Guilt-Free Gello for a cool summer snack!

Want a cool summer snack that you don’t have to feel guilty about? I found a great way the other day with my homemade “gello”.

2 cups fruit juice (or healthy juice)

½ cup of sugar (or for a sugar free healthy solution try 7 packages of stevia*)

2 packages of unflavored gelatin

A small bowl

A glass container to pour “gello” into (or a mold)

A pot

Take ½ cup of the juice (I used a veggie/fruit juice combo with no sugar added) and add the packages of unflavored gelatin.

Heat the remaining 1 ½ cups of juice and sugar or stevia in the pot until it starts to boil. Then remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Add the gelatin mixture to the sugar-juice mixture that’s cooling and mix.

Pour into your molds or container. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

About 10 min cook/prep time and 1 hour cool time.

* Q: What the heck is Stevia?

A: Stevia is an all natural plant leaf that tastes sweet. It has zero calories and no sugar. It has not been altered from its original state (other than being ground into granules for easy use in our food and drinks). However it is sweeter than sugar, so be careful. Pretty much the sweetness of 2 tbs of real sugar equals the sweetness of 1 tbs of stevia.

Q: Why are you knocking sugar substitutes like Splenda? I thought it was made from real sugar?

A: Okay this is a sinister way to cover up the awfulness of what they do to it. Yeah it starts off as sugar, but it doesn’t end as sugar. Pretty much they alter the molecules of sugar and replace them with CHLORINE. Yes, the same stuff you clean your pool with. While I personally have not done any studies on the effect of eating chlorine, I can’t imagine ingesting large quantities of it to be good for you; not to mention what happens to it when it gets heated up in an oven or the inside of a body at 98.6 degrees?

Cute Idea for party/event drinks and favors

I came up with this really cute idea for anyone that wants to have a party or an event and give their guests a cute gift to remember it.

What you will need:
- martini glasses
- glass paint & brushes (the best kind is the paint you can bake on)
- stencils & tape
- rock candy sticks (optional)
- pre-printed hang tags (optional and you can do this on your computer)

Take your martini glass and place your stencil of whatever you like (I prefer an initial but you can do animals, symbols, etc.) and tape it to your glass. I prefer glasses that have a letter design on the inside, go whomever is drinking out of it can read the letter.
Paint the design on the glass with your glass paint & then follow the instructions on the bottle on how to bake the image on. Usually you can do this with any oven.
Once out of the oven you can add your swizzle stick (the rock candy stick) and the hang tags.

Make this a fun event by having a signature drink that matches the rock candy stick. One idea (as you can see in my picture) might be a cosmopolitan with a pink stick.

Spring on Ice

I'm really happy that it's officially spring. However, with that said mother nature hasn't gotten the memo yet (well, at least in New England).

How does one so excited to celebrate the spring, actually get a taste of it with all this rain and cold? Simply by going with the cold.

Make everyday drinks and get-togethers fun and springy by adding flowers!

How to make flower ice cubes

-Organic non-toxic flowers
-water
-ice cube tray
-freezer

Fill your ice cube tray half full of water and put in freezer. Once frozen pull out of the freezer and add a flower. Fill the tray with the rest of the water and re-freeze. Enjoy your pretty ice cubes in your favorite drink!

How to make a flower bowl

-two bowls (one larger than the other)
-organic non-toxic flowers
-water
-freezer
-weight

Fill the larger bowl with water and then place the smaller bowl inside the larger. The small bowl might float a bit, so add a small weight to the small bowl to push it down(and in turn push up the water in the larger bowl). Place the bowls in the freezer.

Remove the bowls when frozen and remove the small bowl. Press your flowers against the sides of the ice bowl and add some more water to the bowl (a much smaller amount this time). Put the small bowl back inside the larger one and add the weight. Re-freeze the bowls.
Now you should have an icy bowl that's pretty to display your punch or eat some treats from!

Elegant Easter Egg Party Favors

Elegant Easter egg party favors are fun and whimsical. You can customize them in any way your want, but the method is the same. Fill your elegant favors with candies and other goodies for your guests.

Things You’ll Need:

• Plastic Easter eggs
• Glue
• Finely ground glitter
• Candy
• Spray paint primer
• Antique white spray paint kit
• Newspaper
• Wood gel stain
• Clean white T-shirt or rag

Step 1:Lay out sheets of newspaper on a table outside or in a well ventilated area.

Step 2:Take your plastic Easter eggs apart and lay them out on the newspaper. Stand them on their flat side.

Step 3:Spray the outside of the eggs with primer. Let this dry. You may need to apply two coats to completely cover the eggs.

Step 4:Turn the eggs over and spray the insides with two coats of primer.

Step 5:Stand the eggs on their flat side and spray them with an antique white spray paint kit from the hardware store.

Step 6:Paint the inside of the Easter eggs with the white paint once the outside has dried.

Step 7:Rub a coat of a light wood gel stain onto the eggs once the white paint has dried. This will darken and antique them and is an optional step.

