The Perfect Summer Cookout Recipe

Summertime equals family party time. I used to struggle finding the perfect dish to take to family cookouts in the summer. I want to share one of my favorite recipes that everyone seems to enjoy over and over again!

- Darla Watson, The Hammocks at Orchard Park Leasing Consultant

Fruit Salsa:

5 Large Strawberries diced

1 Cup Watermelon diced

3 Kiwis peeled and diced

1 Red Delicious Apple diced

1 Cup Cantaloupe diced

Cinnamon Tortilla Chips:

10 (8 inch) flour tortillas

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine fruit diced small. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.
2. For chips, brush tortillas with butter; cut into eight wedges. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the tortillas. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-14 minutes or just until crisp.
3. Just before serving, drain salsa if desired.
4. Serve fruit salsa with cinnamon chips. 

 Enjoy!

Staying Safe in the Sun

Wondering how to choose the right sunscreen this summer?? Check out these tips from wikihow.com.

Choosing sunscreen

1. Do your own research into sunscreen. 
2. Select an appropriate sunscreen.  
3. Look for both UVA and UVB coverage. 
4. Be careful about what is in your sunscreen. 
5. Choose a water-resistant sunscreen, if you're going to be swimming or sweating a lot.
6. Choose a sunscreen format that suits you. 
7. Be especially careful with sunscreens chosen for children and people with sensitive skins. 

Applying sunscreen

1. Apply the sunscreen generously.
2. Start ahead of time.
3. Be thorough.
4. Keep your sunscreen relatively fresh.

Clothing barriers

1. Cover up. 
2. Wear the right hat. 
3. Wear sunglasses.

Staying hydrated

1. Stay hydrated. 

 

Keeping out of the sun in the hottest part of the day

1. Stay out of the sun.
2. Schedule outdoor activities to avoid the hours when the sun is at its strongest. 
3. Limit your total time in the sun.

Spring Snack Recipe: Flower Cupcake in a Cone

Spring has arrived! Is anyone planning on having a spring gathering? Who doesn’t love a fun spring time snack?  This is one of our favorites from Family Fun Magazine.  Be the talk of the party with this fun snack idea.  Keep in mind, it’s also great for birthdays.

Ingredients

·       1 box of cake mix, any flavor

·       Flat-bottomed ice-cream cones

·       White frosting

·       Large gumdrop disks, such as Sunkist Gourmet Fruit Gems (one 14-ounce bag can decorate 5 cupcakes)

Instructions

1.     Prepare the cake batter according to the directions on the box. Fill the narrow bottom of each ice-cream cone with the batter. Set the cones on a baking sheet and transfer them to the oven, being careful not to tip them over.

2.     Bake at 350º for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let them cool, then frost the tops.

3.   ENJOY!

 

Sprucing Up Your Apartment For Spring

Once again, spring is upon us! Our winter was so mild though, it seems as if spring was around the corner the entire season.

So, this spring, after all of your spring cleaning is done, what do you plan on doing to spruce up your apartment? New drapes? New furniture? How about adding an accent wall to your living spaces? Hands down, adding color to a room by painting an accent wall is a great idea. It refreshes your senses and it is an inexpensive way to update a room.

It’s easy to go wrong with a color. It may not compliment the room itself or it may not compliment your furniture. Always be sure to collect color swatches before you decide to buy the paint and just start painting. Then again, it is only paint and you can always paint over it.

Always keep in mind that your accent wall is going to be the first wall that is noticed when someone enters the room. Focus on what you want to accent in that particular room. In your dining room maybe it’s your table, in your bedroom maybe it’s your comforter and in your living room maybe you want that tinniest bit of dark green in your patterned couch to ‘POP’. Whatever it is you want to help accent in that room choose your wall and color wisely.

Best of luck to you on your painting adventure!

Why do You love living at Orchard Park?

Put your writing skills into action for our Facebook contest and WIN BIG! Great prizes are available if your "Why I Love Living at The Hammocks at Orchard Park" submission wins! For more information, visit us on Facebook.

It’s August: Feel Cooler Instantly!

