Individual Nacho Appetizer... super easy!

A couple of weeks ago I was looking for some fun new appetizer ideas for Bunco night.  I found a recipe for Individual Nacho's and they sounded so good I had to try them.  I tweaked it a bit to make it my own, the best part is that it's a no bake recipe, you heard me right, you never have to turn on your stove!

Ingredients:

- One can of refried beans.
- One bag of Tostitos Scoops.
- One jar of Salsa (choose your own heat).
- One 8 ounce package of Mexican Cheese.
- Sour Cream (I used light sour cream).

It's best to have everything out and ready to do at once, I filled each one with all ingredients except sour cream, I saved that for last.  Grab a chip and first put in the refried beans, then a little salsa, next a sprinkle of cheese, and finally a dollop of sour cream.

And there you have it, a super easy, no cooking required appetizer.  My only advice would be not to make them too far ahead of time, the juices in the salsa can make your chips a bit less crunchy, these are best to make right before your guests arrive.

It's just money... right?

I was going through our book, I mean credit card bill from December and noticed a charge of $26.00 at the M&M store in New York City, and it reminded me how much we spent on candy at the store.  My kids love going there and picking what color M&M's they want to fill their little bags with, and even though they didn't buy too many, it still cost $26.00!  I could of bought a half a years worth at Target for that price, but the smile on my kids faces makes it all worth it, I mean it's only money... right?  At least that's what I keep telling myself!

Valentine Marshmallow Pops...

We usually make cookies around Valentines Day, but this year I tried to think outside of the box and look for something different.  I came up with Marshmallow Pops, dipped in red chocolate and topped with sprinkles.  The kids had a blast and they came out quite yummy!

All you need is chocolate to melt, marshmallows, sprinkles, and lollipop sticks.

We melted our chocolate in a fondue set, you can use the stove top or microwave as well.

We put a stick into each marshmallow and dipped them into the melted chocolate.

I  put down waxed paper so the chocolate could cool a bit.

To allow them to completely cool and the chocolate to harden we put them into glasses, and made sure they were not touching one another.

The kids had a blast, we'll definitely be making them for other holidays...  I am already thinking green for St. Patricks Day!

Simple Photography Lesson #2 -All About Aperture (AV Mode)

If you've read your camera manual and looked up photography online, you must of heard of aperture.  If you have not, aperture simply controls the amount of light the lens allows to reach the digital sensor (how bright or dark your pictures will be, and the amount of the picture that will be in focus).

The most confusing thing about aperture is understanding that the higher the number (f-stop) the less amount of light that will reach your picture.  The lower the number (f-stop) the more light that will reach your picture.  It's kind of backwards in your thinking as you would normally think the larger number the more light, but thats just not how it works.  So bigger number = less light, smaller number = more light.  The number I refer to is called an f-stop.

If you put your camera mode dial into AV mode you'll be able to experiment with with the different settings and amount of light into your pictures.  AV mode will set all your other settings for you (ISO, Shutter speed, etc... more about those setting later).

So the question is what aperture do you need with what picture settings.  Many people like the look of the blurred background, to achieve this you will set your f-stop to a low number, the lower the number the more light there will be on your subject and the more blur you'll have in your background.

This picture was taken with the f-stop set at 2.8 (the lowest setting on the lens I was using):

You will notice how the background is blurred to the point that you can't even make out what it is.  Now here is an example with the f-stop set at 22 (the highest for the lens I was using):

The focus is still on the subject, but you can see the trees in the background.  

The next question is when would you use a high number f-stop.  When shooting anything other then a subject directly in front of you, you would want a higher number f-stop.  When shooting a landscape or a group of people it's imperative to use a high number f-stop to keep everything in focus and to showcase all the details.  

I shot at each f-stop of the same subject so you could see the difference, there is only a subtle difference between some of the shots, but a big difference from the ones at the higher and the lower end of the scale.

Those were all shot in AV mode, which means my camera did all the other settings for me, I personally only shoot in M (manual mode) as I like to have complete control over my images, but AV mode is fine and really helps you learn and practice what different apertures will do to your images.

One final note, lenses are rated on focal length (the magnification distance) and their aperture value.  If your lens states that it's a 70-200 5.6, that means your maximum focal length is 200mm, and the widest aperture is 5.6.  

The smaller the aperture value the smaller the depth of field (more blur), and the larger the aperture value the larger the depth of field (less blur, more focus on the entire scene).  

I hope this lesson was simple and gives you a better understanding of aperture, of course the best way to really wrap your had around it is to practice, practice, practice.  Many point and shoot cameras have an AV setting as well, so your not limited if you don't own a dslr.

