Chicken Recipes: Chicken Curry Casserole with Apples and Peanuts

How to be Super Mom's healthy chicken recipes will suit every member of your family, and you will all enjoy a cozy delicious meal every night.

I always cooked chicken curry with rice. One day I saw a recipe in a book where they used apples with chicken; I twisted the recipe a little, added few choices of my own, barred fatty ingredients and came up with this delicious casserole. Give it a try!

Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500 g boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp Canola oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1teaspoon mild curry powder
• 1 large carrot, finely diced
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 200 ml coconut cream
• 1/2 cup boiled chicken stock
• 1 green apple, cubed
• 1 tablespoon fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup dried raisins
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts

Directions

1. In a preheated pan, add the Canola oil, onion, garlic and coriander. Stir until onion is golden and tender.
2. Add the celery,and carrots. Stir for 5 minutes.
3. In another pan, brown chicken on both sides, then transfer to the vegetables' pan.
4. Add the coconut cream, chicken stock, curry powder, bring to the boil.
5. Reduce heat, simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Transfer the mixture to a casserole, add apples and mix well.
7. Sprinkle raisins and peanuts and bake in the oven, uncovered for 10 minutes.
8. Serve with steamed white basmati rice.

As a super mom wanting to find quick and healthy recipes this is the recipe for you. Try it and send me your reviews.


 

How to be Super Mom - About Me

When it might only seem as a blog, to me this is the start of my dream. I have always been a big fan of crafts and cooking. When I was 8 years old I cooked my first spaghetti bolognaise following the tips my mother gave me over the phone, since she was at work and I was home alone with my young brother. 

Drawing, painting, knitting, embroidery work, candle making, flower arrangements, sewing and decoration have always been a huge interest. Becoming a popular “how to” writer is what I always dreamt of, and I had to pick a starting point---How to be Super Mom.

I would like to thank my brother for giving me the idea of starting my own blog, my mother and husband for all the support and my beautiful daughters for being the light of my life and my main source of energy. 

How to be Super Mom was created on May 2012, three weeks later I received an invitation to a TV interview to emphasize the goal behind creating How to be Super Mom. Few months later my blog was the topic of one of the most popular radio morning shows. Still, I consider myself at the starting point, and my success depends on your support. I need your comments and opinion on every article posted to get to improve my writings and your encouragement in following my blog and purchasing the e-books that will soon be published.

I include many articles about parenting, though my specialization is in crafting and cooking. But due to my main role in life as a mother, I had to read and research a lot and I would love to share with you all the helpful information that I have found during the past 5 years of motherhood.

My Facebook page is at your service; you can post your questions, problems and stories. Not to forget the monthly contests and valuable prizes.

Thank you for being a loyal fan,
Maria El-Aaraj
 

How to be Super Mom - Palm Sunday Candle Decoration Guide

The most amusing part about Palm Sunday is decorating the candles. There are endless ideas, shapes and designs. This small manual will provide you with all the techniques you will need to decorate your children candles by yourself. Believe me, no matter how beautiful the ready-made candles are, there will never be a candle as special as the one you will make for your child.

*I will have to apologize for not posting any picture for the time being reserving them for my next ebook on how to decorate Palm Sunday candles by How to be Super Mom. However, based on the request of many super moms, I decided to post this small article to give you the essential techniques about candle decoration.

1-Candle Choice: Palm's day candles come in all shapes and colors; you can find curved candles, cubed candles, marbled candles, etc. You can either choose a colored candle matching your child's wardrobe or pick a white one and decorate it as you desire. Selecting a white candle doesn't necessarily mean that you have to keep it plain, you can wrap it with a nice colored ribbon that will go perfectly with your daughter's dress or son's outfit.

2-Duct Tape - An Easy Secret Tip:  Before starting, you have to create a safe base or your decoration will risk falling off your candle. Applying glue gun directly to the candle is not a wise choice, that is why you should follow the secret tip: Duct tape.

The place where you need to place the duct tape depends completely on the design you choose. If you were planning on wrapping a ribbon all a long the candle in a hairspring movement you should wrap a duct tape onto the top, middle and bottom. If you want the candle to be showing, and decorate its center then you have to paste a duct tape on the middle.

3- Colored Ribbons:  Pick a ribbon that matches both the outfit and candle. Try not to exaggerate with the use of colors, remember you still have to apply a number of accessories which are already rich in easter colors, so a classy simple ribbon choice will do.

