product review

Time To Play – Back To Basics

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Last week I went to the Time To Play Spring Showcase event, featuring more than 25 leading toy manufacturers and entertainment companies.

I was surprised to see that alot of the new things, well seemed to be pretty basic stuff.  The kind of fun stuff I grew up with.  This made me smile. I could not wait to share with Liam and Natalie.  Here are some of the things they liked the best.

Crayola table had a tiny tube that fits in your cup holder, filled with mess free color wonder of over 10 ft of coloring (18)  sheets and 3 color markers.  Just roll and rip , stick on surfaces and show.  Great for car rides.   Natalie and Liam take coloring very serious.

Natalie was so happy with Polly Pocket Doll and Kitchen Playset.  All the pieces come with mini suction cups, ready to stick and play!!

Natalie also loved the Pop Girl Nail Charms – Sweet Tooth Collection.  Wear them and share them – safe and easy stick-on fashion nails! No glue needed.

While Natalie was playing with Polly Pocket,  Liam took all the cardboard packages and made a robot (it took a while) and colored him.  Simple, that’s what fun is all about.

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For more information on all the other toys visit:

 

http://www.timetoplaymag.com/

recipe

Lotsa Layers Lasagna

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I love a good lasagna but who doesn’t?                

Well, if you don’t then this recipe is not for you.

© Yasmin Alishav

I came across this recipe and thought, MMMMMMM good. Now that’s A LASAGNA!

Mother’s Day is just around the corner so if your not going out to dinner( like me), and will be doing the cooking, (like me), treat yourself and family to this delicious layerfull lasagna… MANGIA!

Oh, and the secret ingredient is GOAT’S CHEESE.

Oh, so Neah-licious

Ingredients:

  • 1 1-pound package polska kielbasa, diced into 1/4-inch cubes
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 5-ounce package fresh spinach, cleaned and spun dry
  • 1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
  • 4 ounces fresh goat cheese
  • 1 cup shredded parmesan
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 1-pound package no-boil lasagna noodles
  • 2 15-ounce jars Alfredo sauce (or 4 cups homemade)
  • 1 2-ounce ball fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Directions:

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Makes: 12 servings

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown polska kielbasa, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes.

3. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and sauté until browned, about 4 minutes.

4. Turn off heat. Add spinach and stir, allowing the heat from the pan to wilt the spinach.

5. Make filling by mixing ricotta, goat cheese, parmesan and egg in a large bowl until combined.

6. Place 1/3 of kielbasa mixture into the bottom of a glass baking dish. Top with lasagna noodles.

7. Top lasagna noodles with 1/3 Kielbasa mixture and 1/2 of cheese mixture. Pour 1/3 Alfredo sauce over. Top with lasagna noodles.

8. Place remaining 1/3 kielbasa mixture, remaining 1/2 of cheese mixture and 1/3 of Alfredo sauce over noodles. Top with another layer of lasagna noodles.

9. Top noodles with remaining sauce. Place slices of fresh mozzarella on top.

10. Wrap baking dish tightly with foil. Bake 50-60 minutes, until bubbly.

11. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes, until excess liquid is absorbed. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

 

http://kitchencookoff.msn.com/articles/en-us/detail/all/31215568?WT.mc_id=msnhp

Food and Health, T.V., Video

Cucumber and Banana – Dr Oz Said

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Hope you try all of these sugar replacement meal ideas and  snacks!

Half a Fruit in Salty Meals

Trick your taste buds by eating ½ a fruit with your salty meals. Try eating a turkey sandwich with natural cranberry fruit preserves. Add mangoes to grilled chicken. (You can even order this in a restaurant.) Add a handful of raisins to rice. (Dr Oz does this.) Doing this will preemptively strike that sugar attack, so you won’t crave sugar later on.

Dr Oz: Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate

Melt a bar of dark chocolate (this is the little 1-inch cubed bar and not an entire candy bar!) in a spoonful of peanut butter. Then make a scoop out of it. Enjoy it when a craving comes on. This only contains 4 ½ g of sugar. You can also freeze the scoop and eat instead of ice cream.

Pickles & Cottage Cheese

Looking to lose a few pounds? Try mixing pickles into cottage cheese. Cottage cheese has a belly busting protein that will help keep you satiated. Each pickle adds only 5 extra calories. Dr Oz passed to an audience member and she stated it was “not bad.”

 Popcorn & Almond Milk

This may sound gross, but it really isn’t. Try pouring almond milk into a bowl of popcorn and then eat it like cereal. This combination makes for a great sweet and salty bedtime snack. The almond milk contains tryptophan to help you fall asleep.

Cucumber & Banana Stacks

Try placing banana slices in between cucumber slices. It’s like having a sandwich but without the calories. Also, it’s high in potassium.

http://www.doctoroz.com/blog/jacob-teitelbaum-md/recovering-sugar-addiction-easily-overview

 

 

Family

Grandma’s Little Helper

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It is always a joyous thing when your grandchildren help you with chores…On this day my granddaughter decided that she wanted to help me clean up the front yard…Really, I thought, let’s see how much she will be willing to do…cleaning up the front yard, after the long winter sleep is not easy, but OK Sophie help grandma get started.The first tedious thing we need to do is get those pesky leaves off the ground…Wow, Grandma, this is alot of leaves…

Yes, Sophie a lot of leaves.  Unfortuantely theywill not just  jump into the bin, we need to bend and pick the leaves and place those dead leaves in the bin…this is the  back breaking part of the job….up down, down up…Oh my aching back…

Sophie really took the leave job very seriously.  All she wanted was to get them  into the bin..but they seemed to never end…Grandma, she says,  will these leaves every be all picked up?   I put them in the bin, and I think they are jumping out and going back on to the floor… are they still alive?

Look Grandma, I found that if I use my foot the leaves stay in the bin…and we can put more in…stuff those leaves down, Sophie.

Not quit finished but getting there…accomplishing a job and doing it well is always satisfying.   Of course Sophie we do have a lot more to do, but now we can take a break and relax awhile, for when a job is well done we can feel like we have done a great job…thanks darling, Sophia, you certainly were a great little helper…

 

mb

recipe, Time of the Season

Lychee-Mint Spritzers – Derby Ready

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Every year I  watch the Kentucky Derby on tv. I will watch the show leading up to the race , enjoy looking at the surroundings, the fashion and the jockeys and  horses.   Each one so beautiful in their own right – good clean fun in the comfort of my living room.  This year while noshing on some goodies,  I will be trying a new cocktail drink  , something light , a spritzer.

Lychee-Mint Spritzer – serves 2

Muddle 8 mint leaves with 2 teaspoons sugar in a cocktail shaker. Add 4 canned lychees, 1/4 cup syrup from the can, 3 ounces vodka and a squeeze of lime juice; shake with ice. Strain into 2 ice-filled glasses; top with seltzer. Repeat to make more drinks. Garnish with mint and lime.

 

 

Putting my money on a filly!!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/