Home Maid Simple

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  • Foodie Friday – Pineapple Jerk Chicken Satay

    Foodie Friday – Pineapple Jerk Chicken Satay

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    and
    Awhile ago I went to my friends Wildtree Tasting Party. It was a lot of fun with some good food. We got to try a myriad of different dipping oils, with grape seed oil as the base. There is everything from natural Grapeseed oil to Hickory Smoked Grapeseed Oil.
    What I truly love about Wildtree is their commitment to healthy products.
    “Every Wildtree product is natural: containing no additives, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, or food dyes.”
    Wildtree specializes in Grapeseed oil, but they also have many other products. My favorite is their ranch dip mix. Put that aside though, because today I’m bringing you a recent recipe we tried and loved from Wildtree.

    Pineapple Jerk Chicken Satay 
    (I played around with Wildtree’s recipe, and these are the amounts I used)
    INGREDIENTS
    Wooden Skewers
    2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    1/2 cup Wildtree Natural Grapeseed Oil
    2 TBS Jamaican Jerk Seasoning (Wildtree makes some, but I used Pampered Chefs blend)
    1 Bottle Wildtree Sweet and Savory Pineapple sauce, for dipping
    DIRECTIONS
    Soak the skewers in water.  Preheat the oven to 375 F, or you could grill them up on the bbq! In a large bowl mix together the grapeseed oil and jerk seasoning. Cut the Chicken into 1/2 inch strips and toss into the oil mixture. Stir around until the chicken is completely coated in the oil. Thread chicken onto skewers. I fit 3-4 pieces on per skewer, it just depends on how you thread them.  Line up on a greased cookie sheet, and bake for about 30 minutes. 
    Pour Pineapple sauce into single serve bowls for dipping.
    Serves 5 main dishes
    Here are the features from last weeks link up:

    From Potholes and Pantyhose Skinny Orange Julius. Or freeze it and have some sherbet
    From Michelle’s Tasty Creations and Crafty Ideas, Old Fashioned Potato Salad

    And from Becoming a Proverbs 31 Woman a refreshing 4th of July Dessert

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  • 2 HUGE Flirty Apron Sales

    2 HUGE Flirty Apron Sales

    You have heard me talk about Flirty Aprons before right?  I think they are so cute and stylish, but a bit pricey. Well, right now they have 2 HUGE Sales going on. In fact they are so good, I think I’m going to buy the girls matching aprons and put them away for Christmas.

    Irregular Apron Sale – These aprons have minor thins wrong with them, but are still high quality aprons. These are on sale WHILE SUPPLIES LAST, so don’t miss out!  Some of the aprons are up to 81% Off.  You can reach the Irregular Sale Page HERE

    Fathers Day Sale – 30% Off sitewide good until June 30th.  Use code Father30.

    www.FlirtyAprons.com
    *This post does contain Affiliate links.
  • Foodie Friday – Maple Syrup

    Foodie Friday – Maple Syrup

     
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    I love maple syrup!  One of the biggest things I miss from living in New England is the abundance of fresh maple syrup.  Sure recently I’ve seen pure maple syrup sold in stores, but it’s still not the same to me. 
    Even though growing up in near so many maple syrup farms, my mom frequently made her own “imitation” maple syrup.  To me her recipe is the next best thing to the real stuff.  I don’t ever buy syrup from the store because this recipe is so simple and satisfying.
     
    Ingredients
    1 cup granulated sugar
    1/2 cup water
    1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    1/2 tsp maple flavoring (or pure maple extract)
     
    Directions
    Add the sugar and water to a saucepan. Over medium heat, dissolve the sugar.  Bring to a slow boil and add the vanilla and maple extracts.  Simmer until it’s all mixed in.  Serve over your favorite breakfast.
     
    Now I recently heard that if you let the syrup cool with a lid on the pan, it will keep the leftovers from crystallizing. I have yet to try this, so I can’t say if it works or not.  When reheating I just place the syrup in the microwave for about 30 seconds at a time until it’s redissolved.
     I’ve also seen many recipes that use brown sugar. Again I’ve never tried that, but I’m sure it would give it more of a rich flavoring. I’ll let you know when  I try it.
     
     Featuring from last weeks linky –
     
    Black Bean Vegetable Soup from The Souliscious Life.   I’m always looking for new ways to use beans, and this looks just like something my family would eat.
     
    Strawberry Chicken Salad and Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing from The Kitchen is my Playground.  Oh my, is that heaven on a plate? I love strawberries, always have. I’m finding I like them even better mixed in something.  Plus that dressing just looks yummy!
     
