End of Summer Tropical Parfait and Kitchen Hack Tool

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The end of summer is really here. Instead of dwelling on the fact that I want to be able to sleep in every morning I am celebrating the end of summer with a Tropical Parfait. My kids loved it so I bet your kids will to!

These last two weeks of summer have been full of bar-be-ques, water adventure and cool treats! Oh, and back to school shopping, hence the reason I haven't posted anything new in a span of  2 weeks. Well, at least I've been documenting our favorite kitchen creations and will have several new things to share in the coming days because.... insert audible drum roll.... the kids are back in school! They were just as ready as I was so I don't feel any guilt with the parting of ways. There are so many ideas I've had percolating this summer but I haven't had the time to focus on developing them, so now I'm putting the pedal to the metal and you'll want to stay in touch by subscribing to the RSS feed and steal borrow any ideas that suit you. But, believe me, you'll want in on some of the special projects around the corner!

Not too long ago we developed our favorite smoothie to date that the kids ask for again and again. Which I love because they used to grimace at the smoothies I would make for them. That's because I didn't have a plan for what I put in the smoothies. I would just grab what we had on hand and throw a little of this and a little of that, add some green stuff and make sure there was some liquid and press the magic button hoping it would magically turn my smoothies into blended genius. Sadly, more often than not the kids turned their noses up at them. But, not anymore! This summer we changed all that. Now I follow a formula and it has made all the difference. If you missed it, you need to go back and pin it so you can escape to an imaginary tropical place any time you want. In fact it is this Tropical Surprise Smoothie that inspired today's treat, the End of Summer Tropical Parfait. Parfaits are so versatile, they are perfect for breakfast, snack or dessert!


Tweet: Parfaits are perfectly versatile. Great for breakfast, snack or dessert. http://bit.ly/1PEun7P via @mommyspieslice


Ingredients:
1 cup yogurt (we love Stonyfield, vanilla)
1/2 cup almond slices
1 mango, diced
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks, about 1/2 pineapple
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Instructions:

1. Combine coconut with yogurt and stir. OR you can combine the coconut with the almonds. I've tried it both ways and it's great either way.

2. Prepare your Pineapple. After getting this pineapple coring tool you will save so much money versus buying the pre cut stuff at the market. Plus you save time compared to slicing up pineapple using just a knife. Watch this video and tell me you don't want to buy this corer right now!

 

3. Prepare your diced mango. This is one of those kitchen hacks I was so glad to learn. Because, again, I don't have to pay an arm and a leg buying the pre-cut and packaged mango. The kids and I are kind of mango fanatics so this video was big time awesome:

I kind of like to dice the mango by scoring one cheek then the other and then using the glass to separate the "diced" fruit from the skin.

Now you'll have each of your ingredients set and ready to go.

4. Now it is time to build your parfait! Layer a couple spoonfuls of yogurt at the bottom, Next add a spoonful or two of sliced almonds. Then one heaping spoonful each of the pineapple and mango. Repeat these steps once more then enjoy!

Yields 4 small parfaits. 

All summer long I have been hemming and hawing about getting a set of parfait glasses because I want to be earth friendly and not use the plastic disposable ones. And wouldn't you know the day I'm writing this post my order from Amazon Prime arrives? So I'll have to make another parfait pronto and update with another picture!

These were the two that I had a hard time deciding between.... but I ultimately went with this one:

I'd love to hear in the comments if you plan to make this parfait for your kids! Remember you can pin it and savor a little bit of summer any time of the year.

My kids love parfaits for an after school healthy snack. Here are some other combinations you may want to try (just click on the image):

                 

21 Summer Drinks Just for Moms

Summer is a time when kids get to take a break from the rigors of classroom learning, relax with less constraining schedules and enjoy more family time.

Well, all that family time can be a little bit exhausting at times for mom.... maybe it's just me. Three kids that like to have things their way means we have some sibling rivalry on a daily, nope scratch that, hourly basis. The overseeing of sharing, taking turns, deciding when to step in and when to let them work things out on their own is.... well grating on my nerves at times. Not to mention I'm juggling work, keeping the house somewhat maintained and trying to plan fun things for them to do with all their "free time" Oh, wait! That's not just me, that's you too! Well, then let me pour you a drink. There's a bunch of funny memes out there about moms and wine, but with summer here, I may be reaching for something that has a little more, shall we say beach feel to it. Yes, you've got it. Drinks worthy of those cute little drink umbrellas.

OH and if you don't have time to peruse these perfect summer drinks right now - be sure to PIN IT so you can indulge later!

