Rotini Sweet Pepper Primavera

2 1/2 - 3 c. rotini pasta
1 bunch artichoke
1 sweet pepper (red or yellow)
2 summer squash
1 jar alfredo sauce (or your own recipe for alfredo sauce)
1 tsp tarragon, fresh or dried

1. Cook the pasta according to box. While pasta is cooking, chop artichoke tips off before woody base (I cut them about 1/2 down). Chop pepper into 1/2" strips. Finally, chop squash into small slices.
2. Add all vegetables to boiling pasta 3 minutes before pasta is finished boiling to al dente.
3. In separate pan, warm alfredo sauce. Add tarragon. (I added fresh basil instead)
4. After pasta is finished, mix all together and serve immediately.

This dish is SO delicious, fairly healthy, and looks beautiful with all the different colors. We loved it and will definitely be making it over and over.

Green Smoothies

So I came across a recipe for green smoothies the other day on this blog and decided to try it. There are quite a few green smoothie recipes out there, but this one is the one I like so far. It's a great way to get your fruits and veggies!

1 1/2 cups of liquid (I use 1/2 cup water, 3/4 cup skim milk, and 1/4 cup coconut milk. The recipe I found also recommended using Kefir, but I haven't gone there quite yet. Basically any liquid in any amounts added up to 1 1/2 cups is the best.)

3 oz or more greens (You can do as much or as little as you like. I have been using one nice big organic Kale leaf. The recipe I found recommends using Spinach or Kale, but you can use any green veggies your heart desires. I'm planning to increase my greens but wanted to start off small)

2 Tablespoons orange juice concentrate

1 frozen banana

4 frozen strawberries

Okay here's how I do it - I put the water in first then blend the greens with it until it's smooth. Then I add the other liquids. Doing it this way will help make sure that the greens are well blended in and you're not left with lumps. Then I add the rest of the ingredients. I've been using banana and strawberries because I found a great sale on strawberries and because bananas in any smoothie makes it better, but you can add any kinds of fruit. Some others recommended were blueberries, raspberries, and peaches. If you would like to you can also add honey to sweeten it (I liked it without) and you can add any "boosts" you would like such as ground pumpkin or flax seeds.

Is Couponing Creative?

Hi All!

It's been so long since I've posted here. Mainly because lately my creative juices have been going into cutting our family's budget. My friend Renee introduced me to couponing and so far it has been great! I had no idea how many great deals are out there and how many ways there are to save money. For any interested, I've listed a couple of great websites below.

www.moneysavingmom.com
www.dealseekingmom.com
www.savvyshopperdeals.com

Glaze for Cake

She uses any recipe for a Lemon Glaze. Here is one from BettyCrocker.com if you like this one:


Tart Lemon Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
1/4 cup lemon juice

Mix together until smooth. Poke holes into cake with long fork. Pour on glaze and allow it to cool for 20 min.

Millie's Cream Cheese Pound Cake

My friend brought this to a going-away brunch the other day and it's delicious! The recipe is an old Italian Grandma's (Millie), so you know it automatically good. I asked her for the glaze recipe too, so I'll add that when I get it. Enjoy!

3 sticks butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Beat together butter and cream cheese. Add rest of ingredients. Butter loaf or bundt pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until it tests done. Remove from pan.

Breakfast Granola

Update: Price out this recipe with all the ingredients. Based upon what you put in, it's $2.25-$2.75 for 2 qts or 64 ounces. A box of cereal is usually 9-12 oz. Even if I pay $1 for a box of cereal, this is still a fourth to a sixth of the cost and much healthier.

My mom would make this all the time growing up and we'd eat it with milk like cereal. It's healthy and pretty inexpensive to make. I'll write the official recipe, then how I make it:

6 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. coconut*
1/4 c. sunflower seeds*
1 c. chopped nuts
1/4 c. wheat germ

Mix all ingredients. Sir in and coat with the following mixture:

1/2 c. oil
1/3 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. raisins or other dried fruit (don't add these quite yet)

Spread on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Pull out, stir around, then add dried fruit. Cook for another 5-10 minutes. Yield: about 2 qts.

In my recipe, I only put the non-* items. I'm sure it's good with the rest and even healthier, but it makes it more expensive and my mom never made it that way. You can add as much/little dried fruit and nuts as you want. I've also added cinnamon, chocolate chips, etc different times I make it to spice it up. Variation is fun!

Enjoy!

Lily's 6mo cake

Lily turned 6mo old yesterday!! Yay! I decided I wanted to make her a cake to celebrate. I thought of a lot of cute ideas, then decided to keep it simple. (Good thing too!) I didn't like the chocolate frosting recipe I had (tastes good, but the color is a little odd looking), so I went online and found a good one. I made it and it wasn't frosting-like at all! It was a glaze and kept running off the cake. It was a mess. I had to keep scooping it up and trying to put it back on. THEN, after I cleaned up that fiasco, I wanted to write on top of her cake in frosting. Make sure when you do this, your frosting is not still cold from the refrigerator! It wouldn't stick to the cake. (Hence why the "H" in happy is so screwed up) I finally figured things out, and it actually turned out pretty good, inspite of me.

So now I pose the question: How the heck did you frost and use foundant on an ICE CREAM CAKE for our wedding Devee?? I was impressed before, but now I'm in awe!!