If you are wrapping it around the candle in a hairspring movement, apply a small drop of glue gun on the top duct tape and stick the ribbon and start wrapping it in a hand firm movement, adding a small drop of glue onto each duct tape to maintain the ribbon and prevent it from falling. 

If you wish to decorate the center of the candle, wrap a small piece of ribbon around the duct tape you applied, one reason is for hiding the tape and getting a better finished result, a second reason is to have a larger surface to glue the decoration on to.

Note that some duct tape are too slippery, in that case the glue gun won't hold for long. Try purchasing a Matte finished Duct Tape to insure a better result. 

4- Accessories Choice: Artificial flowers, beads, small stuffed animals, easter accessories such as eggs, bunnies, chicks and birds can make a great arrangement for your candle. Always make sure to choose the right colors; the closer the candle is to the outfit style the cooler your child will look. 

Always remember to start with the long thin accessories, then add the larger parts leaving the stuffed animal or the large bunny to the end, placing it on the side of the arrangement never in the middle to get a well balanced shape.

Hoping that this small manual was helpful, I will promise you all to publish my book about Palm Sunday candles before next year's holiday.

How to be Super Mom, is a growing e-zine for all mothers and parents. Recipes, crafts, parenting tips, beauty advice and free printable games are now available, promising you of adding additional interesting topics in the future.

For more information, or questions please leave me a comment or contact me and I will be happy to help.

Maria El-Aaraj

Beauty Tips and Tricks: How to Avoid Very Dry Hands in winter

A common problem among all super moms, during winter, is the dry skin, more particularly dry hands. This is terribly annoying, especially when you are tending to look at your best. Severe hand dryness can cause cracked skin, blisters and bleeding, and this could be enormously painful. How to be Super Mom will give you few beauty tips and secrets on how to avoid cracked skin.

What Causes Dry Skin:

• Extreme hand washing: during the winter, a super mom might be obligated to wash her   hands more often to avoid the spread of germs. This constant exposure to water could cause very dry hands and cracked skin.
• Excessive intake of coffee of alcohol: coffee and/or alcohol consumption usually leads to dehydration. This condition is represented by very dry hands and chapped itchy skin.
• Indoor Heat: During winter, the use of a heater leads to an indoor air dehydration, and your skin loses dampness from the atmosphere leading to very dry hands and skin.

Free Beauty Tips on How to Avoid Very Dry Hands in winter:

1.  Use a humidifier: This device will prevent the loss of dampness indoors. For best results, distilled water is more advisable
2. Prevent the use of severe cleansers: When you’re in the supermarket choosing your detergents, be careful to select cleansers that are skin-friendly to prevent hand dryness. As a supermom, you might be worried about the stain removal way more than you care about the side effects which these products can have on your skin. But always keep in mind that a mother should never neglect her looks neither her skin nor hands, that is why you should care to choose cleansers that are mild and might contain some beneficial ingredients such as jojoba oil or coconut oil.
3. Keep a Moisturizer by your side: Apply a moisturizer to both your skin and hands after every shower, or wash. To prevent very dry hands you should rub your hands with a lotion rich in beneficial oils to avoid cracked and chapped skin.
4. Drink water: In all” How to be Super Mom” natural beauty tips, you will encounter “water drinking”. Water is very essential to the body, renewing your cells and giving you excessive energy and health. Make sure you drink more than 8 glasses of water a day.

How to be Super Mom: Valentine's Day

Dear Supermoms,
Are you getting ready for valentines day? I have my daughter's first birthday on the 17th, so to tell you the truth, the last thing I am planning for is valentine's day; even though I love spending a romantic time with my husband whenever it's possible, so should it really be on the 13th or the 14th? Couldn't be before or after? Sure it could. The importance is to be happy and enjoy my time with him,  no matter where or when.
I can't forget when I was a teenager, how occupied I used to be with valentines day cards and valentines day activities- all the preparations and surprises I planned! I knew my husband since I was 19, and since then, we have spent the most romantic valentines ever!
When he was abroad- for almost 2 years-  I used to send his valentine day card, gift, and decoration to his best friend and plan the whole set up with him. Oh poor guy! He had to organize the whole thing, light up the candles, decorate the room so my boyfriend (husband) could get as surprised as I wanted him to be. Once, I accidentally sent my husband a sms with all the details instead of sending it to his roommate, and to wipe the mess I invented endless stories about this particular sms. Well, at the end, all my efforts went down the drain when Hani, his roommate, was off, the day the package arrived, and my boyfriend( husband) received it!!!!!!!  Silly days!

