Pancakes

Cooking from scratch is not as hard as some make it seem.  If I can do it, anybody can do it.  I don't really like to cook but I love to eat.  However, when you make your food from scratch you know what is in it.  And you don't have to worry about the high sodium intake (you control how much salt goes in) or all the other crap you can not pronounce.

Anyway, I have been making these pancakes for a couple of years now and they never fail me.  Unless, I use old baking soda :)  They are super easy to prepare, you can mix up the ingredients the night before and are ready to go in the morning.  These pancakes are way better than the box stuff and a little better for you too.


Disclaimer: I did not take the picture below.  We ate the pancakes before I thought about making this post, so I had to grab a picture from Google images.

Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
3 tbsps of sugar
2 tsps of baking powder
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
2 eggs
4 tsps of unsalted butter or vegetable oil
1/2 tsps of vanilla (optional)
1 1/2 - 2 cups of buttermilk

Directions:

Melt butter and sit aside.  Combine all the dry ingredients (it is not a requirement for you to sift them).  In another bowl slightly beat the eggs with the vanilla.  Add to dry ingredients, then add the buttermilk and melted butter.  Stir to combine but do not over mix.  The batter should have small lumps.

I usually pour the batter into a measurement cup to make it easier to pour onto the griddle.  You can also use a ladler or ice cream scoop.

Don't forget to oil your pan.

For blueberry pancakes: Fold in fresh or frozen blueberries right after you have combined all the ingredients.
  
 

Sunkissed VoxBox

It's been a few months since I've last received a VoxBox from Influenster. So I was extremely excited when I was selected to receive the Sunkissed VoxBox.

This VoxBox contained:
Dr. Scholl's For Her - $10.99
Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream - $12.99
SinfulShine with Gel Tech - $2.99
Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics - $3.99 - $4.99

This wasn't one of my favorite boxes but hey I'm receiving free products, so I won't complain.  The Dr. Scholl's for Her High Heel Insoles are really comfortable.  They pair well with my heels that are not platform pumps.  I was able to stay in my shoes all evening without my ball of my feet hurting.  I will most likely purchase this product.

I was not able to use the Olay Fresh Effects {BB Cream!}Skin Perfecting Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15 because the shade was way too light for my complexion.  At this time it is only available in fair/light and light/medium.  I've heard great reviews about this product.  If they make Olay Fresh in a darker shade, I will purchase it. 

The SinfulShine with Gel Tech is available in 32 shades.  I received the white shade, which I was excited about.  I have been wanting to get my toes painted white for some time now.  As soon as I opened the box, the polish was the first thing I tried.  The application was smooth but I didn't like the way it looked on my toes, reminded me of whiteout.  I did like the way it looked on my nails.  I do plan on going to Walgreens soon to try out other colors. 

I thought the Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics were wider than they were.  They came in 4 colors; black, grey, purple and pink. The ribbons are really cute!  I used the black ribbon to hold my daughter's ponytail together.  She didn't have any problems with it.  I would probably purchase this product in the future for my daughter.


Thanks again to Influester for sending me these products to test for free!

Sloppy Joe recipe

In my house we try to make our meals from scratch as much as possible.  One day I had a taste for sloppy joes and knew that the can mess would be too high in sodium and calories.  So I went on a search for a sloppy joe recipe.  I found Spencer's Sloppy Joes on the Food Networks website.  I've made a Gina and Pat Neely recipe before, so I decide to give it a try.  This has now my go to recipe for when we want sloppy joe's for dinner.


(Please excuse the picture quality.  I don't have a professional camera, these pictures were taken with my iPhone.)

I pretty much stuck to their recipe with a few tweaks here and there.  I have highlighted the changes I made in red.  If you would like the original recipe click on the link above.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped (I love garlic, you can use the recommended 2 cloves or less depending on your preference)

1 family pack lean ground turkey

Seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion powder and ground black pepper
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste (you can omit if you don't have it)
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 

 

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet with straight sides. Add the bell peppers and garlic. Saute until tender, about 3 minutes. 

 

Season ground turkey with seasoning all, garlic powder, onion powder and ground pepper.  Add the ground turkey to the vegetables. Stir and cook about 8 minutes, until the meat is no longer pink and fully cooked.

Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire, into the skillet. Stir. Simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Serve on hamburger bun with extra sauce.

Making time for friends

I'm guilty of not making time to hang out with my friends.  Life changed, I had kids and became a wife, in that order (some of us are backwards).  What was once an active social life became sitting in the house or running the kids around or trying to date my husband. Being laid off of work also paid a huge part in not hanging out. 

Now I look on IG, Facebook, Twitter, etc and see my friends going out to dinner, lounges, and/or on vacation.  I sit back looking at their pictures thinking 1) why wasn't I invited and 2) I'm so hating right now.  I randomly had a convo with one of my girlfriends and she told me "you're never able to make any events so we stopped inviting you." That stung but it also made me think.   Why should they make an effort to keep inviting me out if I never make an effort to attend?  Why can't I go out with my friends at least once a month?

It doesn't have to always be going out to a restaurant or club.  We can meet up at someone's house and have a potluck style dinner.  There is nothing like having a group of girlfriends you can slip wine with, share your accomplishments with, who are your support system and who you could just generally have a good time with.  I miss that.

It's summer and it's a lot easier for me to get out without having to worry about my kids schedules.  So I vow to make a better effort to hang out with my friends.  Winter may be hard but I plan to at least meet up with them at least once a month.

How do you manage a busy schedule and still make time for your girlfriends? 

Get it together girl!

On Saturday I attended the Jump into Summer with the DC Lady Bloggers event at Puro Cafe in Georgetown. The premise of the event was to bring together bloggers in the DMV area and have them network and get more exposure for their blogs. The atmosphere and vibes were great!   Everyone there was really nice and the food and drinks were awesome.

Attending the event made me realize I need to put more time and afford into my own blog.  When I was asked if I blogged, my response was somewhat.  It shouldn't have been somewhat considering I usually have a lot to say so I should be using this blog as my outlet.  The reason for starting this blog was to share my opinion on all things beauty related.  Those who know me, know I am generally all over the place and if you follow this blog you will see what I mean.  However, I think a lot of people will be able to relate to my posts. So from now on I will make sure I give this blog (my 4th baby) the time that she needs to flourish.  

Shoutout to Franky J and friends for putting together the Jump Into Summer event.  I can't wait to attend more of your functions.

Thank you all for reading!

A New 30 Day Challenge

On Wednesday, May 1st I will start a new 30 day challenge.  This one is a cardio workout challenge sponsored by Rahman Grayson aka Mr. Shut Up and Train.  I'm not sure what it will all consist of but I am ready.  I read that you will need to have dumbbells and a medicine ball, which I already have.

If you are interested in signing up for the cardio challenge or to get more information check out his site  http://www.mrshutupandtrain.com/30daycc/

You can also follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @mrshutupandtrain

I am still drinking my smoothies!  Simple Green Smoothies did another 30 day challenge which is coming to an end tomorrow.  They will have another one on July 1st. www.simplegreensmoothies.com for more info.

Conditioner

If you are looking for a good conditioner that does not break the bank, try Aussie Moist. I use it and let it's my hair soft and well hydrated. You can get the 13.5fl oz bottle at Walmart for a little over $2