Rice Crispy Nests

I know today is Easter and it's probably a little late to be sharing Easter treats, but I didn't want to pass up sharing this cute snack. Maybe you can still make them this week, or even use them as a snack for a springtime party! Either way, these little Rice Crispy Nests will be a quick way to satisfy your sweet tooth and your budget.

All you need is a recipe for regular rice crispy treats (marshmallows, butter, & rice cereal), coconut, green food coloring, and jelly beans or chocolate eggs.

Start by getting your coconut ready. 

In a small bowl, add food coloring to coconut and mix until desired shade is achieved.

Then you're going to want to make your rice crispy treats. 

(My recipe was 1 bag of marshmallows, 1/4 cup butter {melt on stove top} and 5 1/2 cups rice cereal.)

Then scoop and press into greased muffin tins, making the center more shallow than the edges.

While treats are still warm, fill shallow center with prepared coconut and gently press to help it stick.

 Fill with jelly beans or chocolate eggs.

Setting little Peep chicks on top would be really cute, too! :)

This recipe and idea was adapted from ricekrispies.com

Marbled Easter Eggs

Easter is upon us and with it comes certain obligations. One of the easiest of these is coloring Easter eggs! Okay, so maybe that isn't an obligation, but it sure is fun! :)

When we were little we colored our Easter eggs with the kits that Dad would bring home after work. Mom would boil the eggs and have us clear the table, while we anxiously waited for the dye kits. When he got home, we would get everything set up as fast as we could. We would fight over who got to use the dipper so we didn't get stuck with a plain old spoon to dunk our eggs. Looking back, I realized the stickers would never stay on and the shrink-wrap wrappers never shrunk evenly. We would pull out the crayons and write out names and designs that didn't really show up half the time. We would crack the eggs when they would slip off the spoons and hit the side of the cup, leaving the hard cooked whites of the egg soaked with blotches of color.

Even though things always seemed to go wrong, it didn't matter because we always had a blast!  No matter how old we get, we will always have those wonderful memories that bring some excitement during the Easter season. 

If you are looking to do something a little different with your eggs this year, why not try a marbled effect? This is so easy and looks so cool! Think of all the color combinations you could do! Maybe even try doing a base color then marble....how cool would these look if you colored them yellow, then marbled with blue?! Or color them blue and marble with red?
SO much fun!

What you need:

foam shaving cream (not gel)

food coloring

toothpick or knife

shallow dish

boiled eggs

Spray some foam in your dish.

Add desired colors.

Swirl. (I started using a toothpick, but a knife worked much better.)

 Set your eggs in.

Gently fold foam over the eggs. 

Let sit 5-10 minutes before rinsing with cool water.

My colors showed up well enough, but I think if I wouldn't have left so much of the foam white, they would have turned out better. 

And FYI, the yellow isn't very bright either so I would probably use darker colors next time.

Have fun and Happy Easter!!!

Easy & Healthy "Ice Cream"

No matter how much I try to eat healthy, I still crave sweets. Like today. Ice cream sounded so good! I didn't have any, but I did find this recipe for a healthy ice cream which I already had the ingredients for.

It definitely cured my craving!

I may not have had any ice cream in my freezer, but I did have frozen bananas. 

I ran them under warm water until the skin was softened. I peeled them with a paring knife and sliced them into little disks.

Throw them into a food processor and blend until smooth. 

You will now have a banana flavored soft serve ice cream.

Now is when you decide if you want to eat it plain or add a little more to it. 

I added some frozen strawberries and a little honey, but you could add another kind of fruit, cocoa, 

peanut butter, vanilla, or even Nutella.

I ate my "ice cream" soft, but if you would like it firmer to scoop for a cone or something, just cover and place in the freezer until frozen.

Deep Conditioning Treatment at Home

Spring is coming soon, which means the snow is going to be leaving and the temperatures will start rising. If you know me, you know I'm not a huge fan of high heat in the summer, so I am perfectly content with our long, cold winter. Unfortunately, along with the cold weather comes dry skin and dry hair.

Not only has my hair been getting drier, I am also long overdue for a haircut, so my ends are getting horribly split. I wanted to be able to help stop the dryness and help repair my ends as much as I could until I'm able to get it cut. This deep conditioning treatment is something you can easily do at home with your own daily conditioner. It helped my hair so much! 

