Orange Mint Chicken Drumsticks

I was wanting to do something with mint, and happened to have drumsticks needing to be cooked.  Viola; Orange Mint Chicken sounded delicious, and here you go:

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Orange Juice
1 tsp Orange Emulsion
1 Tbsp Dried Mint (Juiced)
Seasoning (Alpine Touch & Tarragon)
5-6 Chicken Drumsticks

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the Oil, Orange Juice, Emulsion. and seasoning together in a bowl.  Roll the drumsticks one at a time into the mixture and place into a deep pan (I covered with tinfoil to make cleaning easy).  Once complete, pour the remaining mixture over top of the drumsticks in the pan and the sprinkle with additional seasoning.  Cook for 40-50 minutes or until done all the way through.  Serve & Enjoy!

Mix the Oil, OJ, Emulsion and Spices together in a bowl

Roll the Drumsticks in the mixture and place on a foil covered cookie sheet

Take out of the over after about 50 minutes

Serve & Enjoy!

Wine-Infused Leg of Lamb

This is an extremely easy AND extremely delicious recipe!  I am a big lover of lamb, but you could also do this with a nice beef roast. 

Ingredients:
1.5 lb Leg of Lamb (Larger if you are wanting to serve more people)
Seasoning (Garlic, Rosemary, Sea Salt)
Red Wine (I used Sangiovese)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Season the lamb and add it into an oven safe baking dish.  Pour enough wine in to come to the top of the lamb but not cover.  Put in the over for 30-40 minutes for medium rare.  Serve & Enjoy!
*If you want an alcohol free dish, substitute chicken stock. 

Season the lamb and place it in the baking dish

Add the wine and bake

Remove from oven, serve & enjoy

Basil Orange Lime Chicken Drumsticks

I received so many limes with my bountiful basket yesterday that I had to do something with a few of them.  Orange Lime Chicken sounded delicious, and here you go:

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Orange Emulsion
2 Limes (Juiced)
Seasoning (Alpine Touch, Basil, Oregano)
5-6 Chicken Drumsticks

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the Oil, Orange, Lime Juice and seasoning together in a bowl.  Roll the drumsticks one at a time into the mixture and place into a deep pan (I covered with tinfoil to make cleaning easy).  Once complete, pour the remaining mixture over top of the drumsticks in the pan and the sprinkle with additional seasoning.  Cook for 40-50 minutes or until done all the way through.  Serve & Enjoy!

Get all of your ingredients ready

Mix up the liquid ingredients

Roll the drumsticks in the marinade and then top in the pan with remains, and add a dash of seasoning

Cook for 40 to 50 minutes, remove, serve & Enjoy!

Carne Asada: The Winning Dish!

I have to admit that this must be one of the easiest dishes that I made based on your votes.   Not to say that it takes away from being tasty in any way.  Having never made Carne Asada before, I never realized just how quick and easy it was.  The longest time is spent in marinating the dish, and the rest goes by very quickly!  Thank you so very much for your participation and your votes in deciding what I would cook for this month!  As my readers, you are my motivation for keeping this up every single day!   If you have any recipe suggestions, please feel free to share them with me and I can add them in to my monthly vote! 

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs flank or round steak
Marinade:
2 Garlic Cloves (Minced)
1 tsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Alpine Touch (Salt & Pepper)
1 Large handful of cilantro (cut thinly, stems included)
2 Limes worth of Juice
2 Tbsp White Vinegar
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1 small Yellow Bell Pepper (Seeded & Chopped)

Corn or Flour Tortillas
1 Avocado (Peeled, cored & chopped)
Tomatoes
Salsa
Green Onions



Directions:
Combine all of above marinade ingredients and the steak in a large bowl and soak in the fridge for 1-4 hours. 
Preheat your grill (I just use my George Foreman Grill).  Remove the steak from the marinade. If you are cooking on a pan indoors, you may want to brush off excess marinade as the bits may burn and smoke on the hot pan.   Grill the pieces for a few minutes only, on each side, depending on how thin they are, until medium rare to well done, to your preference. You may need to work in batches. Remove the steak pieces to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak across the grain on a diagonal.

