Winstead Wandering

Prone to Wander

Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette

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Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette is super easy to make, it’s cheaper than store-bought, and it can be used as a salad dressing, a marinade, a dip, and more!

Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette is super easy to make, it's cheaper than store-bought, and it can be used as a salad dressing, a marinade, a dip, and more!

A while back I shared my recipe for Cucumber Salad with Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette, but the recipe is just too good to not share in its own post.


This dressing has always been one of my favorites– tied with ranch — and it’s so much tastier when made at home.

Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette is super easy to make, it's cheaper than store-bought, and it can be used as a salad dressing, a marinade, a dip, and more!

With only six ingredients, Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette is super easy to make. The best part? It can be so much more than a salad dressing. It makes a great marinade for chicken and veggies, plus it’s perfect as a dip.

What’s your favorite salad dressing?

Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette is super easy to make, it's cheaper than store-bought, and it can be used as a salad dressing, a marinade, a dip, and more!

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Homemade Lemon Curd

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The recipe possibilities are endless and the flavor is unbelievable. You won’t regret taking a little extra time to make your own Homemade Lemon Curd.

The recipe possibilities are endless and the flavor is unbelievable. You won't regret taking a little extra time to make your own Homemade Lemon Curd.

My mom has been making her own homemade lemon curd for as long as I can remember. She makes these to-die-for shortbread cookies – I’ll share the recipe one day – and stuffs some with chocolate ganache and some with lemon curd. She uses it in other recipes, too, and of course it’s amazing straight from the spoon.


I’ve used my homemade lemon curd to make Baked Lemon Hand Pies and Lemon Meringue Pie Bites. I’ve also got about a dozen more ideas brewing that I’ll hopefully get to share sometime soon.

What would you make with homemade lemon curd?

The recipe possibilities are endless and the flavor is unbelievable. You won't regret taking a little extra time to make your own Homemade Lemon Curd.

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Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce

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Making homemade green enchilada sauce is easier than you think, and it’s the perfect way to turn up the volume on your favorite enchiladas recipe.

Making homemade green enchilada sauce is easier than you think, and it's the perfect way to turn up the volume on your favorite enchiladas recipe.

I’ve never been a fan of enchiladas made with red sauce. I do like them better when I use homemade sauce, but I much prefer enchiladas made with a lighter, green sauce. Plus, I’ll basically eat anything with roasted peppers, so there’s that.


Roasting fresh peppers gives them a depth of flavor that you just can’t find in a canned sauce. By combining the peppers with garlic and onions, you get a result that, in addition to being the perfect Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce, can be used as a salsa or a marinade.

Making homemade green enchilada sauce is easier than you think, and it's the perfect way to turn up the volume on your favorite enchiladas recipe.

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Free Teacher Appreciation Printable + Inexpensive Gift Ideas

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Snag a free teacher appreciation printable in a bunch of fun colors. Find inexpensive gift ideas from a teacher, too!

Teacher Appreciation Week is the first week of May — that’s so soon! Don’t wait until the last minute to get your act together. Just snag this free printable, pick up a few inexpensive gifts, and you’ll be all set.

Snag a free teacher appreciation printable in a bunch of fun colors. Find inexpensive gift ideas from a teacher, too!

Free Teacher Appreciation Printable


Both of my kids love their teachers, which means I love them, too. In addition, we also love the teachers’ assistants, librarians, principals, counselors, secretaries… yup, we pretty much love everyone, and that isn’t even counting Sunday School teachers or daycare workers.

Basically, there are a lot of people I want to show appreciation to for Teacher Appreciation Week. With that in mind, I created a bunch of cute printable tags — complete with puns, because of course — that are ready to be paired with fun, useful, inexpensive gifts.

This printable is one of my favorites: “How Sweet It Is to Be Taught By You.”

Snag a free teacher appreciation printable in a bunch of fun colors. Find inexpensive gift ideas from a teacher, too!

There are so many possibilities with this printable!

This is an example of when it’s convenient to know a bit about your child’s teacher. If possible, do some recon and find out her favorite treats or sweets. One frugal way to gift lots of different people is to bake the treats yourself. I have a ton of dessert recipes, but some of the easiest and most popular are: cinnamon roll bars with cream cheese frosting, double chocolate brownies, Oreo cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and homemade peanut butter cup bars. Don’t forget the cute bakery containers for your homemade goods!

