SIMPLE CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

Curry is one of my husband's favorite meals to eat. I'm always excited when I can find a new way of changing it up for him. For awhile now, I've been wanting to make tikka masala (aka creamy tomato curry) and recently found this simple recipe that didn't involve grilling or 10 different spices. With a few minor alterations, I was absolutely pleased with the results! 

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. chicken thighs (bite-sized)

1 T honey

2 T ketchup

4 T Greek yogurt

2 T salted butter

1/2 medium-sized white onion (thinly sliced)

1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes (undrained and split into two parts)

3/4 C water

1 tsp salt

2 cubes of curry sauce (S&B Golden Curry-Medium Hot)

1/2 C whipping cream

2 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce

salt to taste

*optional: hand blender 

DIRECTIONS

Marinate the chicken thighs in ketchup, honey and Greek yogurt. Set aside.

Using a blender, combine one part of the diced tomatoes, water and salt until fully liquefied. Set aside. 

In a large saute pan, melt the butter on medium high heat. Toss in the onions and cook until soft and lightly browned.  Add in the chicken with the yogurt mixture and stir well.  

Once the chicken starts to turn color, add in the tomato mixture along with the remaining tomatoes. Add in the curry cubes and stir until fully dispersed. Simmer for about 5 minutes. 

*If you're not a huge fan of biting into onions like my husband, remove the chicken at this point and set it aside. With a hand blender, puree the sauce directly in the pan until smooth and then put the chicken back in.  

Slowly pour in the cream and then the soy sauce. Stir well and cook until it comes back to a boil. Remove from heat and serve over rice or naan. Enjoy!

SPICED ALMOND HOT CHOCOLATE

Sipping on a large mug of hot chocolate is one of my favorite things about winter. E loves it so much that he has a cup every night after dinner (we may or may not use it to bribe him into finishing his dinners). Lately, I've been trying something different than our usual Swiss Miss mix that we've been drinking for years.  A good friend recently gave me a few cartons of chocolate almond milk and I've been heating that up with some regular milk and cinnamon sticks. Not only has it been a healthier alternative, we found ourselves loving it more! It's much lighter and smoother. The richness is still there, but you don't feel like your hips and rear just gained 5 pounds after a cup. ;) 

The above picture includes all the ingredients I had planned to use. The only item not shown is the cardamom that I decided to add at the very last minute. 

* This recipe makes enough for two!

INGREDIENTS

2 C chocolate almond milk

1 C 2% milk

2 cinnamon sticks

a pinch of cardamom

marshmallows

1/3 C semi-sweet chocolate or your favorite dark chocolate (optional)

1/4 tsp ancho chili powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan, mix together the almond milk, regular milk, cardamom and cinnamon sticks on medium high heat.  Right before it starts to boil, turn the heat down to medium low and let it slowly simmer for another 5 minutes.  If you like your drink richer/sweeter, melt some semi-sweet chocolate morsels or your favorite dark chocolate (yummm) on a double broiler and add it into the milk mixture as well. Once the cinnamon becomes fragrant, remove from heat and pour the drink into your mugs. Serve with some toasted marshmallows!

I decided to try making marshmallows this week. My first effort was a total and utter FAIL. Went out and got a candy thermometer this time and tried again tonight. Will find out tomorrow to see how they turned out! 

WINTER UPDATE

It's been surprisingly cold for us already here in Texas. We went from a week of being in the beautiful 70s to an icy cold 24 degrees all in one night. Most of us spent the last few days being iced-in; luckily we didn't lose power. Although we've been stuck inside, it's been nice to slow down for a change and the boys are LOVING having daddy at home. :) 

Homemade chili and cornbread with cardamom honey butter... perfect comfort food for this kind of weather.



Spiced almond hot chocolate with marshmallows... E's daily request ;)

This is a repeat, but still enjoying this hymn as much as ever...

My God, my Portion, and my Love,
My everlasting All,
I’ve none but Thee in heav’n above,
Or on this earthly ball.
What empty things are all the skies,
And this inferior clod!
There’s nothing here deserves my joys,
There’s nothing like my God.

Be back tomorrow to share the recipe for the hot chocolate. Stay warm, everyone!

