Zoku Slush Maker

July 10, 2014
Cocktails
With the temperatures finally warming up cool refreshing treats are a must.   I like a frozen treat or drink but not always chunky icy treats.  Enter the Zoku Slush Maker.  I received my Zoku Slush and Shake maker a few weeks back from Zoku to try out and make a few fun treats with it.   With several colors to choose from I selected the blue. My son was all excited about it and was the first to want a shake. 
It is so simple and perfect for a quick frozen treat without a lot of fuss or dragging out a blender.  In a matter of less than 15 minutes you have a perfect treat.  I want to get one for each of my boys for gifts so when they want a sweet treat all they need to do is just add their favorite cold beverage and stir. 

First up is our raspberry limeade.  Fill the insert that you froze over night with your cold beverage.
Blue Zoku Slush Maker

Zoku Slushie

 Stir after a few minutes and continue stirring and scrapping the walls until you have this....
Zoku Limeade

Limeade in Zoku

Zoku Cherry Limeade


Pure sweet slush!


The next thing we made in our Zoku was a chocolate shake.  Want to know how simple it was?  We poured chocolate milk in up to the line and stirred and scraped the walls as it froze.  Less than 15 minutes we had a delish treat!

Chocolate Zoku Slush

Chocolate Slushie in Zoku


Zoku Slusk Maker with Chocolate milk


This little guy couldn't get enough! 
Zoku has a wide assortment of fabulous products for cooling you down for the hot summer and enjoying a sweet treat or two! 
 Shop some of their other great products below. 













Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

June 05, 2014
Baking
Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

One of my boys all time favorite snacks are the Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats.  I can make a batch and it will be gone in a day they are that good.   Today I want to share this pure goodness with you and hope they become a favorite at your home as well.  Enjoy! 
Rice Krispie treats

 What you will need:

  • 1 C light Karo syrup
  • 1 C sugar
  • 1 C peanut butter
  • 6 -8 C rice cereal
  • 4-6 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 4 -6 oz butterscotch chips
  • 9 x 13 pan
  • Butter or margarine (to grease pan only)
Grease your pan with butter or margarine and set aside until needed.  Do not use pam as it will not release as well.

Place sugar and syrup in a pan large enough to hold the rice cereal when it's time.  


Stir constantly until is reaches a rolling edge boil.  Do not over boil or the sugar will harden once the treats are made and you will never… ever… get your teeth thru them.  Yes I did it, but it only took once to learn that lesson.  You just want it to start a consistent boil around the edges of the pan. 


Remove from heat and add the peanut butter.  Stir it in well.


 
Add the rice cereal and stir to coat all the cereal evenly.  Now I have modified the recipe here a bit.  My mom uses 6 cups of cereal and I think the original recipe calls for that amount as well.  I think they are a bit too gooey so I increased my cereal.   Just note that you can experiment with the cereal  amount between 6-8 cups. 


 
Once you have the peanut butter and the cereal mixed well pour it into the greased pan and press it into the pan.  I have found the back of a greased spoon works well or a square of wax paper as the mixture is still very warm to use your clean hands.  




 
Now, melt the chocolate chips and butter scotch chips together in a double boiler.  If you prefer a thicker layer of chocolate increase the quantities to 6 oz each. (Again, I have done both and this is purely a preference)   If you don't have a double boiler you may melt them in the microwave taken careful measures not to burn it.  You will need to microwave for about 25 seconds and stir, then repeat that process until melted smooth. 

Pour the chocolate mixture over the top of the pressed PB treats and spread to cover them.  


Now with melted chocolate or baking chips they do not set up at room temperature.  I place my dish in the freezer for a flash freeze of the chocolate taking careful notice of the time in the freezer.  NO MORE THAN 10 MINUTES!!!  You may also place the pan in the fridge if you prefer and leave them longer until the chocolate sets. 



Cute them with a large sharp knife into squares and enjoy!  

What are some of your favorite family treats?

