Baby/Toddler Recipe: Salmon Sticks

I thought I would share a quick, healthy recipe that I found that was a HIT with Haley! The best part is that I got to use up a bunch of baby food that I had made previously since she is growing out of that.

Salmon Sticks (from here)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup peas
1/4 cup corn
1/4 cup chopped frozen spinach (thaws out to 1.5 Tbsp. of spinach)
1.5 Tbsp. pumpkin or sweet potato puree

1 egg white (I prefer cage-free organic - they just taste better!)
1 6 oz. can wild Alaskan salmon

Milk of your choice (I used formula)
1/3 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko because I already knew Haley loved it from when I made this!)

More bread crumbs for rolling

Directions:

Mix peas, corn, spinach and pumpkin/sweet potato in a blender, food processor or bullet. (This is where my leftovers came in handy - I already had these pureed and frozen so I just thawed them up and mixed together!) 

Such pretty colors!

Then add in the salmon (drained), bread crumbs and egg white.

Roll into logs and freeze for 1 hour. Dredge frozen logs in milk and then breadcrumbs. Freeze until you are ready to eat. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes from frozen.

Done!

I think this took me all of 10 minutes. I just make 1 at a time for Haley when they are on the menu. They go great with sweet potato fries and applesauce!

Haley approves!

Free Printable: Grocery and Menu Super Planner

Hello! So I have a gift for you today! As I was fumbling my way through the grocery store the other day, literally dropping coupons from the giant stack I had in my hands because I wanted to make sure I got the right items/quantity list on them I thought to myself, "There HAS to be a better way!"

And there is! Behold...my very own Grocery and Menu Super Planner! I created this free printable to help make grocery shopping and meal planning a breeze!

Download it here! 

How to use it:

First, yes, it is two pages. Please save some trees and print front to back. I also designed it so you can just print page 1 if you don't need the "baby" or "pets" sections or don't want to use the meal planner.

I thought I would provide a few pointers on how I designed this to be used, just so you can use it to the fullest capability. The second page has a meal planner AND it includes an activity reminder space in case you need an easy place to remember soccer practice or a date night, etc.

After planning out your meals and printing all your coupons, write down the SPECIFIC coupon items under each category and mark that there is a coupon. That way you know you need 2 boxes of Jiffy brand cornbread mix or you won't be able to use that coupon. Best of all, you won't be shuffling through coupons in the middle of the store just to make sure you have all the items correct! Add in any other items you need and you're on your way to an EASIER shopping experience.

I have tried and tested this list and it worked great! I just handed the cashier my stack of coupons at the end of my trip without having to worry if I had all the right stuff.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Wallum + Dog Treat Tutorial

Six years ago, a very special little furry guy was born! Wallum (Wally) is named after Jesse's late grandfather. Wallum was his middle name and we had always thought it would be the most perfect (and funniest) name for a roly poly puppy.

According to this chart, he is 44! Woah!

Wally has brought such joy to our lives and it is extra fun seeing him and Haley start to interact (and by that I mean she pulls his ears and whiskers and he sits there nicely and sometimes he steals her toys).

A few notes about the best dog ever:

He has always snored! This is him on his first day home.

He looks just like his daddy.

Wally in 2010.

Crow River's Cougar Mad Max . He is actually a Canadian and he  still competes in national field trials and regularly places in the top!

 He is ALL BOY - loves being dirty and goofy, playing, swimming and rough housing.

He is so amazing with Haley - they will surely be best friends! (Yes, it is hard to tell, but the fire screen IS closed and they are a lot farther away than they look. Cameras flatten spacial relations if you didn't know that. It is why they say that camera add 10 lbs if you didn't know that either!)

TUTORIAL:

So, about a month ago we (Wally, Haley and I) were visiting in Duluth while Jesse was in TX watching the NDSU Bison win ANOTHER FCS National Football Championship (Go Bison!) and Andrew decided to make yummy puppy treats for Wally! Here is the recipe - it was easy, healthy and Wally LOVED them. :)

Whole Wheat Apple Dog Treats

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 finely chopped or grated apple
• 1 beaten egg
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets. Blend flour and cornmeal in large mixing bowl, then incorporate apple, egg, oil, brown sugar, and water until well blended. Flour your work space and roll out dough to desired thickness.

Cut cookies to desired shape and size. Place dog cookies on baking sheet and bake 35 minutes.

After baking, turn oven off and leave cookies inside for another 30-45 minutes until crisp.

Give to your dog - puppies deserve special treats!

