Peach Lemonade

I finally tried out this recipe I found on Pinterest several years ago. And it did not disappoint. I used the last of my Mom's summer peaches and it turned out wonderfully. I'm going to have to make it a lot more next summer!

Ingredients:

• 3 peaches (or nectarines)
• 5 lemons
• 4-5 TBSP sugar (more or less depending on taste)
• Water

Directions:

1. Squeeze the lemons and set the juice aside.
2. Peel the peaches, remove the pits, and dice.
3. Puree the peaches and sugar well in a food processor.
4. Mix the lemon juice with the peach/sugar mix.
5. Add water until it tastes right, about the 2 quart line on your pitcher.
6. Add ice and enjoy!

You can add more or less of any of the ingredients so it tastes how you want but this was pretty spot on for me. :)


( http://mirchmasala.me/2011/07/peach-lemonade-a-summer-cooler/)

BBQ Chicken Pita Pizza

I found this recipe on Pinterest and had to try it. It is an amazing and easy-to-make recipe. I highly recommend it!

Ingredients:

•  2 pitas
• 1/2 c. BBQ sauce, divided in half (I used Original Sweet Baby Ray's)
• 1 c. diced cooked chicken
• 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 c. thinly sliced red onions
• Chopped cilantro, for garish (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Place the pitas on a cookie sheet and spread 1/4 c. of the BBQ sauce on the pitas leaving a half inch border along the edge.
3. In a medium bowl mix the diced chicken and a 1/4 c. of BBQ sauce.
4. Sprinkle the mozzarella on the pitas and then evenly spread the chicken mixture on top of the cheese. 
5. Scatter the red onions on top of the chicken.
6. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until warmed through and browned. Enjoy!

You can use store bought dough, make your own or whatever you want really. I just like using pitas because of how easy they are. And definitely use a lot of red onion. It adds a lot. :)

Serves 2 people


(http://www.justataste.com/2014/02/easy-barbecue-chicken-pizza-recipe/)

Wendy's Style Chili

I love Wendy's Chili. The first time I tried it was in high school and after that I got it many times for lunch and was always satisfied. I really like that it has a kick to it but not too much. It's just perfect. So when I saw this recipe on Pinterest I had to try it out. I tried it last year (I have no idea why it's taken me so long to share this recipe on here) and I loved it! It is so close to the real thing. I cook it in the slow cooker so all day long I can smell it cooking. It's wonderful and especially wonderful for dinner now that it's really getting cold. On an unrelated note, can you believe it's already November! I can't believe how fast October and even this year has gone by.

Back to the recipe. The original recipe is huge. It requires an eight quart pot to cook it in. It does freeze great but for only Greg and I, that is still way to much chili. So here is the recipe halved. If you want to make the original amount the website is at the bottom of this page.

And here we go!

Here is the end result. Yum!!!

Ingredients:

•  2-2 1/2 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained
• 1 large yellow sweet onion, chopped
• 3 1/2 large green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 heaping Tbsp. minced garlic (I use jarred)
• 1 can Ranch Style Beans, NOT drained (15 oz. can)
• 1 can dark red kidney beans, drained (15 oz. can)
• 1 can Original Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chili (10 oz. can)
• 1 can stewed tomatoes (15 oz. can)
• 2 cans plain tomato sauce (15 oz. cans)
• 1 package McCormick Mild Chili Seasoning (1.25 oz. package)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot or crockpot.
2. Simmer in stock pot for at least 3 hours or all day; if using a crockpot cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8.
3. Enjoy!

(http://www.mamalovesfood.com/2010/11/wendys-chili-well-not-really-but-sort.html)

Baked Herb-Lime Salmon

The last lime recipe I have found, tried and loved is this baked salmon one. This was probably my favorite of all. It was simple and easy and absolutely incredible! It is a great new way to make salmon so give it a shot. You'll love it!

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves fresh garlic minced (I used 1 because like I've said before I'm not a big fan)
• 6 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice (about 1 small lime)
• 4 whole (4 oz. each) boneless skinless salmon fillets, thawed (I only had 3 and they had skin on one side but that really didn't seem to make a difference)
 

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl or zip-lock bag, combine garlic, oil, basil, parsley, salt, pepper, and lime juice.
2. Place thawed fillets in the bag or bowl and gently toss to coat.
3. Place bag/bowl in the refrigerator to marinate for 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
5. Remove fish from bag/bowl and place fish in a greased 13" X 9" baking dish. 
6. Pour marinade over top of the fish.
7. Bake, uncovered, 10-12 minutes, or until salmon easily flakes with a fork. 
8. Serve immediately.

That's it! It's always amazing how such a simple recipe can turn out so incredibly good. It doesn't need to have a lot of ingredients or take a lot of time for something to turn out great.

(http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/baked-herb-lime-salmon/)

Baked French Fries

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and they looked so amazing that I had to try them out. And they were amazing! They do have a bit more to them in making them but it is so worth it. I had my nieces over that night and we had these as a side for our dinner and they loved them; a big hit!

