fun happy things
Vegetable Rice Wraps…..YUMMY!
I have the healthiest and freshest recipe for you today! I know everyone is stressing about getting into that bathing suit for the summer so this is a easy meal or appetizer you can make to keep slim & trim!
What you need:
* Rice paper * cucumber cut in thin strips
* lettuce * red & green peppers cut in thin strips
* avocado * cilantro
* carrots ( grated) * soya sauce
First cut up all your ingredients and make sure you have a large working station :)
Put the rice paper wraps ( 2 at a time) in some water. I use a plate which holds just an inch of water. Soak them until they’re soft.
Lay out your rice paper on a tea towel and start layering the ingredients on!
Now wrap it up tight like a burrito and then cut it in half! Serve with soya sauce, peanut sauce or sweet chili sauce!
mmmmmmmmm….ENJOY!!! These are great for snacks or lunch! You can also add some cooked prawns to them for protein too!
xoxo Nat
Martha Stew Mac & Cheese
We all know Martha Stew knows best! That’s why I only go to her for recipes…they are fool proof…simply fool proof! I’m not the best cook but when I follow a Martha Stewart recipe it always tastes amazing! So I suggest you take a looksie poo at her website and find some spring dinner recipes asap ;) Or if you already frequently visit Martha for recipes you should defiantly get her recipe app on your iPhone…it’s awesome!
I wanted to share the Mac & Cheese recipe that I got from Martha with you today. I made it the other day when it was a ugly rainy day out, so it was the perfect comfort food!
Here is the link to her recipe :
http://www.marthastewart.com/271998/perfect-macaroni-and-cheese
I’m not really going to show you a step by step how to do it because Martha Stewart explains it better…but I just wanted to show you some photos of the process!
If you live in the Vancouver area…you must go to Welk’s Discount Store on Main street! I found these cute red pots there with lids for only $5.00. These are perfect for individually sized Mac & Cheese, chicken pot pie or french onion soup!
Also if you go to Welk’s be ready to drop like $100 when you go there…it’s really hard not to because they have such amazing things!
Cheese, cheese & more CHEESE! Be ready to go for a run the next day because I’m pretty sure you will overload on calories eating this….but it’s soooo good!
Now Martha is pretty unhealthy and chose white elbow macaroni and white bread…but I substituted it for whole wheat macaroni and whole wheat bread!
It always sucks when you look at the sink once you’re done and realize you have a mound of dishes to do :( But it will be so worth it when you taste it!
I made the bread crumbs huge to put on top because I like the big crunchiness that you get from the large pieces! They are now ready to pop in the oven ;)
DING! Ready….
If it’s a rainy ugly day outside this is the perfect recipe to make for you & your better half! Serve it up with a nice fresh side salad!
Have a great day people!
xox Nat
SALADS TO GO!
It’s easy to skip lunch when you’re having a busy day….this happens too often because I’m currently in school, I’m a nurse and I’m now a event designer with many projects coming up! So there is little time in the day where I can actually sit and enjoy a meal!! That’s why this idea is so great!
I found this awesome salad in a jar recipes in the Chatelaine magazine March issue! I had to make some for myself and share it with you ;) I made the Balsamic Grilled Chicken recipe ;)
Now get your chatelaine magazine at the drug store and start chopping those vegetables!
What you must do first is make the homemade dressing and put it on the very bottom of the jar. This way when you put it all into a bowl the dressing covers it all! You don’t have to make homemade either…whatever you like to use!
Cook quinoa and add to the layers in the jar…it’s a great source of protein and soo soo yummy ;)
Bake the seasoned chicken breast for about 15 minutes on 425..then chop & add to the layers!
Top it off with some spinach & seal it ;) Now you can take it on the go for a delicious and nutritious meal!
I know I didn’t give you the full recipe but I hope this encourages you to go and get the magazine…it’s not just for grannies…Chatelaine is dope ;) They have a section that shows you how to make a doily bowl…and that’s pretty awesome!
Hope you enjoyed those yummy salads!
Have a great weekend ;)
xoxo Nat
Lazy Sunday
YUMMY SUNDAY BREAKFAST! Here are some photos from our lazy sunday……
Jason started frying up some bacon and I got so turned off from all the grease that was happening that I made a entirely different breakfast..haha!
MY FIRST POACHED EGG!! I didn’t realize how easy this was to do…I mean look at that beautiful egg boiling in the pic below! sh@^#% that’s fresh!
Herbed goats cheese, spinach, avocado with poached eggs on a english muffin ;) Good morning to me!
Waiting for food to drop.
Hope all of you had a great weekend! I’ll have some more crafts for you next week to dive into!
xoxo Nat
Pita Pizzas and Doilies ;)
I stayed in Friday night doing my design project while my husband went to the Darkness show downtown….super jealous…but I really don’t dislike my homework! At first I did dislike it because the teacher described the project to all of us in class on Wednesday night and I was so confused on what to do. We drew 12 sets of texture tiles the week before and she wants us to choose 3 that we like and that have something in common….then make it into an acetate paper 3D model without using glue, staples or tape for the next week that includes all three textures???? You confused yet..cuz I am! I didn’t know what to do so I procrastinated and ignored my project to make pita pizzas!
FOOD GIVES YOU IDEAS! I’m obsessed with making pita pizzas…probably make them every week! They are very healthy ( if you’re light on the cheese ;)) and a great comfort food for a rainy night! mmmm! My favourite is actually tomato, bocconcini, basil and mushrooms!