Untutorial: Matte Nailpolish

I wanted to try making matte nailpolish (a topcoat) like I saw on Pinterest! It was supposed to be so easy...just mix nail polish with cornstarch and paint. That is ALL any of the instructions I found onlind said about how to do this, so I thought I would try it and turn it into a tutorial! Here is what I did:

Gathered supplies

Mixed on aluminum foil

Painted nails

The verdict?

This didn't work very well at all. :( I had high hopes, but it got really globby (is that a word?) and never dried. My nails only looked sort of matte.

My advice...spend the $7 and get a bottle of matte topcoat from Target. :)

You are very welcome for saving you the trouble!

Shaped Bokeh

Even since I started using Pinterest, I wanted to try this- shaped bokeh! Now that I have such a cute little model (who can't run away yet) I thought it was the perfect opportunity to give it a go! I followed the directions in the link above, practiced a little before setting up my shot (discovered that the closer you are to your subject and the further your subject is from your background, the bigger the effect - thanks, Laura) and poof! Snowflakes in my Christmas tree!

It helps to have an awesome assistant, too!

PS - This is also my submission for this month's Rock the Shot contest! www.rocktheshotforum.com

Express Yourself

I LOVE accessories, so of course I am having fun accessorizing my little princess. I spent some time over the last week (an hour here, an hour there) making some super cute headbands for little miss Haley. I didn't do photos for a tutorial, but I posted the links with the instructions I used below!

How to:

Gray headband (this has a hidden loop to clip any flower on!): http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2010/08/easy-stretchy-baby-headband-tutorial.html
Fabric flowers: http://cherrystreetcottage.blogspot.com/2011/03/fabric-flower-tutorial-at-last.html
Ricrac flower: http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2012/07/ric-rac-flower-tutorial-by-oh-for.html
The big pink flower is just a piece of ribbon that was a flower chain.

Here is a sizing guide for the headbands:
10" for newborn
12" for 0-3 months
14" for 3-6 months
16" for 6-9 months
18" for 9-12 months
I hot-glued all of the flowers to these: 



Finally, here is my model!

There will be MANY more accessories to come!

Tutorial: Nursing Cover

I recently made this nursing cover, with some minor modifications of course! It was SO easy, took only about 1/2 hour and saved me $27!

Follow the instructions as written in the blog link above. When you get to the strap, I used suspender clips instead!

I sewed one end of the strap into the seam and put a suspender clip on the other to make it easier to take on and off.

Be sure to measure how long  you need the strap to be!

Here is the finished product. Wally was such a good sport to model!

Then, I used the extra suspender clip and piece of strap to made a toy clip. When Haley is big enough to bring toys in her stroller they will NOT fall on the ground. :)

Nesting: Part 2

So I have been a bit of a blogging slacker this week, but it is because I have been SUPER busy with other things. I've continued deep cleaning the house and, as promised, have an update on a few more tips and tricks to try! I know I won't have the energy soon, so getting this stuff done early has been great!

This was my "things to try next" list:

•  My steak knives need some help. Apparently, lemon juice will fix that. 
• My microwave, also gross, although it could be worse. We keep one of these in there so we always remember to cover our messy food!

The results?

• Lemon juice and a little elbow grease worked great...steak knives look brand new!
• Vinegar and water in the microwave also worked brilliantly...not too smelly, either. I will definitely do this on a regular basis. 

Another thing I tried:

• Dipping lemon slices in sea salt and scrubbing my glass shower doors with it worked SO WELL! You would be amazed. Then I took the leftover slices and put them down the disposal to clean that (did you know that trick?), which is something I do all the time, but now it seems less wasteful.

I DID take a break from cleaning on Tuesday to do a little sewing with my sister. I forgot my camera that night, but I will definitely post some pictures of the finished products soon!

Nesting

Yep! I've been nesting like crazy. In our first childbirth class last week we learned that nesting is actually a sign of labor, which freaked me out a little, but I've always been sort of...um...crazy awesome about keeping our place clean and organized so I think it is just me wanted to make things even better for baby. Plus, I know I won't have time once she is here to do some of these things!

That said, I have turned to Pinterest for some sweet cleaning tips lately and I thought I would share what worked...and what didn't! First, here is a short tutorial on how to clean your stove grates (for a gas stove). It was smelly, but it worked SO WELL! I will definitely do this again!

Before...hard to tell, but there was A LOT of crusted on food. Gross.

