Ginger Casa

a continuing story about family life - parenting, cooking, gardening, DIY-ing, crafting, and living near Dallas, Texas

Gena is the mother of three boys, wife to DFW Dad, gardener, cook, crafter, DIYer, former teacher, and more! They live in the Dallas, Texas area.

Cashew Aoli Mason Jar Salad – Whole 30 Approved Salad in the Perfect Portions!

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cashew aoli mason jar salad

The Spring weather here in Texas has me craving all the garden fresh fruits and vegetables! Sure, it can still be freezing one day and HOT the next, but it is still pretty awesome.  Hubby and I went on the Whole30 diet earlier this year and did well. It definitely taught us some healthy eating habits that we are still holding on to. And who knew that you could create such awesome things with WHOLE foods that have incredible taste? Ditching the processed salad dressings and ingredients has been SO good for me.View Post

BBQ Beef Sweet Potato Bites with Avocado Cilantro Cream

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bbq beef sweet potato bites

This post has been brought to you by Curly’s BBQ. All opinions are mine.

Basketball season is in full swing here! With college basketball games, professional basketball games, and the backyard basketball games at our house, we are loving this time because it is one of our favorite sports! We will be watching quite a few games on TV in the upcoming weeks and months, so I wanted to share this delicious recipe that is PERFECT for your basketball watching party – BBQ Beef Sweet Potato Bites!

I was inspired to create this recipe after the craze about sweet potato toast on instagram and food blogs. It’s an easy, healthier, delicious treat for breakfast (or dinner), and these sweet potato toast bites are equally as delicious! Great as a finger food for any party, these little bbq beef sweet potato bites will quickly become basketball game watching party favorites. They will not only round out your guests’ plate, but they will steal the show!

bbq beef sweet potato bites

This recipe is pretty fail proof. Curly’s BBQ makes it super easy, too, because their perfectly sauced Pulled Beef is the star of this recipe. All you need to do is warm it up and it is good to go on this round slices of golden goodness.  Top with an avocado cilantro cream that is also easy to make and you are looking like a gourmet chef! You could add some of your favorite cheese crumbles or pico de gallo on top, but thankfully this pulled beef is so tasty that you don’t need much.

You can find Curly’s products in the refrigerated meat case section at your local grocery store. Also, for a limited time there will be a $1 off coupon available on Curly’s packages in store. So definitely pick up a few while this special coupon offer lasts! You can find Curly’s BBQ close to you right here: https://curlys.com/store-locator/

bbq sweet potato bites

bbq sweet potato toast bites

If you’re looking for more delicious, easy game day favorites, check out my recipes for Pulled Pork Deviled Eggs and BBQ Chicken Queso!

BBQ Beef Sweet Potato Bites with Avocado Cilantro Cream

BBQ Beef Sweet Potato Bites with Avocado Cilantro Cream
Bring these BBQ Beef Sweet Potato Bites to any party and they'll be gone in no time! Easy to make and a great alternative to crackers and bread.

Ingredients

  • one package of Curly's BBQ Pulled Beef
  • 3-4 small sweet potatoes
  • cooking spray or oil
  • one large avocado
  • 2 TBSP coconut milk, sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup cilantro plus some for garnish
  • 1 tsp lime juice
  • salt, to taste

Instructions

  1. Wash sweet potatoes, then cut off the ends.
  2. Using a sharp knife or mandolin slicer, cut sweet potatoes in 1/4" (or so) slices.
  3. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray or place on a wire rack or parchment paper, not touching.
  4. Spray the tops of the sweet potato rounds or drizzle with oil.
  5. Cook sweet potatoes in a 350° F oven for 8-10 minutes, then flip and cook an additional 8-10 minutes. Depending on thickness of your sweet potatoes, these could be done much sooner, so keep an eye on it during the cooking phase.
  6. When sweet potatoes are tender, pull them out and let cool.
  7. Warm your Curly's BBQ Pulled Beef according to package directions.
  8. While the beef is cooking, wash the avocado and remove the pit and skin.
  9. Add the avocado, coconut milk (or sour cream or Greek yogurt), 1/4 cup cilantro, lime juice, and a pinch of salt to a blender.
  10. Blend until creamy. If you need to add more lime juice or coconut milk to make it creamier, feel free to do so.
  11. When Curly's BBQ Pulled Beef is hot, spoon about a teaspoon on top of each sweet potato round.
  12. Top with avocado cream and a piece of cilantro for garnish.
  13. Serve and enjoy!
© Gena
Category: food

Recipes for Kids – Over 95 Parent Tested Recipes That Kids Can Help Make!

