Thursday, July 28, 2011

Fishing for Goldfish

My kids LOVE goldfish crackers, but I'm a bit wary of the price and the incredients.
Life Your Way has a post out on how to make your own- and it seems super easy- even to me :)  Click here for the link.  I'll up-date you if/when I make them... let me tell you it won't be today!
100 degrees outside= no baking :)
If you try this let me know how easy it is ;)

Monday, July 25, 2011

Lazy Blueberry Muffins

I posted last time and here about 2 ingredient cakes.  They're spectacular.  You should make some.  
I've also discovered lazy muffins. 
They're also spectacular.  
Aaaaand, they don't require eggs.  
Have I mentioned my weirdness about raw eggs? 
Let me look back and check.....................
Yup. 
I briefly mentioned it here but didn't go into to it.  Let's just say, I don't really like raw eggs.  I'll certainly use them whenever something calls for them, but I have to add bleach to the dishwasher that night and can't hand-wash those egg dishes.  I swear I can still smell the egg on the dishes if bleach is not involved.  I know.  I said it was weirdness.  This weirdness has led me to try a new lazy combo:  
Muffin mix+applesauce.  
Its awesome.  And fast.  And easy.  
Awesome+ fast + easy = perfect for me.
The muffins are moist and, if you somehow undercook them, it doesn't matter because there's no raw eggs.  Which means not having to add bleach to everything those dishes touch easier clean up :)

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Lazy Cake Take 2

Today is my birthday, though I'll be posting this later because I already had something posted for today and I don't want to overwhelm you with my laziness ;)
As a mom, and a wife to a husband who works...  A lot...  I have discovered that its best to make my own deliciousness and awesomeness on my birthday rather than wish someone else would for me.  I guess this could be true for any adult, it just seems especially true being the above.  Which means, generally making my own birthday cake.  Which is fine, except that I don't bake.  I, as a rule, try to stay away from packages and mixes.... except for baking.  I do not bake.  Did I say that already?  If Rachel Ray doesn't, I see no reason why I should either.  I'm terrible at it for the same reason I didn't like Chemistry labs.  I don't pay attention and I'm the opposite of precise.  I had to do more than one chem lab over again in college because of this lack of attention to detail.  Its the same way in the bio lab though, and somehow I majored in that (though only by the grace of God, I'm telling you)
The point being, I don't bake.
But I do like to eat.
I shared with you here about how you can bake cakes with only 2 ingredients (cake mix + soda/ pureed pumpkin/applesauce/ egg beaters/ yogurt.
Recently I learned from my awesome "Other Mother" that there's another one.
Are you ready?
Are you excited?
Its awesome.
I hope you're sitting down.
I'm sure you are since you're at your computer.....
Anyway, I'll give you two words:
Pie
Filling
You mix angel food cake mix and a can of pie filling.  I chose blueberry, in case you were dying to know.  2 ingredients only.  No eggs.  No milk.
Dump it into a 9x13 cake pan.  Do not spray it first.  Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  It will rise beautifully, then fall and won't be so pretty.  That's OK, as I flipped mine over and "frosted" it with whipped cream.

2 ingredients = Lazy
Delicious = Awesome
Lazy + Delicious = Awesomely Delicious Awesomeness.

And Happy Birthday to Me.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Favorite Fajitas

First, and most importantly, Happy Birthday to Me.  Just because, I'm sure, you were desperate to know when to wish me happy birthday.  Well, today is the day.  25 doesn't seem to be a whole lot different from 24 though ;)

In other news, for my "Meal Swap" this month I made fajitas.  I often think of fajitas as "summer food" because I picture the meat being grilled outside I guess.  I, however, do not have a grill, which generally means I do such things over the stovetop.  Yesterday, though, I decided to cheat a little because it is so bloomin' hot outside and I was not interested in having my stovetop on long enough to cook 5 lb of chicken.  "Well," I thought to myself,  "the best way to not heat up everything is to use the crockpot"  Than, I'm sure, I thought, "I am so smart", being that I'm so easily impressed with myself.

