Orange Creamsicle Fruit Dip

Have you ever had an insatiable craving for a creamsicle? It's become a popular flavor these days and I decided to try it out as a fruit dip with Greek yogurt, honey and a few tasty orange-y ingredients! It was a wild success with my husband and myself!

 (Sorry about the picture! I didn't think that I was going to take one until I took a bite)

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup light or fat-free sour cream
• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (the real stuff, not the "Greek-style")
• 2-3 tablespoons orange marmalade, low sugar
• 1 tbsp orange juice concentrate (I used Minute Maid's Low Acid variety)
• 1/2 tsp orange blossom water
• 1 tsp creamy honey (or, to taste)

Directions: combine all ingredients in a dish and stir together well. Serve with varied fruit like kiwi, banana, apple, strawberry, oranges or berries.

Serves 4 with 1 cup of fruit on the side.

Nutritional information (from Lose It!) for 1 serving of dip: 112 calories, 2g fat (1.3g saturated), 10.4 mg cholesterol, 71.8 mg sodium, 17.6g carbs (0.2g fiber, 12.5 g sugars), 5.9g protein.

Notes:

• Orange Blossom water is available in the specialty section of grocery stores or Middle Eastern food stores. It's extremely powerful stuff though so note that if you want to experiment with it!
• I just made this up on the fly. I had no idea that it would be so good! As a matter of fact, the measurements provided are for all that I had left of the sour cream and the Greek yogurt. I just wanted wanted to use them up.
• Real Greek yogurt has around 18g protein for a 3/4 cup serving. I use the PC Greek yogurt brand, available here in Canada.

Ideas:

• This would be seriously fantastic with some crushed, canned mandarins and a little of the juice instead of the marmalade and orange blossom water. 
• Another great idea is to replace the sour cream with plain kefir. As a matter of fact, that just might be my next combination. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Leftover Rice Pudding

I had some leftover rice in the fridge and I suddenly had the idea of using it to make rice pudding. My dad would be so happy because it's his favorite dessert!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups leftover cooked rice
• 1 can light evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup seedless raisins
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on your taste)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground allspice
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves

Directions:
Add the leftover rice to a medium saucepan with the can of evaporated milk and stir together. Add the rest of the ingredients then let simmer on medium heat, stirring often, for 20 minutes or until the liquid reduces and thickens. Serve immediately.

Apple-Ginger infused Iced Tea

This is a wonderful, fresh homemade iced tea recipe with just a subtle hint of ginger. It's excellent for warm, summer days or for something that you want to keep in the fridge all-year-round.

Ingredients:

• 2 Granny Smith apples, washed and chopped
• 3 pieces of fresh ginger, peeled
• 8 regular tea bags (I used Red Rose)
• 1/3 cup white sugar (to taste)
• Water

Directions:
Using a pitcher of water, fill it up halfway then pour that amount of water into a saucepan. Bring it to a boil then turn off the heat and add the ginger, apples and tea. Let steep for 30 minutes.

 Pour the iced tea water back into the pitcher through a sieve to catch all of the solids.

Add cold water to the pitcher and stir. Add the sugar to the desired amount. I started with 1/3 cup then added a pinch more but you can add more or less depending on your taste. I used white so that it wouldn't affect the flavor of the tea (I usually go for brown but I wanted something that was just sweet).

Stir then store in the fridge until chilled. Serve over ice.

How to make maple candy

This candy recipe is really easy and you can use any moulds that you like! We used maple leaves as we were having a fall wedding but it's up to you.

Recipe:

• 1 (398 mL or 14 oz) can pure maple syrup, grade B or "the dark amber stuff"
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tbsp butter (not margarine)
• candy thermometer
• candy molds
• vegetable oil spray
• A good pot like a Dutch oven
• smaller container with a spout (like a creamer)
• large plastic freezer bags

Lightly spray the molds with vegetable oil so that the candy will come out easily while you bring the can of maple syrup, cream of tartar and butter to a boil. Stir the ingredients together slightly (just to mix it together) and add the candy thermometer. Then, let it boil without stirring until the candy thermometer reads 235 degrees (soft ball stage). Then, pour from the pot into the smaller container with a spout (it's just easier to handle). Now move fast! Pour into the molds until each candy is 3/4 full. Move quickly as the sugar darkens the longer it is removed from the heat. 

Let cool on the counter for about 15 minutes then tap the back to pop the hard candy out of the molds and into a large resealable freezer bag. Eat or store in the freezer for between three to six months.

Note: These are the hard, clear amber candies that you suck on. For the creamy maple candy, try this recipe.

Roasted garlic-infused chicken broth

If you are sick, the first thing that you think about is making hot chicken soup. Well, that's exactly what we did but I loaded up the chicken broth with roasted garlic. This stuff was so good that it will become a staple in our home!

Ingredients:

• 1 head garlic
• 1 900mL carton sodium-reduced chicken broth

Directions:
Cut the top off of the garlic head to expose the cloves inside and take off any loose peelings. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. Once it is done, remove it from the oven.

I poured the carton of chicken broth into a medium-sized bowl then put on an oven mitt. I picked up the bulb of roasted garlic and squeezed the garlic into the bowl of broth. Anything that didn't come out easily, I used a knife to get it out.

