50 Inexpensive At Home Date Night Ideas

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Derek and I hardly ever go on dates outside of our house. It's typically really hard to find people who are willing to watch our kids, and when we do, we feel like we need to rush the date and get home as soon as possible. There is also the fact that you have to pay a babysitter, which I'm not opposed to doing, it's just for more reasons than one, a lot easier for us to have at-home dates instead of leaving the house.

With coronavirus still in full swing and people not really knowing when it will be completely okay for them to have a babysitter come over, and to actually leave and go on a date, I thought I'd share 50 at-home date night ideas for you to utilize during this time at home, and beyond. Pretty much all of these ideas involve ordering in, or going and getting take-out as step one, unless otherwise mentioned. 

50 At Home Date Night Ideas:

1. Dinner and a Movie
2. Card Games: Some of our favorites are Uno, Phase 10, Spit, and Rook. 
3. iPad Games: Download a bunch of games on your phone or iPad and have fun playing them back and forth with one another. Some of our favorites are hangman, connect four, bowling, and the dot game. 
4. Backyard Fire: Fire pits don't need to be expensive. You can gather a bunch of bricks and stack them in a circle, or buy an inexpensive one for $30-$50. Roast s'mores or hotdogs, and cuddle after you put the kids to bed! 
5. Play Board Games: Some of our favorites are Scattagories, Boggle, Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Risk.
6. Make Dinner Together: Make a new recipe that you typically wouldn't make for your kids 
7. Make Dessert Together: Already ate dinner with the kids? Once they're in bed make dessert and turn on a movie!
8. Play Question and Answers: Look up a bunch of random questions online, and take turns going back and forth answering them. This could be great if you have a spouse who isn't very chatty. 
9. Have a Backyard Picnic: Get food to go, or make something in the kitchen, and hangout on a blanket in the backyard and eat together!
10. Paint Night: Find a painting video on youtube, and then go out and get the supplies you need to make it happen. Dollar Tree has a lot of paint supplies, along with Michael's. Don't forget your coupons!
11. Watch a Movie Outside: If you have a projector you can setup a sheet and your favorite movie and watch outside when it gets dark! 
12. Lay Out in the Hammock and Watch the Stars
13. Have a Food/Drink Tasting Night: Get a few fancy root beers, or cookies from different cookie shops, or different cheeses or meats, and sample each one and talk about which ones were your favorites and why. 
14. Listen to a Podcast: Follow up with discussing what you liked and what you didn't
15. Have a Video Game Night: We have the Super Nintendo with all the old games pre-loaded on it! It would be fun to see who can beat who at the old school games!
16. Have a Fondue Night
17. Have a Bookclub for Two: Get two copies of a book, read them separately, and then discuss what you liked and what you didn't on your date night. 
18. Have a Living Room Campout: Bring the sleeping bags inside, make s'mores, and even turn on the fireplace for a little ambiance.
19. Have a Snowy Night Party: If there is snow outside, put the kids to bed, make a snowman together, have a snowball fight, and when it gets too cold, come inside and have hot cocoa by the fire and warm up to a movie!
20. Play Twister!
21. Plant a Garden: Always want to plant a garden but haven't gotten around to it? Make it into a fun date night!
22. Have a Spa Night: You can do some facial masks, get rid of those nose hairs, and even throw in a massage if you want! 
23. Do a Workout Together: Hit up Youtube for some workout videos, and then make a healthy dinner or do some meal prep together afterwards!  
24. Pull out the Photo Albums: Take out your old photo albums and look through all the pictures together. 
25. Plan a trip: Pull out your computers and each take 30 minutes planning your dream vacation, and then share your ideas with your spouse. Even if you don't take the trip, its still fun to see what each of you come up with!
26. Assemble a Puzzle Together: Get a fun puzzle off of Amazon and spend the night putting it together! 
27. Tackle a Home Improvement Project: Paint a room or lay some new floors (make sure it's relatively small and easy so that you can finish it in a night and feel good about yourselves)!
28. Play card Games
29. Paint Mugs and Plates: There is a place in Utah called Color Me Mine, where people paint pottery for date nights. You could easily recreate this from the comfort of your home. 
30. Play Yard Games Together: There are so many fun options like Corn Hole, Ladder Golf, Kan Jam, Spike Ball, or even make an oversized yard game like Jenga!
31. Get Dressed up for a Fancy Dinner: Put on a nice dress with full hair and makeup, and have your husband get in a suit and tie, and have a nice candlelit dinner at home!
32. Learn a TikTok Dance: You don't have to actually post it, but we all know this would cause plenty of fun and laughter. 
33. Bake a Fancy Cake Together: Hone in your cake decorating skills and try to make a great tasting and beautifully looking cake. Cakes by Courtney has tons of tips and amazing recipes. 
34. Have an Ice Cream Sundae Competition: Who can make the best looking, and best tasting sundae? Get all the fixings at the store and find out!
35. Do Yoga Together: Similar to doing a workout, but a lot less sweat. 
36. Binge a Season of your Favorite Show: Some of our favorites are The Office, Brooklyn 99, Friends, and Seinfeld. 
37. Have a Dessert Only Dinner: Get a bunch of your favorite treats and watch a movie while you eat. Turns out when you're the adult you don't have to have your real dinner first. 
38. Watch the Sunrise/Sunset: Wake up early, or stay up late, and watch the sun come up or go down together. 
39. At Home Escape Room: There are tons of escape room games on amazon that you can purchase so you don't have to make up your own, and it will be a lot more fun and challenging than a normal board game!
40. Guess the Food: Pick a bunch of foods from your pantry/fridge. Blindfold your spouse and see if they can guess each food. 
41. Get Crafty with the Kids Art Supplies: Pull out all your kids supplies and see who can make the best... anything. 
42. Learn a New Game: Grab a new game you've never played before and figure it out together
43. Try Deep Frying Everything: Look through your pantry and try deep frying things, Oreos, chocolate, string cheese, etc.. 
44. Take Online Personality Tests
45. At-Home Prom Night: Dress up for prom and play all the best songs from the year you graduated high school. 
46. Watch a Comedy Show Online
47. Tie-Dye T-Shirts: Tie-dye is making a huge comeback right now anyways. Get some white shirts, and a tie-dye kit and make a night of it!
48. Backyard Olympics: If you're competitive The Creative Bite has a ton of backyard games you can play. Compete against your spouse and see who is the winner!
49. Take French Lessons: It is the language of love after all ;) 
50. Make Pottery Together: Mold some clay or try one of these pottery wheel kits for kids, and see what you can come up with! 

