Easy snowman cupcakes

Here is a fun Christmas/Holiday activity to do with the kids. These cupcake don’t even take an hour and it gives the kids a chance to participate and help.

All you needs is

·         Cake mix (oil, water and eggs according to box)

·         White sugar and White frosting  

·         Orange sprinkles for nose or chips such as butterscotch or peanut butter

·         Chocolate chips for eyes and mouth

Enjoy the time with your family it goes by so fast.

Broccoli cheddar soup

So as I said in my last post I will be adding another soup recipe. So here you go my favorite soup from Panera is the cheddar and broccoli soup. So after playing around here is my version. Beware my version has a lot more broccoli and bigger chunks J

Ingredients

·         ½ cup melted butter

·         Medium chopped onion

·         1/4 cup of flour

·         2 cups of half and half cream

·         2 cups of chicken stock

·         1 cup of fresh broccoli

·         1 cup of julienned carrots

·         ¼ tsp o9f nutmeg

·         8 ounces of grated sharp cheddar

·         Salt and pepper to taste

                               

Directions

 

1.       Sauté onion in 1tbsp of melted butter in small saucepan.

2.       In large saucepan whisk together ½ cup of butter and flour over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes.

3.       Slowly whisk in the half and half and chicken stock.

4.       Let soup simmer for about 20 minutes.

5.       Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Let them simmer on medium low for about 25 minutes until the broccoli and carrots are tender.

6.       Add nutmeg and cheddar cheese. Let the cheese melt. And salt and pepper to taste

7.       enjoy

Pasta e Faggioli

So the weather is changing on us, it went from jacket weather to coat weather in one week. So I thought I make one of my favorite soups and ill post another one after this.

Pasta e Faggioli

Ingredients

1lb ground beef

2tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 diced carrots

3 stalks of diced celery

1tbsp minced garlic

24oz can of tomato sauce

1 carton of chicken broth

½ cup of water

1 can diced petite tomatoes

2tsp sugar

1 ½ tsp dried basil

1tsp dried oregano

3/4tsp dried thyme

1/2tsp marjoram

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of ditalini pasta

1 can of dark kidney beans

1 can of great northern beans

Grated parmesan for topping  

Directions

1.       Heat 1tbsp of oil in large skillet over medium heat, crumble ground beef and add a pinch of seasoning salt. Cook until done and drain fat.

2.       In same skillet add remaining oil with onion, carrots and celery over medium-high heat until tender, after about 5 minutes add garlic and sauté one minute longer.

3.       In large sauce pan on low heat add veggie mix, tomato sauce, chicken broth, water, canned tomatoes, sugar, basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram and cooked beef.

4.       Salt and pepper to taste and stir mixture together.  

5.       Cover with lid and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally until veggies are soft which takes about 20 minutes.

6.       Meanwhile prepare ditalini pasta, according to package, cooking al la dente.

7.       Add cooked drained noodles, kidney and northern beans to soup mixture.

8.       Thin with water if needed, cook for 2 minutes longer.

9.       Serve soup with grated parmesan on top.

10.   enjoy

Foot Detox Review

So I was on Pinterest and came across this picture of feet soaking in black water, so naturally it caught my attention. It was a foot detox recipe. Consisting of Epsom salt, sea salt, baking soda and lavender oil. The article stated that after 15 minutes of your feet soaking you will see the water start to change and by 30 minutes your water should be black or yellow or orange or could even have white custards form, depending on what part of the body needed detox.

Well I tried it since I had most of the ingredients at home except the lavender oil, which I picked up from Meijer’s for $6 bucks. I mixed the ingredients in very warm water and began soaking my feet. First thing I noticed and everyone else in the house J noticed was the strong aroma. Wasn’t bad just a strong stench. After 15 minutes of soaking I didn’t notice a change, after 30 minutes still no change, water remained clear.  I even tried it on my husband same results.

Results?

Negative- no change in water

Positive- it made my feet feel good and energized. So I will be keeping this recipe as a foot soak J

Foot soak recipe

·         ¼ cup Epsom salt

·         ¼ cup of sea salt

·         ½ cup baking soda

·         4-5 drops of lavender pure essential oil

Mix together in warm water soak feet for 30 minutes. Relax and Enjoy J

Lunch Ideas

I'm all about the fast lunch especially on a busy morning. I made 8 lunches in less then 5 minutes. This is a quick lunch idea for the whole family.

• Pepperoni slices, Kraft cheese cuts (Colby) (but choose what you like) and crackers
• Sweet Peppers
• Strawberries

• Turkey, Kraft cheese cuts (Colby) (but choose what you like) and cherry tomatoes make into a kabob I used toothpicks (added bonus)
• mixed fresh fruit
• goldfish crackers

Cathe Friedrich AfterBurn Review

Time 54 minutes

Equipment:  5lb, 10Ib & 12lb dumbbells & Glide Disc

 

Warmup (4:45) - moderate pace

·         Consist of marches, knee lifts, squats, and lots of lunges (single, alternate and triples).

Aerobic Portion (44:11) – intervals consisting of cardio move followed by strength (2 rounds). All moves low impact high intensity.

1.       Squat Dips/10lb dumbbell squat press (this is when I start to breath heavy)

2.        Mountain Climbers(w/gliders)/Dixie cup pickups (thighs on fire)

3.       Lateral skates (my  favorites)/15lb Wood Chop (I use 10lbs)

4.       Air Squats/Burgees  w. pushups (w/gliders) (the cardio will have you eating your heart)

5.       Runner sprints/10lbs rear lounges w/hammer curls

6.       Side to side low kicks/15lb pile squat with arm row (I use 10lbs)

7.       Jumping jacks w. gliders (I moved back a lot to me it’s easier to use impact and jump)/12lb clean n press (I use 10lbs)

8.       Spiderman climbers (w/gliders)/10lb lateral lounge combo (great for oblique’s)

9.       Lounge kicks (kickboxing)/Walking plank pushups (w/gliders) (this one is hard but she does offer just doing pushups)

10.   Dixie Cup line taps/Back lounges w/arm lifts using 5lb weights (arms and shoulders will be on fire)

Cooldown and stretch (4:55)

 

Premixes- like most of Cathe workouts this DVD includes premix options.

1.       Express (32 min) - Same as main workout, just do each interval once.

2.       Random (60 min)-Same as main workout, but in different order also she does the 2 hardest intervals (in my opinion) twice.

3.       Trouble(51 min)- Same as main workout, but you do 1 round of interval A and then a round of interval B

4.       Bonus Burn (74 min) - Same as main workout, but ads on another round of each interval. Killer workout your body will be burning right after.

 

 

 

Overall this was a great cardio and strength low impact workout. You burn lots of calories and by the end of this routine your face will be covered in sweat.  I’m not a big fan of gliders, but they are a must with this workout. The gliders really add core strength to the routine. I will be reaching for this DVD and adding it to the rotation. For a little under an hour you get it all J Strength, Core and Cardio without impact. Now I know why this DVD is titled Afterburn, because the next day your core, thighs, butt and arms will burn. J For a workout junkie this is A+