Pin 212 & 211, Natural Hair and Face Mask

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, health and beauty and tagged with , ,

I’m desperately trying to catch up on my Pin entries so I found these two that were simple to make and easy to try.

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First is the hair mask that, honestly, I tried because I had all the ingredients and the picture appeared to offer smooth and shiny hair results. There was minimal description of what the ingredients would do and simply said to apply the mask two times a week.

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Most of the hair masks I’ve seen have similar ingredients.

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Here’s the before, hair slightly damp from the shower and air dried.

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And here’s the after. I blew my hair out with a dryer but used no conditioner after shampooing the mask out. It was smooth, shiny, not totally unfrizzy but better than usual. Overall, I was happy with the results and would try the mask again. Not sure about 2 times a week but once in a while will do for me.

Now onto the face mask that I applied while waiting for my hair mask to sit for 2 hours.

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The ingredients were simple, 1 mashed banana and 1 tsp of honey. Mix and apply to face, let sit for 10 minutes. I’ve read lots of information about bananas reducing signs of wrinkles and softening the skin and with only two ingredients you can’t miss.

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And it tastes good while it slides off your face and into your mouth. I suggest putting your leftover mash into a smoothie. Win. Win. My skin did feel quite smooth and I’m sure I have to apply often to see any anti-aging results.

210 to go……..

Limoncello Tiramisu

Posted by suzyhomebaker in cake and tagged with ,

I realize I’ve been quite lax when it comes to blog entries but in my defense, we went away for spring break and upon returning, I’ve been dealing with that wonderful stomach virus that has finally plaqued our house. So, as my daughter lays in my bed, trying not to hurl, I thought I would post this recipe we enjoyed on Easter. I was looking to make something simple that required no baking since we returned from vacay on Saturday and immediately hopped back in the car Sunday to head to Long Island. This recipe delivered.

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I was able to text my husband all the ingredients and he had no problem finding them. It needs to sit overnight in the fridge which was perfect since we were leaving the next day. Although we were all stuffed from appetizers and dinner, we still have room for dessert. It was light and lemony and the perfect finale to our Easter.

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Recipe courtesy of bakingbites.com

Ingredients

8-oz mascarpone cheese, softened
4-oz cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup heavy cream, cold
1 tbsp limoncello
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup limoncello
approx 30-36 ladyfingers
extra confectioners’ sugar, for finishing

In a large mixing bowl, beat mascarpone, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, limoncello and lemon zest at high speed until mixture is fluffy and very smooth.
In a small saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the fresh lemon juice. Allow to cool slightly, then combine mixture with limoncello. Dip each ladyfinger into the limoncello mixture to let it soak up some of the liquid for 2-3 seconds, then place in the bottom of a 8×8 or 9×9-inch baking dish. The bottom of the pan should be completely covered with the ladyfingers in a single layer. When there is a full layer of ladyfingers, spread half of the lemon cream mixture on top of them. Repeat with remaining ladyfingers and cream mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 4 hours. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Serves 9-12

Pin 214 & 213, Crazy Cake and Hot Chocolate Frosting

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, cake, chocolate, kid friendly, Uncategorized and tagged with , ,

I know I’ve been slacking in posting my pins so here’s a double whammy.

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I want to say this cake was delicious but I can’t. There’s a reason it’s also called Depression cake; no milk, eggs or butter. Not a whole lot of taste.

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You put all the ingredients into a greased brownie pan, mix them up and hope the cake doesn’t stick to the pan.

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As you can see, mine stuck a bit and some flour did not mix in completely.

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The frosting was another story. It was very sweet, not my kind of icing. I prefer buttery over sweet. But since the cake was not terribly sweet with minimal chocolate flavor, the combination was not too overpowering. I don’t think I’ll make this cake again. Maybe if I’m in a pinch and don’t have milk, eggs or butter on hand. But that isn’t likely in my house. Here’s the recipes and the original pins if you would like to try them out for yourself.

Crazy Cake courtesy of sweetlittlebluebird.com
Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups flour
3 Tbsp. cocoa (unsweetened)
1 Cup white sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
5 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Cup water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix first 5 dry ingredients in a greased 8″ square baking pan. Make 3 depressions in dry ingredients – two small, one larger (see #3 in photo below). Pour vinegar in one depression, vanilla in the other and the vegetable oil in third larger depression. Pour water over all. Mix well until smooth.

Bake on middle rack of oven for 35 minutes. Check with toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Cool. Top with your favorite frosting. Enjoy!

Tip – You can double this recipe, just use a 9×13 baking pan.

