Wednesday Already!

Thanks Gram for my ice cream outfit! (Somehow this never posted). 

Shopping Adventure

Today I scored French's mustard for $.50, 2 frozen pizzas for $4 each, 4 bottles of BBQ sauce for $3 total, and more! 

Mini Golf

We drove over to Cranberry Township's playground on Sunday afternoon, only to find that it was gone! Seriously, there was a giant empty hole in the park. So...we went to try and play mini golf, which I had no idea how well that would go with a six month old.

We made it to hole 17 without any whining at all! Go Ella! :)

This Pup Learned a New Trick

Ella is now sitting up in her own! She has been trying for about a week, but on Saturday she finagling nailed it - even stabilizing herself before tipping over!

Happy Anniversary

Very proud of my anniversary present for my love. The man at Home Depot falsely doubted me after I called a pipe wrench a "spiny wrench thing".

Spicy Salt

For Mother's Day this year I'm making my mom homemade seasonings. (I realized I'm a little late on Mother's Day, but better late than never, right?)

I just finished my first of four seasonings - originally named Seasoned Salt, but I've renamed it "Spicy Salt" after my recent "quality control" taste. :)

This was my first time making seasonings, so here are a few tips I learned along the way:
- Check your grocery store's International Food aisle for cheaper spices. (At my Giant Eagle, 2.5 ounces of Ancho Chili Powder was $6.49, but in the International aisle it was only $1.79).
- My Walmart has bagged spices that I found to be "one step fresher" which allowed me to ground my own spices rather than buying ground ones. (Cumin, Parsley, Thyme, etc).
- Check out the food aisle in your TJ Maxx or Marshalls - You will most likely be able to find your salt and pepper there. I got a cheap pepper mill to grind my pepper balls rather than buying pre-ground; you can also buy coarse sea salt and zip it in your food processor for 15 seconds to get a "mildly coarse" salt.

Spicy Salt Receipe: 

1/4 cup + 1 Tbs. (5 Tbs.) (home-ground) coarse sea salt
1/4 cup fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
2 Tbs. chili powder
2 Tbs. paprika
2 Tbs. dried parsley
2 Tbs. crushed red pepper flakes (chop in your food processor for 15 seconds)
2 Tbs. cumin (chop in your food processor for 15 seconds)
3 teaspoons cayenne pepper (you could do less for less "bite")

Smoky Chili Lime Salt

This is the last for the 4 seasoning I made for my mom for Mother's Day this year. Check out the spicy salt, lemon pepper, and Rajin' Cajun seasonings too!

This one was definitely the most intensive recipe, but hopefully well worth it!

Ingredients: 
- 2 Tbs. ground pepper (I dried and ground my own peppers, but you could use pre-ground peppers).
- 4 Tbs. lime zest (zest for 3 or 4 limes)
- 3/4 cup coarse sea salt
- 1/4 cup pink Himalayan salt (this helps the seasoning keep its pink/red color)

Directions:
1. Zest your limes and leave out throughout the day to dry out. 
2. Cut the steams off of your peppers and remove all seeds (remember to wear gloves and NOT to touch your eyes).
3. Cover a cookie sheet with tin foil. Lay your peppers (bought in the International food aisle) on a cookie sheet. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes (I suggest opening your windows).
4. Take peppers out of the oven and let cool.
5. Once peppers are dry, grind up in your food processor.
6. After zest is dried, mix together pepper, zest, and salt.