Start with clean, damp hair straight out of the shower. Using your fingers, comb conditioner through the strands, focusing on the ends where your hair tends to be driest. Make sure your hair is fully saturated.

I just bought Joico Moisture Recovery so I've only used it for the deep conditioning treatment, but I think I'm really going to like it. My hair feels super soft now. :)

Loosely twist the conditioned hair into a bun.

Cover with a shower cap or plastic bag.

Grab a towel, hot from the dryer, and wrap around the shower cap. 

If you don't have a hot towel, you can also use a hair dryer to warm the towel while on your head. 

Just keep it on low heat for about 15 minutes.

(I left the cap and towel on for about an hour and a half before bed, then removed the cap, put the towel on my pillow and just slept with the conditioned hair.)

Rinse out completely and love your soft hair! :)

Fruity Facials

Wondering what to do when your bananas get too ripe? When I realized I can only make so much banana bread, I went in search of more things to do with my overripe bananas. We have them quite often since Tony likes his bananas when they are still green. Once a brown spot appears, either I have to eat it or it gets thrown in the freezer, because otherwise it would get tossed.

They got really ripe this time, but I hate throwing food out so I was hoping I could do something quick with them. I found a great solution!

Fruity Facials!

When I realized bananas are good for your skin (they help reduce wrinkles!), I decided to throw in a few other ingredients that you could also benefit from and came up with this amazingly relaxing facial!

It's cleansing & firming, but also gives a slight cooling effect. It feels incredible and smells even better!

This facial will make your face feel as soft as a baby's bottom. :)

You could switch up the ingredients as well. Alter it to work for your skin type and what you have on hand. Add blended oats, olive oil, plain yogurt, lemon juice, kiwi, cucumbers, green tea, apple cider vinegar, baking soda, coffee...the possibilities are endless! If you have a facial recipe you really like, please share! :)

On a side note, I also heard that if you want a quick moisturizer, take the inside of a banana peel and rub it all over your face. Let sit for 15 minutes and rinse. So now when you're eating breakfast, you can also help your skin! If your kids make fun of you for being silly, this would be a good time to remind them that you only get wrinkles when you worry about them. :)

What you need:

1 ripe banana (anti-aging)
2 ripe strawberries (to cleanse & exfoliate)
1 tsp. honey (antibacterial)
1 tsp. coconut oil (moisturizing)

*You can refrigerate the leftover mixture, covered, for 1 day.

This is how ripe my bananas were. (I only used 1 for this recipe.)

Mash your banana.

Add the strawberries, coconut oil, and honey.

You could just mash it with a fork, but I didn't want the big chunks falling off my face.

I threw it in a blender which made it nice and smooth.

Massage in a circular motion over your face and neck and let sit 15-30 minutes. 

Rinse with warm water then turn it to cool water. Pat dry.

Hatching Chick Nails

Since Easter is coming up quickly, I decided to do some Easter inspired nail art on a couple residents at work on Monday. They turned out super cute, so I wanted to do it here so I could share it with all of you. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy to do it on my own nails as it was someone elses, so it doesn't look quite as cute as it did. The lines are a little sloppy, but I figured you would still get the point. 

Plus, when chicks are hatching, the shells don't break open perfectly anyway, right? That's right. So let's just say that the sloppy lines were all on purpose. ;)

I did a base of white on my ring finger nails, then topped with "Unicorn" by Sinful Colors. 

(Putting white underneath the yellow makes the light color cover better.)

I painted the rest of my nails with "Boogie Nights" by Sinful Colors. 

(It's actually a little more peachy looking in person.)

 Using white, black, and orange nail art, you can paint the hatching chick.

Paint a white broken shell on the top and bottom.

Paint a little orange beak, then finish off with black beady eyes. :)

Savory Chicken Pouches

With all the busyness of life lately, I've been slacking on getting my weekly menu done on time. Without a menu, I seem lost when it comes to making dinner which usually results in a couple hours of Tony and I going back and forth questioning each other.

"What's for dinner?"  

"I don't care." 

"What sounds good?" 

"I don't know."

Eventually we end up making something, but by the time it is ready to eat, it's sometimes almost 10pm. Not a good thing when you're trying to watch your weight.

Something similar started happening tonight, but luckily I remembered I had most of the ingredients for a recipe that I've been wanting to try.

My mom found this recipe on Pinterest awhile back and suggested it to me. It was supposed to have bacon crumbled on top, but unfortunately I didn't have any. Even without the bacon though, this dish was delicious and extremely easy! (Not to mention super quick clean-up!)

