Spring Cleaning

It's...
A List - Check
Pretty - Check
Organized - Check
Free - Check

That describes these lists, printed from this great blog.

I started in our entryway.

Small and quick.  While I do keep it pretty clean, the door and the narrow window were pretty dirty. 
A matter of fact, I am a bit embarrassed as to how dirty the window really was.

Deep Conditioner for Hair

We all love soft, silky hair, right?
I know I do.
After reading this article, I so wanted to try this.  Only every time I got into the shower I forgot. 
This morning I remembered.
I took the rest of the coconut oil and massaged it into my hair until it was well oiled and looked wet.

I didn't follow her tips exactly.
After my hair was well oiled, I pulled it up in a clip and warmed it with the blow dryer for a few minutes.
I undid the clip and dried a bit more.
I pulled it back up in the clip while I took a shower.
Once I was all washed I washed and conditioned my hair.

At first I couldn't tell any difference.
Once it was completely dried and styled I loved the soft, smooth feel of it.
No frizziness.  Nice shine.

You can't see the shine that well, but it's there.
By the way, this is my natural color hair...until tonight.  I am getting low lights.

I plan to do this at least once a month, the oil that is.
Have a great day!  Thanks for reading!

More Healthy Food

I have to tell you healthy food sure is colorful.

Hubby and I went out of town to some markets.

Starting my own cantaloupe seeds and drying homegrown dill.  Please excuse my dirty windowsills.  We've had some winds which bring a lot of dust.

Son has taken to making his own smoothies.  Worth all of the mess.

Salmon...why did I wait SOOO long to eat it?  

Not sure if spaghetti squash is a hit or not.  We had two meals with it.  It is very easy to cook and easy to "shred".  Will have to give it another shot. 

Also tried soybeans or edamame.  Yum!  Very good in oriental food.

Snakes, Worms and Things

Things you find in your truck while doing some maintenance.

I have never been excited about worms, EVER, until now.  I ordered 500 red wigglers for our compost.

Can you see them?  Can't wait for them to make some black gold.

Wet newspaper over them and leave them be.

Honestly, worms make me squirm, but this was easy, just open the bag and dump them in.  No need to touch them...that works for me.

Time in the Kitchen

Today I spent a few hours in the kitchen.  I did a bunch of food prep for this week's meals.

For starters, I made dessert.
I am trying to make food that is as natural as possible.
These babies only have 4 ingredients!
Healthy Peanut Butter Cups

Expensive, but easy to make.  I am trying to adopt the phrase "Pay the farmer, or pay the pharmacist."
Son, LOVED them and asked for another.  Hubby liked them.  I really liked them, though I think I would double the chocolate part and maybe decrease the coconut oil just a tad.  Though I think I need to buy coconut oil in bulk.

Next up was the food prep.  (I realize that some of the recipes/ingredients are considered processed, but I am learning, ease up.  heehee)

Here I have chopped vegies for:
Pork and Vegetable Lo Mein from this months issue of Taste of Home Simple and Delicious.
Chicken Wontons (tonight's dinner) would double the filling.  I had some mashed avocado and added it to the filling.
Salmon with Creamy Dill Sauce
Grapes to munch on.
Italian Chicken ( a family fave) from a scrapping friend.
  Throw all of the ingredients into crock pot and let it cook!
  1/2 stick butter (or equal amount of coconut oil)
  1 brick cream cheese
  1 can cream of chicken
  1 envelope of Italian dressing
  good amount of any cut of chicken you want.  There is plenty of sauce.
  Serve or noodles, rice, potatoes, whatever suits your family's taste.

Pork for above Lo Mein.
Lentil Brown Rice Casserole...I am going out on a limb with this one. 

We'll see how all of this food prep works out and if I can pull it off on a regular basis.  Looking at the photos it doesn't look like much work, but it was.

Right away I did this too.  Not good, but not bad either.  More of a nuisance.

Have a good evening!

Cleaner Eating

Don't have much time to write but I wanted to post a few food items that I have tried and or made.

We have been trying out Gluten-free food and my tummy sure seems to like it.
Here are a few items I picked up at a local shop.  They sell dented cans, boxes, etc. for a lesser price.  Which when it comes to buying GF items less is a real deal.

 Aleias's cookies were delish!  Hubby said they taste like Grandma's.  I have yet to try the pancake mix.  I do know that King Arthur products are good.

