A Garden Full of Peppers

Can we talk about Pinterest for a minute? I swear, it is simultaneously the greatest, and the worst, social media invention ever created. On one hand, the website gives me tons and tons of ideas for recipes, crafts, fashion, etc.  On the other hand, the website gives me tons and tons of ideas for recipes, crafts, fashion, etc.

Seriously, I have pinned so many things at this point, that I can't even find half of the stuff I need when I actually do want to use it. 

A few months after joining Pinterest, in an effort to be more organized, I realized that perhaps the solution to my problem was more boards with more specific names. I was hopeful that this approach would help me locate my pins a little easier, but in reality, I'm not so sure that worked out as planned, considering I'm still in the process of revamping... All while still pinning several (hundred) new pins a day!

Anyhow, Pinterest has become my go-to place when I am looking for a new recipe to try with ingredients I already have on hand. This past week, my husband and I noticed we now have an over abundance of jalapeños in our garden. We're not upset about it... We love jalapeños, but the overgrowth left us grasping for new and fresh ways to use them.

Thank you Pinterest for leading me to this delicious recipe for jalapeño pesto!!! We've already used this pesto twice this week, once on pasta with grilled chicken, and again on burgers with avocado... It is soooooo good!

The health-nut side of me also decided to try this recipe for Paleo pumpkin muffins this week. They were also really tasty and easy to make. It should be noted that I added a cup of Enjoy Life gluten free chocolate chips to my muffins... I know, slightly less healthy with that addition, but they sure were good!

Chicken White Cheddar and Apple Slaw Sandwiches

A little more than 3 years ago, my husband and I decided we would honeymoon in the Hamptons. We were married in Maine, had always wanted to go there, and decided it was just too convenient on the drive back to Pennsylvania to pass up.

If you've never been to Eastern Long Island, I can tell you from experience (we've been twice now), that it is amazing. Think beaches, farm stands, wineries, hydrangeas everywhere, and the cutest little shops. It is so relaxing and low key there, not to mention, absolutely beautiful, that it has become one of our favorite destinations.

While we were our honeymoon, we decided to spend one of the days exploring the island by car, to scope out the amazing homes (mansions), and see what the area had to offer. We made a stop at a random restaurant along the water for lunch... I don't even remember the name of the restaurant, what I do remember though is that I had the most incredible sandwich. It was grilled chicken topped with a melted Vermont white cheddar, and a tangy apple slaw, tucked into a perfectly toasted brioche roll.

I knew as soon as we returned home that I had to try to recreate it.  Now, it could never be exactly the same...Something about enjoying that sandwich on a deck in the Hamptons, with the perfect ocean breeze, just after being married, made that sandwich extra special... But this recipe is a close second.

The combination of sharp cheddar cheese and cool crisp apple slaw is perfection, and over the last couple of years, I have found that they pair really well atop a turkey or chicken burger as well. I hope you enjoy this sandwich as much as I do.

Tangy Apple Slaw

Ingredients:

1/2 head of green cabbage

1 large Granny Smith apple

2 Tbs cider vinegar

1 Tbs vegetable or canola oil

1 Tbs honey

Salt and pepper to taste

You'll want to slice the cabbage really thin, like angel hair (if you don't feel up to this, I have also used the bagged angel hair cabbage from the grocery store). Peel and julienne the apple. Combine the cabbage and apple in a large bowl. Add all other ingredients, mix them together, cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

To assemble the sandwich, slice a brioche roll in half, top the bottom half of the roll with chicken. Slice white cheddar and place on top of chicken. Put the whole sandwich under the broiler for just a moment. Keep an eye on it, you just want the bun lightly toasted and the cheese to melt. Remove from oven, top with apple slaw and devour! Easy and delicious.

Projects, projects, projects...

I don't know if it is the unusually cool August temperatures, or what, but lately I've really been feeling like fall is right around the corner. Trust me, I am not trying to wish summer away...by any means, but fall is the favorite season in this house.

I adore the crisp air, the cozy sweaters, the beautiful leaves, and pumpkin EVERYTHING!

Last fall, Max was so little (sigh), that it was pretty tough to do many of the fall activities that I normally enjoy, so this year, I decided to be a little proactive, and create a fall bucket list...you know, to ensure that Max will love the season just as much as his Dad and I do.

What are some activities that you and your family enjoy in the fall?

