Enchilada Casserole

To start off, I just want to say of the dozen or so things I've made so far for this blog, this is by far my husband's favorite dish.  It's not super healthy, although I don't think it's terrible for you and it's gluten free if you use corn tortillas.  It's basically a Mexican lasagne with tortillas instead of noodles.  I didn't make this recipe exactly right, I definitely took some liberties, but it turned out delicious.  A few days after I made it, my husband made an entire second casserole, but he used the leftover Thanksgiving turkey instead of chicken. That, by the way, turned out great too.

Here's the original pin:

Chicken & Black Bean Casserole

I forgot to take a picture of it cooked.  It was just too delicious.

This recipe is pretty easy and quite adaptable. I didn't have the cumin, coriander or garlic powder so I used red chili pepper and onion powder.  Also, didn't bother to buy fresh cilantro, I just used dried.  This recipe is plenty flavorful, so no harm done.  You start by cooking the chicken with a little oil and the dried seasoning, then pull it apart. I had my husband buy the groceries for this recipe and he couldn't find diced peppers so he bought a second can of enchilada sauce, which ended up being just fine.  The second can was medium rather than mild, so it gave it a little punch while keping it edible, even for Nugget.  Apparently, you're not supposed to mix in the enchilada sauce in with the other ingredients, but I did and it was fine.  I combined the chicken with the beans and sauce.  Then begin layering in a casserole dish like you would a lasagne... sauce, sour cream, cheese, tortillas... repeat. I also didn't reserve any cheese for the end, I just pulled off the tin foil a few minutes before the cooking time was up.

                 

Like I said, this has been my husband's favorite Pin I've done by far, and I thought it was great too.  Spicy but not too spicy, and I do love a good casserole.  There are tons of changes you can make to adapt to your taste: change the cheese, level of spiciness, beans, meat (the turkey version was delicious too).

Cost: Fairly reasonable for a full meal for a family plus freezer leftovers.

Time: Not long.  You could certainly prepare it the day before and pop it in the oven after a long day at work or just do it day of, it's maybe only 20 minutes of prep.

Difficulty: Very easy, very tasty... a perfect combination.

Aesthetic Appeal: Doesn't really matter.  Anytime cheese is bubbling on top of a meal, it's a good thing.

Life Enhancement: It certainly enhanced my husband's life.  It would be a nice casserole to bring a sick friend or someone who just had a baby, so that's nice too.

Polka Dot Finger Nails

I've always liked keeping my nails polished but I'm not what you'd call "good" at it. I'm a little messy, kind of impatient and don't have a very steady non-dominant hand so nail art is a challenge to me.  When I saw this, I thought it looked pretty simple so I decided to try it.  Results: not terrible, I must say.

Here is the original pin:

Polka Dot Nails

Original Pin                                                                    My Pic

So I started the way you would any manicure, clear base coat then color.  I thought this green and blue looked pretty good together.  You need pretty dense colors to make this work.  Anything too transparent wouldn't bee seen.  I tried to choose 2 colors that were the same tone and intensity.  I think color choice is everything here.  If you use the wrong colors it could just look weird.  After the clear base, 2 coats of your nail color.  After that, wait awhile before doing the dots so it doesn't get gummy.  The original blogger said to use a cuticle pusher, but I used the back of a pin.  I guess that's why my dots are a bit bigger.  I've seen many variations of polka dots on Pinterest, some with variable sizes of dots.  You probably just need to use a couple different tools for the dots.

Use the end of a pin stuck into an eraser to make your dots 

As you can see below, I'm pretty messy, but the next day after I'd peeled off the excess polish, it looks pretty nice.

Overall, I think this is pretty cute.  It's pretty and easy to do.
Cost: Really just the nail polish.
Time: Doing your own nails always takes a bit of time.  I do it after Nugget is in bed while watching tv.  It's about the only time during the day that I know I won't be interrupted.
Difficulty: Easy.  Like I said, I'm not so good at neatness, but this turned out nice.
Aesthetic Appeal: Well, that's the whole point, if they're not pretty, it's not worth doing.
Life Enhancement: Worth doing.  Hard to mess up. Something a little different than single color nails.