Spring Tips

April 22, 2014
DIY

Happy Earth day.  With the weather finally nice and the days growing longer, it is time for a little spring tips and tricks to help your season transition go smoothly. 

Take a few ice cube trays and fill them up with coffee.  Freeze the tray and once frozen pop them in a baggie or container to store until the next time you're craving an iced latte!  When the cubes melt they won't dilute your drink. They were melting pretty darn quick on my marble. 



Do the same with ice tea, and for you water drinkers... add a few berries to your trays with water and freeze.  Toss the colorful slightly fruity cubes in your glass and enjoy!



Rainy season is here and that means shooting pictures in between rain drops.  Protect your camera and place a plastic shopping bag  around the camera with an opening for the lens and hold it in place with a rubber band to keep your camera dry and protected! It looks a bit crazy I know but I wouldn't want my camera to get wet! 





Turn the hangers in your closet backwards.  Every time you wear something hang it up the correct direction.  When the season is over and time to transition to fall again you will be able to see what you didn't wear because the hangers will be backwards still.  Time to clean out the closet with everything hanging backwards still!  Hey... how did that crazy orange hanger get in there? 




So now it's your turn… share a few tricks that help you transition into spring! What do you do to transition into spring? 

National Pecan Day

April 14, 2014
Baking
Whether you say pee-can or peh-kahn, I'm pronouncing these pecan recipes as some taste treats indeed. Today is National Pecan day and I am sharing a few of my favorites with you.  I love pecans to snack on, and even better in a salad,  added to a dessert, or sugar coat them and they are so good!   Enjoy! 
Apple Pear Salad with Pecans

I like to use spring mix for my salad base but you can use whatever you enjoy
1 gala apple diced
1 Anjou pear diced
1/2 C sugar pecans
Crumbled blue cheese (Add this to taste)
1/3 C dried cherry's or cranberry's
Balsamic dressing to taste

Dice up your apple and pear and toss it in your bowl with your greens.  Add the sugar pecans, blue cheese, and dried fruit.  Toss with the dressing and serves 3.  Delish!




Banana Pecan Smoothie



  • 1 1/2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
  • 2 large ripe bananas, frozen  
  • 1 cup ice
  • 1/2 cup sugar pecans
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions

Add all your ingredients in your blender in the listed order and blend until smooth.  I use a Vitamix and it gets pretty darn smooth.  I'm not sure how smooth a regular blender will get so you may have to blend it a little longer to chop the ice and pecans.  If using a regular blender I suggest using pecan pieces to help out with the chopping in the blender. 
While it's not big on color... it's big on taste!  




A favorite snack of mine is Sugar Coated Pecans


1 egg white
1 Tbsp. water
1 lb. pecan halves
1C white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon   

Directions

 Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Grease your baking sheet.  In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.


Add pecans to frothy egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Be careful to not break the pecans when stirring.


Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. I just poured the sugar mixture on top of my nuts in the same bowl.  Again... gently toss to not break the pecans.  I  know they taste better when not broken!  haha!

Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake at 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.  

 
Let them cool.  Then hide them from your kids!  
Store in an airtight container... if they last that long.  Seriously, they are addicting!
What are some of your favorite pecan recipes? 

      My Weekend

      October 20, 2013
      Fall
      And just like that....... Monday is here again!  I was sick all last week and it took a toll on me. I was only able to stay home and try to get better one day.  Blogging was a bit sparse too, sorry!  I am still trying to recover. My voice went from raspy, to full on man voice, then nothing, and now I have a soft whisper!  Yea me!  If you know me, then you know that a soft voice and me are rare! Whats funny is when I talk to someone, they feel the urge to whisper back to me!  My hearing didn't go, just my voice!!! 

       I spent the weekend resting, coughing, only running essential errands, coughing some more, and a little cooking.  I can't say I am back to my usual self, and I am still very tired, but I have a big week ahead and I need my A game!  I did however make a pumpkin spiced latte at home and it was fabulous.  It was simple and you should have all the ingredients in your kitchen.  

