Just in the Nick of time Cabbage Salsa; Guest Blogger: Laurie Neal

Guest Blogger for Today; Wednesday, May 29th:

Laurie Neal (Mi mama!) and her "Just in the Nick of time cabbage salsa!"

Enjoy!

"This is a truly personal taste cabbage salsa using relatively quick ingredients. Remember when you add an acid (like lime juice or vinegar) and/or salt, it causes the cabbage to lose liquid, wilting it. So you want to be cautious about adding too much of either.
This past weekend, for the family South of the Border Eat- A -Thon, I made:

Just in the nick of time cabbage salsa

2 bags angel hair cabbage shreds
chopped red onion (about a 1/4 cup, more if you wish)
pickled jalapeno from can or jar (we are wimps so I chopped up 3 slices)
1 bunch cilantro (take off the stems and wash REALLY well, cilantro always seems to have a lot of dirt in it)
small tomato chunks (optional, however many you want, nice color)
lime juice
kosher flake salt

Now, throw everything into a bowl except the lime juice and the salt. Then I squeezed 6 small limes, added a little of the jalapeno juice from the jar and put in, oh, maybe 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt in on top of the other ingredients and tossed. If you want to use it fairly quick, leave it at room temp for a short period of time, say 15 minutes, then taste. If you have time, put it in the fridge for a longer time. Taste and adjust to personal preference. You are always better off to start light with peppers, salt & lime and adding more or you end up throwing it out and starting over because it is too strong.

Oh and maybe when you do it, you want to write down your ingredients so you can do it again. This is great for tacos (particularly fish) or with chips or nachos."


<3 The Happy Insomniac

Peanut Butter Cravings

I love peanut butter.  On the tasty rating scale from 1-10...peanut butter is probably a 9, topped only by chocolate AND peanut butter mixed.  Which were covered in one of my previous blogs: Peanut Butter Cups (vegan).

In a everlasting pursuit to find things both healthy and easy, I stumbled across Foodie Fiasco & her recipe for World's Healthiest Peanut Butter Cookies.  I made them this afternoon, and they turned out pretty good considering I didn't have Coconut flour on hand.  I can see where they would be better with it.

Another one I am dying to try is Modern Mom's vegan Peanut Butter Cookies.  Flax seed meal and a host of other delicious sounding ingredients.

Peanut Butter Granola is also on my list of recipes to try from Alicia Silverstone's vegan site: The Kind Life, based of her cookbook.  One of my FAVORITE cookbooks, and a very motivational girl.

What's your favorite peanut butter recipes?

Happy Tuesday!!!


With Love,
<3thehappyinsomniac

The Thing about 25... (craft)

The Thing about 25
(Beginner Level&CUTE!)

The thing about 25 is that something happened I didn't expect.

Everyone started having kids!  And not just 1...but 2...and 3!  

Whenever someone else makes another announcement, for some reason I get crafty.  There's something about babies, you just want to make something cute.  

I made one of these flag banners for my bestie Kelsey's, maternity photo shoot we did for fun with little Liam's name on it.  Now, I have a couple other friends with babies on the way, so I have began again!  

And the best part, they are so easy you can make them too :)  Not just for babies, but birthdays, kid's rooms, parties, etc.  Just pick your colors and go! :)

Supply List:

• Similar design/shade Scrap booking paper
• Hot glue gun/ replacement glue sticks
• Crafting ribbon
• Crafting scissors
• Tape measure
• Flag Stencil-or make your own out of a piece of cardboard

1. Go prepared.  What colors do you need?  What shade?  Patterns?  I am notorious for finding the colors I want, going to Home Depot or Walmart and picking out the paint chip and carrying it around with me every time I go shopping for remodel supplies.  I've also had a few friends do this while planning their weddings.  It helps so I don't get home with the wrong color and have to make multiple trips.  Also, make sure you measure wherever you plan on putting your flags.  Factor in about 5-6 inches for tying room so you don't cut yourself short.  
2. Pick your paper.  *Helpful Hint: Michael's Craft Store often runs sales on scrap booking paper 5 for $1.  It definitely will help your budget, and their variety is quite extensive.    
3. Pick out your ribbon.  I usually pick a color that matches my color scheme and is a little subtle so it doesn't try to steal the show.  Any thickness will do, though anything less than 1/2" thick is a little more time consuming to glue.   
4. Stencil.  I always make my own stencils.  Triangles are most popular, but others I've seen: half circles, squares, rectangles, etc.  Cut it out of a piece of cardboard and trace it onto the back of your scrap booking paper.  Cut them each out.  Keep the patterns of paper separated.  
5. Put it together.  Glue a thin bead of hot glue at the top of your flag and press the ribbon into it.  Space them out however far apart you like.  Make sure the ribbon doesn't get twisted.  I usually alternate a solid color with a patterned flag.  

