The Most Amazing Dipping Sauce You Will Make

There's this sauce - I won't say the name - but it is simply amazing. AH-Freaking-mazing. It's so good, that I will drive to a damn farmer's market with two bat-sh*t crazy boys and stock up. It's THAT good. It's also expensive. And, inconvenient. So, slowly, it became a special rare treat. And, now, if I know one of my friend's is going to the farmers market, I make them buy it for me. Oops, my bad, I just tattled on myself. Many of my peeps in San Diego probably know what sauce I speak of.

But, low and behold, I came across someone else cuckoo cachoo for it like I am. And, they live in another city (it's only available in SD). So, in THEIR desperation, they worked on creating a dupe recipe. They claimed that they had nailed it. So, because they spent all that time recreating it, I thought to myself, "I'll be the judge of that!". So, I gathered some of my best girlfriends and we made a double batch and taste tested it out.

My friend and almond supplier, Rian, and my boys (plus one wonky sea horse)

The verdict? Absolutely nailed it. So. Damn. Good. I've been eating it everyday. EVERY DAY people. And, my hubby? He likes it, too. Which is saying something since he's pretty much averse to anything new. Trust me, it's worth your time to make it.

What makes this sauce, well, um, awesome sauce? If you are a hummus fan, you will love it. It's similar, but it's made from almonds. It's got a bit of a bite (well, maybe since I doubled the garlic) and a little after note of lemon. Best thing about it is that nothing in it is bad for you. NOTHING. No, really. I no lie.

There are a few ingredients which are not traditional pantry items, like nutritional yeast and Braggs Liquid Aminos. Trust me, invest in them. I'll put a little after note about how I use these items in other ways. If you have a Sprouts, you can find these items there. I'm sure Whole Foods has them, too. Seriously, buy them. You can thank me later. 

Give the sauce a try. You can even blend in some chipotles (see below for add ins) and use it on fish tacos or on a rice bowl with grilled chicken, diced avocados, black beans, tomatoes and corn. Oh my lordy, so delish. You can serve it with veggies and chips. Bring it to a hen party. You'll be the talk of the town. 

Awesome Sauce Recipe

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. of water

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. of grapeseed oil

1/2 cup of raw almonds

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. of fresh squeezed lemon juice

3 tbsp. of  nutritional yeast **

2 cloves of garlic (of 5 if you're like me and love garlic)

2 tsp. of bragg liquid aminos **

1/2 tsp. of himalyan pink salt

1/2 tsp. of cumin

1/2 tsp. of chili powder

1/4 tsp. of coriander

1/4 tsp. of paprika

Place all of the ingredients in a powerful blender (I used my VitaMix). Slowly blend for one minute. Blend on high and continue to blend for 1-2 minutes or until you reach a smooth and creamy texture. Store in the fridge. If sauce separates, stir. 

**I already had these ingredients in my pantry. But, if you don't, you can probably find them at your local health food store or Whole Foods. Braggs also makes fabulous Raw Apple Cider Vinegar, so you'll most likely find their Liquid Aminos in the same aisle. You can use it it in place of soy sauce or spray on most anything that would taste good with soy sauce in it. The nutritional yeast is also pretty yummy on popcorn or sprinkled on pasta. 

The end product + 2 carrots. Like a bunny buried at the beach. Mob style.

AND, if you want to try it with Chipotle, here you go...Gather all the ingredients to make awesome sauce and add:
1 chipotle in adobo sauce (not 1 can, 1 chipotle people)
1/4 cup onion
1 tsp. vinegar

Sensory Play - No Bake Colored Rice

Today I'm sharing with you a No Bake Colored Rice sensory activity.

Colored rice is a great sensory bin addition. Some times I'll add it to our bigger sensory bin, which is just a plastic underbed storage box. But, most times, I just add it to a plastic shoe box! It's a smaller, more manageable sensory box that I let the kids play with inside. Add cups, spoons, plastic animals and small dump trucks and let the kids use their imagination!

The Supplies:

• Packets of Kool-Aid
• Gallon Size Freezer Bags
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Rice

With summer approaching, I loathe turning on the oven if I don't have to! Ain't got time for that (well,
unless it's to bake cookies, then I got time for that!). That's why I love this colored rice technique! Not only is there no oven, but there's no messy food coloring/dye and it smells pretty yummy!

So, the how to...Get a freezer bag for each color you are preparing. In each bag, put 2 cups of uncooked white rice. Pour a packet of Kool-Aid in each bag, followed by 1 teaspoon of rubbing alcohol. Zip the bags (TIGHTLY!) and mix the Kool-Aid in until the color is coating all of the rice.

Let the bags rest (I made them flat) for about 15 minutes (or 2 hours if you were stuck watching the Teen Mom 2 marathon - DON'T JUDGE).

I made little rice boats out of foil and spread it out on a cookie sheet, as flat as I could and let it dry overnight.

The next day, I placed the rice back in Ziplocs and we were good to go for sensory play! The colors are really vibrant and don't rub off on my kiddo's hands. The green is going to be a great grass for a Farm sensory bin! I think blue would be super fun for an Ocean bin, too!

I imagine you could probably have the kiddos help you make it by mixing the tightly zipped bags. I think my boys would love that part and I'm going to let them do that next time!

Hope you have fun with this "recipe"! See? Sensory play isn't expensive or hard to do!

Printables To Share

So, it's Mother's Day and Teacher Appreciation Week.

HELLO PINTEREST.

I thought I'd share with you some awesome free printables with you!

