Recipe: Classic & Delicious Collard Greens

Hello Everyone!!

     Today I will be sharing with you my favorite recipe to the perfect Southern Style Collard Greens, a.k.a. My Momma's Delicious Collard Greens!

     I love food, just as much as I love the art of cooking.  Now, I have to admit that my cooking skills were very limited when my husband and I first got together, almost twelve (12) years ago.  

     During the last decade I have mastered many recipes and most of them are family recipes given to me by my mother in law.   I remember the first two years, she took the time to teach me how to prepare my husband's favorite holiday dishes, like "extra Cheesy Mac & Cheese, Collard Greens, Baked Ham, Candied Yams", and of course, his favorite "Water Gate Salad".

     Now, I'm the one who prepares the entire Holiday Dinner all by my little self.  While some of the dishes may look like it requires a lot preparation time, let me assure you that is not the case.  

     In order to save time but mostly my sanity, I prepare some of the dishes ahead of time. Like the collard greens, I cook them and then freeze them.   I take the collard greens out of the freezer to thaw at least 12 hours before serving and then just simmer them until they are thoroughly heated. 

      The Ingredients: 

2 Bags (16 oz) of Fresh Collard Greens (I use Glory Foods- it's what Mom uses, so why change it right?) 

5 Cups of Water

3 Cups of Chicken Broth

2 Containers of Ham hocks

3 TBS of Vinegar

1/2 Cup of Sugar

1/4 Tsp of crushed red pepper flakes

Salt and Pepper to taste

      Preparation: 

    Place water, chicken broth and ham hocks into a stock pot;  bring to boil then lower the heat to medium.  Let the ham hocks cook for approximately 45 minutes to an hour.   (Tip:  I like my collard green meaty, but if you don't then reduce the amount of ham hocks)

    Once the ham hocks are a bit tender, remove them from the pot. 

    Add the sugar, vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes and collard greens. 

    While the collard greens are simmering in the pot, cut the meat off the ham hocks.  

    Add the diced meat into the pot and stirred.  Let the pot simmer until the greens are tender.  

     And now you are ready to enjoy this delicious dish! 

How to Easily Create a DIY Christmas Shirt

Hello Everyone!! 

     This week is almost over and we continue to prepare for Grandmother and Papa's arrival.  They will spending time with us during the kids' winter break! 

     Today is Ms. Bree's Winter Feast at school and after the feast, the kids will be doing a short Christmas performance that I can't wait to see it.  

     For this performance, the girls were asked to wear a long sleeve white shirt with a Christmas design on it and uniform bottoms.  You would think, that finding a "Christmas" shirt during this time would be easy... but after a few trips to different stores proved me how wrong I was!! 

     I could not find a "white shirt" with a Christmas design on it and when we finally found an "ivory" shirt, it was the wrong size.  

      Ms. Bree was a bit sad when we realized that most likely she would have to wear a "plain" white shirt.  But like any good girl, she didn't make big deal or had a temper tantrum.  She just simply said, "why can't we make our own?"  My creativity hat went on and I looked at her and said "you know, you are absolutely right, we can do this!"

We purchased the long sleeve shirt from Walmart ................. $3.97

     While she was at her dance class I made a super fast trip to the Dollar Store and purchased the rest of the embellishments. 

Foam Glittered Christmas Trees.................................... $0.99 

Jewels.................................................................... $0.99

Foam Glittered Snowflakes ................... $0.99

      I used Fabric Glue that I had previously purchased from Michaels.  Fabric Glue can be found at any Walmart or at any crafting store.  

 The above 3 pack is the one I bought from Michaels' for $3.99.

       This is the first time I do this, so I explained to Ms Bree, that she had to be extra careful, because I didn't know if the embellishment were going to stay on.  

     She loved helping me create this shirt and her excitement to wear it this morning... well, that's priceless to me!  

     If you can't find the perfect shirt for a program or for any occasion, remember that you can do a lot with simple foam cut out shapes and fabric glue.... I sure did!! 

DIY: Ribbon Christmas Trees

Hello Everyone! 

The countdown to Christmas has begun and our little Elf, "Snowflake" has taken our letter to Santa Claus.  Soon, it will be Christmas morning but first, let's put on our "crafting hats" and start by creating some beautiful Ribbon Christmas Trees. 

These Christmas Trees made out of ribbons are so cute and they have become very popular in the last couple of days.  

