Fiesta Lime Corn {Recipe}

The other day I was making tostadas and got this idea for corn with butter and lime juice and Mrs. Dash's fiesta lime seasoning. Here's the recipe. I thought it was so delicious!

Ingredients:

1 bag frozen corn
2 T butter
garlic power
pepper
lime juice ~ 1 lime
Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning
Salt

Cook the corn according to the pack or your usual way til hot. Add the butter and stir til melted. Squeeze on the lime juice. Sprinkle each spice over the corn. The fiesta lime seasoning can be spicy, use more if you want it hot, less if you don't. I did the salt last after mixing in all the other spices and tasting. Salt to taste. I hope you enjoy this, I sure did!

Weeds, Tears & Flowers

A couple Friday's ago we received an HOA violation notice stating that we needed to get rid of the weeds. So last weekend my husband pulled all the weeds. My daughter had thought the weeds in the back were flowers and was in love with them. She's 3 1/2. But it wasn't until yesterday that she noticed that all the "flowers" were gone. She asked me where they were and I told her Daddy picked them. She said what did he do with them? I tried to think quick and find an answer that wasn't a lie that wouldn't upset her, but I couldn't. So I told her the truth. Daddy threw them in the trash. Out came the tears! She was so upset. Then after she gets done crying. She says, "I'm gonna tell my Daddy why he threw away my flowers." In the most outraged 3 year old voice you can imagine. I had to hide my face I was trying so hard not to laugh. Later, I text my husband and told him what happened and suggested he bring her some flowers. He brought us both flowers. Here's a pic of my little one with the flowers he brought us! She is so funny and emotional! I just love it!

Great things I learned from my Dad (RIP)!

October 18th, 2011

He's been gone over a year now & for a while I've had trouble recalling good memories. I just thought of one while making my husband sandwiches for work. And so here I will jot down things I remember about my dad.

~As a child, I was going on a school field trip and was required to bring a lunch. However, the students or teachers, I'm not sure which, scared me about the mayo spoiling. This is what Dad had to say about it: "Put mayo on your sandwich if you want to. Then tomorrow when you go to have lunch, take a bite. If it doesn't taste good, don't eat it." That simple! I use this advice still to this day. I first look at and smell something before eating it. If it passes those tests, then I taste it. If it doesn't taste good I don't eat it!~

~Growing up we would sit around the patio table and sing songs. Old Hyms like 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' or 'The Old Rugged Cross' or along with the country songs on the radio.~

October 23rd, 2011

~How to balance my checkbook. The old fashioned way.~

~How to change my oil, a tire, and work on cars.~

~How to season a cast iron skillet, and how to clean one.~

~How to make great french toast.~

October 26th, 2011

~How to ripen avocados.~

~How to make fabulous guacamole.~

November 7th, 2011
~Today on the radio, there was news of an applesauce supplier providing school cafeterias with moldy applesauce. They were talking about the weirdest things anyone had ever seen in a cafeteria. It reminded me of a time growing up when my Dad took a look at the school lunch menu and said, "I wouldn't feed half this stuff to the dog." I promptly remarked, "Yet you make us eat it everyday." He laughed but I still think we had to eat it.~

November 17th, 2011

~He taught me to love life. Here's two songs that remind me of him and his love for life. I Love by Tom T. Hall. And Chicken Fried by the Zac Brown Band. Enjoy!

January 30th, 2012

~How to snap.~

~How to whistle.~

February 28th, 2012

~How to wink ;) !~

~How to use a charcoal BBQ.~

Check out the similar post I wrote about my mom.

{Thought Provoking Quote}

The paradox is that the more one attempts to be who one is not, the more one remains the same. Put another way, change comes about as a result of "full acceptance of what is, rather than a striving to be different". ~Arnold Beisser

Garlic Parmesan Sauce {Recipe}

My favorite sauce on pizza is white sauce and when I make pizza at home I usually use Ragu's Garlic Parmesan Sauce. But as I try to improve my diet, I don't like what I read on the label, plus I was out the other night. So a quick internet search helped me find a fabulous recipe. I couldn't help but share with you.

~2 T butter
~1 T garlic powder
~2 T flour
~1 c chicken broth
~1/2 c milk {I used leftover cream from making whipped cream from scratch for the how to click here}
~salt and pepper to taste {I used about an 1/8th of a teaspoon each}

Place butter in sauce pan, melt. Add garlic powder, mix. Add flour, cook for 1 minute. Add broth and milk, whisking frequently. Cook until thickened. Add Parmesan cheese and salt n pepper. {The original recipe says it takes 5 minutes. That was not true for me. Even if it only took 2 minutes for most of the assembly, it took a long time to thicken.}You can see the original here.

Looking for a great pizza crust recipe, check out this one.

Garlic Herb Pizza Crusts {Recipe}

~3 c Whole Wheat Flour (Hard White Wheat preferably)
~1 (.25oz) pkg or 2 1/4 t active dry yeast
~2 tsp salt
~2 T Italian Seasoning
~2 1/2 T Garlic Powder
~1/4 c honey (can substitute for sugar)
~8 oz. milk
~4 oz. water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease pizza pan. Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl.{See note below} Warm milk, water and honey to 110 degrees. {If using sugar add to dry ingredients}Add liquids to dry ingredients. Stir until well mixed. Remove the dough, oil the bowl, replace dough, and cover with a towel. Let rise for 20-25 minutes. Knead dough on clean floured surface 6-8 times. Add flour as necessary to keep from sticking. Roll into the desire shape and thickness. Place on pan, add sauce and toppings. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, depending on thickness.

{Note} You may want to start with 2 to 2 1/2 cups flour, then add other dry ingredients and then wet. Continue to add the last half cup flour until the dough is not longer to sticky. This saves flour and prevents the dough from becoming too dry.

{Modified from a recipe on EasyPizzaCrusts.com}

Check out my favorite pizza sauce recipe.

How to Make Homemade Whipped Cream!

Ever read the list of ingredients in Cool Whip? If you haven't and ever want to be able to eat it again, Don't! Pretty much its a bunch of artificial chemicals whipped together to create the Non-Dairy topping. If your going to eat a desert then go for the real thing. Don't poison your body with things you can't even pronounce. To help you eliminate cool whip from you holiday meals, here's a quick "how to" on making whipped cream from scratch.

Whipped cream is basically 2 ingredients: Heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar (which is finely ground white sugar and cornstarch).

About a half hour before your ready to start place your beaters and a metal or glass bowl in the freezer. Keep your cream in the coldest part of you fridge.

Ingredients needed: 1 cup cream & 1-2 Tablespoons of powdered sugar

When ready pull out the bowl and beaters. Add cream to bowl and begin whipping. DO NOT add sugar yet. Whip until the cream forms soft peaks approximately 5 minutes. I used my kitchenaid standmixer on speed 6. The faster the beaters are going the faster it becomes whipped cream. At the point that the cream forms soft peaks add the powdered sugar. Whip some more. Scrape down the sides of you bowl. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form. DO NOT over whip. It will curdle. Check out this link for additional details on how to make whipped cream.

If you want to get rid of the sugar you could trying grinding in a spice grinder, mortar and pestle, blender, or food processor something like xylitol to a powdered consistency then adding 1-2 Tablespoons cornstarch to get the consistency of powdered sugar. I wouldn't recommend any other sugar alternatives. Everything execpt stevia, and rapurda/succanat are just chemicals. Stevia often has an artificial after taste. And rapurda/succanat will still have the same effects as sugar on you body. They are still sugar just without the nutrients processed out of them.

Good luck making healthier deserts from scratch!

Happy Thanksgiving!