 The Pumpkin Butter, our daughter has it on toast every morning.  I don't know if anyone else has tried it.  I did buy it with her in mind.  Enjoy Life Cocoa Loco bars...they taste natural, good for you.  So, the kids didn't like them.  Hubby and I did.  They are rather small, but filling.

 While this cereal is not GF, I have to tell you what son said while holding it in his hand.  "I would hate to be in the advertisement for this."  (at 14, anything naked is still gross and funny)

I made this for mine and hubby's lunch.  Iceberg lettuce, chickpeas, cabbage, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and a couple of toppings.

Last night I made this.
Gluten Free, Oil Free Baked Eggplant Parmesan

 And geez, I forgot the name of the potatoes, but you peel a potato, cut thin slices almost to the bottom (not cutting through is the hard part), sprinkle with melted butter, and your favorite seasonings, bake at 350 for 50 min.

The potatoes were a hit, the eggplant, not so much.  Hubby and I liked it.  The kids can be a hard sell.  I am serving the eggplant again tonight with turkey.

Gotta run, the oven is about to ding.
Enjoy!

Cute Cute Video

For your weekend viewing pleasure.

Have a great weekend!

Gluten-Free Dinner

You know I am always trying out new things as far as health and food go.
Tonight I made a gluten-free (as far as I know), vegetarian dish that was really much tastier than the original.

I switched up a few for me.  I made the "real" recipe for the fam and a small dish for me.

The original recipe: Well, the Christine version of the original with noodles.

Penne Bean (sausage) Bake
1lb. penne or medium tube pasta
1 small onion chopped
1 TBL olive oil
1 can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 lb. turkey Italian sausage, casings removed)
3 cups (or more) fat-free meatless spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan chesse

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.  In large skillet saute onion with oil, add sausage until no longer pink or beans.   Drain, in needed.  Add sauce and noodles.
  Transfer to a 3-qt. casserole dish coated with oil spray.  Cover and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  Uncover; sprinkle with cheeses.  Bake until cheese in slightly browned.

Yields: 9 servings

The Gluten Free Version
Enough Quinoa to equal 1 cup pasta. 
(I just made a small amount and spooned the onions, garlic, beans, and sauce over about 3/4 cup Quinoa.)
1 small onion chopped
2 heaping tsp. crushed garlic
1 TBL olive oil
1 can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 lb. turkey Italian sausage, casings removed)
3 cups (or more) fat-free meatless spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan chesse

Cook quinoa according to package directions; drain.  In large skillet saute onion with oil, add sausage until no longer pink or beans.   Drain, in needed.  Add sauce and noodles.
  Transfer to a 3-qt. casserole dish coated with oil spray.  Cover and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  Uncover; sprinkle with cheeses.  Bake until cheese in slightly browned.  For vegan, leave off cheese.

Enjoy!

Day Off for Date

Last week Hubby told me that he was taking today off so we can do something together.
Whatever I want.
That is a tough one...there are a lot of things I'd like to do.  My mind goes blank when given the choice! ugh!
So, due to homeschool, laundry, and a budget here's what we did.
After devotions and breakfast we walked/jogged at the Foot Hills.

We got a dusting of snow over night and I thought I was going to be pretty hard core going out in the "snow".
I think it only snowed in our neighborhood.  There was not a trace of snow at the Foot Hills.
I tried getting a photo of the Foot Hills, but it is too wide and well, hilly to show you what it looks like. 
We walked up the weaving, up and down path ran down from the top.  Probably about two miles together.

At the top we took these.

Here's an oops, I hit the button too soon, shot.

Never mind the band-aid...I cut myself shaving!  Not really, but it sounds good.
You can't really tell, but I was trying to do my Bret Michaels impersonation with the whole ear warmer thingy over my head that way.

After showering and getting some needed things done I ditched the bad rocker look and got ready for our actual date.  What a difference a shower and styling can make!

We went to the missile range to bowl.

Hubby won both games.  I knew he would.  It was like old times.  One of our first dates was bowling in a very small bowling alley in the California high desert.  There were two "older" gents, who were REALLY into bowling.  They analyzed every thing.  One had a thumb guard, something on his wrist and forearm.  They kept pulling out ball after ball.  I had to laugh at myself, nearly breaking the floor with every gutter ball I got.  We had many good laughs though.

LOVE dates with Hubby!  So glad he likes them too.

Some Layouts

Behind the scenes I have made a few layouts (credits go to sahlin studio).

for full list of credits go here.