Clara's Cooking | Indian Cauliflower & Butter Chicken

This is one of our favorite dishes. If you like Indian food, you'll love this entree! Warning - it is SUPER spicy! If you're concerned about too much heat, decrease the spices by 25-50%.

This is served best with rice (I prefer the soft sticky Asian kind, but you can use basmati rice if you'd like). You may also serve this with naan, an Indian flatbread. A Sparkpeople recipe for naan may be found here.

What You'll Need:

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

1/2 stick butter

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium head of cauliflower, chopped

15 oz can of tomato sauce, no added salt

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ginger

1 tsp curry

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp salt

½ cup light sour cream

Directions:

- Heat butter in pan.
- Cook chicken, and when halfway cooked, add onion, garlic, and cauliflower
- Add tomato sauce and spices
- Cover pan and allow to simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the sour cream.
- Cover and simmer for 20 minutes

Variations:
- Decrease fat further by using ¼ stick of butter instead of ½ stick
- Use a crock pot (I haven't tried this yet, but I assume 6 hours of medium heat is sufficient)
- To make Whole30 compliant, replace the butter with 1/8 cup of ghee. Also, replace the sour cream with coconut milk, adding slowly, starting at 1/4 cup at a time until the dish reaches your desired consistency and taste.

MY GOALS for 2016

It's that time again! Instead of being sad or annoyed about the word "RESOLUTIONS", remember everything that you DID accomplish last year! What things happened last year brought you joy? What events made you cherish life even more and feel gratitude?

I too have goals that I did not accomplish last year, but for those that DID work out, I kept them on the list for my 2016 goals so that they don't get forgotten. I've added a few new KEY goals to the list, including ORGANIZING DIGITAL PHOTOS, a 365 DAY PHOT PROJECT, and spending NO MORE THAN $100 PER WEEK ON GROCERIES, and more!!! (See my YouTube video below or here: http://bit.ly/1OT43dJ )

For those goals that didn't happen, like particular physical goals (attending yoga, reaching a particular weight), I will simply try again but perhaps have a different way of approaching the goal. For example, my 2015 goal of attending yoga twice a week was too stressful schedule-wise, and I found that being stressed out in class RUINS the experience! (OF COURSE!!!!)

So what are the alternatives for me?

- Aim for one yoga class a week instead of two
- Do a yoga DVD instead
- Shorter spurts of yoga routines instead of an hour long class

For this particular goal (to incorporate more yoga), I've decided to take it on a month-to-month basis. I'll evaluate at the end of each month how things are going, and if my choice isn't working, I'll try something else. For January 2016, thankfully my gym has announced a new yoga class (Yin yoga, which I wanted) on Sundays, which are definitely doable for me. If I'm able to attend at least 3 of those sessions this month, I'll continue to purse this choice next month.

What are your goals for 2016? Do you want to spend more time with family? Drink more water? Save money for a little vacation? 

love + light,
Clara

Clara's Cooking | Dollar Tree Peppermint Bark Recipe

Ah yes, it's that time again! We all have holiday traditions, and one of ours is to have peppermint bark every year! This is more of a "cookie" like version, and we love and prefer it! It is definitely a SPLURGE as far as calories/fat go (ohhh right - so THAT'S the reason I don't make this year round! LOL ).

See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDROgtdIQ48

This is an easy recipe that is great to bring to parties or include in treat bags for family and friends (and of course Dollar Tree sells treat bags too).

ALL ingredients may be found at Dollar Tree (YES my Dollar Tree had Ghirardelli chocolate! WHOA!), but some are of better value elsewhere, like granulated sugar. NOTE: THE DOLLAR TREE'S PARCHMENT PAPER WORKS GREAT! Give it a try and tell me what you think of it!


Dollar Tree Peppermint Bark Recipe:


Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temp
1 cup sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
6-9oz bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 to 3/4 cup peppermint candies/candy canes chopped and partially crushed (make as course or fine as you prefer, or you can buy it already crushed for you)
Nonstick spray 
Parchment paper
13x9x2 inch baking sheet


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray baking sheet with nonstick spray. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving extra paper hanging over the sides of the pan.

2. Mix flour & salt in a large bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, use paddle attachment to cream the butter for about 2 minutes.

3.Add sugar little by little to butter mixture until light & fluffy. Slowly mix in vanilla extract, egg yolk, and flour mixture on low speed.

4. Place dough onto baking pan and form a thin layer using moistened fingertips to press and spread the dough. Pierce throughout with a fork.

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until light brown. While crust is still warm, IMMEDIATELY spread chocolate chips on top, gently spreading across pan. The heat from the crust will melt the chips. Sprinkle the candies and carefully press slightly into the chocolate to stick - warning the chocolate will still be hot!

6. Put while chocolate in plastic and allow to sit in a bowl of hot water until melted. Cut a tiny corner of the bag and drizzle the while chocolate over the bark. Chill 1 hour.

7. Lift the bark via the parchment paper and transfer to a cutting board. Chop as desired.

What's your favorite holiday treat?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Love + light,

Clara

Dollar Tree Review - Chef Ernesto Vegetable Empanadas

Hi all! Time for another Dollar Tree Review!

