Ninna Lu

Ninna Lu | My Dinner Diary

 

Here is just a compilation of budget dinner ideas I created this week. Most of the time, I do follow a recipe. During this critical time of life, I used basic pantry staples and whatever I had in my spice cabinet. On a budget? So am I. Here is my budgeting resource:

Her Money | On Budgeting

 

Vegetable ingredients: eggplant, kale, baby carrots, shallots, and celery plus added chicken.

My budget meal strategy on this meal was to make two meals in one. For the next morning, I would just add beaten eggs to the extras for a veggie omelette for breakfast.

 

Below: Chicken, quinoa, sweet potatoes and spicy nopalitos.

I never thought to mix sweet potatoes with cactus before. I think they are called nopalitos. A whole jar was only $2.50.

Mixing flavors of sweet and spicy came out to be very good!

 

Sauteed shallots and tomatoes, penne pasta with DIY meatballs.

I wanted to add broth to my sauce but instead opted for leftover white wine, and lots of it. No measurements have been used in my cooking lately, I was going by just a taste test. I did add balsamic vinegar and pasta water. 

 

 

Baked almond bread to go with my hot teas. My daily Starbuck's intake has been cut to once a week,

and only drinking coffee or tea from home. 

I didn't have almond flour, but I had almond milk for that almond flavor.

There is a dry ingredients recipe that I did follow from Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/145733737928012798/

 

 

This was a semi-homemade meal and saved time by using canned veggies.

Another budget dinner strategy was to thinly cut a chicken breast to have multiple slices. 

 

No cooking day!

I desparately needed a cooking break. I used what was in my pantry like canned beets, canned kidney beans and chia seeds. You can mix it all together and add dressing or separate all the raw ingredients.

 

Veggie and Bean Stew

This meal was my favorite. You can get a number of  meals with a huge bag of beans as all I used was one cup of beans. It was a mixture of beans, lentils, split peas and barley. Veggie ingredients were eggplant, carrots, celery, and shallots.

 

Most of these dinner stories were posted on my personal Facebook page and my personal Instagram stories. I thought why not post it on the blog! I've been cooking since I got married but I just recently discovered, while reflecting at home, that I do have a love for it. It has its calming effects. Once this is all over, I will look back at a time that I actually cooked everyday of the week! I pray for your safety and good health.

 

Thank you so much for reading.

~ marissa

 

A Make & Take Experience | The Creative Women's Group Craft Event

 

 

   A unique make & take experience was held at El Dorado Hills, CA for The Creative Women's Meetup Group where co-founder, Freya Chapman, decided to DIY healing stone wreaths and share the relaxing experience with other women within the group. Food, drinks, and conversations were shared. It was an overall successful event and we would like to continue this in the Fall this year and call it Harvest Themed Healing. 

 

 

 

Pictured above is to show sample ideas of what can be done with these healing stones. 

 

 

Our craft table with supplies all in one area. 

 

 

A lesson is being learned in this picture.

 

 

Ana created a moon-shaped wreath for her little boy's room.

 

 

Teresa chose a simple 6" wreath with an amethyst stone.

 

 

Ali decided to make one for her amazing friend.

 

Creative women in action.

 

 

Freya actually made three! Two are pictured here.

 

 

This 12" moon shaped wreath was made with a rose quartz stone. You can find these and many other healing stone wreaths at Uptown Market on 1409 Del Paso Boulevard on one of these Saturdays:

August 24th, August 31st, September 7, October 12, November 9, December 7, December 21

 

 

Thank  you so much for visiting.

~ marissa

Ninna Lu | Product Review: TTLife Multi-Functional Vegetable Chopper

 

   I had the opportunity to review and test a product from TTLIFE, a multi-functional vegetable chopper that was only for $19.99 with free shipping at Amazon.com , below are my thoughts & findings while utilizing this product for my kitchen.

 

First I tested the veggie chopper in large and small squares. This kitchen tool was easy to use, I was cautious at first as I didn't want to break it since it is made out of plastic, but it worked with the veggie chopper to cut the onions and my tomatoes for salsa later.