QUICK AND TASTY STEAK SALAD

I never could have imagined how tiring different it'd be going from one child to two. For those of you who have two or more kids - major hats off to you! :) Before the days of little brother, I use to get excited about looking for new recipes and prepping for meals. These days, I'm just happy if there's something edible and healthy on the table when my husband gets home. 

Lately I've been adding a lot of salads into our rotation. I forget how simple and delicious they can be. They're super versatile and can be made with so many combinations. Last week I made this yummy steak salad with a side of Trader Joe's organic tomato and roasted red pepper soup.  I don't really have a recipe to share, since it was pretty much thrown together with whatever was in our fridge.  But basically I use one source of protein (shredded rotisserie chicken, steak, beans, etc) and then add nuts (almonds, pecans, cashews), fruits (mandarin oranges, apples, craisins, tomato, etc.) and cheese (cheddar, parmesan, blue cheese, etc.) to the lettuce. Here's the combination I used that night in case you're curious...

INGREDIENTS
skirt steak
romaine lettuce, chopped
Roma tomatoes, sliced
honey roasted pecans
mandarin oranges
some type of sharp cheese (I used Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar), crumbled or shaved
green onions, sliced (optional)

Sauce for Steak Marinade
1/4 C reduced sodium soy sauce
1/3 C grapeseed oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 clove of minced garlic
1/2 tsp minced ginger

***Set aside about 3 T of the sauce to drizzle on the salad (this can vary due to how much dressing you like on your salads).  

DIRECTIONS
Combine and whisk together all your sauce ingredients into a small bowl. Set aside some sauce to dress the salad. Toss the marinade and the steak into a ziplock bag and let it sit for about an hour before cooking. Once it's ready, sprinkle on a generous amount of black pepper and a light sprinkle of salt on both sides before cooking. Since I don't have a grill, I just cooked it on my cast iron pan for about 3-4 minutes on each side. 

Meanwhile place the lettuce and tomatoes into a salad bowl. Drizzle in the sauce and toss well. Add the remaining ingredients and lightly toss everything together. Top the salad with the steak and enjoy!

KOREAN SPICY RICE CAKES + RAMEN

Whenever I crave Korean food, Maangchi is always my go-to source for delicious recipes and easy-to-follow videos. Recently I've been craving this popular Korean street snack, otherwise known as rabboki.  It's a delicious combination of ramen plus rice cakes in a spicy sauce. I finally had an excuse to make it last week when a good friend and I decided to hold a Pride & Prejudice marathon at my house (the A&E version of course!). We had hot tea and snacks throughout the day and then this yummy dish among some other Korean dishes for dinner. Definitely our idea of a perfect day! ;)

Being that this was my first time making this, I can happily say that it was a success. I used Maangchi's dukbokki recipe with a few alterations (i.e. the ketchup and ramen). Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!



Ingredients
4 C of water
10 dried anchovies
1 lb Korean rice cakes (cylinder-shaped)
1 pack of Korean ramen
1/2 lb fish cakes
2 hard boiled eggs, shelled
1/3 C hot pepper paste
1/3 C ketchup
1 T sugar
3 stalks of scallions, cut into 3" pieces 

Directions
Soak rice cakes in warm water for half an hour.  Drain and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, bring water to a boil. Drop in the anchovies, turn the heat down to medium high and let it slowly boil for another 10 min. Remove the anchovies.

Add the hot pepper paste, ketchup and sugar and stir well. Add the rice cakes, fish cakes, eggs and scallions (white parts) and bring to a boil. Stirring frequently, cook for another 8 minutes or until the rice cakes have soften and the sauce has thicken. Finally break the ramen into small chunks, add it into the pan and cook for another 2 minutes. Add up to an additional half cup of water if more liquid is needed. Right before it's done, add in the remaining scallions (green parts). Serve while hot.

IKEA STEP STOOL MAKEOVER

So today's post is mostly a show and tell. I'm here to show you this IKEA Bekvam stool that I recently made over and to tell you how excited I am about it now! I can't take any credit for this look though. I completely "borrowed" it from these adorable stools that I pinned awhile ago. It had my two favorite colors and the crisp clean look that I love. 