(Optional) Serve with warm tortillas (flour or corn). Warm the tortillas for 30 seconds on each side in a dry skillet or on the grill, until toasty and pliable. Alternatively, you can warm tortillas in a microwave: heating just one or two at a time, place tortillas on a paper towel and microwave them for 15 to 20 seconds each on high.
Feel free to add whatever toppings you would like.  I listed which ingredients I added into it, but cook according to preference.  Serve & Enjoy!

Marinate the steak

Grill it to juicy perfection

Warm up your tortillas

Serve with toppings and enjoy!

 Here are the precious winners if you are interested in checking them out! 

February's Winner: Chicken Cordon Bleu

January's Winner: Sauteed Scallops

December's Winner: Pizza Pot Pies

November's Winner: Lasagna Stuffed Manicotti

October's Winner: Pumpkin Risotto

September's Winner: Burgundy Pork 

DIY: Kool-Aid Dyed Pasta

This is a great way for what many people call "Sensory Learning."  It is suggested that you get a sensory bin (any kind of plastic shallow tray or bin) and then you want to have various colored objects of all shapes and sizes and then you child can learn from these things and play with them.  Personally I think that a lot of these things can double as art supplies if you have some glue on hand, to include this project.  I actually find that I will most likely use this more for doing other artistic and crafty ideas instead.  Already I want to make a pasta necklace :)  *Kiwi-Strawberry does not turn out very pink, looks similar to the orange flavor. 

Supplies: (Per Color)
1 Cup Rice or 1 Cup Pasta
1 packet Kool-Aid
1-2 tsp Rubbing Alcohol
Gallon or large plastic Ziplock bags
Tin Foil
Cookie Sheet

Directions:
First add 1 cup of pasta to each bag.  We decided to use a different kind of pasta for each color.  After the pasta is separated into the bags pour 1 packet of  Kool-Aid on top of the pasta.   Add 1-2 teaspoons of rubbing alcohol to each bag on top of the previous two ingredients.
Seal the bag shut and shake it up.  Let it sit for at least 15 minutes to saturate.  Cover the cookie sheet with tin foil.
Next, pour the wet pasta onto the cookie sheet. and get it as flat as it will go so that you can dry it overnight (or for at least 6-8 hours).  When it is dry, the rice will be all clumped together; separate the rice grains with your hands.
Now you can use it for sensory learning or to make additional arts and crafts projects like I intend to do.  My son was already having fun counting and telling me the colors. 

Get out your supplies

Show your excitement :)

Pour the pasta into the baggies

Get ready to add the Kool-Aid

Pour the Kool-Aid over the pasta, add the rubbing alcohol and tightly seal the baggies

Vigorously shake up each bag

Get that dye to stick to the pasta

Happily wait for the dye to sink in

Lay it out to dry overnight and then play :)

If you would like to see the past DIY activities that we have completed together, check them out here:

Cardboard Owls

Alphabet Train

Make Your Own Rainstorm

Orange Sugar Scrub

Meditation Bottle

DIY: Easter Arts & Crafts for Kids

If you know me, you know that I like to find at least one fun and unique thing to do with my 3 year old son every weekend.  With Easter fast approaching, I have been looking around for some fun ideas for us to do.  A couple of the ideas I have been waiting for months to do for Easter, and some are new and fun!  Feel free to steal any and use yourself.  I would love to see pictures of your end results!

