Fun with Spaghetti Squash...

So I've been cooking with spaghetti squash lately. I don't ever remember eating it as a child, but I have really found to like it! So I have used it in two recipes so far. It's really easy to work with and it can be used in recipes that call for pasta, or just used as squash. I have tried two recipes so far and they are below!

The first one that I have used a few times is from Better Homes and Gardens, via pinterest (Oh how I love pinterest!) I first found this because it is South Beach Phase One-friendly! (For my husband). It is spaghetti squash with chili. 

You will need the following:  

1 spaghetti squash (about 2lbs)
8 oz lean ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (though I tend to use more)
1 14 oz can corn
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained (I normally just use the tomatoes without chiles because I have a young daughter, but whichever works fine)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce, with no salt added
2 tbsp tomato paste, with no salt added
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano


1. First thing you want to do is preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Then cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and membranes. Then take the halves, cut sides down, on a banking sheet. Bake 45-50 minutes or until tender. Once it is finished and cooled a little, take a fork and shred and separate the squash into strands. 

2. Now, onto the chili! Take a medium saucepan. Add ground beef, onion, and garlic. Cook this until the meet is brown and onion is tender. Drain the fat.

3. Stir in the undrained tomatoes, corn, tomato sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, and dried oregano. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. 

4. Serve the meat with the spaghetti sauce and you have yourself a meal!

The next recipe is Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin. This one was bomb!!! It tasted just like potatoes au gratin but so much better. I love potatoes au gratin..I never knew it could be better. But it really is!!! I got this recipe from Dandy Dishes. 

You will need the following:


1 spaghetti squash
2 tbsp butter
1 small yellow onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (i used a colby jack blend and way more of that. If you are a cheese fan, like me, then you might need more like 1- 1 1/2 cups)


1. First things first. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. This recipe calls to microwave the squash. Doing that or oven baking it like the above recipe work just fine. Cut the squash and remove the seeds and membranes. Place in a covered dish with 1/4 inch of water and microwave 10-12 minutes. 

2. While this is happening, take a medium pan and add the butter, onions, red pepper, thyme, and cook until onions are slightly brown in color. You can add whatever other spices you want (I did some garlic).

3. Once the squash is done, take a fork and scrape out the insides. Transfer them to a bowl. Combine the squash, onions, sour cream, and half the cheese together and mix well. Put the mixture to a greased baking dish and top with the remaining cheese. 

4. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. 

Enjoy! Both of these dishes were so good! I'm excited to continue using spaghetti squash and see what else I can do with it :)

stay classy :)

Chicken and Orzo Stuffed Tomatoes

Now I love me some tomatoes...I also love pasta....but I have never been a fan of chicken salad. But this recipe was awesome and I have been thinking about it all week! I even made enough to last me throughout this week's lunches so that came in handy. 

I got this recipe from Poor Girl Eats Well. If you haven't checked out her blog, you should. She has a ton of money-saving recipes that are healthy at the same time!

So here goes...

You will need the following:

3-4 medium to large tomatoes (We used beefsteak tomatoes and they were plenty big)
1 cup cooked orzo
1 cup cooked chicken, cubed
1/4 cup herbs of your choice (we used cilantro and basil)
1/4 cup scallions (we used red onion instead)

For Vinaigrette

1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper

1. Make the vinaigrette. That way the flavors can marinate while everything else is getting ready.
2. If you haven't already, cook the orzo and the chicken. Feel free to put some of those great herbs in with the chicken!
3. In a separate bowl, once cooked, combine the orzo, chicken, herbs, and onion/scallion and mix well. Toss with vinaigrette until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes. You want to make sure the flavors get well mixed!
4. While that's happening, slice off the top of each tomato and carefully scoop out the flesh, seeds, and juice. Once the orzo mix is done sitting, take it out and scoop it into the tomatoes. 

And you're done! You can also buy grape tomatoes and just mix it with the salad if you can't find big enough tomatoes to put the salad inside. 

The Joys of Baking Soda :)

Hey there-

I haven't done much DIY stuff this week but I thought I would pass along some beauty tips using baking soda that I heard from friends and family! Here goes :)

Every month, my aunt Carol washes her hair and then puts 1/4 cup of baking soda on her hair. She then rinses it and conditions it. She told me that it strips your hair of the residue from shampoo and styling products! It also doesn't affect color (Not sure about perms though). 

My friend, Andi also mentioned that she mixes baking soda with some cold water. She then rubs that on her face instead of using face wash. She has seen great results! 

I have also found some great tips here and here. It's great because baking soda is so inexpensive! I use it in a ton of other things (Febreze, laundry detergent, and fabric softener). It's about time I started using it in my beauty products!

Stay classy :)

DIY Fabric Softener!

It's been a little while...I was in a wedding this past weekend so it's been nuts around here! I hope everyone has had a great few weeks! I decided this week to make homemade fabric softener. It was super easy and it cost me maybe 4 bucks to make! It was enough to fill a huge container of regular fabric softener. 