Once all of the garlic was in the broth, I mashed it down with a potato masher to get all of the flavor out. 

Then, I got a strainer and poured the broth into my chicken and rice soup. It's as simple as that!

Chicken and rice soup

My husband and I both have a cold so it was time to make hot chicken soup. We usually buy it but I decided to make it and test out my roasted-garlic infused broth.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium to large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 large shallots, peeled and chopped fine (a large onion also works)
• 3 medium carrots, trimmed, peeled and chopped up
• 3 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped up
• 1 cup white parboiled rice (20 minute cooking time, tops)
• 2 cartons sodium-reduced chicken broth, infused with roasted garlic
• 3 tbsp dried summer savory
• 1-2 tbsp dried oregano

Directions:
Roast the two chicken breasts in a 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes then chop up fine. Meanwhile, heat up a Dutch oven pot on medium heat and add the chopped shallots (or onions), celery and carrots. Add a little bit of hot water, if necessary, to keep it from burning on. Stir and let soften. Add rice and broth then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes. Add chicken then you are done! Add salt and pepper at the end if needed, although it was so good that we didn't add any.

This makes 7 servings.

Notes:

• The next time that I make this, I will be doubling the garlic that was in the broth. This recipe was very good but I want the strong stuff for when we are sick.

What to do when you are injured

Have you been injured recently and have to stop your usual routine? I made this list after I had to change my routine when I dislocated my toe. Hopefully, this list appeals to everyone!

Hobbies:

1. Learn how to knit or pick up the old knitting projects
2. Learn how to cross stitch or pick up the old projects
3. Learn how to crochet or pick up the old projects.
4. Learn how to paint or catch up on some painting. This could be painting canvas, wood, or anything else, for that matter. 
5. Get into stained glass painting
6. Learn how to paint dishes and fire them
7. Make candles at home
8. Finish off any scrapbooks or start new ones
9. Organize the boxes of photos and photo albums
10. Learn how to work with clay
11. Do the mending on your socks, shirts, etc.
12. If you like to sew, time to finish all of the sewing projects that you have going.
13. Learn how to draw. Get some books that show you how to do people or landscapes (depending on your interests) and go for it.
14. Learn how to make homemade soap, body lotion, body wash, etc.
15. Get into woodworking or carving wood. You can make your own chess set.
16. Get some pre-made wood items (like a jewelry box) from a craft store and finish it off. This could be staining it or painting it.
17. Learn a new language. Get the software in the language of your choice with a bilingual dictionary and set a time every day to do it.

Computers:

1. Organize photos, documents, videos, music and anything else on your computer
2. Scan the old photo albums and organize the images on the computer
3. Watch some movies that you’ve been wanting to see.
4. Mine through fantastic websites like Wikipedia, eHow, Essortment, and various blogs
5. Learn how to do things on your computer such as mastering Microsoft Office applications, anti-virus software, e-mail,  etc.
6. Organize the bookmarks in your browser
7. Download FamilyTree Maker (or a similar software) and start researching the family genealogy. Keep track of it in the software. See if you can get it all the way back to the mother country
8. Find your favorite podcast and keep up-to-date with the episodes. You may find that you become a fan of many podcasts. 
9. Play video games -- even better, play them with friends and family.
10. Research the things that you've always wanted to know about.
11. Create an account on a site like Amazon and do some shopping. If you can't shop, create some wish lists.

Brain Teasers:

1. Make a puzzle with 1000 to 2000 pieces
2. Read the books in your collection that you haven't read yet -- or the ones that you haven't read in a long time.
3. Master sudoku puzzles, word puzzles and crosswords. Work on doing them in pen.
4. Actually read the manual for your computer, phone or car to find out all of the features that you never knew were there and try them out.

The Kitchen and the house:

1. Make meals in large batches that can be frozen so that you are cooking less. Also make use of the slow cooker and meals that are very easy to make and don't take a lot of babysitting (like roasted meats and a salad).
2. Start making your own condiments (ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc.), pickles and preserves.
3. Thoroughly mine cooking websites like Allrecipes and make a list of the ones that you want to try. Try them, then review them online. 
4. Organize the junk drawer (or drawers)
5. Purge your bookshelves. This doesn't mean toss everything but take a good look.
6. Go through your dresser and closet for items to take to the Salvation Army - and take them!
7. Time to get into menu planning - plan menus for a month and write up the recipes and grocery lists for them. Then put them into practice and evaluate how long it took to make, if you like them, etc. 
8. Take care of the clothes that needed special care - hand washing, ironing, steaming, etc.
9. Go through the medicine cabinet and toss all expired medication. Check all toiletries and personal products for expiry dates as well. Make a list of the items that you should always have in the house (Tums, Polysporin, etc.) and the items that you now need to replace as they are expired. Gather all of the old prescriptions as well and place in a separate plastic baggie. On an outing, take the expired medication back to the pharmacist and get the items missing from the medicine cabinet.
10. Start a remodel in one of the rooms of the house. This could mean a major clean-up as well as you may notice that some rooms are cluttered. Think of repainting the walls and/or furniture, taking down wallpaper (or adding some), etc. Or, you could plan a renovation in an area as well. You are home -- you might as well.
11. Tackle the to-do list that you've been making in your head for the past 10 years. This could be the little things like purging your old school notes or shampooing the carpets. Even better - find all of the post-it notes that you've been keeping, write it all up in a master list on your computer and go about getting it done.