Snag a free teacher appreciation printable in a bunch of fun colors. Find inexpensive gift ideas from a teacher, too!

If you’re going the store-bought route, I don’t think you can go wrong with dark chocolate; this 12-pack from Amazon would allow you to show your gratitude to everyone who shows love to your children throughout the day.

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Snag a free teacher appreciation printable in a bunch of fun colors. Find inexpensive gift ideas from a teacher, too!

Free Teacher Appreciation Printable + Inexpensive Gift Ideas

by

Free teacher appreciation printable in a bunch of fun colors. Inexpensive gift ideas included!

Teacher Appreciation Week is the first week of May — that’s so soon! Don’t wait until the last minute to get your act together. Just snag this free printable, pick up a few inexpensive gifts, and you’ll be all set.

Snag a free teacher appreciation printable in a bunch of fun colors. Find inexpensive gift ideas from a teacher, too!

Free Teacher Appreciation Printable


Both of my kids love their teachers, which means I love them, too. In addition, we also love the teachers’ assistants, librarians, principals, counselors, secretaries… yup, we pretty much love everyone, and that isn’t even counting Sunday School teachers or daycare workers.

Basically, there are a lot of people I want to show appreciation to for Teacher Appreciation Week. With that in mind, I created a bunch of cute printable tags — complete with puns, because of course — that are ready to be paired with fun, useful, inexpensive gifts.

My first printable says “We’re in Good Hands with You.”

Snag a free teacher appreciation printable in a bunch of fun colors. Find inexpensive gift ideas from a teacher, too!

I’ll be attaching the tag to a bottle of nice hand soap; you could go with hand sanitizer (I promise your child’s teacher needs some at this point in the school year) or nail polish. If you’ve got more room in your budget, a gift certificate for a manicure would be a sweet gift.

Many teachers say they’re inundated with more scented lotions than they can handle. Unless you know your child’s teacher has a specific need for a preferred scent, I recommend avoiding lotion as a gift.

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Snag a free teacher appreciation printable in a bunch of fun colors. Find inexpensive gift ideas from a teacher, too!

Toddler Craft: Easy Stained Glass Art

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With just two inexpensive supplies and a few minutes of time, you and your toddler can create this easy stained glass art.

With just two inexpensive supplies and a few minutes of time, you and your toddler can create this easy stained glass art.

My two oldest kids, ages six and four, love crafting at home. They both do a lot of art projects at school, but they’re up for more at home (hence the three batches of salt dough ornaments we made last Christmas). I’m so not a Pinterest mom, though; I tend to find an easy craft that requires a few inexpensive supplies and run with it.


Speaking of Pinterest, I remember making stained glass art with my preschool students way back in 2008, before Pinterest was even a thing. It’s been on my mind for the last few months, but it took me that long to remember to buy contact paper and then to figure out where in Walmart to find it (in the plastic storage containers/shelf organization aisle, if you’re wondering).

With just two inexpensive supplies and a few minutes of time, you and your toddler can create this easy stained glass art.

We made our rainbows the same day I brought the supplies home, on a fittingly rainy Monday. The kids loved it so much we made donuts the next day- B’s suggestion- and they’re already dreaming up the shapes they want to try next. We still have nearly the whole roll of contact paper and a ton of tissue paper left, so I’ll have no problem pulling off easy stained glass art again and again.

With just two inexpensive supplies and a few minutes of time, you and your toddler can create this easy stained glass art.

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Homemade Salt Dough Ornaments

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Homemade salt dough ornaments couldn’t be simpler to make. With only three ingredients, they’re the perfect easy craft for kids of all ages.

Homemade salt dough ornaments couldn't be simpler to make. With only three ingredients, they're the perfect easy craft for kids of all ages.

When B and I made homemade cinnamon ornaments a couple weeks ago, she was pretty disappointed she didn’t get to paint or decorate them. I knew right away she would love making and decorating these homemade salt dough ornaments and, since they’re almost as easy as the cinnamon ones, we whipped up a batch the next day.


Homemade salt dough ornaments couldn't be simpler to make. With only three ingredients, they're the perfect easy craft for kids of all ages.