      1/8 tsp vanilla
      1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice
      2 Tsps maple syrup
      a pinch of cinnamon 
      3 oz frothed milk

       I mixed everything in my cup before adding the expresso and milk.  It was delicious.   Not sugary sweet and every bit as good if not actually better than Starbucks!  Better because I didn't have to leave my house, and could enjoy two without the guilt of dropping 8 bucks on a caffeine fix!

      I am spending tomorrow at The Nationals Golf Club for a charity tournament and  if you follow me on instagram you will see all the fun of my day! I will be back Tuesday  with a fun outfit I wore last week, and Wednesday is four favorites!   Hey, I almost forgot to ask, How was your weekend?  Anything fun happen?

      Love Suja

      September 10, 2013
      Food



      Juicing. Cleansing. Green smoothies. Whatever you refer to, or have even tried, or wanted to try but maybe, just maybe haven't gotten there yet, the time has come to just do it!  Love Suja was on the shelf, colorful, inviting, and oh so tempting for me.  I grabbed two bottles and headed home.  Love Suja Glow, and Green Supreme.  Why these two?  Well, because the ever so healthy, and fit gal, who looked like she came straight from a workout, picking up her Love Suja, told me these were great.  Glow was a good morning, and the Love Suja Green Supreme was a good dinnertime.  Enough for me! 

      I came home and went right to the Love Suja website.  True to my nature, I studied the site to see what they had to say about their products, and read plenty of reviews.  I was all in!  I needed to pick up the rest of the juices for a one day juice. 

      I will admit, I was a little scared to drink the first one, not sure what to expect, or if it would even taste good.  I was pleasantly surprised.  It really did taste good!! They all tasted good to me!   The order you drink the juices are explained clearly for you, as well as all the nutrition in each juice on the side of each bottle, so the guess work was taken out!

      Now, I will tell you that I read in some of the reviews people saying Purity, which has beets in it was strong, I didn't have any problem with the taste of beets.   Glow was cucumber and mint, Fuel was definitely carrots, Purity was carrots and beets, but it was every so slightly.  Fiji was a refreshing apple, with cucumber again, and  Green Supreme was like drinking a sweet, but slightly tart apple.  Vanilla Cloud is like your dessert for the day!  Super yummy!  I drank several waters thru out the day in between my juices like suggested, and only around mid afternoon did I feel a little hungry, but I chalk it up to just snack habits. 
      I chose to do a one day cleanse to see if I liked it.  If you choose to do a 3, or even 5 day cleanse, you just repeat the juices for each day in the same order. 


      I would definitely do a Love Suja juice cleanse again, and would even do a 3 day cleanse. I enjoyed the flavors of all the juices I tried, and would recommend this to any of my friends.  I wish they were available in airports so you could have something healthy  on your travel days!   I think they are great for a quick nutritional juice on the go, and the perfect way to get your veggies in! So tell me, have you tried Love Suja, or maybe you have a favorite green smoothie you make at home.  I would love your recipes to try! 

      Love Suja did not sponsor this post.  This is my personal experience, and opinions.  So now you know how good I think they are, get out there and try them for yourself and let me know what you think!
       
         

      Weekend Love

      August 12, 2013
      Celebration

      Happy Monday! Even though its a rainy dreary Monday, and I have sooo much work to do today, I am feeling refreshed and ready to get it going!  Things have been over the top stressed and busy behind the blog here lately, and my post have been sporadic to say the least and I am sorry!  I promise to get right back to my regular schedule!  Promise! 

      My Mom and sis in law were in town for the weekend and it was a great visit.  My sister in law has been in the family for over thirty years so she really is just like a sister!  She stayed at my house and we had the best time. My mom brought my birthday present and I was super excited to open up  a new Bamboo capture!  Joe immediately asked if I wanted him to open it up and he would show me how to use it!  Nice try to get to be the first to play with it!  As soon as my guest go home today, I will be busting it out and playing all night!  Thanks Mom!  I love it! 