Social and personal life:

1. Make social dates with people and keep them. If you can't get out of the house, set up regular phone calls or video calls over Skype and keep them.
2. Plan your next trip (or trips). This could be the next big trip, the March Break trip, the family reunion, etc.
3. Plan movie nights with friends (most likely at your place). You can theme it with dinner to match the movie (ex. watching the Godfather with spaghetti and meatballs, cannoli for dessert).
4. Plan your Hallowe'en costume for this year (and those of your kids)
5. Watch at least 2 movies that you've secretly wanted to see but always said no to (for example, if you hate comedies but have wanted to see a Will Ferrell movie, do it).
6. Get a jump-start on Christmas for next year. Go through the decorations and see if there is anything that you can toss or donate, or if anything needs to be replaced (like the lights, garland, etc.). Plan the menu and gifts that you want to give to people. If some require time to make, why not make them? At the end of the day, if you decide on something different later on you now have an extra gift that comes in handy for that person that gave you something that you didn't expect.
7. Start planning the next family reunion. Get everyone's address and phone number, plan a venue and any associated costs. Plan the events and the meal, what is needed and talk about who can bring what. If anything, the list with addresses comes in handy for Christmas card time.
8. Break a few bad habits. Time to stop smoking or drinking, or eating right before bed. Pick a few habits that you've always wanted to break and do it. You have the time!
9. Evaluate your finances. Sit down and look at where money needs to go versus the items that you want. This could mean a little tweaking or a major overhaul. Look at paying off debts and savings in particular. It's also a great time to make short term and long term goals like paying off the car and buying a new TV within the next 3 years. If you are feeling really ambitious, program the finances into your calendar software (like Micosoft Outlook) to give you reminders. 

If you have kids:

1. Play board games. Get out the ones that you played as a kid and play those too.
2. Go on an outing once a week with them (if you can). This may be very difficult but try a location that is easy to maneuver around like the bowling alley, a museum or the mall.
3. Make your own playdough and make masterpieces.
4. Get out the lego.
5. Get out the dinky cars and the mats and play on the floor.
6. Teach them any of the above hobbies (woodworking, painting, knitting, etc.)
7. Go through the kids' wardrobe for items that are now too small and decide if these are hand-me-downs, can be reused in anyway or if they are going to the Salvation Army. Note anything that needs to be mended along with any stains and take care of that too.
8. Play video games together.
9. Go through the old photo albums together.

Exercise and healing:

1. Do all of the stretches required of you in order to heal
2. Go to physiotherapy appointments.
3. Take pictures of your healing injury – it might be difficult to look at (at first), but you’ll see the healing
4. Find games that you can play on the Wii that don't hurt or harm your healing.
5. Switch your workout routine to work an area that is not injured, for example, if your heel is injured then work your upper body. Just be careful as you may be overcompensating for an injury in other ways so don't overwork an area that hurts from regular activity.

 Sources:

Martial Arts Planet, "101 Things to do when you are injured".

Yahoo Answers, "Fun things to do while injured".
Undefeated Running, "Top 10 Things to do while you are injured and cannot run".

Tanya Hall, "Things to do at Home When Sick in Bed".

NextGenUpdate, "Things to do While Injured".

Running Free, "Things to do while out injured".

OreganLive.com, "Ten Things To Do When Injured".

Reddit, "Stuff to do While Injured".

Nice Shorts, "Things to do While Injured".
My Broken Leg, "Tips for Home Survival".

AND - my brain!

Cast-iron pan handle cozy

I came up with this pattern after my husband told me that our cast-iron pan handle became too hot to handle whenever the burner was on. He found it hard to touch the pot so I created this cozy based on the dimensions of the pot handle of our cast-iron pan.

Needles: US 9 (5.5 mm)
Yarn: Bernat Super Saver Worsted Weight Acrylic Yarn in Clay

Pattern:
Cast on 18 stitches. Knit for 23 rows.
Row 24: Bind off two stitches and knit the remaining 16 stitches.
Row 25: Knit.
Row 26: Bind off two stitches and knit the remaining 14 stitches.
Row 27: Knit.
Row 28: Bind off two stitches and knit the remaining 12 stitches.
Row 29: Knit.
Row 30: Bind off two stitches and knit the remaining 10 stitches.
Row 31: Knit.
Row 32: Bind off two stitches and knit the remaining 8 stitches.
Row 33: Knit.
Row 34: Bind off two stitches and knit the remaining 6 stitches.
Row 35: Knit.
Row 36: Bind off three stitches and knit the remaining 3 stitches.
Row 37: Knit.
Row 38: Bind off last three stitches.

Sewing:
Use some leftover yarn and start stitching the handle piece together starting at the smallest part where the first stitches were bound off. Do the mattress stitch all the way up, catching one or two stitches on each side with every stitch.