So after my pita pizza ( I only ate one….promise.haha ) I came up with an idea….drawing lace on the acetate with a white permanent marker…perfect!!! I’m thinking of making it a lamp shade!
to be continued…
Right now I’m drawing Doilies and watching Julie & Julia with a full stomach and I’m happy as a clam ;) Yes I am a 80 year old woman.
Have a great weekend!!!
Nat
Lazy Sunday
Hey people! Hope everyone had a great weekend! I was very busy this weekend making more crafts for my etsy shop (fabric covered clothes pins), doing lots of homework, hanging out with friends & family, getting my hair did and cleaning my icky apartment! We did however have a very lazy sunday morning and I made some delicious waffles for Jason. This was my first go at making waffles in the new waffle iron we got from my aunt for a wedding present. Thanks Auntie Nat!!!
Below is a shot of the new pins I made this weekend and I will be posting them on Etsy very soon! They are made with my grandma’s awesome vintage floral fabric I found at my cabin! They are very cute for the Spring!
Red Mill is the Best Batter Ever!! So easy to mix up in a jiffy! I really wanted to make peanut butter and banana stuffed waffles….sounds good doesn’t it? I didn’t go for a run that day so I thought we’d skip the 1000 extra calories….will try this for sure after a run!!! ahahha!
There’s no way to not make a mess when making waffles or pancakes.hahh! ooops..
YAY! Almost perfect waffles!
GOOD MORNING JASOOON!
We just found out that we have a little birdies nest outside out window!
Hope you had a great weekend :) take a moment to enjoy something sweet today!
Toffee Blondies in a Jar :)
I made jars full of toffee blondies for Christmas gifts this year! I thought this gift would be great to give out because everyone likes to get sweets :) I love the fact that people give me cookies and other baked goods as gifts every year but I find I’m way too full to have any of these after all those turkey dinners!! So all the baked goods I get end up going bad…such of waste of delicious treats!! That is why this gift is so great, they can make them on their own time when they are ready to get out of their turkey coma!
What you need to make this precious little jar gift:
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate peices
* 1 cup all-pupose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts ( I used walnuts because pecans are sooooo expensive!!!)
* 1/2 cup of toffee pieces or butterscotch-flavor pieces
You need a quart jar for this recipe, but I only had small mason jars so I halved the recipe!!
First Layer the brown sugar on the bottom
Then the chocolate chips…
Then the flour, salt and baking powder! It’s difficult to put all the ingredients in nicely so roll up a piece of paper and make it into a cone to add it all in!
Then add the walnuts!
I used Werthers Original for the toffee pieces but you can use any kind you like! I had to unwrap them and put them into a ziploc bag to smash them into pieces…a good way to get your frustrations out :) Before you put them in I would coat them in a little tiny bit of flour so they don’t stick together….I made the mistake of not doing that so now they are all stuck together!! I gave them out as a secret santa gift on the weekend and now I have to tell my friends that they have to stab the top to break it up…dammit!
Complete! Now you can pretty them up!
I used my trusty red and white twine that I always use, scissors and tags with the recipe on them!
I stamped TOFFEE BLONDIES and the banner on the top of the recipe card. Then I typed out the recipe from my old typewriter…you don’t have to go to this extent. You can just simply write it out on a cue card but I just wanted it too look really nice…plus my writing is sooo terrible!
Here are the instructions for the wet part of the recipe that you add on your recipe card on your jar. Again I had to half the recipe because I only had small mason jars but the recipe on the jars I made is the right one for the quart jar!
What you need to write on your recipe card for a quart jar!!:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 by 8 inch baking pan. In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 lightly beaten eggs, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Stir in contents of the jar. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set and golden brown and edges just begin to pull away from the pan. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Make 16 bars :)
Wrap the recipe card around the jar and secure it with some twine…then make a bow!
Merry Christmas!
Hopefully you will be more prepared than me with this recipe…get some quart jars and don’t forget to add some flour in the toffee pieces!
ENJOY!
Cranberry & Orange Infused Vodka!
I have many many mason jars lying around in my place so I decided to use them to make some Christmas gifts this year! I made some Cranberry & Orange infused vodka the other day, it was from a Martha Stewart recipe!
This is a great gift because everyone loves to get alcohol as a present during the holidays hahhah! You can add a personal touch to it though rather than just giving them a bottle of vodka.
Here’s what you need:
* 1.75 L Bottle of vodka
* 4 medium size mason jars
* 2 cups of cranberries
* 1/2 cup of sugar
* 4 tablespoons of water
* 8 pieces of orange peel
* fabric
* bakers twine ( I used red and white)
* tags!
In a small sauce pan heat cranberries, sugar and water until the sugar dissolves, the liquid begins to turn a light pink color, and the cranberries just begin to pop!
Pour the cranberry and liquids into the jars, just divide it up and make sure all of them have equal amounts of sugary liquid and cranberries!
Then stir in the peel and vodka!
Place the lids on all of them after you have filled them up to the top. I had some vodka left over so you could possibly make 5 out of this recipe if you wanted, just use smaller jars :) Let them stand at room temp for at least 3 days or up to one month!
Then cut out some round shapes from your fabric using the lid as a guide to trace out the shape. Then place it on the top and wrap some festive red and white twine around it! Add a tag to the twine to write Cranberry & Orange infused vodka!
Enjoy!
