I first tasted this delicious salsa at a friend’s house during a playdate. It was so tasty and refreshing! And since it is healthy, no one felt guilty for snacking on it all day long.
Ingredients:
1 (15 or 16 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained OR 1 cup frozen corn kernels OR 2-3 ears of fresh cooked corn
1 can black olives, drained and sliced
1 large tomato, diced OR 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, peeled and cubed (seeds removed)
2 avocados, cubed
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/2 of a medium red onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup prepared italian dressing (reduced fat or regular)
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Are you tired of feeding your kids the same old boring hot dogs? Next time, ask the kids to help you make Octo-Dogs! This is another one of my “5 ingredients or less” recipes.
Marlo got this creative recipe idea from an old friend, so I tested it out on my playgroup this week. The Octo-Dogs were a hit! (Thanks to Kathy W. for the clever name!)
Octo-Dog Recipe
Ingredients:
1 package of hot dogs, any kind, preferably one without nitrates
1 package of spaghetti noodles, preferably whole wheat or multi-grain
1 cup of spaghetti sauce, jarred or homemade
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I’ve been getting a lot of compliments on my Delicious Pumpkin Muffin and Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffin Recipes. Lately I’ve been baking single batches of the low fat version and adding chocolate chips. Here’s the new and improved recipe:
Reduced Fat Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
Recipe Summary:
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30-35 minutes for muffins, 20-25 minutes for mini-muffins
Yield: 18 regular size muffins, or 2-3 dozen mini-muffins
Ingredients:
DRY:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
WET:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 large or extra large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups raw shredded pumpkin, fresh or previously frozen
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
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Hand washing is the best way to prevent the transmission of germs, even better than all the hand sanitizers on the market. Encouraging children to wash their hands before eating and after using the washroom is very important. We also teach our kids to wash their hands as soon as they come home and after handling money or library books.
My kids love to wash their hands with foaming soap pumps. They don’t need to spend as much time lathering up their hands, and the foam rinses off easily. The problem is, the pumps empty so fast and replacing them can get expensive, not to mention wastefully and environmentally unfriendly.
I have yet to see foaming soap refills at the stores, probably because a special dispenser is required to make the foam. My solution is to just refill the bottles using regular liquid soap. You need one part soap for four parts water. For example, one ounce of soap and four ounces of water. The first time I did it, I accidentally used 2 ounces of soap and 6 ounces of water to fill my 8 ounce bottle. The foam was thicker, but still worked fine.
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If your family is like mine, you spend a lot of time shopping at warehouse stores such as Costco or Sam’s Club. The groceries are often priced at a great value, but packaged in huge quantities. Whenever I pass by the beautiful slabs of fresh salmon, I’m tempted to buy a package. If I’m not having people over, the thought of eating salmon every day for a week usually changes my mind.
We discovered a new recipe when we hosted a pot luck Christmas party with friends a few weeks ago. Our dear friend Anne borrowed our kitchen to make her new salmon dish. She brought three ingredients, assembled them, and popped them in the oven. About 30 minutes later, a delicious main course was served! By the end of the night, every delicious morsel had been eaten.
Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise (may use regular or low fat)
1 packet onion soup mix (any brand)
1 large salmon fillet from Costco
Preparation:
Stir the onion soup mix into the mayonnaise. Refrigerate the sauce until ready to bake.
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the salmon on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet. Be sure the pan is deep enough to catch any drippings.
- Cover the top of the salmon with the onion-mayo sauce.
- Bake approximately 30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. When your kitchen fills with the scent of onions and salmon, start checking the fish. The internal temperature of the thickest portion should reach 140 degrees. If you don’t have a cooking thermometer, the fish should flake easily with a fork when fully cooked.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. The sauce will turn into a tasty brown crust that keeps the fish moist and tender. Delicious!
Serve over a bed of rice and a side of steamed spinach for a super healthy, easy meal.
We’ve also prepared the salmon by seasoning it with salt and pepper and grilling on a hickory plank as well as sprinkling it with Hawaiian salt and olive oil before baking. We’d love to hear how you prepare your Costco salmon.
Please check out our other recipes. Many of them have 5 ingredients or less!