While surfing today, I found this card that could be easily hand crafted

It is nice to handmade the gifts you will offer for valentine's day, and this card is truly easy. All you need is:

• Valentine's ribbon
• Colored Carton Board
• Glue
• Silver Pen
• Couple of decoration of your choice to spice it a little
• Scissors
• Pencil

This could make a nice valentines day craft, that you and your kids could prepare for your husband or another loving member of the family. Remember, that our main goal in How to be Super Mom, is to encourage you to constantly try to spend more time with your children, and allow them to participate in all the action. Whether you like it or not, Valentine's day is- in its own special way- a holiday that kids love to celebrate. And what could be better than trying to craft this valentine day card together?!

Now a quick, delicious, sexy recipe is what you need to prepare for that evening. After you put the kids to sleep, the last think you will need is a kitchen full of dirty pots; so an easy recipe and a glass of wine will do the trick.

This picture was posted by Rebecca D. on allrecipes.com and I thought that it will make one of the greatest valentine day recipes. All you need are halved strawberries, fresh whipped cream and dark chocolate.
Enjoy your Valentine ladies!

How to Help Your Child Deal with Disappointments

In a society full of successful achievements, the chance to teach your child how to deal with disappointments is becoming far more difficult. Consider a canceled play date or an incident where occurs a toy breakage an opportunity to help your loved one grow through disappointment, instead of just creating a quick solution to spear him from experiencing these feelings. If you don’t teach him to deal with dissatisfaction every now and then, you will be shielding him from developing crucial skills that he will need, during the coming years, to face the dark moments of life.
Supermom, there are many easy tips to follow in order to help your child become stronger when faced by a distressful moment, and teach him how to face unhappiness. How to be Super Mom will provide you with the best article, to simplify your task as a parent and help you raise your children in a psychological, healthy way. 

Respect his feelings
 
His problems might seem small and lame comparing to the big picture of life but what is making him sad is of a huge importance to him. Don’t ignore his feelings by telling him that everything will be just fine, instead help him express his feeling to you, let him talk about how disappointed he is; learning to identify and transmit feelings is a vital lesson you can help your child acquire.

Project his feeling

Imagine yourself in the same situation to be able to acknowledge your children’s feelings. Once you recognize, the impact of such disappointment and its effect on their emotions, you will offer a better support and find the best solutions to get them out of their distress. 

Teach your child how to find the positive side of every problem

« Après la pluie, le beau temps », a great quote holding the same meaning as every cloud has a silver lining. Super mom, if you think deeply, you will always be able to find the good side of every misfortunate event. From one side you will be giving him the skills to grow up as an optimist, and from the other side, you will help him deal with discontent when he learns how to turn things around to his best interest.


One additional piece of advice: a child is like a sponge, he absorbs way more when he’s fresh and young so consider this as an opportunity to work on his personality, helping him become a stronger, optimist person. Compare his brain to smooth clay dough, which can be easily manipulated. Any wrong step will ruin his personality, that is why every super mom is advised to intensify her readings from the moment she conceive, to learn the best way to raise an intelligent happy child.
Be sure that with How to be Super Mom, you will always find the best and easiest parenting tips ever.

Super Mom- Every Mother's Dream!

When I was pregnant with my first born, all I wanted is to become the number one mom in the world. I wanted my baby to love me and look up to me. Looking at my belly grow, all I was able to think of is how am I going to be a super mom with all the responsibilities I have? Will I ever be able to create a balance between the time spent with my kids, the time with my husband, all the house chores and of course not to forget the time for myself?

I can never give up that time where I can get some peace and quiet for at least 30 minutes. I usually spend it knitting, carving, drawing, painting, reading, crafting and when I am awfully tired to practice any of these hobbies I turn on my favorite sitcom of all times "Everybody Loves Raymond" and I watch and laugh. So, will I be able to do that when I have my baby? Is a super mom allowed to have time for herself?

