My Survival Guide

Lately I have been a little MIA, but I think I am about ready to resurface. Recently I have moved from a small 700 square foot apartment to a 1700 square foot home. I have been overwhelmed with how to keep it clean. A while ago a friend introduced me to the Fly Lady who has tips on how to keep your home clean by doing a little each day. I signed up for her news feed but was overwhelmed by the amount of emails. I decided to come up with my own game plan on how to clean my home which is similar to hers, but more personalized for me. Today is Day #1 and I feel strong. Below is my new life strategy. Hopefully this can inspire you, as well as keep me motivated.

The Housewife Survival Guide

Everyday Chores:
· Do the dishes after EVERY meal
· 10 minute house pickup
· Get dressed, fix hair and put on shoes

Room Cleaning Guidelines:
· Clean every room 1x per week

· Organize/declutter
· Vacuum
· Dust

Monday: Kitchen, Living Room

Tuesday: Bathrooms

Wednesday: Office, Meal planning, something fun

Thursday: Bedrooms, grocery shopping, Errands

Friday: Laundry, pick up house

Saturday: House wipe down, mop, ironing

Sunday: Relax

Pasta Salad

I made this salad for dinner the other night, and was able to have leftovers in my lunch for the first two days of school. I love it because it's so versatile!

First, boil some water. Add salt (to flavor the pasta).

Next, cook the pasta per package instructions. I like to use rotini, but any pasta would work. Except orzo. Don't use that.

Now, chop some vegetables. This time, I used a couple of carrots, half a cucumber, some red onion, and a red bell pepper. Oh, and I also cut some mozarella into cubes. I sometimes throw in a diced tomato (if I'm making it to share...not a huge tomato fan). I would also throw in some sliced olives, but TJ doesn't like them.

After the pasta has cooked and cooled, mix all of the ingredients together.

Now, poor on some storebought Italian dressing. Or homemade. I happened to have this, and it works great. I don't have an exact measurement....just as much or as little as you like.

The best thing to do is to let it refrigerate for an hour or so, but I was starving so I served it up right away. I also chopped up a piece of lunchmeat to put in it. My mom has done grilled chicken...like I said, it's versatile.

Mmm. The perfect summer salad.

The Shape of a Mother

A couple of months ago my sister sent me the most beautiful link from the Starving Artist website. Upon embarking motherhood, I have thought a lot my ever changing body and what it now looks like. The images that this artist shares give me the personal motivation to embrace the new me and all my stretch marks. It really is the "imperfections" that make life beautiful. The rest of the images can be found HERE!!

http://starvingartistink.com/the-shape-of-a-mother/#

A Collection of Amazing Blogs

I love food and food photography. These last couple of weeks I have been trying to find some good new food blogs and now have a new great collection of food blogs to stalk. Here are my favorite new blogs that will cause your taste buds to work in over drive. Soon, I won't be nine months pregnant and then I will want to cook again. Yeah!!!

• http://tastykitchen.com/
• http://www.thehungryhousewife.com/
• http://barbarabakes.com/
• http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/
• http://www.browneyedbaker.com/
• http://cookiesandcups.blogspot.com/
• http://bunsinmyoven.com/
• http://www.ourbestbites.com
• http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

I am still looking for some more food blogs and especially some more crafty blogs. What are your favorite blogs to stalk and be inspired by?

For a complete list food/craft blogs I read look to the right hand column.

Salad Dressing

I've learned a few things about salad dressing recently and I have tried to change my habits. Did you know that reduced fat dressing is way worse for you than full fat dressing? That's because your body needs the fat in order to digest vegetables properly. It's also because reduced fat dressings are typically less natural. Also, they may use fats that aren't as good for you, such as vegetable or canola oil instead of the better-for-you olive oil (because it is more naturally derived). I personally love a good vinaigrette. It automatically has less calories than creamier varieties. After looking at a few different recipes on the internet, I came up with my own. There are huge benefits to making your own salad dressing, the first being that you know exactly what goes inside. So, here's what I came up with. This is a basic recipe, that can be altered to your tastes.... or the type of salad you're having!

Vinaigrette

1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/4 c olive oil (use extra virgin for a more fruity flavor, but really any kind will do)
couple dashes of salt
couple grinds of fresh pepper
1/2 tbsp honey or sugar
1/2 lime squeezed into dressing (or lemon or orange...any citrus really)
dash of garlic powder (or fresh minced garlic)

*Mix it all together really well. It would work best to put this in an empty dressing bottle, or a mason jar with a lid so that you can shake it to emulsify the oil and vinegar.
*The honey or sugar are essential to cutting the vinegary bite.
*These measurements are approximate. Play with it until it tastes good to you!
*I also added a couple dashes of chili powder for my southwest-style salad. You could add things such as dry oregano, dry thyme, and dry basil for an easy italian dressing. You could also add a tablespoon of mayonnaise for a creamy version!

National Ice Cream Day

This Sunday, July 17th is National Ice Cream Day!! It might be the best holiday of the year. If you need more than one day to celebrate ice cream, you are in luck. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and named the third Sunday of July as National Ice Cream Day (which is this Sunday). Luckily for me, my husband's birthday is Saturday so I can celebrate both days with lots of ice cream. What are you going to do to celebrate?

Honey Crunch.

I know this is my second post for a recipe, but it's a good one, I promise! Click here to access the recipe I posted on my own blog for delicious Honey Crunch. It's my grandma's recipe, tried and true. Enjoy!

Hello!

