Foam

Inspired by this very talented girl....I decided to make some foam figures for Diego to play in the tub...he loved them, and it was very hard to get him out of it....he loved putting the wheels in the car, making the flowers, playing with the clouds...I will definitely make many many more!

Crayola art, while Diego took a nap.

After seeing this idea in Pinterest ,

I decided to give it a try and create some art for Diego's room....and voila!

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Vi esta idea en Pinterest, de como crear un cuadro bastante original con ceras, y decidi  intentar hacer mi propia version, y voila! (abajo estan las instrucciones paso por paso, es muy facil!...solo hay que pegar las ceras una a una en la parte superior de un lienzo blanco, y luego con un secador de mano se van derritiendo, y al caer la cera va creando interesantes dibujos!...muy facil y perfecto para el cuarto de Diego!)

...kind of happy with the final result...I wish I would have added more bright colors, and eliminated the browns and black, but oh well...overall I like it and Diego loooves it!...he screams "pinta" (to draw) everytime he sees it...

...so this is what you start with...a white canvas and a  box of crayolas....(I bought the 64 units one, but if you want to make it brighter, you'll have to buy a smaller extra box)

...then you figure out what your color scheme is going to be like...

..and then you get busy with a glue gun!...

...almost half way through...

...all glued!...

...and then this if the fun part: get your hair dryer and start melting!

(I almost didn't want to do the last step...it looked so pretty already....)

...and after about 20 minutes of melting by sections this is it!....NOTE: make sure you cover not only the floor but also the walls for this last part....there are splashes of color all over my living room wall....yikes!

It was overall a fast craft, about an hour an a half total time!...thanks Pinterest:)

Autum wreath

...finally I decided to make a fall wreath...and after seeing a gazillion of them in my newest obsession (pinterest) I got busy this past weekend.

Total cost: about $5. I already had the wreath. I just bought some brown burlap and after cutting some stripes, started to wrap the wreath...

...that was the most boring part, plus the glue gun and I have a "love-hate" relationship, so I got a few burns...

...and after that, the fun part! I used stuff that I bought at the dollar store to decorate it...

something tells me that this will not be the last one I make!

"better than nothing...."

...those were literally the words that came out of Mike's mouth when I asked him if he liked the new doily banner that I made for our bedroom...

so encouraging, huh?...hehe..I still love him...the best part is that it was only $1!....I bought the paper doilies at the dollar store and I used some cute twine that I had from Diego's b-day decorations from last year. I only folded them, stapled the bottom of each doily so they wouldn't open, and voila! done!

....I think is cute...

...oh ans I also spray painted a ceiling fan that Mike's parents donated to us!...it was brown (a pretty ugly brown) and now is cute and white to match the bedroom!...I'm in love with spray paint!..

Did you know....

that there is a house here in Utah (Herriman) being built as a replica of the cartoon one in "Up"?....Seriousy, if I had $400.000 I would live there...forever...

(Paul Fraughton | The Salt Lake Tribune)

(Paul Fraughton | The Salt Lake Tribune)

(Paul Fraughton | The Salt Lake Tribune)

...more info, here.

Balsamic & Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

...I'm trying to eat healthier, so I saw this recipe here, and decided to give it a try...

...and I don't know where my baking sheet it, so I cooked it in my beautiful star mold...

...the result?...nah...good but not as I expected it. Here is the recipe anyways:

Ingredients

• 8 cups 1-inch-thick slices cauliflower florets, (about 1 large head; see Tip)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

 Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Toss cauliflower, oil, marjoram, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast until starting to soften and brown on the bottom, 15 to 20 minutes. Toss the cauliflower with vinegar and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven and roast until the cheese is melted and any moisture has evaporated, 5 to 10 minutes more.

S'more cookies...yesss....

...We just went camping and had some (a lot) of extra stuff to make s'mores...I saw this recipe here, so I decided to give it a try...the result: AMAZING!

...Basically you just make a bed of graham crackers...

...prepare a special cookie dough with marshmallows and place it on top...

...cook it for 5 minutes, then put some Hershey's chocolate on top...

...and cook it for another 5 minutes!...so, so, so GOOD!...Here is the recipe: 

S'mores Cookies
Source: Ice Cream Before Dinner

11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ½ cups flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
3 regular sized Hershey’s bars, broken into pieces
1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment paper. I used one 11x17 pan and one 9x13 pan but you can really use any sized pans you want.