    Soft Bubble Cheesy Garlic Muffins from I Thee Cook.  Really? Does it need saying? Bread, cheese and garlic together. I’m not sure bread could get any better. It was on my menu this week but I’ve yet to make it. It will be had with tonight’s dinner though!
     
    Edible Books from Hungry Happenings.  My book loving self could not pass up featuring these beauties.  I may make them for Princess V’s teachers with a fun little note. I wish I was going to my sisters birthday  this Saturday though, because these would fit right in! She’s hosting an all day Read-A-Thon!  I just had to pass on the recipe to her.
     
    If you’ve been featured go ahead and grab the button!
    Photobucket
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  • Menu Plan Monday – 5/14

    Menu Plan Monday – 5/14

    With summer approaching, many of my friends have been talking about their kids summer schedules.  They’ve planned something for each day, like “Masterpiece Monday” where they do art work with their kids. 
    I started thinking about it, and decided I wanted to do something similar. My problem is I’m a very go with the flow kind of person. If I do schedule something, and then plans change I have a hard time ever scheduling anything again, because I don’t want to dissappoint. 
    So we’re going to start off simple, and I’m only going to schedule one day – Mondays.  We’re  calling it “Mondays in the Kitchen”.  Since I don’t plan on going anywhere on Mondays while we do laundry, I decided it will be perfect to spend in the kitchen with the kids. We’ll do any prep work for our meals throughout the week, and bake goodies for the weeks snacks.  I ran the idea by Princess V last night and she was pretty excited for it.
    Of course this means I’ll have to change my grocery shopping day to Saturdays instead of Tuesdays, but that’s ok, since Mark can either come with or keep half the kids at home with him.
    This week we’re preparing
    Tuesday – Family dinner at my aunts
    Thursday – Slow Cooker Italian Chicken with Noodles (repeat from last week)
    Saturday – Leftovers
    Sunday – Hamburger Helper
    Desserts/Snacks
  • Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate Recipe

    Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate Recipe

    Summer is here and with it, my desire for a cool drink of Lemonade. I could almost live off the refreshing lemony taste. It gets even better when you add berries. Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate allows you to have a cool drink all summer long with half the work of making it. This post contains affiliate links and I will receive compensation when you click on and purchase through them.  
     
    Enjoy a refreshing glass of lemonade all year long with this Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate. I made it to the store earlier this week. It really has become a feat with 4 kids, all vying for a seat in the cart. I personally can’t stand the huge car like carts that are supposed to make it easier for the mom with lots of little ones, because they don’t make it easier. I find with those carts my kids are fighting more, hanging heads out the little windows, can hide stuff in the cart without me seeing easier, not to mention they’re harder to turn and feel like you’re driving a semi down a dirt road.
     
    Sorry I completely lost track here. Where was I? Oh yes, I ventured to the grocery store, with 3 of the 4 kids in tow. Upon entering the store, an amazing deal screamed at me.
     
    Strawberries – $1.50 for a 2lb case. We love the berries in our house, so I was not going to pass up this deal. The first couple of days we were eating them in our yogurt, but I soon realized we were not eating them fast enough that way, so off to my Pinterest Food Board I went.  I knew I had pinned a freezer strawberry jam and was hoping to find it again.  In my search for that recipe, however, I came across one I wanted to try even more – Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate.
    Homemade Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate.
    One afternoon of squeezing lemons and hulling strawberries meant I could then enjoy a strawberry lemonade all year long with half as much work each time! Mix with water or club soda to reconstitute, then sit back and enjoy!
    Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate
    Share homemade Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate with friends and family all year long.
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    Ingredients
    1. 6 cups strawberries, washed and hulled
    2. 4 cups lemon juice
    3. 6 cups sugar
    Instructions
    1. Puree the strawberries in a blender.
    2. Pour strawberry puree into a large saucepan, and add lemon juice and sugar.
    3. Heat over medium high heat until it reached 190 degrees F°
    4. Remove from heat.
    5. Ladle juice into canning jars.
    6. Wipe the rims with a wet cloth.
    7. Place sterile lids and rings on jar.
    8. Process for 15 minutes in a water bath.
    9. To reconstitute mix 1 part concentrate with 1 part water.
    Adapted from SB Canning
    Adapted from SB Canning
    Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/


    While we’re talking about canning, I was pretty excited for this list of dishes to make with Home Canned Tomato Sauce from God’s Growing Garden
    And I’m pretty sure I’ll be trying this BLT Bruschetta soon too from Joyful Homemaking

    If you were featured this week, go ahead and grab this button!