Once you reach the end of the piece, you will find that you have some excess knit fabric sticking up - this covers the bottom of the bulbous end of the pot handle. Sew this piece to the handle cozy on the left side with the mattress stitch.

 Then sew the last edge together.

Weave in all ends to strengthen the seam.

Estimated time for this project: about 40 minutes. It takes about 30 minutes to knit this up (perhaps less) then at least 10 minutes to sew this up.

Notes:

• I made two of these and I got better at it with the second one with the lessons that I had learned. If you bind off two stitches at a time, it lines up perfectly on this pot handle. 
• This cozy was custom-made for our cast-iron pot. Use your own pot and it's dimensions to determine if you need to add more stitches and such. I did this through trial and error, constantly wrapping the knit fabric around the handle to see if I had too much or to little. 

Ideas:

• Why not knit one of these up in a color that matches your kitchen?
• Or, this is a great way to use up leftover yarn. It doesn't take much yarn to make one of these, perhaps the leftover bit from making a dishcloth.

10 frugal ways to decorate for the holidays

The holidays are approaching and it's time that we deck the halls to celebrate. Sometimes that stuff is expensive or the decorating ideas that we have cannot be realized with the budget. But, no fear! Here are 10 ideas of how to decorate on a tiny budget.

1. Pine cones: take a trip to the local park or an area that has lots of pine trees with a few garbage bags or boxes and collect the nice pine cones. Really look them over for bugs, mold or any imperfections before bagging them. Bring them home and wash them in a sink of hot water (when I did this, they closed up but reopened as they dried a day later). Then, use them in leftover planters, vases or jars tied with ribbon.
2. Cookies: make a few batches of sugar cookies and decorate them with icing done in your Christmas colors. Before baking them though, put a hole in the top with a wooden skewer. Do designs like snowmen, reindeer, snowflakes, ornaments, or words. Once the icing is dry, string them up with leftover yarn, ribbon or twine and decorate the tree with them. Or, just display them on nice cake stands on the table.
3. Food: create nice displays around the house with clementines, apples, or other seasonal fruit and vegetables. Use vases, jars or cake plates and place them carefully. If you really want to get into this, cover the items with powdered sugar or salt to create the glittery effect.
4. Stockings: make this year's stockings out of old sweaters, t-shirts or button-up shirts. If they aren't the right color, you can buy fabric dye and follow the package instructions to dye the fabric. Sew up with a sewing machine and decorate with ribbon or felt accents.
5. Centrepieces: take some mixing bowls and fill them with Christmas ball ornaments, pine cones, greenery or other items. Or, pack them with a mix of Christmas ball ornaments, apples and other items. Place in the centre of the table. Also, add bowls or planters of ornaments to end tables, magazine tables and other places around the house.
6. Wrappings: try some of the tips in my post about green wrappings along with embellishments like yarn pompoms, Christmas ribbon made from old shirts and other festive touches.
7. Tree: get an artificial tree with lights so that you buy it once and use it for at least 10-15 years. Decorate with ornaments, cookies, gingerbread men, pine cones or (if you want to be really traditional) strings of popcorn or cranberries. You could also decorate with paper snowflakes made out of white paper, dolls, clocks, etc. The options are endless, but start with your favorite colors and a theme.
8. Table: use a clean white tablecloth and use your best dishes but have little touches here and there like candles, decorated paper tags for guests, napkin rings, etc. The food should speak for itself, you don't have to have the table fully decked to the nines.
9. Rooms: add a little touch of the holidays to every room like a special cup towel in the kitchen, or towels in the bathroom. As long as everything is clean and organized, it looks fabulous and doesn't cost hardly anything. You could even do this with well-placed Christmas cards that you received.
10. Outside: depending on your location, try LED lights and topiaries. Or, you could make a wreath out of leftover strips of fabric in your color theme wrapped around a Styrofoam wreath form. You can also put out bowls of ornaments by the entrance.

Ice cream for dogs

I was talking to a friend the other day about her dog and she mentioned that she was taking him out for some doggie ice cream. I thought that this was a great idea so I decided to write a post about it.

As most animals are lactose intolerant (including dogs), ice cream would most likely be made of milk substitutes. My friend mentioned that her dog's favorite was sweet potato and the peanut butter ice cream.

Recipes

• 4 Recipes for Dog Ice Cream
• Frosty Paws Dog Ice Cream
• Gourmet Dog Treat Recipes
• Ice Cream Blog: Dog Ice Cream
• Peanut Butter & Banana Dog Ice Cream

Flavor Ideas

• Pureed vegetables like sweet potato, pumpkin, squash, potato, carrot
• Pureed fruit like banana, peach, apple,
• Flavors like peanut butter, honey, coffee, dog biscuits
• Milk (or milk substitutes) like rice or almond milk, yogurt and soy milk
• Savory ingredients like leftover meats, beef or chicken broth, and herbs

How to

• How to Make Ice Cream for Dogs
• Video: How to make doggie ice cream
• Wikihow: how to make doggie ice cream

Other Tidbits

• Nestle and Purina team up for doggie ice cream
• Ice Cream Truck for Dogs
• Blizzard Dogs in New York

10 Fabulous Cheap (and homemade) Cat toys and treats

I decided that it was time to make some toys for my cat. I have lots of things around the house that I want to reuse or get out of my fabric stash.