Easter Egg Sun-catchers

Easter Egg Sun-catcher

I just love this activity, it is fun, a bit messy and something that can be hung up int he window!  Liam loves things that we can hang up and that will last for a very long time :)

Supplies:
Confetti
Easter Grass
Contact Paper
Painters Tape (or other heavy duty tape)
Double-Sided Tape (Just in case you need to seal the eggs better)

Directions:
Place the contact paper on the table sticky side up using painter’s tape to keep it on the table. Add the confetti and Easter grass to stick onto the contact paper.  Add it to your heart's content and throw it around all over.  Seal it by adding a second sheet on contact paper on the top.  Cut into an egg shape or several egg shapes.  It is possibly that you may need to extra seal with double-sided tape in case the confetti is too thick.  Hang and enjoy!

 

Magic Balloon Treats

Magic Balloon Treats

I have been wanting to do this one for MONTHS!  I have been waiting for Easter on purpose!

Supplies
Water Balloons
Yarn or String
Crafting Glue
Candy


Directions:
Place candy inside of the balloon.  Blow up the balloon.  Mix equal parts crafting glue & water, wrap around the balloon.  Wait until dry and pop the balloon.

Striped Easter Eggs

Striped Eggs

I love how this look is both very clean and colorful looking.  It doesn't seem to be immensely challenging either, which means that my son will be able to help with it!

Supplies:
Hard Boiled Eggs
Easter Egg Dye (or food coloring)
Electrical Tape

Directions:
Partially wrap eggs with electrical tape.  Dye the eggs.  Allow to dry and remove the tape.  Do it again in an alternating direction with a different color.  Dry and remove the tape, there you have it :)

Shaving Cream Egg Art

Shaving Cream Egg

Last year we tried doing the shaving cream and food coloring method to dye our Easter Eggs and it did NOT turn out the way it was supposed to.  I do think that paper may work better with the colors though, and I do not currently own a squeegee....

Supplies:
A surface to use, tray covered table, etc
Shaving Cream
Cardstock or Construction Paper
Acrylic Paints (Food Coloring gel works best)
Squeegee
Something to stir the paint (Spoon, toothpick, paintbrush)

Directions:
Spray out enough shaving cream so that the surface area is larger than your paper.  Spread it around to make the surface smooth.  Squirt paint or dye onto the shaving cream.  Make shapes, or swirls or zigzags in the color.  Cut the paper into shapes (in this case Easter shapes).  Press the paper down onto the colored shaving cream and let it sit for a few seconds.  Remove the paper and let it sit shaving cream side up for a few minutes to soak in the color.  gently squeegee the shaving cream off of the paper which will leave the color behind.  Allow to dry before hanging or using as a card.


Ombre Dyed Eggs

This looks very pretty and very low mess.

Supplies:
Hard Boiled Eggs
Food Coloring
Cups

Instructions:
Place eggs into cups or containers that will allow them to sit upright.  Add enough warm water to cover about a quarter of the egg.  Add enough food coloring for it the color to show darkly in the water.  Let sit 10 minutes and then add enough water so that the eggs are now half covered.  Let sit for another 10 minutes and cover up to the 3/4 mark.  Sit for another 10 minutes and cover completely.  After 5 minutes of total immersion you can remove to dry.  *Keep in mind that 40 additional minutes in warm water may cook the egg yolk a bit more.

Plastic Egg Snake Toy

Plastic Snake Toy

This is a great way to utilize your leftover plastic eggs and turn them into something fun and awesome :)

Supplies:
Plastic Lacing Cord
Newer Style Plastic Easter Eggs with two holes on the top and bottom
Googly Eyes
Red Paper Tongue

Instructions:
Cut the plastic lacing cord to about 3 feet long.  Know the end.  Threat the cord through on of the top shell openings.  Continue threading the cord through the eggs alternating from the left and right holes as you go.  Knot the end of the lacing cord when you have threaded all the top egg shells.  Decorate the snake head using the bottom of on of the eggs.  Attach googly eyes and a red paper tongue to the snakes face.  Snap it in place onto the last top egg shell.  Bend and slither and play.  

