Pinterest Update--Recipes

The last time I successfully tried anything off of Pinterest more than once a week was Spring Break.  Now that I'm off for summer, I decided to give it a go again!  It's Sunday and I've already printed out the recipes that I want to try this week:

Baked Oatmeal (so excited about this b/c it turns into a "breakfast-on-the-go" item once I'm done!
Southwest Eggrolls with Avocado Dip (just like Chili's--or so they say!)
Cauliflower Pizza Bites (not telling Jeff it's cauliflower....)
Baked Zucchini Sticks with Sweet Onion Dip (just looked good!)

Here's one I tried off Pinterest that we HATED!  And, I found out later that it wasn't just my recipe that was disgusting...a friend tried it too and said the same thing!  Oh wait....I've already deleted the recipe!  It was that horrible!  It was the skinny version  of orange chicken or something.  NASTY!

Here are some I/we've LOVED:

Chicken RollUps (oh, so tasty!  So tasty, that we immediately started thinking of what else we could make like this!
Breakfast Pizza Breakfast pizza!  Need I say more??
Caprese Salad Toast---OMG good!  Especially when you use fresh basil from your garden!  Oh wait...I did that!  :)
Zucchini & Spinach Gratin I actually made this before I pinned it!  Lots of work, but delish!
Chicken & Black Bean Casserole  Umm...yum!  I even pureed it for Bennett and he would have licked the bowl if he knew how!
Fudgy Toffee Bars  Made these for a playdate and they were outta this world!

That's it as of this week!  Made the SW eggrolls last night and had so many left over that I froze them to use as chimichangas later on.  I'm going to add enchildada sauce, chicken, and cheese.  Can't wait!

An Interest in Pinterest???

I'm like 100% of people out there.  I want a great idea and I want to actually do it!  However, life sometimes has better plans for me (such as spending time with my fabulous hubby and cutie patootie Bennett!).  Close to Spring Break (or on Spring Break) I found time to complete a few of my Pinterest ideas and wanted to share how they came out.

Decorations
This one by far is my favorite!  It's the Easter Egg tree!  Here's the inspiration, and here's my version (which may have turned out better if I'd actually read how she did it, but it turned out great and now my challenge is to find a way to store it!):

Yes, it leans a little and the bunnies on top are slightly possessed, but I love it!

For my next Easter decoration, I kind of combined two of my pins.  I went in search of a frame because of this, but once I realized that my front door already has an oval shaped window, I decided that would be the "frame".  I also had this as inspiration (not the wreath, but the eggs--and I want to desperately learn how to make that rose out of fabric!).  So, I combined the 2 and this is what I got:

So...the green stuff WAS a bow, and as much as I'd like to say that this just happened, I can honestly say the bow fell out about a day after hanging this contraption!  I said I have an "interest in Pinterest"...I didn't say I was good!

Recipes
Healthy ice cream?  Yes please!  This recipe is great!  Next time though, I'm going to have to figure out what to do with the strawberry seeds.  I DO NOT like those in my "ice cream"!

Chicken Picatta = delicious!  I revamped it to what I had on hand (breaded chicken breasts already in freezer...I WAS NOT going to do it myself!).  Delicioso!

Green Monster = decent.  I'm not a huge smoothie fan, nor am I a huge banana fan, so that's why it got "decent".  It didn't taste like spinach though...I'll give it that!  And, it was sweet and tasty--I just need a different texture!

The "Green Monster" in action!

Now, on to my all time favorite cookie/bar recipe.....OMG GOOD!  Not hard to make (even with an impatient 7 month old waiting on me), and fly out of the pan good!  I even froze the leftovers so we wouldn't eat them all in one day and they're delicious cold with a little milk!

Need something to crunch up graham crackers?  Try the baby's bottle...works like a charm!

You know Jeff and I had to do a little quality control before serving to others, right???

That's it so far, but I can't wait to try more.  It really is fun to get ideas of others' boards--I highly encourage you to go waste hours of your time on something other than Facebook!  Hey...at least I can say we got some decorations and meals out of my time wasting!  No one can say I wasn't productive!

Magazine Monday

Yes, I know it's on Tuesday again.  Deal with it.  I am!  My "to-do" list was too long yesterday and it just didn't get done.  Well, that and the fact that the magazine I'm currently looking through has so many good ideas that I haven't even finished it!  And sad to say, I really want to "pin" this blog to my Pinterest board so I can have the ideas in multiple places so I can't forget them.  So...if you see this on my Pinterest board, please know that I don't think I'm that awesome (well, actually I do!), but I just want to make sure I remember these ideas!

Recipes

1. Not a recipe specifically, but an idea:  make meatloaf in cupcake tins so you have individual servings.  Thought this would be a good idea for kid-friendly food later on.

Holiday Idea

1. Thanksgiving Games  (Thank you Parents Magazine Nov 2011--yes, I'm behind...at least I'm reading it!)
1. Give Thanks Guessing Game:  everyone writes down something they're grateful for, drops it into a bowl, picks out another one, and tries to guess whose it is.
2. Turkey Truth or Dare:  Questions are G-rated (come on...think of Granny people!), such as:  "What are you most thankful for...in the bathroom?", "on your last birthday?".  Dares are holiday related:  take a bite off someone else's plate; eat something you normally wouldn't.

Illness Related

1. Teaching your child how to cough cleverly.  Younger kids can be taught to "catch" their cough in their elbow, while older kids can pretend they're holding a cape and have to bring it across their face like Dracula!  Thought this was just cute and can picture Jeff doing it to teach Bennett!
2. A reader called this "hot lemonade".  Hot water, fresh lemon juice, and honey.  Use for sore throats.

Magazine Monday--On Tuesday!

Well, since the last Magazine Monday, things have obviously gotten a little busier!  I've started a new job (will post on that later), and life has just been in full swing.  BUT, I finally found time to read finish reading 2 magazines this weekend and here are the results (Warning:  it's slim pickings!!):

Children's Behavior
I liked this because, being slighly strong-willed myself, I know it's going to come back to me ten-fold with kids!

• Instead of immediately complying with a demand your child has, repeat a short phrase 5-6 (or 5-56!!) times.  Use your voice and gestures to let them know you understand what they want.  After using this strategy to calm them, do what they call "putting them on hold".  "Suddenly" remember something you need to check on and do it quickly, then return to what you were doing to help your child.  This will teach them to be patient.  (maybe my hubby should use this on me!!!)

Recipe

• S'mores Pie:  Ummmm....hello???  Who wouldn't want this???  I've been a s'mores junkie for as long as I can remember, so I'm excited to try this out when Jeff is off his diet!
• Hint:  I've torn out this recipe and put it in my recipe binder for later use, but will type it out when I try the pie.  I know hint is a stupid word here, but it's really for me later on so I'll remember what I did with the recipe!

Exercise:  Fast Breaks (do all these for 10 minutes)

• Walk:  alternate 20 paces of lunges with 40 strides for 10 minutes (can't you see me doing this in the neighborhood with a stroller???)
• Jump Rope:  for 1 minute.  Stop and twirl the rope in a figure eight for 1 minute
• Run or walk up stairs 2 at a time
• Turn on tv/radio to a fast station and dance
• Ride a stationary bike for 3 minutes.  Continue pedaling while having your arms make a T, U, V, W, and X for one minute each.  Arms down for the remaining 2 minutes
• Jog for 2 minutes. 10 jumping jacks.