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  • Over the Sink Light

    Over the Sink Light

    As part of our Kitchen Remodel, we decided to put a light over the sink.
    When we moved in there was a small cupboard over the sink. One day as I went to put some items in the cupboard, I noticed there were wires sticking through the back of it. Not just any wires though, really large ancient wires. Obvoiusly before the cupboard was there, a light fixture had been hanging above the sink. Perhaps at one point, that was the only light in the room. Who knows, but those fat wires kind of scared me just hanging out like they were.
    The kitchen ceiling is quite tall, and the center light really wasn’t all that effective, even though it’s a fairly small room to begin with.
    I browsed online for awhile and decided I really liked this hanging light. I thought it would match the style we were going for.

    Don’t you think that would have looked nice in there?  So did I. Until we ordered it, it arrived and we found out it is for track lighting. Not something we wanted to play around with and add above the sink. 
    Well Mark has made many trips to Home Depot and Lowes lately, and on his latest trip he came home with a new light. I have to admit, he did a pretty good job. I’m pretty in love with the new light, and it makes night time dish washing a whole lot easier!
    What do you think?

  • Foodie Friday – Chicken and Pasta

    Foodie Friday – Chicken and Pasta

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    Earlier this week Diane posted about the Mediterranean Diet. I got curious and checked out the link she had posted. I am trying to eat healthier, and introduce a better variety of food to my kids, so I decided to add a recipe from the Mediterranean Diet to my menu each week.
    I wanted to start with something similar to foods we already eat, you know, to not go completely foreign on my poor husband and kids.  I wanted to try the Penne with Arugula Pesto, Peas and Grilled Chicken.
    Let me tell you something, before you decide to start making a dish, double check you have all the ingredients. Assumption means some last minute and strange substitutions.  Using the original recipe as a base, I created for dinner
    Rotini with Spinach Pesto, Tomatoes and Chicken

    Ingredients
    12 oz Tri Color Rotini Pasta
    A bunch of Spinach (eyeball it)
    1/2 cup sliced Almonds
    1 tsp minced garlic
    3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/2 tsp pepper
    1 large Tomato, cut into chunks
    2 lbs cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
    4oz Asiago cheese grated

    Directions
    In a food processor, process Spinach, Almonds, garlic, salt and pepper. If you don’t have a food processor a blender works, but you have to push the spinach down between pulses.  Slowly pour in olive oil while processing. Pour the Pesto into a large serving bowl.
    Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and pour on top of pesto. Toss the pasta to cover with pesto.
    Toss in the tomato, chicken and cheese. Serve.
    Yields about 8 servings

    I am so excited to see what you all have to link up this week!  Here are a few of my favorites from the last weeks linky (there were so many yummy ones!)
    For a yummy and unique breakfast check out Tessa the Domestic Diva’s Mexican Eggs!
    For a Meatless Dinner, head over to Meatless Mediterranean and try out this White Bean, Tomato and Vegetable Stew

    Finally, please enjoy this yummy yummy looking dessert (my mouth has been watering all week with this one!)
    Italian Tartufo from Life is Sweets

    If you’ve been featured please grab this button to display on your blog!

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  • Foodie Friday – Chocolate Syrup

    Foodie Friday – Chocolate Syrup

    <a <span style=”background: yellow;” class=”goog-spellcheck-word”>href</span>=”http://<span style=”background: yellow;” class=”goog-spellcheck-word”>homemaidsimple</span>.<span style=”background: yellow;” class=”goog-spellcheck-word”>blogspot</span>.com”><<span style=”background: yellow;” class=”goog-spellcheck-word”>img</span> <span style=”background: yellow;” class=”goog-spellcheck-word”>src</span>=”http://i1192.<span style=”background: yellow;” class=”goog-spellcheck-word”>photobucket</span>.com/albums/aa339/<span style=”background: yellow;” class=”goog-spellcheck-word”>HomeMaidSimple</span>/<span style=”background: yellow;” class=”goog-spellcheck-word”>Foodiefridaymark</span>-1.<span style=”background: yellow;” class=”goog-spellcheck-word”>jpg</span>” alt=”<span style=”background: yellow;” class=”goog-spellcheck-word”>BWS</span> tips button” width=”125″ height=”150″ /></a>
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    We still have not completed our kitchen remodel.  Although we have a working sink and dishwasher, we are in the process of finishing the butcher block countertop.  That means, I can’t use the countertops. Once again, cooking has become a tad difficult.  So this week I headed to pinterest for some fun treats to make with the girls.
    Awhile ago I came across a pin for home made Chocolate Syrup. It claimed to be more chocolatey then Hershey’s Syrup, plus you get the added benefit of knowing exactly what was put in it.
    Home Made Chocolate Syrup
    (recipe originally from Annie’s Eats)

    Igredients
    1 1/4 cups sugar
    1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Rodelle Gourmet Baking Cocoa)
    1 cup water
    1/4 tsp salt
    2 tsp Vanilla extract (I used Rodelle Organic Vanilla Extract)

    Combine sugar and cocoa in a medium saucepan.  Whisk together to break up any clumps.  Stir in the water and salt and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once it boils reduce heat to low, and simmer until thickened.  Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.  Mix in the vanilla.  Store in the fridge.