Hello everyone! I don't know how many people read this blog, and it's been a while since I was made an author, but I thought I'd give a little introduction. My name is Kylie and I'm honored to be a friend of Janina's. I blog over at Love Always. It's just a little blog about the day-to-day. I post recipes from time to time, projects, and mostly the adventures of everyday life. I love crafting, learning new things, my husband (TJ), taking pictures, reading, and cooking. I'm excited to share ideas on this blog! For starters, here's a recipe I shared on my blog a while back. Now I'm hungry....

Mexican Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 head of romaine lettuce
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
2/3 can black beans
1 avocado
1/4 bunch of cilantro
1 lime
Optional: White corn tortilla chips
Optional: two boneless skinless chicken breasts

Dressing:
ranch
salsa verde

Directions:
1. Use a lettuce knife to chop lettuce into pieces, or tear by hand. (This prevents lettuce from getting brown.) Set aside in a large salad bowl.
2. Dice bell peppers and avocado into bite-sized pieces and add to bowl.
3. Rinse and drain black beans. Add 1/2-whole can to bowl. (If I'm not doing chicken, I'll season the beans with a bit of taco seasoning before adding them in.)
4. Give the cilantro a rough chop to release flavor and remove stems. We love cilantro, so I put more than some may like.
5. Cut lime in half and squeeze over salad.
6. If adding chicken, cook in a skillet with some olive oil and season with cumin and chili powder. Cut into bite-sized pieces and add to salad.
7. Just before serving, crumble some tortilla chips over salad for added crunch.

Dressing:

In a blender, mix about equal parts ranch and salsa verde (I like the Safeway Select brand). Add more of one or the other depending on your tastes. Drizzle over salad.

This salad is way easy and can of course be altered to your tastes. However, the dressing is NECESSARY for the full effect (credit to my mother-in-law and Cafe Rio for the dressing idea).

Happy eating!!

Watermelon Juice

I just finished whipping up some fresh watermelon juice for our dinner tonight. It takes like five minutes to make and about five seconds to drink, but it is worth every drop. It is perfect for any Memorial Day BBQ or picnic that you might be having. I would plan on at least doubling or tripling the recipe. Enjoy.

Watermelon Juice

• 4 cups cubed seedless watermelon
• 10 ice cubes
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup white sugar
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Place watermelon and ice into a blender. Pour in lime juice, sugar, and salt. Blend until smooth. Enjoy.

*Recipe from Allrecipes.com and picture from Evernewrecipes.com

"Deviled" Eggs

I am in love with eggs. If I go a day without eating some sort of egg, my husband is amazed. My love for eggs and my love for jelly beans make Easter my favorite holiday. Here are my all time favorite "deviled" eggs. There really are no words to describe these beauties. Have a wonderful Easter!

Deviled Eggs

• 6 hard-boiled eggs
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Paprika or chili powder
  
• Red bell pepper
  

1. Slice eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks and set whites aside. In a small bowl, mash yolks with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, mustard and salt; mix well. Stuff or pipe into egg whites. Add devil horns by using sliced red bell pepper. Sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate until serving.

*(Adapted from All-Recipies)

Pepperoni Pizza Bake

The other day I was looking for an easy dinner and just happened to have a can a Pillsbury Grands in my fridge. I came across this recipe in a quest to find something good and easy for dinner. It tasted heavenly and made my husband really happy. That's what a call a incredible dinner.

Pillsbury Pizza Bake

Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS:

1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated original biscuits

1 can (8 oz) pizza sauce

2 cups finely shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)

16 slices pepperoni (1 1/2 inch)

DIRECTIONS:

• CUT each biscuit into 8 pieces; toss with pizza sauce and 1 cup of the cheese.
• SPREAD in sprayed 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish. Top with pepperoni and remaining 1 cup cheese.
• BAKE at 375°F 22 to 28 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
• Enjoy.
  

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft):

Bake 28 to 34 minutes.

I'm Back

For the last couple of months I have been MIA. I could give you a variety of excuses of why I dropped the ball on blogging, but I won't. Just know I feel bad. The other day my sister told me that she loves this blog and uses it for a lot of inspiration. This gave me the motivation to get back into posting, and to keep trying to inspire readers like you. So I offer my sincerest apologies and will rally up my forces and hopefully keep this blog interesting and inspiring. Keep coming back for your bits of inspiration, and please send some inspiration my way. I could sure use it as well.

Baby Shower Favors

I am in the process of making some really cute baby shower favors for a shower I'm throwing in a couple weeks. I got the idea from http://www.creative-baby-shower-ideas.com/ and highly recommend the site if you ever throw a shower for someone. The specific link with step by step instructions is here: www.creative-baby-shower-ideas/nut-cups.html .

You basically fold the napkin in half, then bring two corners to overlap a bit. Bring the third corner up and safety pin them together...

Then fill them up with the candy of your choice. I chose to use York Peppermint Pattie pieces (they are delicious, but I personally love the Almond Joy pieces the most...the color of the peppermint ones worked the best). The website suggests whoppers, but I personally didn't want to put anything in there that resembled a messy diaper.

I happened to have this white basket in my boy's room which I thought was a perfect place to stash them. Very excited to hand these out to everyone who comes!

Ladies Night Out

Just because it's been a while since anyone has posted & I am thrilled about this new amazing product I had discovered, I am going to share my story with you all.

Or you can just check out my Blog: Advocareandme.blogspot.com

We are throwing a Ladies Night Out next week & everyone is invited. There will be door prizes, raffles, and loads more. Which will include nutritional wellness info while using Advocare.

Just Check out my Before & After pics!