Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

I have had bags full of tomatoes in my refrigerator. I don’t mean a couple of puny sandwich bags full. I mean at least 4 gallon-sized ziplock bags full.

And, this is after making 14 jars of salsa, canning 8 jars of whole tomatoes, eating bruschetta until we were sick of it and throwing as many as I can on every salad, every day.

Thus, the need to find new uses for aging tomatoes. I decided to try my hand at Oven Roasting Cherry Tomatoes. A slight gorge-fest happened when these puppies were pulled from the oven. Even Biceps couldn’t quit.

Here’s all that you’ll need to make Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes:
Prep time: 5 minutes, Cooking Time: 1-1 1/2 hrs, Skill Level: Easy
Basil
Garlic
Cherry Tomatoes
Cooking Spray
9 x 13 pan

Uses: Garnish crackers with tomatoes and “Laughing Cow-light” spreadable cheese. Top a pizza with them, eat on a salad, a sandwich or by themselves.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Spray the 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray and pile in the cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle basil and garlic on top.

After about 30-45 minutes, when the tomatoes are becoming soft, carefully turn the tomatoes over once.

Place back in the oven for another 30-45 minutes, or until most tomatoes have turned brown on at least one side.

These are amazingly delicious and oh, so simple. It’s getting hotter, it’s a burning love, I just can’t get enough, I just can’t get enough…(thank you, Depeche Mode).

Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

If these parties are up, I link to them! (Here’s my complete Linky Party Page):
Monday: The Girl Creative, Crafts Keep Me Sane, The Better Baker, Skip to My Lou, DIY Showoff, Say Not, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Etcetorize, Sew Chatty, Brassy Apple, Flour Me With Love, Creating my Way, Mad in Crafts, Our Delightful Home, Sew Can Do, It’s So Very Cheri, Craft O Maniac, Polly Want a Crafter, Tuesday: Craft Edition, Inspiration Board , New Nostalgia , Lettered Life , Coastal Charm, Tip Junkie , Ladybug Blessings, Hope Studios , Todays Creative Blog, Wednesday: Someday Crafts , Day2DayJoys, Jillify It , Junk in the Trunk, We are that Family , Frugally Sustainable, Sew Much Ado, Fine Craft Guild , The Thrifty Home, My Girlish Whims , Quick, Easy, Cheap & Healthy, Trendy Treehouse, Thursday: Somewhat Simple, No Minimalist Here , A Glimpse Inside, The Mommy Club, The 36th Avenue, Cheap Chic Home, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans , House of Hepworths , The Shabby Chic Cottage, Friday: My Repurposed Life, It’s a HodgePodge Life, The Shabby Nest, Just Wingin’ It, One Artsy Momma, French Country Cottage, Finding Fabulous, Passionately Artistic, Petals and Picots, Simply Designing, Little Becky Homecky, My Romantic Home, Bacon Time, Simply Living, Saturday: Polkadot Pretties, Tatertots and Jello, Create and Inspire, Be Different, Act Normal, Craft Envy, Funky Junk Interiors, Petites Passion, Sunday: Under the Table, Natural Mothers, Mopping the Floor

Fresh Lime “Gritzer”-No Calorie

All summer, I’ve been trying to find alternatives to soda to beat the heat. I wanted these beverages to contain no sugar, be low cost and easy to make by the glass or an entire pitcher.
Here are a few that I’ve shared with you:
No Calorie Sweet Green Tea
No Calorie Sweet Iced Coffee
Skinny Orange Julius

Today, I am going to show you how to make a “Gritzer”, thus named by Biceps by combining Spritzer with our last name Greiman. He’s an inventive little bugger, isn’t he?
This drink is sweet, fresh, crisp and transports you to an island oasis with its limey-ness. (Yes, that’s a word.) So, throw on your flip flops, turn on some Beach Boy’s music and have a Gritzer.

Here’s all that you’ll need to make a Gritzer (makes 1 Liter):
1 Liter of Diet Tonic Water (sweetened with Splenda)*
1 Lime
1/4 tsp Liquid Stevia
*here’s my disclaimer, Tonic Water contains quinine. Some people cannot consume this product. I have yet to find an alternative.

Fill a pitcher with the Diet Tonic Water.

Wash one whole lime first, then cut into wedges and squeeze into pitcher. Throw the limes into the liquid if desired.

Add 1/4 tsp of Liquid Stevia (more or less depending upon your sweet needs).

Stir a couple of times, pour into your favorite “fancy glass” and garnish with another lime wedge. Now, let’s partake of your Fresh Lime Gritzer.

Sit back, take a sip and let yourself be transported to Aruba, Jamaica, ooh they want to take you to Bermuda, Bahamas, come on pretty Momma….

Enjoy!