All it took was a can of Rustoleum Glossy White spray paint, Martha Stewart's craft paint in Surf, Miniwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane, some painter's tape and paper. (I would also recommend using a primer first. Since I didn't have any on hand, I skipped this step and later regretted it when I had some uneven white patches appear...)

Not bad for a $15 solid wood stool, huh? :) If you like the "dipped" look that's everywhere now, make sure to check out Michelle's version.  I love projects like this!

SIMPLE ORGANIZATION FOR KIDS' LEARNING SPACES

Happy Monday everyone! With the start of the new school year, E and I have been starting our own "school" at home. Since he's only three, ours is on a much smaller scale but we both have been enjoying this time tremendously. It's nice to wake up to some sort of schedule instead of the usual, "What should we do today?"  I also love seeing how excited E gets about "doing school."  It makes my teacher-heart very happy. :)

Since our family spends most of our time in the living room, I wanted to keep our activities there. Some of you may remember this corkboard makeover from last year. Normally we've been using it to display E's many artworks. You recognize these right, moms? ;)

We're now using the corkboard to display our morning activities.  I managed to keep most our supplies hidden so that it wouldn't completely take over our living room.  Here they are in these three areas: 

Area 1:  This is where E and I (plus baby brother) gather after Dad leaves for work.  We spend the first part of "school" enjoying the Lord together - calling on the Lord's name, praying for each other and our day and singing a song or two to the Lord.  I would usually play my guitar and E would accompany me with his maraca. Then we'd read and pray over our Bible verse for the week before moving on to the other activities.  

Area 2:  This shelf is where we keep all of our books and resources.  

Binder 1: My Resources

Binder 2: E's Binder (Will elaborate below)

Area 3:  This fabric bin stores all of our other miscellaneous supplies (ie. math manipulatives, flash cards, dry-erase markers, etc.).

For E's binder, I put together our schedule and a few activities that I made for him to work on. They are all laminated so that we could write over them and re-use them as much as we needed to.  

Here are a few examples:

How do you all organize your kids' learning spaces? :)

OVERDUE FRIDAY TREATS - PART 2

So my brain apparently was not working very well yesterday. I posted a Friday Treats post... without the Friday Treats! You can only imagine how stupid I felt when I finally realized it later on in the day. Without further ado, here are my favorites from this week!

-via-

Maybe for the boys' room in the future...

Mmmmmm... this white chicken chili soup is making me excited for the fall! 

Cute idea for these dollar bowls found at Michaels...

So simple but so pretty!

this brie dip... there are no words.

celebrate your 30th birthday with good food 

great idea for bridal/baby showers...

Joy's amazing office transformation

why being a mom is enough

easy way to sharpen a hole puncher

in case of an emergency and you don't have candles

spray paint + kid's magnetic letters

EASY IDEAS FOR WATERCOLOR ART

Back in elementary school, I remember having the most amazing art teacher whose passion for art was contagious.  As soon as we stepped into her room, she would immediately light up and start telling us about all the exciting things we'd be learning and making that hour.  None of us were ever caught chatting or distracted doing other things.  The second class started, we'd all rush to our stations to get our supplies so that we can start.  That hour in art always flew by...

Palette 1    //    Palette 2

Sadly, it was also in that class when I last worked with watercolors. I remember loving it but for some reason never using it again until last week with E.  Putting that paintbrush to paper was like learning how to ride a bike again.  I decided to try out some easy patterns first like the ones above. Here are some close-up shots:

The herringbone pattern is one of my favorites and an easy task for beginners...

Another simple technique is to paint repeating blocks...

I was inspired by Michelle to paint this ... I loved how it turned out! :)

My sad attempt at portraying a bed of roses...

I'm not even sure what I'll be doing with these pieces, but they sure were fun to work on! Now that I started, I'm kind of hooked - so you may be seeing more in the future. Hopefully my technique will improve with time... ;) 

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

COPYCAT: PALIO'S THE "JIMMY"

Happy Monday! I'm here to share a meal that's perfect for those weeknights when you're completely exhausted or have unexpected company coming over. It takes less than 30 minutes to prep, costs less than $8 and can feed about three people. 

One of our family's favorite pizza is The "Jimmy" from Palio's Pizza Cafe. It's the perfect blend of spicy and savory. I recently found a quick and much less expensive way to copy this favorite. With the price of one there, I can easily make two pizzas and still have some change left over! All you need is a ready-to-bake pizza and a few simple ingredients. 

