"Triple B" - Buffalo, Bacon and Blue Cheese Fries

If you're anything like me, you're already counting down the days until football season starts! In my house, we have somewhat of a "friendly" rivalry. Jason is a HUGE Broncos Fan, and I am a Chargers fan. I have to represent my hometown! It's not that I think the Broncos are a BAD team (don't tell him I said that), I just love to smack talk a little bit!  Who doesn't love a little smack talkin' come game day?

As you know, with football, comes unhealthy food. It's pretty fantastic!  I make healthy snacks for friends and family to enjoy when they come over to watch the game, but let's face it, sometimes you just need a big heaping pile of unhealthy, fatty, gooey, cheesy, deliciousness! However, I did save you some calories in this recipe, by baking the fries instead of frying them. So, you're welcome, ladies. :)

 And guys, do you not love buffalo sauce AND bacon? I mean, have you ever heard a guy say "Bacon, I don't like any of that bacon junk. It's gross!"?

No men that that I know, have ever said that! Although, I don't know many vegetarians. So, it could just be the meat-eating men I surround myself with. Bacon. Yum! Guys.....you're welcome, too.


Football season may be 3 months away, but I like to plan ahead. I am stock piling my favorite recipes. That way, I can't say I don't have any ideas on what to make come September. These fries are one of my favorites, and they are very versatile and super easy to make! If you like buffalo sauce, bacon and blue cheese, I promise that you will LOVE these fries!




Put on your big boy/girl panties, brush up on your smack talkin', flip on the game and dive right in.




Ingredients:

• Cooking Spray
• 5 Medium Russet Potatoes (or 4 Large)- scrubbed clean
• 3 Tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1/3 Cup of your favorite Hot Wing/Buffalo Sauce (I prefer Louisiana Gem or Frank's Red Hot) I use 1/2 cup, but I LOVE buffalo sauce!
• 2-3oz  Blue Cheese Crumbles
• 1 cup Real Bacon Pieces
• Salt and Pepper to taste (optional)
• Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing for dipping (optional)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with cooking spray (easier clean up).

Cut potatoes into 1/4 inch fries

Toss fries in a medium mixing bowl with oil, salt and pepper (don't wash your bowl, keep it out for later)

Spread your cut fries onto your baking sheet- in an even layer.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown (you can turn them once if you prefer, halfway through the cooking time)

 Return the hot fries to your mixing bowl and toss them with your buffalo sauce

 Spread them back on your baking sheet and top them with the blue cheese crumbles and bacon pieces.

Bake for an additional 6-8 minutes, or until the blue cheese has melted some and is bubbly.

Place fries on a serving dish, dive in and enjoy!

GAME ON! :)

You can also add to this recipe and mix it up. Try it with some shredded chicken and chopped onions!

-Katie :)



Roasted Garlic and Pesto Hummus using yogurt (Without Tahini)

I am not much of a "sweets" person. 95% of the time, if I am going to grab a snack, I'm going to go for something salty. I am totally a chip & dip type of gal. I love chips and salsa, potato chips with ranch or onion dip, nachos and cheese, pita chips and hummus, tortilla chips and artichoke dip.....you name it, and I will probably like it.

That's what brings me to making my own hummus. I like to experiment with different flavors, and you can definitely do that with this recipe.  I enjoy garlic and pine nut or roasted red pepper, but my favorite is pesto and garlic. That's what this recipe will be for. So grab your blender, some pita chips, and enjoy a homemade snack in 10 minutes or less! :)


Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees (204 degrees celsius)

Makes approx 3 cups.

Ingredients:

1 15.5 oz can of Garbanzo Beans or Chick Peas (drained & liquid reserved)
4-5 Cloves of Garlic (roasted)
1 Tbsp Crushed or Minced Garlic

1 tsp ground Cumin

1 tsp Lemon Pepper Seasoning

1 tsp Salt (omit if you're not using low-sodium Garbanzo Beans)

1/2 cup Plain Yogurt or Plain Greek Yogurt

1 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbsp of Your Favorite Pesto (reserve 1 tbsp)

My mom makes these infused olive oils, and gives them to me as gifts. I use it in almost all my savory dishes! They are perfect for this recipe!

Directions:Crush your garlic cloves with the flat side of a kitchen knife. Place them on a baking sheet in a preheated oven for 5-7 minutes (or until golden brown)

Toss all of your ingredients into the blender- EXCEPT the liquid you reserved from the garbanzo beans and 1tbsp of the pesto.
Blend until smooth.
If it is too thick, slowly pour in some of the reserved liquid until you get your desired consistency.

