Mama's Makeover! We Moved!

I have moved my site to www.suburbansinglemom.ca

Thanks to you I have re-vamped my blog and moved it to www.suburbansinglemom.ca

Without you this would of never happened! Thank you Thank you Thank you!

I will try my best to post daily my favorite recipes and other exciting stuff!

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Homemade Body Scrub

Summer is quickly approaching. We must buff our body to show off our sexy legs. I like making my own body scrub made with all natural ingredients to slough away all the dead skin off my feet and legs. It is quick and easy and the after effect of this scrub will make your skin glow. Do not use on your face or décolleté.

Homemade Sea Salt Body Scrub

1 cup of dead sea salt or sea salt

15 drops of essential oil (I used geranium)

3 tbsp. coconut oil

Combine the sea salt with the coconut oil. Add esstential oil of your choice

Place the scrub in a clean jar

That's it! Scrub your body before entering the shower. Once you have scrubbed your body and showered, you will feel how supple your skin is. I also use a moisturizer with a self tan to add to the glow of my skin.

I love candles. So I always save the beautiful jars. To remove the wax easily, I usually put the jar in the freezer overnight to freeze the wax. With a knife I carefully pop out the wax. I then thoroughly wash the jar for future use.

Chicken Bean Burritos

A great hearty lunch or for the dinner on the go. As moms (or dads) we are always on an itinerary with our children. Dance classes, soccer, hockey games. Make this ahead and freeze it. Defrost in the morning so it's ready for dinner. When you get home, place it in the oven to heat through or microwave; and away you go!



Chicken Bean Burrito

Chicken Bean Burrito

Ingredients

3/4 cup brown rice

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion chopped

1/2 red pepper, seeded and chopped

1 lb. ground chicken

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsp. tomato paste

1 can 19 fl. oz. (540 ml) black beans

1 cup frozen corn kernels

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

8 burrito-size whole wheat tortillas, 10 inches each

Salsa and sour cream (optional)


Cook rice your brown rice and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium and add the onions, garlic, pepper, cumin, salt and pepper. Sautee until translucent, add the meat and continue to cook until the meat has browned.

Add the tomato paste and cook, for 1 minute. Make sure you're stirring while this is cooking.

Add the tomato paste cook for about 1 minute

Add the beans, and 1 cup of water; bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer, stirring until thickened (approx. 15 min.)

Add the beans and water and simmer until thickened

Add the corn and cook to heat through for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add corn and heat through. Remove from heat.

Heat the tortillas according to the package. Then fill with the rice, and bean mixture. Add the cheese. The filling must be placed on one side of the tortilla. Fold sides, and hold the sides together and roll tightly into a bundle.

Serve with salsa and sour cream.

If you are freezing the burritos, wrap the burrito individually and place in the freezer.

Classic Lemon Cranberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Serve this for breakfast or tea time with the girls, you will not go wrong serving scones! Easy to make, a classic that everyone will love! If you don't have cranberries, blueberries would be just divine! I prefer using dried cranberries, fresh or frozen work just as well.

Lemon Cranberry Scones With Lemon Glaze

Scones

2 cups                  all-purpose flour
1/4 cup                sugar
1 tbsp.                 baking powder
1/4 tsp.                salt
1 tbsp.                 grated lemon zest
1/2 cup                unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup                whipping cream
1/4 cup                2% milk plus extra for brushing
1                          large egg
1 tsp.                   vanilla extract
1 cup                   dried cranberries

Glaze

1 cup                  icing sugar
1 1/2 tbsp.          freshly squeezed lemon juice


Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.

Stir in the lemon zest.

Cut in the butter until the mixture is rough and crumbly but still small pieces of butter are visible. It should be lumpy. Do not over mix.

In a separate bowl, whisk the cream, milk, egg and vanilla together.

Add this to the flour mixture and stir to just bring the dough together.

Flatten the dough out in a rectangle (about 1 cm thick), top with cranberries and press the cranberries into the dough.

Fold the dough over once to incorporate the cranberries.

Reshape into a rectangle. Do not handle the dough too much. You do not want the butter to melt into the flour.

Cut the rectangle into 6 even pieces. Cut it in half down the middle (long side), then into thirds (short side), then cut 6 squares into triangles by cutting squares on the diagonal.

Brush the scones with a little milk and bake for 20 - 25 minutes until lightly browned on top.


Glaze

Whisk the icing sugar and lemon juice together and drizzle over the cooled scones using the whisk or a fork. Let the glaze set for an hour before serving. If glaze is too thick, add water, 1 tsp at a time.

Another Legend Has Left Us Muhammad Ali

I woke up this morning to the news of another great legend has left us. I remember clear as day of when I was a little girl seeing Muhammed Ali boxing on tv. Even though I was small, his words empowered me. His soft voice captivated me and drew me in to his words of wisdom. He truly was an inspiration to us all. Fearless in and out of the ring, he promoted his wisdom and strength to the world. I extend my sincere condolences to his friends and family and I assure you that he is looking down to us with joy and happiness. #RIPMUHAMMADALI #RIPCassiusMarcellusClayJr.

Ricotta For Breakfast

Steel cut oats, greek yogurt parfaits are the latest craze for healthy breakfasts these days. Which is great. But sometimes we need change. Changing it up a bit to make our mornings a little more interesting is needed sometimes.

I've featured my cottage cheese parfaits which are truly delicious.

Ricotta to me is such a delicious cheese. Light, creamy and a nice sweet taste. I usually like buying fresh ricotta from the local farm, or I sometimes make my own at home. Get some ricotta and try this recipe for breakfast.

Ricotta Parfait

Take a mason jar. Add fresh ricotta at the bottom. Layer with fruit of your choice. You can add pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, walnuts; the combinations are endless. Keep layering until you reach the top. I like eating the ricotta without it being sweetened. You can add cinnamon, honey or maple syrup to naturally sweeten your parfait.

Close the lid and away you go!

Quinoa Patties

I love quinoa. As you can see throughout my blog, I have used quinoa a lot. It is a versatile grain that you can have for breakfast, lunch and dinner! In this recipe I used quinoa as a pattie. So delicious served with a parmesan dip.

Quinoa Patties





Quinoa Patties with Parmesan Sour Cream Dip

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

2 cups water, salted

1 cup quinoa

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Boil the quinoa until cooked. Let cool completely.

Add the breadcrumbs, cheese, beaten egg, garlic, onion, parsley, salt and pepper. Incorporate. Add more breadcrumbs if you feel the mixture is too wet.

I used a measuring cup (1/4 cup) to spoon and form the patties. Place the patties on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Form patties with measuring cup

Bake the patties for 20 minutes or until golden and firm to the touch.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden and firm to the touch.
 

Serve with parmesan sour cream dip or your favorite dip.


Parmesan Sour Cream Dip

1 small container of sour ream (approx. 2 cups)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving for optimum taste.

Serve as a side dish or appetizer