Step 8:Put the plastic Easter eggs back together.

Step 9:Create fine lines of detail with a fine-tipped white glue. You can create scrolls, hearts, flowers and more.

Step 10:Sprinkle a fine antique silver or gold glitter on the glue lines. Shake the excess glitter off the egg and onto newspaper. This will allow for easy clean-up.

Step 11:Let the glue dry on the eggs and load them with Easter candy for your party guests.

St. Patrick's Day Dinner

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up soon. Even though I’m not Irish, my mother always makes a traditional Irish dinner every year. I hate to say it, but I think it’s awful. Not her cooking so much, but the bland taste of Irish food. I’ve been scouring the web looking for Irish food that’s a little more exciting than the boiled cabbage, potatoes & corned beef I get every year. I hope that this makes your St. Patrick’s Day a bit yummier as well.

On the Menu

Beef and Guinness Pie

Fresh Ham with Cracklin and Pan Gravy

Potato and Cabbage Bundles

Country Rhubarb Pie

Irish Lace Cookies

Great Ideas for a Free Valentine's Day!

Are you a Cheapskate, but still want to express your love on Valentine's Day? Now you can thanks to these great tips I found on e-how!

Steps

1

Step One

Leave a note on her pillow, a note on her dressing table mirror, a note on the breakfast table, and a note on her car's steering wheel.

2

Step Two

Find a classic love poem and write it on the bathroom mirror.

3

Step Three

Bring her breakfast in bed - with a love note on the tray.

4

Step Four

Draw a heart on her makeup mirror.

5

Step Five

Use a can of water-soluble, non-toxic aerosol paint to write a message of love on the grass in your yard.

6

Step Six

Call her favorite radio station and request a romantic song during the time she drives to work.

7

Step Seven

Change the welcome message on your answering machine to an expression of love.

8

Step Eight

Show up at her workplace, meet her as she takes her break, and whisk her away to a lovely park. Have a picnic lunch, complete with candle and rose.

9

Step Nine

Write her a long letter, one in which you recall the most emotional parts of your romantic history.

10

Step Ten

Print out "I Love You" posters on your computer, put them on your garage door and on light posts around the neighborhood.

11

Step Eleven

Ask her to watch the sunset with you - and promise her your love will burn longer than the sun.

12

Step Twelve

Open the windows, put her favorite romantic song on the CD player, and invite her to dance under the stars.

Show Him the Romantic Flame Still Burns

Steps

1

Step One

Put a note on the bathroom mirror promising to share an afternoon delight.

2

Step Two

Fill his car with balloons, each with an "I Love You" message inside.

3

Step Three

Find his car at work and leave a note on the steering wheel suggesting a romantic rendezvous. Meet him with drinks and snacks and a love note.

4

Step Four

Meet him after work wearing your sexiest outfit and tempt him away to lover's lane. Carry along a bottle of sparkling water and a basket of canapés.

5

Step Five

Leave him a series of notes to follow so that you meet in a romantic place.

6

Step Six

Leave a trail of paper hearts, each with a loving message, from the front door to the bedroom for him to find as he comes home from work.

7

Step Seven

Cook his favorite dinner and serve it by candlelight.

8

Step Eight

Wrap up your prettiest negligee in a fancy package, complete with a note that promises a romantic evening.

9

Step Nine

Or decorate your bedroom in a theme - tropical island, old West, ancient castle - that appeals to his interests.

10

Step Ten

Light candles in your bedroom and lay out a romantic picnic on your bed.

11

Step Eleven

Scatter Hershey's Chocolate Kisses all over the bed.

Fun and Flirty Valentine's Day Party (Part 2)

Since I couldn't fit everything in 1 post, here I go with part 2. Onto the drinks!

I'd make a pretty pink punch for guests. I have recipes in other posts on this site. If you want to give your guests a chuckle you can use these awesome playboy bunny ice cube trays in your punch, the ice bucket and drinks that call for ice. You can also make a drink list for guests that includes funny named drinks for the occasion:
Sex on the beach
Screwdriver
etc.
Don't forget drinks that invoke the season from their color or traditionally "romantic vibe"
Cosmos are a pretty pink color and orange and peach mimosas seem romantic and sophisticated because of the champagne in them.
For more fun take gummy sugarcoated hearts, cut a small slit in the side and put on the edge of your drink glasses.

-Fun Friends:
The most important factor in any party is to have your fun friends come and visit you. You're getting together to enjoy yourselves, talk & reminisce.

Setting the mood:
Got a pool? While it may be to chilly to swim in, clean it out. Get some pink and red rose floating candles, light them and set them in the pool. Make sure you have mood lighting inside as well. Burn candles and use lots of back lighting to create a romantic ambiance in the room.

If you liked my modern asian twist with the "fortune cookies" in Part 1 you might also like the idea of hanging pink paper lanterns around the table, outside, and anywhere you'd like to add some color.