Use the remaining 1 Tbsp of pesto to place n the middle of your hummus. Serve with your favorite pita chips, or as a dip for veggies. You can even use this as a spread on sandwiches or in your pita pockets! :)

Enjoy!

-Katie







Do Dryer Sheets REALLY blast soap scum?

As a mother of 3, I am always looking for ways to get a handle on those irritating little chores. One of them has to be, scrubbing out the bath tub!!! It annoys me. I always end up sweaty and my knees hurt from kneeling on them while I scrub the bejeebus out it. So, if anything can help make that a little easier on me, I am all for it.

 I actually share a bathroom with my daughters. Jason has his own bathroom. He has his own bathroom for a few reasons. One of those reasons is because there isn't enough counter space for all of my "junk", as he likes to put it. And the other reason is because he's just terribly messy when it comes to his bathroom.  You'd never guess it by how well he keeps up other things in the house. His toolbox for one... I bought him this pretty rad tool cart for his birthday a few years ago. He has a special spot for everything and don't you dare move one out of its place! He's very particular and protective over his tools. His dresser drawers are the same way. They are the neatest thing you've ever seen. All of his clothes are folded neatly and stacked in perfect little piles. It's actually quite cute, the way he has to fold his socks a certain way. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's adorable. But if  you walk into the bathroom, holy moly, it's like night and day! That is why I have decided to use his bathtub for this little experiment. I don't think he has cleaned it since we moved here, in September of last year. I am the only one who does it, and I haven't given it a proper scrub down in a couple months. I know....right??? I suck, but whatever, I have things to do, man! :)

So here is where our pin comes in. I found this little dandy on Pinterest.




Via Pinterest


The caption under the pin said : "Use a new dryer sheet to clean the bathtub. It melts away soap scum just like a magic eraser and leaves a wonderful smell behind".


Umm, who doesn't want soap scum to just melt away?  Well, I have my doubts. Call me cynical, but I KNOW soap scum. And I know it's not always easy to remove!  Especially when someone doesn't  clean it for 2 + months. Whomever that may be. I mean, who does that??

*hangs head in shame*

Okay...here is the damage

I am not proud, but hey, it could be worse. Right?

So before I get into all the details about if it worked or not. Let me tell you how I decided to tackle this pin.

First, I decided to clean the left side of the tub the way I always do. I use Clorox Bathroom Cleaner. It does its job. But, I still have to scrub the junk pretty hard.

Then I decided I was going to leave the middle untouched and clean the right side of the tub with the dryer sheet.

Jason is pretty faithful to his Bounce dryer sheets, and I use Downy Simple Pleasures in Lavendar Scent. I wasn't about to use my good smelling dryer sheets on this project.

Good thing I had an off brand that I had bought a few months back. Since, I rarely use them (don't like the smell), I figured this was a good way to use them up

I started by cleaning the left side, and then moved over to the right side with the dryer sheet.

. 

Here is the issue. I first tried to scrub it down when the tub was dry.  That was a pain in the neck. Nothing "melted". Figures! So, after about 5 minutes of trying to get the crud off, I added a little water. It started to come up a little better. I was hopeful. I still had to scrub it pretty hard. Especially in the spots where it was pretty well built up. I went through 5 dryer sheets just in the one side of the tub. They got pretty "filmy" feeling on my hands, and soaped up the tub quite a bit.

Here are the results.

While they did "work", I am not sure it wasn't just because I was scrubbing the heck out of it. It didn't "melt" any of the soap scum, like the post claimed. And actually, it left quite a bit.



Leftover soap scum

While it did work some, I don't think it is any better than my current method. And I had to scrub a lot harder to get it to that point. I don't think it's really worth the trouble. But that's just my opinion. Try it out for yourself and let me know how it works for you.


I rate this one:

Enjoy!

-Katie



Glow in the Dark Bubbles

If you have browsed Pinterest in the last few months, you have probably come across the this pin... numerous times.



Original pin via Pinterest



The Original Pin says: "Cut open glow sticks and pour them into bubble solution. Glow in the dark bubbles! Summer nights, here we come!"

Cool idea right? How much fun would that be? The kids would be stoked! And, maybe a mommy who loves bubbles....and glow in the dark stuff...would be stoked. ;)

I always have bubbles on hand. I have 3 kids, it's kind of manditory! And if by chance I don't have bubbles in stock, this mommy knows how to bust out with some homemade bubbles, STAT! 

I don't ALWAYS have glow sticks/bracelets on hand. But I actually had two tubes leftover from my oldest girls birthday party. I used them to stuff goodie bags, and I bought extras. My youngest likes to take glow-stick baths. I will put 10-12 glowsticks in her bath and turn off the lights and her bath glows. She loves it.