      No visit with m sis in law is complete without good eating.  She too is eating very healthy and had a new recipe to try.  Now I know it doesn't look like much in this one pic, (I am not a food blogger) but let me tell you..... it was sooo good!  I will be posting the full recipe and pics later this week.  Because your curious, and it doesn't actually look like it, those are heirloom tomatoes! Yum!! 

      Sunday was the annual Susan G. Komen 5K and my sister's team once again had a great turnout!  We gathered at out team tent, enjoyed some healthy snacks, laughter, and perfect race day weather!  My mother, who is WINNING her cancer battle, (she has one treatment left next week for uterine cancer) Yea for strong women in my family, was not strong enough to walk the race, so we pushed her instead!  She was so cute with her hat, and sunglasses, we even thought we caught her napping along the way!  




      So whats been going on in your world?  I missed you guys! 

       School starts this week too! Are you ready? 

      Kitchen Happenings

      December 19, 2012
      Celebration
      I am officially on vacation until after the holidays.  I have a huge list of things to do, one of which is making cookies.  I pretty much have all my shopping done, but have a few projects to finish making. Today is baking day, and I am ready to indulge.  This cookie press belonged to my Grandmother, and I cherish it.  It makes the perfect spritz cookies every year.  I bought a new updated version of a press a few years back, but it does not compare to the older version.  The metal cookie cutters were mine from when I was younger and I use them every year.  It has always been a tradition to make cut out cookies for santa with my boys, and this year I am teaching my sons girlfriend how to carry the tradition on...... along with a three month old!  Wish us luck in the kitchen! 
       I will be traveling to Oklahoma for the weekend to see my family and celebrate with them, then back home to have Christmas at home with my boys,  well all but my oldest son and his family.  I don't by any means want to rush thru Christmas, but I am ready for spring to be here so his family can move closer.  El Paso is over a 17 hour drive, and Ft. Riley is only a little over 2 hours away.  Excited for spring! 

      Snow is in the forecast later today and tonight, that can only mean one thing for me = cozy fire, glass of wine, and the smell of freshly baked cookies in the house! 

      Have a great day. 


      Kale Chips

      August 28, 2012
      cooking


      I know that it is not a new thing to try, but I finally got up enough nerve to attempt to make Kale chips.  My mom had not heard of them, so it was a perfect experiment for the both of us to try.  We were either going to love them or hate them.  We followed the instructions she found on the internet. 

      She washed, and then patted the leaves dry, and rubbed them with olive oil, and then sprinkled sea salt on some.  We baked them for 20 minutes or so at 275.  They were good!  We both agreed.  We took the remainder of the kale that was not baked and sprinkled parmesan cheese on it and baked them up as well.  Good again!!  I will be making Kale chips more often, and even trying a few different varieties of spices on them!  Have you made Kale chips before?  I would love to her what you put on yours for flavors. 

      Carrot Cake

      August 20, 2012
      cooking
      I mentioned my Mom was visiting last week and we had several things planned to accomplish.  She arrived on Thursday afternoon and we wasted no time getting to it.  My sister in law's mother makes the most scrumptious carrot cake from scratch.  And when I say scratch, I mean grates her own carrots!!  So when my sis in law posted on FB last week that she had just finished a marathon baking session with her mother, AND used home grown carrots from her garden, I knew I had to have one.  My mother arrived with gifts in tow.  My birthday presents from her, (among them a pink scarf from her recent trip to Europe)  and three round layers of wonderful carrot cake to be frosted!  

      We started the afternoon by doing a little shopping for all our planned activities, and of course frosting ingredients! We planned on sewing, a little jewelry making, and monograming with my heat embosser.  Needless to say, we accomplished all the projects we planned, and there is no cake left!!   But we did rationalize it by walking over 5 mile on Sunday at the race I talk about here!  The BF has a better understanding as to where I get my sweet tooth after this visit with my mother!!  I was thrilled when my sister in law said I could share the recipe with you!  Enjoy!  