No Flour Banana Muffins

I have been flirting with gluten free for a few months now, and while I have decided that it's not for me (I'm certainly not celiac, but I had other issues that I thought might be influenced by diet) I do think it's probably a good idea to try and limit flour from my diet. While I was on the bandwagon I tried many recipes and some turned out pretty good.  I'm constantly looking for less "carby" breakfasts that I can prepare ahead of time and have available quickly in the morning. And sometimes... you just don't feel like eggs again. This Pin hits the mark and I think they're pretty tasty.

Here is the original Pin:

Oatmeal Banana Breakfast Muffins

Their Muffins                                                   My Muffins

I followed this recipe closely, using regular sugar as I believe that artificial sweeteners are the devil. Basically you mix the bananas with the eggs, then add the yogurt, oatmeal, sugar and baking soda. From my dabbling with gluten free, I learned that oats are naturally gluten free but are often prepared and packaged with gluten products, so if you are celieac (you probably alreay know this) or are very sensitive, you have to purchase oats that specify that they're packaged in a gluten free facility.

Ok, so I'm not exactly the neatest baker.  Maybe I'll get better?

I like this recipe.  The muffins were tasty and I think they're ripe for variations.  Certainly seasonings like vanilla or cinnamon would be welcome.  I'm not sure if adding fresh or frozen fruit would change the chemistry enough to ruin the texture.  As is, the texture is a little on the chewy side, not light and fluffy like an ordinary flour muffin, so don't expect it to be airy. You definitely need paper muffin liners and you'd be wise to let them cool for awhile otherwise they can get pretty sticky.  They were delicious with peanut butter and Nugget definitely approved.

Cost: They're great for using up ripe bananas, so score! The only thing I bought especially for this recipe was the yoghurt. My husband bought fat free instead of low fat, but that didn't seem to be any trouble.  They would also be fine with the nice thick 10% we buy for the little one.

Time: They're muffins, nothing fancy.

Difficulty: My only difficulty was pouring them into the tin without making a mess. Maybe you have steadier hands?

Aesthetic Appeal: They're not light and fluffy with a round crunchy shell like you'd find at a coffee shop, but they certainly don't look bad.

Life Enhancement: If you're celiac or just trying to cut down on refined carbs, this recipe is great.  It should fulfill any craving you might have for breakfast baked goods.

Healthy Chicken Casserole

Food on Pinterest, by and large, is divided into two categories, super, rediculously healthy food that may or may not fall into a "diet" category like vegan or gluten free or... the reason why America is fat, gooey, sweet, deep-fried monstrosities. It's like Pinterest people have those little angels and devils on their shoulders like you see in cartoons. These Pins represent what we aspire to be and what most of us really are (and eat). I, myself try and live mostly on the angel side (hence this Pin) but that's not to say I don't sometimes enjoy some good devil food.  Closer to Christmas you'll see that a lot more.

Here is the original Pin:

Balsamic Chicken

Original                                                                      Mine 

The first problem I have with this pin is it's name.  There is but a mere teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and it is not noticeable at all. First tip for this recipe... add more balsamic... it's delicious and flavorful.

The only things that I altered about this recipe was that I used a yellow onion instead of a red one (because that's what I already had at the house) and I used garlic from a jug instead of peeling and chopping the little bulbs.  I swear none of my cooking would have any flavor if it wasn't for those jugs of prepared garlic.  To start, you brown off the chicken.  I used smaller pieces instead of whole breasts because that's what I could find, and I used a little olive oil instead of cooking spray. When the chicken is cooked through, you place it at the bottom of a casserole dish.

Then you make your pesto topping with the basil, garlic, oil, etc.  Blend until smooth. 

Add the pesto to the casserole dish, then the onions, tomatoes and mushrooms.  Any number of other veggies would be fine in this recipe.  I think spinach would be especially nice.

Cover and put in the oven for about 40 minutes. While it was cooking I put some brown rice in my rice cooker and it timed out pretty well.