Do you have any fun at-home date night ideas that you love? I'd love to hear them in the comments below! 

If you liked this post, 50 Inexpensive At Home Date Night Ideas, you might also like:

• How to Plan a Family Reunion
• Social Distant Summer Schedule
• 6 Ways to Keep Your Kids Healthy in the Classroom

Be sure to stay up-to-date on all of the latest things in our lives by following along in instagram @thehappyflammily!

Read more »

Zion Wildflower Resort: Glamping Near Zion National Park

Monday, May 25, 2020

One thing our family is interested in doing this summer is still making time and space for vacations and trips, despite everything going on in the world right now. The best way we can practically do this is by camping, and focusing our trips on nature and the great outdoors. 

Derek and I have lived in Utah for six years (three when we first got married, and three more since moving back in 2017), and have never been to Zion National Park, or any of the National Parks in Southern Utah. 

We have friends who just opened the most amazing glamping experience: Zion Wildflower Resort, and are planning on heading down next month for a little anniversary getaway without the kids. The Zion Wildflower Resort is beautiful, and our friends didn't miss a single detail when creating this space from the ground up. Even though we're not visiting for another month, I wanted to give you guys a preview of the resort so that it can be on your radar, and so that you could book a stay for your family.

Lodging Options at Zion Wildflower Resort:

When you book your stay with Zion Wildflower Resort, you have three lodging options. The first option is the large canvas tent that comes with a King size bed, two twin sized beds, and comfortably sleeps four people. 

The next option is the covered wagons. This is such a fun experience and gives a little nod to our Utah heritage. There are two options: one that sleeps four people with a king size bed and two twin size beds. The other wagon option has a king size bed, and two twin size bunk beds, and allows you to sleep six people. 

Finally, there are four different bungalow options. The bungalows are essentially mini houses built on the property, and the four styles fit a wide variety of guests. There is a two bedroom option with a king size bed and a queen size bed that sleeps four people, another bungalow option has two queen size beds and sleeps four people, the third option has a king size bed along with a full on full bunk bed, and then there is a single king size bed option for two people. 

