Author: Mama

My Knock Out Roses Were Almost KO’d

My Knock Out Roses Were Almost KO’d

Posted on by Mama

Knock Out roses

My Knock Out® roses have had quite the journey here at The Three-Acre Wood, but this spring as I watched and waited for signs of life from my three beauties by the curb I quickly realized that my girls were hurting. I’m not sure if it was last year’s Japanese Beetle infestation, the unusually long, cold winter or a combination of both, but I was afraid my rose bushes were gone for good.

After a long wait, I started to see signs of life as a few little green leaves appeared, mainly from the deepest parts of the plants. I did a bit of research on the best way to care for these ailing gals and decided to heavily prune them to about 18″ from the ground. Ugh, this was so disheartening (and thorny)!

knock out roses

I’m happy to say that all three of the Knock Out roses are gaining some momentum this spring, but they aren’t real attractive at this point. Several branches have green leaves growing, they are gaining a bit of height and a single small rose actually bloomed this morning!

Knock Out roses

I’m hoping that if I baby them through the summer, they will reward me with their usual splash of color come this fall or next spring.

knock out roses

Oven-Baked Onion Rings

Oven-Baked Onion Rings

Posted on by Mama

onion rings

Summer living is in full swing here at The Three-Acre Wood and I’m all about some easy delicious meals that won’t blow up my Weight Watchers progress. After I lost over a pound last week, I gained almost half an l-b back this week. *grrr*

So last night I decided to dip into my WW bag of tricks and cook up some yummy good stuff that wouldn’t sabotage my weight loss progress. I thawed out some homemade barbeque pulled chicken, but sauces are pretty high in points; so I went searching for a complementary side that wouldn’t blow the day. That’s when I remembered these oven-baked onion rings that are so quick and easy to make that they wouldn’t interfere with some good ol’ treehouse building and T-ball playing (it was a busy evening).

Now who doesn’t love a good onion ring with some barbeque? I can really relish a deep-fried, bread crumb coated onion ring as much as the next gal, but those restaurant-style rings are not exactly low cal or even slightly healthy. Oh wait, onions are a vegetable. . .  Can we count those as a serving?

onion rings

Okay, so let’s stop kidding ourselves and get down to business. I found this recipe in a Weight Watchers cookbook that I borrowed from a friend and was really surprised the first time I cooked up this tasty treat (with a few changes), because they actually do taste like real onion rings! They are also super easy to make (my seven-year-old son helped me in the kitchen last night) and only one SmartPoint for six rings. It really does feel like cheating! I just gotta say that these things are so tasty I would use this recipe even if I wasn’t watching my weight. Yeah, they are that good!

Oven-Baked Onion Rings
Serves 3
A tasty oven-baked alternative to a traditional deep-friend treat. Six rings are only 1 SmartPoint (108 calories) for folks watching their weight.
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
17 min
Total Time
30 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
17 min
Total Time
30 min
Ingredients
  1. 1/2 c all-purpose flour
  2. 1/2 tsp salt
  3. 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  4. 3 large eggs
  5. 1/2 c plain dried bread crumbs
  6. 1 large white onion
  7. Nonstick spray (I use Aldi's SimplyNature Extra Virgin Olive Oil spray.)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
  3. Mix together flour, salt and cayenne pepper in a shallow bowl.
  4. Beat eggs in a different bowl.
  5. Pour bread crumbs in a third shallow bowl.
  6. Cut onion into 1/4 inch rounds and separate rings.
  7. While rings are still moist from cutting, coat rings with flour, dip in eggs, and then coat with bread crumbs.
  8. Place onion rings on prepared baking sheet.
  9. Bake until browned on one side, about 10 minutes. Turn rings over and bake until browned on second side, about 6-8 minutes.
  10. Serve warm.
Notes
  1. Six rings are only 1 Weight Watchers SmartPoint or 108 calories.
Adapted from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook
Adapted from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook
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$50 Oriental Trading Gift Card Giveaway!

$50 Oriental Trading Gift Card Giveaway!

Posted on by Mama

Summer has officially begun in our neck of the woods, which of course means Vacation Bible School is right around the corner. As many of you know, I have been coordinating VBS at our church for several years and that means stretching a budget to educate, decorate and plan for a whole week of fun.

One of my favorite budget-friendly places to purchase supplies is definitely Oriental Trading. I order decorations online each year, because they always have fun items for some of the most current VBS themes. Of course they also carry loads of other decor, prizes and fun stuff too. If you are looking for some good ideas at great prices, I suggest you pop on over to the Oriental Trading VBS page and take a look.

giveaway

All this talk about VBS finally brings me to my super exciting announcement. . . I’m partnering with Oriental Trading to host an awesome giveaway! Yup, a $50 Oriental Trading gift card is up for grabs. Just think of all the fun you could have with that little gem in your pocket. Only nine other blogs and Small Talk Mama are offering our readers a chance to win this $50 gift card from Oriental Trading, so your odds of snagging the prize just got better from the starting gate! Oriental Trading is handling all the details, so just follow the link below to enter for a chance to win. Good luck!

$50 Oriental Trading Gift Card Giveaway

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