Overall, this recipe is definitely healthy, as for tasty... it's pretty good, but not great.  It tastes like you're eating a healthy meal, which isn't a bad thing, it's just not particularly inspirational.  If I were to make this again, I would try and up the flavor a little bit... more garlic, some salt, and definitely more balsamic vinegar.

Cost: About what you'd expect to pay for a home cooked meal.  I had to buy the chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms and basil, but I already had everything else. It's about 4 portions, so we were able to put some leftovers away for lunch for Nugget another day.

Time: Maybe 10-15 minutes prep, then 40 minutes cooking.

Difficulty: I think it would be difficult to ruin this, but there's any number of things you can do to make it better.

Aesthetic Appeal: The red tomatoes and green pesto make it a fairly attractive meal.

Life Enhancement: I think this recipe is a good base for future ideas rather than an excellent meal as is.  It is very healthy, no doubt... gluten free, low fat, but the seasoning needs to be bumped up to make it memorable.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cinnamon Cookies

Happy Thanksgiving! When I saw this Pin, I thought, what a great idea! They're pretty simple without being boring.  I thought they would be perfect cookies for bringing to work on Thanksgiving because they are a beautiful combination of the flavors of the season; pumpkin, cinnamon and oatmeal.

Here's the original Pin:

Cinnamon Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

With this recipe I stuck pretty close to the directions.  I sometimes play it fast and loose with savory meals, but with baking, if I make changes, I end up with the wrong texture or consistency.  It's science, I tell ya! Like many cookie recipes you start with mixing all the dry ingredients in one bowl and all the wet ingredients in another. Then you whip the two bowls into one and fold in the cinnamon chips.

When I make cookies, and especially if I'm sharing them with a group, I like to keep them small. I consequently took a minute off the baking time and they turned out perfect! I had no major mishaps to amuse you with so I'll get right down to the grading.

Overall I think that they're nice little cookies.  They're not too sweet and a very nice firm but chewy texture. I will say though, Nugget really didn't care much for them.  She kept reaching for them on the cooling rack, but would then pick them apart and feed at least half to the dog.  I think she's just more of a chocolate lover!

Cost: No more than an ordinary cookie recipe.  The only annoyance is I need to figure out what to do with the rest of the canned pumpkin before it goes south.

Time: Mix, mix, combine, plop, bake.  At about 10 minutes per cookie sheet, the whole batch took about an hour to mix and bake. Oh, and at this small size it makes almost 80 cookies... enough to share and enough to keep at home.

Difficulty: They're really pretty simple drop cookies, no extra fancy steps.

Aesthetic Appeal: They have a little bit of a festive orange tinge to them, but they're not terribly impressive to look at... but no matter, they're tasty.

Life Enhancement: I think I would definitely bake them again in the fall or winter... maybe even add them to my list for Christmas cookies.  I like making a large variety of cookie flavors for Christmas... gingerbread, peppermint, etc.  It would nicely fit into the pumpkin slot.

Creamy Peanut Bars

A lot of the recipes I tend to look at on Pinterest err on the healthy side.  There are plenty of terrible things in the world to eat if you're so inclined so why spend the energy to make more? Well, the answer to that is Thanksgiving, a holiday that is synonimous with copious amounts of delicious, usually home made food.  Thanksgiving is also a holiday that I have spent with coworkers and not family for the better part of the last 10 or so years.  So... I thought it was a good opportunity to make something ooey, gooey sweet to bring on Thursday to share with my coworkers.

Here is the original Pin:

Salted Nut Squares

Like the original blogger says, they're pretty easy and no bake. I think I actually followed this recipe pretty closely.  Usually I'm changing things a little here and there depending on if I read the recipe correctly or forgot something at the grocery store.  The only thing I really changed was quantities a little bit.  I hate recipes that don't use the quantities that are available in "normal" packages.  I used 1 bag of peanut butter chips which equals 1 3/4 cups of chips instead of 2 cups, and I used the entire container (minus the ones my husband snatched) of peanuts.  I figured those amounts were good enough.

