Robbin's Nest Boutique

As I mentioned in my previous post, I love buying from small businesses, and from friends and family.  Robbin is a family member who makes bows and all sorts of crotched items which are so cute.

I know you can buy 4th of July bows from the dollar section at Target, but they're massed produced, poor quality and not made with love.  That's the best part of handmade things I think. 

So here is a picture of Mia in a 3inch Red, White and Blue Bow.  How cute is that!!

Buy yours here: Robbin's Nest Boutique

Mia was so happy when the package arrived. And I can't wait to dress her up in her patriotic clothes and looking so cute!

And for the record, I have Bows that Robbin made 3 years ago and they still look as good as new. 

Monograms and Letters

I love small businesses and try to support as many as I can, especially when it comes to family.  My sister-in-law, Jennifer Deck, just happens to be a super talented crafter made this after I asked her to make one for a very close friend of mine who just happens to have a daughter who is about to turn one.

This friend loves pink, and I'm pretty sure that she will love this and it will look so pretty in her daughters room. It couldn't be more perfect.  

She has also made letters for my daughter, a cork board for my son, and many many other things.  Please visit her Etsy Store - Jennys Letters

Engineer Print

My dear friend Ina showed me this pin yesterday. Normally I would ignore a pin like this because I think it looks amazing, but also impossible.  But this is such a great idea, very cheap and the results are amazing (although I still need to perfect it.)

Here are the two original pins: Photo booth Art and Giant Family Photo

The picture I used was taken by Lori Barbely (www.loribarbelyphotography.com) who I first met four years ago when she did an Operation Love Reunited shoot for us.  We loved her so much that we did another photo shoot about a year and a half ago in Orlando. This photo is about the funniest outtake ever, and perfectly captures Mia, Grammy and Mikey's personality's. 

Anyway, I took a CD (or a memory stick is fine too) into Staples and got an Engineer Print.  I chose an 18 x 24, but the largest they do is 3' x 4'.  Huge! It cost me a whole $1.91.  I really broke the bank there.  Make sure the photo is high quality - don't pull a picture off Facebook and expect it look great.

A.C. Moore just happened to be right next door to Staples, and the just happened to have 50% off canvas's, so I picked up a canvas, spray adhesive and Mod Podge. Including military discount that totalled to just under $20 and I have plenty to make many more crafts.

I sprayed a line of adhesive down the middle to make sure it was all centered, and then spraying about a quarter of the canvas at a time, then used a credit card to smooth the paper down and make sure there was no bubbles. For a larger print you'll probably need some help.  I've also seen that some people use a rolling pin to smooth it down.

The print has a white edge so I just used black paint and filled in the white.

After the paint dried, I put a layer of Mod Podge over top.  As you can see, it really wrinkled up. I was about to freak out, but reading the link above when she mounted her pictures to foam, she explained that hers did the same thing and it had to do with the temperature in the room and the foam, or in my case the canvas expanding.

*I just read an article on eHow which might help the wrinkling situation:
 Cover your work space with heavy paper or wax paper so you can brush the Mod Podge on freely and not worry about making a mess. Spray your picture lightly with water or an acrylic sealer on one side to prevent wrinkling and bubbling. Be careful -- you don't want it the picture to be too wet; blot it with a cloth or paper towel if this happens. Apply the Mod Podge to your chosen surface with a brush. It dries fast, so work quickly. Position the picture where you want it, using the brayer to flatten the image and remove air bubbles and wrinkles.

How to Mod Podge Pictures - eHow

 Here's the finished result.  It's still wrinkled a little, but not to the point that I really care.  I'll definitely be making something like this again, but using a different surface to mount it on - perhaps wood next time.  I'll be needing to purchase a saw....

But I really do love it, and for an hours work it looks pretty good.

Recently a few things have happened or been said to me that have got me pondering. My Mother-in-law pointed out to me how good my kids are after watching other kids pull out every toy and being talking tornadoes in her house.  They don't do that [often] and if they do they will clean it up.  And today as I was vacuuming, I asked Mikey to pick up his room so I could vacuum in there, and without me asking, he cleaned up his sisters room  without me saying anything so that I could clean her room too.  Now, there's probably some ulterior motive there involving the Wii but for the moment I'll sit back and be grateful, impressed slightly amused.

