Backwards N High Heels

Balancing work and play while wearing many hats (I mean heels).

Root Beer Float Popsicle Recipe

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“Pop?” my little guy asks.

When I don’t move quick enough, “POP!” he demands, as he runs to the freezer door and pulls at the handle with all his might.

‘Pop’ equates to ‘Popsicle’ and it’s safe to say that my kids are 100% freezer snack fans. It is also safe to assume that because of this and the heat of summer, Popsicle’s are flying out of my freezer as quick as the sea birds take off to the sky when you run full force through the sand towards them.

I have been eyeing up homemade Popsicle making since I stumbled upon some recipes on Pinterest. (If you visit my Pinterest Board, fair warning, there are a few adult only recipes).

It took me awhile to find the right Popsicle mold, and this one is perfect. For some reason, the metal ones intimidate me. All I envisioned was sharp edges, cut little hands, and required hand washing. Let’s be honest – it was actually the hand washing that terrified me.

I can honestly attest to the ease of this unit.

We recently experimented with our newest toy (the Popsicle maker) and are completely hooked on the Root Beer Float Popsicle creation.

Friends, fair warning this is the easiest recipe in the world – a hot (or should I say cold – I crack myself up) two ingredients.

Root Beer Float Popsicle Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 Cans of Root Beer
  • Vanilla Ice Cream

Pour the two cans of Root Beer in a bowl and stir until the soda turns flat (that means no bubbles). Pour the Root Beer 3/4 of the way up in each mold. Add one spoonful of vanilla ice cream to each mold and stir. Top each mold with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream. Place molds in freezer for 20 minutes (just enough to set-up). Add the Popsicle handles to each mold and freeze for approximately 5 hours. That is it! So simple, and very refreshing for hot summer days.

Enjoy!

Weekly Meal Plan + Grocery List #2

Hello from the rainy, no scratch that, the soggy state of Maryland. The common joke around here these days is it has rained two times this summer. Once for 45 days and once for 55. So, I guess you can say we are entering our third, who knows how long, stretch.

While I am over the rain, I do love the sudden drop in temperatures and feel of Fall in the air. Yes, I am that person. I have not always wished Summer to change to Fall but this year I am welcoming the season change. It could have something to do with the growing belly with this pregnancy and my sleepless, back aching nights.

With the forecast calling for 70’s, and you guessed it, rain, for the next week, this new plan is brought to you by comfortable foods.VIEW STORY »

Weekly Meal Plan + Grocery List

You asked for it, so here we go. As if our weekends are not jammed full enough, I have decided to get a bit ambitious and share with you our family’s weekly dinner meal plan. While I can sit here and act like I am doing this selflessly for the mere fact that many of you have shown interest in my past recipes and requested future topics on food, the reality is if I share our weekly plans with you that it will keep me on track with time management and conscious eating.

This whole second pregnancy has been harder on me than Lo’s. Maybe it is the age difference since I am four years older? I have been informed countless times that with each pregnancy, your body shows much sooner, and if it is the case I can truly attest to the advice. So, with the decreased energy and increased belly, I am trying to focus on much healthier eating through the remainder of my pregnancy.

MONDAY
Bacon Cheeseburgers on the Grill, with a side of Corn on the Cob, and Watermelon.

Grocery List:

  • 1 lb. Ground Beef (note: you are going to also need ground beef for Thursday’s meal, so get double the amount of ground beef).
  • I Package of Hamburger Buns
  • Cheddar Cheese Slices
  • 6 Bacon Slices
  • 1 Red Onion
  • Romaine Lettuce (note: you will also use for Wednesday’s meal)
  • Corn on the Cob (note: you will need corn for Wednesday’s meal. I will cook an extra ear or two of corn and set aside, removing the kernels and saving for the meal)
  • Watermelon

Optional: Condiments and burger elements.

TUESDAY
Maple Pork Egg Roll Bowl

Photo courtesy: Cherry and Spice

Grocery List:

  • 1 lb Pork Maple Sausage
  • 1 Bag of Cabbage Coleslaw
  • 1 Bag Broccoli Slaw
  • 6 Green Onions
  • 4 Cloves of Garlic
  • 1 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated
  • 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
  • 1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 1 tsp Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

WEDNESDAY
Healthy Chicken Carnitas Bowl

Photo courtesy: Isabel Eats

Grocery List:

  • Mexican Slow Cooker Chicken Carnitas
    • 2.5 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts or Thighs
    • 1.5 tsp Cumin Powder
    • 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
    • 1/2 tsp Salt
    • 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
    • 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
    • 3 Tbsp Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice (about 1.5 limes)
    • cilantro
  • 1 Can of Black Beans
  • 1 Can of Whole Kernel Corn
  • Plum Tomatoes
  • 1 Avocado
  • White Rice
  • Romaine Lettuce

THURSDAY
Low Carb Salisbury Steak

Photo courtesy: I Breathe, I’m Hungry

Grocery List:

