36 Really??

Hard to believe that I will be 36 next week!!! Crazy how time flies by... So in my quest to live forever and look 20 while I am doing it, I have started to try to eat a little healthier and go a little more Organic (gasp) in my routine.  Not really Organic but I do believe the closer to a foods natural state is much better for you. Because really did you know that a 20 oz pop has 17 teaspoons of sugar in it? I mean really that is wayyyyyyyy too much... Hence my kids dismay that I am no longer buying pop for our house. They can have it when we are out.. I am not a total nazi!

I have started a new skincare routine. I always wash my face twice a day to keep from breakouts. Usually with a wash with some sort of acid in in... Than with a chemically inhanced wrinkle cream. How can Acid and Chemicals be good for my aging skin? So on my new favorite site Pintrest... If you haven't tried this you must! I found 2 new "recipes" for taking care of my face... The first that I am most excited about is an oil mix.. I know right, who knew oil to clean your face. Seems like it would cause more breakouts.. Apparently not. I am doing the 3 parts Castor Oil and 1 part Olive Oil.. Look up the recipe for your skin at simplemom.net, she also recommends only washing your hair with baking soda and vinegar... but I can't go that far. I can already tell a difference in my pores though, this HUGE one I had by nose is noticeably smaller.. I'll keep you posted though. Speaking of baking soda, I also used it for a DIY microderm abrasion.. Softer and smoother... And much cheaper.

So Happy Birthday to me and maybe I can be a little better on this blog stuff since I am getting OLDER!!

Rambler's & Razorbacks

Well we have kicked off the 2011 football season with Good Friends, Fabulous Food, and our first WIN of the season.

 The Margarita Pizza!

My Favorite

Tailgating is one of the things our group of friends look forward to all year. My favorite part is seeing what our friend Doug is going to cook up.... I swear he could make a dirty sock taste good. He really outdid himself this time.... Grilled Pizza....I loved the Grilled Chicken, Pesto, Asparagus,Feta Cheese Pizza...  So super tasty. He made this for our family about 2 years ago and I have talked about it since... It's that good. Doug is one of the Best Cooks I know and therefore Snarky B worthy!!! I don't have his recipe but I did take some pictures to share.

Woo Pig Sooie!! Razorbacks!!

Garden Garbage

This is a fabulous recipe that I got from Granny D... I added a few things but it is a good side dish,. I decided to call it Garden Garbage, although Sweet Pea actually came up with this name..

Ingredients

4 pieces of Bacon

2 yellow squash sliced

1/2 of red onion sliced

1/2 green pepper sliced

salt & pepper

I use an iron skillet for this recipe.

So in an iron skillet, Fry bacon. When done set aside and add all the veggies to the pan. That's right you are cooking these up in BACON GREASE!! Call the cardiologist.... Salt and Pepper your veggies to taste and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. You can also add any other veggie to this mix. We like potatoes sometimes. It is a great dish for camping too!! Enjoy!

Summer Salad

This is something my mother use to make. It is really refreshing on a hot summer day and also makes use of those great fresh garden veggies.

Ingredients

2 Tomatoes sliced

1 Bell Pepper sliced

1 Red Onion sliced

1 Cucumber sliced

3/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup of water

2 TBS Oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 TBS of sugar

Slice up your veggies  and set aside. Mix Vinegar, Oil, Water, Salt, Pepper & Sugar in a large bowl. Add Veggies and Let sit for an hour before serving.

Organization, Comping and Sweet Pea

I try really really hard to be organized but with 4 kids trying to sabotage me at every turn it is almost impossible... They accuse me of being OCD but really I'm not! We live here is my motto, so there are plenty of crumbs and cobwebs. Another of my favorite sayings is....
"My mother use to say her floor was so clean you could eat off it..... You can eat off mine too, there lots of stuff down there!"  Needless to say I am not an immaculate house keeper, I'd like to be but I also like my sanity and I kinda want my kids to like me...

So anyway my attempt at organization today is a grocery list... I know so super exciting. I have been trying something new  Price Matching at Wal-Mart, or Comping as my friend Sweet-Pea calls it. She is the one who got me started. I really didn't think there was anything to it and have been making fun of her! Luckily she is a good sp ort and has plenty of ammo to fire back at me! So I have been saving anywhere from $25-35, Yesterday I saved $ 31.55 with a couple coupons! Not alot but enough for me to get a new pair of  Flip-Flops. I seem to be getting off track.... see my organizational skills! Back to
"The List". Yet another list that I think will help things be a little more streamlined. I once made a 3 page, 3 columns per page list for our summer camping trips... Needless to say this was something Sweet-Pea made fun of me for! Especially when I forgot to bring a spatula. Really a must when you need to flip burgers or fry taters!!  Sometimes List's help and sometimes they are just one big joke... so I'll let you know how this one turns out!!

Mocha Doodle!!

Walked into my house today and thought who's been cooking while I was gone.... It smelled absolutely fabulous! Turns out it was just my Scentsy filled with Mocha Doodle!! If ya'll haven't tried this you should. Makes the whole house smell delish!!

He Thinks He's the Big Banana

I'm going to start off with my fabulously moist and tasty Banana Bread, as in He Thinks He's the Big Banana.... Because honestly don't we all know someone like that?  Mostly I'm starting with this because 1. I made it yesterday.
2. I have a picture of it.
3. I'm stuffing my face with it and adding to my spare-tire as we speak!

See I told you I had a picture!!

OK here goes.................

Start by heating up the oven to 350 degrees. I know, I know with all this HOT weather we've had lately who wants to heat up the house? I promise the results are worth it!

In a large bowl ( I use my kitchen-aid mixer) Take 4-5 RIPE banana's and smash the heck out of them.  Add 2 cups of white sugar. Mix well. Add 3/4 cup of vegetable oil, 3 large eggs, 1/4 cup of butter milk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla  and 1/4 cup of mayo ( yes mayo it's a little secret to help almost any baked good come out moist?!) Mix these well.

In a smaller bowl mix together 2 1/4 c all-purpose flour, 1 1/3 teaspoons of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Add the Flour Mix to the Banana mixture and mix until completely combined. At this point you can add nuts, chocolate chips, dried cranberries or raisins. I recommend a pecan/ chocolate chip combo!

Spray your Loaf Pans (makes 2) or Mini-Loaf Pans (makes 9) or Muffin Tins ( Makes Lots!) Fill and Bake! Then eat slathered with real BUTTER!!

Ingredients

4-5 ripe mashed banana's

2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup of vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/4 cup of buttermilk

1/4 cup of Mayonnaise

2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour

1 1/3 teaspoons of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup of nuts, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or raisins.