It dawned on me that since Mikey has been alive, we've been through 3 deployments, and countless months of Jeremy being gone at school or business.  And we've had it easy compared to some families.  Jeremy's been home 1 year right now, and has only gone away about an additional 4 weeks.  Not too shabby!

Mikey has always been a good kid, and very laid back unlike his sister who is the sweetest firecracker you'll ever meet who keeps me on my toes for sure.  They're in no way Saints, and I'm in no way the perfect Mom.  But I have always been strict about them cleaning up after themselves - if they don't the toy disappears for a while.  And I've always made sure that we help each other out. And for the most part they do clean up when I ask.  Sometimes I get whining and eye rolls, but they mostly do it without a lot of pushing from me.

But anyway, I have heard so many spouses whine about their kids and how its so hard to keep a clean house because their kids make a mess, their husband isn't home to help, ...yadda yadda yadda....I've been there when I'm at my wits end and I'm simply too tired to clean.  But the next day I'll be better and I clean up quickly. I have to ask for help sometimes and that's OK. But instead of complaining, the kids and I have always been a team, and I've always been forced to be strict on some issues like picking up their room. 

I see it as a blessing. I'm not a single Mom, I don't have family near by, but yet these continual separations and deployments have molded myself and my children into better people. I've learned to be strong, capable and to realize it's OK to sit back sometimes and not be perfect.  And that it's better to cry in the shower - it keeps your nasal passages from blocking up.  And I'm so proud of my kids for being as wonderful as they are.

Twice Baked Cauliflower...oh yeah!!

So anyone who knows me, knows how much I love cauliflower so I will do anything to try a new and wonderful way to eat it. And this really didn't disappoint.

I can't remember the last time I ate a twice baked potato - yummy but it just seems like a lot of effort for a potato.  Delicious, but too much work for a lazy ass like me.  But when I saw twice baked cauliflower I was in heaven.

Here's the link: Twice Baked Cauliflower

I boiled the cauliflower; chopped up and fried about 6 rashers of bacon and chopped up half and onion.  I threw the cooked cauliflower into the food processor (this is because I don't actually own a masher), then stirred in the bacon and onion into the mix, then added about two spoonfuls of sour cream, and handful of cheese, mixed it up and threw it into the oven towards just before the pork roast we were having was almost done.

Now, the recipe called for non-fat sour cream and cheese, and I just don't do non-fat, low-fat, sugar-free etc.  I don't want to know what they do to those products to make them non-fat, and surprisingly my stomach treats me much kinder since I switched to whole milk.  So it's not the lowest in calorie, but cauliflower is much lower on the glycemic index than potato, and I really didn't use a lot of cheese and sour cream. 

I can say that I absolutely didn't care that it wasn't potato.  It tasted divine, and my husband loved it as well.  My kids liked it too, but it's been almost impossible to get them to eat any dinner lately.  I don't know what's up with that.

Brown Gravy Success

I love brown gravy.  It's very high up there on my favorite foods list.  In fact, the year I met my husband in Korea, he asked what I wanted for Christmas, and knew that I wasn't joking when I said I wanted Mashed Potatoes and Gravy.  Being in Korea that wasn't easy to find, but he got me a GIANT bag of both which may or may not have been pilfered from the DFAC.  Such a happy Christmas - Mashed Potatoes, Gravy and a proposal.

Anyhow, I'm trying to get away from package mixes, and I had a craving for Salisbury Steak.  You need gravy for that but I would either have to go to the store to buy the packet, or I would need to make it myself.  So I made it, and let me tell you I was pleasantly surprised.  I saw several variations, and chose this one which uses flour. (I won't use nonfat milk powder, and I don't like corn starch).

Dry Brown Gravy Mix

This is such an easy recipe.  I did have to buy Bayleaves, Celery Seeds and the Beef Granules, but it was all relatively inexpensive to buy.  All you needed to do was to put the ingredients sans flour into a food processor, then add it to flour and put it in an air tight jar.  To make the gravy you just needed to take 1/4 C of the mix and wisk it into 2 cups of water and heat it until it thickens.

It really tasted and smelled great and not too different from that deliciousness that you usually get in a packet.

Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce

Believe it or not, I've never tried to make my own Alfredo Sauce.  My SIL works for Olive Garden, so we often go there and dip our bread sticks in Alfredo...mmm...but I just can't eat an entire dish of Alfredo.  It might just have something to do with being Lactose Intolerant.  But since I'm not really eating pasta right now, I decided to try this out on my kids.  And maybe I had just a little just to try....

Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce

Let me tell you.  My daughter hardly ever eats dinner, but she munched down on this like she had never eaten in her life.  You know the look of babies when they finally get that bottle of milk....that was Mia. Not only was it easy, cheap and quick, it really was tasty.

Now, when I added the cream cheese I thought it was going to be a disaster.  Besides splashing butter all over my arm and the counter (I really am an intelligent person, even though I make some stupid mistakes), it looked liked it was curdling.  But as soon as I added the milk, it came together nice and smoothly.  I used the canned Parmesan cheese, but I'm sure it would be great with grated cheese.  I also didn't measure any ingredients which probably doesn't come as a shock to you all, and I added until it was how I liked it.

I'll definitely be making it again.  It's so hard to get something that both my kids love, and served with baked salmon I'd say it's close to perfection!

Mia's Garden Party

I was the happiest Mamma in the world when Mia changed her mind about having a Dora Birthday Party, to doing a Flower and Butterfly Party.  Her actual birthday isn't for a week or so, but her last day of school was Thursday and I thought that today would work better.

Pinterest was so great for getting some ideas.  I have an entire board devoted to it with all sorts of things from sparkly Jello Cookies cut to look like flowers, to Unicorn Poop http://pinterest.com/kiwirachusa/mia-s-butterfly-and-flowers-birthday-party/.  I couldn't do them all, but what I did was very simple and looked and tasted great. 

WATERMELON LEMONADE

I didn't get a picture, but EVERYONE loved my Watermelon Lemonade.  It was just sweet enough with a hint of lemon and nice and watermelony. And it was simple.  And, the best part is that if you added maybe a little vodka, or my personal  favorite would be to add Asti instead of sprite it would be just the best thing in the world for a more adult party.  Here's the recipe:

8 cups of seeded and cubed watermelon

1 cup of halved strawberries

1/2 cup of lemon juice

1 cup of sugar

2 cups of Sprite

I had to squeeze the lemon by hand,  I don't even have a little plastic citrus squeezer.  I will be buying some since I found every little crack in my hands.  Ow. I squeezed about 6 lemons (I made a double batch of the lemonade - one at a time though) and that seemed about right. 

I blended it all in my Ninja - love that blender.  If you're in the market for a blender and don't want a Vitamix, get the Ninja.  It's worth spending the money on something great, rather than getting a cheap on which won't even smoosh ice. Been there, done that....learn from me and just spend the extra money.  

I used frozen strawberries that I keep in the freezer for whenever I want smoothies.  I often buy two punnets of strawberries - one to eat and the other to cut up and freeze. I threw it into my blender along with the lemon juice, and sugar, then filled the far up to the top with watermelon.  I'm assuming that it's 8 cups.  I did add a little water - about 1/2 cup just to help it blend.  You may or may not need to do that, but it doesn't alter the taste at all.  Once it's blended which is super quick and takes just seconds, I poured it into a pitcher and added the Sprite. 

Really, this is a truly amazing recipe and I'll be using it every summer for the rest of my life.

CATERPILLAR GRAPES

In the original pin, she used white frosting and smaller chocolate chips.  In other words, they looked much cuter than mine. But anyone who knows me that I'm not about to go to the store to buy chocolate chips and white frosting just for these. I think they're still cute and the kids loved it. But if you make them, make them cuter than mine.

CLOUD PARFAITS

This is the picture on the original pin.  It stated "Blue Jello + Cool Whip = Cloud Parfait".  It really was that easy...except I found every color of Jello in the rainbow except for blue.  So I ended up buying four of the 4-pack snack Jellos.  Not the most economical, but whatever.  And I used TruWhip since it doesn't contain Trans Fat. (It still is probably full of junk, but slightly less guilty junk). I didn't have the pretty glasses, and if I did I wouldn't be letting 4 year olds use them, so these are what mine looked like:

Hahaha...they were cute enough, although not as pretty as the original, and very popular.  My husband loved it, and well....I hate Jello.  I was one of the few kids who was disgusted by the thought of having to eat ice cream and jello after getting your tonsils removed, and I'm eternally grateful that I still have my tonsils.  All because of Jello.

