Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! This has become my favorite post of the week to write.  I love picking out new things at the grocery store and then sharing what I find with you all. This week was no exception:

Beanfields Nacho Flavored Chips

This company contacted me a few weeks ago and asked me to try these and write a review for the blog. I will be sharing that  review  in another post, but for now I will say that they are my new favorite chips to snack on. As you can see they are allergen free- made from beans and rice.  And they taste amazing! Visit their website http://www.beanfieldssnacks.com/ for more information on where to buy them.

 Gardenburger Veggie Burger

I am not usually a fan of veggie burgers- I have tried several and I am usually disappointed.  But I decided to  give these black bean chipotle ones a try this week and I was very pleasantly surprised!  They make a great lunch for me or my toddler, or dinner when my husband has a meeting.  Just be cautioned- not all veggie burgers are vegan or dairy free.  You really have to read the ingredients!

GoodBelly

This is my new favorite dairy free item!  This container is actually my daughter's, I drink the little shots.  I start everyday with a serving of Goodbelly now. This company has also contacted me and there is a review and a GIVEAWAY coming soon!!

So Delicious Coconut Milk

We have switched from soy milk to coconut milk and my 2 year old LOVES it!  My two oldest ones do too- this is our second carton this week.  We use it in our overnight oats, and the little one drinks it straight.  We are now officially converts to coconut milk.  

Edamame

This little bag actually came out of a much larger bag that had 8 of these.  It's perfect as a side dish with dinner, or as a movie night snack.  

So  there you have it, this week's Friday Favorites.  And a mention of an upcoming giveaway!  

What kind of non-dairy milk do you prefer?

Homemade Pico de Gallo

Whenever we have a gathering my husband always asks me to make my homemade Pico de Gallo.  Even the kids love it. 
I am well aware that there are several recipes like this out there on the web. I promise this recipe is my very own- I made it up one summer afternoon years ago in my kitchen with absolutely no help from any cookbooks or Internet sites. So if it is similar to another, that is pure coincidence. My mother also makes a similar recipe, but she adds a small amount of garlic to hers.

I do not measure anything with this recipe- it is all according to personal taste.

Serves: 4-6 as an appetizer

Ingredients:
3-4 large fresh tomatoes
1 medium purple onion
1 jalapeno
juice from 1 lime
large bunch fresh cilantro
Kosher Salt


Directions:
Cut or dice each veggie the size you want it. I chop them as small as I can stand to, with the onion being the smallest. I also sometimes only add in half the onion depending on how much tomato I use. It really is all according to taste. We like it pretty spicy so we use a whole jalapeno with the seeds. If I know the kids are going to be eating a lot I will cut back on the heat for them. Once all the veggies are added, squeeze the fresh lime juice over top.

As for the salt- I add about a teaspoon to start with and adjust that if needed. Remember- you can always add more salt but you can't take it away once you have too much. Mix well.


To pack it up and take it over to our friends' I used a Ball jar. It looks so pretty in a jar, and if you are going to a party you could even dress up the jar with ribbon or some sort of decoration for the occasion.


The trick with this recipe to make sure you have the freshest ingredients you can find. The fresher, the better.

Enjoy!

An Old Family Recipe~Party Mix

For as long as I can remember my Mom has been making this party mix around the Christmas Holiday. This year I convinced her to share the recipe with me (probably because every time I was over there I ate quite a bit of hers!) I actually made this on Dec. 23rd, but with all chaos surrounding Christmas and New Years I am just now getting around to posting it. It's not that I haven't sat down to write this post, I just keep getting sidetracked (that tends to happen a lot with 3 kids!)

Although this is generally a Christmas treat for us, it is good all year long. And the best part- you can make a couple batches and freeze it! I still have a bag in my freezer and I plan to make another batch to get us through the winter months.

The original recipe is called Scramble and comes from the New Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook which was in it's 4th printing in 1971.

Party Mix~ AKA Scramble:

2lbs mixed salted nuts
11ounces spoon size shredded wheat
10 & 1/2 ounces Cheerios
6 ounces crispex or crisp rice squares
7 ounces small pretzel twists
5 & 3/4 ounces slim pretzel sticks



2 cups Canola oil
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon Garlic Salt
1 Tablespoon Seasoned Salt


These are the original measurements from the recipe. I basically eyeballed it. For example: I believe the shredded wheat comes in a 16 oz package, so use about 3/4 of the bag and so on with the rest of the ingredients.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250F.

Evenly distribute the cereal and nut mixture between two large baking pans. If you try to do it all in one pan it will not cook evenly.





Mix up your oil mixture. I do mine in a shaker to ensure it all gets mixed very well. Pour the mixture evenly over the cereal and nut mixture.

Bake at 250F for 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool completely before putting into either storage bags or containers. It will fill roughly 3 gallon storage bags. You can freeze the bags you are not going to eat right away.


This is such a good snack mix, especially if you find the premade kind too salty, or do not like sweet snack mixes, like me.

*This recipe is from my Mom and adapted from the New Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, c1971.

Enjoy!