Smores Dip

It's summer, I love sweets and all I can think about is delicious smores around a campfire. I grew up spending a week or two camping but it's been so long since that's been reality, and I kind of miss it! 

I don't have a fire pit to make real smores, and it's too hot for a fire at night anyways right now,  though a firepit is on our want list so this dip hit the spot! This is super easy and would be a great dessert for your summer cook out. 

What you need: 

A 6 pack of Hershey Bars 

Marshmallows

Graham Crackers 

Preheat your oven to broil. My oven has hi and low settings for broil so I chose low. I actually cut the recipe in half because we did not need that much dip. 

Spray the bottom of an 8x8 pan, break apart Hershey bars and lay across the bottom of pan. 

Top the chocolate with the marshmellows until it's covered. 

Place in the oven for about 3-5 min until the top is golden brown, just like the marshmellow would be over the campfire. Serve with graham crackers and enjoy! 

  

    

A Different Way to do Cinnamon Rolls!

Ok so clearly you can open a can of delicious cinnamon rolls and put them in the oven and wait 20 minutes, or you could just use your waffle iron ! Yes you heard that right, use your waffle iron. This is super simple, easy, and effortless and takes under 10 min. 

So first you start with heating up your waffle iron. I warmed the icing a bit by running under hot water while I was waiting. Once it's heated the rest is easy! 

Spray your waffle iron and place cinnamon roll in the middle. 

Close your waffle iron and it will let you know when their done, it takes less than a minute. 

 

This is what the finished Cinnamon Roll Waffle looks like. Just take it out and keep going until they are all done and top with the icing. These are so good. They have the outer crispiness of a waffle and insides are soft like a regular cinnamon roll. They definitely have a bit of a different taste but they are so good, ok and I know not that good for you. 

There are so many other things you can do with a waffle iron and I can't wait to keep trying them! I've got a few on my list this week.

My Favorite Chemical Free Brand of Baby Products: A Review on Babyganics!

Before my daughter was born it became important to me to really start watching the products I use and what was in them. I wanted to go chemical free in as many ways as possible for not just her but the entire household. 

Everyone seems to know all about Honest Company and seems to love it. We had been using their free and clear detergent and had no issues so I had decided to give their diapers a try. But as I was looking at products I came across Babyganics, did some research and price comparison and decided I would give them a try. I can't say enough about these products and I've used a very large variety of them and I don't have anything bad to say about them. While I do still love certain things from the Honest Company, Babyganics doesn't get enough credit for what it is in my opinion and is much more affordable for my wallet! 

While I was still pregnant I started trying their cleaning products. I have to say I absolutely love their Multi Surface cleaner, tub and tile cleaner, and stain remover for the laundry.  It does the job without all the harsh chemicals. The only time I'm not a fan of the multi surface cleaner is on my granite counter tops which I did not have once I started using these products. I just don't feel like it gets all the gross stuff that gets stuck to it, everything else it's great on.

I also started using the toy and high chair cleaner and the same version of wipes recently. I love the wipes to get in all the little spots on the toys and the spray is fantastic for giving the high chair a good wipe down too! Most of these household items I've been able to purchase at Buy Buy Baby and on Amazon and a few at Super Target. I believe Babies R Us carries them too! 


We used both Honest and Babyganics diapers in the beginning. Honest company diapers didn't seem to hold as well for us and also started to give her rash, so we have stuck with Babyganics and haven't looked back. We have had no diaper rash since. I also love that Babyganics is a little more cost friendly. For example we are currently in size 3 diapers and for $27 we can get a box of 92 but with Honest Company for the same price you only get 68 diapers. I also watch for target to run them on sale.  I have also used their disposable swim diapers this summer and so far so good! I even got them over 50% percent off with cartwheel and the fact they were already on sale! 

My next favorite items were Babyganics bottle soap, hand sanitizer, and hand soap. I loved that I could even purchases the big refill bottles for these off of Amazon. I bought 2 bottles of the refills of the dish and bottle soap when my daughter was a month old for about $12 and at 8 months old  i just ran out, and trust me when i say we wash a lot of bottles! Its a foamy you push in a pump style , just like foamy hand soap which is how theirs is and we really like it. I only use it on items for her because I don't think it gets deep down tough grease off of dishes but I'm not quite sure it was made for that either. 