BUBBLE REFILLS

Whoever thought of this is a genius.  The girls LOVED this. Loved it so much that they poured and stirred, and poured it into a sand bucket, and added sand and stirred some more, made a huge mess and had a blast! And they even blew some bubbles. The jar was about $3.50 and I got a giant bottle of bubbles.  Hours of fun. 

GOODY POTS

Do you ever go to a party and you get the goody bags that all the parents feel obliged to hand out, and the kids love but the parents hate.  And then you have to fill them and the bags break and they're just plain ANNOYING!!

When I was purchasing terra cotta pots for another project, I saw these little pots...and then I saw the flowers on sale and "BING!", I got this idea.  I decided to paint them and stick little treats in the pots. I actually enjoyed making them, and I love that the family can reuse them.  I thought it would be cute to plant herbs in, but I guess little girls can put clips in, or other knick knacks that little girls seem to accumulate. 

I think I'm actually going to make more larger ones because they would be cute to put plastic utensils in for picnics, or nice decorations in Mia's room.

There is one more pin that I attempted.  But that belongs to another post, and it will be titled "EPIC FAIL"

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

The reviews on this pin were amazing, and I'm happy to say that I'm fully on that bandwagon!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

As per usual I didn't follow the recipe exactly.  It called for Cream of Mushroom Soup or Cream of Chicken Soup.  Since I don't like Cream of Chemical Soup of any kind (I don't know what grosses me out more - the additives or creamed chicken....) I had to think outside the box.  I found a can at the very back of my pantry - Chemical Soup...I mean, Cheddar Soup.  Which reminds me - I really need to try to make my own Cream of Yada Yada soups.

I also used Chicken Thighs instead of breasts.  It honestly is the simplest recipe ever.  The hardest part was getting the soup out of the can. And I couldn't be bothered shredding the chicken by hand so I threw it in the food processor and it was done so quickly.  Why have I never thought of this earlier???

Definitely make this!  My son loved it, as did I.  (My daughter is super picky and wouldn't even try it.) I had a side dish of fiesta veggies (Black beans, corn, peppers and onions), but I'm pretty sure beans and/or corn would make a great addition.  I think jalapenos would be a great addition too.

Moroccan Chicken Stirfry

Moroccan Chicken Stirfry

I saw this recipe and it looked delicious and pretty simple.  And different.  I like to try other cuisines that I don't usually get to eat.  I wish I could tell you about this amazing Afghani food I got to eat one time, but unfortunately I am bound by OPSEC and I can't.

This dish really is simple.  I had all the ingredients apart from Turmeric, and I wasn't about to go out and buy some because after 32 years on this planet I've never needed to use it, and it would sit there with some other useless spices for years.  I don't know how it would affect the taste, but I wasn't complaining about it without it.

I really liked it.  I probably won't make it again since my kids hated it, and my husband wasn't really doing dances around the living room about it either.  I would have loved to have added raisins to it too, and maybe if it was a little creamier, like adding Greek Yogurt to make it more saucy.  I don't know much about Moroccan cooking so I could be butchering it by doing that.

So if you are a little adventurous, give this a try.  If you're not adventurous, you probably won't like it.  Maybe if you switch out the spices to garlic etc, then you would like it.

Palmetto Cheese...The Pimento Cheese with Soul!

This product is so awesome it needs its own post.  My sister-in-law introduced me to it a few years back and I've been hooked ever since.  Pimento Cheese is usually enough to make my stomach churn - it just seems kind of sloppy and goopy.  But Palmetto Cheese is a little piece of heaven.

Palmetto Cheese

It's got the greatest flavor - it's got sharp cheddar cheese, pimentos and cream cheese (I think - I don't have a container to tell you exactly what's in it right now) and it's not sloppy in the slightest.

You can only find it in the South - I buy mine at Harris Teeter, but it's worth the drive. It's about the only thing I love about living at Ft Bragg. I prefer the original cheese using it as a dip for pita chips, but I used the Jalapeno cheese in my last Crustless Quiche and it was AMAZING!!

Follow them on Facebook and they'll give you all sorts of recipes and coupons you can use.  Try it! You'll love it!

Crustless Quiche

This is one of my family's favorite meals for dinner.  I love that it's crustless, and it's so versatile.  Here's the original link:

Crustless Bacon Quiche

I've actually made it twice now with a different variation each time. The first time I used 9 eggs, bacon and broccoli and Jalapeno Palmetto Cheese (that I'll blog about later since it's THAT awesome).  Last week I used Turkey Kielbasa and broccoli and it was just as awesome.

It's so quick and easy so perfect for the weeknights where you've got to make dinner before baseball etc.  Serve with a salad or veggies and you're good to go.  You can put whatever veggies or meats in that you like.  If you have left over roast chicken it would be perfect. And for you low carbers, it's perfect for you.

The Shoe Saga - The Sequel

Well, I have tried ice, I have tried the hair dryer, I even stuck them in the dryer and every few minutes I would put them on wearing thick socks. Did they stretch - yes they did.  But no amount of 'No pain, no gain' will ever make them comfortable.

So my pretty shoes.  My pretty pretty shoes....will most likely be sold tomorrow in my yard sale.

I'm going to sit in my corner and rock now.

The Shoe Saga

I'm so bad at keeping up with blogs.  And I've been pretty busy this week - there's not enough time in the day I swear.  And between the van breaking down over the weekend, and the A/C breaking down too...plus baseball 4 nights this week, I've just not had enough time to look at Pinterest and find something I want to do. And with the A/C out, I just didn't want to be inside next to the stove.

So today I'll talk about shoes.

I hate them.

I really do.  I just don't like feet in general and I don't have the time or money for pedicures making me hate feet more.

But I saw a pin of these shoes....

It's the perfect color (my favorite) and I love flats.  I'm literally in love.

I've never bought shoes online before.  So I found them on Amazon (Qupid Thesis 147 Sea Green Suede Ruched Ballet Flats) and bought them.

I was so excited when they arrived and couldn't wait to put them on.

THEY HURT MY FEET!!!

Seriously, they hurt so bad I couldn't even wear them for two minutes before they left red welts on my toes.  They're not too small, just tight as hell.  Any bigger and they would be too long for me.

But then I remembered a pin that I saw to stretch shoes out: How to stretch shoes.  I have tried the ice.  It did work a little, but still not to the point that I can wear these shoes. Tonight I will make a last ditch effort using the thick socks and hairdryer trick...and sadly if that doesn't work, then they shall be sold at my yard sale tomorrow.  My heart is breaking.

By the way, I did see a pin about how to make a butt tonne of money at a yard sale, and quite frankly I don't have the time, enough junk and the patience to do it. I'm definitely not Miss Suzy Homemaker yet.  

Brain Fart and Taco Seasoning

I had an extremely exhausting weekend so forgive me for yesterdays brain fart. You see, we went to the NASCAR Races at Richmond over the weekend.  We had a great time, minus being damp and freezing, and the van breaking down very late Friday night causing much chaos, tow truck rides and taxi rides to the airport.  Thanks Dodge for a crappy alternator on a brand new vehicle.  You rock.

Anyway, Mia lost her voice and is a walking snot bomb, so I needed something quick and easy for dinner last night.  But here's where the brain fart occurred.  I can't find the pin so you can go straight to the source.  I know I pinned it because I remember looking for what I was going to make.  So my apologies to the recipe creator - I will give you credit when I find you! 

I picked up a rotisserie chicken while I was at Sam's Club, and then ran buy Walmart because I forgot to pick up the canned tomatoes and black beans.  So when I got home I just shredded the chicken and placed it in the crock pot, sprinkled my homemade taco seasoning on it, then dumped the tomatoes and (rinsed) black beans on top.  It simmered  for a few hours, and I served it over rice with cheese and sour cream. (Well, no rice or sour cream for me). I'm telling you, it was delicious.  And it's versatile too.  You could use it in taco's or burritos.  Add some enchilada sauce and bake it and that would be awesome too.  Or add green onions and corn...you get my drift.  So simple as it already is, you can easily add your own pizazz. 