I got this recipe from Frugal Girls. This is also a place where I get coupons and other deals. The recipe is as follows:

6 cups HOT water (it needs to be hot to dissolve the conditioner. I just kept my faucet on for a bit and it was hot enough)

3 cups white vinegar

2 cups Suave conditioner (I used the green apple one)

Take the conditioner and put it in the hot water. Mix together until it is completely dissolved. Add the vinegar and mix together. And you're done! I saved an old fabric softener container and put the softener in there. So much cheaper than the other stuff and it works just as well!!

Stay classy :)

DIY Wipes!!

So I'm so happy that you have been going with me on my DIY adventure. I have saved so much money so far and the best part is that I know EXACTLY what is going into the products that I'm exposing my daughter to. It's awesome :)

So this leads me to my next adventure...making my own baby wipes. I found this on Live Well Network but there are a ton of ways to do this. This site also has recipes for glass cleaner wipes, disinfecting wipes, etc. I'm going to try these eventually but figured I would use this week's blog for the baby wipes since we were out of them and I needed more in a pinch! This is a great idea if you want to make your own for good, or if you run out and want to make them instead of running out and getting more. I guarantee you have everything you need already if you have a baby. 

So here's what you will need.

1 roll of paper towel (I used the Viva paper towel because it feels like cloth and I figured it would be softer. 
A sealable container that will hold half a roll of paper towel.
2 1/4 cups water
2tbsp baby wash 
1 tbsp baby oil

 

(I'm trying to use more photos :))

First thing you will do (and my opinion the most difficult part of this whole thing) is cut the roll of paper towel in half. I'll admit, this is a pain in the butt. I found that a bread knife that is serrated works best. 

Next, you are going to mix your ingredients together. You will then put half of the roll in your sealable container and pour the mix over it. 

Finally, you will remove the cardboard roll from the middle. It's much easier to remove once the roll is wet. 

And you're done! Pull out the wipes from the center and you have your own baby wipes! I really like mine. Ava seems to like them better than the store bought ones as well. Plus, you now have another half a roll that you can either use for a different kind of wipes or just wait until you need more and whip up another batch real quick. Nice and easy!

Stay classy :)

DIY Peacock Costume!

So I embarked on a pretty big adventure. I wanted Ava to be a peacock for halloween...but I just wasn't satisfied with the costumes that I saw at the store and online. Then, my lovely sister, Chelsea suggested that I just make it. I found a few DIY ones on Pinterest and, since I've made tutus before, decided to give it a shot. Here's how I did it!

I bought three different colors of tule and used one color tule from her tutu that I made for her first birthday (carrying it on..aww :) ) I got one yard of each color green and two yards of the blue. I wound up having a ton left so I get to make more..Jodie and Cori look out for tutus! I also bought the peacock feathers (8 total). I had the flower clip on hand but bought the headband. I went to SAS fabrics because they are relatively cheaper than JoAnns, but if you don't live in Phoenix or have a wholesale fabric store of awesome-ness, then Jo Anns or Hobby Lobby will do :). I also used two crochet headbands from when Ava was younger (She doesn't wear them in her head for more than 20 seconds anymore).

I started by cutting out the tule. I wanted it to be a longer tutu so I measured the tule about 20 inches. Keep in mind that this will be folded in half for the tutu. 

Next, I took the two crochet headbands and sewed them together. I did this by hand, which wasn't very difficult:

After I had done this (and had to use my knee/leg because I tried it with a coat hanger and wound up sewing both sides together and had to start over), I then started tying the tule onto the headband. There are two ways to tie the knots. I used the first way, but either way is fine.

So I used two layers of tule. I doubled the blue with each piece of green alternating on the bottom and then alternated the two types of light green on the top. 

After I had finished the tule, then came the peacock feathers! I took the feathers and cut the stems down pretty short. I then sewed them into the crochet headband. Afterwards, I bent the stems down so that they wouldn't scratch Ava's skin. 

Afterwards, I sewed a few onto the front, and onto a flower clip so that I can clip it into her hair if she doesn't keep on the headband. The finished product is below:

I spent about $28 total for the costume. Score! The majority of the ones I saw were way more and I didn't like them so I am very happy that I tried it and succeeded :)

Stay classy :) and Happy Halloween!!

DIY Spice Mixes!!

Recently, my husband was told that he had to cut down on his sodium intake. Now this might not sound like a huge deal, but it kind of is. Sodium is in everything, especially spice mixes. He isn't able to have any of that anymore. So I have had to make spice mixes instead of buying them. Now, I have found in the past few weeks that this isn't as hard as it seems. Plus, the taco seasoning that I created tastes better than the one you buy at the store, and it's with spices I already have, and no salt! Woohoo!!

So here are recipes for taco seasoning and italian seasoning...

Taco Seasoning (Adapted from All Recipes)

This recipe makes 1 ounce of Taco Seasoning.

1tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin (or cumino that my lovely friend Misty calls it :)
1tsp sea salt (but I didn't include this)
1tsp black pepper

Mix and use in place of the packets :)

Italian Seasoning Mix (adapted from All Recipes as well)

2tbsp dried basil
2tbsp dried oregano
2tbsp dried rosemary
2tbsp dried marjoram
2tbsp dried cilantro 
2tbsp dried thyme
2tbsp dried savory (we didn't have this on hand so I didn't use it and it tasted just fine)
2tbsp red pepper flakes

Mix away! It tasted great :)

Stay classy :)