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recipes for kids

I have fond memories of cooking with my mom and also my grandmothers when I was little. This is something moms do naturally because it is fun to cook alongside your child and teach them how to eventually, cook on their own. Having three boys has proven no different. The boys have each loved to help unroll dough, cut out cookies, crack eggs, slather on icing, dump in blueberries, stir the meat, etc.

Just like when kids are little and want to run the big vacuum all by themselves, cooking makes them feel independent and “big.” Sometimes it can get messy, but if you have the patience and the ability to shrug off any spills and say “it’s ok, everyone makes messes, we can clean it up!” then having your child by your side as you cook will prove to be beneficial in the long run. Recipes for kids to help with really help!

So many parents feel like their kids “just aren’t ready” when it comes to cooking, but every child can do something to help with cooking a meal, even if it is dumping a cup of flour in the mixer. This is a great time to teach safety rules, where our food comes from, and even proper hygiene while dealing with uncooked foods and foods that people will eventually eat. (No one wants someone cooking their food who hasn’t washed their hands!)

I went in search of a *few* recipes that are great for cooking with kids, and I came up with an extensive list. There are over 95 awesome recipes that vary in skill level (and patience level!) that you can make with your kids and they will love to eat when complete.  No bake recipes, breakfast recipes, breads, snacks, main meal, desserts, and even holiday themed recipes, all that you can create with your little ones. 

Some of these recipe posts have instructions on what kids can help with, and most of these bloggers have experimented cooking these recipes for kids with their very own children, so you will have to read and see what their experiences were!  I loved putting this list together and seeing all of the adorable cooking kids!

So, take a deep breath and look through this list, preferably with your kids, to see what you would like to create together in the kitchen today!View Post

How To Make Quick and Easy Fruit Turnovers

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fruit turnovers blueberry turnovers

I love quick and easy recipes, and the boys love fruit desserts, so these fruit turnovers are great for everyone! 

Last year, our youngest son was going to “Alice School” a few hours a week. Mrs. Alice is a dear friend from church who worked with our oldest and middle son while we were homeschooling. She taught them different aspects of reading, math, the Bible, and sometimes incorporated a cooking theme to her lesson. What a gift we had in her teaching the boys! She made this recipe with Z and we make it every so often. Well, a few weeks/months ago, he asked if we could make a video of him making turnovers. We made one for Instagram stories, but he wanted it on YouTube (of course!) ha! So that’s where this started. I sure do love when they help me with ideas for the blog.

These fruit turnovers as super simple to make and the kids can do it by themselves. (I help them with the oven part, of course.) You can use any fruit pie filling. We’ve tried apple, blueberry, and cherry and they love them all.

Yield: 8 servings

Quick and Easy Fruit Turnovers

Quick and Easy Fruit Turnovers
These fruit turnovers are SO easy to make...with only two products!

Ingredients

  • one can of refrigerated crescent rolls
  • one can of pie filling - any fruit will do!

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Place a sheet of parchment paper on the pan.
  3. Lay out the 8 crescent roll triangles.
  4. Dollop a spoonful of pie filling in the center of each triangle.
  5. Roll each tip over the filling and pinch dough together to stick.
  6. Cook for 8-10 minutes at 375.
  7. Remove when golden brown and no longer doughy.
  8. Let cool and enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1 turnover
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 140 Total Fat: 3 gg Saturated Fat: 1.5g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 330mg Carbohydrates: 26g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 11g Protein: 1g
© Gena

Roast Beef Zoodle Soup – Quick and Easy Low Carb Dinner!

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roast beef zoodle soup

Roast Beef Zoodle Soup recipe post brought to you by Smithfield. All opinions are mine.

I am not sure why it always surprises me, but February in Texas is still cold. Well, some days are warm but then it dips down below freezing the very next day and that makes our allergies go nuts. On days when it is cold out or we are not feeling 100%, recipes like this Roast Beef Zoodle Soup are perfect for dinner. I love this recipe because it is quick to prepare, tasty, and jam packed with veggies and broth, which is great for feeling better quickly! The Prime Fresh Roast Beef makes it easy to add in a delicious protein to round out the soup.View Post

Mexican Cauliflower Rice – Delicious Way to Cut the Carbs and Load Up the Veggies!

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mexican cauliflower rice

I am in love with Mexican food.  TRUE Mexican food.  Not Tex Mex. Mexican food that is authentic and delicious, and prepared with love. So know that I don’t take lightly the art of preparing Mexican food. This Mexican Cauliflower Rice may seem like blasphemy, but stay with me. I make my Instant Pot Mexican Rice at least twice a month, sometimes more often. My boys love it and it is so, so good and EASY.View Post

Hearty Casseroles for Cold Winter Nights – Real Food Recipes That The Family Will Love!

