Homemade Italian Dressing

*This is an update to my Pasta Salad with Homemade Italian Dressing.  I’ve noticed that it’s been showing up on Pinterest quite a bit and have been wondering if anyone has made – and liked! – it.  Care to comment?

Since the weather has been getting warmer and I’ve been trying a slightly more Paleo approach to my diet (more on that at a later date), we’ve been eating a lot more salads.   I have a couple other homemade dressing favorites – one for a basic vinaigrette, which I mix up depending on the type of vinegar and spices I use, and another for a Japanese ginger dressing.  Almost every time I make a batch, I think, This is my favorite!

Well, the other day I broke out this Italian dressing recipe and decided to give it another go.  This, my friends, is by far my favorite!  I suppose variety is the spice of life, but why mess with a good thing?  And if I can pare down my recipe collection, all the better!  This dressing is yummy on all types of salads and oh-so-versatile, since you can play around with the spices.

I looked at the original recipe again and went from there, staying pretty true to the basic ingredients, with a few minor changes.  I have loads of fresh oregano in my garden, so I opted for a small handful of leaves instead of the dried.  In addition to the black pepper I added a dash of red pepper flakes and since I don’t have any celery seed on hand I used celery salt.  Since I’ve been trying to nix sugar – even natural sweeteners *sniff sniff* – I decided to forego the sugar (or honey, which I prefer) and add a pinch of stevia, which added just the right amount of sweetness.  For the liquid I went with apple cider vinegar and rice vinegar in place of the water.  And please note that you should blend this to get everything nicely incorporated, rather than just mixing it together in a jar.  In fact, whenever you mix oil and vinegar or water, using a blender will better emulsify the mixture.  Just so it’s written out for you…

1T garlic salt
1T onion powder
2T ground oregano (or a small handful fresh)
1T parsley flakes
pinch stevia
1t sea salt
1/2t ground black pepper
dash red pepper flakes
1t dried basil leaves
¼t dried thyme flakes
dash celery salt
1/2c olive oil
1/4c cider vinegar
2T rice vinegar (or water)

For some reason, the dressing got really thick the second time I made this – maybe because I blended it longer?  In any case, I added a bit of water then.  But OMG, this is so good!  I could just eat it right out of the jar!

The other day we paired the dressing with one of our favorite salads, inspired by the side salad they serve at one of my hubby’s favorite steakhouse restaurants.  It’s so easy and so good!

Just dump half a bag of mixed greens into a 13×9″ pan (I find this works better than a bowl for getting a good ratio of ingredients).  Top with sliced cucumber and chopped tomato; sometimes I add alfalfa sprouts if I have them on hand and you could add carrots, onion, whatever.  Slice some hardboiled egg, crumble some cooked bacon, and toss that on top (I typically use four of each – four eggs and four slices of bacon – but you could add more if you want).  If you want to get really crazy, grate some cheddar cheese on top.  Voila!  A nice salad fit for a meal since you’ve got the protein and veggies all together.  If you keep some hardboiled eggs on hand it’s even easier and cooking the bacon in the toaster oven on some aluminum foil makes for hardly any clean up.

Scrambling to Get Ready for Easter

I like to plan ahead, but these days I’m lucky if I remember to write out my to-do list, nevermind start crossing things off.  I feel like I just conquered Valentine’s Day and… oh crap, Easter is just around the corner!  It is my second favorite holiday after Christmas and I want to impart the meaning to my children, making it both fun and memorable for them.  We’ll definitely be doing our Benjamin’s Box activities in the week leading up to Easter Sunday.

With all the holidays and special occasions one after another –  many of them belabored as we celebrate them at different times and with different people – I really want to get away from all the candy. Yes, I know there are Peeps and Cadbury eggs and all those traditional sweets, but just because they line the shelves – and we see yummy things to create with them – doesn’t mean we have to buy them!

Anyhoo, here are some ideas I’m hoping to put together this year:

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Last year I made these bunny treat bags for the kiddos so I’m going to re-use them.  They’re pretty small, so we’ll see what I’ll be able to fit inside.

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During school last year we had these butterfly snack bags.  I still have the clothespins and will use them again, filling the bags with trail mix.

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The kiddos love Goldfish crackers and the carrot-shaped packaging is cute.

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Along the same lines, these crepe paper carrots are so cute!  The Easter version of a surprise ball.

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For warm-weather play or bathtime fun, these sponge balls would be a hit.

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And since Easter wouldn’t be Easter without jelly beans, Yum Earth Naturals makes a healthier alternative.

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It was fun putting together an Easter egg hunt lunch for the kiddos last year and I’ll probably do it again… if only to re-use our plastic eggs!

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Almost every year we do some sort of deviled eggs and birds’ nest cookies, so I’d like to make them again this time around.  We’ll probably be having Easter at my sister’s house and we’re not sure yet on the menu, but we’re thinking something brunch-y.  Perhaps I’ll make hash brown cups, French toast casserole, baked oatmeal or NY style crumb cake.

What will you be making and doing for Easter this year?

*See my Easter Pinterest board for more inspiration.

