Mod Podge Letter

I have discovered Mod Podge!!!! I have spent way too much time on Pinterest lately looking at all sorts of crafts and recipes. I kept seeing projects with Mod Podge and I had never used or really heard of it before! The more I looked into everything you can make with it...I knew I had to get some ASAP! I decided to make a "Mod Podged S" for my first project. I forgot to take pictures along the way but have no fear, I am pretty sure there will be more Mod Podge tutorials because this stuff is amazing! I love it!

I bought a plain, unfinished wooden "S" and painted the sides and back a pretty green color so it would match the colors in my house and because I didn't want the unfinished wood to show. After letting it dry, I traced the "S" onto a piece of scrapbook paper and cut out the letter. After putting on a layer of Mod Podge on the wood, I carefully placed the paper to it and then applied another layer of Mod Podge over the paper. I did another layer on top after it dried because I think I missed a few spots the first time :) I am super excited to experiment with more projects in the very near future! I put my Mod Podged S in my kitchen above my key hooks!

Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

As I have said before...ice cream is my weakness! I love it! One of my favorite flavors has to be Mint Chocolate Chip (especially the Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip...mmm)! When I discovered the super easy homemade-no machine ice cream recipe last month, I knew that I absolutely needed to make a mint ice cream. I knew that if I made it on my own, I would most likely end up eating the entire batch by myself! I had the perfect excuse to make it for a little get together last weekend! I also made another batch of my Chocolate, Coffee, Toffee Ice Cream too! I just love how simple the ingredients are and that you don't need any fancy machines!

Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Whip up Pint of Heavy Cream until stiff peaks. Mix 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract with the can of Sweetened Condensed Milk. Combine the whipped heavy cream and milk mixture together. Add 1 cup mini chocolate chips to the ice cream (you can use more or less chocolate chips/mint depending on how minty or chippy you want your ice cream). Pour the ice cream into a freezer safe bowl and freeze for at least 4 hours or until hardened. 

Enjoy every bite of this delicious ice cream!!!!

Melted Crayon Art

School starts soon so I have been trying to cram in all of the projects I wanted to do this summer into the last few days left. I have been busy organizing, cleaning, and catching up on all of my TV watching :) I also discovered Pinterest! If you haven't heard of it, you need to check it out! It is pretty much an online bookmarking site that you can share anything you stumble up on the internet with others. I have spent lots of time looking at all of the wonderful things that everyone has to offer online. It is amazing how much is out there! One of the things in my house that I need is more artwork on the walls....so I have been on the lookout for more DIY art! I found this project on there yesterday and I couldn't wait to get to the store and buy canvas and crayons!
    
Materials: 

 

     11 X 14 Canvas
    2 Boxes of 24 Crayons
    Hot Glue Gun
    Hair Dryer









Directions : 
 1. Lay out the crayons in any order you want. I took out the white, gray, peach, brown, and black. With the remainder of the crayons I was able to fit all of them across the canvas in a rainbow effect.

2. Glue crayons next to each other towards the top of the canvas. I glued each crayon individually to be sure they were as straight as possible.

 3. Once all of the crayons are glued down, take the canvas outside and lean against a wall with newspaper down to protect the ground. I just love the look of all of the crayons lined up

4. Use a blow dryer on HIGH heat and melt the crayon wax and let the wax drip and blend the colors together. I did have to change the angle of the canvas to help control the drips.

 I just love the look of the final product! I can't wait put the canvas in a frame to put in my arts and crafts room/office. The colors look amazing together and you can't help but smile when you look at it :) This is definitely a project a recommend if you are looking for a fun way to brighten a room!

Homemade Strawberry (Dairy-Free/No Machine) Ice Cream

I made another dairy free ice cream over the weekend that I thought I would share (share the recipe that is...since I pretty much ate all of it by myself:) ) Like I mentioned before, it is great to keep frozen sliced bananas in the freezer because making this ice cream is a nice treat to have, especially when it has been sooo hot lately!  I am so glad that I stumbled upon this easy way to make dairy free, no machine ice cream. I am loving all of the possible flavor combinations you can make! Hope you enjoy :)

Strawberry (Dairy-Free/No Machine) Ice Cream

I used 3 frozen Bananas and mixed in about 2-3 Tablespoons Pecans, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, and 1/4 cup Coconut Milk in the food processor. After it was a smooth consistency, I transferred the ice cream to a large bowl and add in 4-5 chopped frozen strawberries. I put mine in the freezer for a little bit to harden.  I used coconut flakes as a garnish :)

Spaghetti Squash

     I love trying out new foods! I remember having spaghetti squash on occasion growing up, but I have never made it myself. It is a great replacement for pasta noodles and tastes delicious! It is realllly easy to make and I also didn't realize how many "noodles" one squash produces! I think the hardest part was getting the knife through the squash. A couple weeks ago my sister and I both cut ourselves with kitchen utensils within 24 hours so I was still a little afraid of sharp objects in the kitchen...but I was able to slice through this squash without injury :)
     Instead of making a marinara sauce I was able to use leftovers from my ratatouille from the night before. It was scrumptious!! I am excited to go out and buy another squash again soon and try out other toppings. I think a little butter, chopped basil, and a tomatoes would be delish!

Directions:
1. Slice off one end of squash to make it easier to stand up
2. Slice through squash lengthwise. Use a sharp chefs knife....be careful!
3. Scoop out the seeds and insides of both halves
4. Place in a lightly greased (I used olive oil spray) baking dish and poke with a fork
5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until soft
6. Use a fork to scrap out the "noodles"

I topped mine with my ratatouille :)

Enjoy :)

Ratatouille

source

The first time I tried ratatouille was at a little French restaurant wrapped in a crepe. It was amazing! I loved all of the flavors and it was pretty much all of my favorite vegetables all mixed together.  I went home and had to recreate my new favorite dish hehhehe! I even learned to make crepes and stuffed them with the veggies. This time around, I just made ratatouille on its own with grilled sausage. During the summer I usually have all of the ingredients on hand, so it makes a great dinner when I don't plan what to eat ahead of time :) It is actual really easy to make, the hardest part is getting all of the vegetables cut, but then all you have to do is put them together to mingle their flavors and cook in a large pan. I even used the leftovers with dinner the next night...stay tuned for that one :)

Ratatouille

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant, diced
• 2 zucchini, diced
• 1 yellow squash, diced
•  8-10 mini yellow, orange, and red peppers (or 2 whole peppers)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• handful of basil, chopped
• large can of diced tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves

Directions:
1. Cook onions and garlic until translucent
2. Add in peppers, squash, eggplant, basil, bay leaves and tomatoes
3. Cook on medium low heat for 20-30 minutes, covered

...We all scream for ICE CREAM

This is round 2 of my ice cream experimentation. After making my super easy creamy ice cream, I wanted to find a Paleo ice cream that was just as easy to make, dairy free, low sugar, and that didn't need a machine. I found a couple of sites with different variations, but these recipes seemed to be the best. The result definitely isn't as rich and creamy as the first ice cream, but it is very refreshing.  Again, there are many "add-ins" and flavors you can experiment with. The frozen bananas are what give it the ice cream consistency. So now I want to start keeping frozen, sliced bananas in the freezer for when I am craving ice cream.  I made a chocolate, almond butter, and toffee ice cream that was delicious! Hope you are enjoying National Ice Cream Month :)

Ingredients: 

 Directions: