Homemade Mozzarella Bites!

If your kids are anything like mine, they go through food stages. My monster will love one thing one day and refuse to eat it the next. However, bite sized foods that he can dip, are always a win. Not to mention, Mom and Dad love them, too!

I found this recipe on Pinterest, but it originally came from the blog Never Trust a Skinny Cook. Apparently, some people were having problems with theirs melting into 'cheese puddles', however, mine came out just fine. This is something the kids can help you make, too, which is always a plus for me! So here it is:

Ingredients that I used:
Small bowl of 1% milk
1 (12count) package of 2% string cheese
Panko bread crumbs
I added parsley and garlic powder to the bread crumbs for flavor, but you can add whatever you'd like.

Preheat the oven to 425. Unwrap your cheese and start cutting into little balls.

They should end up looking kind of like mini marshmallows

Then, you dip the cheese bites into the milk. Transfer it to the bread crumbs and toss them around until they are as coated as possible. *Note- if you use panko bread crumbs, they will not look very coated, but it still works out really well. Toss them on a greased cookie sheet and put the in the oven for 6-10 minutes, depending on your oven.

This is what ours looked like.

Not only are they healthier than the fried or frozen mozzarella sticks, you also can turn this into a family learning/fun moment! Enjoy!! Let me know of any variations you might try, I would love to try them, myself!

Lovely little update

Hey guys! Sorry I am so bad at posting. I'm still very new to this whole blogging thing and some personal thins have been coming up, preventing me from staying up to date. I just started my Master's program in Professional Counseling at GCU, so I decided to pick one day a week to have a new post. I figure, if I put it in my calendar, along with my assignments, its more likely to get done. This is my form of a "mental health break" during a busy academic week. Any suggestions for posts are always welcome, especially since I want to research things that you guys actually want to read about. Bear with me as I figure this beautiful art of blogging out:)

*Update* Home Remedies (Reader Suggestion)

Hello lovelies!!

I had a lovely friend and reader ask me to write about some home remedies for illnesses, so here it is. There is a plethora of websites, articles, and books about home remedies and there are too many things for me to cover on my own. So, I'm just going to highlight a few of the most common.

For any illness, ache, etc, REST and HYDRATION are crucial to the whole process of getting better. If you're not resting, your immune system doesn't have the opportunity to recuperate. Which in turn, leads to you not getting better as fast as you usually would.

I have used quite a few of these home remedies growing up and have acquired more from friends and family throughout the years.

Some home remedies for a cold/the flu include:

• Honey- Relieves a sore throat and cough. Mix 1 tablespoon honey into 1 cup hot water, stir well, and enjoy. Honey acts as a natural expectorant, promoting the flow of mucus. Squeeze some lemon in if you want a little tartness.
• Lemon- Lemon oil is like a wonder drug containing antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory constituents. The oil also acts as an expectorant. To make this flu-fighting fruit drink, place 1 chopped lemon -- skin, pulp, and all -- into 1 cup boiling water. While the lemon steeps for 5 minutes, inhale the steam. Strain, add honey (to taste), and enjoy. Drink hot lemonade three to four times a day throughout your illness.
• Pepper- It is an irritant and helps allow the mucus to flow smoothly.  Place 1 teaspoon black pepper into a cup and sweeten things up with the addition of 1 tablespoon honey. Fill with boiling water, let steep for 10 to 15 minutes, stir, and sip.

Some common household remedies for depression include:

• Vitamin C
• Magnesium
• Exercise
• St. John's Wort 
• Change in your diet
• B Vitamins
• Yoga

Vinegar plays a huge role in home remedies, not to mention housecleaning. There are far too may uses for vinegar to post about, but I highly recommend checking these out and doing some research of your own, to fit your symptoms. You can pretty much just Google 'Home Remedies' and you can find just what you're looking for. You probably won't even have to make a trip to the grocery store because a lot of them are common household items.

I sincerely hope this helps and that you find what works for you. Don't forget to follow and subscribe, so you don't miss a post! I hope everyone has a safe holiday tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving.

*Update 1/18/2013*
I just came across a Facebook page called Doterra Jodi Deru that I highly suggest taking a look at.

Manic Mondays

Is it just me or do Mondays seem a bit more stressful that the rest of the week? You would think a person would get used to it after 23 years of having Mondays. However, I have not.

I set so many goals for myself to accomplish throughout the day and I only ever get about half of them done. My son always seems to be much more of a monster than usual, and I tend to give up on cleaning or baking, or whatever other task I was working on, before it even hits noon! Whoever tries to tell you this whole "parenting/housewife" business is easy, either hasn't done it, or they are lying through their teeth.

My Mondays usually end up with me and the monster going for a walk, a coupon haul, or vegging on the couch/floor playing. Not a terrible day, by any means, just incredibly unproductive.

I am thinking of making myself, my husband, my brother, and my monster all separate chore charts in order to try to prevent my Manic Mondays. Pinterest is amazing for finding just about anything, but you have to have an account. In order to get one, a friend who already has it, needs to invite you. You can try signing up without an invitation, but you'll be waiting forever to get an account. Before my invite, I had been waiting three months. WARNING: Pinterest is addicting! Don't say I didn't warn you!

How do you get over the "Monday Hump?" Is there some trick I don't know about? As always, if you have any questions, concerns, comments, suggestions, etc, feel free to email me at avittori@asu.edu.

Happy Almost Tuesday!!!