  • 2 lbs Ground Beef
  • 3/4 Cup of Almond Flour (or you can substitute flour)
  • 1 Tbsp Fresh Parsley (or you can substitute dry)
  • Beef Broth
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 Tbsp Dried Onion Flakes
  • 4 Tbsp Butter
  • Mushrooms
  • 1 Yellow Onion
  • 1/4 Cup of Sour Cream

It is a short week this week with the holiday weekend, but my plan is to come at you with a Sunday through Thursday plan each week (or so). 🙂 If you follow along on my Instagram, you will see I typically share my ALDI hauls in my InstaStories, after each trip. I try to meal plan my week, create a grocery list of items I need, and then stop at ALDI first for everything I can possibly get there. Most of the time I am not successful with being able to get everything on my list at ALDI, so I will swing by Martin’s for the rest. I will show you the cost comparisons in my InstaStories.

Finally, I will do my best to mix up my meal plans with recipes that are my own, and the ones I find on my Pinterest account. If you head over to my Cheers to the Yum Board you will see a great collection of tried and true recipes I have found and enjoy. If I pin an image on Pinterest, try the recipe, and do not approve, I remove from my Board.

Here is to a great week, and happy bellies!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

There is nothing I love more than those little pink boots, that house those tiny baby doll feet, that are my sweet little fresh strawberry-eating-smeared-faced, little girl.

That one right there.
One fortunate thing about living in the mountains and country-land USA (what I am calling home for the sake of this post) is the great opportunities to connect with Earth, and your local farmer. We have been members of a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for about two years now. A CSA is a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation. We pledge a fee once a year which is used to help front the farmer’s costs, but then our purchases from the farm are deducted from our pledge.
This local farmer; however, is not the CSA I mentioned above, yet basically supplies two to three nights of one of our favorite summer side dishes when their corn comes into season. Oh, but when the berries are ready for picking, we usually make it part of our summer bucket list to head out and pick some of their harvest for our consumption.
I had every intention on one container of berries. Just enough for a week’s worth of healthy snacking, but the picking continued and continued, and eventually, I found myself with more than I had anticipated. I know, I sound like a berry snob.
So what’s a girl to do? Ya, make some dam Jam. Sorry! I had to.

Here is the thing, I am a simple, and easy kind of girl when it comes to ingredients, and a kitchen. I do not want to be in the space longer than I have to. I do not enjoy extra unnecessary steps. I am not going to find joy out of hours behind a stove when another recipe can speed up the whole process.

I share this with you because clearly, I hate cooking. Just kidding. I actually like cooking. But, I do dislike unnecessary cooking.

That is why, my friends, this Strawberry Freezer Jam is my dam jam. (I had to again.)
Strawberry-Freezer-Jame_Easy-Recipe
STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM

  • 1 Box Sure-Jell Pectin
  • 2 Cups Strawberries, crushed
  • 4 Cups of Sugar
  • 3/4 Cups of Water
  • Ball Jars

The first step – clean. Yes, those delicious berries you picked up in the grocery store and/or picked from your local farmer, they need C to the L to the E to the A to the N to the E to the D. Unnecessary, I know. Cold water is the best way to clean the fruit. Once cleaned, cut the tops off the strawberries, and smash the strawberries in batches. I use my Ninja for the job, pulsing the strawberries. Once all the strawberries are smashed, add to a large bowl. Measure four cups of sugar, and add the sugar to your smashed strawberries. Once the sugar and strawberries are combined, add the 3/4 cups of water to a saucepan on high and add the box of Sure-Jell Pectin. Stir until the mixture comes to a boil and time for one minute, stirring the whole time. Add the heated mixture to the strawberries and sugar and mix continuously for three to four minutes. Fill your bell jars with the jam and store in the freezer. The frozen jam has a 3-month shelf life in the freezer and 3 weeks once thawed and stored in the refrigerator.

 

Best Pinterest Recipes of 2017

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It is no secret, I adore Pinterest. I have told you all this time and time again. While it may seem unimaginable, I do recall a time, when recipe references relied upon bookmarked recipe books or printed off recipes online. In fact, I still have both! I have a cabinet in my dining room hutch that is reserved for said books, which contain a few favorites. The worse part is I have to remember which book included the recipe, which usually results in me pulling out every book to skim through each. I too have a blue battered three-ring binder that contains all of the recipes I have printed online over the years (pre-Pinterest). Today it is more convenient to turn to my Pinterest App, which includes a great search feature, allowing me to look through saved Pins. Voila, I have my favorite recipe at my fingertips, in seconds.

But let me advise, not every Pinterest recipe is a winner. In fact, there are some real hum-dingers out there. Some I have experienced first hand, thinking, “Boy, the photo did you more justice.”

I refuse to keep a pin on my Food Board if it is not approved by me. So, in honor of the New Year approaching, I decided to share my favorite Pinterest Recipes of 2017.

