Apple Salsa!

So, a few weeks ago I was hanging with some ladies eating salsa.  They started RAVING about using apples instead of tomatoes for their salsa.  I figured they were talking about some dessert salsa with cinnamon and sugar in it or something.  Well, last week we were hanging again and they started raving again.  It's not a dessert salsa they were raving about.... it was the actual tomato salsa recipe they had been using, but with apples instead (mango and peach are delish too I hear).  So, tonight I decided to give it a go.

At first, it was kinda weird.  I couldn't decide if I liked it or not, but after a few bites I was hooked!

My daughter loved it too.

All I did was chop up an onion in my Quick Chef Pro, then add 2 apples (cut with and apple slicer then chopped in the Quick Chef with the onion), add a little lime juice, cilantro, and about a teaspoon of Southwest Chipotle Seasoning, and voila!  You have apple salsa!

If you decide to try it let me know if you like it too!

Birthday Freebies!

Who doesn't love getting free stuff for their birthday?  It's the best part about that day, isn't it?  Getting older sure isn't fun anymore, at least.  Here's a great list of deals you can get just for getting older!

Caribou Coffee sends you a free drink when you sign up with your email!

Bruegger’s gives you with a free bagel when you sign up for the e-club!

Get a free $10 Tupperware Gift Certificate! 

Orange Julius  get a free drink coupon on your special day.

Einstein Bros Bagels free bagel and shmear on your birthday when you sign up for the loyalty club!

Dunkin’ Donuts Sign up for a DD Perks Rewards account and get a free coffe on your birthday.

Bojangles sends you a free biscuit coupon on your birthday when you sing up for their eClub!

IHOP Join the email list and get a free meal on your birthday!

Denny’s Restaurants will give you a free Grand Slam meal! Just like that.

Waffle House Sign up for The Regulars Club and get a free gift on your birthday! (usually a free waffle)

BIGGBY will send you a free drink coupon when you sign up for their E-wards program.

Claim Jumper join the e-club and get a free dessert and entree (up to $18) for your b-day!

Chevy’s get free birthday and anneversary freebies when you sign up for the compadres club!

Champp’s join the fan club and get a free cheeseburger or appetizer on your special day!

Boston Market join the VIP club and get a freebie coupon on your birthday!

Black Angus gives you a free steak dinner when you join the Prime Club!

bd’s Mongolian Grill sends you “something special” on your birthday when u sign up for Club Mongo.

Rubios Sign up for the Beach Club and get a free birthday meal! (Up to $7)

Moe’s Southwest Grill Subscribe to Moe’s E-World and get a freebie for your birthday!

Baja Fresh rewards you with a free birthday burrito for signing up with Club Baja!

Back Yard Burgers will give you a free burger when you sign up for the eClub and one on your birthday!

Auntie Anne’s Join Pretzel Perks and get a free pretzel on your birthday!

Wendy’s Sign up for My Wendy’s and get a coup0n for a “special gift” for your birthday (usually a free Frosty). 

Genghis Grill offers you a free birthday bowl when you sign up for Khan’s Klub.

Noodles & Company sends you a free dish coupon on your birthday when you sign up for the Noodlegram E-Club.

Jason’s Deli will send you a free $5 giftcard on your birthday when you sign up for the Real, Good List.

Ruby Tuesday Join the So Connected club and get a free burger on your birthday!

Marie Callendar’s When you sign up for the E-Club you’ll get a freebie delivered to your inbox.

Fuddruckers rewards you with a special gift for joining the Fudd Club, plus a birthday treat and surprise on your anniversary date.

Firehouse Subs wishes you a happy day with a free medium sub when you show ID on your birthday!

Famous Dave’s Join the P.I.G. Club and get a special birthday offer via email.

Red Lobster Will give you “a surprise from us to help you celebrate” if you sign up for the Seafood Lovers club at least 7 days before your big day.

Benihana mails you a $30 gift certificate for your birth month when you sign up for a free The Chef’s Table membership. Be sure to read the restrictions at the bottom of the page.