While I am usually pretty into giving unique and elaborate teacher's gifts, I am not all on board for EXPENSIVE ones. And, since I brain farted on WHEN Teacher Appreciation Day was (which is this week, yikes!), I am sca-ramblin' for gifts. Plus, I have to buy FIVE, yes FIVE gifts for Brady's teachers and instructional aides. Good lordy, people. FIVE. So, because I am far too lazy this week for thirteen visits to Michaels for supplies and the perfect ribbon, I printed these suckers off and attached a gift card. I have discovered that www.chickabug.com is pretty much all shades of awesome. Give them a visit!

And, yes, Mother's Day...Are you tired of the same shleppy gift from your baby daddy? Me, too (well, he can still buy me the traditional See's Candy box). So, when I saw THIS printable, I knew that I had to print one out. And, the check boxes for "sex" or "no sex"? Wow...PERFECT. And, are you also asking yourself who asks for "sex" for Mother's Day? I found myself saying, "SHOULD I be asking for it on Mother's Day? Because sex kittens do that kind of stuff, right?" And, since I have retired from THAT career, I'll just ask for sleeping in. That'll do. Thank you very mucho! Anywho, head on over to www.ambrosiagirl.com and see if ya' likey what they got!

So, happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all my hard working teachers out there! 

And, all the mamas! Enjoy your special day! It hardly seems fair that we only get one day out of the year that is all ours. Seriously, should we start a Facebook petition for one day a month? HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Poo-Pouri

There is one thing that is universal. We ALL poop. Yup, that's what we're talking about today. Dropping deuces. The number TWO. Dropping the kids off at the community pool. Crap. Sh*t. Poop. Don't be scurred. We are only going to talk about the smell. Or, more specifically, how to get rid of it!

This is another "recipe" I ran across that had me on the floor laughing. I was thinking, "Seriously? Is this a joke?" But, after I about spit out my morning coffee, it dawned on me, "I don't like poo smell. Why not try this out?". Right? No one likes to walk into the bathroom and inhale the lingering scent of poo. So, if this poo-pouri works, why not use it!?

Here's my personal custom poo-pouri blend:

• 2 ounce glass spray bottle
• distilled water (I boiled and cooled tap water instead)
• 20 drops peppermint essential oil
• 10 drops eucalyptus essential oil
• 5 drops lavender essential oil
• 3 drops tea tree essential oil (for it's anti-bacterial properties, because no one wants to neutralize poo with germs!)

I just mixed all of the above in my spray bottle and set it out with this sign.

Okay, this poem about my poo spray sucks. I KNOW this. But, this sign is not always in my bathroom. I left it for the hubby one time! I just can't bring myself to leave instructions for my guests to use my poo-pouri. I like to imagine that none of my friends poop in my house. Or poop at all. *Poking out my minds eye right now* 

The verdict? It works! Spray before you dump and the smell is dissipated! I'm thinking I might give this away for Christmas and for Teacher Appreciation Day. Well, maybe not. But, this stuff is pretty awesome. 

Give it a try. It's well worth making a small batch! The person using the bathroom after you will thank you!

Inspirational Quotes Silent Sunday - 5.4.13

Hi Friends! I hope you have a fulfilling week!

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Fave Five of the Month - MAY

I love hearing about other's favorite obsessions! Mainly, because I'm not the least bit creative. So, I thought I'd share with you a few of my faves of the moment. Just random things that tickle my fancy. (I almost typed fanny. And, I almost left it. But, that word reminds me of fanny pack and I don't do fanny packs. Just sayin').

Essie Mamba
This is one of my most favorite nude nail polishes right now. Sucker is hard to find. I found a bottle at Walgreens! It's a really versatile color that looks great on most skin colors.

My ring finger has muffin top!? 

Feel Good Brush

My hair stylist told me about this brush. It's awesome. My hair is now really, really long and when I have to comb it while wet, it's like raking out a mangey mutt. And, in the process, I ripped out a lot of my hair. This brush detangles you hair while wet, without detangler. I swear by it!

Autism With a Side of Fries - Personal Blog

http://autismwithasideoffries.blogspot.com/

Yes, I have a child with Autism. When they diagnosed him, they didn't revoke my right to vanity or humor. Thank goodness, right? So, when I stumbled across this blog, I fell in love. It is honest and raw, with a hilarious twist. At the end of the day, all we can do is laugh, ya'll! And, ironic because Brady's "currency" is fries. We can get him to do anything for fries. And, if you follow their FB feed, not only is it funnier than heck, but you can ask or answer questions others ask. 

Can I Play Too by Mo Willems

Originally, I purchased this book for Brady. But, Wes is the one that has really taken a liking to this book. I think it's hilarious and don't mind reading it over and over to Wes. With Brady we are really trying to use it to talk abstractly about the story and other's feelings (since it doesn't have a lot of words in it). We have a couple other Mo Willems books, but this one is by far my favorite (so far)!

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Red Velvet (040)

I have always loved the look of a red lip with simple winged black eye liner. Simple and classic. But, every time I have tried it I thought it looked kind of, well, whore-like on me. Nothing says "Mother of the Year" like red hooker lip, bleeding in my fine lines and flaking off my lips like I was a dehydrated drunk. When someone recommended this lip butter, I hopped in the hoopty and drove to the local Target right away to scoop it up and I've been using it ever since. It's got the feel of a lip balm and pigment of a lipstick. PS...I hate selfies, but here is my lame attempt at one to show you I don't roll out looking like a lady of the night.

What are your faves right now?