On top of the many ideas for fall activities I have swimming around in my head, I've also been working on a number of craft projects and items for my Etsy shop

I sort of have a crafter's ADD problem... You know, I start one project, and before it's completed, I'm already on to the next one.  I really need to work on this. Anyhow, I hope to have a bunch of new items listed soon (some are already).

In the meantime, here are some of the things I have been working on/completed, in the very little spare time Max is allowing me these days!

Happy Friday!

Stuffed Banana Peppers

One of the things I love the most about having our own garden, is having fresh ingredients right at my finger tips. We love growing a variety of different peppers, and then using them in as many different ways as possible. We stuff them, we top burgers with them, we grill them, we make them into pepper jelly, etc.

My favorite, easy, go-to recipe is stuffed banana peppers. They can be served as an appetizer or when plated with salad and bread, they make a fabulous meal.

Stuffed Banana Peppers

Ingredients:

8-10 banana peppers (depending on size)

1 pound sweet Italian sausage (I usually use turkey sausage)

2 eggs

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 TBS Italian seasoning

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut tops off of peppers, then cut them in half length wise. Remove seeds and ribs.

In a large bowl, combine sausage, eggs, breadcrumbs,  garlic, Italian seasoning, and half of the Parmesan cheese.

Spray the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Cover bottom of dish with half of the marinara sauce.

Fill a large Ziplock bag with sausage mixture, and cut the tip off of the corner of the bag, to use like a piping bag.

Pipe sausage mixture into each pepper. Cover with remaining sauce and cheese.

Cover dish with tinfoil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove tinfoil and bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is slightly golden brown.

Happy Breastfeeding Awareness Month

When I first decided to begin this blog, I knew I wanted to use it as a platform... A journal of sorts, to post about things that I was feeling at the moment. For the most part, I use it to post recipes and craft ideas, but from time to time, I feel the need to blog about something personal. I do this mostly for my own benefit. For starters, I feel that it is a good form of therapy to write about things, but I also intend on using this blog as way to reflect back on what was going on in our family at any given time.

Being that it is National Breastfeeding Awareness month, I felt that it was a very appropriate time to blog about a very relevant event for my family and I right now. 

This past week marks the end of mine and Max's 13 month breastfeeding journey (so I like to call it). I have a lot of mixed feelings about this, and am hopeful that writing about it will help me deal with these feelings.

I knew before I was even pregnant that I wanted to breastfeed my future child. I'm not really sure why exactly. Sure, there are millions of women out there who decide to do it for a multitude of reasons, but I can't name one specific thing that drove me to make this decision.  Of course, we all know of the health benefits, as well as the mother-baby bond it forms, but I must tell you, I in no-way feel that mothers who nurse their babies rather than use formula to feed them are in any way superior. I am just not one of those people who feels the need to push my opinions on what is best, when it comes to parenting, on other people. Being a mother is hard enough, we're all doing all that we can to provide the best possible lives for our little ones... So who am I to tell someone how they should or should not feed their children?

The sad truth is, that I know a lot of mothers who have set out wanting to breastfeed, but have run into problems along the way, and had no choice but to go the formula route. Some women I know chose from the very beginning not to breastfeed, and that's just fine too.

Which brings me to mine and Max's little nursing journey. Though I was extremely fortunate to never have to experience any of the problems that many of my breastfeeding peers had to go through, I certainly ran into some problems of my own. Max never had a problem with latching on, I never dealt with supply issues. I was blessed enough to be a stay-at-home mom, so I never had to worry about pumping while at work... Our "issues" were on the other end of the spectrum.

For the last 13 months, my son NEVER took a bottle. I can't tell you how many people said to me, "when he's hungry enough, he'll drink from a bottle!" It simply wasn't true. See, my sweet little Max has inherited both mine and his father's stubborn streak, and I'll be darned, our child could not be broken. 

We bought every type of bottle on the market. We tried having other people give him the bottle. We tried sugar water. We tried apple juice. I tried leaving the house. We tried holding out on feedings.  No matter what, every time we tried to give him a bottle, it was batted away and refused.

For the last 13 months, for lack of a better term, I have been a slave to my son... But the truth is, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Sure, it's been tough, never being able to leave my son for more than a few hours. Of course, there were moments, while at public events,  that I stared in awe of mothers who could just whip out a bottle and feed their babies right then and there, rather than have to find a quiet private corner to hide in or break out the dreaded nursing cover. I'd be lying if I didn't admit to the fact that there were times that I really wanted enjoy that extra glass of wine, but didn't because I knew it was selfish when I had a baby to nurse.