I poured all of the chicken breast and layered it with a Mojito Lime seasoning packet just to give it a kick and try to at least come close to what my friends are making.  Seriously, this month one of the meals is Chicken Tikka.  I don't even know what that is.  Anyway, after throwing in the chicken,  I cooked the chopped onion and pepper on the stove top with the Fajita seasoning packet mixed in, then sliced the chicken and mixed everything together.

All of a sudden it occurred to me that everything could be done in the crockpot if done on a smaller scale.  I couldn't get in much more than the 5 lb of chicken, but if I was cooking for just my family, and not 4 others as well, I would totally do it in the crockpot.  I would also, most likely, use that little frozen packet of peppers and onions that I found instead of chopping everything up.

Then, it occurred to me (are you following my train of thought?  it gets derailed sometimes....)  that this recipe is too amazing to not have already been discovered, and I found it, of course, at crockpot365.blogspot.com.  Click here for crockpot365's recipe with steak fajitas in the crockpot)

So, I thought I came up with an amazing idea, but, its OK that someone already thought of it, since the crockpot girl is quite amazing herself.   So, to sum up, in case you're a little ADD like me and that post was a little long to follow:

Add to crockpot:
~1 pound boneless skinless chicken
~packet of fajita seasoning
~bag of frozen pepper and onion mix
Cook on low for 8 hours, high for 4 hours.
Serve over tortillas and any side, like sour cream, salsa, cheese, or guacamole

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Banana Peanutbutter Milkshake

OK, so its not a milkshake.  Its more like a smoothie, but I tell my kids its a milkshake.  And I serve it for breakfast.  Lunch.  Snack.  Treat.  Dessert. 
And- its delicious.
And so simple.
Simple = Lazy
Lazy = Awesome
Delicious + Lazy = Awesomer

So... here it is.

Ice (a cup or 2)
~blend the ice up a bit
A banana (the riper the better)
2 Tablespoons of peanut butter
Milk- enough to make 16 ounces total (or almond milk or soy milk or chocolate milk)
~continue blending until smooth.
~Serves 1, though you can double it and still fit in all in your blender.

Delicious.  Easy.  Incredible.  Plus, it has no sugar added, so I'm super happy to have my kids enjoy this treat.
Thanks to my awesome friend and her equally delicious baby for making this for us :)

Monday, July 11, 2011

Watermelon

One of my super smart and amazing friends loves watermelon kind of like we do, which is a lot lot lot.  She, however, in her genius way, has found a super easy and clean way to get it.  Wedges, though fun outside, are so messy to eat inside.  Melon balls are cute and fun, but they take forever to do as you get like a tablesoon out at a time.  Chopping the rind off and then chopping the remaining watermelon goodness into cubes is effective, but the juice gets everywhere. 
That's why I was so excited to watch my friend serve watermelon.
Its so cool. 
I was in awe when I saw her carving the watermelon with..... an ice cream scoop.
Its similar to the melon baller (though not quite as cute) in that its easy and clean, but much faster because you get so much more out with every scoop.  So there you have it.  Genius watermelon.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Link: Magic Jambalaya

Click here to read The Simple Dollar's post on using leftovers to make jambalaya.
Basically it consists of
rice + beans + jambalaya seasoning + any and all leftovers
Lazy.  Easy.  Cheap.  Yummy.

Monday, July 4, 2011

If you like pina-coladas.....

In honor of the 4th of July-- the day of pools and fireworks-- I submit to you the cheap and lazy pina-colada.
OK- so its not a pina-colada at all, but it has my favorite parts of it:  coconut, rum and fruit juice.
Are you ready?
Are you so excited?
OK.
Here it is.
Orange juice and coconut rum.
Its awesome.
Seriously.
Awesome.
Its awesome and I'm awesome.
;)