What Amenities are Offered at Zion Wildflower Resort:

There are so many fun things to see and do while you're at the Zion Wildflower Resort. Not only do you get to experience and lodge in the great outdoors, but there are fun activities for the entire family to enjoy. There are oversize yard games, plenty of outdoor space for yoga and other exercise. There are large fire pits to keep you warm and cozy with your family at night, along BBQ pits, and even painting activities provided at the office. 

If you're not staying in one of the bungalows, there are luxury bath houses available for guest use. Each bath house has multiple private bathrooms inside that have a sink, vanity, toilet, and shower, that are fully lockable for privacy. There is no wifi available on the property to encourage unplugging and connecting with those you're with, but the property does have strong LTE cell coverage so that you can still be connected to family and make phone calls/text messages as needed. 

How Far Away is Zion Wildflower Resort from Zion National Park?

The best part about Zion Wildflower Resort is getting to be a quick 15 minute drive from Zion's National Park. If you're going to be visiting Zion this summer and need a place to stay, take advantage of the amazing rates and wonderful lodging opportunities that Zion Wildflower has to offer. The benefit to Zion Wildflower is getting to extend your time at Zion into the great outdoors where you can rest and unplug from a day of hiking and exploring, and still be outdoors experiencing all that southern Utah has to offer. If you're looking for a way to unplug from the hustle and bustle of life, and be one with nature, you're not going to want to miss out on this wonderful luxury camping opportunity. 

Zion Wildflower Resort is currently booking for the 2020 season. They have contactless check-in to ensure all their guests are safe and healthy, and are ready to provide you with the ultimate camping experience this summer. To learn more about room rates and availability, head over to their site today!

Also be sure to follow @ZionWildflower on Instagram to stay up-today on all the latest building and property updates, and all the fun as this summer season gets rolling!


Be sure to stay up-to-date on all of the latest things in our lives by following along in instagram @thehappyflammily!

Read more »

Social Distance Summer Schedule

Friday, May 22, 2020

Two years ago, almost exactly to the day, I wrote a post about our weekly summer schedule. That post is the most popular post written on my blog with over 42,000 page views. That post gets high traffic this time of year, but since things are looking a little different this summer, I decided to adapt the post a bit for you, and give you some ideas on how you can make the most of this summer for your children, even with the current climate in the world. 

I want to preface all of this with the fact that I don't think you need to do one of these things every single day. If you find yourself bored and want to do something, use this as a guide. I honestly don't believe in over structuring summer. How many of us look back on our own childhood and think, "I'm so glad my mom used a block schedule the summer of 1999 and that I learned about the Spanish Inquisition and long division..."  (Not throwing shade at people who LOVE doing this kind of thing, I'm just not that kind of mom, and know I don't have the energy to keep up with anything like that!)

I'm all for routine, and finding a natural rhythm and pattern in our days, but I think the second we start telling ourselves life has to be done one way, and it needs to be that way every single time, it's when we find ourselves burnt out, stressed out, and disappointed by false expectations. I hope this post can serve as a great guide to help you with ideas of things you can do with your children, but in no way make you feel pressured to do any of these things. 

Make it Monday:

Monday's are a great time to get our crafting on! We're fresh from the weekend and feeling fun and motivated right? I love getting little paint kits from the Target Dollar Spot, or Dollar Tree. I also love just getting a bunch of random crafts supplies like paper, paint, beads, string, glue, popsicle sticks, and letting their imaginations run wild! 

Learning Tuesday: 

I am not a workbook/school work every day of the summer kind of mom. However, you could take a day a week to do a fun story time or music class with your kids. Let them pick a topic that they want to learn more about and make a mini lesson on it. If your child struggles with a certain subject, you could take 20 minutes a week to work on that with them. In our house it would be numbers with Kinsley and writing with Kyle. I don't want them to lose a lot of ground in those subjects over the summer, so those might be the things I decide to work on IF we are feeling up to it. 

Water Wednesday:

One of my very favorite things to do with my kids is fill up a kiddie pool with water, throw them and their plastic toys inside of it, and let them have a ball for hours in the backyard. I plan on doing this weekly when we move. Other fun things could be water blobs, water balloons, squirt guns, running through the sprinklers, slip-n-slides, and any other water game your children love!  

Adventure Thursday:

Adventures are harder this summer with splash pads likely staying closed. Things I hope to do are hikes, nature walks, nature scavenger hunts, scenic drives, and any other thing that gets us outdoors and exploring!

