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!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I made these a week ago and posted pictures of them on Facebook. 

I had so many people ask me for the recipe that I figured I better do a blog post or there might be a riot. 

I love the Fall season, especially because it gives me an excuse to come up with recipes that have pumpkin in them. 

Plus I'm always trying to figure out recipes that my six year old will like too. 
This was definitely a winner! It got a thumbs up from my daughter and that's hard to do.
The secret, I believe, is the chocolate chips I threw in...cause what kid doesn't love chocolate?

Ingredients

1/2 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-3.4 oz box pumpkin spice instant pudding (dry)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons of my special pumpkin spice

(recipe here)

1 cup of chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a mixer, add pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, sugar and vanilla mix until well blended. 

Next add the flour, pudding, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin spice. Mix until smooth. 

Fold in the chocolate chips. 

Add baking cups to muffin pan, and spoon the mixture in the cups. 

(Makes about 16 muffins)

Bake 20 minutes, test a muffin with a knife, it should come out clean.

Enjoy with coffee or hot chocolate...Happy Fall everyone!