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Hearty Casseroles for Cold Winter Nights - Real Food Recipes That The Family Will Love!

Casseroles are not just for church potlucks anymore!  I love casseroles because they can be a great side dish or a whole meal rolled into one.  Casseroles are also great for hiding vegetables in a delicious dish, using leftovers, or for busy week night dinners.  They usually can be prepared ahead of time and sometimes frozen for future meals.  There is no limit to what you can make a casserole out of!  I try to use real food ingredients so the casserole is not just a big dish of junk.  For instance, I try to use homemade cream of mushroom soup if the recipe calls for it, which is pretty simple to make and keep on hand.  Any of these casseroles would look elegant served in a beautiful casserole dish.View Post

How to Have Even More Fun on Your Family Grocery Shopping Trips!

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This post has been sponsored by Tom Thumb. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Shopping with three inquisitive boys who can help me look for products is pretty fun. THEY are fun to be with. And I just discovered the SHOP, PLAY, WIN!® Collect & Win Game featuring MONOPOLY at Tom Thumb, and this has brought a new level of fun to our family shopping trips.

I play the MONOPOLY Collect & Win game at my local Tom Thumb, but you can Shop, Play, Win! at any of the Albertsons Companies stores like Albertsons, Safeway, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Shaw’s, Star Market, Carrs/Safeway, United Supermarkets, Amigos, Albertsons Market and Market Street stores. Go to your local store to pick up a game board, purchase participating products while there to collect tickets and then visit www.ShopPlayWin.com or download the app to get started on the online game.

tom thumb monopoly family grocery shopping

The MONOPOLY Collect & Win Game allows me to play while my kids enjoy looking for qualifying products on our shopping list. Their favorite breakfast and breakfast-for-dinner food item, Aunt Jemima pancake mix, was right by my favorite, Quaker Oats, in the breakfast aisle. We also grabbed some Kraft shredded mozzarella cheese and Prego traditional sauce for dinner, along with a few other grocery items. Then, we received a game board and playing pieces at the register, to put on the board when we got home.

family shopping trip tom thumb monopoly

I have a few ideas to make shopping fun for the whole family. If I am organized, I will hand each of the three boys a list of things that we need. Their job is to look for them and cross them off as we find each product. The 5 year old needs a little more assistance as he is not fully reading yet, but his brothers are there to help. When given a task, they usually work together and the outcome is pretty great. Another idea is to have the kids draw the shopping list for him or each other, but that is for a day when we have LOTS of time!

Once all of the game pieces are affixed to the game board, we can hop online or on the Shop, Play, Win App (which you can easily download here) to enter or scan the online codes and see what we won. There are so many ways to win, and it is all from shopping for things that are already on our list. Throw in the savings that we get from using our free Tom Thumb loyalty card and Just for U deals and it really does add up to many big wins.

family shopping trips tom thumb monopoly

And guess what? My kids are actually eager to go shopping at Tom Thumb again so we can get more game tickets and see what kind of fun prizes that we might win. There are MANY things to be won, like Shutterfly and Starbucks items, gas or grocery rewards, and of course the big prizes! I also received a money saving coupon, which I can get excited about!

family shopping trip tom thumb monopoly

I encourage you to play the MONOPOLY Collect & Win Game at Tom Thumb. It really is a fun way to make grocery shopping even more exciting! And come back and tell me what you win! Visit www.ShopPlayWin.com to get started, and start collecting tickets in-store.

The Best Football Game Food! Quick & Easy Party Food For The Big Game!

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babble boxx football game food

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com. All opinions are mine.

With a house full of males, you can bet that our family will be in front of the TV this coming Sunday, watching the big game! It is always a great night filled with football, fun, and lots of yummy food! Figuring out what to feed the family and any visitors we may have is always tricky, and I have gotten stressed about it in the past. If you can relate, read on! The best football game food is easy and delicious. You can impress everyone and barely lift a finger!View Post

25+ Delicious Whole 30 Air Fryer Recipes

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whole 30 air fryer recipes

Ben and I are doing Whole 30 and let me just say…I’m so thankful for my Air Fryer and Instant Pot, more than I ever have been. It may seem obvious, but cooking real food can be super time consuming! I love using the Air Fryer for roasted potatoes and bacon, topped with spinach and tomatoes or fresh salsa.  SO GOOD!  So what are some other good Whole 30 Air Fryer recipes? I have made a go to source to help you out in your Whole 30 journey! It can be a delicious journey if you have your trusty air fryer with you! And if you love your Instant Pot as much as I do and want a yummy way to make an apple side dish, try my Instant Pot Cinnamon Apples, but leave out any sugar. Trust me, they’re so sweet without it!View Post

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