Mini Croissant BLTS

Slice Mini croissant.

Add a small piece of lettuce, a half slice of tomato and a half slice of crispy bacon.

Aren't they pretty? Perfectly sized for small children.

Cajun Lasagna

This is inspired by Rachel Ray's Sloppy Lasagna. The trick is to break up the lasagna noodles, cook them and then mix the sauce and noodles together, layer with cheese and bake up the whole thing. It's so much faster than traditional lasagna. My oldest loves it so much, we have different versions of lasagna twice a week.

1 pound regular lasagna noodles (or other pasta)
1 pound of fresh sausage-Cajun if you can get it
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 carrot, shredded
1 can tomatoes
1 can tomato puree
Fresh herbs or Italian seasoning
1/2 pound mozzarella, shredded
1/2 pound cheddar, shredded

Boil a very large pot of water. Cook pasta till just tender. Drain. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium pot, cook sausage (removed from casings), onion, garlic, and carrot over low heat with a tbs of olive oil if needed, till sausage is no longer pink and veggies are tender.

Add tomatoes, puree, and herbs. Simmer till heated through.

Combine pasta and sauce. Stir to combine.

Heat oven to 350*.

Spoon half of mixture into a casserole dish. Top with half of each cheese. Repeat layers.

Bake 20 minutes of until cheese is melty and gooey.  Cool slightly and serve with a big green salad.

No poo- an easy alternative to shampoo

You may have heard of the no-poo movement. There are multiple alternatives to chemical laden, commercial shampoo and conditioner. This is the easiest and most accessible.

First, why no-poo? I know some of you are having visions of stinky, dirty, flea-infested hippies. Life without shampoo? How? Why?

Shampoo is laden with nasty chemicals. Here is a list of ingredients commonly found in shampoos. Shampoo begins with a glycol base, to which toxic foaming and clarifying agents and fragrances are added.

Shampoo creates a lovely foam, which is tactilely pleasing, but also strips hair of natural moisture and oils. This dry, rough texture necessitates the use of conditioner. Conditioner coats hair in a waxy, sticky residue which first makes hair look shiny, glossy and smooth, but quickly attracts dust and dirt requiring the use of more shampoo.

Shampoos labeled "Natural" and "Herbal" are not necessarily better than conventional shampoos. Often herbal ingredients are added to the usual base, which improves the scent and possibly the texture, but does nothing to reduce toxin exposure. Truly toxin-free shampoos are expensive and require research to identify.

No-poo eliminates the coating and stripping cycle. A simple cleanser is used, followed by an acidic rinse (more on this later). No-poo can be extremely inexpensive, and easy. This method is foolproof. You can make your own products from 3 ingredients in your kitchen in a matter of seconds. You can adjust the mixtures to meet your specific needs.

Let's get started. You will need 2 containers. The picture above shows 2 travel sized squeeze bottles. I'm not sure where I aquired these. I think they came in a package with something else. I would suggest avoiding glass in the shower, for obvious reasons.

Fill your first container halfway with baking soda. Fill your second container halfway with either white or apple cider vinegar. I prefer apple cider vinegar, if I have it on hand. Any vinegar will work in a pinch.

Top each container off with water. If you like, you can add a drop or two of body safe scented oil or essential oil to the vinegar. Citrus and spice scents are especially adept at masking the pickly odor.

To use, wet hair thoroughly. Apply baking soda mixture to the crown and hair line. You may mix it with less water to make a paste, or more water to make more of a liquid. It won't froth or spread well like shampoo, so you may have to experiment a bit to find the dilution that works best for you. It will separate as it sits. You can see it starting to separate in the picture above, in the time it took me to turn on my camera. Massage it in and rinse well in warm water.

Next, apply the vinegar mixture to the full length of your hair. Let it rest for a minute or so and then rinse. If it stings, dilute it more.

That's it. Simple enough, right?

Now, let's talk a little about how it works.

Baking soda is a cleanser. It's great for a multitude of surfaces, bathtubs, sinks, pots, laundry and hair. It can be harsh and drying if overused. You may find that you can cut back on washings to every other day, once a week, or even less, if your hair is very dry, coarse, and/or curly (like mine).