Now, the package of glow sticks does say:

1. Do not puncture or cut the plastic tube. (Well you can throw that out the window! It's gonna happen)
2.  
3. Contents are non-flammable and non-toxic. Do not ingest. (Good to know, because I was planning on lighting it on fire AND eating it)
4.  
5. In case of contact with skin or eyes, rinse thoughoughly with water. (Well, it's gonna get on my fingers, that's inevitable. So, I'm screwed. I'm actually more worried about  getting cut with the little sharp pieces on the inside) 

I only had glow bracelets on hand, and not the really big chunky necklace ones. So I used 4 of them, to make it REALLY glow!



I got the glow sticks and bubbles from the dollar store



I tested the bubbles before I put the glowsticks in, to make sure they would produce enough bubbles, so I could capture them on video.


Then, I cut open the 4 glowsticks and my boyfriend put them into the bubbles while I took photos. Good boyfriend :)



This part got a little messy.



And we have......brightly glowing bubble solution!

Awwww, YAY!!! So pretty.

Now for the test.

 Do the bubbles themselves glow???

Watch this video to find out!!!

Here is the best picture I could get of the bubbles.

As you can see from the video, **wommmp wommmp wooomppp** nothing happened.

But, in this picture, you can kind of see when the bubbles "pop", the solution that sprays outward, does have a glow to it.
You can't really see that when you're doing it though, and it's kind of faint when you do see it. 

The bubbles did NOT glow.

Not even a tiny bit.

Disappointing.

Oh well, I still love bubbles and glow sticks! They just aren't soul mates! :)

-Katie :)

Homemade Coffee and Sugar Scrub

If you're anything like me, you're not fully awake in the morning until you've had at least 2 cups of coffee. Honestly, I don't think I can understand one word of what my kids say to me, until I have that coffee in my hands.Their dad and I trade off getting them ready for school in the morning. So, if I get them ready for school, I usually get the coffee going before I even think about waking them up. Trust me, it's really for their benefit that I do it this way. Sometimes I think someone should just hook me up to an IV coffee drip. But, it's really not only about the caffeine. It's the taste and the smell.  The smell alone makes me happy.

I recently saw a pin on Pinterest, that was for a coffee and sugar scrub. Coffee? On my skin? Yes, please!  

So, I decided to do a little research on the benefits of applying coffee to your skin. Apparently, not only does it give you a little "wake-up" in the morning by drinking it, but it can help to perk up your skin, too.

According to Livestrong, The caffeine in coffee has a number of benefits for your skin, from treating redness and inflammation, to reducing the appearance of under-eye circles, to getting rid of cellulite (or the apperance of). Hello???? Winning!! And, who really wants to spend an arm and a leg on those fancy schmancy scrubs, when you can just make them at home, for a lot less dough? Umm, not I!

I decided to whip up a little personal batch last night. Now, let me tell you, you can find TONS of websites that have their own little versions. Some of them have really expensive ingredients, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of making my own. Hello, mommy on a budget here. 

 Some of them had stuff I didn't want to add to my scrub. Or they just had WAY too much oil.

So, I said screw it, I am too picky I am just gonna make one of my own.

I didn't want to have to go out to the store to get anything "special" for this scrub. So I just used what I already had, layng around my house.

I used it on my hands this morning, and believe me....it WORKS! My hands are super soft and smooth! Plus, I temporarily smelt like I bathed myself in coffee. *sigh*  Yessss!

First let me say, that I don't recommend using used/brewed coffee grounds, unless you plan to use all of your scrub, that day.

Now, find yourself a little jar. I had these little jars in the cupboard. I got 3 (5oz) jars at the dollar store. I have used them for spices and kids craft stuff (buttons, beads, gems etc), and now for my coffee scrub... so they have definitely come in handy. Score one for mommy.

But, hey no worries... you can use whatever kind of jar you have, that has a lid. Baby food jars, mason jars, jelly or sauce jars...etc.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup coffee grounds

1/4 cup white sugar

1/8 cup light brown sugar

2 Tablespoons Coconut oil-melted (or almond oil, baby oil, olive oil )

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract (optional, or whatever fragrance you'd like-peppermint would  be nice, also)

10 drops Essential oil- of your choice (optional)

Note:

You can use this scrub on your face, but it can be too abrasive for some skin. If you want it specifically for a facial scrub. Use 1/2 c brown sugar, 1/8c white sugar and 1/8 c coffee grounds.



You can find coconut oil at any health food store or Walmart (in the vitamin aisle)



Homemade Vanilla extract, and essential oils courtesy of my sis-in-law, Chris.



