Jalapeno Cream Cheese and Bacon Poppers

Good morning, friends! Have our tummies fully recovered yet from our recent feasts and engorgement?! If the answer is yes... then be prepared to want to do it again with these amazing Jalapeno Poppers! Jalapenos, Cream Cheese, Bacon... Need there be anything more said? I didn't think so!

 

Start with your ingredients:

- 12 Jalapenos (Halved lengthwise and seeds removed)

- 8oz Cream Cheese

- 1 Package Bacon of choice

 

 

Take a butter knife and fill the inside of your jalapeno boats with cream cheese. Then take your bacon slice (I halved each of mine) and simply wrap it around your popper!

 

Place the poppers in your oven at 350 degrees. Check on them after 45 minutes since ovens can vary in range.

 

Coming along perfectly! Put those babies back in the oven for their last 15 minutes. Take them out, and try not to eat the whole tray before your guests arrive. These are addicting! Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Zesty Corn - My Favorite Holiday Side Dish!

Okay, so here's the deal with this recipe.... I contemplated not sharing it because it's my personal favorite. Have you ever read a book, and that book be so near and dear to you that you don't want it to escape into the world for everyone to share? That was this recipe for me... selfish, I know, but unmistakably true.

I've been making this dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner every year since my sister made it for the first time four years ago; which is where I graciously gave it the name of Zesty Corn, but it could easily pass for Corn Dish For The Gods. It's so simple, so easy, and so delicious. Be aware, it will probably add on an extra pant size, but hey... it's the holidays and we all need that extra "winter coat" :)

What you'll need:
- Disposable baking dish (no clean up= better tasting)
- 4 Cans Green Giant Mexi-Corn, Drained
- 4oz Grass-Fed Butter
- 8oz Cream Cheese (FF or Regular, Your Choice)
- 4 Large Jalapenos, Diced and Seeds Removed
Adjust your portions accordingly. I usually make this much for about 7-8 people.

 Throw everything in your oven-safe dish.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

 Take it out and stir everything together. Cook for an additional 15 minutes.

 

All done, easy peasy and will totally put you in a tummy-happy-coma, but totally worth it :)

Creamy Crockpot Garlic Mashed Potatoes

With Thanksgiving finishing up, all of our tummies are rumbling with the happiness of a scrumptious roasted turkey, hearty and filling green bean casserole, warm and fresh apple and pumpkin pies, and my personal favorite, garlic and creamy mashed potatoes!

As you will soon learn, I love my crockpot. I don't care if that makes me sound like a 65 year old woman; this thing is amazing. I use it for everything. Cooking chicken, making desserts, my favorite meatballs... this thing is a goddess in my kitchen! Which makes it perfect for the upcoming feast and making a large batch of Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes!

For this recipe, I used:
- 5lb bag of potatoes
- 1 14oz can chicken broth
- 1/4 cup butter, cubed
- 2oz cream cheese, cubed
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp. Minced Garlic
- Salt and Pepper to taste or Seasoning of choice (I used Creole this time!)

First I peeled and cubed all of my potatoes into small pieces. I put the potatoes, broth, and butter into the crockpot and turned the heat up to high and cooked for 3 hours.

After 4 hours, I roughly mashed up the potatoes and added the garlic, cream cheese, sour cream, milk, and seasons. I finished the recipe by whipping the ingredients with a whisk to give it more of the fluffy and creamy texture that I love.

That's it! Yummmm! Because I wanted mine to have a little bit more of a kick to them, I opted to add Ton'y Creole seasoning instead of Salt and Pepper this time. But use whatever seasoning you'd like! Go forth, young friends, and enjoy each other's company this Thanksgiving over a heaping scoop of some yummy potatoes. Happy Holidays!

How to Clean Your Makeup Brushes

Happy Fresh Faced Friday!

I woke up this morning so ecstatic at the thought that our first subscriber newsletter went out this week! After much deliberation, it's been decided that the newsletters will be furthermore known as Subscriber Sunday, so make sure you get your email on the list before this weekend's comes out! :)

  

Ahhh yay! Okay moving on...

With our newly written post finally out and circulating on my DIY Makeup Removing Wipes (which my skin felt seriously amazing when I woke up this morning), it seemed only reasonable that we take this whole sanitary and keeping our skin happy to the next level. Yes, we clean and scrub and exfoliate our luscious epidermis on the reg, but how many of us take the time to make sure we're taking care of our skin BEFORE we lather on all of that makeup?? It all starts with those makeup brushes, friends! I undoubtedly am one of the makeup lovers in the world that sadly does this less often than necessary - I'm pretty sure I have a gnome living in my blush brush. So let's take a day together to clean all of those little babies, shall we?! Time to gather up those necessities!

