Our Family’s Homeade Pico De Gallo!!

I just love this time of year to make my family’s homemade Pico de Gallo:

My husband gets request for this all the time. Every time there is a family get together they beg for it.

And this time of year is the best because I use the fresh Tomatoes and Peppers from the garden.

It has the best taste with the fresh Tomatoes!!!!

We use it mostly as a appetizer dip but I also love to layer it over my chicken for a healthy dinner.

• 10 fresh tomatoes. (Roma are good for this as well)
• 1-2 Jalapeno Peppers (seed out if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup minced red onion
• 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
• 1/2 cup chopped Cilantro
• 1 large chopped Avocado
• 1 Lime – squeeze out at least half to your taste liking
• salt and pepper to taste ( I use a lot of pepper-1 heaping tablespoon)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder.
• 1/2 cup cubed sharp cheddar cheese

This is a perfect addition to any meal, potluck, BBQ, or special event.

Hope you like it!!

BBQ Season- Homeade BBQ Sauce!

I just love this time of the year with all the potlucks and party’s! My boys just love it when I make homemade BBQ sauce.

We used it on yummy slow cooked ribs. Meat just fell off the bones.

And making homemade sauce is healthier, without all those preservatives.

I like to make a big batch and freeze some for any occasion, really saves a lot of time!

Yummy Recipe:

• 1 can Cola
• 3 small cans tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons Steak Sauce
• 1/2 Cup Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/3 – 1/2  Cup Brown Sugar (depending on how your tastes are)
• 1/2 Cup molasses
• 1/4 Cup minced fresh onion (Or onion powder. Fresh gives better flavor.)
• 1 Tablespoon Yellow Mustard. (I just use the liquid Mustard)
• 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
• 2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder

Just bring all the ingredients together in saucepan. Let it come to a boil and then lower it.

Let it simmer for about an hour, Stirring frequently.

The longer it simmers the better all the flavors come together.

It was a great hit for our family get together.

Next time I will use the sauce on BBQ chicken legs.

Hope you like it!!

Please leave any of your homemade sauce recipes I would love to try them out!

Easy happy hour drink ideas.

• Getting together with friends has never been so much fun!

We love getting together and sharing recipes.

• My favorite is a strawberry Margarita. I love just about any margarita, such a versatile recipe.

1. 1/3 cup Tequila
2. 1/8 Cup Triple Sec
3. 1/4 cup Lime Juice
4. Frozen Strawberry’s

Blend all together with some ice. Delish. You can rub the rim of glass with lime juice and dip in either salt or sugar.

Tuesdays Tasty Paleo Dinner

I am loving this Paleo life style, and weight is looking great. It has been a couple of weeks and I have lost some weight. I started our this awesome diet with 250 pounds, and weighed this morning and I am at 243.6!!!!!!

Wow that is awesome, really keeps you motivated! So searching for delicious ideas for dinner to keep my family and me all on the Healthy track. This recipe has my mouth watering. Mmmmmm

Lemon Chicken Asparagus Stir Fry

This is a quick and easy dinner idea. Get the recipe:

http://rachelschultz.com/2014/04/07/lemony-chicken-stir-fry-asparagus/

I will serve this over Cauliflower Rice:

I have tried these a few times and they are very good!!! Find the recipe here:

http://cookingwithcurls.com/2014/01/07/paleo-cauliflower-rice-comfort-zone/

I will let you know the reviews from the Family!!!

Busy kids this summer. Earning Cash little side Jobs!

So my kids have been doing a few things to keep busy this summer, trying to earn a little cash. It keeps them busy and not playing games all day long. Plus they are having fun doing it. They really enjoy having some extra cash to go to movies with and they say its nice to try to save a little money too!!

• Recycling cans and various metals. This is a great way for earning a little bit of money too. Just ask your area Metal Recycling business for current prices. My kids will save cans for a whole year and bring in 15-20 bags at a time. They can get sometimes $80 bucks but it has been as low as $40. You will want to call in for prices a lot to see when the best opportunity comes along.
• Reselling some older games and clothes. on Ebay,  yard sales or even pawn shops. This is a great way to make some money on a lot or older games and things they are not using! There are a lot of Game shops around that will also buy older games back. Depending on how which system the game was used for. We took our gaming system and old games in last year around Christmas and made $225 towards a newer System. We only had to come up with a little over a $100 more. Very nice!! Saved us money for other Christmas presents!!
• Worm Catching. Now this is a real cash profit, they have tons of ways to catch worms and just take them into local business like a worm factory. They go for around $4 per pound in our area. I am sure the price varies a lot, but that is not bad at all. Some people make around $80 per day. Wow that great incentive for my little guys!! You can just go out to your yard and pour a bucket of soapy water and pour on the ground, those worms come right up to the surface. There are a lot of methods on Youtube on what works and what doesn’t for Worm Catching.

I am still scouring the other different ways to keep them busy, I will let you know what I find. Would love to hear your ideas!

4th of July cool ideas

Wow can not believe how close July 4th is. Since we are unsure of our plans since it is a shorter weekend, I decided to look for some great ideas in case we decide to stay home and have a BBQ. I found this awesome recipe on food network. Looks so refreshing on these hot hot hot Summer days:

Fireworks Daiquiris

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/fireworks-red-white-and-blue-daiquiris-recipe.html#lightbox-recipe-image

That is a great recipe!!

