The Most Delicious Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe + Mango Banana Ice Cream Recipe

May 31, 2017 | Posted by

This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/Rubbermaid®.

The weather is getting nicer and we are spending more time outside! One of our favorite things to do on a nice weekend day is let the chickens out in the front yard while we have a little picnic. Rubbermaid has asked me to share a favorite meal idea with you guys, so for this picnic we made some yummy Chicken Tikka Masala with rice or cauliflower rice (for any of you that are not eating rice right now, cauliflower rice is delicious). This meal takes quite a bit of time, but it’s worth it. This might be the 5th time we’ve made this meal in the past year? I love leftovers and with this meal we usually have a couple more days of leftovers for my lunch or dinners. Yay! Want to know how we made it? The recipe we use is actually from Serious Eats and you can find the ingredients list and the link to the original recipe below, along with a few tips from my husband for how he cooks this recipe. PLUS: I’ve also shared a Mango Banana Ice Cream recipe for your desert and there’s a giveaway.

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Categories: breakfast, lunch, and dinner, food

Front Yard Putt Putt (with free printable flags) + Date Night

May 24, 2017 | Posted by

My husband and I used to enjoy heading to the golf course for fun, but when we had kids we ran out of time to do that. Priorities change a lot when a baby comes around. These days we now head to a kids putt putt spot with a 7 year old and 18 month old and it’s crazy. SO when we do get a date night to ourselves without the kids we will occasionally create our own front yard putt putt. Instead of heading to the golf course we can set up little plastic cups in the front yard to have some fun putting around.

For our most recent date night I stepped up our front yard golf set up a bit and I crafted some little golf flags to put in the yard, plus my husband mowed a little putting green into our grass (that grass was getting a bit long). Just add some Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon and you are set for the perfect start to a date night. It’s pretty darn fun and we can get a little competitive with this tiny front yard putt putt (just so you know: I won this game).

Supplies needed:

Directions:

Download and print out the free flags I made for you. Cut them out and use the double sided tape to attach the flags to the skewers. Set them out in the yard and have fun! This time we played without the cups. We decided whoever gets closest to the flags gets a point.

Gran Reserva wants to give you something fun to do! Enjoy a $25 credit on a round of golf at major golf courses nationwide courtesy of Concha y Toro Gran Reserva. Find a specially marked bottle necker where you buy wine. And you can also enter a great sweepstakes to win – one year of free golf. Check it out: http://clvr.li/2nLqvdg

– Chelsey

P.S. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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Categories: diy, Free Printables and Downloads

New goodies up in the shop!!!

May 23, 2017 | Posted by

Hello lovelies,

I’m popping in here to let you know I’ve added four new items to my shop and I LOVE them. Are you ready for this? I have a fried chicken pin. Finally. Took me long enough to make one. I’ve also added my Mer-corg (Corgmaid?), a tan dachshund, and a set of metal enamel teeth earrings!

Head to the shop to see all my new items and check out all my other product while you’re in there.

– Chelsey

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Categories: announcement, paper mama shop

Prosecco Mango Margarita Recipe

May 17, 2017 | Posted by

My husband and I don’t get out very much anymore. I mean, we get to go out to eat on the weekend, but it’s never alone. We usually have the kids tagging along with us. So when we do get a kid-free day we like to make the most of it! My husband will plan out an amazing meal and before dinner I’ll get some happy hour snacks and drinks together for us to enjoy.

Today’s Prosecco Mango Margarita drink recipe is a fun little spicy drink. The chili powder salt rim adds a little heat to this drink and the frozen mango and VOVETI Prosecco cools it down. VOVETI prosecco is dry and features flavors or pear, green apple, melon and ripe peach that endure on the palate and invite a second glass (it goes perfectly with mango). I love margaritas, but I’m not a fan of hard alcohol. This drink is just as tasty as any other mango margarita out there, minus the tequila flavor and with a little bit of bubbles!

It’s pretty darn easy to make and I really think it will be perfect for your happy hour summer time! Just add some yummy snacks. Doesn’t it look good? I wish you could smell it and taste it right now.

Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients (enough to make 2 yummy Prosecco Mango Margaritas):

  • 2 mini VOVETI Prosecco bottles
  • 8 ounces of frozen mango chunks
  • 1/2 cup – 1 cup of mango smoothie juice
  • 1 lime
  • salt
  • chili powder

Directions:

Step 1: You will need a blender or food processor for this drink (our blender broke so we just used our food processor and it worked great). Blend them until the mango is cut into tiny pieces.