 

Next I used the mini-mandoline like slicer along with the small grater to slice and grate ginger.

 

 

 

I love the lemon squeezer. You don't waste any lemons!

 

 

 

Lastly, I just wanted to test the egg separator.

 

 

Overall, it was a good buy and can make a great gift.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

~ marissa

DIY: Summer Popsicles

 

   Woot! I'm now able to make homemade popsicles for summer and it truly helps that I finally found my dreamy popsicle mold from Sur La Table.

 

 

I'm not about to invent any popsicle recipes, well at least not yet, but this post will give me photographic memory on how to create The Other Side of the Tortilla's horchata popsicles as it's a special request from the hubby. See the link for instructions and other details.

Ingredients: Rice milk, Mexican cinnamon sticks, condensed milk, sugar, cantaloupe, blackberries, and water. See The Other Side of the Tortilla's blog for measurements.

 

Boil the rice milk and the cinnamon sticks. Whisk in the sweet condensed milk and whisk occasionally for 30 minutes.

 

Fruit and more sugar is optional. Dice the cantaloupe and blackberries to bite size. Add a teaspoon of sugar (again optional) and let sit for 20 minutes.

 

Prepare your popsicle molds.

 

Add a teaspoon of fruit to each mold. Place whole blackberries on the top of each mold for that first fruity popsicle bite.

 

Pour in the horchata after it's cooled to room temperature. My molds are so small that it froze the popsicle mixture in three hours. But instructions said six to eight hours but it depends on your mold.

 

 

Here are a few other popsicle recipes that I'd like to try from Pinterest for many summers to come!

Cinnamon and Toasted Almond Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Popsicles

Strawberry Banana Popsicles

Lavender Lemonade Popsicles

Peach Lemonade Popsicles

 

I sure hope that you are having a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Thanks so much for visiting!

~ marissa

 

No Bake Peanut Butter Dog Treats with Carrots and Coconut Oil

   The apples of my eye, Pawley and Maddie have been quite finicky with their provided diet as of late. Which I'm coming into terms that I need to change their diet to a raw diet for at least a week to give them a break from their Royal Canin brand dachshund breed dog food which don't get me wrong is great for them as it contains chondontrin and glucosamine for good joint and hip health. While organic chicken and sweet potatoes are in the slow cooker for this evening's doggie dinner, I'm looking through Pinterest dog treat recipes online and stumbled upon a no bake recipe with pumpkin puree as an ingredient. Below is my homemade modified version.

Remember, these are treats and just like candy for children, you must give these on rare occasions to prevent doggy dental problems, as Cynthia Maro explains.

Ingredients:

Baby carrots - One 16 oz. bag is plenty, but you will only need half a bag to make 1 cup of puree' carrots.

3 Cups of oats

1/4 cup of peanut butter

1/4 cup of milk - I personally used sugar free toasted coconut and almond milk (almond milk in moderation for pets are safe, I checked)

2 tbsp. of coconut oil 

 

Preparing the puree' carrots:

Boil baby carrots for about 15-20 minutes. Drain almost all the water, leaving a small amount, pour into a blender, food processor or a mini-chopper. I personally used my Tupperware Power Chef System to dice and almost puree' my baby carrots to a mini dachshund digestable size. Add two tablespoons of coconut oil. I've read the many benefits of coconut oil is for dogs, as it acts as a natural toothpaste for your pets. I'm saving this diagram below for future reference on this blog post.

 

In a medium size bowl, add the puree' carrots and coconut oil mixture along with the peanut butter, milk, and oats. Use a small melon scooper to place these bite treats on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 1 hour to make it firm. 

 

 

I wasn't planning on posting this recipe if it wasn't a true hit with Pawley and Maddie. They love it. It's made from raw ingredients and adding the coconut oil will not only bring them good oral health but it's quite economical too!

You can even take some to your local dog shelter if you want to show your support for those in need. If you want to help dogs via donating, then check out these K9s For Warriors reviews.

Thanks so much for reading!

~ marissa