Entries Tagged 'Designer Stuff' ↓

Pickled strawberries are easy to make and offer a tangy sweetness to a variety of beverages, desserts and dishes.

Even the greatest chefs could benefit to know a few quick and simple hacks when cooking their favorite dishes.

Cast iron skillets are excellent for cooking a variety of foods.

Why do we love cast iron skillets?

Your skin is an organ with tiny pores that will absorb the environment surrounding especially when these pores are exposed to heat. When taking a bath in warm or hot water and soaking for at least 20 minutes, your skin will absorb whatever ingredients you place in the bath. It’s sort of like a giant pot of tea and they are seeping in the water for your body to take in.

Making pizza in a mason jar is a simple and quick recipe. It’s the perfect activity for childrens parties and makes a great snack too!

Pizza in a Mug

What You’ll Need: 

• Microwavable Mug
• Pizza Sauce or Marinara Sauce
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• Flour
• Salt
• Milk
• Oil
• Baking Soda
• Baking Powder
• Dried Herbs

Combine 4 tablespoons of flour, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder, and a pinch of baking soda in a mug.

Mix in 3 tablespoons of milk and 1 tablespoon of oil. Add  1- 2 tbsps of marinara sauce. Top it off with shredded cheese and dried herbs. Stick in the microwave for 1 – 2 minutes.

Single serving personal pizzas in a mug

I like to add other ingredients like pepperoni and sliced black olives.  Single serving personal pizzas the whole family can enjoy!

You are already fabulous, darling! However, there are always a few extra tips, tricks and helpful remedies we could know to keep us feeling and staying gorgeous.

Get to your gyno and primary care physician at least once a year. It’s important to make sure your overall health including your reproductive health is good and you are healthy. This goes for both MEN and WOMEN. Whether you are sexually active or not, there other factors that can create problems later if they aren’t checked by a doctor. Some of these things may not have any symptoms. If you are sexually active, even more of a reason to make sure you are checked especially if you have more than one sexual partner or after each new sexual partner. Some STDS do not have any signs or symptoms such as HPV (especially in men) and can still be contracted from skin to skin contact like herpes even if using protection.

Did you know douching is bad for you? Don’t douche down there! Your vagina contains both good and bad bacteria, when you douche you remove both the good and bad bacteria which can actually create more problems for you – like a greater chance of yeast infections. Wash with a mild soap and allow your womanly parts to do the job – believe me they are pros!

After shaving or waxing we can find tiny red bumps caused by irritation or infected hair follicles, the way to help ease this is by shaving in the direction the hair grows.

If you have very thick hair and want it to be silky smooth (aka no five o clock shadow) shave using warm water to open the pores and use a straight razor to remove the hair – like those old fashioned ones barbers use. It helps to use a shaving cream with an oil base so that the razor glides easily.

Immediately after shaving or waxing, apply cold water or a cold compress to the area so that your pores close immediately. Most of the time the hair follicles are infected because bacteria gets into them before the pores have a chance to close. You can also create a mixture of tea tree oil with isopropyl alcohol and hydrogen peroxide, dilute with water then apply to the shaved or waxed skin in a dabbing motion. It may sting a little and create a little bit of redness but it will prevent those nasty bumps and ingrown hairs.

For both men and women with hormonal imbalances, pms or who get moody during certain times of the year, month or season – some ways you can feel better is by eating dark chocolate which has endorphin boosting properties, massage your skin with lavender oil diluted with a carrier oil – it calms anxiety and reduces stress helping you manage your bodies cortisol levels while massaging helps disperse tension held in the muscles, stretching 2 times daily will help you refocus on your breath and bring you back to your body center especially if you feel foggy or overwhelmed while also providing more oxygen to all areas of your body.

Have sex and lots of it! Sex is very beneficial to your health – it can reduce stress, helps your heart, burns calories, keeps your muscles fit below the belt, helps you sleep and keeps colds away too!

When planning a camping trip its important to know the different ways you can cook to get the most from your meal.

Roasting Fish – Find a Y shaped branch and a long stick, you can sharpen the edge of the stick with a knife so that its pointed and stick the fish on the end. Place the Y shaped branch firmly in the ground and the long stick in the center of the Y shaped branch. Use a large rock or heavy object to secure the stick (non fish side) while the fish roasts over an open flame. Rotate the stick so the fish cooks evenly on all sides.

Grilled Cheese –  use a Y shaped branch and wrap in aluminum foil to create a frying pan. Then use a cross brace stick over an open flame to roast your grilled cheese.

Poultry – Carefully heat rocks in a fire, using tongs, place the hot rocks inside of your cleaned bird adjacent to thick parts of the food. Place your bird on a sheet of aluminum foil. Cover the cooking fowl with leaves and bark to help retain heat. Continue to repeat this process if the meat is entirely cooked.

Bacon and eggs – burn the fire down so it is only glowing coals. Lightly wet a paper bag and place strips of bacon on the bottom of the bag and break the eggs on top of the bacon. Fold the top of the paper bag and pierce a hole just below the fold of the bag where a support stick will go. Place a stick in the hole and hold over the coals or use a Y branch placed firmly in the ground with the support stick in the center so the bag is directly over the coals. Allow to cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. Wet down the bag using a spray bottle with water if the bag starts to burn.