I used:
- 2 Pumps Blue Dawn Dish Soap
- 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Cup Warmest Water
- 1 Bowl for Cold Water
- 1 Towel for Drying

First thing's first, take a bowl, or in my case a Mason Jar and add the blue dawn. I personally like the mason jar because the high edges make for less mess and spills.

Now add your ACV and hottest water your tap will give you. You can mix these together before you begin if you wish, but I didn't even bother since it would take care of itself as soon as I started cleaning the first brush.

Take all of those nasty, haven't-been-cleaned-in-ages, why-am-I-still-putting-this-on-my-face brushes, grab your first one, and begin swirling those beauties into your cleaning concoction.

Yuck! Step 2... Take your bowl/jar/cup/glass/whatever you used to put your colder water in, and swirl swirl swirl to enter in our first round of rinsing.

After you have finished making your water twister, now it's time to complete the rinse! Easy peasy, take your recently makeup-laden brushes that are now sparkly and new, and run cool water through them to get off any remaining residue.

So much better! When you're all finished, your water concoction probably looks more like chocolate milk... and to think you've been using that on your face! If you have a lot of brushes, I suggest switching out your water and bowls halfway through.

Almost there! GENTLY squeeze off the excess water. Fluff the heads of each of your brushes out. Lay them out to dry on your nifty towel! Bam!! You now have beautiful brushes that are clean and ready to be used... and your skin will surely thank you!

Easy 2 Minute Cinnamon Apple Dessert

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Here I am, sitting on the sofa next to my sleeping puppy, with a full and happy tummy watching E! wondering why it took me so long to make something delicious, simple, and welcoming of the Fall weather?! I mean, honestly. It's been Fall for almost 2 months! Thankfully, I bought a big bag of juicy red apples to snack on throughout the week, only to be disappointed by the fact that they weren't extremely crisp - the only way I will eat them. And then a genius idea was born! I'll make a quick single serving dessert.. more specifically, the middle of an apple pie! Yum!

First thing I needed to do was to gather my supplies...

I used:

2 Small/Medium Red Apples

2 tbsp Grass-Fed Butter

1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

1 tbsp Brown Sugar

I diced my apples into bite sized pieces, threw them in a microwave safe bowl, and topped them with the chopped butter. Popped this little beauty into the microwave and cooked them for 2 minutes.

They came out nice and soft; similar to the consistency of apples in oatmeal. Next was time for the spices! The great thing about this recipe is you can adjust the spice ratio to your liking. Want more cinnamon? Go for it. Want a sweeter, more brown sugar taste? Go ahead, put another tablespoon in there. After all it is the holiday season! 

Once added to the apples, I stirred the delicious-smelling concoction into a buttery-goodness.

Ta-Da! That was it! The perfect way to use up some going-bad apples! I was ever too eager to sit on the couch snacking on these while catching up with The Voice. It was simple, yummy, and only took 2 minutes to heat up! A perfect way to end the weekend. Happy Eating!

DIY Makeup Removing Wipes

Happy Sunday!

This week has been filled with fun adventures and outings.. complete with a face full of makeup that turns into the most intense version of raccoon eyes at night that you've ever seen.
You may have heard me say time and time again that I have extremely sensitive skin... Insert embarrassment here.

Ugh... I can't believe I just showed you all that, but hey, if I want to be honest then we have to get down to the nitty-gritty. Now this is not my skin on a day to day basis. This is what I woke up with after using Olay's Makeup Removing Wipes. Fun fact - I woke up with the EXACT same thing after using Simple brand's Makeup Exfoliating Wipes. And then again with their gel moisturizer. Oh and don't even get me started on Neutrogena or Cover Girl products.... Needless to say, my skin hates almost EVERYTHING. Not to mention, those premade packs of wipes are not cheap! I was buying the small ones for around $6. That may not seem like much... but when you're buying one, using one wipe, then throwing them out in the morning with a disgusted look on your face, then going out and buying another the next day and throwing it out... well. You get the idea.

Until I found Jojoba Oil! My Godsend! I knew I needed makeup removing wipes, but with everything turning me into a moon crater, I decided to make my own. The best part, I already had everything on hand except for the paper towels that I bought for 98 cents!

What you'll need:

- Glass Jar with a sealing lid (Mine is Anchor brand, bought a my local target)

- 3 Cups Warm Water

- Unrefined Virgin Coconut Oil

- Roll of Paper Towels

- 100% Pure Jojoba Oil (I love the Desert Essence brand!)

First, seeing as how my paper towel roll was more than double to height of my glass jar, I needed to take a kitchen knife and cut the little bugger down to size.

Next, I took 3 cups of the warmest water the tap would give me, and poured it into the bottom of my jar. If you have hard water in your area, I suggest maybe considering filtering the water first. I didn't bother... but I've heard it works wonders. I then took two spoon-fulls of my coconut oil, which was hard as a rock since it's so cold, and added it the water, mixing a little bit as I went until it was all melted from the warmth.

