DIY All Purpose Cleaner

Are you into the latest craze of making your own cleaners? I've become much more health conscious over the past year. I don't like all the harsh chemicals and toxins in cleaning products you buy at the store, so I decided it was time to make my own! Not only is it super easy, it's much cheaper! I've really become to love tea tree oil, it has so many uses and I really love the smell. I buy mine at whole foods currently. A little goes a very long way! I also make my own laundry detergent. I'm still looking for a DIY dish washing detergent that works well, for now I'll buy the best green products I can. The only con with green products is they are more expensive, but if that means no chemicals then I'll spend the extra cash! Please READ all the ingredients and labels. It should not be toxic in any way. You can find numerous recipes. Just test and use what you like. I will share with you what I use! I hope I can encourage some to start making their own cleaning products. Here is the link to where I got the recipe from, their are some other recipes on their too! Love this stuff! Homemade cleansers. I saved old cleaning bottles and rinsed them out really well and just refilled with the new "green" cleaners.

All you need is: Hot water, vinegar, tea tree oil, super washing soda (can be found at most local grocers or amazon) and Dr. Bronners castile soap, which can be found on amazon as well, but I bought mine at Whole Foods. Next time I'd like to add lavender oil to mine, it's an anti-bacterial.

It's been too long

Hey gang! So it's been awhile since I've posted..and I can't blame it on my half marathon training, unfortunately. So I'll blame it on just being caught up in life's duties! ;)  I'm not going to post a recipe today. I will give you some awesome updates though, and not so awesome pictures. They're all coming from my cell phone today so do please keep that in mind! A few updates in my life...I haven't run in about 3 weeks and it's killing me! I hurt my foot awhile back so I've been doing a lot of resting. Not so sure if I'll be able to run the half marathon in September which is a huge bummer, but my Mom says we might be able to run one in October, so that's an upside! I was off work this past week, my family was on vacation. When I say my family, I mean the family I nanny for. I am excited to see the kids tomorrow I've missed them! I had an awesome week off though. I got to see my college friend who just had a baby, I got my hair done, visited my grandparents, went to lunch with a friend..and much more. The most exciting was getting a puppy today! He is so adorable. Oh, and I start school on Monday...boo! Hehe, I'm not a huge school fan but it's for the best! Okay, on to the pictures! Again, bear with me they probably won't be of the best quality. :)

 Okay, how cute are my grandparents? My sister and I and niece took them out to lunch! They love to hold hands.

 My niece, Zoe sitting on the cow

 My new hair..yes I did shave part of it!

 Meet Louie, the newest member of our family!

 What's outside Lou dog?

 We just picked him up, we couldn't be happier. We searched forever for a dog and we finally found one. So happy to give him a forever home.

Have a great week everyone! How was your weekend? What was the best part about it?

Pasta with Creamy Cajun Tomato Sauce

Oh, how I have missed my bloggy friends. It's been such a looooong time! Zac and I just recently moved and I've been so consumed by training for my half marathon, and getting ready to go back to school. A little update, we just finally moved into a lovely two bedroom house. I couldn't be more excited. We aren't homeowners yet but it's a nice starter place for us. It's also a change from an apartment. Also so nice! We have a huge fenced in yard, with plenty of weeds for me to pull, and grass for Zac to mow. :) We also have a 2.5 car garage. I love being in a house...also we were out of internet for for awhile so hence the no blogging. We are just about done here, have a few more things to unpack and hang. I will have pictures soon! :) My Mom made me this awesome sign I can't wait to show you guys. The first night we were here was not fun. Frank, my cat was scared of course as he is at any new place. It was about midnight when we found him missing. We searched the whole house and he was nowhere to be found. We figured he got out when we were throwing boxes outside. We went out with treats and kept calling for him, after about 10-15 minutes he finally came back. We were both so scared, I was so freaked out I started crying. I thought he disappeared forever. I can't imagine my life with out him right now. I'm so glad he was okay. Now he loves the house and he's loving all the windows he gets to look out. :)