Lay out graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible (they should be touching). I used 16 graham cracker squares on one pan and 10 squares on another. You may have to add or remove graham crackers according to how much dough you have. If you want your cookies thicker you will use more dough and less graham crackers.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixer and combine on low speed.

Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour to overnight

Place tablespoons of dough on graham crackers about 1 – 1 ½ inches apart. I averaged about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough per graham cracker square as seen in the picture above. Press down slightly with fingertips.

Bake for 5 minutes then remove from oven to press Hershey’s bar pieces on to the top. You can place as many pieces or as little as you want depending how much chocolate flavor you want.

Bake for 5 – 7 more minutes or until dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool. For clean cutting make sure cookies are completely cool and cut with a sharp knife.

Pico de Gallo salad and Chili and corn bread in a jar?

...For Fathers day I wanted to cook something special for the best father (after mine, of course:) in the world...my Mike...

and after finding this recipe here, decided to give it a try...Soo easy, so good and so healthy!

Pico de Gallo Salad

Recipe by"La Kocinera"

2 Tomatoes, chopped

½ bunch fresh Cilantro, chopped

½ Red Onion, chopped

Juice of 1-2 Limes

1 can Corn, drained

1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed

1-2 Jalapeños, finely diced

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate to chill.

Serve with chips, on its own, or as a topping for just about anything. 

I doubled it to make more, didn't use the jalapeños (hate spicy stuff) and also added two avocados...delish...

...Also I saw this wonderful idea here, so it was time to try!

You basically make Chili and then  scooped it into the jars. Then I mixed up cornbread batter and spooned it on top and baked it for like 15 min.

Soo good!...Give it a try!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, yummy but a pain to cook.

...I first saw the recipe here and wanted to try it...

 ...I'm a big fan of recipes with not a lot of ingredients, and fast to cook, definetely this wasn't one of those, but oh well...worth trying...Mike and I loved it!

Here is the recipe: (from The Meal Planner)

 Chicken Tikka:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp cumin
1/4-1 tsp cayenne (depending on how spicy you like it)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt

6-8 chicken thighs (skin on, bone-in)

Stir all ingredients except chicken into the bottom of a large plastic container. Add the chicken and coat the chicken completely with the marinade, cover and place in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.

Masala:
1 can 28 oz. diced tomatoes
1 can 5.5 oz tomato paste
2 inches fresh ginger, grated (store your ginger in the freezer and it will be super easy to grate)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp tikka paste (could use mild curry paste instead, but then also add about a tbsp of lemon juice)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
Salt
1 cup cream
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped


Turn your oven to broil. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a rack over top. Take the chicken out of the marinade and place on the baking rack. Place under the broiler about 6-10 inches from the heating element and broil on each side about 10 minutes. You don't have to worry about cooking the meat all the way through, you are just looking for a nice browned color.

While the chicken is broiling, in a pan over medium high heat, add about a tsp or two of oil. Add the onion and saute for a few minutes to soften. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for a few more minutes until the mixture is nice and fragrant. Place the mixture into your crockpot. To that, add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, garam masala, tikka paste, cumin, chili powder and coriander. Stir together. When the chicken is done broiling, add them straight to the slow cooker and stir into the masala (sauce). I have cooked and experimented with this dish quite a few times, and it by far tastes the best when the chicken is first broiled and then slow cooks in the masala sauce. It gives the sauce a real richness of flavor. Slow cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low 6-8 hours.

Before serving stir in 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala and salt if it needs it. I find this just brightens up the spice flavors a bit. Then stir in the cream and fresh cilantro. Serve a chicken thigh with lots of sauce over basmati rice or Yellow Basmati Rice: 2 cups basmati, 4 cups water, salt, and 1/2 tbsp of turmeric. Stir together and prepare as you normally would. When the rice is done, stir in 1/2 cup frozen peas.

Pancake fun

My  nieces and nephews are staying with us for a few days while my sis and her husband are in NYC...fun...so this morning for breakfast and before church, we had a pancake decorating contest...

...I bought these condiment bottles at Wally World for 90 cents each, the girls mixed the pancake mix and added some food coloring (you can make the color in a healthier way with strawberry jam or blue berry juice)

...and then we had some fun!

...we had hearts...

...stars...

...strawberry...

...rainbows...

...and targets...so fun and yummy...