I broke out a bunch of acrylic paints and we had a blast decorating Christmas trees, snowmen, and angels. Because I want these ornaments to be around for a long time, I let the paint dry and them sealed them with clear acrylic. You could use a spray; I used a jar left over from sealing the furniture in the nursery.

We put the first batch on our tree at home and, since the activity was such a hit, I made a double patch for the kids to paint and give to teachers and staff members at school. Homemade salt dough ornaments will definitely be a new Christmas tradition for the Winstead family.

 

When your homemade salt dough ornaments are dry, string them with ribbon, embroidery floss, or festive baker’s twine. They’re ready to display (or give away)!

Homemade salt dough ornaments couldn't be simpler to make. With only three ingredients, they're the perfect easy craft for kids of all ages.

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Homemade Cinnamon Ornaments

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With just two ingredients, you can make easy homemade cinnamon ornaments: a perfect DIY for decorating or gifting. What a fun craft for kids!

With just two ingredients, you can make easy homemade cinnamon ornaments: a perfect DIY for decorating or gifting. What a fun craft for kids!

Homemade cinnamon ornaments are something from my childhood, although I can’t for the life of me remember where and when I made them. I have no idea if it was at home, at school, at church. I’ve got nothing. Regardless, when I thought about what sorts of crafts I wanted to do this year with the kids, I knew these fragrant ornaments would make the list.


B and I whipped up a batch during Thanksgiving break. The dough couldn’t possibly be any easier; there are only two ingredients. It rolled out easily, and we had fun choosing shapes. These homemade cinnamon ornaments bake low and slow, leaving the whole house smelling deliciously like Christmas.

With just two ingredients, you can make easy homemade cinnamon ornaments: a perfect DIY for decorating or gifting. What a fun craft for kids!

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Quick and Easy Grilled Pizza

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Don’t bother turning on the oven. In the time it takes for the delivery man to arrive, you can whip up this quick and easy grilled pizza.

I long ago perfected- in my opinion, anyway- homemade pizza. And then I made the perfect bagel pizza, because why not? Those two recipes are pretty much all we need most of the time.

Don't bother turning on the oven. In the time it takes for the delivery man to arrive, you can whip up this quick and easy grilled pizza.


Pizza is awesome, but sometimes you just want to mix things up, especially when it’s hot and you don’t want to turn the oven on  it turns out a grill isn’t just a convenient way to avoid heating up your kitchen; the high heat it produces is actually reminiscent of a pizza oven, meaning it can cook a mean pizza.

This pizza dough recipe is based on my world’s best homemade pizza dough, but I made a couple changes to make it ready to go much faster. After you mix the dough up you only have to allow it to rest for five minutes before you begin assembling your pizzas.

I chose to top these pizzas with pepperoni. We’re kind of traditionalists. Like every other kind of pizza, though, they’re awesome covered in whatever you choose. My favorite version includes roasted jalapeños and red onions

Don't bother turning on the oven. In the time it takes for the delivery man to arrive, you can whip up this quick and easy grilled pizza.

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Homemade Tropical Summer Stovetop Potpourri

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Bring fresh summer scents inside with this homemade tropical summer potpourri made of lemons, strawberries, and coconut extract.

Bring fresh summer scents inside with this homemade tropical summer potpourri made of lemons, strawberries, and coconut extract.

My easy fall stovetop potpourri got a very good reception. I guess I’m not the only one looking to create a homey-scented house without the use of artificial sprays or waxes. I made that potpourri many times through fall and winter and enjoyed how comforting it made our home smell.


I had a thought, though. If cooling temperatures merit a homemade potpourri, what about hot summer days full of smelly shoes and sweaty little people? Yeah, we need a stovetop potpourri for that, too. So I set out to create a summery version of the smell-good stuff.

I knew I wanted to use coconut extract because it’s such a distinctly summer scent. I didn’t want the whole concoction to smell like sunscreen, though, so I added lemon juice. To me, there’s not much more fresh- or clean-smelling than citrus. And then, because I had a few sad-looking strawberries in the refrigerator, I sliced those and tossed them in, too.

All the ingredients in this summer potpourri come together to make a sweet, fresh concoction that’ll perfume your whole house in the most light, refreshing way. It’s as close as you’ll get to a tropical vacation without the sunburn and the sand in your swimsuit.

Bring fresh summer scents inside with this homemade tropical summer potpourri made of lemons, strawberries, and coconut extract.

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