Motherhood and Travel Blog
These are our favorite smoothies! They aren’t as healthy as my Green Smoothies but they taste the best and are still pretty healthy for you! This recipe makes 3 smoothies; each smoothie is around 208 calories (depending on the type of yogurt you use).
Ingredients
• 420 grams/3 ¼ cups strawberries
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 4 ice cubes
Instructions
1. Blend everything together
2. Enjoy!
This is probably the dessert we make the most in our home because it is so easy and we always have the ingredients on hand!
Ingredients
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
Instructions
1. Set oven to 350
2. Mix egg, sugar, and peanut butter with a mixer until smooth
3. Make 20 tablespoon sized balls and place on the baking sheet evenly
4. Take a fork and press down creating a crisscross on each cookie
5. Sprinkle a little extra sugar on top of the cookies
6. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Do not over-bake, they should barely be brown at the bottom
7. Enjoy!
Tip: If you want to put a piece of chocolate on the cookies, take the cookies out a minute early and put a piece of chocolate on top and then put the cookies back into the oven for a minute or two!
I’m very late in posting this but better late than never, right? For New Year’s Eve we went to NYC to see the ball drop in Times Square! This has always been on my bucket list and we decided this year was the perfect time because it was record high temperatures (almost 50 degrees in NY!) and we both had the day off! We had a great time and it was an unforgettable experience!
While I was planning this trip I noticed there wasn’t much information out there on NYE in Times Square. I decided to put some tips together (see below) about our experience, hopefully this helps someone!
How Times Square is organized
Part of the fun of NYC is the chaos…at times you will think the whole thing is very unorganized but it is part of the experience. That being said, on NYE Times Square is divided into sections with barricades. Each section is first come, first served. They allow only so many people into each section and then they start filling the next section. Obviously, the first few sections are the best because you’re close to the concerts and closer to the ball! They do this to keep the area safe and controlled, there are a few cops watching over each section.
When to Arrive
This all depends on how close to the ball you want to be! If you want to be in the first few sections, you will need to arrive very early! I was told some people camped out for days (no thanks). We arrived at noon to Times Square and we were a few blocks back from the ball. We had great views of the ball! However, we couldn’t see the celebrities on the stage but that was ok with me. If you want to see the ball but don’t care about anything else, I highly recommend arriving between 11am-2pm.
Where to Stay
I strongly recommend staying in Manhattan because it will be chaotic trying to get out of the city after the ball drops! Just a warning, prices are sky-high on NYE and you need to book early! We stayed at The Lexington which is about a 15 minute walk to Times Square; it was the cutest boutique hotel! We absolutely loved it!
In August when I went to NYC (you can read about this here), we stayed at the Hampton Inn Times Square West, this is about a 5 minute walk to Times Square. If you want to pay a fortune, you can stay in the few blocks of Times Square and you won’t have to stay outside for 12 hours because you can see the ball from your hotel room. A few of those hotels with views are: Renaissance New York, Double Tree Guest Suites, Marriott Marquis, Knickerbocker, and the Novotel New York Times Square.
How to Survive All Day
I am going to be honest, this experience isn’t for everyone! If you have to use the bathroom a lot, if you can’t stand for long periods of time, if you don’t like being around a ton of people (roughly 1 million), or if you despise cold weather…this isn’t for you! We got really lucky to have nice NYC police officers guarding our section and they let both Judd and I out of our section once to use the restroom. We had to go in a restaurant and buy something to be able to use the restroom. We also brought a few snacks and a couple of drinks so we didn’t get dehydrated or hungry. For entertainment we brought our phones, talked a lot, and people watched. Lastly, we wore lots of layers and comfortable shoes because you are outside standing for 12+ hours.
Safety
I was initially nervous about being in Times Square on NYE because there is so much going on in the world right now. However, we felt completely safe the entire time! Everyone goes through security to get into Times Square and then through security again to get into each section. There are police in uniform everywhere and we were told there were also undercover police all throughout Times Square.
Extra Tips/Interesting Things We Learned
1. Dress warm and in layers
2. Bring snacks
3. Don’t drink a lot of liquid because you might not be able to use the restrooms at all! But bring some water so you do not get dehydrated.
4. Wear comfortable shoes
5. Get a place next to a barricade so you can lean on it. Sitting in the back of each section is ideal because you have more room because everyone is trying to get close to the front of the section.
6. Don’t bring a book bag or a large bag because police will confiscate it.
7. Make sure your phone is fully charged and bring a portable charger!
8. It’s not as big of a party as it looks like on TV. There is a lot of waiting!
9. Alcohol is not allowed
I used the Times Square Alliance website to plan our day. They post a lot of important information and they also post the event schedule.
Don’t forget to take a stroll through the city! The Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center is still up and there are decorations all throughout the city!
There is no place like NYC during the holidays!
Wishing everyone a very happy New Year!
We had our first big snow of the year (sigh). I always try to make warm and comforting meals, I feel like it makes winter a tiny bit more bearable. I tried a new recipe this week, Slow Cooker Chicken and Noodles. It really hit the spot… in fact my husband ate it as leftovers 3 times!
Ingredients
• 3 boneless chicken breasts
• 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
• 32 ounces chicken broth
• ½ cup butter
• ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 12 ounces wide egg noodles (uncooked)
Instructions
1. Place all ingredients except for noodles in the slow cooker
2. Cook on low for 8 hours (or 4 hours on high)
3. Shred chicken and return to slow cooker with uncooked noodles. Stir well!
4. Cover and cook for 35-45 minutes or until noodles are tender
This is perfect with Cheesy Garlic Biscuits!
I’m very excited to share this recipe… two of my favorite flavors in one simple and delicious dessert! If you’re from Ohio you know what a buckeye is… If you’re not from Ohio, it’s only one of best desserts ever (no bake chocolate and peanut butter balls)! However, making buckeyes is time consuming and messy! The recipe I’m sharing is not time consuming and it is super easy! Yum, yum, yum!!!
Base Ingredients
• 1 stick or 1 cup of salted butter
• 1 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• ¾ cup smooth peanut butter
Top Ingredients
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
Directions
1. Line a 8” square dish with parchment paper
2. Place the Base Ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined
3. Press the mixed Base Ingredients into the pan
4. Melt the Top Ingredients (I recommend doing this in 30 second increments and stirring)
5. Once the Top Ingredients are melted, pour and spread over the Base Ingredients
6. Refrigerate until set- about 2 hours
7. Cut to serve and enjoy!
Oh Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken, how I love thee! This recipe is easy and DELICIOUS! Judd said this might be his favorite chicken dish, it’s that good!
Ingredients
• 4 boneless chicken cutlets
• ½ cup Mayonnaise
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 5 teaspoons Italian bread crumbs
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon lemon pepper
• Pinch of salt
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees
2. In a small bowl mix mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, lemon pepper, and garlic powder
3. Lay chicken cutlets on a baking sheet
4. Divide mayonnaise mixture evenly on the top of each chicken cutlet, spread with a spoon
5. Sprinkle with salt
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes
7. Remove from oven and sprinkle bread crumbs on each piece of chicken
8. Bake for an additional 20 minutes
9. This is great with veggies or rice! Enjoy!