Vinegar is an acid. Each individual hair is covered in an outer layer called the cuticle. The cuticle is made up of smooth little scales, not unlike a snake. Daily wear and tear cause these little scales to lift away from the body of the hair, giving the hair a rough surface and a frizzy, unruly appearance. The acid in the vinegar smoothes the cutile layer back down, returning the smooth, snaky texture. If your hair is super smooth, you can skip this step, but I like this part even better than the baking soda part.

What about smelling like a salad? The scented oil that you may have added will mask that smell, as I mentioned earlier. But even if you don't use it, the vinegar smell will evaporate, leaving behind the unadulterated scent of clean.

Household Cleaners

Here are 2 super easy, cheap, safe and effective household cleaners. They are so simple you will think there's no way they will work. I promise. You will be happily suprised.

#1. All purpose spray
      50% solution of vinegar in water. Either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar is fine. White vinegar has a more pickly scent, ACV is milder.
Add to this, a few drops of citrus scented oil. I have Citrus Spice. The citrus scent covers the pickly vinegar odor. When the vinegar dries, the odor disappears, leaving behind citrusy freshness.
Vinegar is a disinfectant. It will kill germs and inhibit the growth of mold and other nasties. In this wet, warm climate, nasties are everywhere. You can safely use this spray on the toilet, on the sinks, in the tub (though you may want to use the degreaser below), on the countertops, on the highchair, on the tabletop ( if it's not bare wood), on the floors, anywhere. It's safe and nontoxic. No worries about Baby licking Clorox off his highchair tray.

#2. Powerful degreaser
      I deep cleaned my kitchen, under the stove, behind the fridge, uuuuuggghhhh, today, using this degreaser. It was amazing. I almost couldn't believe it myself. I sprayed it on the grime and it started to melt away immediately.
Add approximately 2 tbs dishwashing liquid of your choice ( I used Gain) to a half cup of white vinegar. Shake it in a spray bottle and spray liberally. Let it sit for at least 5-10 minutes. Give it time to really chew up the grime. Then wipe it away with a rag. Easy, easy.
You can add citrus oil to this stuff, too. I didn't bother, because the full strength vinegar is going to smell pretty strong, even with the oil. If you rinse after, the smell dissipates pretty much immediately.

Happy cleaning!

Strawberry-blueberry smoothie pops

Please excuse the bites. The kids were too fast for me.

These smoothie pops are super rich in nutrients, antioxidants and tastiness. This is a cooling summer treat you can feel good about.

Into a blender pitcher, place one package frozen strawberries, one package frozen blueberries and enough almond milk (or other milk of your choice) to cover.

Blend until smooth.

Pour some into a glass and serve with a straw. Sip this super rich, not too sweet smoothie while you move on to phase 2.

Carefully pour the rest of the smoothie mixture into the popsicle molds, or large paper cups with popsicles sticks placed in the center. The mixture is very thick. Freeze overnight.

If you have leftover smoothie after filling your molds, place the pitcher in the fridge until you are ready for another smoothie or another batch of pops.

Or, place in a plastic, airtight container in the freezer. When it's frozen, you will have strawberry-blueberry sorbet.

This recipe makes 12 large popsicles and one tall smoothie.

Salmon salad

This is so fast and easy. It's a nice alternative to tuna salad (ick). You can serve it on crackers, crudites, as a sandwich spread, on a bed of greens, or (my favorite) with a fork.

1 can, drained or  4 ounces cooked salmon, chopped
2 tbs mayo
fresh or dried dill weed to taste

Mix all ingredients.


See? Wasn't that easy?

Happy Easter-Skillet Scramble

Happy Easter, Friends and Fans!


We had a simple Easter. We've had illness in the house for 2 weeks. I ran out last night to do last minute Easter Bunny shopping at what turned out to be the very wrong store. We ended up with rather skimpy baskets. The kids didn't seem to notice. They enjoyed Floam knock-offs and jelly beans, Peeps and plastic eggs like the were exorbitant treasures.

My little bunny got ears, Cheerios and a sippie cup in his itty bitty basket.

My floam bunny in side view.

Head on.

Ben's snail.

