World RECORD... Well, Maybe Not

So, GUESS what I did yesterday?!?!?!  I made FOUR brand new (to me) Pinterest recipes!!!  That's gotta be some type of record, right?!  But seriously, it was pretty awesome!  So I had to tell you all because I was so excited!

So here's the story.  We had a church picnic to go to tonight, and of course, it was pot luck.  And it just so happened that they split up what people were supposed to bring by last names.  So by the last name rule, I was supposed to bring a side dish (not a dessert).  If you know me at all, then you would very well know that if you ask me to bring a dessert, I will be on Pinterest and in the kitchen for hours just narrowing down the list of recipes to make.  However, when you put me on side dish duty... I get on Pinterest for about 4 hours and still can't find anything I want to make and bring.  Boo.  So, in looking at pin after pin of delicious food on Pinterest Friday night and Saturday morning, I just could not help myself.  So...

For lunch, we had Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps!  Yum yum!  So, click on the picture for the original recipe.  Of course, we changed some things around because we're kind of picky eaters.  So we took out the peppers, changed up some of the spices and added salsa.  They were pretty darn delicious!  (Note: the picture is from Pinterest.)

 Next up, those wonderful sounding Bread Machine English Muffins I mentioned yesterday.  #1: One of the easiest pieces of baking I have ever done.  Seriously, throw it all in the bread maker, let it sit, smoosh it out, fry it up.  Done.  I am sold.  #2: They are bigger than regular English muffins (the batch made 10 large ones) and just as delicious!  LOVE them!  #3: And since they're so easy, I can make them whenever I want.  They don't even use a ton of ingredients.  Seriously, SOOOOOO easy!!!!  Once again, click on the pic for the recipe; pic is from Pinterest.

Then, on to the baked ziti that is sitting in the freezer right now.  With such crazy weeks, I've been in the habit of making one big meal on Saturday that we can fix during the week and have a lot of left overs for lunches.  So, this week, the baked ziti got picked.  I can't yet tell you how it turned out because we haven't eaten it.  But, I'll let you know.  Same deal as before, click pic for recipe, pic is from Pinterest.

Lastly, for dessert, I served up some Apple Fritters!  They were pretty good, however, this is actually the first time that I have deep fried something, so they weren't perfect.  The only thing that ruined them for me was how the house reeked of oil after I was finished making them.  I don't know if that was a chef error or just something that happened.  But they were really good.  Thomas came up wth the great idea too, to just bake them as muffins.  That would be easy, and I am like obsessed with muffins, so AWESOME!!!!  Can you guess what I'm going to say next?!  Click the pic for the yummy recipe, this photo is also from Pinterest.

So, I had a fabulous Pinterest Party for one yesterday!  And, I get to enjoy the spoils all week!  Ha ha ha!!!  (Triumphant laugh)  Now time for some Doctor Who!!!!!!!  Allons-y!!!

Falling Behind

So, it's summer and I'm still falling behind.  There's something about having nothing that *needs* to get done that really makes you get very little done.  I've been weaving, hanging out with the hubby, watching movies, shopping, working on color guard... And yet, I've been meaning to blog for three days, and I'm just now doing it.  Oh well, I guess, more pics for you today!

First off: here's the green/purple/copper scarf.  (I still haven't taken real pics of it yet, so this is all I've got.)  I like it though.  It's softer than my kitty's fur (which is suuuuper soft.  Lol.)

And here's the sneak peek of the latest project.  (By now, its already finished, just needs to be washed and such.)  It's very similar to the one I made my mom for Christmas, but it's pretty skinny and has a lot more leno lace in it.

And here's my delicious granola!!!  It turned out really great, and I can't stop eating it, so this will probably be a regular recipe at my house.  I just love granola cereal, and it makes me feel pretty good about myself because its pretty good for you.  (Maybe not this version though; there's a LOT of sugar in it!)  I found the recipe on pinterest, and it comes from another blog, delia creates.  You can see the original recipe here!  I followed the recipe but only made a half batch this time.  (I hate to waste my ingredients in case I don't like something the first time I make it.)  Though I love the sweet taste, next time I might try it with a little less sugar so its a little healthier.  But it is DELICIOUS!!!!