As for my half marathon training it's going pretty well. I really owe my Mom for all the help and support she has given me. Mom, I love you and I couldn't do as well with out your help and support. She pushes me so much and is so encouraging. I will admit at the end of our long runs when she makes me speed up I want to be not so nice to her, but I keep it to myself. :) Sorry Mom! I want her to be proud of me so I just do it! I'm glad she is here to help! Yesterday we did some speed workouts...yeah so not fun! We ran a mile around the track and then did 1/4 mile sprints-or ran as fast as we could...it was hard, I felt like I wanted to throw up, my hip hurt, and my foot hurt. It was rough. We did that a total of four times. Then we ran three miles. It was my least favorite! I pushed through though. My Mom says a lot of times it's mind over matter. I totally agree, and if she wasn't there I probably wouldn't have done it. When it gets hard I tell myself I'm doing it for my Grandma. She has Alzheimers and is currently in the hospital due to a UTI. I hate to see her struggle and she is so important to me. I have many child hood memories with my grandparents. I can't imagine my life with out them either, and the older they get the more worried I become. I love you to pieces Grandma!!!! So when the running gets tough I power through for her, it seems to be the one thing that really works.

As for school...I've decided to go back to get my RN. Right now my dream is to become a midwife. I'll have to get my masters for that, and yes that might take me a very long time, but it will be totally worth it in the end! I  am starting school August 20th. Being a full time student, a full time nanny, and training for a half marathon will be rough but I can do it! :) Okay, so on to the recipe. I have to say I made this up...and I'm not bragging but, I'm pretty good! ;)  I used my Mom's heirloom tomatoes from her garden. They are soooo good. Thanks Mom! Again, I love you so much and am so thankful for you. I couldn't do this training and be so great with out you.

Pasta with Creamy Cajun Tomato Sauce
4 heirloom tomatoes cut in pieces
1-2 tblsp olive oil
kosher or sea salt and black pepper
4 tblsp butter
onion powder
garlic powder
red pepper flakes
1/4 c white wine
1/4 c whole milk
1/2 c half and half
1/2 c fresh shredded parmesean
pasta of your choice

I didn't have onions, or garlic for this so that's why I used the powder. If you have onions and garlic please use! It was still delicious with out it.
Heat oil over medium heat in skillet, add chopped up tomatoes and heat for about 15-20 minutes. Puree for about 25 seconds and return to skillet. After you have pureed your tomatoes get your pasta water ready, (always heavily salted!) Cook pasta until al dente. Before draining reserve 1/4 c to 1/2 c of pasta water and add to tomato puree. While the pasta is cooking add wine and seasonings to tomato sauce. Boil for a few minutes to reduce the wine.  Add whole milk and half and half. Add cheese and melt. Add pasta to sauce and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Serve and top with cheese. Enjoy! :) 

 Yum-O

 Frank's new favorite spot!

Bean and Quinoa Extravaganza

I'm going to start off by saying that I love this bowl of deliciousness! It's also extremely healthy which is a total plus. Have you tried quinoa yet? Check out all the health benefits here. If you haven't tried it you really should. It's very similar to rice but fluffier. You can use it in so many recipes too! I kind of just made this recipe up and it really works. I do enjoy it so much because of the salsa I use. It adds a little spice to this dish. Feel free to add any extra ingredients or substitute anything out. This is another very versatile dish. Mmm!
Bean and Quinoa Extravaganza
1 c uncooked quinoa
1/2 c to 1c black beans
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
cilantro
salsa of your choice to taste

Cook quinoa, this was a daunting task my first time around but now I totally know what I'm doing. I always have to add more water than what it calls for. I don't even measure anymore I just boil some water and cook the quinoa. You'll know the quinoa is done when it's puffed up and very fluffy and has absorbed all the water. If you'd like a tutorial visit this page, she explains it better than me! How to cook quinoa. You'll most likely have leftovers as this makes a lot. Heat up your beans or cook them according to directions. I'm a fan of buying in bulk to save money and free myself of BPA lined cans. :) After the quinoa and beans are cooked, ladle them into a bowl, top with chopped raw bell peppers (my fave!) and top with cilantro and salsa. I use fresh picked cilantro from my garden! :) I also use hot salsa from Trader Joe's in the refrigerated section. It's so good I love it. I had this the other day with out TJ's salsa and it just wasn't the same. I like fresh and spicy! This recipe is so simple and easy yet it's very good. We all know how much of a fan I am of easy, healthy recipes. I hope you enjoy!