No late night meal tonight. Now maybe I'll have time to get a menu together for next week. :)

Spray 4 sheets of aluminum foil with nonstick spray.

 In a mixing bowl, combine stuffing mix and water. 

Let the mix absorb the water, then divide between each piece of foil, placing in the center.

Place each chicken breast on the beds of stuffing.

Add broccoli.

Top with desired amount of cheese.

Squeeze approximately 1 Tbsp. ranch dressing on top.

Salt and pepper, to taste.

(You can also crumble cooked bacon on top at this point, if you have some.)

Fold each packet up and place on a baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

This chicken turns out so deliciously tender and juicy! 

You won't regret trying this quick dish.

Thanks, Mom! :)

Ingredients

1 box stuffing mix (chicken flavor)

1 c. water

4 chicken breasts

about 2 c. broccoli (fresh or frozen)

shredded cheese (I had a pepper jack and colby mix)

ranch dressing

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Spray 4 sheets of aluminum foil with nonstick spray.

In a mixing bowl, combine stuffing mix and water. Let the mix absorb the water, then divide between each piece of foil, placing in the center.

Place each chicken breast on the bed of stuffing.

Add broccoli.

Top with desired amount of cheese.

Squeeze approximately 1 Tbsp. ranch dressing on top.

Salt and pepper, to taste.

Fold each packet up and place on a baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

DIY Mineral Powder

Many beauty professionals suggest using a powder after applying your foundation to help set your makeup. I love doing this! It helps your face from getting too shiny and oily looking while making your makeup last much longer. Unfortunately, most mineral powders are pretty expensive. On the plus side, one of the main ingredients in these expensive powders is probably one of the cheapest in your cupboard. 

Corn starch! Crazy, huh!?

 Since this is a common household ingredient, it makes this DIY project extremely simple. I used some colored mineral powder to tint mine, but if you don't have any, don't worry. You can either use straight corn starch for a translucent powder or add a little cocoa to get your desired tint. (I've also heard cinnamon works, but it may irritate your skin, so be cautious on that one.)

Start with a small container to put your powder in. 

(I reused a mineral powder container I already had on hand.)

Scoop corn starch into the container.

Add a little colored mineral powder or cocoa.

Cover and shake to mix. Add more coloring or corn starch to get desired shade.

Using a kabuki or powder brush, apply to your face and neck in a circular motion. 

Use sparingly...a little goes a long way. 

Works great to remove shininess and set your foundation! :)

St. Patty's Clover Cupcakes

Saint Patrick's Day is quickly approaching and I thought it would be fun to make some cupcakes to celebrate. My little brothers' wrestling tournament is on Sunday and I'm hoping to be able to see them compete. When I do go, I don't always bring treats, but it's fun every once in awhile. Maybe celebrating a St. Patty's Day Tournament with Clover Cupcakes might give them a little boost to win! :)

I would normally make these just beforehand, but we've got such a busy weekend ahead of us that I won't have time. I also cheated and used store bought cake mix and frosting so it would be quick. These cupcakes definitely don't look like they came from the bakery, but if you are looking for a quick (and EASY!) treat, these are the way to go! They turned out yummy, but if you have the time, make it from scratch. They are always better that way. :) (At least the frosting is!)

Prepare batter as directed. (I used a Betty Crocker white cake mix.)

 Mix in some green food coloring.

Scoop into prepared cupcake liners. I'm a little sloppy. :)

 I poured the leftover batter into a small (6x6?) pan.

 Bake as directed.

(OR....I baked mine for 5 minutes at 350degrees then about 20 minutes at 300degrees. 

Doing this helps the cupcakes not dry out and they get nice and fluffy.)

 Set on a cooling rack and let cool completely.

 Mix up your frosting! 

(I used cream cheese frosting and tinted it with a little green food coloring.)

Frost your cupcakes. 

I'm totally not a pastry chef, so mine really look "homemade".
I really need to get a set of frosting tips! :)

Top your cupcakes.

On the market right now is a special edition of Lucky Charms cereal that has four leaf clovers. The box cost me about $2 at Walmart and I just picked out the clovers.

That's it!

 Oh yeah, the cake is still hanging out. :)

Frost with your leftover frosting. (If you didn't eat it all already!)

Sprinkle with some clovers. :)