Easy Prime Rib Roast

I have been craving prime rib and au jus for a few weeks now and finally was able to find a roast that I could make work.  (It doesn't appear that thick rib roasts are in season right now haha).  Being a Monday and after daylight saving time (which can suck it in the sleep department by the way) I found myself short on time to actually slow roast this.  I decided to brown it in a frying pan first and then stick it in the slow cooker to finish it off making it tender and juicy. 

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 lb Prime Rib Roast
Seasoning (Brown Sugar Bourbon, Garlic Powder, Mediterranean Spiced Sea Salt)
Au Jus Sauce Packet

Directions:
Add the oil into a skillet.  Add the Roast and season it on both side.  Cook on medium high until both sides are browned (About 8 minutes per side).  Turn slow cooker on to high and add roast.  Mix the au jus packet with 1 Cup Water and pour over the roast.  Cook on high for about 40 minutes (you do not want to over-cook it on high or your meat will not be as tender.)  Turn cooker down to low and cook for another 45 minutes or until done to your liking.  At this point it was a good medium rare/medium.  Serve by spooning au jus or serving with a side cup of au just spooned out of the slow cooker.  Enjoy!

Season roast and cook in skillet

Cook for about 8minutes a side or until you are starting to brown towards the middle

Move to the slow cooker and pour the au jus sauce on top

Serve & Enjoy!

Alphabet Train Kid's Activity!

Today was a great day to try out one of the DIY activities that we have been looking at.  I have been wanting to try the one that is called the Alphabet Train!  I though that it would be a lot of fun and also a great learning experience for my son Liam.  It is really easy to do and requires minimal supplies.  You generally just use things around the house and the possibilities are endless.  You could come up with all kinds of different combinations if you played it 100 different times.  This took up about an hour to an hour and a half of our time go through the letters and looking around the house (mostly Liam's playroom and bed room) for stuff that we could use. 


Supplies:
 26 Sheets of Construction Paper (any paper will do)

Items from around the house that start with all of the letters in the alphabet!  

Directions: 
Draw Letters onto the paper and lay out the paper in a "train"!  Now go around and find the items that match up with the letters.  (We also added Letter flashcards so that it gave my son the opportunity to match up the letters from the flash cards with the letters on the paper and give him an idea of where to go from).  I would try to think of things around the house and send him in search of them!  This was so easy and so much fun!  I definitely recommend it to anyone with a child that likes to do things associated with the alphabet and it provides for a wide age range.

Set out the letters into a train, which can be quite fun

 Add the flashcards

Now go around the house to find stuff to place on each paper 

 Now you have the train all set up and you can go back through the letters for fun & learning

 Here are the items we used for each letter in case you are needing a place to start! 

A is for Apple, Asparagus, Airplane

B is for Butterfly, Bubbles, Binoculars, Book

C is for Crab, Car, Carrots, Camera

D is for Duck, Dog, Dolphin

E is for Elephant, Eeyore, Eyes

F is for Firetruck, Farmer, Fork, Flashlight

G is for Glove, Ghost, Glasses, Giraffe, Gas Station

H is for Hat, Helicopter, Hippo, Heart, Hammer

I is for Ice Cream

J is for Jack-in-the-box, Jam, Jack-o-lantern

K is for Kite, Key, Knife, Kale

L is for Lamb, Lion, Leaf, Lotion

M is for Mouse, Milk, Mouth, Moon, Monkey

N is for Nest, Nose, Nut

O is for Owl, Octopus, Orange

P is for Penguin, Phone, Pumpkin, Panda, Pear, Pepper

Q is for Quilt, Queen

R is for Rainbow, Rooster, Rabbit, Radio

S is for Star, Snake, Shark, Seahorse, Sun

T is for Train, Tiger, Tea, Tambourine

U is for Umbrella, Unicorn

V is for Violin, Van, Vacuum, Vitamin

W is for Whale, Whistle, Wasp, Worm, Watermelon

X us fir Xylophone

Y is for Yo-yo, Yogurt

Z is for Zebra