All of that aside though, over the course of the last 13 months, I have formed a bond with my son,
that I will never forget. For 365 plus days, I rocked my precious boy to sleep every night while
nursing him in my arms. I watched as he twirled his own hair so relaxed and comforted by what I was providing him with. Something so simple and natural, but yet so special. In the mornings, I got to bring him into our bed, to snuggle, while he nursed himself back to sleep. I have loved every single sweet second of being a breastfeeding mama.

So, why you ask, did I decide to wean my son? I just felt it was time.  When I first made the decision to breastfeed, I set the goal of doing it for a year. After Max's first birthday, I began to realize that getting him to take a sippy cup or a bottle was becoming more and more of a challenge. I felt that I had made a goal, and that I had reached and surpassed it, and the time just felt right.

It was sad to accept, and still is, but I still stand by my decision and can honestly can say I feel good about it. With a lot of help from my husband, the weaning process went surprisingly better than I thought. I truly believe that Max was ready too though, because in the last couple of weeks, he has come to love his sippy cup, and even finds joy in trying to feed me and my husband with it.

I think the journey is different for all of us. Whether you bottle-feed, or choose to nurse your child well into the toddler years. We all have to do what is right for us as parents, regardless of the pressure and opinions we get from others. Ultimately, I think we all just want to do what best for our children. We are all different, and this is just what was best for ME and MY child. Thank you for letting me share about my experiences.

Happy Breastfeeding Awareness Month!

BLT Spaghetti Squash

If you have never tried spaghetti squash, I highly suggest you do. The stuff is amazing! It's super easy to cook, is extremely healthy, and can be prepared in about a million different ways! That being said, the following recipe would work equally as well with regular old pasta if your not into that whole spaghetti squash thing. Serve this up with a salad and some fresh bread and I promise you'll love it!

BLT Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

1 3-4 pound spaghetti squash

1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes

2 cups baby spinach

5 slices of bacon

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

1 TBS olive oil

Parmesan or Romano cheese to grate on top

Handful of fresh basil leaves

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1.  First I start by cooking the spaghetti squash... You can do this a number of ways; bake it, microwave it, boil it. For the sake of saving time, I microwaved mine. I cut it in half, lengthwise, then scooped out all of the seeds. After that was done, I placed both halves, open side down, in a glass 9x13 baking dish. Then I added about a half inch of water to the pan, covered it with Saran Wrap, and microwaved it for 15 minutes.

2.  While the squash is cooking, you will want to fry your bacon in a large skillet. When the bacon is done, remove it from the pan, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. To the bacon fat, add the TBS olive oil, add the cherry tomatoes, and reduce the heat to low/medium. Cover. Stir occasionally. After a few minutes, the tomatoes will start to burst. When this happens, very carefully (they splatter and it's hot!), mash them with a potato masher.

3.  Add red pepper flakes, garlic, and red onion, as well as S&P, to taste. Let cook, covered, until onions start to become translucent. Add spinach and cook until wilted.

4.  Using 2 forks, scrape spaghetti squash into a large bowl.

5.  Crumble bacon and chop basil.

6.  On top of spaghetti squash in bowl, add the tomato mixture.

7.  Top with bacon, basil, and grated cheese.

8.  Enjoy!

Happy Weekend to All!

I really cannot believe it is already August!!! Seriously, where did July go? To kick off the first weekend of the month, I thought I'd share the recipe for a very summery adult beverage my husband and I tested out!

Strawberry Basil Mojito

1 pint of strawberries, hulled and sliced in half, reserve a few for garnish
Bunch of Basil
1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Lemon-lime seltzer water
White rum

To make strawberry syrup:
Add strawberries, the juice of 1 lemon, the sugar and water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and mash with a potato masher. Allow to simmer until liquid reduces and a syrup begins to form.
*** if you do not want seeds, you can pour syrup through a mesh strainer
To make the Mojito:
Place some chopped basil in the bottom of a glass. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to muddle the basil. Fill glass with ice.  Add 1.5-2 ounces of rum, 2 ounces of strawberry syrup, then top with seltzer water. Garnish with strawberry, sip, and enjoy!