You start with a layer of peanuts on the bottom of your pan, about half the nuts, then you combine the butter and PB chips until they melt.  

I melted the chips and butter on a very low heat until they got melty. When I added the condensed milk and marshmallows, the pot wasn't hot enough to melt them, so I returned it to the low heat even though the recipe said not to.  Eventually it came together into a smooth goo.

The instructions said not to line the pan with anything.  I would disagree.  I think that before you lay the first layer of peanuts on the bottom, you really should line with wax paper.  My biggest complaint about this recipe and the reason why I possibly won't bring these to share is because they were a giant pain to get out of the pan.  I tried slicing and removing the pieces after it had been refridgerated but they refused to come out.  I put it in the freezer for a few hours and they were a little easier to remove, but they were still a sticky mess.

Overall, they are tasty enough but too sweet for my liking.  If I don't bring them to work, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them.  They're not bad enough to throw away but they're not pretty enough to share.

Cost: Peanuts, condensed milk, peanut butter chips... all things I don't normally stock at my house, so they had to be purchased especially for this recipe.

Time: It took maybe 20 minutes plus a couple hours in the fridge/freezer.

Difficulty: The difficulty came in the removal of the squares.  Also, I had to be really careful with the melting of the peanut butter chips.  I have a terrible habit of burning instead of melting things.

Aesthetic Appeal: If they would come out of the pan, they would probably look nice, but instead I got kind of twisted, sticky messes.  Boo!

Life Enhancement: Not too much. They taste all right, but are chock full of sugar and don't really seem worth the calories to me.  If I want something terrible for me I want it to be extra special.

Coffee Sugar Body Scrub

I've seen many enticing body scrubs at Sephora but I've never been tempted to buy them because they are so expensive, so when I saw this I thought it was a great idea.

Here is the original Pin:

Mud Scrub

It was very easy to make.  You just mix up the 5 ingredients in a bowl. I used pumpkin spice coffee, brown sugar, grape seed oil and instead of peppermint extract, I used almond extract.  I think it would be fine without any extra extract, but it wouldn't be as fragrant.  The original Pin suggests using it on your face, but it seems much too abrasive for that. I've read that coffee is supposed to be great for firming skin.  I'll let you know...

Overall, I thought this was pretty good.  I don't often use scrubs, mostly because they are so expensive. I think having this readily available might encourage me to exfoliate more, which is great, especially in the winter.

Cost: Nothing compared to buying it in the store.  I used all ingredients I already had at the house.

Time: Next to none.

Difficulty: See above.

Aesthetic Appeal. It looks a little like dirt, but it really does smell divine.

Life Enhancement: If it helps me (cheaply) get through the winter without dry, flaky skin, it will enhance my life greatly.

Chia Seed Chocolate Pudding

I know, I know, the photo looks truly revolting but I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't terrible! Chia seeds are the hot trendy food item that so many people are talking about. They're high in fiber and good fats and nutrients... blah, blah. When I saw this Pin I was intrigued.

Here is the original Pin:

Chia Seed Chocolate Pudding

All you do is mix up the chia seeds with some kind of milk (I used vanilla soy), chocolate, vanilla and sweetener (I used agave). Getting it to come together really does take awhile and you do have to let it sit before you eat it so the chia seeds can absorb the liquid. When it was ready, I brought it to my husband and daughter to try. They really liked it. It's certainly no replacement for a Snickers bar but its a nice little chocolate doodad that you don't have to save as a sometimes food.

Unappetizing to say the least

It was very simple to make and the variations are almost limitless.  You could use soy milk like I did or rice, almond, coconut, goat, cow... whatever suits your dietary restrictions, tastebuds and contents of your fridge. Also, any sweetener works, honey, maple syrup, stevia I guess.  I try and stay away from any non-nutritive sweeteners... I don't trust them.

Put it all together and mix, mix, mix... mix, mix some more, mix again... then wait 20 minutes or put it in the fridge over night.

Still looks completely awful

Surprisingly to me, Nugget (my daughter) and even more surprisingly my husband, seemed to like it.  The hubs in particular thought it was pretty novel as well as tasty.