Brown sugar, coffee grounds, white sugar



Mix your coffee grounds in a bowl with your sugars. Melt your coconut oil. Add your extract and essential oils to your coconut oil. Add your oil/fragrance mixture to the coffee/sugar mixture. Stir until fully incorporated.





                                                 Spoon your scrub mixture into your jar.

 Use as a hand scrub or in the shower as a body scrub. If you use it in the shower, make sure to scrub down the bottom of the shower after you use it, as the oils in the scrub can make it slick.

    

      .

       

 If you are giving your coffee scrub to a friend or family member, add a tag of some sort and a ribbon.

                                                                       Enjoy!

-Katie :) 

Homemade "Portilla" Tortillas

Living in San Diego, we have a plethora of Mexican food joints. I live approximately within a 1/2 mile of at least five. Two, maybe three, of which I can walk to in less than five minutes. Mexican food shops are everywhere! Most people in San Diego have their very own "go-to" taco shop, and we are dedicated to it! It's cheap and it's tasty! If you move out of California, you'd be hard pressed to find it made anywhere else, the way it's made here. Except in Mexico, of course. Me personally, I am a HUGE fan of carne asada burritos, tacos, nachos or fries (yes, fries-don't knock it til you try it), fish or calamai tacos, and enchiladas. We usually have some kind of Mexican dish in our house atleast once a week. We have a little market down the road where we can get fresh, pre-seasoned/marinated, carne asada. So, that's what we are having for dinner tonight. I thought, since I was going to make carne asada tacos tonight, I should try out a recipe I found on Pinterest, for 'Homemade Flour Tortillas'. I liked the look of these particular tortillas. They were almost "pita" looking, and I loved that idea! Pita bread is so delicious! But, to be totally honest, I love corn over flour, when it comes to tortillas. My boyfriend is the total opposite. He won't touch a corn tortilla. More for me! :) So, when I came across the pin, I figured it was the best of both world for me. Pita+Tortilla=Portilla ??? Well, that's what my 6 year old calls them, so I think we will stick with that!

So, I clicked the pin, and it sent me to this little website called "SUSHI bytes". The recipe was for beef shawarma and homemade flour tortillas. Even though the shwarma recipe looked amazing, I only needed the tortilla part of the recipe. Now, her tortillas look perfectly round and "fluffy".



Source:SUSHI bytes via Pinterest



 Let me tell you, I am not exactly the best at rolling ANYTHING into a round shape! Usually it gets all jacked up, and ends up in a rectangle with one rounded side. So, I had my doubts about how pretty they were going to be. But, as I read on, I noticed that she had used a tortilla press. Smarty pants! Something I should probably invest in if I want to keep making tortillas from scratch. The ingredients are pretty basic and I always have them in the cupboards and fridge.

Here they are:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil or non-hydrogenated lard
• 3/4 cup lukewarm milk

Pretty simple right? That's what I thought, too!

So, while my little one was sleeping, I decided to knock them out before I had to get the other munchkins from school.



Mise en place



I gathered all my ingredients, and got to work. The first step on the site said:

Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Add the vegetable oil to the lukewarm milk and briefly whisk to incorporate. Slowly add the milk & oil mixture to the flour mixture. Work the mixture with your hands until it turns into a sticky dough.



 Now, it says to place dough onto a surface dusted with flour. Knead vigorously for about 2 minutes or until dough is no longer sticky

After you roll it out, you're supposed to put it back in the bowl, covered with a damp towel and let it sit for 10-20 minutes.

I took this time to clean up my daughters bathroom. I honestly don't know how they can destroy a room in less than 10 minutes, but believe me...it's totally possible. They are kind of pros at it! If you  have tornadoes for children, I am sure you can find something to do in the meantime. If not, maybe relax and have a beer, watch a soap opera, browse Facebook...whatever tickles your fancy.

SO, after your 20 minutes is up!

Divide the dough into 8 balls of equal size.

I cut my dough into quarters, then I cut each quarter into two, to make 8 equal pieces.

Then I rolled each triangle into a ball

Cover and let rest again for another 20 minutes.

While my dough was resting, I took that time to clean up any mess I had made, and I got out my rolling pin, and pre-heated my griddle.  The site didn't give any instructions as to how hot the griddle/pan should be. So I just started it out at 350 degrees (I eventually cranked it up to 400 degrees).

Once your dough rests for 20 minutes, dust a clean surface with flour. Remove each piece of dough one at a time. Press it out into a 5-inch circle then flatten with tortilla press (if you have one). If you're using a flour dusted rolling pin like I did, hand press the dough into a disc and then roll out the tortilla from the center. Turn the dough 1/4 and roll, then turn again, to keep that circular shape. You know, the shape I suck at creating! Roll the dough until the tortilla measures a little less than 1/4 inch thick and is a 7 or 8 inch circle (about the length of my hand from the tip of my middle finger, to my wrist is 7.5 inches....perfect!)

