Mini Key Lime Pies

These are really refreshing!!! I only gave half of these to my kiddos, even though they are mini, my kiddos don't need that much sugar! :D Plus all the more for me! :D
They are also REALLY easy to make, and did I mention they are really refreshing on a hot nite?


Taking my marble rolling pin crushing the graham crackers...


Pour the crushed crackers in the ramekins...


Mixing the cream cheese and sweetened condense milk...



Rolling out the lime to get all the juices "loose"


What it should look like after mixing it all together!


Pour them into the 4 ramekins...


Ready to be covered and put in the frig

View from the side


View from the top, I added a bit of the lime zest...


Mmm, yummy!!! ;oP





Mini Key Lime Pies

4 squares graham crackers crushed or vanilla wafers (may need a few more vanilla wafers-but if you chose to keep them whole, you will only need 4)
1 cup cream cheese
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
finely grated zest and lime juice from 3 limes
extra lime for some garnish, optional

Line the bottom of 4 ramekins with the crushed graham crackers. Put the cream cheese in an electric mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add the sweetened condensed milk and beat until mixed. Add the lime zest and juice and beat until it becomes thick and glossy. Divide among the 4 ramekins smooth the tops. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Just before serving, garnish with the extra lime zest.

*I wanted more zing to mine, so I added another lime. You may even want to start out with just 2 limes then mix it all up, then take a little taste test, if you think it's good, then stop, if not, keep adding and tasting after adding one at a time and mixing.
I put my graham crackers in a ziplock baggie then took my nice marble rolling pin and crushed them. Ok, so you don't need a marble rolling pin for it to work, it's just what I prefer! :) Just don't let that thing fall on your toe! ;) No, I haven't but it's been a close call a couple different times!
Roll out your limes before cutting and zesting, it makes them juicer, if that even is a word! :)
Also, I made this a little late in the day, so instead of putting it in the frig for 4 hours, I put them in the freezer for an hour and a half, it worked GREAT! Just remember to take them out if you don't use them all! ;)
This is so easy and simple, refreshing, and it doesn't need to bake, or call for eggs! In my book, make again! :D

Cilantro Lime Butter

I got this recipe from a friend from MI.

Thanks soooo much Deb for sharing this!

She told me she doesn't just use butter anymore for her corn on the cob, but she uses the cilantro lime butter. She thought I could use it the in place of just the butter and salt and pepper when I grill the corn.

So I tried it the other nite and it was good! I am also thinking a little extra to put on after I've grilled it would be pretty tasty too!

SUPER easy and SUPER good!


Softened butter and lime juice...


add the cilantro and salt


and stir it up!


Take you clean, dry ear of corn and place it on a piece of foil...


Spread that yummy butter mixture ALLLLL over your ear of corn!!!


Wrap it up and get ready to put it on the grill... (we had gymnastics this nite, so I had them ready to go before we left, so the corn sat in that butter and juice for a little over an hour before grilling, yummy!!!)


All done! It was good!
And super easy, did I already say that? ;)


Cilantro Lime Butter

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature (slightly softened)
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro, packed
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix and use. Delish!!

*I put my 2 tablespoons butter in the microwave for a few seconds to get it softened.
I also don't think I packed in the cilantro. Not a huge fan of it, but cooking and using it more so am getting to like it better. ;)
I think it took about 4 limes for me to get that much lime juice out...

Sunday's "Food" for Thought

So when I originally started this blog, a LOOOOONG time ago, I wanted to do Sunday posts, food for thought. So by that I wanted to post Bible verses and what comes to mind when I read them, etc...
This was one I posted when we lived in Iowa and some of you may remember this whole story. Wanting to know why I am re-posting this? I think it's a great reminder of judging....
Read it if you like, or just skip this one!
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Matthew 7:1
Do not judge, or you to will be judged.
Galatians 2:6a
As for those who seemed to be important- whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance...

James 4:12

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you - who are you to judge your neighbor?

Ok, so by the pics, I have pink HIGHLIGHTS in my hair! The looks I have gotten, crack me up! But then got me to thinking, do I give those looks to people who look different too? I think most times, no, because I don't care what color hair you have or what you look like! I am going to love you for who you are! Not what you look like! Standing in line at Wendy's on Sunday, I was in front of this family of 5, they looked as if they just came from church (no, not ours), their one little boy looked at me, then at his parents, then back at me, the look on this kids' face, wow! Then his mom took him over closer to him and patted him on the shoulder, like, don't look at her! I am thinking, ok whatever, you have to be careful because I am some kind of monster and am going to eat you up! WHATEVER!!!!!! We need to be careful at how we look at people, like the verses say, don't judge, we have NO RIGHT to judge people! It is not our job to do that, it is up to God. Our job is to love them, NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like it says in Galatians, God doesn't judge by external appearances, so why should we? Think about it!
I may come with a different hair color next week, just to see what kind of looks I can get! One of the reasons I did it! People would look at me, then look at my kids, and they would have a look of pity for them! What's up with that? Love them for WHO they are, and NOT what they LOOK like!!!!!

Corn on the Cob Tip/Trick

So I was talking to my mom the other day, when I should've been working on sorting toys and she should've been working in the garage more, but that's TOTALLY ok!!! ;) We both needed a break! :D

Anyways, she told me that she cooked corn on the cob in the microwave the other day. I was like oh really, how did the work out for you?

