Black Head Removal Experiment

It was a lazy kind of Saturday afternoon, and wanted to help the hubby out with a little DIY experiment, that I have seen on multiple websites. I decided to give it a go since I had a lemon, one of the two ingredients in this experiment.
This is the ad I've been seeing all over the world wide web....

Not only did I just frustrate my husband, because he wants/needs to know the science behind it all, but I made his face sticky.
After the five minutes we came to the conclusion that this does not work. Simply put. Don't waste your time.
Sorry for making a mess out of your face hunny!

Healthy and Easy Lunch Idea

I recently came across a yummy option for lunch that my husband and kids all liked very much. I wanted to share it with you all.

It gives a spin on the traditional cheese quesadilla, its a veggie stuffed quesadilla, using cream cheese instead of your typical cheddar cheese.

Here is the link to the recipe:

http://www.recipe.com/veggie-stuffed-quesadillas/

again, super easy and not that big of the fuss. The longest part is probably sauteing the veggies, but you can let them simmer and do other things, like wrangle your children to the lunch table. (hehe)

The Hunt For A Homemade Flour Tortilla Recipe; PART TWO

As you may remember back in January I began the hunt for an easy, yet delicious homemade flour tortilla. It began and ended with this particular recipe:

http://www.thecafesucrefarine.com/2013/08/best-ever-homemade-flour-tortillas.html

It ened up freezing beautifully, and now my husband and I make them in bulk. The recipe makes 16 flour tortillas, and I like to make a match and freeze right away. They thaw nice and quick and they don't get soggy or tear. An A+ in my book!

Thanks for waiting for the final outcome everyone!

Crock-pot Experiment

My family and I recently took a trip to Costco, and you know Costco, everything comes in bulk. We decided to purchase a four pack of artichokes. They make great healthy, and more importantly quick meals for us.
I, once again, searched Pinterest for a unique way of cooking artichokes, we usually steam them on the stove for about forty minutes. We just wanted to try something new. Here's what I found:

http://www.theproducemom.com/2012/03/11/crock-pot-artichokes/

I loved the idea of sticking the artichokes in the crock-pot and calling it a day. Especially when we had errands to do last night, and I wasn't able to watch them steam on the stove. Crock-pot meals are great. So I was really intrigued.

I followed the recipe to a tee, except I didn't rub a lemon on top to keep it from browning. It was the one ingredient we were lacking. No biggy.

Four hours later, dinner was ready and they smelled great! Here are my notes on the meal.

The recipe called for oil to be drizzled on top. If I were to make these again, I would forgo the oil, save the calories, and especially if you plan on dipping the leaves in butter, you don't need the extra fat. The oil also left the leaves greasy, and they were hard to grip onto. So that's one thing I would change.

When we got down to the heart of the artichoke, our favorite, we were very disappointed. The heart was left mushy and not appealing at all. It became mushy most likely from sitting in two inches of water for four hours. Real bummer.

All in all, would I make this recipe again? Probably not. I wasn't a fan of putting them in the crock-pot at the end of all this. So we'll continue to steam them on the stove as usual, and look for good sauce recipes to dip the leaves into.

Pinterest Experiment

My family and I recently came into a plethora of oranges. As I watched our compost pile get bombarded with orange peels I  thought "there's got to be SOMETHING on Pinterest to give me an idea of what to do with orange peels."

Sure enough, if you take your peels and place them in a boiling pot of water, with a dash of cinnamon, it'll leave your house smelling beautiful! Is this considered "up-cycling?" I think so. 

The Hunt For A Homemade Flour Tortilla Recipe

My family has a great homemade tortilla recipe that we use to make enchilladas with every Christmas, however it's adapted from a roll recipe therefore it needs yeast. I love the idea of making my own tortillas, but sometimes I don't have the minimum two hours that our original recipe calls for it to rise.

That's where the hunt for a great flour tortilla recipe came into place.

I began searching Pinterest, and found this: 

http://www.thecafesucrefarine.com/2013/08/best-ever-homemade-flour-tortillas.html

The phrase, "best ever" caught my eye & I decided to give it a whirl. I love this recipe for the ease of it. Just five ingredients that I always have on hand- which makes it that much better. Flour, salt, baking powder, vegetable oil, and water.

It took all of five minutes to make the dough, no rising needed (since there is no yeast!)

I borrowed my moms tortilla press. (A must in my opinion if you make tortillas often. I hate rolling dough out as it hurts my wrists and it's just to messy & time consuming.

The recipe made sixteen flour tortillas, and they came out great! My husband and both my kids, (almost one and three years old) enjoyed them. A winner in my book.

The real test is to see how well they freeze. If they freeze nicely I'll continue to use this recipe, if not my hunt will continue for the best homemade flour tortilla recipe.

To be continued.....

First post of 2014, it's got to be about wine!

My husband and I love trying new wine. However with two young kids, a new car, and a new house all within the past five years, we are definitely on a budget.

 

That's when the wine aisle at Target comes in handy!

 

We recently purchased a 2011 Merlot by Silver Ridge Vineyards, located in California.

 

We paired it with a CPK pizza, also from Target. (We love that place!) I must admit for a $9 wine it was pretty good, and we'd buy it again. It wasn't too hard on my "pockets" as I say. (You know that spot in your mouth all the bitter stuff tends to migrant too?) My taste buds were delighted.

 

I give it a solid B grading.

 

Cheers!