Supplies! I forgot to add my mask to this...didn't feel like breathing harmful/stinky fumes. You need: ammonia, plastic bags that zip and fit your grates, a sponge and a cookie sheet. That's it!

Put 1/4 cup ammonia and the grates in a bag and seal. Put them outside on the cookie sheet and let them sit for at least 12 hours. I just set them out overnight. The FUMES do the cleaning, so don't worry if they aren't soaking in the ammonia! This was about 2 minutes after I bagged them and you can already see the dirt in the corner of the bag in the lower left side of my photo.

Take them out (wear a mask again), wipe down with the sponge in warm, soapy water and rinse clean. That is it! No elbow grease required! Love love love!

Another thing that worked:

• Cleaning the grease from the vents above the stove. I REALLY wish I would have taken pictures of this. It was seriously amazing. Haven't cleaned them since we moved in 6 years ago and they look BRAND NEW!\

What didn't work:

• Using baking soda and water to clean my oven. What a mess and it still looks horrible. Let me clarify...the bottom looks great. The window (which the tutorial was supposed to be for) looks nasty still. I did find this PDF that explains how to clean a gas oven, so I might try this instead. 

What I will try next:

• My steak knives need some help. Apparently, lemon juice will fix that.
• My microwave, also gross, although it could be worse. We keep one of these in there so we always remember to cover our messy food! However, I will try this out tonight to see if this gets things really clean. 

I will keep you posed on the results!

Tutorial: Jamberry Nail Shields

I'm always up for trying new things...especially when I have a coupon! When I came across a coupon for Jamberry Nail Shields I was immediately intrigued! I Googled, saw good reviews and bought!

I thought I would quickly share my Jamberry Nails experience and some tips I find useful on getting a better application! Please pardon the poor photos - I took them with my iPad instead of my real camera.

Here are the instructions from the Jamberry website:

• Step 1: Clean nails with nail polish remover or alcohol. (Clean, oil free nails are one of the most important steps of the application)
• Step 2: Cut and file nails to desired length and shape.
• Step 3: Buff top of the nail and push back cuticle.
• Step 4: Match nail (finger or toe) to the nail shield that best fits.
• Step 5: Peel off nail shield and warm with a blow-dryer 10-15 seconds or until soft and flexible.
• Step 6: When warm, press the shield onto the nail. Apply firm pressure around edges to adhere the shield to the nail. Use rubber cuticle pusher to seal the shield around the cuticle.
• Step 7: Trim the top with scissors and file off remaining shield using a downward motion to remove excess.
• Step 8: Apply heat and pressure to the shield again until it is sealed to the nail. (Repeating this step several times helps create a tight seal to the nail surface and increases wear time)
• Optional Step 9: For active users you can add a small amount of nail glue to the free edge to better seal the nail shield. 

Here are my own tips!

Supplies! I used the same as in the instructions, except for one thing...

An embossing gun! I found that this heats the shields more than a hair dryer and  is easier to use because there is a stand and a more direct airflow. It does get REALLY hot, though, so you have to be careful!

I have VERY curved nails, so I have to keep mine short to do the shields. When they get long, the shields tend to buckle and don't stay on as long. This is right before I trimmed and filed.

And...done!

Overall, it took about 45 minutes for my first FULL set (I've done 1-2 nails mixed with polish just to get the technique down prior to doing a full set). The nice thing is...no drying, no smudges, no topcoat. When you are done, you are done!

I'm excited to see how long they last since I am hard on my hands with typing, cleaning products, etc. As of now, I would give them a B+! I didn't have any nail glue on hand, but I might try that next time, too. Just in case!

Tutorial: Re-Flavor Your Dog's Bones

Does your dog lose interest after they lick all of the flavor off of their bones (real, not rawhide)? Ours does. Now he has a large collection of bones laying around the house that he doesn't even touch...like a mini graveyard.

So, I did some Googling and learned how to re-flavor his bones so he will like them once again. Here is how:

1. Collect bones and place them in a large stock pot.

2. Make either beef or chicken broth...enough to cover the bones. I used 8 cups of beef (that is what Wallum T. Doggie picked). 

3. Bring to a rolling boil, turn down to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Watch your dog act funny in anticipation.

5. Take bones out and let them cool. DO NOT give your dog a scalding hot toy. That is just mean.

6. Watch your dog stare at their "new" toy. Note: It took about 30 minutes for them to be cool enough for him to have one.

7. Give your dog their bone.

8. Watch your dog be happy. :)

Happy Wally!

There you have it! Happy dog and $30-$40 savings!