Domestic Diva

10 Easy Easter Treats That Won’t Make You Lose Your Peepin’ Mind

April 3, 2012 By Blonde Mom 14 Comments

Cute cupcakes decorated with edible green apple flavored “grass,” purchased at Kroger, courtesy of my mother-in-law and the girls!

I love a good excuse for eating festive treats and Easter is no exception. I am definitely in Camp Peep, but I never met a jelly bean or pastel M&M I didn’t love.

Here are some Easter treats that are very easy to make but that will still score you major bunny ear points with your family. Slacker holiday moms rejoice!

Ask any mom with a few Easter baskets on her resume will tell you, your kids don’t give a flying bunny poop about how long you labored over the intricate Easter treats.

10 Easy Easter Treats

Lemon sugar cookies dyed in pastel colors from Baked by Rachel

SUPAH adorable (and easy) Jordan Almond Bluebird treats from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle…these are almost too cute to eat!

Easy Easter Oreos from A Day in My Life

Easter Peeps S’mores from Steamy Kitchen

Easy Easter Kit Kat Cake from my friend Leah at So, How’s It Taste?

Ice Cream Cone Easter Baskets featured on Cupcake Diaries (orig. from Good Housekeeping)

Bunny Bait snack mix from Sing For Your Supper

Jelly Bean Easter Bark via Nestle

Easter Pretzel Treats via Pinterest (my mother-in-law also made these and they are really cute and could be changed up for different holidays with different colored candy)

Glamour Peeps (because every girl needs a little glitter) via Buttercream Blondie. This is probably the most complex recipe listed, just fyi, but they are super cute and I’m a Peeps lover.

Do you have any easy Easter treats to share? Please share in the comments!

p.s. Speaking of Easter treats, I’m giving away a HoneyBaked Ham gift certificate on my review and shopping blog. Check it out! Deadline to enter is 4/12.

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Filed Under: Domestic Diva, Links, Parenting 14 Comments

Good And Good For You Challenge: Pork Roast With Sweet Potatoes And Granny Smith Apples

February 11, 2012 By Blonde Mom 5 Comments

Photo courtesy of the Pork Board (this version uses pears…I used Granny Smith apples and it was delicious!)

You know you’re having an exciting Saturday night when you say to your husband, “I’ve got to get home and rub my pork roast!”

It’s week three of my healthy pork challenge in the kitchen and this week’s featured cut of meat on sale at your neighborhood Publix is pork roast. If you can’t find just the right cut of meat, be sure to ask your local Publix butcher to help you out. They’ll be happy to oblige. (Like mine!)

I’ve never prepared a pork roast before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. This cut of meat takes a bit of time to cook so it’s good for a weekend night when you aren’t in a rush. It would be great for a special Valentine’s Day dinner next week. I served ours with rice and a spinach salad. This smells amazing cooking!

And now for the recipe of the week…

Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes, Granny Smith Apples And Rosemary
Recipe from PorkBeInspired.com

I loved that the prep time was minimal, and although the official recipe says 15 minutes, it probably took me 5 minutes to get the roast oven ready. You peel and slice the sweet potatoes and fruit while it’s cooking which is helpful as prep time is broken into stages.

Ingredients
3 1/2 pound bone-in pork center loin roast, excess fat trimmed to thin layer
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped, plus more for serving
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 pounds (6 medium) sweet potatoes, peeled, and cut lengthwise into sixths (Busy mom tip…our neighborhood Publix sells prewashed sweet potatoes in a bag and I grabbed these to save time)
3 Granny Smith apples cored and sliced (you may also use pears but I had Granny Smith apples on hand)
1 12-oz bottle hard cider (or substitute with apple cider)...I used Woodchuck Granny Smith Apple Hard Cider

Cooking Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Rub pork all over with oil. Mix rosemary, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Rub all over pork.

Place pork, bone side down, in large flameproof roasting pan. Roast 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Roast 15 minutes more. Add sweet potatoes and pears to pan, stir gently to coat with pan juices, and spread as evenly as possible around roast. Season with salt and pepper. Roast, occasionally stirring sweet potato mixture, until instant-read food thermometer inserted in center of roast reads 145 degrees F and the potatoes and pears are tender, about 1 hour more. Transfer pork to carving board. Transfer sweet potato mixture to ovenproof bowl, tent with aluminum foil, and keep warm in turned-off oven. (If needed, increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F, and continue roasting sweet potato mixture until tender, up to 15 minutes longer.) Let pork stand for 10 to 15 minutes.

