Category Archives: Crafts Ideas & Cooking Tips

Mar 22 2015

Homemade Marinara Sauce

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10-minute-marinara-sauce

10-Minute Homemade Marinara Sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yield: About 3 1/2 cups     Cook Time: 10 min

 

 

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon fresh black pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:
Heat a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil to the pan, allowing it to warm for 1 minute, then add the garlic and sauté it for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it's golden brown and fragrant.
Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar and crushed red pepper flakes (optional), stirring to combine. Simmer the sauce for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, then season it with additional salt, pepper or sugar, to taste. 

Notes: The strongest flavor of the marinara sauce will depend on what variety of crushed tomatoes you use.

Feb 25 2015

DIY Fabric Art

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pink-grey-baby-nursery-fabric-wall-art

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Supples needed:

  1. Frames
  2. Fabric
  3. Hot Glue
  4. Hammer/nails or Command hooks

Instructions:

  1. The first thing you’re going to do is determine how big you want your frames.
  2. Next I cut 1/8 inch off one edge of the cardboard to allow room for the fabric when placing it back in the frame. Then I cut out a piece of fabric about 2 inches wider than the cardboard. After that I wrapped the cardboard like a present with the fabric, hot gluing as I went and then I placed the piece back in the frame.
  3. This project took me less than an hour from start to finish. Can’t beat that! The possibilities really are endless with this simple piece of decor. Get creative! 😀

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Supplies needed:

  1. Art Canvas or Styrofoam model
  2. Fabric
  3. Staple Gun

Instructions:

  1. ​Iron fabric and place on a work surface wrong side up.  Cut fabric leaving enough on each side to staple to the art frame.  Staple once on one side of the canvas and then again on the other side making sure that the fabric is even and snug.
  2. Continue stapling until two sides are complete.  Fold the fabric in on each corner and staple.
  3. Staple the other sides and the corners.

Get creative by adding word/animal templates, ribbons or decorative strings! 😀

 

Nov 25 2014

It’s Not Thanksgiving Until…

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We all know Thanksgiving is a celebration of family togetherness, good food, drinking and oh yeah more food!
We also must not forget the memorable moments that make your Thanksgiving an unforgettable holiday year and year.

It's Not Thanksgiving Until:

  1. You first time turkey isn't burnt, frozen or dry as hell 
  2. Someone sets a pan on fire
  3. The 10 second rule is applied
  4. Your local Fire Dept has crashed your burning down the house party
  5. Someone gets nicked by a knife
  6. You have officially become Hostzilla!
  7. A fight breaks out between wives and husbands, mothers and daughters, dads and uncles and let's not forget your inlaws
  8. There's a glass of wine in your left hand and a turkey baster on your right
  9. Someone just has to bring up politics or religion
  10. There's a WTF moment and and O.M.G no they didn't!
  11. The kids and their dads have destroyed have the house
  12. You eat yourself into a coma 
  13. Someone has compliented your Thanksgiving feast by fart, burp or furniture break

Remember to have a Happy Thanksgiving! And don't worry you get a do-over on Christmas!

Nov 22 2014

Make a Healthier Choice!

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My family and I have changed our lives for the better. After watching many informative documentaries and doing personal research we have decided to make healthier food choices. We don’t always choose organic over non-organic. Even though organic is better, their high prices isn’t realistic for us. Instead we  just make healthier choices when it comes to our meals. We buy fresh fruits and vegetables from our local farmers markets, we’ve cut all meat except fish out of our diet and about 80% of processed foods (fresh bread is my weakness, I can never give up).
We have also decreased our intake of excesses sugar such as all candy, carbonated drinks and all fast-food franchises, etc…

I ‘ve always suffered from migraines and since changing what and how I eat, I’m happy to report that I haven’t had a single one not even a mild headache. I’ve got more energy and I feel less blah during the day. I blame all of those bacon cheese burgers. LOL
I’ve gotten my brother off the insane energy drinks and turned him into an avid juicer using only fresh fruits and veggies from regular supermarkets. He loves it and has even loss some weight. Go lil bro!!!
My sister is borderline diabetic and I’ve advise my parents on kicking her off the freaking candy. I mean gees. She’s been eating healthier foods to help strengthen her immune system. It’s a working process so we see what’s what in time 🙂

Now I am only sharing my own thoughts and wanted to express how proud I am of myself and my kids for sticking to our new way of life. It was a very crazy crying day when Halloween came around but we survived… barely. LOL!!

Just a couple of things I did want you to take notice are below and please feel free to share you own thoughts via post or comment on mine below.

  • It is a sad day when our country decided that (frozen)pizza served in our children’s school cafeterias is considered a vegetable. Pizza? Really?
  • True story: One afternoon I joined my kid for lunch at her school and I watched as two moms in front of us sat with their kids and ate fresh salads, carrots, celery and cucumber with some kind of dressing and had water as a beverage. Healthy stuff right? So please explain to me, while they ate the  it does a body good stuff were their children eating McDonald’s? Large size might I add.
    What’s wrong with that picture? Oh yeah, so it’s all good for you to eat healthy b/c you want to stay thin and blah, blah, blah… but you feed the kids crap food. Don’t they realize how stupid it looks… how all of that salt and sugar and fat they’re consuming in large quantities is hurting them.

I don’t know. I just have to live and let live right. It’s hard when obesity is the number killing in America. #1 that’s freaking unbelievable. We can change that statistic ladies. For you and your family the next time you’re at the supermarket Stop, Think and Buy Healthier. It just takes 1 step at time… 1 step at a time 🙂

Lots of Luv,

-Gigi