Chocolate Chip Pancakes

5 minutes

one pan

and a taste of heaven!

One pancake mix

Chocolate chips

Syrup

Water

Mix the right amount of batch per directions and add up to 1/4 the batter of chocolate chips. I made 2 cups of mix so I added 1/2 C. Chocolate Chips

Cook - flip - cook again
Serve!

Amazingly divine! Fluffy, sweet just right for a great start to a ugh morning!

Thai Peanut Chicken - easy version

 

1 Large bag of frozen Chicken
1 (1/2 C. extra reserved) Thai Peanut Sauce
2 C. uncooked white rice
2 C. small veggie mix

Add frozen chicken and rest of Thai Peanut sauce - cook on low 6-8 hours

Cook rice separately, cook veggies separately then mix together. Serve strained meat over rice with remaining sauce drizzled over top.
For my daughter (8 yr old) I omit the extra sauce as it's too spicy for her. The cooked flavor is yummy enough for her!

So yummy, so easy and quite a break from the more mild flavors without being too hot or too spicy. Its a mild heat, with a mild sweet nutty taste.

Sweet Indulgence

Greek Vanilla Yogurt 

Frozen Blackberries

The thick rich cream of the fat free yogurt is perfectly balanced with the sweet and sharp taste of the blackberries.

A perfect pairing of the two flavors.

Nothing else is needed

No sweeteners

Just a few minutes for the blackberries to thaw out

and the juices to mix into the cream yogurt.

Enjoy!

The best part of the treat is how guilt free and good for you it is!

Coffee Ice

Left over coffee made into Ice Cubes.

This is not really a new idea.

I just jazzed mine up a bit by freezing them into shapes. Our family LOVES coffee milk. These added to lightly flavored milk - chocolate syrup, tsp vanilla, dash of stevia.... and a few of these and YUM!

I found both of these small molds at Ikea for a dollar each - the Ice popped right out and a rinse was all that was needed to clean them!

Quick, easy, thrifty and yummy!

Clean and Bright, Fridge Shelving

On pinterest a few months ago I found a post showing how to cling wrap your Refrigerator shelves - helping to keep them neat and clean.
I tried it.
Epic Failure.

 Okay so it did keep the shelving clean, in the spots that didn't get torn or worn through, but it left a grimy sticky film behind that I found harder to clean off then the dirt build up normally found on shelves.

Enter Pinterest idea round two!
Refrigerator shelf protectors made from plastic placemats.
The pinner measured, line up, penciled and scissored hers.
That just seemed like far to much detailed work.

Instead I pulled out my Tikki Tak (Handi Tak - as seen above) and my handy razor knife.

 

Gorgeous!

Took minutes for me to cut enough for the top 4 shelves.

If mine shelves had been shorter I would have used the ends for the side doors.

Instead I may end up going back for more placemats.

Nice, neat, clean and bright looking!

So here we go again to see if this will help me keep my fridge cleaner and neater.

With my kids growing more independent, getting their own food and drinks, its much harder to maintain.

Home Made Face Cleanse

I would call it a face wash - save the fact that its not really washing, not in the usual sense that is. I found this on pinterest, titled The Oil Cleansing Method, her post is amazing and very detailed. Check it out.

For my first batch (seen above) I used

1 oz. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 oz. Castor Oil
5 drops of Tea Tree Oil

Gently rub it onto wet face. Next wet a wash cloth with HOT water (not boiling but as hot as you can stand it) wring and place on face - steaming your pores - until the cloth has reached room temp. (average 1 min)
Rinse cloth and gently remove oil.

Best ratio batches are

Normal skin 1-1 ratio of *EVOO & Castor Oil
Acne Prone Skin 1-3 ratio of *EVOO & Castor Oil
Drier Skin  1-3 ratio of Castor Oil to *EVOO

Other good oils for very oily skin are jojoba oil, grapeseed oil & flaxseed oil.
For very dry skin almond oil & evening primrose oil are good.

Add tea tree oil if you have issues with acne - or for your first batch to help your body transition without breaking out.

I have been using this for two days (early stages I know) my acne is clearing up and my skin is softer and healthier!
Already I love it!

As everyone is different you need to tweak your oils until you find the right combo - the one listed at the top is working well enough for me, but I will add any changes that I make back to this post!

9/27/12 ~ Update ~

 My face two days before I started using this

 Close up - trying to show all the many many tiny bumps 

Two weeks later

No oils that I can't wash away - no matter how many times I wash

No gunky feelings

No tiny thousands of dirt bumps on my face

Two weeks later

this is what the same patch of skin looks like!

I feel so much better!

I don't know about you - I however, am sold!

I will be using this for years to come!

***UPDATE***
3-22-15

I've been using this for 2 1/2 years now. Will never go back!
Any time I run out and put off making a new batch - reusing my old expensive face washes - my face immediately gets oily, greasy and bumpy!
This is the best stuff ever!
Not only does it make your skin feel clean and amazing but after a month of using it regularly you will notice you don't need to use it every night.
Instead I rinse my face with hot water, dry off and use the cleanse once to twice a week.
More during that "time of the month" for women.
I highly recommend this.
Cheap, easy and lasts forever!