Hearts on the Horizon

I know we just came through the holiday season, but there’s always another one just around the corner. You can’t escape it at the stores and for someone who likes to plan ahead, I might as well start thinking about it.  Especially since baby girl is due in February and I want to make sure I’ve got all my ducks in a row.

I used to hate Valentine’s Day.  In fact, I used to wear black in protest.  Now that I have a husband and children, occasions like these are just another excuse to show them how special they are to me.  Okay… and eat [dark] chocolate.

Last year I started the heart paper trail tradition and will be doing it again this year.  I saved all the paper hearts I cut out and will scatter them across the floor from the kiddos’ bedroom doors to the kitchen table, where I’ll have some sort of treats laid out.

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This year I stumbled upon make and take’s Counting Down to Valentine’s with 14 Acts of Love.  Not only is it simple, pretty and something fun to involve the kiddos, I love that it capitalizes on doing nice things for others.

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Since I’m always looking for non-candy treat alternatives, I’ll most likely make heart-shaped fruit “lollipops” or kabobs to go along with breakfast again; those were a big hit last year.  Sometimes the healthiest foods are treat enough for the kiddos.

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If I do break down and make treats, I’ve got a few things in mind…

Strawberry Mousse

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Valentine Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

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Chocolate Cherry Bark

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Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

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There’s an endless array of ideas for crafts and gifts the kiddos can make.  I’m trying to narrow down the options!  Last year we did handprint hearts, which came out really well, and this year I’m thinking something with fingerprints?

Thumbprint Valentines

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Thumbprint Valentine Day Bookmarks

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Although there is this lovely handprint heart…

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For crafts with the kiddos…

Gwen would love these tiny matchbox heart babies.

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Tissue Paper Hearts, almost like stained glass!

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And since I’m half Danish, I would love to teach the kids how to make Danish hearts (apparently, you can make baskets out of ‘em too – great idea for Easter!).

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I have mini mailboxes that I decorated for Phil and the kiddos and I’m always trying to figure out what to put inside other than conversation hearts (which I never really liked, truth be told).

DIY Valentine Surprise Balls

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Felt Valentines

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Matchbook Photo Valentine

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Although it’s nice to think of heart-related items to make and give for Valentine’s, I may just stick with sibling gifts that I’m contemplating for the kiddos when the new baby arrives.  I got Little Things to Sew from the library and plan on making doll carriers for each of them; how precious would that be?

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*See my Valentine’s Day Pinterest board for more ideas & inspiration.

Christmas Preparations

It seems like, as I get older, it never really feels like Christmas even when the holiday is upon us.  Then - snap! – like that, it’s over.  Maybe when I was a kid I had more time, energy – naivete? – and less stress to fully savor the moments.

Even though we’ve simplified our gift-giving, there are still a plethora of traditions I like to keep alive.  Especially with the kids, I try to imbue the season with a sense of wonder.

This year we’re having Christmas at our house.  For once, I’m not making dessert!  I’ve definitely been making up for it throughout the month, though.  Here are some of the things I’ve been working on, as well as some of the things we plan to serve on Christmas day…

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I’ve made Peppermint Bark a few times, going easy on the crushed candy canes.  This time I melted some green candy melts to drizzle on top.  Some of it is bagged up for my siblings and the rest will go out for guests along with…

…this sinful Saltine Toffee Bark.  Very easy to make, but a bit messy to cut.  I mailed a tin to some friends and put some in jelly jars as gift.

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Crock Pot Ham will be our main dish on Tuesday!  I’ve done ham in the crock pot before with much success and thought I’d try this one.  I’ll go easy on the brown sugar.  The ladies in the fam will fill in with a bunch of side dishes.

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I’ve already made a few loaves of this Crusty Bread, my favorite so far being cranberry-walnut with golden raisins and cinnamon.

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A great accompaniment for the homemade bread is Cinnamon Honey Butter, which I originally made to go along with some of the same bread as a neighbor gift.  It’s a bit on the sweet side and if I made it again I would go easier on the powdered sugar.

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We love cheese, so the trick is making it last till Christmas!  This Festive Cheese Tree looks so easy and yummy; I’ll serve it with crackers.

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I’ve always wanted to try homemade eggnong and have bookmarked a couple healthier versions, including Honey-Sweetened Eggnog.

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As soon as the cold weather hits I crave hot chocolate, and I’ve been trying all sorts of new versions, starting with my base recipe: 1c milk + 1T cocoa + 1T sugar.  This Italian Hot Chocolate looks delicious!

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There are so many versions of hot chocolate mix in a jar, but I’ve noticed that many of them include the basic ratio of 1 part dry milk : 1 part cocoa : 1 part sugar.  Then there’s a bit of salt and various mix-ins.  To make a peppermint version add crushed candy canes; for a classic version add marshmallows.  I decided to make up pint jars topped with mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and peppermint marshmallows.  I had some extra ingredients after making some gift jars and it’s pretty good.

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The kiddos made fingerprint and cut-out ornaments using salt dough and clay (cornstarch and baking soda).  I thought I would like the clay ornaments better because they seem whiter and smoother, but they actually seem more prone to cracks, and the salt dough painted nicely.