Now, homemade taco seasoning is amazing.  Like the Ranch Seasoning I did last week, I hate how the packaged stuff is full of crud and overpriced.  I made a quadruple batch about 6 months ago and just use it as needed - about once every two weeks.  Anything I would use taco seasoning for: Taco Bake, Mexican Pie, or plain old taco's I use it.  You can add a little more spice to it if that's how you like it, but with kids I keep it milder.  I never measure how much I use, so start with a little and add more as you go.

Here's the recipe:  Homemade Taco Seasoning

You may need to go to the store to buy some of the spices, but it still works out a lot cheaper and a lot healthier than packages.  Just do it.  Don't be lazy!

Homemade Ranch and Cauliflower Poppers

I literally jumped down from the table, just so excited to write this post.  Tonight's dinner was so yummy.  You see, I love Ranch and I love Cauliflower. Mmmmm...And both include dill which I love as well.

I made Ranch Pork Chops using home made ranch seasoning, and Cauliflower Poppers.

Homemade Ranch Seasoning (Look - I figured out how to make the link look pretty)

I've been looking for Ranch Seasoning for a while, that is just the seasoning and not the dressing.  I really dislike the packets that you buy in the store - look at the list of ingredients and you'll find a long list of things that you can't pronounce.  That can't be good for you.  This is so simple that you most likely already have the ingredients without having to go to the store.  I doubled the recipe and will put it in my trusty Tupperware shaker container (when my husband gets home and finds them for me...).  Now, if you're too lazy to make this, then you are a very lazy person.  It's harder to walk the aisles in the grocery store to find the ranch packets, not to mention that it's a heck of a lot cheaper than buying it ready made.

I sprinkled it on both sides of boneless porkchops and threw them in the oven at 400F for 40 minutes, turning them over halfway.

I'm not kidding when I say this was delicious!

Cauliflower Poppers

I really love Cauliflower.  I could eat it everyday, and I never knew how versatile it is.  I usually eat a cauliflower version of rice instead of rice, but I'll get to that on another post when I make it next. But anyway, I was very excited to see this recipe which is simple and looked great.

The recipe called for the juice of one lemon. I didn't have one, but I did have one of those lemon juice containers which looks like a plastic lemon so I just eyeballed what seemed like the equivalent of the real thing.  I also didn't have garlic, so I used the powdered version.  And I didn't have dijon mustard, so I used yellow mustard.  And I have no clue what the yeast stuff is. I did google it and it says it has a nutty flavor.  I hate nuts of any kind so I just didn't put it in there.

Once again, it was so easy to put together and whisk up.  I just threw it onto a baking sheet and into the oven.  (400 F for 40 minutes, turning midway - exactly the same as the porkchops).

I'm telling you.  Delicious.  I think that had I used the correct ingredients  - the dijon in particular - it would have a little less of a tangy bite, but who cares.  I loved it and I'll most definitely make it again.

The Perfect 10 Diet

I was asked what 'The Perfect 10' Diet is that I am following.  It's by Dr Aziz and it's basically is a diet/lifestyle that not only helps you lose weight, but how to maintain it for life.  There's no deprivation at all, and the idea is that you use food and exercise to balance your hormones.

http://www.perfect10diet.com/

There are three stages, and I'm currently on Stage One. To cut a long story short, there is 3 weeks of a Paleo Type diet: No grains/potatoes or sugar.  It has taken me a while to get used to adapting meals so that I can cut out rice/pasta or potatoes, but it's really not that hard.  I eat a lot of fruits and veggies, I eat scrambled eggs in the morning - none of this egg white nonsense, I eat salads, fish, chicken.  I really don't feel deprived.  And I've lost 5lbs in my first week (much to the dismay of the seamstress who took my dress in last week and yelled at me today when she needed to take it in again).

Stage Two you begin to add in grains again so long as it's not the refined crap and you do it in moderation.  

I really like this diet as he tells you to absolutely not fall victim to the low fat/non fat stuff that litters the grocery store.  And since knowing this, I find that the second ingredient is always some form of sugar...which makes your insulin levels go all funky.

I've switched to Whole Milk and butter - no more margarine and skim milk.  And guess what - my stomach is much happier with me and I'm still losing weight.

Chocolate Frosting Shots

If you read the title of this post you may have be as excited as I was when I saw this pin.  Chocolate Frosting Shots made out of coconut milk and cocoa!! I'm in!!  

