You Choose Tuesday!

Alright ladies and gents,
       I am very pleased to say that it is officially my summer vacation! To start off the summer vacation I want to say a big thank you. In four posts, over two weeks, my blog has gotten roughly 300 views!! Not only have many of you been reading, but you've been reading from all over the world! I'm honored to see views from everywhere from Russia, to Brazil, to Croatia and back again. So, THANK YOU!

       Now, on to the next business, YOU CHOOSE! With my newly found freedom and time, I'd like to know what you want to see over the summer.

*Have you been looking for fun summer desserts?

*New things to throw on the grill?

*A healthy solution to a normally unhealthy snack?

*Fun DIY projects to do around the house?

*Crafts you'd like to be able to purchase?

     Leave a comment below and I'll work on some fun posts to share with you this summer! Some lucky people may even win freebies! Let me know what you are interested in and I'll enjoy some new directions over the summer. 

    I leave you with another pair of adorable ring frames that are going to happy homes as of yesterday! If you're interested in your very own customized ring holder feel free to contact me. I am loving making them! 

    Alright people! Comment away! 

                    

                                                                             <3

Food, food, and more food!

     Alright people! I promised lots of food, and here it is! This weekend was a delicious few days of yumminess. It began last night with Broccoli Quinoa Bites. This is a recipe I've altered from one found on Pinterest.

You will need the following ingredients: 

      (yields ~15 bites)

                    2 heads broccoli (cut into florets) 

                    1 cup quinoa

                    2 cups chicken broth 

                           (I made mine with buillon cubes) 

                    2 eggs

                    1/4 cup Ranch Dressing

                    About 1 tsp. salt and pepper to taste

                    shredded cheese (optional) 

     Cook the quinoa in the chicken broth according to the directions on the box and set to the side to cool. While it is cooling, scramble the two eggs in a large bowl and add the Ranch dressing and salt and pepper. When that is mixed add in the cooled quinoa and broccoli florets. Now, in order to keep the hubby's cholesterol happy I split my batch from here on out. If that is not a concern of yours, keep on chugging and add in the shredded cheese. I use about 1/2 a cup of shredded cheddar for my half of the batch. You can adjust if you'll be adding to the entire batch. From here, all you do is spoon it into a greased muffin tin and bake for about 30 minutes at 350 until the tops are golden brown. They are the perfect balanced addition to a meal (or snack if you want to grab one and go!). I love the crispy edges and texture of the quinoa with the broccoli. It's fantastic. 

     Now, that brings us to the next part of the meal. The hubby recently tossed out the idea of Turkey Burgers and sent me into a Pinterest frenzy. After looking at several (ok A LOT) of recipes I came up with a rather simple one of my own. Based on a few people's sites I went with 93% lean ground turkey.   It is a decent mix of dark and light meat but still healthy for you. 

      Here are your ingredients: 

              2 lbs. ground turkey

              1 dry Ranch Mix packet

              2 tsp. onion powder

              1 minced garlic clove

              2 tbsp. olive oil 

      

      Mix all of your ingredients together in a bowl. I separated my meat into 8 larger patties, however in hind sight I may have made more patties that were smaller. From here I packaged them individually in wax paper and stuck them in the freezer. For the most part this was for the patties that we were NOT using today. However, it also allowed the ones we used today to keep their shape a bit better on the grill. 

      From here, the burgers went on the grill with some fresh corn. The burgers were topped off with a mozzarella/cheddar mix cheese. The corn was pretty simple. It takes a bit longer on the grill, but I cut off the ends ahead of time to make it easier for the husks to come off after they were done. Ok, and by that I mean, so it was easier for the hubby to take the husks off when it was done...The whole thing was finished off on a whole wheat bun with a Quinoa Bite on the side! Now, let me tell you, both the hubby and I are VERY happy to have more burgers in the freezer and Bites in the fridge. It was a DELICIOUS dinner! 

        I leave you with a picture of my newest favorite thing that's been selling fast! These are the most adorable little ring holders. I keep my own on the counter next to the sink for when I'm cooking and doing dishes. My favorite thing about them is that they make your ring look like a little work of art. Because, let's face it, that thing deserves to be hung in a frame in a gallery! Even better, if you are in the area and would like your very own personalized frame, I'm selling them for $10 each! Hop on the band wagon and get yourself one! 

Alright everyone, I think that's enough for one night!!! Have a wonderful Monday and I'll see you on here real soon. 

<3

Hey there and Happy Father's Day!

Well folks,
    It has been a few days, and while they were filled with much excitement, they kept me from sitting and writing to you. Most of these things include "end of the year" fun at school such as a day at camp!