She said she shucked the corn, washed it, then she put a damp paper towel all the way around it. Then she put it in a microwave safe dish (she has these really cool glass salad bowls, so she used that) and then put the corn in that and poured some water over the paper towel so there was just a bit of water in the bottom of the dish. She put it in the microwave for 2 minutes and viola, it was done and delish!

I was going to try it tonite with our corn that we had, but decided to just do it the old fashioned way, boil the water, place it in the water then cook for a few minutes...

So, let me know if you try this! It may take longer if you put more than one ear of corn in there, you will probably also want to make sure that you keep it all in a single layer, don't stack them if you are cooking more than one.

Veggies on the Grill

This is SUPER easy and oh so delish!!! You could do this a couple different ways, you could put them in the oven, grill or int he skillet.
I did it on the grill because I had corn and sausages to go with it.
I also had fresh yellow and green zucchini that I had gotten at the Farmer's Market, then I had bought some mushrooms and carrots. I then seasoned it with a bit of coconut oil and then my new awesome find, Adobo spice.


This is the Adobo spice. You can either get it WITH or WITHOUT pepper! I chose the with pepper, only because there were hardly any left, so I figured the one with pepper was better? YUMMY! You MUST go buy some of this, it is soooo good! :D

Cut up veggies with the Adobo spice and coconut oil


Zip up the top, then grab it and shake it!


2 pieces of foil in a "X"


Dump the veggies on the foil, right in the middle


Look at that, yummy! Coconut oil and Adobo spice....


Fold up 2 ends


then fold the bottom up


then fold up the other end


The veggies cooked and ready to eat, yummy!!!!


Our supper, 2 healthy things and one not so healthy...


Close up of the veggies




I only used one green and yellow zucchini, about 10 baby carrots, and 6 mushrooms. Use as much as you need, or omit on of the veggies.

Wash and pat dry all veggies, thinly slice all of them, place in a gallon size baggie, add 3 tablespoons of coconut oil and sprinkle Adobo spice in there. Zip it up and shake til it's all mixed up.

(you can use olive oil in place of the coconut oil. I just try to use coconut oil in everything, it's so much healthier than regular oil. Sure butter and oil are bad, but this is best you can get! Go try it! If you live near Shipshewana, go to E @ S Sales and you can get a gallon jug for 11 bucks! Or go to the store and get a small jar for 7 bucks if you don't live close! OR you can let me know if you want some and can pick up a gallon for you when I go out there in July!)

Lay 2 pieces of foil and make a "X" out of the foil. Place your veggies in the foil and then fold up one side, then fold up the other. (See pics on how to fold)

I heated the grill to med-high heat, placed it on the grill for about 20 minutes. Brought it and it was PERFECT!!!!! The Adobo spice just added just enough to make it POP!! We all loved it and can't wait to try it again on something else! :)

Jelly and Banana Sandwiches

So in all honesty here, I kinda stole this idea from a friend. ;) Hope she doesn't mind?... ;)

This is more for my little one since he can't have pb yet. I was just giving him jelly sandwiches, but that's just BORING! I heard her tell some other ladies that she gives her little one jelly and banana sandwiches and he LOVES them! So that day I tried it out on my little and he LOVED it as well!

I took one piece of bread, put a LITTLE bit of jelly on one side (my homemade strawberry jam) then I sliced some banana's on top of the jelly. It took about 6 SKINNY slices of banana. You can put more, but if you have to cut it into bite size pieces for them to pick up, it gets a little messy. Then you fold it up, in half, then I cut 3 rows and then cut it into bite size pieces and let my little man have at it! :) He LOVES it and you know what, I tasted it and it actually doesn't taste that bad! May be doing it on my older ones later today!


Spread just a bit of jelly on a piece of bread (I use half for my little one..)


Slice a few banana's, thinly...

Fold it up...


Slice it up...


And dice it up....

My little one is enjoying it!


Shovin' it in!


Another thing, I would rather use homemade jellies just so I can stay away from that high fructose syrup! My kids don't need that!
You can also use mushy bananas and just mash it in a bowl and spread it on with a knife like you would the jam. Both are good and easy! :)

Let me know if you are interested in some homemade jam, it's pretty good stuff and only 3 ingredients! :) Email me if you are interested!

Green Cheese Squares

This is a nice and healthy dish. My kiddos (ALL of them) wanted MORE! I think my oldest ate 3 pieces and the 2 middle ones ate 2 pieces, my youngest wanted more than 1 piece, but I didn't give him another one!
I personally thought it was ok, not my best, but it was good. I can't believe my kids ate as much as they did and wanted MORE! Then kept saying how GOOD it was!
They also kept calling it pizza! I dunno, whatever gets them to eat, not that I can complain, my kiddos eat anything and everything, and for that, I am grateful for! ;)




Milk


Milk and eggs


Wheat flour added


white flour added


Whisk it all together


Add the shredded cheddar cheese


This is what it will look like


Now add the torn pieces of fresh baby spinach


Place in an 9x9 baking dish

And here ya go, the finished product. (The more I think about it, the more I think I FORGOT to add the baking powder, so I think that's why mine is so "flat".. opps...)


Green Cheese Squares

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir these ingredients together in a bowl then add
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Tear 3 ounces of fresh baby spinach into little pieces and add that to the mixture and stir.
Pour mixture into a greased baking pan.
Bake in preheated oven about 30 - 35 minutes.
(A knife inserted in the center should come out clean, that means it is done)
Cut into squares and serve!

*You can add some browned sausage, gonna try that next time! :)
Enjoy!!!