DIY Taco Seasoning Mix - Recipe

  Have you ever tried to make your own taco seasoning mix?  It is so easy!  We love soft tacos in our house and for a long time I would always buy Old el Paso's Taco Seasoning (as this is what I grew up with).  That was until I stumbled upon a DIY recipe (somewhere on Pinterest) for making my own!

  This recipe is quick and contains ingredients you probably already have in your pantry!  I use a mason jar to store the mix, just give it a shake before you use it.

DIY Taco Seasoning Mix Recipe by Love and Farkles

Taco Seasoning Mix

1 cup chili powder
1/2 cup onion powder
1/4 cup ground cumin
2 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. paprika
2 tbsp. sea salt

Using a funnel (so you don't spill any!) add all of the ingredients to a mason jar or container.  Shake well. 

I add about 2 tbsp. to my ground turkey taco dishes! But you can add as much or little as you like!  Enjoy!

Recipe - Oatmeal apple muffins

My kids (and my husband and I) love muffins!  Especially these oatmeal apple muffins!  They never last too long in our house.  They are a great for a quick after school snack, or an on-the-go breakfast.

Recipe - Oatmeal Apple Muffins

1 egg

3/4 cup almond milk

3 tbsp canola oil

1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup oats

1 tbsp baking powder

2 tbsp ground flax

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

Dash salt

1 med apple, peeled and finely chopped

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 450F

In a large bowl, blend together the egg, milk, oil, brown sugar and applesauce.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, flax, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.  Add this mixture half at a time into the wet ingredients.  Mix until just combined. 

Stir in the chopped apples, walnuts and cranberries.

Spray muffin tin (or use muffin liners).  Bake for 15-18 mintues in a preheated oven.  Remove from muffin tins and place on cooling rack.  Enjoy!

Makes 18 muffins

I enjoy my muffins with a cup of hot coffee! 

Recipe - Everything cookies

Who doesn't love fresh, warm, straight out-of-the-oven cookies??  I sure do, but I'm always looking for more healthy versions as then I feel ok sending them to school with my girls.  (Plus I feel less guilty if I eat half the batch myself if they aren't loaded with sugar and white flour!)

Here is one of our favorite recipes! It's loaded with goodness and safe to send to school (no peanuts).

Everything Cookies

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup ground flax

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup soft unsalted butter

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions: 

~Preheat oven to 350.

~Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda in large bowl.  Add oats, coconut, dried cranberries, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, ground flax and chocolate chips.  Stir to combine.

~In a separate bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together.  Add the eggs and vanilla, then beat until fluffy.  Add in the flour mixture, half at a time and stir until combined. 

~Spoon by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet and press down lightly with a fork.  (Or I've rolled them into balls and pushed down with a fork, just makes the cookies more round then haystack looking)  Either way works great!

~Bake for 10-12 mins or until edges brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.

I store these cookies in a Tupperware container in the fridge to keep them longer (I won't eat them as quick if they aren't on the counter!). Also can be frozen.  Makes 3-4 dozen (depending on the size of your cookie)

Perfect addition to your morning cup of coffee. Or afternoon coffee. Or late night snack!

Victoria Day Tea Party

  Since Canada is the only country to have a national holiday to celebrate the late Queen Victoria's birthday, it only seemed right to celebrate with a tea party with my 2 daughters. So that is what we decided to do! I had told them the night before that we were going to have a tea party luncheon for Victoria Day. Do you think my youngest daughter was just a little excited?!?! She woke up a few times in the night and would only say 'is it time for the tea party yet?' 

  So on the day of our tea party, we got up as usual, had our breakfast and then I answered the question 'is it lunch time yet?' many times throughout the morning! They were just a tad excited! The girls have played tea party in their room with their dolls before, but this was going to be the first time they had a 'real' one with mommy. 

  I decided to bake some mini cupcakes for dessert but didn't have a recipe. So I thought I would try my white cake recipe and cut it in half. It worked!

  They turned out great and it worked out to exactly 24 for my mini muffin tin. (Recipe at the end of this post)

  We also had little sandwiches, ham and cheese bites and apples with cinnamon sugar sprinkles. I set their little table up with our fancy tea cups and a cute polka dot 'tablecloth' (which was a piece of fabric leftover from a project) 

  The girls both got dressed up (as Rapunzel and Tinkerbell, of course!) and we had tea (pomegranate green tea, which Kelsie loved!, Shayla not so much)  We had a wonderful time eating and drinking tea with our pinkies up. We tried out our best English accents and had lots of giggles. It's days like those that I will cherish. The girls both had so much fun and told me it was the best tea party ever! 

~Kari

Mini White Cupcake Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/2 sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 24-mini muffin tin.

2. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add in the flour and baking powder and mix well. Finally stir in milk until batter is smooth.

3. Divide evenly into prepared mini muffin tin. Bake 10-12 mins. Remove from pan and let cool on a rack before you ice them.

*Icing: I just used a little bit of icing sugar and milk with a drop of pink food coloring to make a simple icing. Top with fun sprinkles!

Tomato Basil Summer Side Salad

Tomato Basil Summer Side Salad

  This is the perfect summer side salad for your outdoor BBQ and easy to whip together for when you have company coming over. I love this salad (and could probably eat the whole thing in one sitting!)

Ingredients:

• 1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered (I always put them in a strainer as I cut them, so I won't have as much juice in the salad)

• 3-4 fresh basil leaves, chopped (must be fresh, dried won't taste the same!)

• 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled (or more if you like....can never have enough cheese!)

Dressing:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp minced garlic
dash of sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. Mix tomatoes, basil and feta in a bowl and set aside

2. Whisk the remaining of the ingredients for the dressing

3. Pour over tomatoes and mix well. I let mine sit in the fridge for an hour or so to soak up all the flavor

4. Transfer to a pretty bowl and top with a sprinkle of feta before serving

5. Enjoy! (It can keep in a air tight container for a few days, but there usually isn't any leftovers!)

Serves 4

Super Yummy Homemade Honey Almond Granola!

Honey Almond Granola Recipe

  I love granola! I used to buy it all the time to eat with my greek yogurt in the morning for breakfast. And then I started reading the labels. There was always so much sugar and extra preservatives added! So I decided to do some research and find a homemade recipe that was easy and yummy! And this smells so good while it is baking! I also use this granola in my Awesome Oatmeal Cookie recipe (will post that recipe some time soon!)

Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup liquid honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray (I use canola oil and water combined in a spray bottle, no more buying aerosol cans!)

2. Mix together the rolled oats, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

3. In a separate small bowl, combine the honey, vanilla and almond extract.

4. Mix together dry and wet ingredients and combine until the oats are coated. 

5. Spread the mixture out onto your prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 mins (or until golden brown) Make sure to stir it up every 5-6 mins (I set the timer for this so I don't forget!) Granola can burn easily so check it often. (Ovens vary with temp, so you may only need 25 mins or so)

6. Let it cool and store in an airtight container.

*This batch makes approx 4 cups of granola. I use about 1/2 cup on my plain greek yogurt in the morning for breakfast and top it with some craisins! So yummy!*

Enjoy!