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Friday, July 26, 2013

Super Easy Wall Storage, Kids Room

Dollar Store Kids Storage!
 
Under $10.00. 

So here in our new house in Florida my daughters room is quite a bit smaller than her old one, and she has more stuff!!  How did that happen. 
So we came up with a super cheap and easy way to store her crayons and art stuff. 

The bins are from the 1$ section of CVS - super cheap and they had lots of color.  The border is made from "duct" tape from the Dollar Store.  That tape is pretty cheap ( nothing like the real stuff) but that is good because it will come off the wall very easily without wrecking the paint. 

The bins are attached to the wall with thumbtacks on the top and bottom of the longer side.

We did this right above her desk, so it helps keep her desk clean as well.

Enjoy, post pics if you do it yourself!!

Nadine

 

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Toaster Oven Salmon Lunch! ( single serving!)

 
So, I am still getting used to this 9 - 5 thing!  And a whole hour of lunch!!  OMG so many things I can do with a free hour.  I am used to shoveling down my food in 15 minutes , while checking email.
With this much time for lunch my mind tends to wander to "what will I make for Lunch?"  So I decided to make a healthy quick lunch from the toaster oven and microwave!  The toaster oven cooked the salmon great and the rice was made in the microwave (instant rice) I added a cut up plum just to have some fruit!!
So this is a great quick cooked lunch, but tastes home cooked. 
 
 
INGREDIENTS 
 
I buy salmon filet from the freezer section, they are small and vacuum packed so they are perfect for this lunch recipe.  Salmon thaws very quickly so keep  it frozen until you head off to work.
 
MARINADE ( remember this is a single serving, multiply as needed )
 
1/4 cup soy sauce, I use low sodium
1/.2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon Agave Nectar ( or honey )
 
Mix all the above ingredients well and store is a airtight container, refrigerate.
 
RICE
 
1/2 instant rice ( I store it in a ziploc because it fits in my lunch box better )
1 teaspoon chopped green onions
1 tbs frozen green peas.
1 tbs chopped carrot
 
 Store the onions and peas and carrots together in the freezer until you are ready cook.
 
 
DIRECTIONS
 
     About an hour before you are ready to cook, pour your marinade over your fish, store it in an airtight container and refrigerate.  The fish should marinate for at least an hour.   Turn your toaster oven on at the Broil setting.   Cover the toaster oven tray with tin foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.  Add your fish to the toaster oven and set the timer for 8 - 10 minutes.  While your fish is cooking add onions, carrots and peas to your rice and mix well.  Add 1/2 cup boiling water and stir.  Cover the bowl.  and let sit until all water is absorbed ( about 5 minutes).
 
When your rice is done add a couple of tablespoons of the marinade to it and mix well.  Your fish should be just about ready by now, depending on how well done you like your salmon.   I chose plum for my fruit and it was a delicious flavor pairing,  YUM!! 
 



Friday, July 5, 2013

Lets Make Key Lime Coconut Bars



So I recently started a new job, an office type situation.  Along with the new job come new co-workers and more people to cook for!  Yeayy.  I have a very small family so I don't get to cook as much as I would like, so it's fun to share with my work family. 
 
So this week's request ( from one of my favorite people in the office )  was Coconut Key Lime Bars.  Personally I think he just strings ingredients together just to see if I can make it!  Well this one was a winner!  
 I recently inherited my Grandmother In-Law's cookbooks and thought for sure I would find something useful there.  Easier said than done. So I put together about 3 different recipes until I came up with this one. 
 
Ingredients
 
2        Cups Shredded Sweetended Coconut
1 1/2  Cups All purpose flour
3/4     Cups Confectioners sugar
6        Egg Yolks
10      Tablespoons unsalted butter.
2        Cans of sweetened condensed milk
4        Teaspoons grated key lime or lime zest
1        Cup Key Lime Juice  ( you can use regular lime juice )  
 
Directions
 
  1. Preheat overn to 350 degrees.  Spread out your coconut on a cookie sheet  and toast until golden brown.  About 10 minutes.  Keep and eye on it and toss every couple of minutes.
  2. In a large bowl combine flour , Sugar and one cup of the coconut. Cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal.  This can be done with a pastry cutter or two knives.  Pack this down tightly into a 9 X 13 pan, bake 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool for 5 minutes.
  3. While your crust is cooking beat together the eggs and milk with a whisk until thick.  Gradually beat in the zest and lime juice.  Add in as little or as much coconut as you like here.  ( Save some for the top!)
  4. Pour into the cooled crust and sprinkle remainer of the coconut on top. Return to the oven for     8 - 10 minutes. Cool completely . Cut into desired portions, at this point I freeze mine so they don't get runny.  Just before serving sprinkle with a little sugar if you like and garnish with zest.
 
When I bring these to the office I wrap them individually and keep them in the fridge, however you may not have to because they go fast!!  Enjoy.