I love when vegetarian products come to the Dollar Tree, so I had high hopes for this one. Plus, I thought their veggie burgers and samosas weren't too bad.

Each box contains four empanadas. I baked these at 350F for 5 minutes each side in the toaster oven. It had a good crisp skin but I'm not a fan of the texture inside. 

It's made primarily with black beans, so if you like black bean or lentil tostadas you might like these. Like the other Chef Ernesto products, it has Indian spices (which I normally LOVE), yet this time the taste fell flat.

It also was a bit dry so I ended up adding sweet chili sauce to make it a bit more appetizing.

Overall 6/10, and I would NOT buy it again.

What did you think of these?

Love + light,
Clara

Dollar Tree Learning Corner Tour & Organization

I posted a pic of this on IG awhile ago, and although this video has been on my "to-do" for over 6 months, it took a collaboration to get myself in gear!

A special THANK YOU to Jady A for inviting me to this collaboration, titled "Organized Children Spaces." I absolutely ADORE Jady A's channel and have for a long time (way before I started my own)! Check out her free printables for Early Childhood Learning at http://www.shelfwork.com.

This video takes you on a tour of most of the individual components of this system, and the star of the organizing show are Sterilite's standard shoe boxes. I originally bought the green ones from Dollar Tree, but lately have been finding them at Kroger or Family Dollar, also for $1 each. I like them way better than Dollar Tree Essentials' shoe boxes (I mention why in the video.

See video here: http://bit.ly/1HZecCK

Do you have tips and tricks to organize your child's learning spaces?

Love + light,
Clara

Yearly Questions for Kids

This year we will start a tradition of asking the all of the Slate kids (cousins, etc.) questions about life, and recording their answers in an Elf on the Shelf notebook I bought from DT! It'll be fun to see how their answers differ according to their unique personalities, especially over the upcoming years! 


YEARLY INTERVIEW FOR KIDS:

1.) How old are you? ___________________________________________.
2.) What's your favorite color? ____________________________________
3.) Favorite book(s)?___________________________________________
4.) Favorite toy(s)?_____________________________________________
5.) What is your favorite way to play outside? What sport and team do you like?
6.) My favorite TV show(s) is__________; my favorite movie(s) is_________.
7.) My favorite music/songs are ___________________________________.
8.) My teacher's name is ____________. 
      I love to go to school because _________________________________.
10.) I am really good at _______________, and LOVE to ________________.
11.) Every night I sleep at _____________, cuddling my _________________.
12.) I love to eat and drink _______________________________________.
13.) Animals are cool, especially the ____________because_____________.
14.) _____________________________________________make me laugh.
15.) ____________________________________________ make me upset.
16.) I want to be a _________________________________ when I grow up.
17.) My friends are _____________________________________________.
18.) If I had 3 wishes, they would be: _______________________________
                                                             ______________________________
                                                             ______________________________
19.) This year was busy with ______________________________________.
20.) My plans for next year are: ___________________________________
                                                             ______________________________
                                                             ______________________________


What questions would YOU ask? Feel free to copy and paste!

Happy holidays!

love + light,
Clara

DIY Home Goods Decor!

I LOVE Home Goods, but I refuse to spend $100 for a painting! Decided to use old sample paints to DIY my own Home Goods decor and make it a bit darker to fit my taste! 

See this quick 2-3 minute VIDEO here!

http://bit.ly/1I0FW9Y

I had old canvases in the basement that had paintings of trees, and I wasn't fond of the style nor color. I know it's taboo (VERY TABOO!!!) to paint over paintings, but I did it! I used a few thick layers of white primer paint, and POOF! Gone!

After painting the dining room, I was left will three sample paints in colors I absolutely adore. 

Sample Paint Used (from Home Depot):
Behr Ultra NYPD (medium gray blue, the color we chose for the dining room)
Behr Ultra Midnight Blue (dark gray blue)
Behr Ultra Deep Breath (medium blue)

After putting down some newspaper on the kitchen table, I used water to wipe the dust away and dried the canvases with a kitchen towel. Using the Behr Ultra Deep Breath (medium blue) paint, I started painting at the bottom, knowing that would be the darkest area of the painting (thereby a great place to make my first mistakes! LOL). Using a 1.5 inch Purdy brush (the same we use to paint the house), I dipped directly into the sample container and made large swiping motions across the canvas to get the look of the ocean waves. I did the same with a few swipes of the Behr Ultra NYPD (medium gray blue).

In an effort to make it as streaky as possible (yet make the waves better blend together), I used a little bit of water. As I approached the top of the painting (towards the "sky"), I used less and less paint. I then applied Behr Ultra Midnight Blue (dark gray blue) in thicker textured streaks to simulate rocks.

Optional Step: Working with a wrap around canvases, I decided to continue painting around the edges. Some people prefer to just leave the edges white or paint them black - totally a matter of preference!

And, VOILA! Is it as good as the Home Goods painting? Of course not. It's darker and moodier, but I love it! It's mine, and no else has a copy of this painting. :)

Have you done any painting around your house to mimic expensive decor you've seen at your favorite stores?

love + light,
Clara