And by "fun" I mean slow torture by ten year old girls...

                                                                  

JUST KIDDING. It was in fact a fun time, regardless of how entertaining it is to torture your teacher. 

     What I'm really here to tell you about is a wonderful activity that almost anyone would enjoy. Do yourself a favor and look up Painting With A Twist. It is the perfect place for everyone from the "artist at heart" to the "artist who will sit down and do the whole thing differently because that's how THEY see it." 

      I had gone to a similar studio while visiting the In-Laws in Kentucky and fell in love. Since then, I'd promised a dear friend I would take her. She picked a perfect painting for both of us and off we went last night! An experienced instructor walks you through each step of the painting and you walk away with your own masterpiece. 

     I took pictures of the progression of my very own painting to share with you. It was a relaxing experience that lets you watch and take part in the progression of a painting. 

You can see the majority of the steps in the process here. I will say that I was greatly tempted to try the whole painting in black and white and shades of grey. However, I lost my guts right before starting...There's always next time! Without further ado, here is my finished product- just waiting to be hung in the perfect place. 

I'm definitely looking forward to the next opportunity to hop out there and try another painting. In the meantime, I am going to end this post and go make brownies with mini-rolos hidden inside of them! (Because who doesn't love a surprise inside of what would otherwise be your typical brownies?!?!) 

I leave off with a "shout out" to my two wonderful fathers. Thanks to them I am artistic and musical, energetic and dramatic, and just in general, a well rounded woman. Thank you to both of you! 

<3 

Garbage Disposal Refreshers

Today's adventure is a Pinterest find thanks to Sarah Lipoff at www.savvysugar.com! I've been eager to try making something to clean and refresh my garbage disposal. With a hubby who loves brussel sprouts, I have found myself wanting a good way to improve the smell wafting from the disposal after a delicious dinner. These little dudes were relatively easy to make and left the whole house smelling lemony fresh!

The ingredients are all items that you would easily find around the house. Perhaps you do not have lemons regularly, but soon we will! Thanks to the mother-in-law and the gift of a small lemon tree! Back to the task: 

I made a double batch, which yielded 100 tablets and had the following measurements. (half it if you don't have a mother who's been asking you for them since you mentioned it!) 

1 1/2 cups baking soda

1 cup salt

1 teaspoon liquid dish soap

2 lemons

sheet pan

teaspoon scooper

tin foil

sealable container

Your first step is to combine the baking soda and salt in a bowl. With a fork, stir it around a bit to make sure both dry ingredients are well mixed with no lumps. Following that, zest your two lemons into the bowl and then add the juice of both lemons along with the dish soap. When you have mixed all ingredients together you should have the texture of lightly damp sand. (YUM) 

What follows is wonderful brainless work that allows you to sing along to music in your kitchen at the same time. (ok, you don't HAVE to do that part) I found the perfect little teaspoon scoop in my drawer to use as a shaping tool for the mixture. You've got to love when something you got years ago, suddenly becomes the PERFECT tool for a task. 

Once you have scooped all of the mixture onto the pan, you can let them dry over night. (You can see my little ones drying in the background) After they have dried over night place them in a sealable container and drop a few in the sink whenever you need a refresher! 

Now, I add this last picture as the humor in my post! After several "walk-bys," the hubby kept insisting they looked like little candies that you should be able to eat. After several confirmations that they were NOT, in fact, candy...he would not be stopped. Front and center you will see the little accidentally large bite he took out of one! SO, just in case you were worried, they are technically edible. Are they tasty? Not at all. Is hubby still alive? Yup, safe and sound! 

Good luck on your own attempts, and good night! 

<3 

Here We Go!

Well ladies and gentlemen,
    For at least a year or so I've been mulling over the idea of my own blog. In my free time I find great joy in searching the internet (Pinterest, Facebook, The Great Beyond) for exciting and unique things to busy myself with. Right now in my life, as a new home owner and relatively new wife, my focus is balanced among delicious and healthy recipes, beautiful crafts, and ways to organize and improve my home. Throughout this on-going journey, I have always had lots of people, ok, friends and family asking about my newest finds. 
     The result is finally the creation of what you are looking at right now! This blog will be a great way for me to chronicle my failures successes and help you all out along the way. To my dear friends who sit around a lunch table in the Teachers' Lounge with me every day and ask the question, "What did you cook last night,"here is where you can find the answer and the recipes!! To the family members (and anyone else nearby) who are always checking out my latest craft; you can see them all here and maybe even purchase one for yourself and your friends. 
      At the end of the day, I will consider it a success if I've entertained and/or inspired you try something new. Here is to this new adventure and hopefully helping you along the way!