vicious cycle of picky eating. I have been making her the dinners each night, in the hopes to expand her palette so that eventually she will be interested in trying what Mommy and Daddy are eating.

It has been working out great!!!

Here are her favs so far:

• Tortellini & Broccoli in a fettuccine sauce
• Turkey with Stuffing + Apple Cobbler
• Bowtie Noodles with Ham
• Pizza Bites
• Shrimp Poppers & Tater Tots
• Butternut Squash Ravoli
• Chicken Fried Rice

If she is relatively good about eating her meals during the week, on Sundays she gets to decide what we are eating as a family. Yes, it's been my homemade pizza the last two weeks, but I'm hoping that will change!

I hope this helps some of you out there with picky eaters, if you aren't having any luck, try this - it's been working for this Mom!

Melissa's Power Salad

Here's the deal with my salads, as with most of my recipes. 

I don't measure, I just "eyeball" it as Rachael Ray says, 

whatever amount looks good for me and the family, I throw it in. 

If there's extra, that's cool...lunch tomorrow!

Here's how this salad went last night:

Two chicken breasts cooked in coconut oil, cut into bite size pieces.

A handful of bacon crumbles

1-2 small heads of broccoli, chopped

A handful of coleslaw mix (the kind you can buy without the dressing)

Two large handfuls of spinach, chopped 

Fold those ingredients together.

Then sprinkle toasted sunflower seeds and dried cranberries over the top to your liking.

Add your favorite dressing. I did Ranch.

And gently fold again.

Serve and enjoy! 

20 Things to do with Washi Tape

Recently I bought a bunch of Washi tape from Pick Your Plum because I've seen the endless creative possibilities for it on Pinterest. Of course now that's in my possession,
I have no memory of what these great ideas were or where I pinned them among my zillions of pins. 

So that being said, I thought I would hunt down some ideas and create a post to share with my readers. Enjoy!

1. Take plain votive candle holders and make them fabulous!

http://forchicsake.com/diy-easy-washi-tape-votive-holders/

2. Washi Tape Easter Eggs

 

 http://lovelyindeed.com/diy-washi-tape-easter-eggs/

3. Decorate your cords with it. 

Especially if you have many that are duplicates in your household,

that way everyone knows whose is whose.

 

http://deliciousspaces.blogspot.com/2013/01/washi-tape-cords.html

4. Make boring old clothespins fancy. 

{Add a magnetic backing to them and they are perfect to display
your family's artwork on the refrigerator.}

 

 http://www.artbarblog.com/create/washi-tape-clothespins/

5. Make your school notebook or journal the envy of all friends!

http://momruncraft.com/2012/09/06/diy-washi-tape-smash-bookjournal/

6. DIY Washi Tape Birthday Cards

http://www.omiyageblogs.ca/2011/07/diy-washi-tape-birthday-cards.html

7. Update an old desk chair

 

 http://www.hearthandmade.co.uk/2011/04/inspired-for-spring-crafting-using.html

8. Washi Tape Clutch
 
http://www.cremedelacraft.com/2013/01/DIY-Washi-Tape-Clutch.html


9. Washi Tape Light Switch Cover

http://cleverthursday.com/2012/07/tape-quickie-washi-tape-light-switch-cover/


10. Growth Measurement Chart

 http://www.conbotasdeagua.com/medidor-de-washi-tape/


11. Spruce up a plain mug.

http://shop.mrseliotbooks.com/product/washi-ceramic-mug


12. Jazz up your computer keyboard.

http://www.brit.co/washi-workspace/


13. Make a dorm room super cool.

http://www.designsponge.com/2012/10/dorm-diy-tape-picture-frames.html


14. Take a boring clipboard and make it awesome!

http://apumpkinandaprincess.com/2012/08/washi-tape-chalkboard-clipboard.html


15. Super cute cake decorations for any occasion.

http://sugarandcloth.com/2012/06/diy-washi-tape-bunting-cake-plate/


16. Make pretty flowers.

http://justsomethingimade.com/2012/06/washi-tape-flowers/


17. Upcycled cool cuff bracelet - what girl wouldn't want this?

http://delicateconstruction.com/2012/10/upcycled-washi-tape-bracelets-trash-to-treasure.html


18. A cool party decoration!

http://www.bonjourquilts.com/2010/10/lantern-makeover.html


19. Make a unique lampshade.

http://www.tealandlime.com/2012/01/washi-tape-lampshade-lining/


20. Special decorative wall art
http://www.livinglocurto.com/2013/02/washi-tape-craft/#sthash.IOvNN1yQ.dpbs

Now go washi something fun! The possibilities are only limited by your imagination...

Candle Repurposing

 

Yesterday I was getting out all my candles for the holidays 

and I noticed that a lot them were burned down to the bottom. 

It made me sad, cause I love all the holiday scents:

  Gingerbread, Christmas Cookie, Mistletoe.

  I sat there trying to figure out what I could do with all the leftover candle wax on the sides of the jars. 

I thought to myself, It's such a shame to throw it away. 

Well then I had a great idea, like Gru in Despicable Me with his "LIGHTBULB!"

I started scraping the wax gently away from the sides of the jar with a knife and it came off fairly easily which surprised me.

So now I had a whole bunch of candle wax that I could transfer to a candle warmer, isn't that genius? 

I'm sure I'm not the first person to come up with this brilliant idea, but I now don't have buy wax for my candle warmers this holiday season AND the candle jars can now be repurposed! 

So if you don't have a candle warmer, go buy one. 

They are awesome for the holidays and make great gifts too!

Happy Holidays!