Foodie Friday:

I really want to get Kyle cooking more in the kitchen this summer. We bought him a kid's cookbook, and are working our way through it currently. You can cook with your kids, go out for ice cream or shaved ice, or do a family date night and eat somewhere new you've never been. 

Super Saturday:

This is a great day to do something as a family since the work week is over. Go on a camping trip, to the drive-ins, have a BBQ, game night, or sleepover in the backyard. The sky is really the limit. Whatever you do, do it together as a family!

Sundays: 

I did not include this on my graphic, but Sundays are a day where we go to church (depending on when they open again), or we do church at home with our kids. Then we just relax and spend most of the day at home laying pretty low. It's a reset day for us where we just take time to be together as a family with no real agenda. 

What are your plans this summer? Do you like doing small things with your kids each day, or stick to a more structured schedule? I'd love to hear what works for you in the comments!

Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thehappyflammily to stay up to date on all of the latest from us!

Read more »

Vegan Mango Lentil Dal

Thursday, May 21, 2020

This vegan mango lentil dal is the perfect weeknight meal that is easy to make and kids will love!

We've been trying lots of new recipes this week since we decided to do a week of vegan eating. We've found a lot of great family friendly vegan recipes, and this mango lentil dal has been one of our favorites so far. I got the original idea for this recipe from Fried Dandelions, but adapted it a little bit to speed up the cooking process a bit and meet our family's preferences. 

What is a Dal?

Dal is a phrase often used in Indian cooking and refers to a dish made with beans and pulses, particularly lentils. We went through eight years of marriage never cooking lentils, but this last year have tried many recipes and have come to really love them. It always seems intimidating to cook with something new, but lentils are a great protein source, cook easily, and can be the base for many delicious recipes. 

Can you cook with canned mangos?

The original recipe for this Dal called for fresh mangos. They're super tricky though because they need to be the perfect amount of ripeness or they taste awful, and cutting a mango is not my idea of a good time while trying to get dinner on the table. We used canned diced mango in this recipe and it turned out really great. I haven't tried fresh mango to compare, but no one in our home was opposed. Just make sure to drain off all the liquid before cooking. 

What to serve with Mango Lentil Dal?

We loved serving this over some white rice. If you're looking to up the nutritional value you could totally use brown rice, or even quinoa to serve with your Dal. My kids tend to do better with white rice, which is why we went for that, and figured their was plenty of protein and nutrients in the dal to make up for whatever we were lacking with our rice. 

Yield: 6

Author: Paige Flamm

Print

Vegan Mango Lentil Dal

This vegan mango lentil dal is the perfect weeknight meal that is easy to make and kids will love!

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min

Ingredients

Vegan Mango Lentil Dal

• 1 cup dry white rice
• 1 cup dry red lentils
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 onion diced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 15oz can diced mango, drained
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. In a small pot, prepare your rice to package instructions.
2. In a medium pot add your lentils and 4 cups of water. Bring water to a boil, and then lower the temperature and allow to simmer with the pot partially covered until most of the water is absorbed and lentils are tender. About 15-20 minutes.
3. In a medium skillet, heat your oil, and then add in your onion, garlic, and all of your spices. Cook until the onion is tender and the spices are fragrant. Add in your diced mangos, making sure to drain all the liquid from the can before adding to the onion and spice mixture. Heat all the way through for 1-2 minutes.
4. Once your lentils are cooked and most of the water is absorbed, add the onion and mango mixture to the lentils and stir to combine. Serve over rice, and enjoy!

If you liked this post, Vegan Mango Lentil Dal, you might also like:

• Mexican Vegan Pasta Salad
• Vegan Dark Chocolate Quinoa Bowl
• Quick and Easy Vegan Black Bean Soup

Be sure to stay up-to-date on all of the latest things in our lives by following along in instagram @thehappyflammily!

Read more »

We Bought A House (Again) + Answering Your Questions

Thursday, May 14, 2020

In a wild turn of events Derek and I are under contract on a home that we will move into in about six weeks. We honestly had zero intentions of buying another home for a couple more years, and were content to keep renting like I mentioned in our financial goals blog post I wrote a few weeks ago. The reality is that things just fell into place in the most unexpected ways, and that is the story I'm going to tell today.

For a lot different reasons, we were originally planing on trying to rent a single level, single family home when our lease ended here at the end of July. We're currently in a three story townhouse and it's getting difficult to carry Kinsley up and down all the stairs, plus she might be having surgery in the next year, and carrying her up those stairs while going through recovery seems miserable. Also, we'd really love to have a backyard for our dog to poop freely and not have to take him out on the leash several times a day. 

