Believe in the Magic Traci Diary

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Raspberry Simple Syrup

04/30/2016
We love our ice tea and lemonade at our house. When we go out to eat at a restaurant called Bob Evans, I almost order a flavored ice tea. Yum!

I decided I needed to recreate the flavored ice tea at my house. Especially since summer is going to be here before we know it.

My iced tea is made in my coffee maker. Last July, I got rid of my Keurig. I loved it for a long time but had been using my own grounds in little reusable coffee filters the majority of the time so I decided I would just bite the bullet and go back to a traditional coffee maker. I ended up with a Hamilton Beach Brewstation. Instead of a glass carafe, there is a removable reservoir. It has a setting on it for iced coffee. I used it for iced tea instead. Hey, it works and is delicious. Just make sure you wash the reservoir out before and after brewing the tea because you don’t want it the tea to taste like coffee and vice versa.

Now onto the raspberry simple syrup.

Raspberry Simple Syrup

adapted from Geeks with Drinks

Stars of the recipe:
- 1 c. white granulated sugar
- 1 c. water
- 2 c. raspberries (washed and dried)
Steps:
1. Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium high heat.
2. Stir until sugar is combined. (The sugar will become “clear.”)
3. Add the raspberries. Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat to medium low. Cook for 12 minutes. Keep a close eye on it.
4. Remove from the heat. Cover and allow it to seep for 10 minutes.
5. Strain the syrup.
6. Enjoy in tea or lemonade.
Happy eating,
Traci
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Dole Whip Smoothie

04/27/2016
Let us welcome the newest member of my smoothie family – The Dole Whip Smoothie.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Dip – Secret Recipe Club

04/25/2016
I’ve decided to join a blogging club called the Secret Recipe Club. Each month, we are given a blog to visit. We are to make one of the recipes from the blog. This month I was selected to visit The Spiffy Cookie.

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Some of Our Eats – Niagara Falls and Toronto, Ontario – Part 2

04/23/2016
Here are the pics from our eats from our Spring Break trip to Canada. All these pictures are taken on my DSLR camera.

I’ve posted some links to various restaurants and descriptions of the various foods. Those are in red.

Poutine – Hubby was all about trying poutine while we were up in Canada. If you’ve never had poutine, it’s French fries, gravy, and cheese curds. How can you go wrong with that combination? These were taken in the Niagara Falls area.

More poutine – This poutine was from a restaurant in the Toronto area. All they sell is different versions of poutine – beef gravy or vegan gravy. Yum!

More local foods –

Top left – Chocolate covered Rice Krispie’s treat
Top right – Maple infused apple candy – So good!
Bottom right – Maple sugar cream cookies shaped like maple leaves – Delicious!
Bottom left – Icewine Black Tea – We didn’t try it until we got home. It is delicious!

More treats from the Hershey Store in Niagara Falls. I love chocolate covered strawberries so I couldn’t resist a strawberry covered in Hershey’s chocolate. The Bear Cupcakes not mushed up.

Starting at the top left going clockwise:
1. Barbecued wings – We got this on a whim at the Hilton Hotel’s cafe. The barbecue sauce used on the wings is a local Canadian barbecue sauce called Diana’s barbecue sauce. These were the best wings I’ve had in a while.
2. Hot dog from Souvenir City – Too much bun, not enough hot dog – Hot dog was tough.
3. French fries
4. Canadian burger with peameal bacon – Hubby was jealous when he saw my burger.
5. Vegan pizza called the pig destroyer destroyer – Hubby’s cousin got it for us when we visited them in Toronto.
My friend came to visit us while we were in Niagara Falls. She lives an hour and a half from Niagara Falls. We ate dinner at an Italian place called My Cousin Vinny’s. I had the fettuccine Alfredo and salad. Yum!

More eats at the I-90 service area. The Wee One wanted McDonald’s so that is what he got. The Imaginative One got a McFlurry and a soft pretzel.

Kinder egg – These are illegal in the United States. We tried some while we were in Niagara Falls. We also tried them at the last OnRoute rest area we stopped at before re-entering the United States. Hubby was no impressed with the chocolate. The boys enjoyed it though.

Eating Tims – In Canada, they call Tim Horton’s Tims. By the end of the trip, the boys and I were calling it Tims. Everything was written in English and French as you can see on the bag by Hubby.

The rest areas on route 401 in Southern Ontario are called On Routes. They have free Wi-Fi, a market place, a gas station, restrooms, and various restaurants. There were four between Toronto and Windsor. We stopped at 2 of them. I found the Smoked Butterscotch Latte at the Starbucks so I decided to get one. It’s so good.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of what we ate on the trip!

Happy eating,
Traci
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“Chick Fil-A” Coleslaw

04/20/2016
My mother-in-law and I like coleslaw. The rest of the family won’t even touch slaw.

This would be great for a summer barbecue. However, you need to be aware that since there is mayo in the slaw, you should not leave it out for too long.

“Chick Fil-A” Coleslaw

adapted from Shugary Sweets

Stars of the recipe:
- 1 c. mayo
- 4 tsp. white vinegar
- 1/4 c. granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp. dry mustard or prepared mustard (I used prepared mustard.)
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 bags (14 oz.) prepared shredded coleslaw mix
Steps:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together everything except for the coleslaw mix.
2. Add the coleslaw mix. Fold over until all of the dressing is covering the coleslaw mix.
3. Cover and put in the fridge. Let sit for 2 hours or overnight.
4. Enjoy!
Happy eating,
Traci
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Some of Our Eats – Niagara Falls and Toronto, Ontario

04/16/2016
My family and I recently went on a road trip to Niagara Falls and Toronto during our Spring Break. We tried new foods while there. I tried to take pictures of some of the foods so I could share it with my readers.
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Homemade White Bread

04/13/2016
I enjoy making homemade bread when I have a chance. The smell of the fresh bread coming out of the oven is to die for.

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Menu Plan Monday – Week of April 11, 2016

04/11/2016
It’s been a while since I’ve created a menu plan. Our dinners have been suffering since I don’t have a specific menu plan for the week.

One week I didn’t menu plan because we were suppose to use some of the food from our freezer before we went away on our Spring Break trip. We did use a couple things from the freezer. The second week was when we were gone for the week. I have two blog posts coming up with some of our eats from when we were in Canada. Last week I was suppose to be using food from the freezer. Yep, that didn’t happen. We had fast food twice during the week. (more…)
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Skillet Green Beans

04/10/2016
I’m all about easy veggie side dishes. We usually microwave the veggies for about 4 minutes, add a little bit of butter and salt, and then microwave for another minute to melt the butter.

That method gets old, though. So I came up with an easy skillet green bean recipe using onions and bacon. When my mother-in-law makes green beans for our Sunday dinner, she boils the bacon with the green beans. The Wee One wants to eat those bacon pieces. He can, but they don’t have the best flavor or texture. When I made this skillet green bean recipe, he could eat the bacon with his green beans. Win-win!

Skillet Green Beans Download

Happy eating,
Traci
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Coffee Cake Muffins

04/06/2016
I’m always looking for new inspiration for recipes to put on my blog. So I decided to join a food party called Food Extravaganza. Each month, there is a theme based on a National Food Holiday during that month.

Monthly April Holidays are Florida Tomato Month, BLT Sandwich Month, Soft Pretzel Month, Soy-foods Month, Grilled Cheese Month, and Garlic Month. Hubby will be all about it being garlic month. He loves garlic. The Imaginative One and the Wee One will be all about it being soft pretzel month. They love soft pretzels!

Anyway April 7 is Coffeecake Day. Not cake made of coffee – Cake that you have with your coffee or even hot tea.

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