Corn – individually wrap each corn husk, wet 3 sheets of paper, wet the corn and season it to taste. Wrap the corn in the sheets of paper, one at a time to seal the steam inside. Place the paper bundle with the corn inside over the hot coals (once again wait until the fire has burned down and there are only glowing coals) or place in hot ashes. Spray the paper if it gets dry.

See original here: sixdifferentways.com

Crepes are a delicious and easy to make treat that can be eaten pretty much anytime of day – breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert depending on what you fill them with! They are similar to pancakes only much thinner and rolled like you would a burrito. They can be filled with fruit, cream, eggs, sausage – pretty much anything your heart desires. Below is a very quick and easy crepes recipe you can use when your in the mood to make something extra tasty and a little different.

This is a sweet version of a crepes recipe using whipped cream and fruit jam.

What You’ll Need:

• eggs (4 room temp)
• whole milk (2 1/2 cups)
• sugar (2/3 cup)
• vanilla extract (1 tsp)
• all purpose flour (2 1/2 cups)
• kosher salt (1/2 tsp)
• unsalted butter (4 tbsps melted)
• whipped cream
• jam (flavor / fruit of your choosing)
• powdered sugar

Using a handheld mixer, blender or mix by hand – blend eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Next combine the flour and salt. Cover your homemade batter and place in the fridge to chill for about an hour. When your batter is nice and chilled, heat a nonstick skillet at medium high heat – if you have a flat surface skillet that works best. Brush the skillet with butter. Using a ladle or a spoon, add about a 1/4 cup of batter on the skillet and swirl gently to evenly coat the bottom. Similar to pancakes, you want to cook the crepe until it starts to bubble of the surface and edges begin to get crispy and golden brown. Using a spatula flip the crepe over and cook on the other side. Transfer to a plate, use foil to tent over the crepe to keep warm while you cook your other crepes. Add about a dollop of jam into each crepe and fold over. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top, add whipped cream and enjoy!

When having a dinner party, it’s always nice to have a few finger foods, appetizers and hors d’oeuvres placed out for guests to enjoy while mingling and settling into the home. Going for a cheese, veggie, meat or fruit platter is sometimes the easier route but if you really want to impress your guests and give them a mouth-watering and delectable appetizer they are sure to remember you can create these combinations of gourmet recipes to nosh on before the meal begins.

Nosh 1

• Watercress cracker
• Goat cheese
• Fig spread
• Capers ( 2 – 3)

Nosh 2

• Sesame seed cracker
• Brie
• Fresh raspberry jam
• Lemon zest

Nosh 3

• Rosemary and Garlic Cracker
• Mild Cheddar
• Prosciutto
• Sliced black olives ( 2 – 3 slices)

Nosh 4

• Black pepper cracker
• Liverwurst
• Spicy yellow pepper ( 1 – 2 slices)
• Rosemary (sprinkled)

Nosh 5

• Buttery cracker
• Saga cheese (a creamy cheese – mix of blue cheese and brie)
• Lox
• Grape tomato (cut in half)

You are moving to a new place and you want to get organized so you aren’t lugging unnecessary items, you simply want to eliminate clutter and turn your home into a well-organized space or you want more free time and less planning – whichever the case may be, there are some helpful solutions that will get the job done as quickly as possible.

For starters – Take inventory of what you have. When we are in a place for a long time we can accumulate many things. Taking inventory will show us what we can get rid of and what we need to buy. For example, if you go through your tupperware and you find you have 20 tops with no bases, discard them right away and order yourself a new set!

Don’t hoard! Donate, give to another person, recycle or toss anything you have more than 1 or 2 of. For example, you may want to keep 2 graters if someone else is using it if you are cooking a meal that requires shredded vegetables but why are you keeping 2 handheld can openers AND you have an electric can opener? Give one away. Do you have 7 loose socks with no match and you can’t pair them with another? Discard them.

I am a huge advocate of reusing and upcycling things for future projects or endeavors – but if you haven’t reused or done anything with materials you’ve “saved” for another time in the last 3 years, consider using those materials first before you start storing away more items.

Next, labeling goes a long way. This is especially helpful in the kitchen. You can label specific drawers such as “pasta, rice, grains” and another drawer as “snacks” and another as “canned goods.” This way you will always know where everything is and if you ever have any guests over, they will easily be able to find what they are looking for as well.

Order or use containers to compartmentalize items in one specific location. Wicker baskets look especially nice in kitchens and bathrooms with open shelving units and make things easily accessible. For drawers, you can use dividers – everything that is hidden away in drawers can turn into a clustered mess overtime.

For meals, make a list for the week of all the meals you plan to cook each night. For example, “Monday – Chicken with rice pilaf, Tuesday – Lentil soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, Wednesday – Tuna casserole with string beans, etc. etc” This is especially helpful for families or busy individuals. Make the list before you go food shopping Sunday afternoon.

For cleaning, sometimes we get so caught up in the workweek or simply overlooking things, we can often forget to do more deep cleanings on certain areas of the home. Its helpful to make a list on a whiteboard in the kitchen and use it as a checklist to be sure it gets done. It doesn’t have to be done every day. Once every two weeks is sufficient for some families.

Keep a visible calendar in a place you see it often with important times and dates. Placing it in the kitchen on the refrigerator or next to the front entrance of the home.

Although these are a few ways to keep your home and your life organized, they can come in very handy when starting fresh or reorganizing your space!