I then took two heaping spoon-fulls of my heavenly Jojoba Oil and mixed it in the water as well. I have been using this oil with a cotton ball nightly to take off my raccoon-eyes after the shower, so I know it works wonders. Now I'm just getting rid of the middle man!

Next it was time to take out the cardboard from my cut-to-size paper towels, so that I can easily grab a new sheet each night from the middle of the roll. I had to squish the sides of the roll a little bit to get it in the jar, but once I did, it was amazing! I tugged on the center-most towel to make it the beginning of the roll, and the result was magical.

It only took about 2 minutes for the roll to soak up the facial goodies. I, of course and as always, had to instantly test them out. Since I was wearing about 18 pounds of makeup from going out last night, it wasn't going to be tough to give them a fair shot. Take a look for yourself!

Hallelujah! Not bad, right?! Obviously there was still some remnants of makeup left after these first few swipes, but this is step one in my nightly skincare routine. I always suggest that you thoroughly wash your face before bed every night, not just use a wipe. But I love these! No dry skin. No new breakouts. No crater face. Just Perfection. Maybe next batch I'll add some witch hazel for extra skin conditioning goodness! Anyone else going to try and make their own? Comment below and let me know how it turns out! Good luck, my beautiful makeup-loving friends!

Keeping a Clean Home: My Cleaning Printable

Happy Taco Tuesday!
Today's post is all about something we love when it's finished but don't care for in the process.... CLEANING! I am a strong advocate of clean as you go... especially now that I am getting older. My teenage-self may not agree, but then again I remember what her room used to look like. I definitely prefer my adult-cleaning-self.

In hopes of keeping my home clean, and lessening the amount of time actually spent cleaning, I decided what better way than to create a lovely printable to keep me on track! Remember me stating I am a lover of lists, and lists for my lists? Well, that comes into play here. I began with writing down all of the chores I'd like to finish in a week, and then separated them across the days of the week.

Next it was time to begin creating my printable! I used the color scheme I recently created with my 2016 Blog Planner (Coming Soon!) and made my handy little list into a 5x7 print!

Three points you may notice here:

1.) You won't find dishes on this list. I work by the "dirty a dish, clean the dish" method where I wash it as soon as I am finished with it. I have a dishwasher, but it has never been used and I it's strictly for drying purposes.

2.) Doggie Duty - My polite way of telling myself to pick up Jackson's little daily presents in the backyard. You'll notice this is listed everyday - This is completely for sanitary and smell purposes. I suggest you take the 30 seconds to knock this out everyday if you have a fur-baby that potties in the yard. Added bonus - keep a Litter Genie in the yard for this! So much better than baggies.

3.) There is nothing listed for Sunday - Take a day for yourself! End of story.

 

Next it was time for the printing and making it user-friendly!

I put this lovely into an old frame I had laying around, added small adhesive magnets to the back, and attached this beauty to the fridge for easy use! Hooray! I now have a pretty little print that keeps my house spik-n-span! What do you think?!

 

 

I think the frame may need a new paint job. Also, fun fact - This weekend I will be releasing our first newsletter to email subscribers... complete with a fillable version of this printable! Be on the lookout and make your own home checklist. If you haven't yet signed up to be on the ever-growing email listing, add your email now to be in the mix with these fun little goodies and printables! I promise, I wont spam you :)

Happy Cleaning, Friends!

 

 

 

 

Easy Freezer Meal - Spicy Crockpot Chili

Happy Monday, friends! I hope you all enjoyed a lovely and relaxing weekend. I have been digging this colder and rainy weather... which brings me to exciting news of the day. Yay for our first recipe post! Easy Peasy Spicy Crockpot Chili! Unfortunately I was in a hurry to make this, so I didn't get many photos. Let's just call this post simplistic, shall we?

What you'll need:
- 1 lb. Ground Meat (I used turkey, but most people prefer beef)
- 1 Small Onion
- 2 Cans Tomato Soup (Make it gluten free!)
- 1 Can Hot Rotel (If you like spicy, use the hot version. You won't be sorry!)
- 1 Can Creamed Style Corn
- 1 Can Black Beans
- 1 Can Pinto Beans

Brown the meat and onion together in a skillet and dump into your crockpot. Now here's the best part... Take your other 6 cans, open 'em up, and pour directly into the crockpot. No draining needed! Cook on low for 7-8 hours and Boom Goes the Dynamite! Seriously... it's that easy. I really reallyyyyy like this chili during these cold nights. This serves approximately 5 hearty helpings. Try it and let me know what you think! I had this for leftovers two days in a row, topped with some shredded cheese, because lets be real, who doesn't love cheese?! Yum! Another added bonus, this is such an easy freezer meal! Instead of throwing it all in the crockpot, throw it all in a freezer bag. Pull it out the night before you want to make it and you're set! Happy eating!

PS - I promise I'll replace this photo with a better one the next time I make this - aka Really Soon!