Sometimes, I link up to these parties (Here’s my complete Linky Party Page):
Monday: The Girl Creative, Crafts Keep Me Sane, The Better Baker, Skip to My Lou, DIY Showoff, Say Not, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Etcetorize, Sew Chatty, Brassy Apple, Flour Me With Love, Creating my Way, Mad in Crafts, Our Delightful Home, Sew Can Do, It’s So Very Cheri, Craft O Maniac, Polly Want a Crafter, Tuesday: Craft Edition, Inspiration Board , New Nostalgia , Lettered Life , Coastal Charm, Tip Junkie , Ladybug Blessings, Hope Studios , Todays Creative Blog, Wednesday: Someday Crafts , Day2DayJoys, Jillify It , Junk in the Trunk, We are that Family , Frugally Sustainable, Sew Much Ado, Fine Craft Guild , The Thrifty Home, My Girlish Whims , Quick, Easy, Cheap & Healthy, Trendy Treehouse, Thursday: Somewhat Simple, No Minimalist Here , A Glimpse Inside, The Mommy Club, The 36th Avenue, Cheap Chic Home, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans , House of Hepworths , The Shabby Chic Cottage, Friday: My Repurposed Life, It’s a HodgePodge Life, The Shabby Nest, Just Wingin’ It, One Artsy Momma, French Country Cottage, Finding Fabulous, Passionately Artistic, Petals and Picots, Simply Designing, Little Becky Homecky, My Romantic Home, Bacon Time, Simply Living, Saturday: Polkadot Pretties, Tatertots and Jello, Create and Inspire, Be Different, Act Normal, Craft Envy, Lolly Jane, Funky Junk Interiors, Petites Passion, Sunday: Under the Table, Natural Mothers, Mopping the Floor

Dear Readers-I need your input

Dearest Readers:

I am a little hesitant to ask this question. But I need to know the reality of the situation. Biceps and I are wanting to “owe no man anything”; thus the frugal lifestyle, the re-invention of home products, the biking to and fro, and the hope of making extra income on the side.

We want to be debt free and we live below our means. However, the pay cut we took for Biceps to become a firefighter is making the goal of owing no man anything difficult.

So, I have a question that I’m almost scared to ask you–because then it requires me to take a leap of faith.

I know I have posted these recipes on my site and shown you how to make all of these things. But, I also know many of you don’t have the time or energy to make this on your own-however, you still like the idea of organic products without unnecessary chemicals and additives.

So, if I offered to sell things like my Homemade Organic Lip Balm…

…my Homemade Laundry Detergent…

…my Organic Face Wash…

…my Organic Facial Moisturizer…

…and my Organic Eye Make-up Remover…

…is there a market out there for them? If I came up with much cuter packaging and the right price points to be competitive with what’s on the market today, do you think this is something worth pursuing?

My heart’s on my sleeve here, readers. But, please-tell me what you think.

Homemade Crockpot Yogurt

This past month, I have made it my goal to rid my kitchen of as many store bought products as possible. I know I can’t get rid of everything, but a girl can sure try.

I wanted to find options for condiments, such as ketchup and bar-b-cue sauce (something Biceps consumes by the truckload), butter, yogurt, granola (to replace our cereal), summer drinks and canned anything.

Photo Source
The process of making it myself had to be simple, cost effective and better tasting to warrant the move.

Last week, I shared with all of you my recipe for Tasty Granola sweetened by Agave Nectar. And what goes better with granola than yummy, creamy, sweet yogurt? I dare say nothing does.

Today, we are going to focus just on the yogurt. The granola will just have to get along on its own, crying by itself in the cabinet. It’s yogurt’s time to shine.

I was on the hunt for an easy, cheap recipe to make my own yogurt-free from things found in the ingredient’s list that I cannot pronounce. After a few tries, I came up with the perfect recipe-and it’s all done in the crockpot and with very little effort.

I start my yogurt in the evening, knowing that the cool down can happen overnight and I can enjoy fresh yogurt in the morning!

Here’s all that you’ll need to make your very own yogurt (makes 1/2 gallon of yogurt):
-1/2 Gallon of Milk* (I used 2%, because that’s what we drink.)
-1 Cup Plain Yogurt with active cultures (after you make your first batch, you save a cup and use on the next batch. No more store bought yogurt!)
-*1/2 Cup Powdered Milk (if using 2% or lower milk, or ultra pasteurized milk)
-Crockpot
-Cooking Thermometer

Pour the 1/2 gallon of milk into the crockpot, cover with the lid and set to high.

Let the milk heat until it’s almost to the boiling stage with the desired temperature of 180. This took my crockpot about 1 1/2-2 hours to do.

Once the milk has reached 180, turn the crockpot off and let it cool down to 115. I would recommend stirring it from time to time to distribute the heat and help it cool down more quickly.

Once the milk has cooled to 115, stir in the 1/2 Cup of Powdered milk if you are using it.

Next, stir in the 1 Cup of Plain Yogurt.

Put the lid back on the crockpot and cover it with a large towel.

Set the crockpot in the oven and let it cool down for 8-12 hours (or overnight).

Write yourself a note so that you won’t accidentally turn the oven on and burn your house down if you are forgetful like me.

In the morning, open the oven, remove the beach towel and see what happened overnight! .

Remember to save back a cup of this yogurt, sticking it in a ziploc bag and placing it in the freezer for your next batch.

Sweeten the yogurt with liquid Stevia (I prefer the Vanilla Creme), add some strawberries and Tasty Homemade Granola and voila-enjoy a delicious breakfast all made by you!