Recycled Basil

I needed fresh basil for a recipe and being the dead of winter, I had to go buy it at the store. They didn't have any small containers of it, only a HUGE container. So, I brought it home, used what I needed and wondered what to do with the rest. It was very fresh, so I decided on an experiment. I sliced a few on an angle through their growth points, and put them in a jar of water. I knew they would root if this was done as soon as they were taken from the plant, but wasn't sure how it would work since they had probably been cut at least a day or so earlier. Maybe even a week! Who Knows?!

One of them grew a root so fast and big that I had to trudge through snow to my shed to get potting soil and a pot for it.

Here is a photo explanation:

The root in the jar picture was over an inch long by the time I planted it--about 5 hours after this photo was taken!

So, I put it in potting soil in a pot the same day that picture above was taken, and now, almost 2 months later, here it is, and this is after making a turkey sandwich with a layer of basil:

 

Now, I just need to get a pretty pot for this free plant!!

Dinner Waffles

Last night I totally failed to plan or execute dinner, so waffles became the menu, but I wanted to make extra hearty dinner waffles. I started with bisquick, used 2 eggs, substituted a big dump of natural apple sauce for the oil, dumped in a ton of quick cook oatmeal, some chocolate chips, and made my husband's waffles since he isn't a fan of my healthy creations.

Then I added a packet of Green Food, a packet of Jay Robb's vanilla protein shake mix, a bunch of cinnamon (to cover the flavors of the Green Food and fake Vanilla protein), 2 scoops of raisins, and what was left of a bag of sweetened, shredded coconut. Then I put it in the waffle maker like usual, and it made the most awesome waffles!!!  They were substantial, definitely worthy of being dinner. I froze the leftovers, microwaved them this morning, and the kids and I ate them in-hand like cookies.

Here's a pic of them folded and stacked. Why eat normal waffles that are basically just a piece of sugary bread?

Chocolate Orange Muffins

Since some of you have found my blog through the other muffin recipe post, I thought I'd add these. The first time I made them, hubby said they were the best things I had ever made.

Today I made them a bit more healthy.  Rather than using 3 cups of normal white flour, I used 1 cup white flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, and 1 cup graham flour. I also omitted the topping, but put coconut in with the dry ingredients.

I mixed up a bowl of the dry ingredients (including choc chips) and a bowl of the wet ingredients (including chopped oranges) last night.  I even put the cupcake papers in the muffin tins last night and set out the ice cream scooper for ladling the batter. Then this morning I just dumped them together, stirred, portioned and baked.

The recipe's topping is probably the best part. Hubby was kind of sad that it wasn't there. He almost giggled last night when I told him that I was making this kind of muffin, and then this morning when he saw them, there was almost a whimper as he realized there was no topping.

Without further ado, here is the recipe.
Sorry, no pics, without the topping they weren't very pretty.

I haven't forgotten about you!

Hey there blog friends, I haven't forgotten about you, but it's summer, and there's so much to do!!  Yard care, go to the pool, gardening experiments, trips to the playground, planning and executing a rocket themed birthday party for a 4-year old,going to the zoo, etc. Not to mention house work, which really fell behind during the rocket party process and scrapbooking-- which I had caught up on before baby #3 came but now I'm dreadfully behind on again. 

I'm taking lots of pictures of stuff to use in blog posts that I'll get to eventually! Summer doesn't last very long here, so I'll be back to you soon!

Till then, see you around the blogosphere!