All these silly questions that kept turning in my head during my pregnancy and the early post delivery days  made me realize one, single and very important reality: a supermom is a happy mom. It doesn't matter if I can do it all, it doesn't matter if I can cook everyday, it doesn't matter if I can keep my house clean everyday what it really matters is being happy to provide my kids with a happy warm house. If I am overly stressed with all this non sense that I mentioned before I will turn my home into hell, and you all know how well, us ladies, can turn your lives into living hell whenever we stress about something. My kids deserve the best and to give them the best I have to be relaxed and content. And the first thing to stop stressing about is wanting to be super mom, stop asking yourself that famous question: "How to be super mom?", who cares! No one does believe me! Your kids will love you and look up at you no matter what you do; the house could be all messed up and they could eat mac and cheese every single day and still think that you're the #1 mommy in the world.

So cheer up, get this burden off, take a breath and follow my blog. My tips till help you become a stress free super mom, will teach you how to cook everyday without killing yourself, keeping your home as clean as it could be and spending a lot of quality time with your loved ones.

How to be Super Mom- Stuffed Honey Apples

Easy and Quick- Your Stuffed Apples Will be Done in No Time

This easy dessert is very popular at home. I always prepare it when I have guests for dinner, or on our casual family meetings; everyone seems to love these stuffed apples. The taste of dates dipped in honey and nuts is breathtaking.

Amazing how a super mom is always looking to provide her family with the best, and on How to be Super Mom you won't find but the most amazing healthy recipes which your loved ones will fall in love with. Get ready to acquire a larger notebook, your supermom manual will be definitely expanding when you're going to add to it all our delicious recipes.


Serves 6

Preparation Time: 15 mns

Cooking Time: 45

Ingredients

6 Green Apples
1 1/2 tbsp chopped roasted nuts
1 1/2 tbsp chopped dates
1/8 cup lemon juice
3 1/2 tbsp light honey
1 tsp cinnamon powder
6 half walnuts

Directions

• Wash your apples well, and discard them from their seed.
• Peel the upper half of each apple.
• Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
• Stuff each apple, equally, with the mixture.
• Cover them with an extra drop of honey, cover and bake for 45 minutes on 180 degrees C.
• Garnish the top with a half walnut and a sprinkle of crushed nuts.

Enjoy your stuffed apples super moms!

Homemade Hand Mask

As a mother, we won't like to see our hands dried and full of blisters. We have to take care of ourselves and our beauty, therefore :

• When doing the dishes or cleaning always wear gloves
• Dry your hands well after every wash
• Try applying a hand cream at least 3 times a day; I personally use Neutrogena Hand cream.
• And last but not least apply this hand mask three times a week, before going to bed:
  
  1. Mix one teaspoon yogurt and one teaspoon olive oil and rub onto your hands.
  2. Wear plastic bags and keep your hands warm for about 10 minutes.
  3. If it's not too hot, you can wear above the plastic gloves wool mittens to keep your hands warm which will allow the skin to absorb the mask.
  4. Wash your hands with lukewarm water and dry them well.
  5. Apply a hand cream.

How To Be Super Mom

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Beauty Tips and Secrets:How to Wash Hair

As we have mentioned in our previous How to be Super Mom post: " Natural Beauty Tips and Secrets", to look good you should follow a healthy life style. Eating well, exercising daily, drinking 2 L of water a day and sleeping well will help us maintain our figure, have a glowing skin and a healthy hair.

But other than the general beauty rules there are always some secrets we could dig out to have a beautiful silky hair; Let's mention few tips:

How to Wash Hair

• Restrict the use of chemical based hair stuff such as hair mousse or hair gel. These will dry out the hair and result in hair falling.
• Be ware not to put any hair stuff directly on your scalp to prevent pores from clogging and reduce the risk of hair falling.
• The blow dryer is not always the right choice: instead, you can pat your hair with a warm towel and allow your hair to dry naturally unless you were in a hurry then you  have no other choice but to refer to your blow dryer! Cold air is much more suitable for your hair than the hot air.
• Start by combing your hair from the ends to remove any tangles and work your way up.
•  If possible avoid combing your hair while wet this will prevent breakage ( for curly hair you should comb it while wet otherwise you won't be able to remove tangles)
• Always use conditioner to moisture your hair but avoid applying it on the roots, only on the 2/3 of your hair length.

