DIY: Awesome Christmas Basket!!

Hello!
I wanted to share a gift idea for the holidays.
Every year, my family and I want to give gifts to everyone we know, but... We don't always know what to give!!!
So, last year, we decided to make baskets for our relatives and friends and this is what one of them looked like



Here is the recipe for the marshmallows

I used a rotary cutter to cut little squares (for the hot coco, and snacking) and cookie cutters to make cool Christmas shapes!

 I put the cool shapes in clear containers that I don't know where I got from...
And the square ones in clear celophan bags..

The basket has a fabric stocking, a Christmas plate, chocolate flavored Twizzlers (my cousin's favorite), Hershey's bars, a box of varied chocolates, cookies in a jar, and a bag (and little clear container) of marshmallows.. I also added a container with hot coco mix and then covered the basket with clear shrink wrap (which was a failure! hehe)



And I had some of this left over (the odd shapes after cutting with the cookie cutters) My mom, brother and I ate them all within a day!!!

Happy Holidays!!

Aranza

Easy Baked Parmesan Fish Tilapia

Today I want to share with you a delicious and easy recipe! Baked Parmesan Tilapia (although it's baked, it has a lot of butter and other oils! beware)

I accompanied it with white rice (and had a salad beforehand)

You can easily change the serving portions because you basically need a tablespoon of each ingredient per fish. 

Set oven at 350F

Servings : 8

Ingredients that you will need for the fish:

Tilapia Fish (8)

Mayonese (8 Tbs)

Creamy Poppyseed dressing (8 Tbs)

Parmesan cheese (8 Tbs)

Melted butter (8 Tbs)

Bread Crumbs (8 Tbs)

Salt and garlic powder 

Oil 

Side note: I would like to substitute the Mayo for greek yogurt someday and see what happens.. I'll let you know if I ever do

Thaw the fish for ten minutes 

While the fish is thawing,  chop half of a bell pepper into little squares for the rice

Cook the bell pepper for a little bit (while you do the following step)

Add some oil to the bottom of a cookie sheet, lay the fish on it and then add some salt. Put in the oven for 10 mins.

At this point add two cups of rice and 4 cups of water to the pot with the bell peppers. Let the water boil and once it does, turn the heat down to low and put a lid on. Let it sit on the fire for 12 minutes. After the 12 minutes, turn the fire off and let the rice sit while the fish is cooking (don't open the lid)

While the fish is in the oven, melt the butter (for the fish)

Put the bread crumbs in a bowl,

add the parmesan cheese,

mayo, butter and dressing and mix it all together

Take the fish out of the oven after the 10 mins, and spread the mixture on the fish.

Cover the sheet with foil and put it back in the oven for another 10 mins

The rice should be done at this point

This is what the fish look like after cooking.. Yummy!

Serve with rice and some veggies and enjoy!

Let me know if you try it!

Healthy Snack: Yogurt Covered Pretzels!

Who doesnt like pretzels?
Now, who doesnt like yogurt covered pretzels?
I love them!!!

I found the recipe here.

It is quite easy... or so I thought

I gathered all of the ingredients,

turned the oven on at 250° F, and mixed the yogurt and sugar (adding gradually), but the consistency never seemed right. It was a bit runny and clear-ish.

Dipped the pretzels and set on the cookie sheet...

Turned the oven off and stuck the cookie sheet in the top of the oven and let it sit for about 4 hours until the yogurt mixture "hardened".
I think that was my mistake... using a cookie sheet instead of a cooling rack.. They turned out yuk!

So I think I will just stick to my old recipe :)
Easier and healthier!

So here is my recipe:

Get yogurt, dip the pretzels in it, put on a cookie sheet (with waxed paper for easy removal) and stick them in the freezer!!
They'll be done in a couple of hours.. Ready to enjoy!



The downside: they will melt if left in room temperature...

But hey!! I love cold and crunchy snacks
Beware, the pretzel will soften a little as the days go by, but they usually dont last long enough before I eat them all!

Tip: I recommend buying non-salty pretzels..