The last item for review is the Babyganics Sunscreen. I started using this on myself last summer and loved it! It wasn't oily and didn't irritate my skin or face. I have sensitive skin and have to be careful with sunscreen and this is my favorite. We used this at Disney and at the beach for our girl and no sunburns, it is a little thick and can be hard to rub in. However with most natural sunscreens I have tried its the winner in my book! 

Its so important to not only be aware of what we are putting in our bodies but also what we are putting on our bodies. While I know we have all survived on the products we have used our entire lives there are now much safer options out there and the products we use have an effect on so many things that go on with out bodies. I highly encourage you to look into what your using and try to find better options. You won't be sorry you did, and I will continue to share  some of my favorites! 

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

 It's summer, it's hot and quick, easy meals that aren't heavy is what we want in this house! This Chicken Caesar pasta salad  was super easy took very little prep and made served 3 meals for 2 people. As a Momma that's a win in my book. 

What you need : 

4 boneless skinless chicken  breast of chicken breast or you could use a rotisserie chicken 

Spinach or romaine lettuce 

Parmesan cheese 

Bow tie pasta

Croutons 

Caesar Dressing 

Grill, bake or shred your chicken, we grilled ours and then cut into strips. Boil your pasta, just be sure to not over cook or get to mushy you don't want to this way. Drain pasta and let it cool. 

Instead of making one big batch I made it for 2 people each time. I didn't want to put the dressing on it and store it in the fridge, and I'm glad I did it that way.  

But this is how to mix it all at once! 

6 cups of spinach 

2 cups of cooked pasta

Cooked Chicken breast 

1 cup Parmesan cheese 

Crutons ( I used about half the bag) 

1/2 cup of caesar dressing ( add more if you desire I used Kens dressing) 

Toss and mix well, season with salt and pepper and enjoy! This is great for an easy dinner, lunch or a fun item to take to a summer BBQ! 

 

*21 day fix friends you can also adjust the measurements to fit the fix containers, make the Caesar dressing from the Fixate cookbook, and make homemade crutons from Ezekiel or whole grain bread. It would be so easy and that's what I love about this quick, easy meal. *

Quick and Easy Chicken Avocado Burritos

When I was pregnant I craved avocados a lot. I thought I would hate them after but I'm still obsessed with them. So when I saw these burritos I knew I had to try the recipe out! These take less than 10 minutes so it makes this Momma so happy!

Here is what you need:  

2 cups of diced or shredded chicken

1/3 cup of mozzerella cheese

1 medium to large avocado 

4 burrito size tortillas 

Olive oil or olive spray 

Put your chicken, avocado and cheese in a bowl. Once all ingredients are in mix them all together. 

Once you have then mixed to together separate into 4 sections. Fill your burritos with each section. 

Wrap your burrito and cook until heated through in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil or use a spray. If you have a panini press that would work great too. I've heard these freeze great so I threw one in the freezer but I've yet to try it. I think next time we will try with steak to change it up. 

We topped ours with some salsa and sour cream and they were fantastic! I love meals that are quick and easy for either lunch or dinner. Everyone in your family will enjoy these! 

Via Napoli Sangria at Home

One of my favorite things about Epcot is walking country to country and trying different food and drinks. And my favorite spot is Itlay! I've already shared my love for their pizza and sangria and today I'm going to share that Sangria recipe with you!

When we lived in Florida and I worked at Disney we would often frequent either Via Napoli and just make a stop into Tutto Gusto for this yummy treat. Before we moved I got the recipe just without the measurements so it's taken some time to find the right mix, as well as the perfect Italian red wine. When my favorite Florida grocery store Publix opened 5 minutes away I just happened to find it there. In this Sangria the wine makes the difference for sure!  So here is what you need! 