Photography lessons... in simple terms.

It seems as though many people have gotten their hands on a DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera for Christmas (or just bought one for themselves).  I have been asked by numerous people how to use the darn thing, and it's hard to explain in a short amount of time.  There's a lot to it, you no longer just point your camera and shoot (all though you can very well do that in auto mode).  I've decided to do a blog series devoted to teaching about cameras and photography in general.  I think for a lot of people it's really too hard and too complicated to sit down and read the manual, there's lots of information and terms you may not know... and frankly it can just make your brain hurt.  I will do my best to break it all down in simple terms.  Even if you don't have a DSLR you can still follow along as many of my tips will work for your simple (or complex) point and shoot cameras.

I am going to start with your mode dial seen here:

The mode dial is used to set the mode you want to shoot in.  The easiest is the green square (your camera may have it as a different picture or just say "auto").  If you put your camera on this setting the camera automatically detects all of your settings.  You won't get award winning photos using this, but you'll get decent shots.  I use this from time to time when I have to grab my camera and shoot, if my kids are doing something I want to capture I may not have time to fiddle with the settings and this makes it easy.

Next to auto is the icon of the lady, this is your Portrait Mode.  This is used for shooting portraits of people or animals.  It sets a shallow depth of field (gives you a blurry background) and puts all the focus on the person.  In my opinion this mode works best when photographing only one person (any more then that and you loose focus) and the person must not be moving.

Next is the mountain/cloud icon, this is your Landscape Mode.  You guessed it, it's for shooting outdoors, landscapes to be exact.  It sets a large depth of field (allows objects even far away to be in focus).  

The next icon is the flower, this is your Macro Mode (close up).  This allows you to only focus on the one close up object you are photographing.  This one is tricky as it really depends on the lens you have on your camera to determine how close you can get to your subject and remain in focus.  This mode works best with a macro lens.

The next icon is the running man (no, not the dance from the 90's), this is your Sport Mode.  It sets your shutter speed fast so you can capture fast subjects.  This works best at a sporting event with lots of natural lighting or at the park when your trying to capture your two year old that just won't sit still.

The next icon is the man with the star, this is your Night Mode.  This is for capturing scenes at night.  It has a very slow shutter speed which means any tiny shake of the camera and your photo will be blurry.  You must use a tripod or table and be sure your subject is not moving.

The last icon on that side is the arrow that's been crossed off, this is your No Flash Mode.  It simply makes certain your flash does not fire.  In this mode you also want to be sure you have ample natural light and minimize camera shake (camera shake is any movement of the camera when taking the picture).

That covers half of your mode dial, I will be explaining the other half soon.  Happy Shooting!

Messy... messy... messy...

My boy is messy!  No matter how many times I tell him to pick up after himself, he never seems to do it.  He's 8 and fully capable of cleaning up his toys.  Sometimes I get so frustrated with his messes I tell him he has very little time to clean up everything before I show up with a trash bag to help him... he always gets it done then, so I know he can do it.

I decided last week to tackle the ongoing Lego mess that is constantly an issue.  I thought if I put them all in bins he could just take out the bins and easily find what he needs for whatever he is building that day.  I think I did pretty good, unfortunately it didn't stay that neat for very long.

Here is the before:

And here is the after:

A super yummy, easy recipe...

I enjoy cooking, but some recipes are so long, with a list of ingredients longer then The Declaration of Independence, I am bound to forget to buy something.  When I come across an easy recipe (or create one), I get excited!  I love an easy dinner, and I love even more when it's something my whole family will eat (even the super picky one).

Last night I made my Mexican Chicken, I am not sure if I came up with it as I've been cooking it for so long I can't remember its origin, but I am very happy to share it with everyone else.

You need three ingredients (yes, I said three)!

-Chicken breast or tenderloins.
-A jar of salsa.
-Shredded mexican (or cheddar) cheese.

Cook the chicken on the stovetop in a skillet until its almost cooked through, when it's almost completely cooked add half a jar of salsa (or as much as you'd like, it's your dinner, do what you'd like).  Once it's completely cooked remove from heat and top with shredded cheese.  Once the cheese is melted...  it's time to eat!  I told you it was easy.  I usually serve it with brown rice and a vegetable.

Wordless Wednesday...

Why parents should always check....

I check on my kids every night after they've gone to sleep.  It's mostly because I love to see their sleeping little faces, the innocence and peacefulness melts my heart (and makes any craziness of the day disappear). The other night as I walked into Tyler's room I was reminded that parents need to check on their kids in bed for other reasons too... a picture speaks 1,000 words in this one:

Hope this is true for everyone...