• Brushing hair before heading to the showers will help decrease hair breakage and stimulate the blood circulation in your head. 
• It is crucial to start every hair was with water to remove all the dirt and dust that could have piled up during the day.
• Apply a small amount of shampoo and lather your hair starting from the roots all the way down.
• Avoid lifting your hair, and that is a common habit, this will increase tangles, wash it while massaging your way down the length of your hair.
•  The minute you think that you are ready to rinse, give it a second thought! another 3 minutes massage won't hurt your scalp; Controversially, it will help increase the blood stream in your head.
• Start rinsing with a lukewarm water. And for a shiny look close the cuticles by rinsing with cool water. 

Every mother dreams of being that super mom with silky hair, shiny skin, gorgeous figure and attractive manicure. To do so, you will have to divide the tasks of self care throughout the hours of the week. A fast manicure before heading off to bed once a week won't take long. Supermom, all you need is a light color on which the scratches and blisters will hardly show. Which means that keeping your hand in water all day won't be a huge problem. You can always use the homemade hand mask posted by How to be Super Mom to give them a smooth silky touch and don't forget to use a hand moisturizer at least 5 times a day.

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How to be Super Mom: Natural Beauty Tips and Secrets

Every super mom must be wondering how to stay naturally pretty, and to learn these beauty tips and tricks you should stay tuned to How to be Super Mom. My blog provides you, weekly, with free tips on beauty to help you stay the queen in your family’s eyes. It is completely true that, our children will always consider us as the most beautiful supermom in the world, but that doesn’t mean that we have the right to neglect ourselves. Quit saying to yourself that “to stay pretty I have to sacrifice hours and hours, while it’s impossible to me to find an extra minute a day to breathe, with all the chores and responsibilities I have, being a mother”.  I totally agree with you, this thought is completely logical, how can you spare time to put make up on or oil bath your hair when you can hardly find time for the essentials?

Well, being a mother myself, I did my best to figure out these how to beauty tips that I can easily incorporate in my daily, hectic, routine. These very easy how to beauty tips are no more than few steps we have to make while running throughout the day. I know that you don’t have the time to put on make-up, well that will not be necessary if your skin is shiny and glowing. I also know, that as a supermom, thinking endlessly of how to spare few dollars for her children activity, you won’t be acquiring wardrobes of the latest fashion, but still, if you watch your diet, eat healthy and have a good figure you will definitely not need a 300$ outfit to look trendy or sexy!

In this post, How to be Super Mom, will provide you with easy beauty tips and secrets that are at the tips of your fingers but you might not be noticing them. 

Free Beauty Tips with How to be Super Mom:

First Tip: Cleanse and moisture your face daily.

How easy is that super mom? Every day when you wake up, head to the bathroom and clean your face with lotion and tonic, ending with a quick facial massage while applying your moisturizer. Make sure you cleanse and moisture your face twice a day- early in the morning and just before going to bed. This will help keep your skin clean and looking fresh.
You came here looking for tips on beauty, well, can you find anything cheaper and easier than that? If you don’t have enough money to purchase lotion and tonic just make sure to use our free facial masks three times a week, twice the oil and salt and once a week the yogurt peeling mask.

Second Tip: Make sure to take care of those pearly whites.

Nothing helps a face look more beautiful than a bright white smile. So, my first free beauty tip is Quit smoking, if you do! Brush your teeth at least twice a day. Make sure to floss, brush and use a mouth wash afterwards at least once a day. You might also try to purchase a whitening toothpaste to keep them looking at their very best. 

Third Tip : Drink 8 glasses of water a day.

Come on! Don’t tell me you haven’t heard that tip over and over, from your mother while a kid, your doctor, on talk shows, billboards so stop ignoring that tip and start drinking those 8 glasses of water a day not just to look pretty but to be healthy as well. How can you be a super mom, if you can’t have a super health? ;) Just kidding! But really, once you start following that natural beauty tips you will notice, in at least two weeks, a change in the nature of your skin.

Fourth Tip: Eat at least five portions of fruits and vegetables a day.

My dear super moms, if you are considering staying healthy and having that skin of yours glow you have to consider generously integrating both fruits and vegetables in your diet! 

Fifth Tip: Natural face peeling.

Those dead cells make your face look tired this is why it is better to peel it twice a week. You can find peeling masks at the stores or you can make your own peeling mask. How to be Super Mom has already posted few articles giving out the secret ingredients of some amazing facial masks and peelings. Check’em out!

Sixth Tip: Watch your diet.

Eat three healthy meals a day (follow How to be Super Mom Menus), reduce snacking to two servings a day and drink plenty of water.

Follow these steps and your mirror will become your best friend!