Heat roasting pan over high heat. Add cider, bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits in pan with wooden spoon, and boil until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Pour into sauceboat.

Carve pork. Transfer to serving platter, surround with sweet potato mixture, drizzle with 3 tablespoons of cider sauce, and sprinkle with rosemary. Serve with remaining sauce on the side.

This was DELICIOUS! The sweet potatoes and the Granny Smith apples together were amazing.

With 250 calories, 22 grams of protein, and just 5 grams of fat, this is a tasty and healthy dinner that is perfect for a cool evening!

Follow along with all the other Good And Good For You bloggers on Twitter with the hashtag #Publix4Pork. You can also join the challenge on the official Pork Be Inspired Facebook page.

Next week I’ll be featuring the final recipe I’ve tested out in our kitchen with the pork cut of the week on sale at Publix, pork cutlets. You’ll also have a chance to win a great giveaway that includes $40 worth of pork coupons along with some other goodies, such as a meat thermometer and a reusable shopping bag.

Have you ever cooked a pork roast? Let me know your favorite way to prepare it. It’s also delicious grilled!

Disclosure: I am working with the National Pork Board, Publix, and The Motherhood to share with you great recipes using pork and help promote the Good and Good for You Challenge. I am being compensated for this campaign and also received coupons and a gift card to Publix to help facilitate these recipe reviews, but all opinions expressed on my blog are always my own.

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Filed Under: Domestic Diva 5 Comments

Good And Good For You Challenge: Game Day Pork Chile Wraps

February 3, 2012 By Blonde Mom 2 Comments

Photo courtesy of Pork Be Inspired

Sunday is the big game and whether you are in it for the love of the game or just to critique the commercials, you’re definitely going to be indulging in some food and beverage, right? My Good and Good For You Challenge with the Pork Board and Publix recipe of the week is for delicious, and easy, Game Day Pork and Chile Wraps.

This recipe, like last week’s for pork medallions and a lemon garlic sauce, was so simple it almost sounded too good to be true. It was another winner, though, and had my husband going back for seconds. I served the wraps with black beans and sweet potato fries mainly because that is what we had on hand. It ended up being a great weeknight dinner that took very little time to prepare. Now my girls did not eat the assembled wraps, but they loved the individually sliced strips of pork.

Game Day Pork and Chile Wraps

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
12 ounces boneless center cut pork loin chops, 3/4-inch thick, lean
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and black pepper
4 8-inch Tortillas, 98% fat free
1/4 avocado, pitted, peeled, thinly sliced
1/3 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 4-oz can diced green chiles
4 cups mixed salad greens, (about 2 oz)...note that I did not add any salad greens and we still thought the wraps were really tasty

In medium skillet over medium-high heat, warm oil. Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper and cook about 3-4 mins. per side until browned and internal temp. reaches 145 °F, Place chops on a plate and let rest 5 mins.
Cut chops into 1/4-in. slices.

Microwave tortillas on high until slightly warm and softened, about 30 sec. Place tortillas on workspace and top with pork, avocado, onion, chiles and salad greens stopping 2 inches short of one edge.

Working one tortilla at a time, fold one side of tortilla up and over fillings. Tuck fillings in tightly, then fold in the 2-in. edge. Continue rolling tortilla toward the other side, securing with toothpick if necessary. Repeat with remaining tortillas and serve.

Serves 4

Calories: 290 calories
Protein: 23 grams
Fat: 10 grams

Follow along with all the other Good And Good For You bloggers on Twitter with the hashtag #Publix4Pork. You can also join the challenge on the official Pork Be Inspired Facebook page.

Next week I’ll be featuring another recipe I’ve tested out in our kitchen with the pork cut of the week on sale at Publix, pork roast. The following week I’ll wrap up this series (get it…wrap) by posting a great giveaway that includes $40 worth of pork coupons.

Do you have any good wrap recipes to share?