I originally crafted these trees for our children's teachers as a "Thank You" for all the hard work they do.  

I have to say that the response from all of our fans.... really overwhelming !

The Materials: 

• Small Box of Pins;
• Ribbon of your choice (approximately 3 to 4 spools);
• Foam cone, I used the medium size cone, approximately 3-7/8 inch x 8-7/8 inch.
• Something to use at the top.  A 3D Star would be ideal but it all depends on you.  I used Small/medium size poinsettias to match the ribbons, and some really nice floral decorations I found at Micheal's.
• Scissors.
• Ruler.

The Steps: 

1.  Cut the ribbon (about 4.5 inches long).  Tip: this is the time consuming part of this project. 

2. Start pinning the first row around the corner. Tip: Make sure is close enough to cover the cone.

3.  Continue to pin the strips of ribbon around the cone until you get to the very top.  (you may chose each row a different color. Remember this is your project.) Tip:  Each row should only be half an inch above each row.  

4.      I used a glittered snowflake foam sticker to cover the very top.  Each end of the sticker will cover the pins on the very top row, and will also cover the top of the cone. 

and your Ribbon Christmas Tree is now done!! 


We have now these beauties available for purchase! 


      Frozen Ribbon Christmas Tree
 
                       
                                               The Traditional Ribbon Christmas Tree

We are currently taking orders, each tree is $15.00 plus shipping.  To place your order please email us your request to caramelcurlznswirls@yahoo.com. 

These are a great addition to your decor or as a gift!  

DIY: Guitar

Hello Everyone!!  

We hope that every single one of you had an amazing Thanksgiving Day with the loved ones. 

After that tiny break, it is time for us to catch up on some of our latest creations.  Today, we will be talking about the DIY Guitar Ms Bree made with her Dad.  

This project was called "The Sound Rubric Project" and it was for her Music Class.  The requirements for the project were: 

1.  Instrument most be created by using items found in your home; 

2. Must create sound; 

3. Must be created and decorated by the student (with the help of a parent, only when needed); 

4. Student must be able to explain how the instrument was created; and 

5. Student must be able to demonstrate how the instrument creates sounds. 

At this point I have to say that I am glad she did not choose a "piano". (Thank the Lord for small miracles).  This school year seems to be full of projects.  Maybe the explanation lays on the fact that Little Man is now in 3rd Grade and Ms Bree is in 1st Grade.  Things seemed to be a lot easier last year. 

Okay, let's move on, shall we.  In order to comply with the first requirement on the list, we had to figure it out how to create a Guitar from things that we have a home.

Our materials: 

Body of the guitar...... empty shoe box (small /thin preferred)

Neck of the guitar...... empty Paper towel roll

Strings......................... Rubber Bands

Now, in order to raise the rubber bands we needed somethings that it was small in size and that could be easily glued.  Daddy found two pieces of wood in his toolbox that worked perfectly. 

Okay, so here are the Steps: 

1.  Draw and cut a circle on the front of the shoe box;

2.  Measure, draw and cut a circle on the top of the show box (this is where you will insert the paper towel roll);

3.  (this step is optional) Wrap the shoe box with wrapping papers.  

4.  Carefully with your finger feel where the cut out circles are and cut the wrapping the paper.   Do this for the front and top circles previously cut.

5.  Insert the  empty paper towel roll.  If you need the roll to be a little more secure, you can place a piece of tape around the top and/or inside the front circle.

6.  Glue the two pieces of wooden sticks on each end of the box.  

7.  Place rubber bands.  (we used the large rubber bands.) 

8.  And last but not least... the decoration part! As you can see, a girl can never have enough stickers! 

This is a very cute craft that can be done with the little ones at home.  Especially if you have a little one who loves music.   The fact that most of the items were found at home, make this project one of the most inexpensive ones we have made this year, so far.  

This DIY instrument will always be unique for them.  Something they created with their own two little hands. Ok, you helped out a little, but come on, we have to be realistic and imagine what will happen if you let your little one use "Gorilla Glue"... :)

And the results were?

Ms. Bree received 100% for her project!! I was proud of her, because she was able to present her project in front of the class, and her Daddy was so proud of her because she remembered how to properly played the "strings".   But most importantly, SHE was proud of herself.  She picked the decorations, she helped wrapped the box and the empty paper towel rolls and she watched Barbie Rock & Royals enough time to know how to play the guitar like a PRO!!

