Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

2 minute mango salsa recipe

~ EAT

One of my goals as a mother is to teach my kids to be excellent chefs and this simple and easy mango salsa recipe is the perfect one to start with! This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Del Monte, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #makemangosalsa http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

My dad used to always tell me stories about how my mom didn’t know how to cook anything when they were married.  He remembers her making this chicken and it wasn’t very good but he told her it was, and she fed him the same chicken for three days straight and how he had to eat it all.  My mom, learning from her experience, always had me help her cook since I was a little girl.  And thanks to her, I love to cook and I must say I am a pretty dang good cook!
So when I was a little girl and I daydreamed about the day I was a mom, I told myself I would teach my kids to be really good cooks(not just know how to cook but be dang good at it).  I always tell my husband that I want all of our kids to know how to cook well, to sew at least the basics, and to be self reliant.  So I started prepping and cooking with my two girls since they were around two years old.  It ended up being way more work for me as they made huge messes and it took me twice as long to make the food, but I reminded myself that I was teaching them an important skill they would use for the rest of their lives.  I don’t want to send them off to College and worry about whether they’re eating well or healthy!  And since cooking for others is my way of serving others and bringing joy into our home, I want them to bless the lives of whomever they might come across with good cooking.  I think feeding people good food is one of the best ways to serve, which is why we always invite people over to our house for dinner on a weekly basis.  
Since my oldest turned 7 a few months ago, I’ve been meaning to teach her how to make certain foods all by herself without my assistant.  I’ve been telling her I would teach her how to make pancakes from scratch and to turn on the stove, butter the pan and to cook and flip the pancakes.  Well, it hasn’t happened yet!  I guess it’s a little overwhelming thinking about it and our weekends are usually so busy, we haven’t been able to find the time yet.  So with Super Bowl Sunday coming up and all, this mango salsa seemed like the perfect first recipe for the girls to make, since all it requires is two ingredients and no knives or stoves involved!  My girls made the salsa with lots of excitement and giggles and they loved the salsa.  It’s always a good sign when they lick the wooden spoon clean!
Ingredients:
1 Can (15oz.) Del Monte Diced Mangos in light syrup
1 Jar (24oz) Chunky Salsa (your favorite brand)
Directions:
1. Drain the mango syrup.
2. Mix the mangos and the salsa.
3. Serve and enjoy! Makes about 12 servings.





*9 ways to make it your own: (stir in any of the following):


2 T. chopped fresh cilanto
1 tsp. orange or lime zest
1/4 c. canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 diced avocado
1 8 oz. can diced Del Monte crushed pineapple
1/2 c. diced cucumber
1/4 c. sliced green onion
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. chipotle chili powder

We plan on making this during the Super Bowl Sunday and watching the game while we send the kids to the basement to watch “Book of Life”, which will be available on DVD at Walmart on 1/27, which is the same store where I got the ingredients for the salsa. They will also have a sampling event that will take place at select Walmart stores 1/22-1/25. For more of Del Monte recipes, check out their Pinterest page.

Banana Crush Slush recipe

~ EAT

Today I’ll be sharing with you this refreshing recipe, banana crush slush!  My MIL would make this banana crush slush for my husband on special occasions growing up and it’s become our family favorite.  This recipe has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MingleNMix #CollectiveBias
Banana crush slush recipe
You know those recipes your mom made for while growing up and you get married and you’re like, “Hey, my mom used to make this recipe, it’s really good and I miss it, I need to ask my mom for the recipe!” and you incorporate the recipe into your family dinners?  This is one of them for my husband.  He said his mom would only make this drink on special occasions and him and his siblings would scream in excitement(he was like 18, just kidding, he was a little boy).  I think foods our moms and dads used to make for us growing up tastes even better because we have a sentimental attachment to it and is associated with memories of our childhood and feelings of nostalgia.  So sometimes when he says the above and gets the recipe from his mom and I make it for our family, I taste it and I think, yeah, it’s not that good, but he loves it because it brings back memories for him.  Well, this recipe is different, I really do like this one!