Step 2: Add the mango smoothie drink at a 1/2 cup at a time and blend. Add more smoothie to the processor if you want a smoother margarita.

Step 3: Cut your lime in half and squeeze the juice into the mango mixture and blend.

Step 4: Mix together some salt and chili powder on a small plate. The amount of chili powder is up to you (I like it a little spicier, so I added a bit more). Rim the top of your glasses with a bit of lime juice and dip it in the salt.

Step 5: Put your mango mixture into a pitcher. Pour the two VOVETI prosecco mini bottles into the pitcher and stir. Serve your drinks ASAP! They are best freshly made. Check out my video below to see how easy it is to make!

Let me know if you make this drink. I think it’s the perfect faux margarita for the summer. VOVETI is a Prosecco crafted from vineyard to cellar meant to share, inspire, and entertain the senses. Enjoy the adventure!

– Chelsey

P.S.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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Categories: drinks for every season, food

Perler Bead Bracelets Kid Craft!

May 5, 2017 | Posted by

As my daughter gets older our crafting days get more fun! She’s able to do so much more and I love how creative she is. Most recently we decided to get crafty with some Perler beads that I picked up from Michaels. I thought it would be a fun challenge to turn our Perler beads into 3D jewelry, so we made some bracelets.

Making bracelets out of Perler beads was a bit of a challenge at first, but once we figured it out it was pretty easy and fun. All of the bracelets we made are too small for my wrist, but fit my daughter perfectly. If you do want these bracelets to fit an adult wrist, I made a note of how to do that in the directions below.

There are a few items I recommend for this project to make it easier, but they aren’t completely necessary. I’ve also provided some patterns you can use with the Perler board that I used with an iPad. Or make your own! My daughter made one of the flower patterns on her own. When making your own pattern just remember to have 2 or more beads on each end that will meet up when you turn it into a bracelet.

Supplies needed:

Directions:

Step 1: Measure your wrist. You will need to be able to slide the bracelet on and off. When you have that measurement, find a glass that measures about the size you need for your wrist. I used a small juice glass for my daughter’s wrist.

Step 2: Plan out the pattern! You can do that freehand, or use the Perler App (it’s pretty fun to use). Make sure the ends of the bracelet will match up. Save my patterns to your iPad and open the image if you want use them.

Step 3: Follow your pattern and place the beads.

Step 4: Following the directions for the Perler beads, place the ironing paper over the design and heat up that side with your medium heat iron.

Step 5: While the beads are still warm, wrap the ironed bead side around the glass. Place the ironing paper over the beads and seal the edge to secure the bracelet. Let that cool down and then iron the rest of the bracelet. You want to iron it enough to get the beads to attach to each other.

Leave the bracelet to cool on the glass and then you are done!

Note: If you want to make a larger bracelet and your board isn’t long enough, don’t worry! You can add another section of bracelet on another part of the board and just iron the pieces together. Easy.

That’s it! My favorite bracelet we made is definitely our breakfast piece. So cute. My daughter wants to make more and give them to her friends. I bet we will be making a lot of these during the summer. Michaels is your Kids summer fun headquarters! They have everything you need to spark creativity in your children.

Looking for more inspiration? Make sure you visit Michaels’ blog, The Glue String, to see the rest of the Michaels Makers’ summer project ideas.

– Chelsey

P.S. I was provided with a Michaels gift card to create this fun project and share it. I use affiliate links.

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Categories: Crafts and DIYs for the Kids, diy

The Most Delicious Coconut Flour Paleo Tortillas, Ever.

April 12, 2017 | Posted by

In the past few years I’ve tried all the “diets” out there to find out what works for my body, and what does not. It’s not about losing weight. It’s about feeling good and having more energy in the day. There are things I’ve figured out on this journey and I’m slowly learning what works for me. I’ve gone mostly meat free for a year with lots of grains and felt great, but that wasn’t realistic, or for me (I love steak, pork, and chicken). I’ve done gluten free (probably the wrong way… hello gluten free cookies) and felt fine. I’ve done Whole 30 and have felt amazing with a lot of energy, but Whole 30 is a little extreme for me because I LOVE food, and I think that’s okay, but I do not want to be on that “diet” forever. I just need to be sure I’m eating these foods that are bad for me as treats. Not everyday. I don’t ever eat sweets (it’s not really my thing, unless it’s Oreos) and I need to make the way I eat a lifestyle.