Before...

and after...

Ingredients

1 large pepperoni pizza (Papa Murphy's Take 'n Bake)

1 C frozen roasted corn (Trader Joe's)

2 jalapenos (unseeded, sliced or diced)

3 strips of bacon (cut into bite-sized pieces)

Directions
Preheat the oven at 425 degrees F.

The only items that need to be prepped ahead of time were the jalapenos and bacon. I roasted the jalapenos in the oven (or you can use a cast iron pan) first before slicing them. I also cooked the bacon and took them off the pan just before they got crispy. 

Toss everything evenly over your ready-to-bake pizza and bake it for 12-15 minutes. Enjoy!

*Side note: Make sure you use gloves when handling the jalapenos... unless you want your hands to be burning for a good four hours!

THE HONEST COMPANY - PRODUCTS REVIEW

When The Honest Company first reached out to me to review their products, I was silently jumping up and down. This had to be one of the most anticipated items that I've been wanting to try out. I first heard about this company when Jessica Alba, the co-founder, appeared on The Nate Show (so sad when it got canceled). I was very impressed with the company's commitment to making safe, effective, bio-degradable and non-toxic products affordable and not just a luxury that only a few can enjoy.  All products are proudly made in America and made for the whole family to use. 

Also with every product purchased, The Honest Company donates product, money, time, and effort to addressing critical health & social issues affecting children and families. This year they are partnering with a nonprofit organization, Baby2Baby. 

As you read on, I will show you what I received and my ratings based on my impression of them after using them for a week. 

So this is what showed up at my doorstep...

How cute is the packaging?

Ok let's start off with the diapers...

Diapers (rating: 4 out of 5)
The Good: Cute designs, non-toxic, chlorine-free, super-absorbent and made with a stretchy band in the back for extra security (you know, for those poop explosions up the back).
The Bad: Found these to be a little stiff compared to Pampers.

Healing balm (rating: 4 out of 5)
The good: This was great for soothing my son's eczema.
The bad: The formulation was a little greasier and stickier than I would like, but it may be due to all the organic oils.

Hand soap (rating: 4 out of 5)
The good: It washed off easily and had a nice clean scent of lemongrass.
The bad: It left my hands a bit dry afterwards.

Face + body lotion (rating: 4 out of 5)
The good: The formulation was very lightweight, absorbed well, and left the skin incredibly soft.
The bad: The initial smell reminded me of barbie dolls for some reason, however it did eventually wear off. I'm not sure if I just got a bad batch, because most reviewers loved the smell...

Laundry detergent (rating: 5 out of 5)
The good: Cleaned very well and did not leave our clothes feeling stiff (even without fabric softener).  
The bad: None



Shampoo + Body Wash (rating: 5 out of 5)
The good: We love this product! Our longtime favorite's been Burt's Bees Shampoo and Body wash for our boys and we found this one to be very similar. The scent is a little sweeter and the consistency is a little thicker as well. I've been finding myself reaching for this more than the Burt's Bees.  
The bad: None

These are some other items that I'm interested in from their beauty and cleaning line:
sunscreen, multi-surface cleaner, and fruit+veggie wash. 

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   

I think it's great that the company's constantly introducing new products and improving on old ones based on their customers' feedback. If you are still skeptical or hesitant to buy their full-sized products, they also offer free trial kits (just pay $5.95 for shipping and handling). 

*Please note that when you sign up for the free trial, you are automatically enrolled to be a member of the Honest Company. You have 7 days to cancel, for any reason, if you choose not to be charged monthly to receive their different bundles sent to your home.  

For more information, check out these links:

• Cute and Eco-Friendly Diapers from The Honest Company
• Non-Toxic Home Cleaning Products for Your Family
• Eco-friendly Beauty by The Honest Company
• Honest Company Bath & Body Products

Have any of you used their products before? What did you think of them? I would love to hear from you!

Disclosure: As part of The Honest Company's affiliate program, I was sent these products to review for my own use. I was not asked to write this review nor will I be paid to do so. All opinions are 100% mine and these products were shared/recommended because our family really like them. This post does, however contain affiliate links, which means I will earn a small commission based on any purchases made.