Good Luck&Happy Crafting!

With Love,

<3thehappyinsomniac

Tofu Scramblicious

Easy Tofu Scramble

(Yummy&Easy)

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 10 Minutes

Cooking Stuffs:
1 package extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed
2 stalks celery, rinsed&chopped
1 carrot, rinsed&shredded
1/2 cup Cashews, chopped
1/2 cup chickpeas, rinsed
2 cups of green Kale, rinsed&chopped
Drizzle of Grapeseed oil
1 Tablespoon Soy sauce
Chili powder for seasoning
Fine sea salt for seasoning

Throw everything in a well heated pan and saute until tofu is browned and veggies are thoroughly cooked.

Rule of Thumb: Veggies, drizzle, season.  (Great Cooking Mantra!)

Use your creative genius with the spices, I rarely use the same ones twice!

With Love,
<3thehappyinsomniac

Peanut Butter Cups (Vegan)

1 1/2 cups carob chips
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla
Mini cupcake paper cups

Make Time: 15-20 minutes

In a saucepan on the stove, use low heat to melt down the carob chips.

In a medium size bowl, mix the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla and blend well.

Lay out mini cupcake papers and layer a dollop of chocolate, a dollop of peanut filling, and then a drizzle of chocolate on top. Place in the freezer until cool. Enjoy!

With Love,
<3 The Happy Insomniac

The Great Dresser Project

It is my lot in life to be surrounded in pretty things, tidy, and organized in such a way it is seemingly effortless. Of course, I do live with boys and a very bouncy puppy. So, good luck.

I have however been remodeling our house over the course of a year, and it is amazing how far we've come.

My project over the weekend was converting a dresser we've housed in the basement since the 7-year old's wardrobe out grew its little drawers. Perhaps a nice office organizer in my future?








1 pint can of vintage teal paint from Home Depot, left over "Dakota Ranchwood" from our living room remodel, 2 knobs from World Market, and a piece of sandpaper for that "weathered" look, and you've got yourself a whole new dresser! :D


With Love,
<3 The Happy Insomniac

"...On-the-Side is a very big thing for you"

Taco Night Success

(delish & vegan)

Something usual happened last weekend, my 2 siblings and I were all in same place at the same time.  Which on average happens...maybe Christmas & Memorial Day weekend.  Maybe Mother's Day too.  My brother lives near me, but is soon leaving for the "beef-jerky state" (Montana) to finish his degree and my sister is a RN, 5 hours away.  So it's a good time when we all end up together and can actually stand each other long enough to eat a few meals (lol).  

Tacos were on the menu, ('Tacos Evolved' Recipe). It's an item of popularity and they are easy to make vegan or non-vegan depending on the crowd.  Overall, a yummy meal, that was followed by German Chocolate Cake...in which only crumbs remained after my brother and Jake got to it.   

My favorites are always things "on-the-side".  The guacamole, salsa, toppings...yum yum.  

• Black Bean Avocado Dip
• Plain Jane Fruit Salad
• David's Cabbage Salsa Recipe 
• Blackened Tofu (Jake and I's taco topper)

Our Beer Pairing was: Alaskan Amber

With Love, 

<3thehappyinsomniac

Asian Kale Salad (vegan)

Asian Kale Salad

(vegan&easy!)

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Refrigerate Time: 1-2 Hours, Refrigerate while not in use

Cooking Stuffs:

8 cups fresh green kale

1 cup cashews, chopped

2 large carrots, rinsed&shredded

1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds

1 cup raisins

2 cups Orange-Ginger Teriyaki Sauce

In a sauce pan, follow the instructions for the Orange-Ginger Teriyaki Sauce. 

While the sauce is cooling (put it in the fridge to speed it up!), use a large bowl to toss the kale, cashews, shredded carrots, sunflower seeds & raisins. 

Pour the sauce over the salad 1/4 cup at a time, toss well between each scoop.  When the entire salad is covered in a light layer, cover with foil and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until chilled.

Serve!

If you have leftover sauce go here!

This is also similar to the Chilled Rice Salad...but more tasty and more of a side dish or a late afternoon snacky! :)

With Love,

<3thehappyinsomniac