Nugget enjoys her chia seeds.  Who'da thunk?

This recipe was oddly successful; terrible to look at, decently tasty to eat.  That said, the texture is very weird.  When you eat it, it's hard to forget that you're eating seeds.  They sort of pop in your mouth as you chew your "pudding."  Also, it is incredibly not sweet.  You could certainly add more sweetener, but that would sort of defeat the point of it being a healthy recipe.

Cost: Chia seeds aren't cheap.  The bag I got from Whole Foods was $20. Of course at 2 tbsp of seeds per serving, it would last you a long time.

Prep & Execution.  It takes next to no time to make.  Dump ingredients in a bowl and mix.  The time comes in the waiting for it to settle up.

Difficulty: Very easy.

Aesthetic Appeal: Possibly the most disgusting looking thing I've ever consumed.

Life Enhancement: More than you would expect.  It's a sweet(ish) treat (kind of) that is not only not terrible for you, but actually very good for you.  It's also good for those on dairy or gluten free diets or are vegetarian or vegan.

Grilled Goat Cheese & Avocado Sandwich

I'm fairly well known, in my house anyway, to not thoroughly read a recipe, which could prove to be my undoing with this project. I saw the picture of this Pin and it looked delicious. I scanned the list of ingredients and bought everything at the grocery store I needed. Breakfast is our main meal of the day as I work later in the day. Usually my husband prepares it. He has quite a way with an egg and a spatula! The night before I told him it was my turn. He made some homemade bread for me that evening. Obviously this step is not truly necessary, there is plenty of fine bread available commercially, but call us pretentious, fresh home baked bread is mighty good. Anyway, morning broke (well, Nugget woke up) and I went to start our delicious sandwich.

Here is the original Pin:

Green Goddess Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I looked at the recipe again, and noticed that I hadn't seen the entire second half.  There was an elaborate recipe for herb pesto that was supposed to go on the sandwich.  Well... that wasn't going to happen, so I figured out what we had in the house.  I thought that we might have a jar of prepared pesto, but I was wrong.  I did find mustard that had basil in it. Done!

So I found my ingredients and put the sandwich together... bread, basil mustard, spinach, avocado and goat cheese.

I decided not to fry it.  I find that crumbly cheese always falls out of sandwiches. We have a super awesome George Foreman grill and used that instead.  Turned out great! Nicely brown minus the grease. Super simple and very delicious.  I suppose sometime I might try it with the herb pesto mentioned, but I kind of doubt it... maybe jarred pesto.

Even without the special pesto sauce I thought this turned out really nice.  It's an easy way to get veggies into breakfast or lunch without it feeling forced.  Nugget tried it and at first she wasn't really having it.  I think she probably thought the cheese was a bit sour, which it is, but she kept coming back for more and ended up eating quite a bit of it.

Cost: About the same of any ordinary sandwich. I used one avocado for 2 sandwiches and the small container of goat cheese I got was enough for 4 sandwiches.

Prep & Execution time: 10 minutes tops, from beginning to end.

Difficulty: Easy... although one day I'd like to learn how to make those pretty avocado slices instead of scooping it out with a spoon.

Aesthetic Appeal: Pretty, green sandwich with a nice golden crust.

Life Enhancement.  It enhances a life as much as you can expect from a sandwich.

Powder Pigment Nails

So, I'm a little obsessed with make-up.  I wasn't allowed to wear it when I was young and I more than made up for it later in life.  Up until the end of my 20s, I was totally a drugstore girl, but when I hit 30 and got myself a real (decently lucrative) job, I became obsessed.  Now that's not to say that I don't still enjoy a bargain now and again.  The powder pigment I use in this project is from the company NYX, which is totally inexpensive. 

The origin of this Pin is:

http://www.makeupsavvy.co.uk/2010/11/dazzle-dust-nail-tutorial.html

It's a cute British make-up website that I'll be sure to explore further.  Here is their picture on the left and my, not quite as clear ones on the right.  I had the bluish-purple powder that I decided to put over Orly Charged Up, a bright purple color.