You can use frozen concentrated pineapple and orange juice as well.  And fresh lemons.  But who’s got time to squeeze out 1/2 c. of fresh lemon juice?  I ain’t got time for that!  I got all these ingredients from Wal Mart.
Combine sugar and water in big pot and hear until dissolved, turn off hear and add the remaining ingredients.  Put in at least 2 containers to freeze over night or for 24 hours.
When ready to serve, crush, and put it in cups
pour 7UP® until it fills up the glass.
Banana Crush Slush
2 1/2 c. sugar
6 c. water
2 1/2 c. orange juice
1/2 c. lemon juice
4 c. pineapple juice
5 mashed bananas
1 liter of 7UP®
Combine sugar and water in big pot and hear until dissolved.
Turn off hear and add the remaining ingredients.
Put in at least 2 containers to freeze over night or for 24 hours.
When ready to serve, crush, and put it in cups and pour 7UP® until it fills up the glass.
*some people like using ginger ale like Canada Dry‘s 100% ginger ale instead of  7UP®.
where I got my 7UP®, at Wal Mart.

super easy no bake granola bars

~ Etc.

I have a recipe to share today which is quick, easy and kid-approved!  This post has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Quaker. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #LoveMyCereal #QuakerUp

Having 3 kids is crazy for me.  I am always over the max of my capacity which is exhausting and chaotic but it also brings me so much happiness and satisfaction.  There has to be some lows in life to fully enjoy and appreciate the ups in life and anything that is of great worth is hard, I’ve learned over the years, such as parenting, marriage and education.

Sometimes I take on too much but one thing I do not take lightly is cooking for my family.  I guess I can say cooking is one of my strengths?  I am pretty proud of myself that I’ve only served frozen pizza or other frozen ready-made foods less than I can count with one hand, and I just made those boxed macaroni & cheese for the first time in my almost 8 years of marriage just a few weeks ago for lunch at my kids’ request.  I am not telling you this to brag, I’m telling you that I take cooking seriously and believe it’s one of the most important things I do for my family on a constant basis.  And cooking is my strength while cleaning is my weakness, so it all evens out!  Everyone has different strengths and while another mother might not constantly make homemade food for her family, she might be very good at cleaning or other things, so this motherhood all evens out and there’s no need to compete!  I talked more about not comparing and celebrating each other’s strengths instead of competing or feeling jealous on this post.  
One thing I do love is semi-homemade cooking.  I love watching “30 minute meals” by Rachel Ray on Food Network, don’t you?  It saves you time, and is delicious, a win-win for the whole family!
semi-homemade no bake coconut & chocolate granola bars
I made this semi-homemade no bake coconut & chocolate granola bars using Quaker® Simply Granola in oats, honey & almonds and my kids loved it!  Granola is an excellent source of fiber and it keeps you full for a long period of time, which is perfect for while the kids are at school, since kids who eat breakfast or who don’t feel hunger during school do better at school(that’s what I read anyway which makes perfect sense!).  So granola is my go-to when needing to feed my kids something quick and filling.
Semi-homemade no bake coconut & chocolate granola bars

Ingredients:
1/4 c. Agave 
1/4 c. unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 c. coconut oil
1/4 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 small banana
Directions:
Blend or crush 3 c. granola cereal.  Mix it with the rest of the ingredients, squeezing it all together with your fingers works best.  Put it in a square pan on wax paper and pat it down(I used a rolling pin) and refrigerate for 20 mins.  Cut it in rectangles and serve!
 I got all the ingredients I needed from Wal Mart!
You can see all these other offers below at Quaker®.
Quaker® Real Medleys®
Quaker® Oatmeal Squares
Quaker® Simply Granola
Quaker® Life

I’ll be sharing another favorite recipe of mine that we make for the holidays tomorrow, so stay tuned!  Do you have any easy and quick recipes that you make regularly at home?  I would love for you to share!  

Brazilian Limeade

~ Etc.

We had dinner at a friend’s house and she made this drink which we fell in love with.  It is so easy to make and delicious!  We’ve been making it almost every time we have people over for dinner ever since.
Brazilian Limeade
  • 2 cans 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
  • 3 limes
  • water
  • pitcher
Fill up the pitcher with water.  Pour the milk, and squeeze the lime juice in.  Mix well.  Serve with crushed ice.  

Our favorite summer salad

~ Etc.

Over the past few years, we’ve been to many gatherings where they served this spinach & strawberry salad.  It’s delicious and easy to make, so it’s become one of my favorite salads to make at home.  It tastes very refreshing and sweet, it’s almost like dessert!

Spinach strawberry salad
Ingredients:
-1 bag of ready-to-eat spinach
-craisins
-thinly sliced strawberries
-sugar-coated almonds*
-poppy seed dressing

Directions:
1. Pour spinach onto a bowl.  Top it with the rest of the ingredients according to preference, mix, and enjoy!

*to make sugar-coated almonds, melt white sugar on low-medium heat.  When the white sugar becomes liquid, pour slivered almonds onto the pan, and mix.  Quickly remove from heat and separate the almonds from sticking together.