We also really wanted to stay down here in southern Davis County so Kyle could continue going to his private school, and Kinsley could go to her same school without much disruption. A few weeks into quarantine we found out Kinsley's teacher who she was supposed to have for three years wasn't coming back next school year, which made us less dedicated to keeping her in her school because a new teacher is a new teacher. However, we were still wanting to keep Kyle in his school and since I had to drive him every day we were still thinking of staying close so that the drive would be manageable. 

We had been looking at rental options for weeks and weeks and nothing came up that met our one level home with pet criteria. There was one house, but it was going to be demolished in February, so it wasn't a good long term option at all. Even still when I look on Zillow in our current area there isn't anything there. 

Then Derek and I started playing with the idea of "Well what if we bought a house?" and "What if Kyle switched schools one last time and then really never again?" We also didn't have much in terms of a downpayment saved up (we only had 1% saved because we'd been purging basically all our income into student loan payoff for the last year), and didn't really know how that was going to pan out. We had actually looked at using a down payment assistance program in January to possibly buy a home, but the interest rate on the loan would have been almost 6%, which was why we decided to hold off on buying. 

Then I saw a Facebook ad for downpayment assistance programs in Utah and we got connected with a lender who was offering a program to give us 3.5% for a downpayment and a 3.7% interest rate, and the downpayment money didn't have to be paid back as long as we lived in the house for three years. (If we leave the house before 3 years we have to pay back the downpayment money at 8% interest). (For anyone local, I don't know the name of this program, but I can get you in contact with our lender if you're interested.)

So with a loan that was a lot better of a deal than we'd ever had previously, we started cautiously browsing Zillow. Another hurdle was that the Utah market is so crazy that houses go really fast and unless you put an offer on something the second it's listed you likely won't get it. This was an entire other fiasco we didn't want to get into. 

We started looking all over the county at various places we could live, but I kept getting this nagging feeling about Kyle going to a new school and really didn't want to send him somewhere completely new that we knew nothing about. Derek and I agreed at that point that we would either stay down here so he could go to his current school, or move back to Layton so he could go back to the school he went to for Kinder and first grade. We knew we loved that school, and that Kyle had a ton of friends there, so going back would be a really positive thing.

On May 2nd I went to tour a new construction neighborhood down here where we're currently living, but wound up getting locked out of the model home, so then I decided to drive up to Layton and see what some new construction options would be like up there. There weren't any new builds that would be ready before school started in the fall, but after looking on Zillow I noticed one of my friends was selling their house. It had been on the market for 40 days and I thought for sure she'd had an offer at that point. I texted her and she said she'd had no offers and that I could come and look. 

I went over to her house, looked around, and instantly knew we wanted the house. I texted her back and asked if we could have it, but that we couldn't close until July 1st because of our current lease. She said she wasn't in a hurry and that closing then wouldn't be a problem. Within a couple days we'd given her the earnest money, and were officially under contract. 

We had our inspection last week and there was nothing majorly wrong with the home, just the tiny little things that tend to always pop up so that the inspector can write something on the report. It was literally things like painting window wells, move these plants, adjust this gutter, etc... 

It's honestly just insane to me how all the things lined up the way they did. Even since going under contract things have worked out that I've gotten paid for past blog posts that we'd forgotten about, and Derek's pay checks will shake out that we'll have the perfect amount of money for our closing costs without being dirt poor and eating cat food for three months afterwards. 

Pro tip: even if you're doing a downpayment assistance program, you still need money for closing costs, which can be between 2-5% of the price of the house. Derek and I had already had savings for first and last month's rent, and a deposit for a new rental which is what really helped get the ball rolling for the upfront costs... again timing is everything. Just beware that even if you have enough money for 3.5% down on a home, you almost need to double it to cover closing costs. Some sellers will pay the buyer's closing costs, but in Utah the market is so competitive that most do not. 

I asked on Instagram what questions you had about our house, so I'll quickly answer some of them now:

How old is the home? It was built in 2003.

How big is your lot? It's just under a quarter of an acre.

Are you going to be doing major renovations? It is move-in ready which is amazing. We do have dreams of painting home's exterior, inside walls, cabinets, etc... maybe adding some built-ins, but mostly just a lot of painting projects for right now. The carpet I'm assuming is original to the house and is probably ready to be replaced in a couple rooms, which we'll do slowly over time.

