Dinner Diaries

I am far from a great cook, I dislike cooking almost as much as I dislike cleaning. (So as you can see my children are well fed and live in a remarkably clean home!)
Well Pinterest has really encouraged me to try new things and find new recipes for the everyday and while some have turned out okay, some have turned out truly GREAT!! This is one of them!
The first recipe I tried was Crockpot Pineapple Chicken.
Recipe:

• 3-4 chicken breasts
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce

Cook on low for 6-8 hours. 
Now the meat had a sweet taste to it and it was pretty good, I'm not sure I would make this again. I really would like to try another version of this because I see it quickly becoming a family favorite...I'll keep you posted.
Now on to my HUGE cooking success....
As a side to go along with our Pineapple Chicken I decided to try Humus Mashed Potatoes.
Recipe:

• 3 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes
• 3 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
• 2 cups favorite hummus, homemade or storebought
• 1/2 tsp. salt (or more to taste)
• 1/4 tsp. freshly-cracked black pepper

Peel the potatoes if you woud like, and cut them into large chunks, roughly the same size. Immediately add to a large pot and fill with water until the potatoes are covered. Bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until a fork will go gently through the potatoes. Remove from heat and drain the water.

Then return pot to the burner and use a potato mash the potatoes until smooth. Then turn off heat, and add in butter, hummus salt and pepper. Stir until combined. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed. 

Now these were the MOST delicious side we have had in awhile and Emmah even asked if we could make them more often! Jake wasn't as much of a fan, but he ate a little!! I will definitely be making these again!!

Come and Get it!!

Every once in awhile I like to try new recipes...even though I am NOT the best cook in the world. We are really trying this year to eat more at home and make our own meals, try something new and eat healthy...no small task for this non-cooking mama!

 To start with that I have been planning out our weekly meals and grocery list and then working hard to stick to it. I have used some new recipes we found we liked while on vacation, some oldie but goodies, and then there is my addiction to Pinterest!!Well I found this great new recipe for a Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake from Saving Money Living Life and decided to give it a try. 

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

•8 oz uncooked rigatoni
•1 T olive oil
•1 c chopped onion
•1 (10 oz) pack frozen spinach, thawed
•3 c cubed, cooked chicken breasts
•1 (14 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained
•1 (8 oz) container Philadelphia chive & onion cream cheese
•½ t salt, ½ t pepper
•1½ c shredded mozzarella cheese


Prepare rigatoni according to pkg directions. Spread oil on bottom of 11×17 in baking dish; add onion in a single layer. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or just until tender. Transfer onion to large bowl, set aside.

Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between paper towels. Stir in rigatoni, spinach, chicken, & next 4 ingredients into onion in bowl. Spoon mixture into dish & sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes; uncover & bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

*Now I left out the diced tomatoes, and some of the spinach...otherwise my family wouldn't have eaten it, but it was still a REALLY big hit!!

Wall Art

For awhile now I have been working to complete rooms in my house, make them my own, add fun details and ORGANIZE! I stress the orgainze part because well....let's face it this is where I lack! I try without much success to keep myself organized and while many people always comment on how orgainized I am, I put on a good show!! Well you know my addiction to Pinterest so of course I looked on there to find some inspiration. To begin I have been looking for somthing to do in my Master Bedroom as I don't feel like it is complete or what I want it to look like. (This is an ongoing battle since my hubby always says "WHO CARES, you sleep there and your eyes are CLOSED!") I care!!With that I found this cool wall stencil idea on Pinterest and got right to work!I used Nannygoat who got her inspiration, and template, from jones design company.I did mine slightly different, first off cause I didn't read all the tutorial before I started, and secondly cause I didn't want to go back and change it! (Read LAZY!)Here is what it looked like as I stenciled the wall:

 

 And here is the finished product!!

 I am so SUPER EXCITED in how this turned out and am contemplating doing another one in my living room with a different design in the small built in nook! I hope that you will try one of you own. It was a little time consuming, but so worth it!! 

Banded Together

Pinterest Project Alert...In my goal to try and really organize the house this year I continued on my quest for Emmah's room to have some order. Next on the list hair supplies!! I mean what girl doesn't have a TON of these??Emmah has recently really gotten into headbands and they are taking over my shelf in the bathroom so I had to do something! To make a headband holder of your own, here is what you'll need:

I began by cutting my paper to size, you'll need 2 sheets, and you will have extra and can use that for the top.

Lightly Modge Podge the paper around the oatmeal container, being careful not to overdue the Modge Podge. (You will want to trim the 2nd sheet so you have enough for the top)

Once the bottom is done you can trace around the top. I chose to use a different paper and make it about 1-11/2" bigger so it would fit around the lid nicely.

Cut out circle...if you are looking for the edges to wrap around the outside you will need it at least 1" larger than the lid, you can then start by Modge Podging the center on, then start to cut the extra around the outside into strips and gluing them down 1-3 at a time. I used hot glue as my top paper was thicker.

Then VIOLA...

I am loving it...and couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

Mini Milkshakes

Again my addiction to Pinterest continues!! I found this GREAT idea for mini milkshake shooters and just knew I had to give them a try! So with the annual Bubble Wrap Dinner coming up I had the perfect opportunity!! I went out to search for the glasses, and was super successful at Walmart. Here is what they look like:  Now...the how to:Ingredients:

• 3-4 scoops vanilla ice cream
• 1/4 cup marshmallow fluff
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla

To begin melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips, I did it in the microwave. Then dip the glass in the melted chocolate just around the rim, once the chocolate is on head over the the sprinkles and dip. Now in the directions I read it had you put them in the freezer for 5-10 mins, but I didn't need to they hardened just fine on the counter while I made the shake. 

 Add ice cream, marshmallow fluff, milk, and vanilla to blender and BLEND!! 

 Now when pouring into the shooters you will want something with a spout or a funnel, because if you get any ice cream on the sprinkles the colors will run. Now if you want colorful streaks then skip the spout/funnel. Sit back and enjoy...well not for long because they are mini milkshakes! 

 

Socks

Emmah is determined to grow her hair out, which for most part is fine other than she isn't a HUGE fan of having it brushed or anything done with it most days and the fact that lucky for her she got my half curly hair! So since I am completely hair challenged this poses some problems! I can do the basic pony tail, braid...but that is where it ends. Well in my searching and poking around on Pinterest I came across a tutorial for sock curls. Sounds CRAZY right? It's not!! I watched the read the tutorial and watch the video and put it to work!To start I went to A Spotted Pony.Once I got what I needed to do I got to work.Here is her hair before:

This is what it looks like once the sock is in:

 

And the after:

 (Sorry, the picture makes it look frizzy...but really it wasn't)Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I am sure that after some practice they will only get better and better. I am looking forward to doing it on a weekend when I have a little more time to play with it!

Our Nest

Pinterest is up to its usual tricks again!! I have seen many of the nest necklaces and always wanted one, well when I found a tutorial I just knew I had to give it a try! Sarah posted a great tutorial over at Love Stitched and so off I went to pick up supplies!!Well since I am sure you will want to make one of your own...Here is what you need:

• 20-24 gage jewelry wire
• small beads or pearls
• jump ring
• necklace chain

 Gather your supplies

To get started put the number of beads you want onto your wire. Then begin to wrap the wire around them.

Once you have it started continue to wrap the wire around forming a circle/nest around the beads. In between the beads wrap around the outside, gather the wire. To end take the wire underneath and wrap through. Then VIOLA!!! Your very own nest necklace!

 I just love how this turned out and can't wait to try with some different beads!