Organized junk drawer

I tackled one of our junk drawers a few weeks ago.  Yes, that was plural, we have two.   One drawer is mostly manuals to electronics, random tools, and odds and ends.  This one was craft supplies.  The drawer was a huge unorganized mess with everything mixed together.  You could reach in looking for a pen and come out with a safety pin stuck to your finger.    

Now, it is organized and kid friendly.  I have waited to see if the kids would maintain it, and they have!  I used plastic bin organizers to keep everything sorted. 

Yes, there are actually sharpies in the drawer the kids use.. I may be asking for it, but they don't take markers or crayons without asking.  It hasn't been an issue yet, but if so, I'll have a reason to blog about removing sharpie off random things.. 

Happy Organizing!

Mango Salsa

If you are looking for a refreshing and addictive salsa, this is the salsa for you.  Mango salsa has a sweetness with just the right kick to it.  This is by far my favorite salsa to make and eat.  It's not a traditional salsa because it does have mango, but so delicious.  

Mango Salsa

1 mango (peeled, seeded, and diced)

5 tomatoes (diced, I usually cut in different sizes for some chunky bits) 

1/4 cup red onion (diced) 

1/4 cup sweet onion (diced) 

1/2 cup fresh cilantro (chopped) 

3 cloves garlic (minced) 

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 

1 teaspoon salt 

1 jalepeno seeded and diced (optional) 

Add all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly together.  Refrigerate for at least an hour to blend all the flavors together.  It only gets better the longer it sits!  :) 

 

Happy Dipping!  

Delicious Guacamole

I am a huge guacamole fan, and it's one of my favorites if it's made fresh.  The hardest part is making it the same day I am craving it.  Avacadoes have that short sweet spot of readiness.  Most stores sell them green and hard, and you have to wait for them to ripen.  I always seem to find some ripe and ready for eating if I look hard enough through them.  ;)

I found a recipe on all-recipes a while back and have been using it since, with a few modifications of my own.  

This recipe is very forgiving except for the limes.  Do not add extra lime juice without tasting it first.  I once added too much, and it was very tart.  If you do add too much you can try to counter by adding more avacado.  If you're like me and don't have extra avacado lying around, letting it settle overnight in the fridge can calm the tart flavor quite a bit.

I usually double this because we love guacamole and leftovers.

Here is how I make guacamole.  

Guacamole:

4 avacados

2 tomatoes (diced) 

1/2 cup sweet onion (diced)

1 lime (juiced)

1 teaspoon minced garlic 

1 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (chopped)

Peel, pit, and mash avacado in a bowl.  How much you mash depends on your preference for smooth or chunky.  Add remaining ingredients and hand mix together.   Refrigerate for at least an hour for flavors to blend.  

It is even better the next day!   ;)

Happy preparing!

Guacamole and Mango salsa

We all have those things we do when feeling sad or stressed.  Mine is baking and cooking.  Usually it's cookies for me, but today I made guacamole and mango salsa.  

I will post the recipes for each here soon, because they are amazing!  The downside is, I can't stop eating them once I start. 

Recipes to come! 

Happy Eating! 

Fiona's 3rd birthday cake

Fiona was a huge My Little Pony fan on her third birthday.  What cake to make her was a very easy decision.  We decided to make her a cake of her favorite pony Rainbow Dash.  The cake inside was even rainbow colored.

We actually struggled quite a bit and were disappointed at first.  We were decorating this on little sleep, and grew very frustrated with the icing and shaping.  Looking back now and seeing how much Fiona loved it, I am happy and very proud of it.   Here are her cake pictures. 

We also made rainbow jello cups for guests. 

 

It was a great birthday, and she had a blast!  

Happy Baking!

Carter's 1st birthday cake

I just discovered that I never posted pictures of Carter's first birthday cake and smash cake.  We decided to do a racetrack in the shape of a one, and a tire for his smash cake.  Here are the pics.

I had originally planned on cutting the center of the tire cake out, but it kept collapsing on me when I tried.  I think it looks better this way anyway.  ;). The birthday boy enjoyed his cakes, and that's all that really mattered!  

Happy Baking!

Breakfast Fun

I like to mix things up and experiment with breakfast.   The kids always seem to enjoy the spin on breakfast.  I never remember to post what we make, so here are a few of our different meals lately.

Watermelon and Snails 

Tropical scene 

Owl pancakes

Lion

Elmo

Calliou 

Strawberries and Grapes

Mickey meatloaf (not quite a breakfast food, but hey!) 

Dinosaur banana muffins 

Often Fiona will tell me an animal or food that she wants and I will try to incorporate it into breakfast.  This happened with the watermelon pancakes this morning. 

Happy Cooking!