Sonic Drive-In will give you a “surprise for your burthday” when you join the free Cruisers Club.

Carrabbas Join the Amici Club and get a free appetizer for your birthday!

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers offers you a free burger during your birth month when you sign up for their free Red Royalty perks membership.

Buca di Beppo will give you a free antipasti on your birthday when you sign up for the eClub, plus when you sign up you get a free appetizer or specialty bread, and they have a gluten free menu!

Abuelo’s Mexican will send you a birthday (and anniversary) coupon when you sign up for the e-club.

Acapulco also mexican, sends you free guac when you sign up for the e-club and a free entree on your birthday.

Au Bon Pain cafe and bakery will send you a coupon for a free birthday meal

Del Taco will send you a free premium shake on your birthday plus 2 free tacos when you sign up for the Raving Fan e-club!

Carrows sends you a free dessert when you sign up and one on your birthday.

Bennigan’s will send you a free brownie bottom pie coupon when you sign up for the e-club.

Bakers Square sends you a free piece of pie when you sign up for the e-club.

Corner Bakery Cafe register and get a free cookie and treat for your B-day!

Pinkberry lets you celebrate with a free frozen yogurt, when you sign up for the pinkcard!

Brusters free icecream on your birthday! Sign up for the eClub.

Rita’s Italian Ice get a free italian ice when you sign up for the Birthday Club!

Panera Bread Sign up for a free MyPanera account and get a coupon for a free sweet or pastry.

Maggie Moo’s rewards you with a free ice cream creation on your birthday!

Nestle Toll House Cafe will send you a special birthday gift when you sign up for the email list!

Dunkin Donuts Join the Birthday Club and get free ice cream!

Belfonte will send you a certificate for a FREE half gallon of Belfonte Ice Cream when you sign up for the Birthday Club!

Marble Slab Creamery offers a “birthday surprise” when you sign up for Marble Mail. Also look for the Marble Slab Kid’s Club so they can get free ice cream on their birthday too!

Baskin-Robbins will give you a FREE ice cream and discount on a cake when you sign up for the Birthday Club.

Applebees will send you a free dessert on your birthday.

Buffalo Wild Wings rewards you with a free dessert on your birthday when you join the Buffalo Circle.

CVS Pharmacy register your CVS ExtraCare card online and you’ll get an ECB (around $3) by email on your birthday!

Backwoods has a birthday program when you spend at least $50 over the previous 12 months. You will receive a birthday card asking you to come in for your complimentary Birthday gift (in order to qualify you need to be added to the database when you shop in the store, you can also try registering online).

Payless Shoesource Scroll to the bottom and put in your email for a 20% off birthday coupon!

Famous Footwear Create a free online rewards account and get a birthday coupon!

Anthropologie Sign up online and get a coupon for 15% off on your birthday!

Aveda sends you a free cutomized gift on your birthday when you sign up for the Birthday Program(Scroll down).

Sephora gives you a free Fresh Sugar Kisses Mini Lip Duo during your birth month when you sign up for the Beauty Insider rewards program.

World Market will give you a “fabulous birthday surprise during your birthday month” when you sign up for a free rewards membership.

Old Navy  You’ll get a $10 off a $50 purchase coupon e-mailed before your birthday if you sign up for their e-mail club.

Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) will send you a $5 gift certificate when you join the free rewards program

Easy Microwave Omelet

I love omelets. I think they are deliciously fluffy and flavorful, and I love that you can pretty much put whatever you want in them.  When I was in Seattle visiting my awesome Bro-and-Sis-in-law we went to a place featured on Man vs Food called Beth's Cafe .  DELICIOUSLY HUGE OMELETS! Loved them.

The problem with omelets is cooking them evenly.  I try to make them, but getting them cooked thoroughly without burning the bottom seems next to impossible.  I try to flip them, which just gets messy.  I usually end up with scrambled eggs with some cheese and veggies mixed in.  Still tastes good, but just isn't the same!