Feel Frosty on Contact

with aloe vera

Most people only reach for aloe vera lotion when they get sunburned. But smoothing it on anytime you feel overheated is smart, say Australian researchers: the cream lowers skin and sub dermal temperature on contact at North Texas Research Laboratory in Grand Prairie found that aloe penetrates skin four times faster than water and reaches seven layers deep (while water only reaches the outer layer), so the cooling effect will last longer than taking a cold shower.

Fool Yourself Cool

with mint

The protein TRPM8 is responsible for making humans feel coldness. When it’s chilly out, this protein sends an “It’s cold signal to your brain, which makes you react physically by shivering and getting goose bumps. A team of researchers at The Scripps Research Institute in LaJolla, California, found that the TRPM8 receptor is also triggered by menthol. So if you need relief, chew a stick of peppermint gum or rub on some mint-scented lotion to fool your brain into sending cooling signals to your skin.

Drop Room Temperature

with houseplants

According to the USDA estimates, a room full of indoor plants can lower air temperature by up to 10 degrees fahrenheit. The reason: plants go through a process called transpiration in which they absorb warming carbon dioxide from the air and emit cooling water vapor. Even placing just a few plotted pants in a sunny often-used room can lower the temperature by up to 3 degrees fahrenheit. Tip: Desert plants, which are used to offset arid conditions, conserve water during sunny hours and only transpire at night so keep cacti or other desert plants in your bedroom.

If you have questions or would like more information about The Hammocks at Orchard Park, visit us on Facebook!

Spring Is Here… Time To Spruce Things Up A Little!

Spring has sprung...or at least we thought it did. Thank you Mother Nature for reminding us that we live in New York State and winter likes to come and go as it pleases. Regardless of the weather, it is still spring time! Hip Hip Hooray!!

We are not sure about anyone else, but here at the Clubhouse we have been trying to spruce things up by getting some spring cleaning done. Has anyone ever noticed how spring cleaning really puts a smile on your face? I think it’s because we know that summer is right around the corner. This month we want to give you a few helpful tips on spring cleaning.

After the long winter of being cooped up, light fixtures and carpets/rugs can be full of dirt and dust. Take time to clean your light fixtures, the ones that are easily accessible and the ceiling fixtures. Take your area rugs outside for a good shake down and maybe a few hours of airing out. We all know that the wall-to-wall carpeting could probably use a good cleaning too. Break out that steam cleaner folks! It may also help with those seasonal allergies.

While you’re in the cleaning mode why not wash down your walls? Yes folks, the walls! Dirt also sticks to vertical surfaces. The easiest way that we have found to clean your walls is with a good soft sponge and warm, mild, soapy water. If you’re afraid of using soap and water on your flat painted walls try using a dry microfiber cloth, it will work just as well with removing dust.

What about your furniture? During these winter months, your furniture has collected dust, dirt, body oils, and germs and if you have a pet, it has also collected pet hair and dander. So, haul out that vacuum cleaner and vacuum your upholstery and steam clean it as well. Make sure you test your furniture first in an unobtrusive spot to make sure that the detergent from the steam cleaner doesn’t fade the color or ruin your upholstery.

Last but not least, attack that refrigerator! In all honesty how many times a year do you actually give your fridge a good scrub down, 2 or 3 times? No better reason than spring cleaning to give you a good jump start on that. So, dig way back and throw out that leftover New Year’s Eve cheesecake that you decided not to ever eat again because your resolution said so. After removing the old and new leftovers, check out your condiments, I bet you have a few that have expired. And what about that bottle of marinade from last year’s backyard BBQ? Yeah, that might need to find its way to the trash can as well. Now that your fridge looks like it has been raided by 4 teenage boys after grocery day, get down to the “nitty gritty”. We recommend using a magic eraser or a sponge and hot soapy water to get the stuck-on grime. Don’t forget to clean the outside too. Also, don’t forget the fresh box of baking soda to help absorb any odors that may be lingering.

We hope that these helpful hints will get you started on your spring cleaning adventure. Let’s all hope that old man winter leaves us very soon and brings in the beautiful weather.