Skinny Minny Recipe: Roasted Cabbage with Honey Mustard Dressing

I've said it once and I'll say it again...I love cheap, simple, and healthy meals.  This Roasted Cabbage with Honey Mustard Dressing is no exception.  This is really a delicious side dish! 

|what you will need|

(makes 3-4 serving)
+ one head of cabbage
+ salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
+ 2 1/2 tablespoons of honey
+ 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
+ 3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
+ 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard

|how to|

{1} Preheat oven to 425 F.  Wash and dry the cabbage.  Then, slice the cabbage in 3/4"-1" slices/wedges.  Lay slices over a nonstick cookie sheet.

{2} Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the cabbage slices.  Then season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

{3} Roast the cabbage in a 425 F oven until slightly brown.  This will take about 25-30 minutes.

{4} Whisk together the dijon mustard, three tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil, honey, white wine vinegar, and season the dressing with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

{5} Drizzle the honey mustard dressing over the roasted cabbage and serve.

This is an awesome side dish during the busy work week.  You probably can also use store bought honey mustard dressing if you are short on time.  Enjoy!  

Game Day Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Pepper Poppers

I mean who doesn't love bacon wrapped ANYTHING!  This recipe is far too simple, and far too delicious! 

|what you will need|

(makes 50 poppers)
+ 25 slices of bacon (do not pick the thick cut kind)
+ 25 jalapeno peppers (pick peppers that are shorter and not too long)
+ 2 packages of cream cheese (softened)
+ 50 toothpicks
+ salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
+ wire rack (optional)
+ 2 roasting pans

|how to|

{1} Cut your pepper length wise and remove the seeds and inner vein.  You can leave a few seeds if you like it spicy.

{2} Mix the cream cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a mixing bowl.  Using a knife, spread a nice even amount in the interior of the pepper half.

{3} Cut the bacon strips in half.  Wrap the bacon around the jalapeno peppers and secure the bacon onto the pepper with a toothpick.

{4} TIP: I found placing a wire rack in a roasting pan helped drain the bacon grease away from the peppers and made the bacon crispy.  Bake the peppers in a 400 F preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until bacon is nice and crispy and the cream cheese is slightly brown.

Trick or Treat: DIY Halloween Mermaid Costume

Halloween is such a fun holiday filled with candy, scary movies, and silly costumes.  I wanted to take a crack at making my costume this year.  I mean that is the Domesticated Diva way!  I did a little research on Pinterest for inspiration.  I knew I wanted to repurpose some of my old clothes that were lying around in my closet.  This is what I came up with...

Cute right?!? This is the PG rated mermaid costume, since I was wearing it to work.  You can easily wear the costume without the white tank top.

The original Domesticated Diva herself, Martha Stewart, has a wonderful tutorial done by the hilariously talented designer Christian Siriano.  Find the tutorial here.

|supplies|

-disclaimer- I did not use the shiny silver top because the seashells did not stick to it well.

|additional supplies not in picture|

+ leftover white foam page

+ stretchy sequin ribbon

+ clear plastic beads

+ needle and thread that matches the fabric colors

+ glue gun

+ scissors

+ craft paints of your choice

|how to|

{1} I started out by cutting out the fabric for the mermaid fin skirt.  The fabric and tulle will be the "fin" portion of the skirt.  I used a little over 2 yards of tulle.  I cut the tulle into about 36" long strips.  The length will depend on how tall you are and how long your skirt is.  Then I cut the heavier fabrics (shiny poly satin and shiny sequin fabric) into 18" x 18" square pieces.

{2} Then, I sewed on the one of the heavier pieces of fabric onto my green tube top which is now functioning as my skirt.  I sewed the top middle piece of the fabric to the tube top.  I put the sequin fabric piece on each of the ends and the solid shiny poly satin in the middle.  Do the same thing to the back side of the skirt. 

Here's how it should look

{3} Then hot glue 4 pieces of tulle around all the sewn fabric pieces.

{4} Next, cut semi circles out of the fleece sheets.  These will be the "scales" of the mermaid fin skirt.  I used three different green colors to make the scales pop.



{5} Then hot glue the scales onto the skirt.  I started from the bottom and worked my way to the top.

Finished Mermaid Fin Skirt

{6} Next paint two seashells with the color of your choice. 

{7} Hot glue the seashell to your bikini top.  Since the seashell still did not feel secure, I secured the shell with thread.  Then, I hot glued clear beads on the shell for added sparkle.  After gluing the clear beads on, the thread was not that noticeable. 

{8} For my head band, I cut about 14" of the stretchy sequin ribbon.  I measured by head and sewed the ribbon together.  I then drew a starfish design on the foam sheet using a sharpie.  I used some metallic sliver paint and painted over the starfish design.  I cut out the starfish shape, and hot glued it to the stretchy sequin headband.

{9} I completed the mermaid look with makeup.  I used gem stickers, glitter gel makeup, green eyeshadow, and fake eyelashes.

The Completed Mermaid Costume