Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Recipe: Apple muffins


2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded apple
3/4 cup applesauce
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla
Topping:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or use cup cake papers. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In Large bowl beat together butter, white sugar, applesauce, eggs, vanilla and shredded apple. Spoon in muffin pan. In a small bowl mix brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter until mixture looks like crumbs. Sprinkle over muffins and bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Lunch box Tip: wet wipes


Keep those hands clean! Buy a travel size package of wet wipes and keep them in your childs lunch box. Great for spills too!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Recipe: Salsa

6-8 medium tomatoes
1-3 jalapeno peppers, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (I use minced garlic from a jar)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash Garlic Herb Mix
1 Tbsp cilantro
2 Tbsp lemon juice or lime
1/2 cup onion finely chopped

Place a couple of tomatoes, jalapeno, bell pepper, garlic, salt, Mrs. Dash, cilantro and lemon juice in a blender. Pulse until just blended. Hand chop remaining tomatoes and mix with blended ingredients. Add onion.

After School snack: Cheerio bars


My sister Monica gave me this recipe and the kids love it. This would be a great treat for lunches too.

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. honey or light corn syrup (I use honey)
1/2 c. peanut butter
3 c. cheerios
1/4 c. chocolate morsals (melted)
Butter a 9x9 or 8x8 inch square pan. In a large saucepan, stir together sugar and honey. Cook and stir over medium heat just until smooth. Stir in cheerios until well coated. Put into buttered pan and pat mixture evenly. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the bars . Cut into squares.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Quick Tip: How long does food stay good in the refrigerator and freezer


Soup/stews: Refrigerator - 3-4 days, Freezer - 2-3 months
Raw ground beef: Refrigerator - 1-2 days, Freezer 3-4 months
Raw pork chops: Refrigerator - 3-5 days, Freezers 4-6 months
Cooked leftover meat: Refrigerator - 3-4 days, Freezer 2-3 months
Fresh, whole raw poultry: Refrigerator 1-2 days, Freezer 1 year
Cooked poultry dishes: Refrigerator 3-4 days, Freezer 4-6 months

Recipe: Banana Muffins




Back to school treat!

Serving: 12

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 large bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate morsals

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans. Bake 25 - 30 minutes for large muffins and 10-15 for mini muffins.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Skin tip: Dry skin

Try Olay Body Wash Plus Radiance Ribbons. I've used it for about a year now and it works great! And it doesn't burn my legs after I shave.

Wish List


For the past couple of years I've been making an on-line wish list for the kids. It's an easy way for Grandparents to find out what the kids want for Birthdays and Christmas. You can even add yourself to the list.
Stores that are easy to make the list on are Target, Toysrus and Walmart.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Recipe: Creamy Vanilla Frosting

I use this frosting on my chocolate zucchini cake.

3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup margarine or butter softened
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
About 2 Tbsp. milk

Mix sugar and butter, stir in vanilla and milk slowly.

Recipe: Chocolate Zucchini Cake


2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. baking soda
3 cups grated zucchini
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 9x13 baking pan. In medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, powder, salt and cinnamon. Add eggs and oil mix well. Fold in nuts and zucchini. Pour in pan and bake 50-60 min.

Recipe: Cole Slaw

1/2 head of shredded cabbage
1/2 cup miracle whip
1/4 cup red wine vinagar
2 TBS. sugar
dash of salt and pepper

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Makeup Tip: foundation


Are you tired of heavy foundation? Try mineral makeup. My sister who is an Esthetician told me a year ago to look into trying mineral makeup and I love it. I use Loreal Bare Natural, it's not heavy like the liquid foundations and it's so easy to apply. And less expensive.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Hair Tips: Frizzy hair!

I sometimes use a teeny tiny amount of vaseline to the ends of my hair to keep down the frizz. Don't use too much or you'll look like a grease head!

Potty-training!


My friend Mandy is having a hard time getting her 3 year old potty trained. Does anyone have any suggestion?