Mother's Day Painting - Melted Crayons

I wanted to do something special for Mother's Day. Since I have been painting semi frequently, I thought it was the perfect time to make my mom a painting and a one of a kind gift. The thought behind it initially was to do something with a mother and daughter holding hands. I am also obsessed with the song "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, especially the part "Home is whenever I'm with you" so I wanted to write that on the canvas. Long story short, it ended up looking creepy and I had to do a 180 to get it back on track. In hind sight I realize I had way too many things I wanted to incorporate into one painting and it took some working through to finally get my finished product.

Below is the progression of how I was finally able to finish my Mother's Day painting 1 month later (Rome wasn't built in a day, people!).

I started off with a sky as the background and I used this stencil as the inspiration for the mother/daughter figures.

Next, I added the "Home is whenever I'm with you" into the sky. There were just so many things wrong at this point. It looked like there was a growth on the side of the mom's head(supposed to be a bun) and the writing at the top was just creepy. Also, were these two people floating in the sky? Let's just say I wasn't thrilled with how it turned out.

Finally, after about a month of staring at the painting (thank god I hadn't seen my mom yet) someone sent me a link to a cool new art form of melting crayons with a hot glue gun. You can find the link here.

Once I saw this picture I knew this was how I was going to fix my painting. I wasn't sure how at that point, I just knew it was going to be done!

I searched through some pictures and found this great mother daughter picture under umbrellas. I used it as inspiration and the first step to recovering the painting (it took steps to recovery, kind of like an AA program).

Now we are talking! Looking better already. Next, I decided to add some grass because I didn't like the thought of this witchy mother/daughter tag team floating through space with their umbrellas. I had never painted grass before so it was a fun new experience. I watched a YouTube video and had to get a new wide brush to get added texture. It is crazy how paint can look so real (obviously I'm not at that stage yet, but it is always fun to try out new techniques).

Melting the crayons was the most fun part and the most dangerous. I sealed up the parts of the canvas that I didn't want to get tainted by the crayons (I used tin foil because it was the only thing in my apartment, but I'm sure saran wrap would work great too). I separated out the crayons that resembled rain and only used those. I used some greens and greys as well to add some fun color and life to the piece. Warning: the crayons will splatter and shoot out and burn you, etc. Be very careful and make sure to cover up the area around the canvas you are working on.

In the end, I was really proud of the painting and my Mom loved it too :D

No Crust Quiche

I know most people do not get excited at the thought of a quiche, but this past Christmas we made this No Crust Quiche as one of the breakfast items and it changed my thoughts on the traditional dish (mostly taking the effort of making a homemade quiche, I buy the frozen ones frequently from TJ's).  It definitely wasn't the first time I had eaten this in my twenty four years, but it was the first time I appreciated the magic of a quiche.  Not only is it simple to make and healthy but it is also extremely cost effective and tastes great as leftovers. I have made it several times since, and it continues to impress me and hit the spot every time (My boyfriend loves it too and even requests it).  It is so easy to throw the ingredients together and pop it into the oven if you are expecting friends or family for brunch (I made this for Easter also - maybe it will become a holiday tradition).  If you are just making it for a few people, the leftovers are great for breakfasts during the week (just microwave), or if you like you can switch it up and eat it for lunch or dinner.

Here's what you need:

• 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
• 10 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pint cottage cheese
• 1 pound shredded jack cheese
• 1 small can ortega chilis
• 1 small can chopped black olives
• chopped mushrooms (optional) - I do not like mushrooms, so I leave these out

Toppings (pick and choose what you like):

• sliced avocado
• salsa or diced tomatoes
  
• sour cream
• diced jalapeños

We used diced jalapeños, tomatoes, and avocado

First, melt the butter (I just put it in a microwave-safe bowl and kept checking the microwave in 20 second increments until it was melted).  While butter is melting, crack all of the eggs into a bowl and beat.  Then add the melted butter.

Stir in the baking powder, flour, jack cheese, cottage cheese, olives, and chilis.

Once all ingredients are combined, pour into a large baking dish (approx. 9 x 12)

It will look like this:

We topped half with sliced jalapeños to test it out, but decided we prefer them diced on top once the quiche is cooked.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes,
then at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
You will know it is done once it starts to firm up and begins to brown.

Wait about 5-10 minutes for the quiche to cool, then cut and serve with your choice of toppings.  We also cooked bacon to eat with the quiche.  Enjoy!

Healthy Treat - Raw "Cookie Dough" Bites

Frozen Cookie Dough Bites

 
If you are reading this, you MUST go get the ingredients and make these delicious treats tonight!  Soooo yummy and healthy too!  If you know me, I am the queen of treats.  Seriously, it is a miracle I don't weight 300 pounds (maybe I am getting close...)!  These Raw "Cookie Dough" Bites are made with nuts and oats so they are healthy (guilt-free)!  I made these last night and had to post about them today!  I am aware that I am going overboard with the exclamation marks!

When I came across this recipe (here) I decided to give it a try but I was VERY skeptical.  I mean come on, how can you throw together a bunch of healthy ingredients with some chocolate chips and have it taste like dessert?  But these are great!  Seriously...you must make them!  I was eating the dough before I even put the balls into the freezer.