1. Shoe box toy from this website
2. A stuffed sock.
3. A fabric ball: take a scrap piece of fabric and stuff it with some wadded up paper, aluminum foil or other scrap fabric along with some catnip and some noisy bells. Sew it up to form a stuffed ball and toss that around for the cat.
4. Any object made from eyelash yarn (bonus points if that is glittery or shiny eyelash yarn).
5. A twist-tie: just make sure that it has no exposed metal ends. I'm rather paranoid about that.
6. The cursor on your computer screen: ever notice how a cat really goes for that little moving arrow on your laptop? Mine sits next to me and watches it move around so I let him try to attack it - provided that he keeps the cardinal rule of never stepping on the computer keys. 
7. Crumpled up balls of aluminum foil or wads of scrap paper.
8. Leaves or pinecones from outside. 
9. Feathers (or objects that have feathers on them). 
10. An old tie. We don't use string as I knit but dragging an old tie around on the floor works wonders.

Ideas:

1. Homemade cat toy ideas
2. Homemade cat treats.
3. Top 5 Do it Yourself Cat Toys

Guilt-free Rewards for a Job Well Done

One of my problems with it comes to weight loss is struggling with the idea of rewarding myself for a job well done. It could be that I finally finished a long, arduous project or that I finally did 4 workouts this week. The first thing that I think is: I should reward myself, time for a Coke. Or, a chocolate bar. Or ice cream. 

Well, that just damaged the good chore that I finished. So, I took some time to make a list of guilt-free rewards to give myself for a job well done. I know I am not the only person thinking about this so I will share it with you.

Some of these options require finances but some are also free. What you could do is while you are working towards a goal, decide on the reward that you want to give yourself. Then put aside money for it while you are working towards the goal. For example, as a reward to myself for finishing a large project at work I can save money on the side to get my hair done at the salon. Once the goal is reached, then I can go for a morning of pampering and not worry about the finances.

• A long bubble bath with a yummy scent and candles, perhaps my favorite music in the background
• A mug of steaming hot apple cider or a hot chocolate with marshmellows (the diet kind)
• One uninterrupted evening of doing an activity that I secretly love (like writing)
• Talking on the phone with a best friend or on Skype
• Throw a party with all of your friends -- perhaps a pot luck, movie night, etc.
• One uninterrupted evening (or afternoon) of starting and finishing a project
• Watching a new movie at home. This could mean renting it then giving it the full new movie treatment (for me, this is turning out the lights, stopping all projects and just watching a new movie). 
• Going out to the theatre to see a new movie with friends (or with my husband)
• Have a nice meal at a new restaurant
• One uninterrupted evening of browsing my favorite websites
• Buying and reading a new magazine
• One evening of planning an upcoming event (like Christmas) and planning all of the items that I want to make to decorate the house or give as gifts
• If it's summer, one afternoon sitting and tanning under the sun with a nice book or great music
• Signing up for a class in a topic that I want to learn about (like yoga, knitting, or a language of choice)
• Crossing an activity off of the bucket list (skydiving, rockclimbing, running a 5K, etc.)
• Digging out the old "To Do" list and tackling one of the older ones that you've always said will never get done (ex. organizing the filing cabinet). 
• Reading a new book (or, one of your old favorites)
• Take on a new knitting project or spend an evening knitting
• Take the dog out for a walk in a new area (or put on rollerblades and run with the dog) or to the park
• Learn a new hobby from a friend (or teach a friend how to do one of your hobbies, if they are interested)
• Have a game evening on the Wii, Xbox or whatever you have with the family. See who will win. 
• Return to a hobby that you love but haven't done for a long time (for me, that would be genealogy or cross-stitching)
• Try a new recipe out of a magazine for supper
• Spend an afternoon at the local bookstore -- not buying anything -- but sitting with a coffee, paging through some books to see what is new and checking out the ones that you've always wanted. 
• Spend a lazy afternoon on the couch doing a hobby, snuggling with the kids and the pets
• Watch a movie that was your childhood favorite (perhaps even introduce it to your kids or your husband)
• Trying something new with your significant other (I don't think that I need to elaborate on this one)
• Go for a massage or spa treatment. 
• If you are a woman, try a new makeover on yourself or go and get one at Sephora or another store with that option. 
• Go to bed early or sleep in. Get your significant other involved in this to make sure that you are able to sleep in (or go to bed early) without any distractions. 
• Spend an evening researching a topic that interests you but you've never had time to think about it (like a historical event, a famous person, etc.)
• Get your hair done with color, highlights or a perm. Ask for the full treatment with the scalp massage and special conditioners that most salons do for free and enjoy the trip.

