Hair Styling Mirror

DD hates having her hair done. She's got such a beautiful head of hair and I want to play around with different styles. Even something as easy as a pony tail is such a hassle that I usually give up.

DD likes to look at herself in the mirror so my mom suggested that I make a little hair station. We were at DI and my mom found a mirror that was perfect. It has a sturdy metal frame and 2 arms that look like they were meant to hold votive candles.

I got it home and spray painted the little arms white (I forgot to take a before picture...again) then I mod podge'd some scrapbook paper to the frame. I was so thrilled when I found this paper because has the colors that are already in her room as well as colors I plan to add if our next baby is a boy. DH hung this on the wall last night but DD is napping and I don't dare go in to take a picture of it on the wall.
I'm about to wake her up so we can go to Toddler Time at The Treehouse, so we'll see how well this works.

****Update: It's a week since I posted this and I finally got a picture of DD and the mirror. She LOVES it! No more wrestling to get her hair done!

Chicken Divan

Along with trying the recipes in the Deceptively Delicious book, I've been trying to use the concepts I learned to adapt my own recipes.

One of our favorite dinners is Chicken Divan, or Rice/Chicken/Broccoli casserole.
So, here is the recipe, with my adaptions:

2 (10 oz) pkgs. frozen broccoli florets
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 cup cottage cheese
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups cooked rice
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
breadcrumb
Parmesan or cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Slightly cook broccoli and set aside.
Combine soup, buttermilk, cottage cheese, lemon juice, and curry powder in blender and puree.
In a 13x9 baking dish, layer 1/2 soup mixture, all of the rice, all of the chicken & broccoli. Top with remaining soup mixture.
Dust with breadcrumb & cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

My adaptions:
Add 1/2 cup broccoli puree to the soup mixture. I used this instead of the broccoli florets on top, but you could do both.
Add 1/2 cup cauliflower puree to soup mixture.
I used low-fat cottage cheese. I have also low-fat ricotta cheese when I didn't have cottage cheese.
I didn't have buttermilk so I put 1/2 Tbsp. of white vinegar in a 1/2 cup measuring cup and filled the remainder with milk.
I added another drop of lemon juice and a sprinkle of curry powder because the flavors weren't as strong after I added the broccoli and cauliflower.
I add ground flax seeds to the breadcrumb topping.

Tofu Nuggets

My childhood friend turned cousin-in-law got me excited about a book called Deceptively Delicious. I saw it on clearance at Deseret Book so I bought it.
I love the concept of hiding vegetables in food. DH & DD are good vegetable eaters, so really I bought this with myself in mind.
I spent an evening pureeing foods so I'd have them ready in the freezer. For lunch I decided to make tofu nuggets for DD & myself. I had to make these when DH was working, he gags at the thought of tofu.

I thought they were delicious!


Tofu Nuggets

1 cup whole wheat or white breadcrumbs ( I only had Italian and I think it added lots of flavor)
1 TBSP flax seed meal (buy a big jar at Costco for cheap)
1 TBSP grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 cup spinach, broccoli or pea puree (I used broccoli)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 (14. oz) package extra firm tofu , preferably with calcium
1/2 tsp. salt
Nonstick cooking spray
1 TBSP olive oil


1. In a bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, flax seed meal, Parmesan, and paprika. Set aside.
2. In a shallow bowl, much puree and egg with a fork, and set the bowl next to the breadcrumb mixture.
3. Slice the tofu 1/2 inch thick and cube it or cut into shapes with cookie cutter. Sprinkle both sides with salt. Dip tofu pieces into the puree mixture, then roll them in breadcrumbs until the tofu is completely covered and you can't see the puree.
4. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil.
5. Add the tofu nuggets in a single layer (be careful not to crowd the pan!) and cook until nicely browned on one side 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and cook until breadcrumb coating is crisp and golden, 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Couponing

I tried couponing once before and I found it totally confusing.
On Monday night I was at Smith's and I overheard 2 ladies talking about some awesome deals they got. I plucked up my courage to walk up to them and ask what source they use for couponing. They were super friendly and told me about pinchingyourpennies.com I told her that couponing confused me, but she said that this website walks you through it and makes it easy. She told me how she bought $200 worth of groceries the previous day and paid $30 out of pocket. I can't pass up deals like that. I came home and explored PYP and decided that I want to do it. DH even got excited about it.

I was looking at the PYP blog and found a great deal going on at Rite Aid. So I went with coupons in hand and got all of this:

for FREE. Now, I did pay some money out of pocket, but I will be getting a $25 rebate from Rite Aid so I will end up making money!

I was able to stock up on stuff we always need like Sudafed & Motrin, and get some things I've always wanted to try (KY Yours & Mine) :) all for FREE.

Dresses

DD broke my camera so I've had to take pictures with my phone, which aren't very good. So I apologize for the quality. (Not that my camera took great pictures either :))

I've been making dresses for DD. It's my first attempt at sewing clothes and I'm surprised that I'm really enjoying it.
This was my first dress.
I took a onesie and added a skirt and ruffles. The fabric was a remnant I got at Hobby Lobby that I knew I'd be able to put to good use.

This is DD's Easter dress. Or rather, what was supposed to be her Easter dress but it's so big on her that I'm going to stick it in the closet for next Easter.
But I've conquered my fear of patterns. That's a big thing for me!

Awesome Giveaway on Make It and Love It

R'z Cozy Creations is a new sponsor on my favorite site, Make It and Love It. She makes adorable bean bag chairs for kids and luscious clover car seat blankets, which I LOVE, I used them for DD

Check it out here

Easter Preparations

Hubby recently informed me that Easter is his favorite holiday because "Easter candy is the BEST!" How we've been married for 2 1/2 years and I didn't know this is beyond me.

So, as I've been shopping lately I've been picking up Easter supplies . We didn't even have the basics like Easter baskets.

Tonight hubby is working and while DD is napping, I decided to collect everything I've got so far and see where I'm at.

This is 4 bags of plastic eggs that are now all filled with candy.
I think I've got enough. Now the trick will be hiding these for a month so DH doesn't eat all his candy before Easter.