      Heat over to 350 degrees
      3C Carrots, grated
      2 C flour, sifted
      2C Sugar
      1t Cinnamon
      1t Salt
      2t Baking Soda
      1 Scant C Vegetable Oil
      4 eggs
      Grease 3 nine inch round cake pans, then place a 9 inch circle of parchment or wax paper on the bottom of the greased pan and then flour the edges of the pan. Grate carrots and set aside. Sift flour into a bowl, add sugar, cinnamon, soda and salt and mix well.  Add oil and eggs and mix well.  Then add carrots.  Divide evenly into 3 nine inch round cake pans and bake.  After removing from oven, seperate the edge of the cake from the pan with a spatula and then invert onto parchment paper or onto a cooling rack.  Remove the pan and take the round of parchment paper off the top of cake immediately.   After cooled completely, ice.  This cake freezes really well.
      Icing:
      8 oz. cream cheese
      1 lb. powdered sugar
      1 stick butter
      1 tsp. vanilla
      1 cup chopped pecans
      Beat soft cream chesse and butter together and then add vanilla and powdered sugar.  When all creamed together nicely, add chopped nuts.  YUM!
      Don't make the icing between layers too thick or you will run out of icing.  

      Oh, and when you make it? Be sure to invite me over to eat with you!!  You're welcome!!
      Photos by Lisa

      White Sangria

      June 21, 2012
      Cocktails
      This is our favorite summertime cocktail.  The recipe was given to me by a dear friend of ours who unfortunately passed away last year of Lou Gherigs disease.  Marco was a head chef and a true master of his kitchen.  He worked beside Wolfgang Puck for many years and even was kind enough to get Wolfgang to personally autograph a cookbook for one of my sons who studies culinary.  Nice gift! The BF and I use to go to the restaurant where Marco cooked often.  Not just because of Marco but because we loved the atmosphere. 

      One evening after a few sangrias, I asked Marco to share his recipe with me.  If you know anything about chefs, they generally don't share all the ingredients to their recipes.  But I was in luck, Marco not only decided to share, but he was going to give me a tutorial in his kitchen the following afternoon.  It was a date!  Well a booze date! So at 2 the following afternoon when the kitchen of the restaurant was slow he guided me thru my first batch.  And as they say, the rest is history.  So In honor of our dear friend and his love of a good cocktail heres to you Marco!  Cheers!   

      White Sangria
      • 2 1/2 quarts Chardonnay un-oaked  (You may use boxed wine and it taste just fine)
      • 1 C. Brandy ~ Personally I only use 1/2 C. to start and add more to taste (I want to function the next day)
      • 1/2  to 1C sugar to taste
      • Club soda, or Sprite depending on your taste ~ Sprite makes it sweeter
      • 2 Limes
      • 1 Orange
      • 2 Granny Smith Apples
      • Green grapes cut in half
      • 2 White Peaches (I used regular peaches because I couldn't find white yet)
      • Raspberries
      • Mint for garnish
      *NOTE*  You may make this a red sangria by using a merlot and switch out the lighter colored fruits for darker fruits such as cherries, blackberries, watermelon, red apples.

       Pour your wine into a container large enough to hold the liquid amounts and leave room to add fruit. Add the sugar and mix well.
      Slice your lime and orange into disc
      cut the remaining fruit into bite size pieces


      mix all the fruit with your wine and brandy
       whisk the fruit to help "mash" it into the wine

        Strain the fruit from the wine when you are ready to serve.  I leave the fruit in the wine mix for a few hours to infuse, and it brings out all the fruit flavors but it ferments and boy is it stronger the second day if you leave the fruit in the wine! 

      Now, if you are ready to get your cocktail on, pour the sangria over ice and add a splash of club soda or Sprite.  I always add a little of the sliced fruit in my glass.  Garnish with a disc of orange and a sprig of mint!

      If you prefer, chill the mixture for a few hours and then stir again right before serving and straining.   We never wait and pour ourselves a glass right away! 

      Cheers!

      All photos by Lisa

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