How far is the new house from your current house? The home is 20 minutes north from where we live right now.

Can you have roosters on your property? Sorry Karen, we do not want your rooster haha!

What made you pull the trigger? Honestly, if it wasn't for the loan program we got with the amazing interest rate, along with our friends selling their house and it being a super seamless and EASY transaction, we probably would not have bought right now. Buying a house in Utah is not fun, and the idea of throwing in offers on houses that already have seven offers is so daunting. If the process wasn't as easy as it was for us, I doubt we would have done it.

Why are we going back to the area we just moved from? When we decided to look into buying we decided we would either say in the North Salt Lake/Woods Cross/Bountiful area so Kyle could keep going to his current school, and the only exception was going back to Layton for him to be at the school he went to for Kinder and First. All the pieces just aligned well for us to go back to Layton and be in a home we love and can see ourselves in long term.


Be sure to stay up-to-date on all of the latest things in our lives by following along in instagram @thehappyflammily!

Read more »

Spicy Baked Salmon Recipe

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

This post has been compensated by Inmar Intelligence and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MyMazolaMarinade

A clinical study showed Mazola Corn Oil reduces cholesterol 2x more than extra virgin olive oil. To learn more about this claim, visit Mazola.com.

Now that summer is right around the corner we've been firing up the grill on our back deck and have started making some of our favorite summer dishes. A go-to meal that we have weekly in our house is this Spicy Asian Salmon Marinade. It's a meal that I know everyone will eat (including the kids) and is made with simple ingredients that we always have on hand.

How to make this Spicy Baked Salmon Recipe:

The base to this marinade starts with 1/4 cup of Mazola Corn Oil. Mazola Corn Oil is a heart-healthy* cooking oil and creates marinades that make great-tasting food because it has a neutral taste that lets the natural flavor of your food stand out. Mazola has always been our go-to oil because it has a high smoke point of 450º, which makes it great for grilling and stir frying. Mazola Corn Oil also has more cholesterol-blocking plant sterols than other cooking oils* (4x more than olive oil, 3x more than vegetable (soybean) oil, and 1.3x more than canola oil.) Clinical studies indicate that when consumed as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, plant sterols can help reduce the absorption of cholesterol in the gut.

How Long to Let Your Salmon Marinade For:

This is entirely up to you. You can prep this ahead of time by putting your salmon in the marinade the night before, but I typically put all my ingredients together in a gallon sized bag, and then let the fish sit in there and absorb the flavors while I'm waiting for the grill to heat up. I find it usually sits in there for about 10-15 minutes and still yields amazing flavor!

What to Pair with Your Salmon:

When we make this Spicy Asian Salmon Marinade, we typically pair it with brussel sprouts and potatoes! To make these sides, we typically toss the veggies in a bit of Mazola Corn Oil, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and then wrap them up in foil and let them cook on the grill along with the salmon. 

Spicy Baked Salmon Recipe

Print

Yield: 4

Author: Paige Flamm

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 20 MinInactive time: 30 MinTotal time: 55 Min

This Spicy Baked Salmon Recipe is the perfect weeknight meal that comes together in under 30 minutes that the entire family will love.

Ingredients

Spicy Baked Salmon Recipe

• 1/4 cup Mazola Corn Oil
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos (or low sodium soy sauce)
• 2 tbsp sriracha
• 1-2lbs salmon

Instructions

1. Combine your Mazola Corn Oil, pepper, salt, lemon juice, coconut aminos, and sriracha together in a gallon sized bag. Place your salmon inside the bag and make sure it's sealed tightly. Shake and mix everything together, and place it inside the fridge until you're ready to cook.
2. Preheat your grill to 400º. Once your grill is heated, remove the salmon from the bag and wrap it in foil to place on the grill. Cook for 15-20 minutes with the lid closed, until the internal temperature has reached 145º.
3. Once cooked, dish it up with your desired sides and serve immediately.

See Mazola.com for more information on the relationship between corn oil and heart health.

If you liked this post, Spicy Baked Salmon Recipe, you might also like:

• 15 Minute Shrimp Scampi
• How to Cook the Crispiest Fried Chicken
• Easy Stove Top Mac n Cheese

Be sure to stay up-to-date on all of the latest things in our lives by following along in instagram @thehappyflammily!

Read more »

How to Make Canned Biscuit Donuts

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Canned biscuit donuts are a super easy and delicious dessert recipe that turns out perfectly when your donut craving strikes.