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/01/16/chocolate-frosting-shots/

I'm telling you. I was so excited for this because it would have been a perfect sweet treat that would not be cheating for Perfect 10.

I got my coconut milk and left it in the fridge overnight with the top off.  Then the next evening I added my cocoa and vanilla and was so excited to have a spoonful of deliciousness.....

BLECH!!!

Not at all what I was expecting.  Now, she did say that the coconut  milk has to be fresh to become thick which mine did not.  But there was no sweetness at all....like I was eating liquid cocoa.  And we know that cocoa by itself is no bueno.

So there is no picture of mine as it went down the drain before I could get the word 'blech' out of my mouth.

I'm really disappointed, but hopeful that I can find a non-dairy, non-sugar, non-fake sugar, non-carb sweet piece of deliciousness.  

And yes I know the answer is fruit.

Baked Chicken with Greek Yogurt

I saw the picture of this on pinterest and it really did make my mouth water.  And in the comment line it said to use Greek Yogurt, not Mayonnaise.  I'm all over that since the thought of a chicken breast covered in mayo does not appeal.

 

Here's the link for the original recipe:

http://www.food.com/recipe/melt-in-your-mouth-chicken-breast-37336

So with 1 Cup of Greek Yogurt and eye balling the rest of the recipe I mixed it together and threw it in the oven. I also used shredded cheddar since I didn't have Parmesan and I wasn't about to use the dried powder stuff.  I was also making Tastefully Simple Beer Bread, but used Sprite instead of beer since I don't have any beer right now.  So both of them baked away while I twiddled my thumbs.

The bread was ready, and I let the chicken go a little longer...it was a tad bit pale...And then I broiled it. 

Well. I wish with my first experiment for you I could wow you with something amazing that you would fall off your chair looking at and tell me that I'm a Goddess in the kitchen.

So it didn't look as amazing as the pinterest picture.  The pinterest picture looked mouthwatering golden and crispy.  As you can see, mine doesn't look like that.  I'm figuring the Greek Yogurt and the cheddar cheese would account for the difference.  The taste I'm glad to say was pretty good, and it was very moist as promised.

The "Sprite Bread" was amazing...and you could actually taste a hint of lime which was really pleasant. 

As for the Perfect 10 Diet....well, I ate a small slice of bread which is strictly forbidden in Phase One and in my defense its my first slip up in a week in the carb department....and sugar.  Dang it!! Oh well, I'm not going to kick myself over that and I'll get back eating better tomorrow.

Let me first start out by saying that I'm not the crafty type, nor a fancy chef.  I'm not one of those Super Mom's who have their kids in perfect outfits, doing the perfect after school activities, eating perfect meals. I'm just the average girl trying to figure out life in America, dealing with the Army lifestyle...and pinterest allows me to day dream about being that perfect Suzy Homemaker.

My husband was a cook in the Army for 12 years, and then went to the dark side...Yes ooooh, he's a Warrant Officer.  So I was always shy about cooking around him.  You see, when I first moved with him to America I had it perfect.  If he worked in the DFAC (Chow Hall, dining facility...whatever you want to call it) early, then he would be home on time to cook for me. And if he worked late...I would go there to eat.  I never had to cook.  BLISS!! It's very intimidating to cook for someone who is a natural.  And then being a Kiwi, trying to figure out the ingredients and where to find things in the store was a slight challenge.

I'm also slightly on the chunky side, so I'm looking for ways to slim down.  I follow the Perfect 10 diet which is working - so I need to cook healthy food that my kids will like.

I have chronic back pain which I'm trying to fix with Physical Therapy and exercise.

And I like to do crafty things...even though it's not my strong point.  But I love giving homemade gifts.  Some things have been very cute and I'm pretty sure that the recipients liked them....they better like them or I'll scream. 

Kidding.  

Sort of.

So this blog will follow my adventures in Pinterest.  Some people pin thousands and thousands of things, but then never do anything with them.  I love actually trying new things, and changing things up where I need to in order to fit in with my dietary needs and what my kids might like.

So wish me luck, and hopefully you'll enjoy the ride...or the misadventures!! 

PS.  I will always try to acknowledge the original author/cook/crafty person etc.  If I don't, I apologize in advance.