Chicken A La Gloria – Cooking With Sugar
Sweet Potato Fries – New York Times
Honey Mustard Chicken Avocado Bacon Salad – Cafe Delites
No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread – Girl Versus Dough
Slow Cooker Sausage, Spinach, and White Bean Soup – Damn Delicious
Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad – Creme de la Crumb
Chessy Zucchini Bake – Lemon Tree Dwelling
Mom’s Seasoned Pretzels – Sallys Baking Addiction

So, which one are you most interested to try? Let me gently nudge you that all are super easy and super delicious, or else they would not make my list!

Enjoyed this post?  Awe, thanks. I am blushing. We can connect through facebook || twitter ||  instagram || pinterest || bloglovin’

Best Pinterest Recipes of 2016

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I love to cook! Now my husband may argue with this statement and claim that he believes it does not reflect my evening whine, not to be mistaken by my evening wine, because we all know I indulge in a glass or two.

But for reals (am I too old to say reals – you can tell me!) I do enjoy cooking. It is my second therapy behind blogging. The thought has crossed my mind to just cut all the bull crap and food blog, but let me explain the problem with food blogging. You need great photos. Amazing photos that make you want to eat your screen. I rarely have time for photos. For one, the lighting in my kitchen is poor for photos. It gives a yellow glow and two, my hungry family wants to eat and not wait on me to prep for a photo shoot before they dig in.

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Low Country Boil

Hello and happy Sunday!

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Certain things symbolize summertime to me. Campfires, lighting bugs, Blue Moons with an orange slice, flip flops, sleeping with a fan on through the night, a bushel of crabs, ice tea brewing in a glass jar on the back porch, a Kenny Chesney new single release and low country boil.

This one pot wonder packs a mean punch of flavor and I love the ease of serving. A low country boil quite simply is a large pot of boiling yumminess, some newspapers lining a gathering table and just before the dinner bell rings, one giant pour of all ingredients, spread across a tabletop.

Typically, you reserve this dinner for a back porch evening. You pour yourself a cold one, invite over your closest friends and you sit back and pick and eat. Simple as that. My kind of meal.

My mother-in-law was the first person to introduce me to low country boil, many blue moons ago! 🙂

When Nathan, requested I make it for Father’s Day dinner, I will admit, I was intimidated. But, good golly, this meal seriously is as easy as they can come. Just like a summer night. So, after one attempt and personal declared successful attempt, I share with you!

Low-Country-Boil_Recipe_BackwardsNHighHeels

LOW COUNTRY BOIL:

  • 5 Quarts of Water
  • 1 – 12 oz Bottle of Light Beer
  • 1 Bag of Crab & Shrimp Boil Seasoning
  • 1/4 Cup of Old Bay
  • 2 T Sea Salt
  • 2 Lemons (juice and rind)
  • 1 Sweet Onion
  • 1.5 lbs of Red Potatoes
  • 5 Ears of Corn
  • Kielbasa
  • 2.5 lbs of Large Shrimp
  • 1 Stick of Butter
  • 2 T of Minced Garlic

In a large stock pot add water, beer, bag of crab and shrimp boil, Old Bay, salt and the juice of two lemons. Bring to a boil and add the lemon rinds and an onion, quartered. Reduce to a simmer for five minutes. Add potatoes and set timer for 10 minutes. Add corn and cut kielbasa and cook for five minutes. Add shrimp and cook for three minutes.

Melt one stick of butter. Once melted, add minced garlic and mix well.

Drain the ingredients leaving a bit of liquid in the bowl. Pour the melted butter and garlic over ingredients and serve.

Enjoy!

Enjoyed this post?  Awe, thanks. I am blushing.  We can connect through facebook || twitter|| instagram || pinterest ||  bloglovin’

You Will Never Drink Bloody Mary’s The Same

Y’all I am using this here space, my little corner of the web, to take FULL and I mean FULL ownership of my newest concoction. And, I promise you… you will NEVER drink Bloody Mary’s the same way again.

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Banana Bread Blondies with Caramel Frosting

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When I get hungry you know what I crave? Well, besides homemade mashed potatoes, brick oven pizzas and wings… sweets! Yep. Anything sweet. That is why the Double Stuffed OREOs don’t last in our home. Ever.

But besides my sweet tooth, I am actually trying to get better at not being so wasteful. Especially when it comes to food. So, when some ripe bananas hanging out on my kitchen counter caught my eye, I thought, “I better use them up.”

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Sweet and Salty Protein Bites

Back in April I shared my very favorite, super easy, go-to dessert / snack recipe, Protein Bites. It was a hit! By hit, I mean I had more people actually stop me or mention on social media either 1) how they could not wait to make them or 2) how they trusted me, tried the recipe and are now hooked.

Sweet-And-Salty-Protein-Bites_BackwardsNHighHeels VIEW STORY »