1 bottle of Italian red wine 

2 oz of dark rum

1/2 oz of triple sec 

1/2 ounce of apricot Brandy

Sprite 

Lemon

Lime 

Orange 

Red Apple 

Start with cutting your fruit and adding it into your pitcher. 

Next add your rum, triple sec and Brandy. I like to stir it once I have it all in. Then add your wine. I bought the big bottle because at $10 why not? Leave some room at the top as you will need to add a splash of Sprite. Once it's all in give it a good stir. I like to refrigerate for just a little bit and then serve over ice just like at Via Napoli! 

I enjoyed it this time with some Mickey Mac we had brought back from our recent park trip.

I've used many different wines in this recipe and none have made it taste like the one I love and know from Epcot until I found this one and it's cheap which I can't complain. It's nothing fancy or expensive and in my opinion you don't need anything fancy or expensive for sangria. 

This sangria is yummy and refreshing all year, and if you love this sangria as much as I do it gives you the taste of Disney at home. 

Enjoy!! 

Under $20 Bar Stool Makeover

I always love a good project. Now as a Mom I love them even more. Projects are something I can do that I enjoy during nap time, or some me time when the husband gets home from work or on the weekends. 

One of the best places to find furniture projects is going to the local goodwills or the buy sell trade groups on Facebook. Here you can find pieces that might need an uplift, of course you might even have some pieces in your home too. 

I had been on the hunt for some new counter height bar stools and as a Momma on a budget nothing had caught my eye ir my budget. These weren't a priority on my list of things we needed for our house either so it sat in the back of mind. Then one Friday night in one of those great Facebook groups someone posted these bar stools for FREE. It was about 10 min from my house so I off I went because I knew I could make these babies over. 

 The next day I posted my current ones for sale for $10 and they sold immediately. That $10 went to paint for the stools, because Momma on a budget! 

I purchased chalk paint from AC Moore in Sheepskin. My coffee table is this same color and I knew it was perfect to go with. I'm also a big fan of this chalk paint and the price is great! I love the Annie Sloan paint but it's not cheap or easy to find. There are a ton of color choices in the FolkArt brand and I also saw it at Joanns Fabrics so check your local craft stores! The bonus, you can use a coupon! 

The medium size container cost me under $10 with the coupon, and I'll definitely be using this paint again. 

Next it was time to find a fabric to cover the seats. I decided to use an indoor/outdoor fabric because it would be so much easier to wipe down and keep clean. I found a grey and white stripe one at Joanns fabrics I loved and with a coupon it cost me ten bucks!! So if you don't count the paint since I sold my stools and paid for it these stools cost me $10 but even not $20 is so cheap for a make over! 

Next it was time to paint them. I took the seats off sanded them a bit and they were ready to paint. Best part about chalk paint is your don't have to prime! 

 The stools took about 3 coats. I started them late Saturday afternoon, one was complete by Sunday and the other on Tuesday because I just didn't get to it on Monday. Once the paint was done and dry I lightly sanded and then I used Annie Sloane wax to finish. FolkArt has wax but my Mom had this so I just used it. 

I let the wax dry and we were good to go. We had covered the seats covers on Sunday but I forgot pictures, and we reattached them to the stool and they were done! 

I love the way these turned out, and they look great in my kitchen. They are also pretty comfortable and I might actually sit at the bar now. 

You a can update anything with a little paint. Now I'm ready for a new project. Next up you ask? Turning this space into a sweet play area for my sweet girl, with a bit of a Disney theme! It may be a few weeks but I can't wait to share when it's done! 

  

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread made with Greek Yogurt

When you have bananas going bad one of the best things to do is make banana bread right? I used to love Starbucks Chocolate Chip Banana bread and though I still haven't mastered my chocolate chips not all melting in the bottom this recipe is one of my favorites I found on Pintrest that was from All Recipes and I've adapted a bit. Little by little I've been changing out ingredients to make it much healthier. I was planning on swapping the sugar for stevia this time but I just didn't have enough and wanted to get this sugar out of the house anyways so I just used what I had on hand. If you choose to swap make sure to look at a conversion chart because you won't need the same amount and it will depend on if you use regular stevia or the baking blend. Since the recipe uses Greek Yogurt in still trying to figure out what's right to replace the butter, and replacing the white flour with wheat flour really makes no difference at all. 