Ingredients:

• 3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise into even sized wedges
• 5 Tbsp. vegetable, canola or peanut oil, divided (I may try olive oil or even coconut oil)
• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. 
2. Place the potato wedges in a large mixing bowl. Cover with hot water; soak for 10-30 minutes. 
3. Put 4 Tbsp. of the oil onto a heavy, rimmed baking sheet. 
4. Tilt the sheet side to side to evenly coat the pan with oil (a pastry brush can also help with this, I did and it worked great).
5. Sprinkle the pan evenly with the salt and pepper. Set aside.
6. Drain the potatoes and spread the wedges out on layers of paper towel or on clean kitchen towels; pat dry with additional towels.
7. Wipe out the now open bowl so it is dry and return the potatoes to the bowl and toss with the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil.
8. Arrange the potato wedges on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer; cover tightly with foil and bake for 5 minutes.
9. Remove the foil and continue baking until the bottoms of the potatoes are spotty golden brown, 15-20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 10 minutes.
10. Using a spatula and tongs, flip each potato wedge keeping them in a single layer; continue baking until the fries are golden and crisp, 5-15 minutes (rotate the pan as needed to ensure even browning).
11. When the fries are finished baking, transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain some of the grease.
12. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste; serve warm.

(http://www.annies-eats.com/2010/02/25/baked-oven-fries/)

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos

Limes were on sale at our local market a couple weeks ago so we got some. I didn't know what I was going to do with them but I really like limes so we got them. Plus Greg really wanted to get them. Anyways I got home and looked up some recipes that used limes and tried some out. This was the first recipe that I tried and it was incredible! So so good!!! It is also really easy and quick to make. Try it out!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed (I used 4 or 5 chicken tenders since there is only 2 of us)
• 1/8 c. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 lime, juiced of (I used 1 but they were small limes)
• 1 tsp. white sugar
•  1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 1 clove because garlic is not my favorite)
• 10 6" flour tortillas (or whatever works best for you)
• 1 tomato, diced (I didn't have one but I wish I had one)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano (This was too much for me so I would use maybe 1/2 tsp. or less)
• 1/4 c. shredded lettuce (I like more so just use however much you want)
• 1/4 c. shredded Monterey jack cheese (I had Colby Jack because it is the best)
• 1/4 c. salsa (It's so good it really doesn't need any salsa)

Directions:

1.  Saute chicken in a medium saucepan over medium high heat for about 20 minutes.
2. Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and oregano.
3. Simmer for an extra 10 minutes.
4. Heat an iron skillet over medium heat (if you want warm tortillas).
5. Place a tortilla in the pan, warm, and turn over to heat the other side.
6. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
7. Serve lime chicken mixture in warm tortillas topped with tomato, lettuce, cheese, and salsa.

That's it! These were some of my favorite tacos. They were so flavorful and just good on their own. Yum!

(http://www.food.com/recipe/lime-chicken-soft0tacos-64160)

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DIY Fall Decor

I have several Fall decorations to share with all of you. I love Fall! The air gets crisp, the leaves change, Fall colors are the best, and I get to put out my Fall decorations! I have a lot and here are some that I have made.

Fall Wreath

This is one of my favorite wreaths I have made. I love Fall colors and pretty much everything else that has to do with Fall so it makes sense. Here is how I made it: I wrapped a foam wreath with yarn, cut out leaf shapes from felt and hot glue gunned them on, glue gunned filberts (hazelnuts) on, and to finish glued the twine on to hang the wreath. It was so easy and fun to make!

Here it is on my front door.

Seriously love how this wreath turned out! Fall colors are the best!

Here is a close up of the leaves and filberts.

 

Quilted Table Decoration

I got the pattern and kit for this next project from my Grandma Carol. She has so many different sewing projects that lately she has been giving some to me, so thanks Grandma! It's been fun. I really liked making this but it is one of the hardest I've done. It is the quilting. I never realized how difficult it would be to sew a perfectly straight line. It is not easy. Thank goodness I had fabric chalk and a quilting ruler cutter guide thing. I'm not sure what it's called but here is a picture. And by the way, if you want to do sewing, etc. even a little bit having this ruler thing and a rotary cutter. My wonderful Grandma gave me her extras and they made the biggest difference!

These will become your best friends for any sewing project!

Anyways, now I have this awesome Fall decoration for my table. It took me longer than I thought and involved more time using a seam ripper than I wanted, but it ended up great!

The quilted table decor I just finished. The pattern is called "Mini Pumpkins."

A close of up the pumpkins and quilting. Quilting is a lot harder than I anticipated.

Fall Table Runner

Next is the 15 minute table runner that I make for every season and holiday because it is so fast and easy. This Autumn one is probably one of my favorites that I've made. The fabric is awesome and the wood buttons I used added so much to the project.

The Fall table runner I made. I love the little pumpkins fabric!

Here is a close up. The wooden leaf buttons were perfect for it.