Homemade Snow Cone Syrup

Trevor and I have this tradition that whenever we watch a movie together, we air pop popcorn and make snow cones. So, this means that we go through a lot of popcorn and syrup. We are continually refilling our ice cube trays. We probably do this at least once a week, depending on how crazy life gets. It's become something we look forward to. In the last little bit, we've run out of our store bought snow cone syrup, which is pretty pricey. 

So, after a bit of researching, If figured out how to make it for about 25 cents. I usually buy sugar in bulk so I already have that on hand. It's about $0.25 for a packet of Koolaid mix. It's really super easy. Just prepare it a bit earlier in the day, so it has time to chill in the fridge. 

Ingredients:

- 2 C sugar

- 1 C water

- 1 Kool-aid packet of your choice. 

1. Boil water and sugar until they come to a rapid boil. 

2. Boil for 60 seconds. 

3. Take off heat, poor in 1 packet. Stir and let cool.

4. After it's cooled slightly, funnel into a bottle and store in fridge. We reused the snow cone bottles that we had. 

We've done cherry (seen above), and a mixed berry flavor. They have been really tasty so far! :) Super easy to make. It probably takes about 5-7 minutes altogether. I make this during the day, let it cool and then come evening, we are ready for a movie! 

- SamiMae

Black Bean Pitas! YUMMY!

This was a meal that was very surprising how good it was! I was unsure when I was putting everything together, but this could have made it into the top 10 for spring meals. Trevor was even impressed. We just happened to have everything on hand too!

Ingredients:

• Pita bread
• Black beans
• Corn
• Romaine lettuce
• Bacon
• Celery (optional, I thought it was ok)
• Sugar
• Olive Oil
• Mayonnaise
• Vinegar
• Pepper 
• Onion

This came together in less than 15 minutes. It's eaten cold. I'm sure if you let it sit and let the flavors blend it could be good, but keep the bacon out until you eat to prevent it from getting soggy.

1. Cook some bacon. We did about 4 strips.

2. While Trev cooked the bacon, I drained a can of black beans and a can of corn and put into a bowl.

3. I cut up a little bit of green pepper (you want something sweet), onion and celery. I went easy on it. I cut everything small. Maybe 2-3 teaspoons worth of each. Add into bowl with beans and corn.

4. Add in 2 tablespoon mayo

5. Add teaspoon of sugar and olive oil and vinegar. 

6. Go off of taste, if you don't like it, mix it up. We added in a bit more sugar. 

7. Add bacon and mix it up. 

8. Get a pita bread, layer some romaine lettuce on it and put a few good scoops of the bean mixture on top and enjoy!

This was a surprising mixture. I found a recipe that I based it off of. You can view it here. I was really worried about it, but then the flavors worked together great. I loved the raw veggie flavor. The onion and peppers were quite wonderful. The sugar helped give it more of a dessert feel than a pita full of veggies. We ate the whole thing! 

- SamiMae

BLTs - A wonder!

I don't have pictures, but I made real BLTs this week. No bread, just bacon, lettuce and tomatoes. It was amazing....I'd never had it before.

I added a bit of mayo to the romaine lettuce, right on the lettuce, topped it with tomatoes and a strip of bacon on top. I am so doing that again! Remember this dinner!

- SamiMae

Beef Haystacks

A few weeks ago I made a meal that was quite tasty. I love haystacks of any kind. This was no exception! I have some great beef in my freezer that I try to use whenever I can. It's already cooked and frozen. So, for this recipe I just took out some beef, and warmed it up. This dinner came together pretty quick.

Ingredients:

- Beef

- Lipton's Onion Soup mix

- Veggies of choice ( we chose peas)

- Rice

- Haystack toppings: cheese, pineapple, green onions, sour cream...etc.

1. Heat/cook beef. I added 1 can of beef broth as well. 

2. Add in half a package of Lipton's Onion soup mix. 

3. Once this is warm, take the beef out, temporarily. I learned that you don't want the beef to boil in the mixture because it'll make the beef tough.

4. Add some cornstarch to the mixture. Make sure to have already combined it with cold water to activate it. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. 

5. Add back in the meat and add in any veggies you'd like.

6. Top on rice with haystack toppings. We like pineapple, cheese, green onions and sour cream. Of course, I really love sour cream, it's weird - I know. 

This was really good. The beef flavor was amazing. Be sure to salt and pepper it to taste. So, yes, I do add sour cream to mine. I love the flavor and it makes it creamy. :) Anyway, this was another easy and cheap dinner for us.

- SamiMae

Zucchini Pizzas

I made this dinner a few weeks ago and just haven't been able to blog about it yet. I've seen a lot on Pinterest about doing meals with zucchini. I managed to find a small one at Smith's and decided to give it a try.

1. Cut the zucchini in nice thicker slices maybe  1/4th to 1/2 inch. Baste in olive oil and cook for about 3 minutes on each side. 

2. Put a little pizza sauce, or tomato sauce with seasonings (which is what I do), then top with a little cheese. 

3. Broil until cheese is melted or personal preference.

I didn't think these little guys would be filling, Trevor was super sceptical at first. But I think I cooked 2 zucchinis and they filled us both up! Quite tasty. They remind me of pizza pockets - but much healthier! 

- SamiMae

Pita Pizzas

I got this great idea off of pinterest to make pizzas on pitas. So, at Costco a few days ago, I got some yummy pita bread. This little pizza, which was quite tasty and filling had:

Ingredients:

• Chicken
• Cheese
• Green Onion 
• BBQ sauce

This would have been great with veggies too! Just pop it in the oven until the cheese is melted. It's great for a night when I really don't want to cook!

- SamiMae

Egg in the Hole

A few days ago we had egg in the hole. I haven't had this breakfast in a long time. It's nice to break away from the cereal. I got some apples from Costco last week and we've been enjoying them. :)

-SamiMae