The Creative Princess

As most of you know, I started my weight loss journey in the fall. I'm not going to lie, it has been HARD! But, that is all my fault. It is not the result of the program I am doing. The hardest part for me is just how busy we are. We eat out a LOT and I don't always make the best meal choices when we are out. A few days ago, I was invited to try Healthy Choice Top Chef Cafe Steamers and Healthy Choice Greek Frozen Yogurt. I headed to Walmart and picked up the Healthy Choice Crustless Chicken Pot Pie and their Dark Fudge Swirl 100 calorie treat. We have 2-3 days each week that we are running nonstop almost all day. I just don't have time to fix dinner on those days, I hardly have time to breath! So, those are the days we eat out. Those are the days that throw me off track. I decided a few weeks ago that one of those days I CAN cut back a few things and take time to make dinner for my family. My time is still tight so my meals not only need to be quick, but healt...

  My granny was pretty famous for her Jello Pudding Poke Cakes. So famous, in fact, that my aunt now gets requests to make the cake for people!  I don't remember EVER having it before. I am sure I did, someone can't be famous for something and their children/grandchildren not try it! Right? A quick search on Pinterest turned up so many different poke cake recipes that you could fix one a day for a year and still have recipes left! I just used what I had on hand, yellow cake mix and vanilla pudding. Jello Pudding Poke Cake 1 pkg Cake Mix - any flavor 2 - 3oz pkgs Instant Pudding Mix - any flavor 4 Cups Cold Milk 1 Cup Powdered Sugar 1 Tub Cool Whip Topping - optional Prepare cake as directed on package in a 13x9 inch pan. Remove from oven and immediately poke holes into cake (I used the handle of a wooden spoon) 1 inch apart. Combine Pudding Mix and Sugar in large bowl, gradually stir in Milk. Beat on low for 1 minute with a mixer. Pour half of mixtur...

Every time we go to the grocery store my girls ask for a premade lunch kit. You know the ones I am talking about. It is rare that I buy them, I don't like not being able to control the ingredients plus, they are really expensive! Did you know it only takes a few minutes to put something just like the premade kits together? I headed to Target to get all the ingredients I needed! We love Hillshire Farm Lunch Meat so, I picked up two varieties. Once home, I got everything together to get started! All you need to make a yummy and healthy Pizza lunch kit is: Hillshire Farm Lunch Meat Grated Cheese Pizza Sauce Pita Bread Cookie Cutters Lay your Pita Bread on a cutting board and press the Cookie Cutter through the bread. I was able to get 2 cuts out of one piece of Pita Bread. Since Pita Bread opens, you are left with 4 pieces of "pizza dough". Next, take 3-4 pieces of lunch meat and place on a cutting board. Using a small cookie cutter, cut out a fe...

This year I will celebrate 10 years of marriage to a WONDERFUL guy. I loved our wedding! The wedding and reception were held at the Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum, inside one of their pavilions. It was pretty amazing! Our wedding colors were White and all shades of purple. Almost everything was DIY, we were on a tight budget. My wedding was BEAUTIFUL! Styles change a lot in 10 years and what was popular then, is not popular now. My #1 piece of advice for a bride-to-be is, be true to you. Don't worry about what may or may not be popular. Do what makes you, and your man, happy. That is one thing I like about David Tutera , he focuses on the couple and what they want/like, not the trends. Oh, he is still trendy but he does not push the trends on you. Did you know he now has a line available at Michaels craft stores? If you are like me, you can not afford to have the REAL David Tutera plan your wedding. His line at Michaels is the next best thing! You are able to take ...

Last week I heard that Tyson Chicken came out with a new product that I just had to try! I knew I could create some fun recipes with their new Honey BBQ Chicken Strips and could not wait to get started! We try to have fun family meals a few times a week. My girls love to help in the kitchen and this recipe allows them to do just that. Allowing your kids to help in the kitchen not only teaches them how to cook but also opens them up to try new flavors. These tacos are SUPER easy to make and take just minutes, which is great for busy nights! Cooking the strips is the longest part of the recipe, but you need that time to get everything else ready. While the strips were heating I prepared my Cowboy Caviar , which I used to top the tacos. It is very easy to prepare and takes the tacos up a notch while highlighting the Honey BBQ flavor of the strips. Cowboy Tacos 8-10 Tyson Honey BBQ Chicken Strips (1-2 strips per taco) Cowboy Caviar 8 Corn Tortillas Heat strips a...

 Have you ever had Cowboy Caviar? Living in Oklahoma you would think I would have had it before. Nope. I have not. I have heard of it, seen it at get togethers, smelled it. But, I have NEVER tasted it. Why? I'm not really sure. Probably because it had something or other that made me turn my nose up at it. Well. That has changed! It is SO good! The perfect, refreshing, dip for a warm spring day. Cilantro gives it the perfect mix of spice to make the flavors POP! Cowboy Caviar 1 Can Black Eyed Peas, drained & rinsed 1 Can Black Beans, drained & rinsed 2 Cups Frozen Corn* 1/4 Green Bell Pepper, diced 2 Cloves Garlic, minced 3 Roma Tomatoes, diced 2 Avocados, diced 1/2 Red Onion, diced 1/2 Cup Zesty Italian Dressing 1/2 Bunch Cilantro, finely chopped 2 Limes Salt & Pepper to taste Rinse and drain beans. Juice Limes. In a large bowl combine all ingredients, I added the avocado last so I would not mush it to much. Ser...

Last Friday, March 8th, was International Women's Day. I decided to celebrate by celebrating my Aunt, Brenda. Before I tell you HOW I celebrated, let me give you a bit of history.  In 2009 my aunt received some news none of us saw coming, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. It was really hard to face the reality of this news. My Aunt Brenda has always been my rock, my friend, at times my strength. We did not know what the next few months would hold and to say I was scared is an understatement. I prayed everyday that God would take the cancer away. At times I even prayed that I would be the one to suffer, not her. I was mad, SO angry that she was the one facing this, she did NOT deserve it. Nobody does, but especially not her. After surgery and chemo she finally got the news we all prayed so hard for. She was cancer free! Praise God! This past year we received news again that none of us had expected. Her cancer had returned. This time her treatment was longer, and har...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin Pic by winnond editing by me. A few weeks ago on Facebook I mentioned that I would be starting my Homemade/Handmade Challenge again. Some of you joined along last time and I can not WAIT for even more of you to join along this year! The rules are pretty simple, try to make at least ONE thing from scratch/homemade/handmade per week. That's it! Pretty simple huh? It can be anything, food, crafts, cleaners, sewing, etc. To get you started, here is my Master Baking Mix recipe I shared over at Money Saving Queen last year. It is GREAT! I switch between using Butter and Shortening, which ever I happen to have on hand is what I use. I use this in place of a name brand all purpose baking mix that comes in a yellow box with blue writing.  ;-)  My friend Kristy over at Mommy Hates Cooking came up with a Gluten Free version and has some GREAT recipes you can use either version in. I would LOVE to hear what you guys make each week...