 Yum! How delicious and fresh does that look? You know you want to dive in!

Linking up to: its a blog party
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
33 Shades of Green
Nap Time Creations 

My Version of Famers Market Pasta

Have you ever visited 33 Shades of Green? My Mom over at Town and Country Living, suggested it to me. I love this blog. They have linky parties too! I've pinned so many of their recipes. I finally decided to make a recipe, and man was it good! It was super fresh and simple. I mean, you should go make this now it was that good and easy. It's called Farmers Market Pasta. Okay, so technically mine wasn't from the farmer's market...I didn't have a chance to get there this weekend. So mine was more like Whole Food's pasta! ;) Anyhoo, it was still delish. No, it's not vegan, but it's vegetarian so that's good enough for me!

Adapted from: 33 Shades of Green
My Version of Farmers Market Pasta
1/2lb pasta (I used Trader Joe's Organic GF Pasta)
1c reserved salted pasta water
1tbsp evoo
mixed veggies (I got a mix from whole foods including red peppers, zucchini, squash, and onions)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
1 handful chopped fresh basil (right from my garden!)
crumbled goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Boil heavily salted water and cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve about one cup of the water before draining. This will later add flavor to the dish. Heat olive oil over medium heat, add in garlic and saute until fragrant. Then add in veggies and saute a couple minutes. Once this is done, mix pasta, veggies, tomatoes and basil together. Crumble goat cheese over top and serve with basil. Enjoy!

Linking up to: Funky Junk Interiors
Six Sisters Stuff
Country Momma cooks
Your Thriving Family
33 Shades of Green 

I hate how I've been so lacking in my blog posts. I feel like ever since I went vegetarian I'm not posting as much. Boo! Not cool friends. Anyways, just an update on what's going on in my life. Zac and I are looking for a new apartment. Well, we've put a deposit down to hold one place. Then we started thinking maybe we should find a rental home. We came across something that is perfect. A nice 2 bedroom place with a huge yard and a garage...oh and laundry in unit! Sold! Well, we're having some troubles with the current tenant. It's got me so stressed out, I can barely take it..so much to think about with our future! Needless to say, we may be moving in with the family I nanny for, for about a week. We will see. We're hoping to get a pup soon! Probably from a shelter. We'd love to get an english bulldog but I'm not so sure that's going to happen. I wonder how Frank will feel about that. He's been around dogs before, but he's so spoiled now..I plan on making some tasty burritos this week, so hopefully that will be on the blog sooner than later. Wish us luck!

How could you not want a bulldog? Link:Pinterest

Yet another Chocolate Chip Cookie

I don't know about you, but my all time favorite thing is a good, soft, chewy, chocolate chip cookie. Oh, my. I have an addiction. Every time I want a sweet I turn to cookies. I need to venture out but I can't seem to get there. Everything from the dough to the cookie. Usually by the time the cookies are done I can't even eat one because I've vegged out on the dough. I'm not sure how anyone can not like this stuff. This is the reason I can't diet. I just can't do it. I enjoy my sweets and other things too much. So for now I'll just stick with working out and running, A LOT! :) They are baking fresh in the oven right now. I've even tried a new recipe! Go me! I usually use Annie's Eats, Thick and Chewy Cookies, but this time I decided to try something different. I really need to make New York Times  chocolate chip cookies again, but the reason I never make these is because you need to refrigerate over night. Who wants to wait that long? :) They are totally worth it though. Just look at them! Anyhoo, here's the new recipe! Epicurious Chocolate Chip Cookies. I under baked them, I always do.

 Okay so it took me forever to load these! For whatever reason I am still having troubles with Picasa...I ended up editing these about 4 times. The pics aren't great because I took them inside and still need to learn to shoot in dark areas. I'm learning slowly but surely.

 Yum-O!