Homemade Guacamole Recipe

If your family is like mine…then they most likely love Guacamole with some Taco Chips for family snack time. However, it is much healthier for you to make it fresh & homemade yourself instead of purchasing it jarred at your local supermarket.

Making homemade Guacamole is fairly simple and takes less than 30 minutes to make. You will want to keep it refrigerated until you are ready to use it. This recipe makes about 1 1/4 cups of dip.

2 ripe avocados
1 red tomato, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon of mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

You will want to chop all of your vegetable ingredients and then mash them with a fork or mash them in a blender. Add the rest of the non-vegetable ingredients and stir until all ingredients are well blended together. Place Guacamole in a container and refrigerate it until ready to use.

This is a great Guacamole dip to use with Taco Chips…I like to make it for our family game or movie nights.

Shelly

Refreshing Summertime Beverage Ideas

Now that Summer is in full swing and the heat is getting us down, one of the things I enjoy is making homemade summertime refreshing beverages for my family.

Some of the beverages I like to make are:

Cold Fruit Smoothies
Strawberry Lemonade
Lemonade
Fruit Punch
Sweet Tea
Peach Flavored Ice Tea
Iced Coffees
Milkshakes
Icees & Slushies

What kind of beverages do you and your family enjoy having in the summertime?

Shelly

Saving Time When It Comes To Making Dinner

A common misconception that many people have about those who work from home is that we have all the time in the world to make fancy dinners and to get those dinners onto the table on time every day of the week. As someone who works from home, I can honestly tell you that at times, I used to have a problem with that.

One way I solved that problem is by being prepared and here is how I do it.

I like to plan our family dinners 2 weeks in advance. I will sit down with my calendar and write down what I will be making each day for that 2 weeks time period and I plan on 5 dinners for each week.

To break that down even further, 2 of my 5 dinners will be something I make in my crock pot (slow cooker), 1 will be a meal that I pull from my freezer (I am big on making my own freezer meals) and the other 2 will be dinners I make from scratch.

When I do my grocery shopping, I use my 2-week dinner plan to steer me into the right direction of food items I need to purchase. I set aside 1 hour of my day to prepare my family’s dinnertime meal.

For crock pot meals I allow 20 minutes in the morning to assemble all ingredients into my crock pot. I then allow another 20 minutes during the day for checking on it and then the final 20 minutes is for finishing it up when its done or for preparing a side dish to go with it. Surely, most of us who work from home can spare a total hour :)

For my premade freezer meals, I will get it out of the freezer the night before and refrigerate it over night. Then 1 hour before I plan on serving dinner, I will finish thawing it in my microwave and then throw it into the oven or on the stove top to finish up its cooking time. While that is going on, I can prepare my side dishes.

For meals I make freshly from scratch….I like to make simple things such as meat loafs, grilled chicken, barbecue sandwiches and so forth.

I save all of my heavy duty cooking and baking for weekends when I have more time.

How do you like to plan out your weekday evening meals? Do you struggle with getting dinner onto the table each evening even though you work from home? Do you have any tips to share with our readers?

Shelly

Chocolate Marshmallow Popcorn Balls Recipe

When our daughter was younger, she used to love various homemade snacks that we used to make using popcorn and this recipe was one of her favorites.

Chocolate Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

5 qts. popped Pop Corn
1 jar (7 ounce) marshmallow creme
1 pkg. (12 ounce) Chocolate Chips
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place popped corn in a large greased pan. Melt marshmallow creme and chocolate chips in top of double boiler, stir in water and vanilla extract. Pour chocolate mixture over pop corn, mixing thoroughly. Shape into balls and place on a nonstick silicone baking mat or parchment paper until they set up. Makes 10 – 12 balls.

Shelly

Weekend Family Breakfast – Egg and Sausage Casserole Recipe

During the week here in my household, I don’t always have time to make a nice hot family breakfast, so when the weekend rolls around, I try to make sure that I make a nice hot breakfast.

This egg and sausage casserole is easy to prepare and tastes delicious…I think your family will really enjoy it. This recipe makes 6-8 servings.

Recipe:

1 lb. sausage
6 medium eggs
6 slices of bread, cubed (you can remove or leave on the crust)
1 teaspoon yellow or dijon mustard
2 cups of milk
1 teaspoon table salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a frying pan, brown the sausage and then drain.

In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt and mustard. Pour the mixture into a glass casserole dish and stir in the cooked sausage. Refrigerate overnight or for a few hours.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes or until done. Serve immediately.

Enjoy your family breakfast time together!

Shelly

Family Meals – Delicious Cheesy Pea Salad

When it comes to eating family meals together, I will often prepare a variety of summer-style salads for my family. I love this recipe because it’s the type of salad that is packed with a lot of goodies such as cheese, hard boiled eggs, peas, bacon, etc.