Okay, well, let's not  tell her she's not ready to perform live yet!!! hahaaa

The Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)

Hello Everyone and welcome back! 

After posting this picture on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, we received a few messages asking us about ACV and its benefits.  Therefore, we decided to write this quick post about the benefits on Natural Hair, Weight Loss & Health. 

   I finally decided to give this "old" recipe a try, mainly because one of our biggest struggle is "thirsty hair", especially during the cold and dry days.  

    It is important to remember that using Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) without adding plenty of water on your curly strands may damage them.      Therefore, make sure you mix the Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) with plenty of warm water.

    I added 2 tbs of Vinegar to 16 oz warm water.  Now that Ms. Bree's hair is short, it is a bit difficult to estimate how much solution or product is needed.  Needless to say, I didn't use the entire 16 oz.

   If you have anything left, don't worry, you can save the mixture to be used at a later time. 

  

     As you can see, Ms. Bree was not very happy about the strong odor.  I must agree with her on that!  It was a bit strong and even her puppy found it a bit "interesting", so interesting that she wanted to lick Ms. Bree's hair.  But thankfully this only require from 10  to 15 minutes to work!  

Here Are A Few "Benefits of ACV" For Natural Hair: 

1.  The acidity of the Apple Cider Vinegar rinse will help maintain the pH balance of your curly tresses and it can remove buildup at the same time without stripping the hair of its natural oils. You may use Apple Cider Vinegar in lieu of a clarifying shampoo but make sure you choose an extra moisturizing conditioner so that your curly strands get all the moisture they need.

3.  Apple Cider Vinegar will help treat clogged hair follicles due to bacterial infection that creates crusty flakes on the scalp. 

4.  Apple Cider Vinegar can help stimulate better circulation to the hair follicles, which strengthens the hair roots and promotes a healthy hair growth.

5.  Apple Cider Vinegar has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties that help treat itchy, dry scalp. 

6. Apple Cider Vinegar rinse can also help in closing your hair cuticles, which will keep moisture in your hair and minimize any frizz. 

It's important to remember that ACV is in acidity, and like with every product that contains high acidity levels, you must be cautious on how often you use it.  The over use of this ACV mixture can lead to the degradation of your hair shaft.  

ACV HEALTH BENEFITS

Korrie, owner of "Korrie's Korner" shares how she uses Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV):

I posted this a month ago on my Facebook page!  How many of you stuck with this and are you experiencing the benefits from it?

Starting a day early for my challenge group. My first healthy habit change is going back to drinking 1 tbsp of acv and 8oz water every morning and evening. There are so many amazing health benefits to this. Here are a few:

1. It helps lower triglycerides which in return lower the bad cholesterol.

2. It helps your body maintain a healthy alkaline pH level. (This is my main reason for taking. I have a lack of energy and get a little of female infections sometimes due to a low pH level. This happens from having too much acid in your body which is my problem.)

3. Overall detoxification. It detoxifies the liver. Helps stimulate cardiovascular circulation.

4.This miracle vinegar helps to break up mucous throughout the body and cleanse the lymph nodes. Believe it or not, research suggests that apple cider vinegar can help with allergies because of its ability to reduce mucous and sinus congestion. When reducing the effects of allergies, it can also help stave off sinus infections and their related symptoms, such as sore throats and headaches.

5.This vinegar is rich in natural enzymes that can help rid your body of candida—yeasts that are attributed to thrush in humans. Candida also is blamed for creating symptoms of fatigue, poor memory, sugar cravings, and yeast infections. (I have issues with this as well.)

6. Reduces heartburn. It might seem like an oxymoron, but it really does help.

To follow Korrie simply visit her Facebook Page: Korrie's Korner!

I've been drinking Dr. Oz's Swuimsuit Slimdown Drink for four days now.  

Drinking it before each meal reduces my appetite which leads me to eat smaller portions, my cravings for sweets (especially chocolate) have decreased and it has also helped producing a regular bowel movements. 

I can't say for sure if it has helped with any cholesterol issues as I don't have any.  However, I'm hoping my lovely husband will give this a try.  Of course that will require a lot of persuasion on my behalf!  

As I said before, ACV contains high level of acidity and just the same way it can damage your hair if you use in excess or undiluted. ACV can damage your tooth enamel as well as your throat's tissue if is not diluted before you drink it.

    

We hope you give this a try!