If I Dream It...

The holidays are nearing and I don't know about you - but with all the gift giving, I like to be able to  give and still make at least a little difference in the world. There are a ton of charities out there and a lot of neat sites that allow you to "donate a chicken" or "buy seeds" or something like that. But if you're feeling the need to buy something tangible for a person other than a donation in their name, there also are lots of sites that offer gifts that give back. This is what I chose to do for the daughter of a few friends of mine. You see, she's a very mature and thoughtful little girl - for her birthday this year, she asked everyone to make donations to a certain charity instead of getting her gifts. So what unique gift could I find for such a thoughtful little girl? Find something neat that also gives back :)   So I searched and searched and am happy to report I think I found a few things that she'll love. However, I figured it

What do I do when I want dessert but don't want to take a lot of time? I grab a box of cake mix and make cookies :) Simple and sweet... and usually prepped and baked in less than 30 minutes. Not to mention - the endless flavor possibilities... the flexibility allows me to take care of any craving I may have. I usually always have cake mix in the pantry - not usually for cakes (surprisingly I prefer those from scratch), but things like cookies and other yummy sweets. I buy random flavors when they're on sale for $1 a box and then when I've got a craving I pick a box and figure out what I want to do with it. Last time I talked about cake mix cookies , I shared a few different types of cake mix cookies... today, I'm sharing a few different flavor profiles. They're simple and quick cookie creations. And they all use the basic ingredients to make the cake mix into cookies, so there is a bit of repetition for each... White Chocolate Coconut Lemon Cookies 1

So for the longest time I've been admiring all the amazing jello shots online - they get so creative, so pretty, and look soooooo good!! And I finally broke and decided it was time to try making some of my own :) They're not gorgeous or amazing - simply my first attempt... some day I will try them again. See if I can make the fancy ones... but these were still good. A few surprisingly strong. However, I must admit I got a little over zealous this time around. Made way too many... But they were still pretty good :) So here were my fun jello shot creations... In the order I made them... Strawberry Pineapple Jello Shots 3          oz      Strawberry Jello 1 1/4    tsp     Unflavored Gelatine 1          Cup   Boiling Water 1 1/4    Cup   Chilled Coconut Rum (divided) 1 1/4    Cup   Pineapple Juice (divided) In medium bowl mix strawberry jello with boiling water until jello is completely dissolved. Mix in 1 cup chilled coconut rum and pour into your baking dish.

A stuffed pepper?  I've never eaten a stuffed pepper in my life... so why I had the urge to make them the other day, I honestly couldn't tell you. However, I couldn't be happier with the choice :) I started by making some brown rice. I didn't add as much water as I usually do (just a few tablespoons short) figuring it might be a little too mushy for a filling. I'm not sure if it really would've made a difference, but I was very happy with the way the rice came out. Then I prepped the peppers by making a slice down the side and removing the seeds. I popped them in the oven for about 20 minutes to soften and started on the filling while they cooked. For the filling I cooked the onions for almost 10 minutes so that they became soft. Added in the garlic and simmered for just about a minute more before adding the beans, water, and spices. Then I mixed in the rice and before stuffing I decided to add a little more than I had originally planned an

Well I promised more drinks and my experimentation is over... so here you go :) Sorry it took me so long to finally post this! However, I won't bore you with any stories of how these came or anything. Just know they're all super easy and all super yummy... could it be any better? Blueberry Coconut Lemonade 8                         Lemons 1          Pint         Blueberries 1          Liter        Coconut Water 1/3       Cup         Honey Juice lemons *I should've poured the blueberries over these huh?  Still learning the photo ideas... sadly thought of it after all my  lemons were juiced and all blueberries were already blended... oops!* Blend lemon juice with your blueberries and honey. Strain mixture and mix with coconut water. Kiwi Lime Fizz 1          Whole     Kiwi Fruit (peeled and diced, divided) 4                         Mint Leaves (divided) 1/2       Tbl          Sugar (divided) 1 1/2    Tbl          Lime

I must admit, ever since I did the Peach Tea post I've been thinking of other summer drinks. So over the  past week I've been having fun with some cool drinks. Tea came first to mind, understandably after the last one :) But I did take the time to get at least a little more creative with most of the drinks... the first one though was very similar to the  Peach Tea  - but it's not sun tea or peach so I did grow a little :) Generally I am all about water in all honesty. It's my go to drink of choice and I honestly do enjoy a good tall glass of water. I'll drink it hot - and I mean like hot tea water without the tea :) Or room temperature... sometimes iced, but in all honesty iced is usually my least favorite. I don't know what it is about it - but I like water. However, that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy other drinks to get my daily dose of liquids - sometimes a little flavor is pretty nice :) The tricky part is not getting too  much sugar - and yes,

I had a craving to make sun tea the other day. Why, honestly I couldn't tell you... it just sounded good. I remember making sun tea with my Mom and having it sitting out back on the cover to the hot tub. Watching it slowly get darker and darker as it sat out in the heat. However my Mom likes straight tea and I have always been a fan of the sweet tea... the taste for unsweet tea has just never worked for me. So I've never taken the time to make sun tea. And so when I got the craving to try to make some, I decided I would make sun sweet tea :) If you don't like sweet tea you can certainly decrease or completely omit the sugar... and if you like the true, syrupy type sweet tea you'll want to add more. This is certainly sweet, don't get me wrong, but I have certainly had sweeter :) The wonderful thing about this is that you can really infuse your tea with any fruit, just like you infuse your water. And honestly, I think the fresh fruit adds a much better flavor than