So, when I found this microwave omelet maker from Tupperware, I was super excited to give it a try.  I didn't have a lot on hand, but I did what I could.  I had some canadian bacon, green pepper, tomato, and cheese that I whisked in with the eggs, along with a touch of milk, onion flakes, and celery salt.  Ooooooh was it delicious!  All it needed was some REAL bacon!

The instructions told me to cook my omelet for about 2 minutes for 2 eggs... mine wasn't cooked all the way yet (my microwave is oooold) so I did 2 more minutes and it was perfect!  Yay for an easy way to a healthy breakfast!

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Easy 4 Ingredient Berry Ice Cream

So, I just got a bunch of stuff from Tupperware that I didn't even know they sold... did you know they sell things besides storage bowls?  CRAZY!  I got this Quick Chef Pro System, it's basically a hand-cranked chopper/salad spinner/ mixer in one.  And it came with a few recipes!  One of the recipes was for "Berry Quick Ice Cream."  It only had 4 ingredients and seemed like it would be relatively quick and healthier than other ice cream. There's not a ton of sugar in it, and it's made with real berries.

 

All you need is
1 c frozen strawberries
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp vanilla
3 tbsp powdered sugar.

You put all of the ingredients in the Quick Chef Pro System, turn the blade for about 1 1/2 minutes, and you're good to go!  The recipe says your soft serve ice cream will be ready to eat (for a thicker consistency add more strawberries).  It seemed to be about the consistency of yogurt to me, though, and I wanted it to be a little thicker and a little colder, so I stuck it in the freezer for a few hours.

Final product:  Not too bad!!!  It wasn't super sweet like most ice cream, but it was still yummy.

The Quick Chef Pro System also came with a salsa recipe.... can't wait to try it!  The blades chopped much better than I expected for being hand crank.... There must be some major gears in there to get it to turn as fast as it does and as smooth as it does.  It chops so smoothly, and with so much less noise than my electric chopper!  I may just be getting rid of my electric ones.... This holds about 3 times as much as my little electric choppers AND seems easier to use as well.  I LOVE IT!

Creme Brûlée Fudge

A few weeks ago Olive Garden, my place of work, came out with a new Caramel Brulee Martini.  It is delicious!  Ever since trying it (Being a Mormon, I tried the non-alcoholic version my manager told the bartender to wing) I have been craving creme brûlée.  So, when my sister told me she found a creme brûlée fudge recipe on Pinterest, I just had to try it!  I went to the page and found 3 recipes all with a review alongside them.  The third recipe was the best according to the blogger, but the measurements she used were milliliters and grams... yikes!!!  So, I converted all the measurements as accurately as I could.  It called for 200g of marshmallows, which I didn't have.  I did, however, have a jar of marshmallow cream which said 198g on it, so I just used that.  Here is the recipe with the Americanized measurements.

1 can (5 oz) evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1 small jar (198 grams) marshmallow cream
Most of a bag of white chocolate chips (the entire bag, minus 1/4 cup)

1. Grease a pan, I used an 8x8 cake pan and the fudge was a little thick to my liking, so a 9x13 would probably be perfect.
2. In a large, heavy based pot dissolve sugar in the butter and evaporated milk.  Increase heat to medium and, using a thermometer, heat to 238*F, stirring constantly.  It will take quite a while, so you might want to pull up a stool.
3. Remove from heat and immediately stir in white chocolate chips and marshmallow cream with a wooden spoon.  Once it is all mixed together and creamy, pour into your prepared pan.
4.  Let it set for 20 minutes or so, then sprinkle some white sugar on top and torch it.  ( I used a lighter... which took forever!  If you have a small propane torch I would recommend using that.)

It took probably an hour for my fudge to completely set up, the original recipe said it set up pretty quickly so it might be because I used marshmallow cream instead of marshmallows, but it is tasty nonetheless!  My husband hates fudge and he is insisting on me making another batch of this because it will be all gone by the time his family comes to visit.