I know that wheat, corn, rice, and dairy (that’s the hardest part for me) are very hard for me to digest. When I eat those delicious things I get real tired and bloated and just not happy, but I know I still want these things on occasion. So I’ve decided to create my own “diet”. It’s not really a diet. Just a way of living. Lately I’ve been eating what my body can easily digest (and I feel great after eating) and giving myself a cheat day once or twice (or thrice) a week (yeah, that’s fried chicken/nap time). It’s sort of a gluten free whole 30 paleo life. I’ve been feeling a LOT better and I’m happy. I get to go out to eat with my friends and it’s okay if I have a corn tortilla with tacos. BUT, when I’m home I’m doing my best to eat the way that makes me feel good.

So here I am today to share a very successful recipe with you. We are having taco night and I was really sad to not have any tortillas with this meal (omg, I love tacos), so I found this amazing paleo tortilla recipe on Stupid Easy Paleo. I adjusted some of the recipe and I’m sharing what I did below, but these tortillas are so yummy. They are soft and perfect for taco night.

The Most Delicious Coconut Flour Paleo Tortillas, Ever.

Ingredients:

 

Directions:

Step 1: Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them. Melt the water and butter together until it’s medium heat. Whisk and combine with the eggs.

Step 2: Add your dry ingredients (tapioca flour, coconut flour, and salt) and combine.

Step 3: In a pan heated over medium heat (preferably non stick) pour a 1/3 of the batter into the pan. After about 30 seconds to a minute you will be ready to flip the tortilla. When the tortilla is done place in on a paper towel to cool.

Step 4: I’ve stored these tortillas for the evening and they are still good. So easy to make ahead. If you have extras maybe you can make something with it for your breakfast?

That’s it! Enjoy these tortillas. Don’t worry about how odd shaped they are, they still taste delicious and are grain free. Yay! You can adjust the recipe to your needs. Some people prefer to use ghee, but we always use Kerrygold butter. It also seems like the arrowroot powder and tapioca powder are interchangeable. The original recipe called for arrowroot, but I was very successful with tapioca.

Have a great Wednesday!

– Chelsey

P.S. I use Amazon affiliate links.

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Categories: about me, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, food

Spring Style for the Husband: A Search for the Perfect Watch

March 30, 2017 | Posted by

I have to laugh a bit when I read the title of this blog post. It’s not that my husband doesn’t dress nice, but is it stylish? I don’t know. He has his nice slacks and button up shirts + ties for work, but once that weekend hits it’s all jeans, t-shirts (probably with holes) and maybe some flannel. I am not complaining, though. I love it when he wears that flannel shirt right there.

So when we were looking for a watch to go with his “style” he needed it to be something that could easily go from his casual, and sometimes super casual, weekend wardrobe to his nice work outfits. I found this men’s watch from JORD and we both loved it. It’s nice enough to wear to work and perfect for his casual weekends. It’s such a unique watch and I think I’ll need one for myself. I used to wear watches before my phone turned into my clock, but I love the idea of getting back to wearing one of these beautiful watches everyday. They do have some beautiful women’s watches on their site.

Would you like to win your own Conway JORD watch? You should head on over to their contest page to try and win! You can win a shop credit to buy your own Conway watch by heading over here and filling out a small form. Contest ends April 9th, 2017 at 11:59 PM. Even if you don’t win the big prize you will still get a $25 gift code just for entering (the code will expire on June 30th, 2017).

I know it probably seems a little early to be searching for Father’s day gifts, but it will be here sooner than you think. If you loved the Conway JORD watch that I got for my husband, you can get 15% off this watch style through June 30th, 2017! You will be so ready for Father’s Day. Yay! Use this code (discount codes cannot be combined): THEPAPERMAMACONWAY15

It is basically the perfect little gift. It comes in this amazing wooden box that HAS A PULL OUT DRAWER. My daughter may have already stolen the box and is keeping her favorite jewelry pieces in it.

– Chelsey

P.S. I was provided with the JORD Conway watch in exchange for this blog post.


Watch Gift Ideas

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Categories: about me, family, favorite