When Derek and I first got married one of our very favorite treats to eat on Saturday mornings were donuts fried in oil made from canned biscuit dough. It was so simple, easy, and cheap... which is exactly what you need when you're first married, flat broke, and have almost zero cooking skills. We haven't made these in ages, but made them with the kids over the weekend and they were every bit as good as I remember them.

How to Make Canned Biscuit Donuts:

This is the easiest process ever. All you need to go is get a can of biscuits from the store. It can be the name brand Pillsbury Biscuits, or it can be the cheap 50 cent store brand ones. The brand doesn't matter. The only thing you'll want to shy away from are the "flaky" biscuits. They tend to be too thick and don't cook through all the way as well. The simple smaller biscuits tend to work best. 

Simply open the biscuits, separate them from each other, use a soda cap or something of similar size to punch a hole in the middle, and they're ready for frying!

What Oil to Use For Frying Biscuits:

You can use any oil that you like for frying donuts, although I recommend something with a more mild flavor. We tend to use canola oil, or corn oil since they don't yield a ton of flavor and are inexpensive for frying where you need to use a large quantity. 

How to Fry Donuts:

We put about 3 inches of oil into a heavy bottom pan on the stove and set the burner to medium to let it heat up. Using metal tongs we lowered the donuts into the pot, let cook for 90 seconds, and then flipped and let them cook for another minute before removing them from the oil with our metal tongs. 

Repeat this process until all the donuts are cooked. If you're donuts are burning/browning too fast, lower the temp of the oil.

Canned Biscuit Donuts

Print

Yield: 8

Author: Paige Flamm

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 15 Min

Canned biscuit donuts are a super easy and delicious dessert recipe that turns out perfectly when your donut craving strikes.

Ingredients

Canned Biscuit Donuts

• Vegetable Oil
• 1 can of biscuits (non flaky kind)
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 c sugar

Instructions

1. Pour 2-3 inches of oil into a dutch oven or a large skillet and heat it on the stove over medium heat.
2. Open the rolls and separate them all.
3. With a soda bottle top, or something of equal size, make holes in the middle of the roll, save the middle for mini doughnut holes if you like.
4. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar.
5. Once oil is ready (splash a small drop of water into the pot, if it makes a crackling pop sound, your oil is ready), place the doughnuts in the oil.
6. Cook for about 90 seconds on each side, until golden brown.
7. Remove them from the oil and place them on a wire rack to cool for about a minute.
8. Once cool enough to handle dip both sides in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
9. Then place back on wire cooling rack until they're ready to serve.
10. Repeat until all dough is used.

If you liked this post, How to Make Canned Biscuit Donuts, you might also like:

• The Best Biscuit Recipe
• Vanilla Frosted Cake Donuts
• Pumpkin Donuts with Chocolate Frosting

Be sure to stay up-to-date on all of the latest things in our lives by following along in instagram @thehappyflammily!

Read more »

Free May Printable Coloring Pages

Friday, May 1, 2020

Right before Easter I launched coloring pages for the first time and they were a huge hit! I decided that I would try and attempt to launch some new coloring pages each month for you to download! I'm really excited about how this month's coloring pages turned out and tried to his all the wonderful holidays coming up in May! 

What's Included in the Pack:

This month's coloring pack contains seven coloring pages to help you celebrate all of May's best moments from May Day, to Cinco De Mayo, Mother's Day, and ending the month with Memorial day! There are also a couple fun coloring pages like hiking and mountains, fun trucks, and a color by number!

How to Print the Coloring Pages:

To download this month's coloring pages, scroll down to the bottom of this post where you can click a link to take you to the free downloads. It will take you to a google drive where you can download the files onto your computer, or print them directly from the drive. 

My Favorite Printer:

If you're in the market for a new printer, we just bought the Epson Super Tank printer from Target and it's been the best purchase ever! With the ink that comes in the box, you can print 4,500 color pages and 7,000 black and white pages before having to buy more ink! For our family this printer will pay for itself in less than six months! We have zero regrets about this printer! 

I want to see your pictures!

My favorite thing is when you tag me in your photos of your little ones enjoying the coloring pages, so be sure to tag me in your pictures on your stories or in your feed so I can share your pictures too!

Click Here to Download this Month's Coloring Pages!

Be sure to stay up-to-date on all of the latest things in our lives by following along in instagram @thehappyflammily!

Read more »