Wow don’t these look great. I just know my boys would love to help me make these. This is super easy to make too!! After a busy work week it will be nice to have some easy fun recipes!! Thanks fannetasticfood!!!

http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2011/06/29/healthy-4th-of-july-bbq-recipes/

Now this one will be looking great as the Centerpiece of my table!! Another easy and fast dish from:

http://fancyfrugallife.com/cannin-jammin-fancy-frugal-strawberry-jam-2/

Now even though these awesome ideas are not wholly Paleo I couldn’t resist the creativity and how these dishes will look so perfect for our 4th of July feast!! Add these to our mouth watering ribs and bowls of fresh fruit like our favorite Watermelon and Cantaloup, and I think we have a perfect feast. Oh and don’t forget the Corn on the Cobb, that is what I love about this time of year!!!

What great recipes ideas have you come up with? I would love to hear some great ideas!!

Cool Frozen Treats

Wow this weekend is in the triple digits here on the west, so I am having the kids help me make some frozen treats. These are my top picks from my boys. Not sure how paleo this is but this will definitely keep them cool.  I laugh at this first one, of course this is a kids favorite pic:

And I love how easy this one is!!!! Thanks popsugar.com for the great idea!! Find this recipe at:

http://www.popsugar.com/moms/Popsicle-Recipes-Kids-23675925#photo-23675925

My husbands pick is full of chocolate and topped with chopped nuts yummmm

I love the cheap cups you can just rip off what a great idea!! Get this great idea at:

http://livinghealthywithchocolate.com/desserts/creamy-chocolate-pudding-pops-paleo-gluten-free-dairy-free-4961/

And my healthy idea is looks so soft, creamy and melt in your mouth good!

I got the recipe and picture off a wonderful site:

http://www.agirlworthsaving.net/2014/05/strawberry-ice-cream-bon-bons.html

Keep cool everyone and let me know if you find any more recipes to try!!

Keeping safe during the heat

Cannot help but thinking of keeping the family nice and cool and safe during the extreme heat coming off the summer. there is a heatwave expected to hit much of the west and temperature is well over 100. So as the west is bracing for the heat wave please keep your families safe.

Heat stroke is a real problem this time of year! So please keep you and your family well hydrated. Be aware of signs of heat related health problems. 

Flushed skin

Rapid breathing

Racing heart

Headache

Dizziness and nausea.

Please get them to shade or indoors right away. Cool down with bath, shower, or if outside water from hose. Or ice if available. You can wet towels and lay on neck and head and elevate legs.

So drink a lot and be safe during the triple digit heatwave!

Camping And Paleo

Getting excited about the 4th Of July, our family is going camping!! Trying to come up with some good ideas to stay healthy while having fun this next holiday.  My husband is an awesome fisherman, so it will be easy to try to incorporate some yummy fish dishes. And it is nice to find recipes that are interchangeable so you can you other meats as well, like chicken or turkey. I want to keep it pretty simple as well so I am not cooking the whole weekend too. More time for camping and exploring. So here are few camping paleo dinner recipes that look delicious!!

Honey Dijon Salmon and Asparagus Foil Pack

Find this recipe here at Taste of Home.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/honey-dijon-salmon-and-asparagus

This is perfect and I can leave out the Rice in my packet to be more paleo for my family and add more

asparagus and or broccoli.

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My husband really thought this one was a keeper.

Lemon Herb Baked Trout

Found this gem of a recipe on:

http://momsdish.com/recipe/574/lemon-herb-baked-trout-recipe

Will try this one for sure, just wondering if I can work it into a foil packet or maybe just bring a disposable baking dish. My boys probably wont try this, since it has a head on it, lol, but the rest of us will love it.

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This one looked really easy and is an family pleaser. Everyone loves Meatloaf and this is a neat idea to bring it camping. Yummy comfort food while away from home.

This awesome idea I found here:

http://eatinginneverland.blogspot.com/2012/09/onion-bombs-camping-food.html

This is so simple you just add and the ingredients in a bowl and add them to your onion and

have them all ready before you get up camping. Then when you are ready just wrap in foil paper, and your all set. Less work and less mess. Very nice recipe.

Keeping Pets Cool This Summer

Keeping our pets cool this summer! With the heat already getting close to the 100 mark, I cant help but think of ways to keep out pets and family safe and cool. The kids are no problem, they go swimming, or run thru the sprinkler’s, eat ice cream, and at our house this last weekend they were having water balloon fights. So much fun!!

But our poor pets have a hard time keeping cool. They could always stay in the house and keep cool with the AC, but they are way too excited to go outside. Our biggest dog is a Lab and he just loves laying in the yard underneath the sprinklers, lol. So he is all set, and our 2 smaller dogs are older and just want to lounge inside.

And then there is Moose our bulldog who will be a year late this month, he is just so full of energy and just wants to be outside with the kids and family. But bulldogs seem to overheat very easily, and he does not like to be under a sprinkler or lay in the wet grass. Crazy puppy, so we bought him a little kid pool and filled it up about 1/4 of the way. He gets in there and plays with his ball, but he still has not tried to lay down and get his tummy cooled off. Still working on that. But it seems to help him cool off just getting his in to his upper legs. So I hope by the end of the week that he will feel comfortable enough to lay down.

It will be hitting up to 108 here in Idaho next week so trying to keep our pets cool will be easier. Hoping I don’t see any poor animals in car’s while I am out shopping this summer, I am not sure I would break a window of someone’s car, but I am hoping that all pets are at home were they can stay nice and cool.

Our Bulldog “Moose”