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I originally planned on making these Cinnamon Spice Ornaments with the kiddos and we ended up decorating them at a neighbor’s house instead.  It was a lot of fun – and they smell so good! – and I’d like to make them another time with the kiddos since we weren’t able to make the dough and roll them out ourselves.

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I hemmed and hawed over what to do for the hubs, finally settling on this thoughtful, personalized and not-too-expensive Rein”dear” Games gift.  I put my own spin on it, doing something for each of Santa’s reindeer.

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For fun I made reindeer brown paper bags for each element of hubby’s gift.  I tried to figure out how to display them and finally decided to clothespin each bag to branches on the Christmas tree – it looks so cute!

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I was trying to figure out a simple way to package some small gifts for the girls just down the street.  Then I came upon Christmas Crackers and knew what I had to do!  Gwen helped me with the wrapping and they came out so cute.  We used toilet paper tubes, construction paper, wrapping paper, bits of tulle leftover from her mermaid tutu, embroidery thread and letter stickers for the girls’ names.

*Check out my Christmas and Winter Pinterest boards for more inspiration.

For the past couple years we’ve had Christmas Eve breakfast with the cousins, but they’ve all been sick recently so we’re reschedule till the New Year.  We’ll probably bum around the house in our pjs for the morning, snack and watch Christmas movies, then head over to my sister’s for evening fun.  Christmas morning we’ll have abelskiver for breakfast, open stockings, and make a mad dash to finish dinner preparations before everyone comes over.

In all the busy-ness,  I hope we don’t lose sight of the real reason for the season.  Sure, gathering together with friends and family, eating good food and opening new gifts are nice, but it’s all meaningless without Jesus.

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The Kiddos’ Birthday Bash

Both of my children were born the week of Thanksgiving, their birthdays two days apart.  And every year around Thanksgiving I ponder the question of whether or not to combine their birthdays with the holiday to simplify.  But something always holds me back because I feel like they’ll miss out or get lost in the shuffle.  Aside from that, I run the risk of not being able to invite friends and family who are with their own relatives.

So once again, after doing our own thing for each of the kids on their respective birthdays, we had a family party the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  It worked out nicely because it was earlier in the afternoon, which gave us more daylight during which the kids could play outside and more time before telling them they had to stop playing with their new toys and go to bed.

I was thrilled that Gwen loved her Princess and the Pea set.  She was very quiet about the whole thing, which is typical for her, but she thanked me more than once for making it and set about playing with it right away.  She even named the doll “Petunia.” *grin*  For her birthday she told me she wanted pancakes for breakfast, burgers for lunch and macaroni & cheese for dinner.  Sounds good to me!  I made cranberry-chocolate-chip pancakes, we went to Crazy Burger for lunch (so good!) and then had Annie’s shells – a family favorite – for dinner.  She requested ice cream for dessert, but since I didn’t feel like spending the money for all of us to go out somewhere, I bought amaretto cherry gelato from Target – it was heavenly!

Josiah was a little less decided about what he wanted for his birthday – he would be content to stuff his face with fruit all day!  Gwen was with her grandma so he got to spend the day with Mommy and Daddy.  He opened gifts over breakfast and then we – along with my visiting twin brother and his wife – went to my weekly doctor’s appointment and got to see pictures of the baby (always a bit nerve-wracking because you don’t know if something is wrong, but still a highlight of my week).  We went to Panera for lunch, hung out with Aunt and Uncle making silly faces on their IPad and had healthy chocolate chip cookie pie for birthday dessert.

I ended using some of the birthday ideas I had stowed away, making a lemon-raspberry cake (based on this recipe) with a colorful pom pom garland.  I made an extra half recipe of the cake to make cupcakes, stacking two of them to make mini cakes for the kiddos.  The mini cakes were cute – especially on slices of cedar that Daddy cut – albeit a bit tipsy.  Somewhat said they looked a bit Seuss-ish; I’ll take that as a compliment!

Aside from cake and ice cream we had homemade Martinelli’s in a big punch bowl, cheese and crackers, pita chips with homemade lentil dip and pizza hummus, an assortment of fresh fruit and peanut M&Ms (thank you, Halloween clearance).

I absolutely love how the ruffled streamers turned out and almost wish I had made more – though I had two huge rolls when all was said and done.  Dan and Jenn were good sports and helped me string them from the beams and loft railing across the living room ceiling.  I put some random streamers across a white tablecloth for the food table.

We were so blessed to have both local and out-of-town family be a part of our celebration.  I’m always telling people not to bring gifts, but of course they come anyway, and they were a big hit.  The kiddos have been enjoying all their generous gifts – Gwen decorating and stocking her new jewelry box, playing with her snazzy dollhouse, watching “Brave” and practicing archery with a homemade bow and arrow.  Josiah is utterly cute and smashing in his fire chief boots and has hardly taken them off, wearing them while riding his wooden trike, playing with his new puzzles and tractors and eating fruit snacks.

Despite all the wonderful happenings and celebrations last week, and the fact that I’m a bit sad we had to say goodbye to faraway family, I’m glad things have settled down a bit and we’re back to our normal routine.  December, here we come!