 What I love about this recipe is all I had to buy was chocolate chips,  everything else I had in the house and are things I usually do. 

This is quick and easy to put together, the longest part is waiting for it to bake for nearly an hour and then cool when your house is smelling of yummy goodness! 

 Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe

Makes one loaf 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter (equivalent to 1 stick of butter), melted
• 3/4 cup white sugar or stevia check conversion chart depending on what you use 
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ( I use wheat flour) 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 over-ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, stir the melted butter and sugar together.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix well.  Set the wet ingredients aside.
4. In a separate large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
5. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
6. Add in the yogurt and the mashed bananas and mix until just combined.
7. Gently stir in the chocolate chips.
8. Spread evenly into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan.
9. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick or fork comes out clean.   It may be done if all you have is chocolate on your fork 
10. Cool the loaf in the pan for at least 15 minutes (it's hard trust me!) before cutting into it. 

 

Now it's time to enjoy and try not to eat the entire loaf at once! 

 

A Disney Dining Must!

We recently returned from a long weekend at Disney. We usually go about twice a year though I am determined to squeeze it to 3 times here soon! We spent 4 years there and I worked there and I might love it just as much for the food as I do for the fact that its Disney. I am always about trying somewhere new we have never tried but a trip to Via Napoli always has to be on the list. Im pretty sure we used to go at least once a month. Before Via Napoli opened in the Italy Pavillion at Epcot pizza lovers were left with much to be desired in the way of pizza.

 

 This place is special the flour for the crust is Caputo flour imported from Southern Italy. The pizzas are cooked in one of 3 wood burning ovens named after the 3 active volcanoes in Italy - Mount Enta, Mount Vesuvius and Stromboli. It is traditional Neapolitan pizza.  Even some of their pastas are cooked in these ovens. One day we decided to get a smaller pizza and lasagna which was good but I just love their pizza. The pizza is seriously like non I have ever had but I have never traveled to Italy so....

Next on the list at Via Napoli is the Sangria. Best deal for a drink in park. At just $25 for a pitcher that fills about 6 glasses it cant be beat. A glass itself is $9. The red is my favorite and its refreshing on a HOT Florida day. 

I've seen people are mixed about using the dining plan here but I think its still worth it. We used it on our September trip and were happy to each get what we wanted on our pizza without having to compromise and got to try some delicious dessert. Seriously though put this place on your list for dining!

Tasty Tuesday Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower

Veggies are hard in our house, my husband is picky with veggies and I am too but more open than him. We get tired of the same thing over and over and typically just eat spinach, carrots and brussels sprouts. I love the roasted broccoli but can't stand the way it makes our apartment smell and it just lingers so we rarely make it. I tried this new recipe for buffalo roasted cauliflower  and it is delish and super easy! These would be a great healthy snack for your upcoming Super Bowl Party, and I'll be sharing clean Super Bowl treats the next few weeks leading to Super Bowl! 

What you need :

1 head of cauliflower 

Olive oil

Sea Salt (we use pink himilayan) 

Garlic powder 

Buffalo sauce or hot suace (I used Frank's red hot ) 

Cut your cauliflower into pieces and place in a bowl 

Add 1/4 cup of Frank's Red Hot, 1 tbsp of olive oil and salt and garlic to taste. 

Preheat oven to 400. Place on baking sheet and cook for about 20 min. 

I like to make sure it has some brown to it for it to be completely done. I also only used half a head of cauliflower since it was hair the 2 of us and saved the other half for another night. This was so good and will also be a great healthy snack for the upcoming Super Bowl parties to help you stay on track! On the 21 Day fix meal plan which we are following, this would be 1 green 1 tsp and 1 Orange. 

Enjoy! 

Interested in the 21 Day Fix or other meal plans, email me at meganalvey58@gmail.com or reach out to me on social media I would love to chat !