Hot Chocolate Frosting
Recipe courtesy of http://cookiesandcups.com
makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup dry hot chocolate mix (without mini marshmallows)
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp heavy cream

Directions

In a small saucepan combine hot chocolate mix and cream. Heat over medium until hot and steaming…not quite boiling, stirring consistently. You want the sugar in the hot chocolate to dissolve. Set aside.
In large mixing bowl cream butter until smooth.
Add in powdered sugar and mix until combined. It will be very dry.
Turn mixer to low and slowly pour in your hot chocolate mixture. Once all is added turn mixer up to medium and beat for about a minute until light and fluffy, scarping down sides of bowl when necessary.
Spread or pipe on cupcakes.

212 to go…….

It’s snowing and I’m freezing my nana’s off

Posted by suzyhomebaker in bread, breakfast, gluten free, ice cream, kid friendly, low-fat and tagged with

It is snowing out. And my bananas are already well frozen. Here’s how I do it.

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First I go to the store and buy bruised bananas from the discount rack. They are usually $0.50 to $0.75 for 10 t0 12. I peel them all, cut them in half and place them in one layer on a parchment covered baking sheet.

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Pop them in the freezer overnight at least and you have frozen bananas. Bag them in freezer bags for up to 6 months. Use them for shakes, smoothies, banana bread, banana ice cream, banana bites and whatever else you like.

Pin 215, Creamy Tortellini Crock Pot Meal

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, casserole, kid friendly, pasta, savory and tagged with , ,

I’m adding this one to the “go to” dinner list too. The Pin says it is the best crock pot meal ever and I will agree, it’s pretty damn good. However, I don’t agree that it should be cooked for 5-6 hours. The tortellini gets a bit over cooked so I would suggest cooking for 3-4 hours and checking at some point to see if the pasta is al dente. The kids thought it ruled.  I would tell any mom to make this any day of the week. It’s easy, quick, and cheap. It’s creamy and delicious. Make it and you’ll love it. I’m talking to my homegirls here.

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Ingredients

1 19 oz. bag of frozen tortellini (I used 1-1/2 bags so I would have leftovers)

1 small bag (5 oz) of fresh baby spinach

2 cans of italian-style diced tomatoes

1 32 oz. box or 4 cups of vegetable broth

1 block of cream cheese

Directions

Put all ingredients in crockpot, chunking up the cream cheese. Cook on low for 3-4 hours covered, checking for the pasta to be al dente. If you like your pasta super soft, cook for 5 hours.

214 to go………..

Pin 216, DIY Microwave Popcorn

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, gluten free, Green Tip, kid friendly, low-fat and tagged with , ,

I will never buy microwave popcorn again.

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A brown paper bag, 1/3 cup of corn kernels…….

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a little tape and a couple minutes in the microwave equals

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POPCORN!

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Add a couple spritzes of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, a little salt and Orville ain’t got nothin on me!

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FYI: I get my kernels at the local health food store in the bulk food section. Here’s the original pin.

215 to go……….

Pin 217, Pork Carnitas

Posted by suzyhomebaker in Uncategorized

Pork is so friggen good. And slow cooked pork butt is just plain delicious. When I saw this Pin, I had to make it.

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The meat falls apart and is so flavorful even with the limited ingredients. I don’t think pork needs to much help. It’s just naturally mouth watering.

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When first cooked the meat does not look appetizing at all. It’s gray and dry looking. It is tasty though.

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Then you begin to shred it and you think “oh okay, shredded pork. Starting to look better”.

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Then you mix it in its reduced juices, broil it until its crispy and brown and can’t stop eating it off the baking sheet before it even hits the table. I served mine with flour tortillas, lime, cilantro, shredded colby jack cheese, avocado and chopped tomato. You can do what you like.

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This recipe is getting added to the “go-to recipes” in my house.

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Oh yeah, and the kids liked them too. And P.S.: those 4 pounds of meat, were devoured that night! Zero leftovers. Note to self: make two batches at a time for guaranteed leftovers.

Pork Carnitas
(recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated)

Ingredients
4 pound boneless pork butt, fat trimmed and cut into 2 inch cubes
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
2 Tb fresh lime juice
2 C water
1 medium orange, juiced and keep the spent halves

1.  Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat to 300 degrees.  Combine all the ingredients in a large Dutch oven, including the spent orange halves and juice.  Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, uncovered.  Once it simmers, cover pot and transfer it to the oven.  Cook until the meat falls apart when prodded with a fork, about 2 hours.
2.  Remove the pot from the oven and turn on the broiler.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pan and place it on a large foil-lined jelly roll pan.  Remove and discard everything from the pot except for the cooking liquid.  Place pot over high heat on the stove and boil until thick and syrupy, about 20 minutes.  You should have about 1 C of liquid remaining when it is finished.
3.  While the liquid is reducing, use two forks to pull each cube of pork into three equal sized pieces.  Once the liquid has become a syrup, gently fold in the pieces of pork into the pot.  Try not to break up the pork any further.  Taste and add additional salt and pepper.
4.  Spread the pork back onto the foil lined pan and evenly spread the meat around so there is a single layer of meat.  Place the jelly roll pan on the lower middle rack of the oven and broil until the top of the meat is well browned and edges are slightly crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes.  Using a wide metal spatula, flip the pieces of meat and broil the other side until well browned and edges are slightly crisp, 5 to 8 minutes.  Serve immediately in a tortilla with all your favorite toppings.