We balanced out the sugar with some oatmeal mini-muffins.

Aren't they pretty?

Top muffins with sprinkles before baking. They get all crispity and melty.

After they were sugared up to the point of insanity (mine), D and Baby W took a snooze while I herded the other 3 and the doggie to the park. They played  with htier new sand toys in a place where they could do little damage and Savannah romped the picnic grounds munching crawfish shells wherever she could find them.

When we got back, the sugar haze was in the past and everyone was ready for a real meal.

Savannah was in dire need of a doggie biscuit. Peeww. Luckily, we're well stocked and she enjoyed her treat.

Unfortunately, I have neither planned a meal, nor made it to the store yet. Luckily, we were too sick to eat most of the last 2 weeks, so we have plenty of random ingredients in the fridge.
I fell back on an old standby. The Skillet Scramble.

This isn't so much a recipe, as a process. You can make a scramble out of potatoes, eggs (or tofu for a vegan option) and pretty much anything else you have. Veggies, meats, salsa, cheese, beans, grains, whatever.

Some suggestions:

Turkey, carrots, celery, onions, cranberries, gravy for a Thanksgiving-esque day-after.

Beans, salsa, chilies, onions, garlic, avocado for a Mexican flair.

Ham, bacon, tomatoes, swiss, cheddar, turkey, roast beef=club sandwich skillet.

Broccoli, carrots, spinach, onions, any other veggies=garden skillet.

Be creative and have fun.

Today, I did a sausage and gravy scramble. Mmmm. Watch this.

First, dice some potatoes. These are small red potatoes. Brown them in oil over high heat.

Dice some onions, if desired, and toss them in. I used wild onions that Ben picked. Reduce heat to low, cover and let cook until tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, chop and cook other stuff. This is mushrooms and breakfast sausage.

Once this stuff was browned, I added a sliced banana pepper.

When potatoes and toppings are cooked, layer the toppings over the potatoes.

But wait! There's more.

These are the pan drippings. Not much to look at, but this is a little puddle of super-concentrated flavor.

Toss some flour in there and scrape and stir. Cook and stir about a minute over low heat, until the flour mixture is just the teensiest hint of brown. This is a roux. If you've never made one, brace yourself. Your life is about to change.

Add some milk. I use almond milk. Be ready to stir fast. Do not let this sit around. If a dough forms, add some more milk. If you prefer a clear gravy, use water or stock. Same process.

Now you should have something like this.

Cook over low heat until thick and bubbly. The flour acts as a binder, keeping the milk from curdling. This will thicken quickly, with no lumps and no floury taste, because we cooked our roux before adding the liquid. Season with salt and pepper, if needed. Now, turn off the heat, and set this aside.

It's time for the scramble. Break some eggs into a mug or bowl. I used 5 eggs for 6 people. Beat

the heck out of them with a fork. Add a splash of milk. Beat them some more, just for good measure. The more you beat, the fluffier they will be. The more liquid, the lighter and thinner the egg. Less or no liquid will give you a denser, richer scramble.

Add a little fat to a skillet. I used a dash of the sausage fat. Heat the pan over low heat. When it's nice and sizzly, pour in the eggs. When they start to firm up, scoop them toward the center and let the runny gooey part take their place. See the big fluffy center and the runny edges? Good.

Now the eggs are done. Don't they look nice? I chopped them up into teeny bits because I'm feeding people with very small mouths. This step is not necessary if your people have a full set of chompers.

Layer the eggs into the skillet with their friends.

Top with the gravy and garnish with a dusting of smokey paprika.

Serve it up!

My kids raved on and on about this. They declared it restaurant quality food-not diner quality, but hotel bistro quality, they specified. That is high praise, let me tell you.

Bonus points: See the 2 Easter eggs on top of the school bags? They didn't. Looks like they will have a surprise on library day.

After lunch, they had some quiet time, watching a movie with D, while I caught up on the necessities of life, dishes and laundry. Last, a campfire in the backyard, complete with toasted giant marshmallows. A little playtime, some blogging, and D is cooking dinner, bless his heart.

And thus, our beautiful Easter comes to an end. I hope you all enjoyed yours as much as we did. Thanks for joining me in the retelling of the day.