Also, we went to the beach the other day and found these while we were walking!!!  Yay!  Conch shells are so rare to find around here, I was totally excited.  These are really cool because they look so old, thick, and worn down!  Yay!

Besides all that loveliness, I had to make a presentation for a training seminar I have to go to all next week for teacher stuff.  Whoever decided that teacher training should be smack in the middle of June was dumb.  It's very un-fun.

Also, I have one of the three songs choreographed for the marching band show!  Uniforms are officially ordered!  And flags are all decided!  Yippee!!!  I'm on a roll!

So even though I have been pretty productive this week, there's still no excuse for my poor blogging habits.  :(  I'm hoping to get a new project warped today, so wish me luck.  I have something totally different planned for this one!

Ending Note: Here's my life motto right now: "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men..." Ephesians 6:7  (Boy is that hard!)

Lazy Sunday

So... this post is a few days over due, and now I have another waiting in line!  But, I'm going to do this in order.

I just love lazy Sunday afternoons and evenings in the summer.  Even with evening church, its lovely to come home, have a snack, and just hang around for the rest of the night.  Here's what Thomas and I did with our lazy Sunday night:

 Slushies and Yahtzee!

We've been playing a LOT of Yahtzee lately, just one of those crazy summer habits!  So usually, slushies in my family mean fresh strawberries and such.  But, being on a budget and sometimes lay shoppers, we did not have any strawberries in the house.  What did we have though?  Strawberry Kool-aid!  Lol.  The reason I'm telling you this whole story is because the strawberry Kool-aid slushies were actually really delicious!  AND, how much cheaper can you really get than one package of Kool-aid, a can of frozen lemonade, ice and sugar?!  Basically, I just had some Kool-aid ice cubes in the freezer, threw those, some regular ice, and a couple spoonfuls of frozen lemonade in the blender, et voila!  However, it was really tart, so I ended up adding a little extra sugar.  They were super cheap, easy, and delicious.  I'm thinking we should have them again, but with another flavor of Kool-aid.

Anyway, that was my wonderful Sunday night!  Tonight I've got a batch of home-made granola in the oven.  Yummy!  And I'm weaving on the latest scarf... but that's an update for tomorrow!!!

Delectable!

So, I'm going to attack my to do blogging list a little out of order!  I cannot resist posting the recipe for the most delicious apple scones ever!  Seriously, they are so good, I made them twice in a week!  Both times, I decided to make them for dessert one night, and then we had the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.  They're great for a treat or a meal!  Since it was just Thomas and me, I halved the recipe, and it was a perfect amount.  I hope you enjoy!  This picture is also from the website because we kept eating ours before I could remember to take a picture!  Yes, they're that good!

(The recipe is from Midwest Living, however, I made a few tweaks from the recipe you'll see on their site.)

Apple Scones

Yield: 15 scones  

Prep: 30 mins Bake: 15 mins to 17 mins at 375°F Cool: 5 mins

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice or ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1 cup finely chopped tart apple, such as Braeburn, Jonagold or Jonathan - I used Fuji, and they were delicious
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 1 tablespoon whipping cream
• 16 - 18 thin slices of unpeeled apple
• Coarse sugar or granulated sugar

Directions

1. Line an extra-large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil; set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, the 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, apple pie spice and salt. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the 1 cup finely chopped apple. Make a well in center of flour mixture.
2. In a small bowl, combine the 2 eggs and 3/4 cup whipping cream. Using a fork, stir egg mixture into flour mixture; stir until just moistened. (Stir as little as possible or the finished scones will become really crumbly.  They will still taste the same, but they're much harder to eat when they're falling apart.)  Dough will be thick. Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop or measuring cup, scoop dough into mounds and place on prepared baking sheet. Don't flatten.
3. In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon whipping cream. Brush some of the mixture over the top of the dough mounds. Place an apple slice on top of each dough mound, pressing down until about 1-inch thick. Brush with remaining egg yolk/whipping cream mixture; sprinkle with additional sugar.  (I sprinkled them with a little cinnamon too because I'm obsessed with cinnamon!)
4. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 15 to 17 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove scones from baking sheet. Cool slightly. Serve warm with butter and honey. Makes 15 scones.

I hope you enjoy Christmas with your family!  I know I'm loving mine! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!