I started with a clear base coat then one coat of the purple polish.  Then, when I did my second coat, I dropped some of the powder above the top of the nail and blew it onto the wet polish.  My husband must have thought it was pretty weird, all he could hear from the other room was me blowing powder all over the room.  It gave my ottoman a nice shimmer! After everything had sufficiently dried, I applied a topcoat.  It kind of melded the polish and powder together, leaving a subtle, pretty look.  If I ever try this again, I think I'll do a matte topcoat and see what that looks like.

Rate the Pin:

Cost: Maybe $20 if you have to buy everything from scratch, but unless this is your first time applying polish, you have some of this stuff already on hand.  I've seen other similar Pins where they break up old eye shadows and use that, and obviously any loose eye shadow would work too.

Prep Time: Only the time it takes you to do 4 coats of polish.  I do it at night after my daughter's in bed while I'm watching crappy tv (America's Next Top Model... if you must know).

Difficulty: Not hard.  I started doing an easy nail technique as my first Pin.  Some of those elaborate nail designs look intimidating.  We'll see if I ever master any of those.

Aesthetic Appeal: It's pretty, but unspectacular.  It's hard to get them to look exactly the same, but the top coat sort of smooths it together.

Life Enhancement: No compliments or anything, but my nails look pretty, and I'm happy with that.  It's nice that you could try lots of variations of this one.  Contrasting colors might be pretty too.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream

After several months of using Pinterest, I decided I should try some of the projects I found.  Some turned out well (cauliflower pizza crust, black bean cookies... shockingly) while other didn't work out nearly as well (using paper reinforcement stickers for french manicures).  So, I decided to start a blog all about the many wonderful creations that can be found on Pinterest.  I like to cook and I have a daughter that is just now starting to be the age where we can start to do fun projects. I just think that many of the projects are cumbersome and time intensive without really getting a satisfying product. So with this blog I endeavor to try many things... mostly recipes, kids projects, make-up, home decor to show you... my hopeful and future readers what is worth doing and what's not.  So here goes...

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream

Here is the original link:

http://userealbutter.com/2010/08/12/single-ingredient-ice-cream-recipe/

                                   Here is their picture: lovely and smooth and delicious.

                                Here is my picture, lovely, smooth, delicious and nearly gone.

I followed the recipe to the letter, haha, no I didn't.  I completely eyeballed it.  I love recipes that you can do that with.  I had about a banana and a half in the freezer.  They were whole so I sliced them a bit.  You put them in the food processor, diced 'em up, add a couple spoons of peanut butter then a couple spoons of chocolate.  Mix it up, boom, you're done.  I would imagine adding anything would be pretty easy... other nut butters, other frozen fruit.  I bet berries would be good.

This is my daughter.  For these purposes, I'll just call her Nugget.  She had just woken up from a nap right after I made this.  I guess that could have something to do with a food processor being used on the other side of her wall.  The pictures really do say it all.
1. Yum.
2. Yum!
3. I want more of this.
4. I'm sad it's all gone.

Overall I would give this Pin a very high score.  I've decided that with all of these posts I would try and add some useful information, so here it is:
Cost: Negligible. Most everyone has bananas they don't get to, so chop them up and put them in the freezer.  Peanut Butter... usually around in most homes.  I suppose you might have to buy powdered chocolate.  I bet a pouch of instant hot chocolate would be just as good.
Prep and Execution time: The only prep time you need is the forethought to put bananas in the freezer.
Taste: Pretty good.  It's no Ben and Jerry's but I bet it's a lot better for you.  A somewhat healthier way to get a chocolate and peanut butter fix than Reese's.
Difficulty: Nada.  If you're not afraid of an electricity outlet and pressing a button, you should be fine.
Aesthetic Appeal: It's not much to look at but in a larger batch it certainly wouldn't embarrass you in front of friends.
Life Enhancement: I think it's a neat little recipe to have under your belt.  Quick, no real measuring and great for vegans and many people with allergies... except for peanuts, obviously.
Overall: Easy, tasty, every day food.