Next, the site says to transfer the tortilla to a dry, pre-heated skillet or griddle. When the tortilla begins to blister, allow it to cook for 30 seconds, flip it and cook the other side the same way.

Okay, so here is where I have to disagree. It took a lot longer than 30 seconds after it started to blister. It took from 1.5-2.5 minutes after it started to blisted, before it was ready to flip. But, you can fiddle with the time and find what works best for you. I suggest checking it after 30 seconds, and if it needs more time, give it some.

Remove the tortilla, place it in on a clean paper towel and it cover loosely with foil. Repeat the process for remaining tortillas.










I'd say it was a Pin-Victory:)



THEY LOOK GREAT!!! Definitely the "Portillas" I was looking for!
So what if they aren't "tortilla press" round, but hey, who wants to be fricken' round anyhow?
If you're looking for that "super thin, extra flimsy" tortilla, these are not them!






Now for the taste test!!!!

I grilled up some carne asada, threw on some cheese, homemade habanero salsa, sliced avocados and plain greek yogurt (in place of sour cream), and it was delicious. Usually, I would throw some lettuce or shredded cabbage in there, but I didn't have either one, so this would have to do.  




SUSHI bytes says you can wrap extra tortillas tightly in plastic, removing any air pockets. Tortillas freeze well and will keep frozen for several weeks. To serve tortillas which have been frozen, thaw them at room temperature, wrap in foil then heat in a warm oven.


ENJOY!


-Katie



Shaving Cream Painted Easter Eggs

 I was looking on Pinterest, for some fun and kid-friendly Easter crafts, that weren't too terribly messy. I came across this pin for, 'Shaving Cream Painted Easter Eggs' from Little Wonders' Days. I looked at the list of supplies I needed to pull it off, and low and behold, I had ALL OF IT!! Or at least so I thought! :) But whatever, I am crafty, so I improvised & I didn't have to buy a thing!

 It looked pretty fool-proof. Which I love, because in all honesty, if there is a way to screw something up...I WILL find it! :)

 So, I instantly pinned it, and decided to try it out ASAP!

Here is the Original Pin

Source: Little Wonders' Days via Pinterest

The site said you will need:

A tray of some sort

Shaving Cream

Cardstock or construction paper (I used construction paper)

Acrylic paints

A squeegee (I thought I had one, but I didn't- so I used a letter opener...don't judge! Haha.)

A toothpick, paintbrush or spoon (something to swirl the paint)

I got all of my supplies ready!

The original pin didn't say anything about cutting your construction paper into egg shapes BEFORE you start, but I read ahead on the instructions and decided to pre-cut 6 construction paper eggs, in different colors.

The site said to cover your tray in shaving cream.

Source:Little Wonders' Days



My Tray



Next, it said to spread your shaving cream around to make it cover evenly. Then squirt your acrylic paint onto the shaving cream. Using your toothpick, spoon or paintbrush, make zig-zag motions in the shaving cream/paint, to make a marbled effect

Oh, pretty. :) And it smells nice, too!

So far, so good!

Next, the site says to lay your pre-cut construction paper eggs on top or your shaving cream, and to press down (don't press too hard) and let it sit for a "few seconds". I let it sit for about 15 seconds, since it didn't specify any set amount of time.

Now here comes the part I was excited to get to. The site said to remove the paper from the shaving cream, by lifting "straight up", and to turn it over and let it sit for a few minutes. I am assuming so that it allows the paint to "set" on the paper.

Pretty right???

I did the remaining 5 eggs while I waited for the first one to set.

Now the reveal! I was kind of skeptical at this point. The site said to gently squeegee the shaving cream and paint mixture off the paper, and that the paint will remain.  

Now, since I didn't have a squeegee, like I had originally thought, I just used my letter opener since it had a nice flat side. And it worked just fine.

Source:Little Wonders' Days

And for the results!!!

The Original Pin

Source:Pinterest via Little Wonders' Days

My eggs!

They didn't come out quite as pretty and vibrant. But, I am assuming it is because they used more paint than I did, and  they also used cardstock. Either way, I think they came out pretty good. I would let them sit a tiny bit longer before using the "squeegee" on them. Once they dry, you can write on them. Maybe write a little Easter poem, or a note from your kids to their grandparents? Or as the site said, use them as Easter cards. :) How fun & easy.

Enjoy!

Katie :)