Tips and Tricks for Cloth Diapering: Week 1

Cloth Diapering Week 1

This is a lot easier than I was expecting.  I washed all diapers on Monday, and didn't have to wash them again until Friday...  That is 5 diaper covers (2 lined with fleece so you can't really reuse them and 3 that aren't so you can wipe them down and reuse them), 13 tri-fold organic inserts, and 7 microfiber "stay-dry" inserts, and 12 wipes.  There were inserts and wipes left over, but the covers really needed a washing.

I figured there are probably a lot of you out there who kinda want to try cloth diapering, but have no clue how to go about it, what you need, and what to do with the poop.  That is why it took me so long to get started, so I thought I'd blog about it.  Give advice from things I've learned along the way.

First things first:  There are 2 types of closures I've found so far: snaps and velcro (also called hook and loop?).  I only have 1 snap diaper right now.  The problem I have found with velcro is that if there is any gunk left on a dirty diaper when you throw it in the wash it is bound to get stuck in the velcro.  Velcro, as you know, sticks together.  As the diaper is rolling around in the washer, the velcro finds other velcro and sticks, trapping any gunk inside.  For that reason any additional diapers I buy will be snaps.... (I ordered 3 off of zulily.com and I'm super excited to get them).  Has anybody else come across this problem and/or have a solution?  Right now I'm thinking I'll just have to get a diaper sprayer.

So, here are my supplies so you can get a glimpse of what they look like.  

From left to right you've got the tri-folds, the microfiber inserts, the velcro diapers, and the organic re-usable wipes (which I LOVE).

Second things now: How to choose a type of insert.  I prefer the organic tri-folds personally.  There are a couple reasons for this: 1, I don't like the way the microfiber feels on my hands.  It seems to catch on every little piece of loose skin.  2, the microfiber doesn't seem to be as absorbent.  You have to use 2 or 3 microfiber inserts in one diaper for it to last more than an hour or 2, let alone overnight.  You can get the gist of what they are above.  Here is a picture of an unfolded tri-fold: It's essentially 3 inserts in one so you don't have to dirty 3 at a time.

If anybody has any questions or advice on cloth diapering, please feel free to share!!!

We are Converting to Cloth

The other day on CNN I saw a segment about a woman who started a business during the Recession and how well it's doing.  It's doing well because it's a niche market that also helps people save money: She makes cloth diapers.  She stated in her interview that using cloth diapers instead of disposables will save a family an average of $900 just on the first child.

I had considered switching to cloth before, bought a couple diapers and used them even.  But I found that if you are going to switch you really need to switch all out to make sure you have everything you need for a successful cloth diapering experience.  So I quit. But after hearing it can save $900 I decided to add up how much we spend on diapers.  Averaging 4 diapers a day, we probably go through one economy pack of Huggies a month (The bigger the size of diaper, the less in the box so that probably accounts for the newborns going through 10+ a day well enough).  That is $35 per month.  My daughter is 19 months old, which puts us at $665 we have spent on diapers so far.  You could probably add more, seeing as the size 1 diapers only hold 70 more diapers; and boy do those newborns go through them!

That is $700 that could have been spent on food, insurance, clothes, or even put in savings!  $700 that could have been put toward our food storage or a new windshield for my car!

After figuring this out I decided, enough is enough!  We are switching to cloth.  My husband is not too excited about it, but he has agreed to it.  I went to Cotton Babies and stocked up on the Flip diaper system (that is what I decided I liked best when I half-heartedly tried it before) with the organic tri-fold inserts.  While I wait for them I only have enough diapers for one day... once what I've ordered comes I'll probably have enough for 5 days or so.  I figure 2 days of the week she goes to daycare so she can stick with disposables those days.  So far she doesn't like them much.  It takes her a minute to break them in so they move with her, so she waddles around for an hour until they soften up.  It's funny... Hopefully she'll get used to them!