5 Simply Fabulous Lunch Wraps

There is a wrap at a particular coffee shop that I LOVE. Whenever I forget my lunch, I get this wrap there on the way to work. I got thinking though: this is so incredibly good that I am sure that I can make it at home. Then I realized that there are other simply fabulous wrap combinations out there as well. Here are 10 that I thought of (and tested!):

1. Thai Tuna Wrap: make a chili lemon mayonnaise with chili powder, lemon juice and mayonnaise. Add a chopped red bird chili. Add 1 can of water-packed tuna, 2 tbsp chopped green onions, 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, 1/4 cup cooked brown rice and 1/4 cup shredded cooked carrot. Mix together and add to a sun-dried tomato wrap. Wrap and refrigerate before eating.
2. Horseradish Beef Wrap: Mix together 1/4 cup chopped leftover beef roast and 1/4 cup leftover sauteed onions and mushrooms. Add 2 tbsp prepared horseradish sauce (I like a lot more) and mix. Add to a sundried tomato wrap with some sliced red pepper strips. Wrap and refrigerate before eating.
3. Vietnamese Spring Rolls: Cook some rice noodles and shrimp. Also wet some rice paper. In the cooked rice paper, add a handful of cooked rice noodles and three to four shelled, cooked shrimp (tails removed). Add a long sprig of fresh coriander and strips of cut red and green pepper then roll up like a wrap. Also, make a peanut dip with 2 tbsp natural peanut butter, 1 tbsp ketchup and 1 chopped red bird chili. Serve immediately with the dip. (These can be refrigerated but I find that the rice paper and the noodles get a little hard.)
4. Antipasto Wrap: add some leftover cooked, chopped chicken to a bowl and mix with 3 tbsp chopped, drained sun-dried tomatoes, 3 chopped canned artichoke hearts, 1/4 cup cooked, drained frozen spinach and 1 oz feta cheese, crumbled. Mix together. Add to a sun-dried tomato wrap and wrap up. Serve immediately (because it might get soggy).
5. Greek spinach wrap: cook some frozen spinach then drain it well. Add to a spinach or pesto tortilla with some leftover chopped chicken and light feta cheese. Wrap up and serve immediately.

Spinach, mushroom and feta quiche

I made this lovely quiche for breakfast this morning and decided to share the recipe with you. The best thing about it is that it is a base recipe that you can adjust and add your own combinations. I have some ideas at the bottom.

(don't mind my picture, I forgot to use cooking spray)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cleaned, sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup dethawed, cooked spinach (from frozen)
• 1/4 cup sodium-reduced feta cheese, chopped up
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup Bisquick
• Cooking spray (ex. PAM)

Directions:
Turn the oven on 385 F. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Meanwhile, add vegetables and feta cheese to a baking dish and stir well. In another medium-sized bowl, crack and add eggs. Discard shells and remove any traces of shell from the eggs. Add milk and Bisquick then stir together well with a whisk to break up any lumps. Add to baking dish with vegetables then bake for 40 minutes. Serve!


Notes:

• The base for this quiche is the milk, Bisquick and eggs. Once you have that down, anything is possible.The cheese ratio is usually 1 cup of shredded cheese but I reduced it given the strong flavor of feta cheese.
• I have also made quiche muffins before. I sprayed the muffin tin with cooking spray then I mixed it up in a mixing bowl then added it by a 1/2 cup measuring cup to each muffin. Baking time is around 30 minutes.
• I added no salt to this particular combination because I had feta cheese in it. However, with other combinations you might want to add salt and pepper to taste before baking.

Combination ideas:

• Green pepper, mushrooms and ham with shredded cheddar cheese
• Shredded apple (or pear), ham and very sharp or old shredded cheddar cheese
• Hot salsa, corn and shredded cheddar cheese
• Broccoli, ham or bacon and cheese (blue cheese, Havarti, cheddar, etc.)
• Leftover chopped chicken or turkey, green pepper, spinach and cheese (any of the above choices although feta would be stellar)
• Red pepper, asparagus and Swiss cheese (or Emmenthal, Havarti, Gouda, etc.)
• Sliced potato, bacon and 1 cup very sharp or old shredded cheddar cheese
• Red pepper, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese
• Caramelized onions, mushrooms and leftover beef roast with cheese (perhaps cheddar or Havarti)
• Roasted cauliflower, red pepper and onions with Jahlsberg cheese (or Havarti, Gouda)

Making a lazy supper better...

I didn't want to cook last night AT ALL. No way, no how. So, I bought a bean and cheese burrito with the thought that supper would only take 2 minutes. Then my conscience stepped in saying: you have time to sauté some vegetables. I listened and it only took about 15 minutes. I did the dishes while this cooked.

Sautéed cabbage:

• 1/4 Savoy cabbage, shredded
• 1 tbsp butter
• sodium-reduced chicken stock
• salt
• pepper

I heated up the cast-iron pan to medium and melted the butter. Add the cabbage and sauté but let it stick on a little bit. I cooked it for about 15 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. I added a splash of chicken stock whenever it was needed then seasoned it with salt and pepper before serving.

After I cooked some cabbage and green beans, I felt better about the burrito. At least I was getting some veggie intake!

12 Days of Homemade Christmas

I just discovered the 12 Days of Homemade Christmas tag on the Homemade Mamas blog! I have to share this with you because the things that they are making are really cool!

Here are some of the highlights:

• Day 5 (2011): Dried Citrus Ornaments
• Day 4 (2011): Dried Birdseed Ornaments
• Day 12 (2010): Peppermint Playdough
• Day 8 (2010): Gift cans
• Day 7 (2010): Gumdrop Candy Tree
• Day 3 (2010): Homemade Candy Canes

15 Meals with leftovers

Do you want to eat that meal again? How can you remake it so that you are using up the leftovers but eating something new? These are 15 ideas that I had on how to remake leftovers and turn them into a new meal.

