#clearamerican pina colada float

Start by scoring pineapple coconut Clear American zero calorie sparkling water at your local Walmart or Sam's club.

Ingredients list:

Pineapple Coconut Clear American soda
1 can of Dole Pineapple juice (6 oz can)
Vanilla Ice Cream
lime

scoop 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream into glass, pour Pineapple Coconut Clear American soda over the ice cream. Let it settle.  Pour a small amount of the pineapple juice in the glass.  Cut a slice of lime for garnish. squeeze a small amount of lime juice into glass and top glass with the lime garnish. Enjoy!

It really was that simple.. If you would like you could substitute Rum for the pineapple juice but since I didn't have any on hand we went with the Mocktail version.


I was inspired to create this drink as I've been following some online friends that are taking  part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias, which is a vendor for Cott Beverages, Inc., the manufacturer of Clear American® Brand Beverages. All opinions and recipes are my own, this post was NOT compensated but only inspired by. 

Thanks for the inspiration Christy over at Insanity is Not An Option

Just over 6 years ago I started a blog...

perfect the way God created you

I was impatiently awaking the arrival of our second child. Now 6 years later (at 9.45pm PST 8/26) I am blessed to have this spunky, determined, insightful, stubborn, amazing, child of God in my life.

Happy Birthday Bear, Mommy loves you!

peacefully sleeping

Always thinking about something

Never sure if the camera is your friend

Review: Scott's Wood Wipes

Do you hate dusting? I do. 

Do you have wood furniture in your house? What about picture frames?  I answer yes to both of those. 

We live in the country and during the planting and harvest seasons you either forgo the dusting or your do it a lot more often.  If you want  quick ,easy, convenient, quick, cloths  then Scotts Liquid Gold is a great solution for you. 

I loved the ease of grabbing a quick wipe and dusting an area and not having to worry about spraying something and finding a clothe then making sure it gets washed with like laundry.  I kept the bottle of wipes under the sink and could easily dust the living room or dinning room and have it look fresh for the end of the day. Scott's Liquid Gold has a  Facebook  page  as well as  Twitter so you can follow the easy Surface Clean to great tips and hints.

Happy Cleaning.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Coleslaw with C&H organic agave

If you are like so many, you try and cook healthy options for your family. I am not so different. We eat a lot of veggies and I have cut the salt and the sugar way back. When I was selected as part of Moms Meet to try the new C&H organic agave  nectar I thought it would be a great opportunity to share some new recipes with friends, family, and my blog readers.

We have been blessed with an abundant garden this year and the cabbage is no exception to that... My youngest loves Sesame Cabbage salad but my oldest doesn't. I found out that my oldest really likes coleslaw (especially the KFC coleslaw, which is a special treat on occasion and if I have a coupon...)
Anyway, with several huge cabbage out of the garden I needed a quick recipe to try... I failed to find one and started experimenting... I shredded about 3 cups of cabbage and 1/2 a cup of shredded onion. I added to that 2 Tbsp Light C&H Organic Agave nectar and 1/4 cup milk. Toss the cabbage with the onion and remaining ingredients and lightly salt...  Chill for about 1 hour and serve as a side dish to chicken or fish.  I happen to serve it the first night with BBQ chicken that I also used the C&H agave on. (recipe for that to follow)

The good news! My super picky eater (the oldest) loved it.. I made a small second batch to take with us over the weekend and he had it two additional times and loves it still... Words a mother loves to hear.

Garlic flowers?

What in the world do you use garlic flowers for?
That was my first thought 3 years ago.
My mom grows garlic for the local Garlic Festival and gets these pretty flowers on the Elephant Garlic.  So, what to do with them?

Decorations and flower arrangements are a simple use.

The whole flower can be put in soups or stews.

Finally, the flower is an oily base and can be rubbed on meats or run through a mortar and pestal bowl to create a natural oil for cooking and as a first aid treatment.

With other garlic plants the flower is actually full of seeds that can be planted or used as miniature garlic but remember most of the garlic seeds are actually more intense and have a much stronger odor and flavor.
  Elephant garlic seeds are actually just has useful but are found under the garlic bulbs when you harvest the elephant garlic...

Who knew there were so many uses for garlic.

Can of this soup..

So I decided to fix soup for lunch and came up with this. My oldest (the picky eater) loves it.

1 can beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 cup each:  frozen corn carrots, peas, green beans
1 Tablespoon  GOH mix from Herbie Etc... 

Put everything in you pot. Heat on medium until just boiling. Serve with whole wheat rolls.

You can also add chocken or beef.  I am adding some breaded chicken breast for extra protien for my husband's lunch.

Enjoy!

Quinoa salad

I love quinoa and have enjoyed creating salads this summer with this awesome grain.  Here is one I really enjoy, similar to tabhola only without the tomatoes.
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups warm water

2 cups choppef parsley
1 cup chopped mint
1 sweet onion chopped
1 -2 cuccumbers chopped
1 - 2 cloves garlic chopped
1/4 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon oil
Salt to taste

Soak quinoa in warm water for 2 - 3 hours. Drain
Mix all other ingrediants with quinoa. Cover and chill for 1/2 hour.

Serve as a side with chicken or fish. Also goes great as a topping on a fresh bed if mixed garden greens ( hint hint that is what I'm having for dinner)

Review: The Keepers by Monique O’Conner James

 Thanks for stopping by the Blog Book Tour for “The Keepers” by Monique O’Conner James. 

When I received this book for review I wasn’t sure what to think of it… I love reading Christian themed fiction and although this doesn’t fit into what I normal would call Christian Themed fiction I decided to go for it and be a little more adventurous.  It didn’t take more than 4 pages and I was hooked.  The mystery of the story combined with the angelic themes adds a readable quality to the story. The chapters were all a good length, I could easily read a chapter and not seem overwhelmed. Being a Mom I don’t’ always have time to sit and read intense books containing long chapters , this book while intense didn’t have super long chapters. I really enjoyed this genre.

The story, Jess, a young woman searching for solice after the loss of her mother finds refuge in New Orleans and meets Vi who introduces her to Justin an earth bound Angel, although Jess doesn’t find out right away that Justin and his brothers are really Angels.  The character dynamics add richness to the story. As I read the story I really felt the characters’ emotions, these weren’t shallow faceless characters. Even the protagonist Damon is a full character with all the complexities of any deep seated character.

Overall this book works every angle of the story and even manages to tackle point of views but still maintains the overall omniscient point of view.  The story moved in such a way that I was hooked from the very beginning and really didn’t want to put it down, I managed to sneak in some extra reading time to finish the story.  I have it saved on my Nook to read again when I can read it more slowly and really enjoy it. Yes, I read a good book more than once. It is one of those crazy things, if I liked it once I can usually read it again and get something new out of it.  Often I will read a book for reviewing and enjoy it but not really be moved to read it again, this book was definitely one to read again. 

I received an electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was received and the opinions of this book are my own. This review containts affilliated links were I may receive compensation for sales.

Garden full of blessings.

What a blessing our garden has been. We have worked together to plant, weed, till, water,and harvest.
Together we have dreaded the weeds but relished in the beauty of the freshest vegetables, and amazed at the green.
At first he wasn't sure if it was worth it to plant a garden, but every night I cook with garden veggies or serve a fresh salad he is thankful I persisted. 
I love getting creative with what comes out of the garden and everyday I am blessed by the abundance that garden gives. What a blessing this garden is, and we are thankful for it each day.