216 to go………

Pin 218, Pool Noodle Bed Rail

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, kid friendly and tagged with , , ,

We finally removed the crib rail off one side of my two-year olds crib so that she is now sleeping in a toddler bed. When Riley was using the toddler bed, she kicked and completely broke the side panel used to keep her from falling out of the toddler bed. So I’ve had to improvise something.

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And this Pin had a solution. Slide a pool noodle (purchased for $1 at Dollar General) under the fitted sheet at the edge of the bed.

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Instant bed rail but not quite sure fire though. It does bow a bit in the center since it is so snug at the ends but its been three days and Kendall hasn’t jumped ship yet.

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I think she likes it.

217 to go………….

Pin 220 & 219, Homemade Buttery Bisquick and 7UP Biscuits

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, bread, breakfast, kid friendly and tagged with , ,

I went into the city with my friend to celebrate her birthday and for brunch the next morning we hit up this place in the Bronx, the Clock Bar. The service was interesting, a bit condescending, they could not accommodate any substitutions, and I mean any, and they did not have ketchup. The ketchup thing was really weird considering they served home fries. Bizarre. But a menu item that everyone at the table ordered was the biscuits served with butter and honey. I’m sorry I don’t have a picture to post but let me tell you, they were delicious.

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With those buttery biscuits on my mind since then, I found this four ingredient recipe for biscuits that sounded good. I should have known they would not come close since one of ingredients is 7UP but, I figured I’d try them anyway.

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I found that I was out of Bisquick so I made my own using a recipe I found on Pinterest. Very simple to make with just a few ingredients.

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Recipe courtesy of campwander.blogspot.com

DIY Bisquick

Ingredients
2  C flour
1  t. baking powder
1  t. sugar
1/2  t. salt
1  stick of butter

Combine all ingredients, cut in the butter with a food processor or a pastry cutter and store in the refrigerator up to 4 months.  A single recipe fit a quart jar very nicely.

So the Bisquick was made and now for the biscuits. I realized I was missing one other key ingredient to the recipe, 7UP. I used the only substitution I had, and it was Fresca. You read me right. Fresca. Closest thing to 7UP in my house. So maybe that’s why my biscuits were less than amazing.

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I was hoping for a buttery, sweet, light and cakey biscuit but I got a dense, flat somewhat tasteless roll whose texture was almost undercooked. The kids and my husband liked them nonetheless but they hadn’t had those  buttery sweet restaurant biscuits to compare them to. So they weren’t a total loss. I will probably attempt them again but with the 7UP and maybe additional sugar sprinkled on top.

Recipe courtesy of monstermama.com

Ingredients

2 c Bisquick mix
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c 7up
1/4 c melted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 450º. Cut sour cream into your Bisquick mix, then add 7up – it will make a soft dough. Now sprinkle your counter with a little Bisquick mix then add dough and pat it out. Melt butter and pour it into a 9″ square baking pan. Cut your biscuits up and arrange them in pan on top of melted butter. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

218 to go…………

White Bean Soup

Posted by suzyhomebaker in gluten free, kid friendly, low-fat, savory, soup, veggies and tagged with

I made this soup a while back and am just getting to write about it now. I think I made it during the last big snow storm, when we got 12 inches on the ground.

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I feel like any soup is comfort food but this one seems to top the list. The creamy white beans and the garlic and fennel flavor is a nice combination. And really, you can’t go wrong with toasted cheese on slices of baguette. Although I substituted whole wheat bread triangles for a lighter version. Still delicious.

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This is the soup you want to make on Sunday morning, so you can eat it Sunday afternoon, and the Monday after that.

Recipe courtesy of My Father’s Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 fennel bulb, stems and fronds removed for another use, bulb thinly slice
  • 1 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
  • pinch of red chile flakes
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2  14-ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 pints Vegetable Stock (I used low-sodium Chicken Stock instead)
  • Kosher salt

Optional additions:

  • 1 bunch kale, stems discarded and leaves town into bite-sized pieces
  • 8 thin slices baguette, toasted
  • 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the fennel and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onion and garlic, turn the heat as low as it can go, and cook for 1/2 hour, stirring here and there. A little color is okay, but you really the vegetable to get soft and sweet. Add the chile flakes, oregano, and pepper and cook for a minute. Add the beans and stock, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, add salt to taste, and let cook on low heat for 1 hour.

For optional ingredient additions:

Stir in the kale leaves and let cook for 7 minutes, or until just cooked. Ladle into four bowls, float two toasts on each bowl and evenly distribute the cheese. Put the bowls under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly, less than a minute. Serve.

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