Pinterest

June 21, 2012

Pinterest: It's What's for Dinner Part II

Pinterest has become my official cookbook. So much so, that I had to reorganize all of my pins. I deleted several recipes that looked amazing, but I knew I would never make. I don't have time for 20-ingredient recipes and I don't think mini cheesecake pans fit into the budget, so I purged some pins and what is left are recipes that stand a good chance of being made. I even created new categories for entrees, sweets and drinks. Thanks to Pinterest I'm actually spending a bit more time in the kitchen. Not as much as I should - we still have our fair share of takeout, but it's progress!

Below is part two of the recipes I have tried recently. Part one can be found here.




I know I made these, but I can't really remember what we thought of them. Obviously they weren't memorable enough to deserve a repeat. I do know that I used beef instead of turkey since we have organic beef from Todd's family farm. I also remember that I liked them a bit more than Todd did. I'm thinking they could have used a little extra "something" to give them more flavor. I've got a new stuffed pepper recipe from Trader Joe's that I will be making soon. We'll see how they compare.




The Pioneer Woman does it again! These are a staple in our house. I bet I've made them nearly a dozen times. Now that I'm growing my own rosemary, they're even easier (and cheaper). I could eat these weekly if not more. Yum!




Need an easy weeknight meal that doesn't require much thought? Here you go. Not the healthiest dinner in the world, but they're pretty tasty. As easy as they were, I think I prefer a classic french dip with "real" roast beef that has cooked for hours on crusty bread. It's unlikely I'll make these again.




Who on Pinterest hasn't made these? Super easy, really tasty, great for freezing, the list goes on and on. A good friend brought these over right after we brought Crosbi home from the hospital and they were delicious. I later made them for my family when they visited. Great when cooking for a large crowd. These will be in our rotation for sure.

I've been doing quite a bit of "cooking" for my little girl too. Who would have thought making baby food could be fun? It's so much easier than I thought it would be and I love knowing exactly what Crosbi is eating. Plus she's experiencing so many new textures when I make her food rather than the soupy texture in jarred baby food. It's really funny to see where my strengths are being used these days. Months ago I was called on to write marketing plans for Christian artists. Now my resume includes whipping up pureed peas and green beans. Crazy.



I'll be back soon with Crosbi's six-month recap once I pull myself together and come to terms with the fact that my baby is more than half way to being a one year old. I've got to soak in each day with my baby while she's still a baby!

May 3, 2012

Pinterest: It's What's For Dinner

First of all, thank you ladies for your sweet comments on my last post. It was so great to "meet" April and find another great blog to add to my list. Christine encouraged me as always. It was her blog that inspired me to start writing back in 2007 when I was just learning what blogging was all about. Ashley was encouraged to start writing on her blog again as she anxiously awaits the birth of her little boy this summer, and this little blog has allowed me to get to know Todd's cousin Allison, whom I've yet to meet in person. I'm so glad our blogs let us keep in touch and I hope to finally meet her sooner than later!

While I'm giving a little blog love, I need to give a shout-out to Emily, a friend of mine who inspired this post. She has done a great job of blogging about the meals she has made from Pinterest. I know that I've pinned close to 100 recipes at this point, wondering if they're as good as they look, and Emily helps to take out the guess work. She rates the recipes, says what works and what didn't, which recipes need tweaking, etc. So, I thought I'd do the same.

Todd and I are really striving to eat healthier, but these recipes are in no way the healthiest ones on Pinterest. We've gone organic when it comes to milk and most fruits and veggies. Our beef is as organic as it comes (Todd helps butcher it himself!) and we're moving to free range chicken as well. But, we still sneak in easy, stress free recipes because we're trying to stay afloat most days, so no judging!

The photos below are borrowed except for one we managed to take ourselves.

Since I've made more than a dozen of the recipes I've pinned, I'll consider this post part one.

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings



Super easy recipe. It's made in a crock-pot start to finish. It doesn't get much easier than that. I like the fact that it doesn't need many ingredients, so it's a great go-to when I need to make something with ingredients I have on hand. I add a few more veggies than the recipe calls for. I think I doubled the carrots and I like to add peas, or some other veggie to round it out.


Crispy Cheddar Chicken



Not a bad entree, but I had a hard time getting the cheese to stick to the chicken. There has to be a better way. I think I liked the sauce better than the chicken itself. Not sure if I would make this again.

Rustic Pot Roast Pot Pie


Todd took this photo on his iPhone. To be honest, I tweaked this recipe so much it hardly resembled the original. Believe me, you don't want to stick to the original. I substituted the beer for beef broth and added a ton of veggies. Todd and I both love okra, so I added half a bag of frozen (thawed) okra and other frozen veggies. The recipe said to add potato flakes to the soup mixture to thicken it, but I would have needed to add half the box and I wasn't going for that, so no potato flakes for us. Instead I just added a little bit of cornstarch and strained the soup mixture before adding it to the pie crust. In the end, we both liked my adaptation. I would definitely make my very-tweaked version again.


Bite Sized Baked Brie



Yes. Loved everything about these. Todd's mom and I made these over Christmas and just thinking about them makes my mouth water. You really can't go wrong with Joy the Baker!

There you have it. I'll hopefully have part two ready very soon.

February 24, 2012

The Nursery

The nursery is just about done! There is one last thing to hang on the wall and we're calling it complete. I was going to wait until it's 100% finished, but realized that may never happen. I know, it's not like Crosbi is playing in there, keeping it messy. But it isn't camera ready most days. We store her car seat in there when we're not using it and I throw her clean clothes in her crib until I get around to folding them. Getting this post out is really now or never!

I knew from day one that I wanted the room to be neutral, yet filled with lots of bright pops of color. The majority of our home is filled with earth tones. Lots of greens, tans, blues, etc. When I found out we were having a girl, my first instinct was to do grays and muted colors, but I realized this was the one room where we could have fun with pinks and I wanted to give it a shot. 

My color palette inspiration:

source

I loved the bright yellows, pinks and oranges. Very citrusy!

Once I had the colors in mind, I got busy. I chose the fabric first and then picked accessories that were fun, but would grow with Crosbi. I didn't want to be redecorating when she turns two. It was also important that her room didn't look like it came out of a Pottery Barn Kids catalog. Don't get me wrong, I love PB Kids! I just didn't want it to look too "put together." I bought most of the accessories on Etsy or tried to replicate items I found on Pinterest.

What did moms do before Pinterest, right?













It's all in the details!



Not pictured is a dry-erase quote board I made for Crosbi using the same polka-dot fabric as the pillow in her crib. It may get it's own post soon. It will go on the wall (also not pictured) across from her dresser / beside her glider. We have yet to hang it. Hopefully that will happen sooner than later. We don't get things checked off the to-do list like we used to!

If anyone is interested in where a few of the things in C's room came from, I have added sources below:

Fabric: here & here
Wall clock
Tissue Poms
Crib
Mason Jar Photo
Flowers