1. Hot chicken sandwich: Take leftover chopped chicken or turkey and add to a piece of toast. If it's Xmas or Thanksgiving, add a little dressing or cranberry sauce as well then cover with another piece of toast for a hot chicken/turkey sandwich. Chutney or homemade relish is another option. Cover with hot gravy (leftover or not). Eat with leftover veggies.
2. Pot pie: Make a chicken, turkey or beef pot pie with leftover meat, veggies and some thawed puff pastry. Great add-ins are peas, corn, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms and cheese.
3. Chili spaghetti: Add leftover chili to spaghetti sauce and serve with pasta for a spicy kick.
4. Chili beans: Add leftover chili to baked beans (leftover or canned). You can also add this to hotdogs for spicy chili dogs while watching the game.
5. Chili cakes: Dethaw two packages of puff pastry. Grease one to two muffin tins and heat the oven up to 375. Cut the thawed pastry into squares and fit into muffin tins. Fill the cavity with leftover vegetable chili and sprinkle some cheese on top. Bake until the cheese is golden and the filling is hot, about half an hour. Eat as many as you want!
6. Pasta cups: take any leftover pasta that you have. Toss with a chopped pepper, onion and shredded cheese. Stuff the muffin cups with the pasta mixture and bake in a 350 F oven for about 20-30 minutes or until browned on the bottom. Serve with a salad. You can probably do this with rice too.
7. Burritos: Chop some onions, red and green pepper, mushrooms and some tomatoes. In a warm skillet, sauté the onions and tomatoes, then add the peppers and mushrooms along with hot sauce, chili powder and oregano; cook until soft. Add some leftover chopped chicken or beef roast pieces at the end to heat it up. Add to a flour tortilla and add some shredded cheese overtop, roll up and eat.
8. Quesadillas: Chop up a celery stalk and some red pepper into small pieces and stir fry until done. Add chopped leftover chicken to this mixture then spread over a flour tortilla. Pour cheese salsa overtop, add another flour tortilla on top and heat up in the microwave until cheese salsa is hot, about a min. Another idea is to add leftover chili to the quesadilla.
9. Action-packed rice: heat up a saute pan with some oil and add some chopped onion and mushrooms. Add 1 cup of leftover rice and season with soy sauce. Add some chopped up leftover meat and scrambled egg and keep cooking until the rice starts to brown on the bottom (but not burn). Add some thawed, chopped spinach. Keep turning until everything is heated and mixed through then serve.
10. Hash: you can do this with almost any leftovers. Take leftover chopped meat, potatoes and veggies and saute in a pan with a chopped onion. Let it brown on the bottom and keep turning it over to let it cook together then serve. This is great with leftover sausages, potatoes and veggies or other ingredients like bacon, eggs and sweet potatoes.
11. Fajita rice stew: Chop up some celery and red and green peppers along with a large onion and 2 cloves of garlic. On a separate cutting board, chop up two to three beef steaks in strips about 1 inch long. In a warm skillet, add a little oil then the onion and later the garlic. Add the meat strips, cook them. While this is cooking, open a can of black beans and a can of corn niblets, both drained well. Add the beans and corn along with the peppers and along with a large bottle of hot or medium salsa (or leftover chili). Add spices like cumin or chili powder if desired. Add 1 cup of cooked leftover rice. Simmer it all down until the peppers are tender and serve this beef fajita stew (can be done with chicken also). Add chopped cilantro at the end if desired, or chopped green onions.  This can also be made in advance and served as a cold rice salad.
12. English muffin paninis: Chop your fav cheese and lay out on an English muffin. Add tomato slices, pieces of cooked leftover meat, and some cleaned spinach leaves. Put two halves together, and press into a George Foreman grill like a Panini press until golden brown and flattened a bit.
13. Tacos: use any leftover meat with some shredded lettuce and cheese to make tacos. All you need is a taco kit.
14. Creamy casserole: Add some pre-cooked brown rice to a casserole dish with 1 cup of chicken broth. Add sliced veggies (leftover or fresh) and diced meat (leftover or fresh). Add leftover pureed soup (instead of canned soup) and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. You can also add shredded cheese before baking, if you want.
15. Mashed potato cups: load up your leftover mashed potatoes with cooked bacon, chives, sour cream, cheese or whatever you want. Mix it up then add to a greased muffin tin (or you can use paper cups). Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until done. Eat on the side with your meal. Another idea is to mix leftover mashed potatoes with leftover chili and top with cheese to make these.

Ode to coconut

I LOVE coconut. Seriously. If it smells like coconut or tastes like it, I will eat it (or wear it). Sometimes both. But one thing that I have always wanted to master is making my own shredded coconut. That means successfully roasting a whole coconut. I have had many adventures with this during university (yes, I was the student roasting coconuts in my 1970s green stove while studying). So, I researched how to master this art and spent an afternoon with a coconut ready to master this skill.

