Summertime Updates & Fun Stuff

Since summer is in full swing now, it's a little crazy and harder for me to have time to blog without someone attached to my leg, so there will be a few less, but I am trying to keep up with garden updates, tips, etc. and some recipes. Recipes are lacking a little, as well, since I don't do as much cooking when hubby works out of town.
BUCKET LIST:
Our Summertime Bucket list is coming along quite nicely. We have managed to do about seven things...some small, some not small, but we are having fun!

GARDEN:
Wow! The garden has started to take off!! I have found some things that work well and some that don't. My latest and possibly greatest discovery, is the use of some weird stuff called diatamaceous earth . As with any garden that is producing, the more you produce and start yielding good stuff, the more the critters like it too! When squash bugs threatened to take over last week, I had to find an alternative to the time consuming method of picking them off....who has time to do that!?!?....or nasty chemicals that would be dangerous for my kiddos and pet, not to mention the environment. So, with the handy dandy google search, I found it!! This crazy stuff that dries up/scratches the little buggers but is safe for humans, even to eat it and is used in organic gardening! Hallelujah!! So far, so good on getting rid of the squash bugs. I will have to keep on top of them if I plan to plant pumpkins in a week or two.

I have to post something yummy to try, so here you go--my husband loves squash cooked this way and you can even add other stuff to make it to your taste:


Chopped Fried Squash
2-3 yellow squash/ zucchini chopped
1 small chopped onion
1 egg
Flour to coat
Salt and pepper

Coat squash with egg in a bowl, then in same bowl, add enough flour to coat it again. Add chopped onion and mix in. Heat oil in skillet then add the squash mixture, salt and pepper to taste, and fry it up to your desired crispiness! Enjoy!!! 

Bubble Mania

Kids love BUBBLES! I decided to try my hand at making my own bubbles and I found this cute idea for a bubble refill container on Pinterest. I can't even remember where I found the recipe, but it works great!

I made the recipe times four to fill my container, but to make a single batch use:
1 cup water
4 Tbsp. Dawn or Baby bath--I used baby bath so it won't sting eyes
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

This will make a TON of bubble for CHEAP!!

I had a few frosting containers that I'd saved, because I just couldn't bring myself to throw them away, I knew they'd be handy for something and sure enough! They are great for filling with bubble and holding the bubble wands!

I thought this would be really fun since we have friends visiting with their kids this weekend and will save me from having to refill little bubble trays all the time! I can't wait to see how the kids like them!

Make Your Own Pizza Pockets

 Believe it or not, this is my own concoction! I'm sure there is a recipe for this out there somewhere, but I was improvising and came up with this quick, easy dinner idea- Pizza Pockets!

Ingredients:
1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
2 oz. shredded part skim mozzarella
1/4 cup pizza sauce
2 oz slice ham
Desired amount of Italian seasoning


Heat oven to 375. Roll out crescent dough and take apart in quarter sections (two triangles together). Put about a tablespoon (give or take--to your taste) of pizza sauce on one end of the rectangle, then top with about 1/8 cup of cheese and 1/2 a slice of ham. Then fold over and press edges, then bake according to crescent directions, roughly 13-15 minutes-- Makes 4

*11 WW Pts. Plus each
*You can add veggies, different meat, different cheese- whatever pizza toppings you want--just make a pocket out of it!

BIG hit with the kiddos!!

Yummy Valentine Treats

 I made these whoopie pies for Valentine's Day treats for the hubby...he calls them "poopy pies" but he loves them! 

 My only word of advice...don't make the circles too big, because they will expand a lot and you will have hamburger size cookies! Enjoy!

Whoopie Pies      (link to full & printable recipe)                   

Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups milk
• Filling, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, or preheat a convection oven to 315 degrees F.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, and eggs together until well combined. Add the oil and vanilla and beat again.
In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry mixture to the egg mixture and beat or stir to blend. Add 1 1/2 cups milk and beat again. Add the remaining dry mixture and beat until incorporated. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk and beat until blended.
With a large spoon, scoop out 32 circles of batter onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool.
Spread filling onto 16 circles and place remaining circles on top, to make 16 Whoopie Pies.

Filling:

1 1/2 cups shortening 3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 1/3 cups marshmallow topping

Dash salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 to 1/2 cup milk

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine all ingredients except the milk and beat well. Add just enough milk to achieve a creamy consistency. Spread filling across cooled cookie circles.

Lasagna in a Bowl??

Oh, Pinterest, how I love you!! This is another pinned recipe on my "recipes to try" board that I made for dinner tonight. I fed it to a three and four year old and they loved it, too! And, it's only 7 points plus if you are doing Weight Watchers! (And, it doesn't taste like it!) I made a few modifications to the recipe--I used ground beef instead of Italian sausage that the recipe called for, left out the bay leaf, and instead of oregano, I used Italian seasoning mix, and I used penne pasta.

LASAGNA SOUP Ingredients: (click for entire recipe)

2 tsp olive oil, 1 1/2 lbs Italian sausage bulk or with casings removed (or 1 lb ground beef), Chopped onion, 4 minced garlic cloves, 2 tsp oregano (or Italian season mix), 2 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 can diced tomatoes undrained, 6 cups chicken broth, 2 bay leaves, 8 oz pasta, 8 oz ricotta, fresh basil (this was in mix for me), 1/2 cup grated parmesan, salt, pepper, 2 cups shredded mozzerella

I baked some canned crescent rolls with Italian seasoning and a little butter to serve with this and it is tasty!!