    Voila! Home made chocolate syrup! These are all ingredients I always have on hand, so it is definitely cheaper for us to make our own, then to buy it.  I do think it is more chocolater than Hersheys as well. 

    I am so excited to try out all the recipes you linkd up last week!!  Check out these three delicious looking treats, and then link up your recipes below!
    Mixed Berry Muffins from Sugarbeams
    Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Soup from Being MVP
    and don’t forget dessert with Simple Nests Rice (Krispy) and (Swedish) Fish Sushi

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  • Tuesday Tips – Plumbing

    Tuesday Tips – Plumbing

    Tuesday Tips

    Have you ever worked with plumbing? Has your spouse?
    When it comes down to electricity and plumbing, I get very nervous doing our own remodeling. To me those should be left to a trained professional. Sadly, they also cost a lot of money to update as well.
    We’ve come down to the last few steps of our kitchen remodel. We could’ve been done last week actually, except that the plumbing to the kitchen sink was giving us a pretty hard time. I wish I’d taken a before picture, but I of course didn’t think we’d hit that many problems.
    Every time we turned the water back on, the tubes would pop out and spray water everywhere.  It was quite the mess really. Finally, after 3 days and a lot of white tape, we had it! We had one small leak, but it was just a drip.
    Or so we thought. Sunday night, I found the Princesses dresses pretty wet. I thought as my mom had done laundry that maybe she just hung them up to dry, so I just moved them from the closet to my line dryer.
    I should’ve used my brain a little better.  Monday morning when I went to get clothes for Princess R, I found a sopping wet carpet, and ALL the girls dresses soaked. Plus, Scattergories and Trivial Pursuit (my two favorite games) completely ruined.  Of course at this point Mark was gone to work and couldn’t come home. I found every dry towel we had, and made a facebook plea for fans. I hauled our massive shop vac down the stairs and started sucking the water up the best I could as well.
    Thankfully, a neighbor came over and was kind enough to spend 5hours working on our plumbing.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to stop all the leaks either.
    Finally, a certified, licensed plumber was called in. After another 1-2 hours the plumbing under our sink was completely replaced and brought up to code.
    Now our problem is fixing the carpet in the basement….again….I feel like we’re back to last year and the flood we had from a frozen pipe.
    So my dear readers, all this to bring you today’s Tuesday Tip.
    If you’ve never worked with plumbing, or your plumbing is many years old, don’t touch it. If you think you can figure it out, give it a try, but after 24 hours, I suggest you stop and bring in the professionals. Most importantly though, if you think it’s just a drip, think again. Turn off the water, and get it taken care of before you find a flood elsewhere in your house.
  • April Before – Kitchen and a Baby

    April Before – Kitchen and a Baby

    I love this monthly link up at Shine Your Light. I’ve really been able to push some projects through this year!
    This month we’ve got two major projects going on. Some people would probably call us crazy (I think we’re crazy!). The thing is, when your husband is a teacher, and they’ve got a week of Spring Break, it’s the perfect time to get some major things done!
    Our first project this month, is having a baby. Baby Prince was due last Wednesday, but he’s still hanging out in my massively huge tummy (seriously, where’d my belly button go?!).  If he doesn’t decide to make an appearance on his own, I’ve got another appointment on Monday (what do you know, Spring Break means my ob took off as well.)  As long as there’s room at the hospital, we’ll be coaxing Baby Prince out into the real world!
    There will be some much cuter photos at the After Party!
    Our second HUGE project this month is our Kitchen Remodel. After our basement remodel last year, the kitchen was the next room we wanted completely made over. The cupboards were old, and had nails poking out of them that caught a finger on more than one occasion. There weren’t enough outlets for me to really enjoy my cooking escapades with the kids, and counter space was limited. So we sat, planned, and planned some more. With the arrival of Spring Break, we had finally created an outline of our kitchen, and purchased everything from IKEA.

    It really wasn’t a bad looking kitchen, but it wasn’t very functional, or all that pretty.  We’ve been working on it for a week now. The counters are out, the flooring is gone, and the electricity is all wired! Mark is in there right now mudding the walls to prep it for paint, and we should start seeing cabinets next week.

     
    oh yeah, we also scraped off the popcorn ceiling, and will be needing to fix that as well. 
    What are you working on this month?  You can link up your Before and Afters over at Shine Your Light!