How to crack open a coconut

I have done lots of research on the best way to crack open a coconut: by roasting it. To start, you need a hammer and a nail (sterilized, if possible). Take the three holes that are on one of the ends and place the bottom of the coconut down so that these holes are facing you. 

Take the nail and hammer it into these three holes. It helps if you have someone to hold the coconut while you nail into these holes. 

If your nail isn't thick enough (like ours), move it around the hole a bit to make it bigger. Drain out the coconut water into a glass and reserve for another use. If the water is sluggish, try nailing a hole in the other end of the coconut to create air circulation in the coconut.

My coconut had 1/2 cup of coconut water. I filtered it through a sieve and a cheesecloth to filter it out the pieces of shell, dirt and coconut flesh. 

For roasting, simply put the drained coconut on a baking sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until the shell breaks.  

 

If the shell is not cracked enough, cover the coconut with tea towels and crack it open with a hammer. We also used a knife to loosen the flesh from the shell.

Fish out the coconut flesh from the shell and roast it for another 10 minutes to dry it out. 

How to make shredded coconut

After roasting the coconut and letting it cool, remove all of the loosened meat from the coconut shell. Whatever is not loose comes off with a knife. Take the back of the meat and peel with a vegetable peeler. 

I also cut the smaller pieces into very thin pieces with a sharp knife. The grater works but only if the coconut is dry.

The grated meat can be stored in the fridge in a plastic bag or container. I made three variations. The first (above) was simple shredded coconut. I added 1 teaspoon of sugar to 1 cup of coconut for sugared coconut:

 (I shook the closed container to cover everything with the sugar).

The third variation that I made was roasted coconut. I spread 1 cup of sliced coconut out in a baking sheet and baked it in a 375 oven. I checked it every four minutes and removed any brown pieces with tongs (not my fingers, it was too hot). 

Some of the smaller pieces were done within 9 minutes, some took 16 minutes. But this is definitely worth it! Roasted coconut is unbelievably good!

How to use coconut water

• Add to any Asian dishes that you are making like a Thai coconut soup, Indian butter chicken or shrimp stir-fry.
• Add to a smoothie for a great flavor. Perhaps this will work best with smoothies made with pineapple, cherries, strawberries, chocolate, bananas, mango and kiwi. Add a little rum if you want.
• Drink it after working out.
• Add to 1/2 cup yogurt along with some shredded fresh coconut and trail mix for a great breakfast.

How to make coconut milk

Add the coconut water to a blender along with 1 cup of grated, roasted coconut and 1 cup evaporated milk. Blend on high until it is fully processed. Strain if necessary.

How to reuse coconut shells

• If you are close to Hallowe’en (or a Polynesian vacation) you can create a coconut shell bikini top. Add a grass skirt and a pink scarf to tie back your hair and you have a Hallowe’en costume.
• I found these coconut drinking glasses on the Coconut King website. It looks like they took one coconut shell, husked it and cut it open about two inches from the top with a saw, probably the end without the three holes. Then they took the smaller half and cut the top 0.5 inch off with the saw. Then the smaller part is superglued (or adhered in some other way) to the bottom of the larger half to create a drinking glass.
• The above "drinking glass" can also be used to serve Thai coconut soup at your next dinner party, to hold homemade cloth napkins or cutlery on the table or fresh, grated coconut for adding to desserts.
• Take a hammer and smash them up as a stress reliever whenever you need a moment. Then, throw them into the compost.
• Smooth down the coconut shell so that there are no hairs on it and cut it into circles with a scroll saw. Drill two holes in the centre and use it as a button.
• If you didn’t drill holes into the coconut to drain the water, consider reusing the shell for dinner party presentations of drinks, soups or dips. This may require some creative thinking as coconut shells are round and can’t stay up on their own. 

Coconut calories (all for 1/4 cup or 1 oz):

• Dried coconut meat, roasted: 116 calories, 13g fat (12g saturated), 0mg Cholesterol, 10 mg Sodium, 12 g Carbs, 1g Protein.
• Coconut meat, raw: 99 calories, 9g fat (8g saturated), 0mg Cholesterol, 6mg Sodium, 4g Carbs (3g Fiber, 2g Sugar), 1g Protein. 
• Coconut water: 5 calories, 0g fat, 0 mg Cholesterol, 29mg Sodium, 1g Carbs (1g Sugar), 0g Protein.
• Coconut meat, dried, shredded, sweetened: 140 calories, 10g fat (9g saturated), 0mg Cholesterol, 73mg Sodium, 13g Carbs (1g Fiber, 12g Sugar), 1g Protein.
• Coconut cream, sweetened: 100 calories, 5g fat (4g saturated), 0mg Cholesterol, 10mg Sodium, 15g Carbs (14g Sugar), 0g Protein.

All of this data is from Nutrition Data. All in all, coconut is mostly fat and sugar and contains no good nutrients (unless you want to gain weight!)

Notes:

• Coconut shells have all sorts of uses around the world. In Indonesia, they can be made into boxes for wedding rings. There is also this soap dish and many other great ideas at http://www.ecoconvenience.ca/.
• Coconut shells are also used in jewelry in Thailand and many other South Asian countries.
• What are your feelings about robots picking coconuts instead of humans?