Here's what you need:

• 2/3 cup raw almonds
• 2/3 cup raw walnuts
• 2/3 cup raw oat flakes (I used the oatmeal I already had at home)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup raw agave nectar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips (I used regular chocolate chips)

Ingredients (forgot the oats in the picture)

First of all, I don't have a food processor, and it wasn't necessary.  So I put the almonds, walnuts, oat flakes and cinnamon into my magic bullet and did a bit of blending, shaking, blending, shaking and blending.  Finally I poured everything in to a bowl and sifted through to get the large chunks of nuts to blend those again.  Small chunks are definitely ok, just not large pieces of nuts.

Next, I poured the blended ingredients into a bowl and added the vanilla and agave nectar and stirred until all of the mixture was coated (not dry).  Then, I blended up the chocolate chips for a few seconds and mixed that in.  Then form the mixture into tiny, bite-sized balls and freeze for one hour (if you can wait that long, or just gobble them up)!

Please ignore my chipped nails

PLEASE make this and let us know if you loved these treats as much as I did!

Breakfast Ham Cups

I love breakfast, it is my favorite meal of the day.. hands down! So when it came time for some friends to come over, I knew I had to step up my game and finally do some cooking. It was Saturday morning and everyone was coming over before we went to the beach, so my intention was to wow them with my skills and feed them something healthy at the same time (we couldn't eat anything heavy and look like beached whales in our bikinis). The only problem there was that I am pretty lazy (hence why I never cook; preparing, cooking, cleaning...so much work). So my mentality was, what is the fanciest meal I can make with the least effort?!?.. Now this meal is what I call a success! I hope everyone can tell by now it is not Ria doing this food post.

Ria's post on Friday about the pizza cups got me to thinking.. Could I somehow make the pizza cup concept into a breakfast dish? So I text messaged Ria who immediately directed me to a recipe that incorporated ham, veggies and egg in a small bowl (she is on top of her shit). I skimmed over the recipe and then decided to make it my own, using ingredients that I love and a cupcake tin so that I could make breakfast for everyone at the same time. It was really the perfect dish for me to make because the preparation was easy, cleaning was a breeze and it tasted more delicious than I could have imagined.

What you will need:

* cupcake tin
* pam (non-stick spray)
* 12 eggs
* ham ( 1 package of deli style smoked ham)
* tomatoes
* red bell pepper
* clove of garlic
* spinach (1 bag)
* white onion
* cheddar cheese (optional)
* avocado (optional)

Step 1: Preheat the Oven to 375 degrees and spray the cupcake tin with non-stick spray.

Step 2: While the oven is heating, put some butter or olive oil in a pan with minced garlic and sautee the spinach and onions. I used half of the bag of spinach which ended up being the perfect amount. Once cooked, put in a bowl.

Step 3: Chop the tomatoes and bell peppers. Put them in a bowl together.

Step 4: Line each hole in the cupcake tin with ham. I used two pieces for each hole - leaving some length on the edges. This makes is easier to pull out of the cupcake tin after cooked.

Step 5: Layer in the ingredients. Start with the sauteed spinach and onions. Then put the tomatoes and bell peppers in. Finish each cup off with a cracked egg on top. I also experimented with egg whites. To be honest, this meal is already super healthy, so in my opinion only using the egg whites was unnecessary.

Step 6: Carefully put the cupcake tin into the oven. Set a timer for 15 minutes.

Step 7: After 15 minutes, add cheddar cheese to the top of each cup and put back into the oven for 10 minutes. Total cook time should be 25 minutes. The eggs might not look fully done, but trust me, they are! The edges of the ham will be crispy (Sooo delish).

Step 8: Once the cups have cooled down a little bit, pull out of cupcake tin (should be super easy to pull them out), put onto a plate, add some avocado(if that tickles your fancy) and enjoy!!

This recipe was adapted from Chrissy Teigen's Baked Eggs in Ham Cups.

Pizza Cups

Warning: Reading this post will make you hungry.

I am always in the mood for pizza. Just the thought of it makes my mouth salivate...sad, but true.  So when I came across the recipe for pizza cups I went out and bought the ingredients for dinner the following night! What I love about this recipe is how easy and versatile it is. You can make it as a meal, appetizer or even just a snack. You can have even try switching up the ingredients to make Thai Pizza Cups (peanut sauce with cheese, chicken, bean sprouts, carrots, etc) or BBQ Chicken Pizza Cups; the options are limitless!  It is also very shareable and great for when you have friends over.  Or you can make a batch for yourself and take it to work for lunch everyday!

What you need:

• 1 tube of biscuits
• pizza sauce (or marinara if you have that instead)
• mozarella cheese
• toppings (I used black olives, onions, green bell pepper, pepperoni, jalapenos and crushed red peppers)

First, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees and spray your cupcake pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Then, split each biscuit in half and press in each cupcake slot.  Put in the oven and bake until they have risen (I do this before adding the sauce and toppings so the pizza cups aren't soggy).

Next, add a spoonful of pizza sauce to each biscuit and top with cheese and your choice of toppings.

Put the tray back in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melty and pizza cups are starting to get crispy.