Here are my top picks for winding down this summer:

Spiked Strawberry Lemonade via Julie's Eats and Treats

Lime in Da Coconut via Made with Happy

Key Lime Moscato Punch via Krystal's Kitsch

Chocolate Raspberry Vodka Tonic via Giraffes Can Bake

Pineapple Saketini via Lipgloss and Crayons

Tropical Twisters via A Helicopter Mom

Boozy Smoothies via Simmworks Family Blog

Sparkling Citrus Sangria via Dizzy Busy and Hungry

Strawberry Margarita Punch via The Cookie Rookie

Berry Mint Gin Cocktail via In Mama Maggie's Kitchen

Strawberry Line Moscato Punch via Real Housemoms

Blueberry Breeze Cooler via Ann's Entitled Life

Skinny Margarita via Simmworks Family Blog

Lightened Up Raspberry Coconut Punch via Averie Cooks

Spicy White Wine Sangria via The Mommy Project San Diego

Raspberry Lemon Drop Martinis via The Cookie Rookie 

Vanilla Mojito via Lipgloss and Crayons

Malibu Sunset via Averie Cooks

Pineapple Peach Mojito via Spoonful of Flavor

Blueberry Bourbon Smash via Lexi Bites

Simple Summer Blueberry Margarita via Mommy's Slice of the Pie

Spicy Pineapple Mint Julep via Just Putzing Around the Kitchen

Raspberry Peach Prosecco Punch via Table for Two

And you never can go wrong just opening a bottle of wine, right? That's what I do more often than not. I love reading my friend Maggie's reviews of wine and especially love her collection of wine memes -

See more her collection of witty wine one liners - save for when you need to perk up your mom BFF.

Sizzling Summer Blog Hop Cash Giveaway

This summer has been busier than normal! My daughter wrapped up her softball season. The boys are playing competitive soccer. We've been busy exploring San Diego. And we've been creating delicious smoothie recipes. So if you need a way to cool down your sizzling summer be sure to check out these smoothie recipes and PIN THEM. I promise they are really good!

        

Live Randomly Simple is celebrating her one year blogaversary and wanted to do a big cash giveaway to celebrate so of course I wanted in on the fun! Celebrating big milestones like this not only gives readers like you an opportunity to feel appreciated (cuz if we don't have readers, why are we blogging?) but it gives each of our reader base an opportunity to find some other awesome blogs to read and gain new insight and tips. Personally, I love finding new blogs to follow and gain inspiration from. One lucky winner will win $250! What would you do with your cash prize? Meet the lovely ladies hosting and sponsoring this giveaway below.

Take a second to stop by these amazing gals blogs and give them a quick thanks for being awesome!

Live Randomly Simple

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Multitasking Maven

Three Kids And A Fish

Casa Watkins

Moms Of Influence

Winks And Eyerolls

Sparky Little Wife

Uncookie Cutter

The Schizo Chef

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Mommy's Slice Of The Pie

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Giveaway will run until the midnight on the 27th (eastern time). Winner will be announced on the 28th. Giveaway open to anyone who can accept a paypal gift card. Winner will have 7 days to claim their prize. If the winner does not claim the prize a new winner will be drawn. Winners are drawn at random by Rafflecopter.

Have fun and Good Luck Everyone!

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Summer Bucket List 2012

We're already full swing into Summer!

Last year we started a new family tradition by creating a Summer Bucket List and we're keeping it going. It took a few visits to complete it. Kids have short attention spans and mommy has constant interruptions.

One good way to get ideas of what to do is to have your kids sit down with you to create it - pretty much every idea on the list was theirs. I also asked for suggestions on Facebook from friends. It is amazing to me how many ideas you can really come up with to make summer special and meaningful.



For some afforable family summer activities check out The Pinky Project! She had a lot of good ideas she shared with our local news.

Do you have any suggestions for us to add? Summer traditions you loved as a kid and have passed onto your kids?

The night before summer = S'mores!

Last summer was the first time we had our very own backyard - so we decided it was time to buy a firepit! Something we had always wanted.

Not bad for $149. I think we got ours at Lowes

As we began creating our Summer Bucket List for 2012 all 3 kids chimed in with:
"Roasting marshmallows!"
"S'mores!"
"Marshmallows!"

They remembered the fun we had last summer watching Daddy build a fire, carefully teetering marshmallows above the flames as to not catch ablaze (and then if it did the kids would scream wildly), and then building one of summer's most delicious treats with marshmallows, Hershey's bars, and Honey Maid grahm crackers. A sweet sticky mess.

I recommend the regular size ones - the huge marshmallows take too long to roast.

Even if you're not a huge chocolate fan, a S'mores is simply not the same without a bit of Hershey's.

What's awesome is that our local grocery store has a S'mores display, complete with coupons, making it super easy to run in and pick up these items. Who doesn't love convenience?

Here's Daddy getting the fire going - I mostly love the quote on his shirt - well, that and the smell of him after building a fire or grilling!







In great summer planning hubby had already decided we weren't going to mess around with old wire coat hangers from the dry cleaners again. He saw these awesome roasting sticks at Home Depot.


The kids already can't wait to roast hot dogs on these!



Seriously, don't let your kid use these without supervision though.


I hope you and your family will enjoy some fun summer family activities like making S'mores or roasting marshmallows!

August 10th is National S'mores Day so plan ahead and add this to your Summer Bucket List. And as a former Girl Scout I have to appreciate the tradition they have created for many families each summer. Now I'm off to look on Pinterest for a S'mores Pie recipe - yum! Here's a list I compiled of more s'mores treats in case you don't feel like dealing with fire but want that nostalgic camping flavor. Enjoy!