Cheesy Pea Salad Recipe

5-6 slices of crisp bacon, crumbled
2 cups green peas, drained
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, chopped into pieces
3-4 hard boiled eggs, chopped into pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup of low-fat mayonnaise

In a large mixing bowl, combine the green peas, onion, celery, cheese, hard boiled eggs, crumbled bacon, salt and ground black pepper. Stir in the 1/2 cup of low-fat mayonnaise. Place lid on your bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve the salad chilled.

Shelly

Easy To Prepare Fruit Salad Recipe

During the spring and summer months, my family loves for me to make them fruit salad. One of the recipes that I like to use is this particular recipe which I call a DUMP recipe because you just dump the ingredients together.

If you children like to help you in the kitchen, they can certainly help you with this recipe.

Easy Fruit Salad

1 cup mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup pineapple chunks, drained
1/2 cup pear chunks, drained
1/2 cup peach chunks, drained
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 to 1 1/4 cups sour cream

In a large mixing or serving bowl, combined the above ingredients together in the order that they are given. You can add or decrease the sour cream depending on your own taste buds. Cover the bowl with a lid and place into the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to chill.

This fruit salad is best chilled so don’t let it set out at room temperature for too long. My family also likes raisins, so from time to time I will add in a 1/4 cup of raisins.

Enjoy,

Shelly

How To Make Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

When my nephews are visiting, they just love it when I make them some cupcakes that are made inside an ice cream cone. They get a real kick out of it!

Here is how you can make them and it’s pretty easy to do.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes Recipe

1 pkg. cake mix (plus box ingredients)
25-30 flat bottom ice cream cones
cake frosting
sprinkles

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare cake mix as directed on the package. Spoon or pour batter into ice cream cones, filling 1/2 full. Place cones in a rectangular baking dish and use foil around them to hold them upright. Bake as directed on package for cupcakes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Once they are cool…decorate with your favorite frosting and sprinkles.

Shelly

Homemade Waffles For Family Breakfasts

When it comes to breakfast, I love to make homemade food items for my family such as waffles, pancakes, french toast, eggs, omelets, etc. I am not a huge fan of store bought breakfast items as I feel that you can make your breakfast up during the weekends and then freeze it for use during the week when you have less time to spend in the kitchen.

Here is the recipe I like to use when I make homemade waffles.

2 egg whites, whip stiff and fold in
2 egg yolks
3/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter or butter flavored shortening, melted

Beat the egg whites until stiff and set aside. Add milk and vanilla to the well beaten egg yolks. Sift in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Stir in the melted butter (after the butter is cooled) very slowly. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour sufficient batter on the grill to come within one inch of the edge. Cook each waffle for approximately 5 minutes.

Once done, you can let them cool for 15 minutes. Then wrap them in plastic wrap or foil and freeze in a zipper closure bag. They will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Shelly

Health Benefits Of Adding Fish To Your Weekly Diet

There are many health benefits of consuming fish on a weekly basis because of their omega-3 fatty acids content.

Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. They help prevent the formation of clots by making them less sticky. It decreases the risk of embolic and thrombolic strokes. Other benefits of omega-3 fatty acids guards against hypertension, breast cancer, depression and lowers the risk of heart disease and reduce inflammation in arthritis.

Wild salmon, herring, tuna, mackerel, trout, sardines, hoki and halibut contain the most omega-3 fatty acids.

Here’s a simple and healthy salmon dish that is packed with flavour. It’s wonderful on a bed of salad.

Salmon over Greens
Try it with any green leafy vegetable like a spring mix. Add cubed cucumbers to the greens and any regular or flavoured balsamic vinegar dressing. Set aside.

Take a salmon filet (remove skin) and cut into chunks, add a bit of extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Sear the salmon chunks, add salt and pepper and about 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Toss well. If your frying pan is oven proof put it into a 400 degrees F oven, otherwise transfer it into a corning ware and bake for 5-7 minutes or when done depending on your oven. Serve over the salad.

My family also enjoys lingcod with a fruit salsa. Lingcod is not high in essential fatty acids, but it’s high in vitamin B12 and selenium.

Fruit Salsa
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries
1 cup strawberries cut up
1 bunch cilantro chopped
1 red onion diced
Salt & pepper
2 oz lime juice
Touch of honey
1 tsp roasted cumin

Mix all ingredients

It is recommended to eat two servings of fish per week. If you’re not a big fish eater other foods such as walnuts, flaxseed and canola oil all contain omega-3 fatty acids or you can take fish oil supplements.

~Sophia

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