Chalkboard Paint Herb Pots

I love fresh herbs... I also love chalkboard paint. We decided to grow most of our herbs in pots this year for the sake of saving room in our garden for other things. So... I thought to myself, what a fun way to combine two of my favorite things! I picked up some inexpensive terra cotta pots at Lowe's, as well as a can of chalkboard spray paint! A couple of coats of paint and a few hours later, I broke out my chalk pen (which I found at Joann Fabrics), and labeled each pot with the type of herb I planned on putting in each pot! Ta-dah... Chalkboard paint herb pots! 

Turning Something Old New Again

So you know those cool retro-looking outdoor swinging chairs that seem to have become trendy again? We were fortunate enough to be "gifted" one by the former owners of our house. It has been sitting outside now for a few years, and was beginning to look like quite the eyesore... See photo above. It started to eat away at me, seeing it all rusty and rotting away, and I began to think; maybe, just maybe, I can restore it to its former glory.

I started by hosing it off... It was filthy, and covered in leaves and spider webs, surely not in any condition that I would want to touch it. Then I broke out a heavy duty wire brush, a sanding block, and some high-grit sandpaper. The wire brush really helped get rid of a lot of the loose paint and rust. After a bit of sweat and elbow grease, my swinging love seat was in pretty good shape. I then convinced my husband to give it a once over with the pressure washer. I was hopeful that this method would remove any flaking paint, rust, or dirt that I had missed.

Then, it was off to Lowe's.  There I picked up some Rustoleum Rust Reformer. This stuff was awesome... It turns a rusty surface into a non-rusty one and serves as a great primer. For the actual color I decided to go with, called New Avocado, I used Valspar spray paint in a satin finish.

I couldn't be happier with the way it came out!!! I picked up the cute little outdoor pillow at Target. I now look forward to enjoying the rest of the summer sitting on my swinging chair, on the porch, with an iced coffee in hand!

Let's Try This Again

So... I kind of disappeared for awhile. Like fell off the face of the blogging planet. When I first set out to start this blog I had visions of daily blog posts, beautiful photographs, and lots of inspiring ideas. Then, life happened. I'm a first time mom, trying to learn the ropes. This "homemaker" thing is new to me, and almost 12 months later, I'm still struggling to get into a good routine.  Add to that, the fact that I have craft, recipe, home improvement, and how to get in shape ideas swimming through my brain at a pace too fast for my non-spare-time-having body to keep up with... Well, you can see why I might have gotten a little held up.
Enough with the excuses. The good news is, that in the time I haven't been blogging... I have still been creating and experimenting. Succeeding and failing. All in the name of sharing with you. As if you might care enough to take the time to read my blog posts. So, without further ado, in the very near future, I promise many new and exciting blog posts...

Foodie Pen Pals Reveal

I've been a bit of a slacker lately. Between swimming lessons, and story hours, and spring cleaning, and church, and well... Just the hustle and bustle of day to day life, I've gotten a bit behind on this whole blogging thing.  I need to be better about this.  So, as promised, even if I am a day late, I want to tell you all about my first Foodie Pen Pals experience.
I found out about this whole Foodie Penpals thing on a fellow Mommy's blog.  I pretty much thought it sounded like one of the coolest ideas ever, and had to find out more.  So, I googled it, and the results brought me to The Lean Green Bean website. In a nutshell, without sounding too redundant (since I already kind of explained this in a previous post), Foodie Pen Pals is a program where foodies all over the world get to share their love of food by sending and receiving an amazing care package full of goodies.  You must sign up on the website by the 5th of each month, and shortly after you will get an email with your pen pal assignment.  It is then your responsibility to reach out to this person, and get their information, as well as any likes, dislikes, or allergies when it comes to food.  then you have until the 15th of the month and a $15 spending limit to gather up your goodies and get your package shipped out.  Also, you MUST include one hand written item in your package... A recipe, a note, whatever, as long as it is hand written!
The lucky person who got me as a foodie pen pal, just so happened to be from the lovely Brooklyn, NY. When she first emailed me, I let her know I had zero food allergies, and was pretty easy going as far as what she put in my package.  I did tell her that we had given up sweets in our house for Lent, and that we were currently trying to eat somewhat healthy, but I knew full well, if there was junk food in my package, it would, of course, get eaten eventually!

Okay, okay.... When my package arrived in the mail, I was so excited, I could not wait to open it! No, really, I actually opened it while still sitting in my car! My foodie pen pal did an awesome job! First of all she sent me a copy of Shape magazine, which I thought was awesome. I am a HUGE magazine fan, and I'm always looking for ways to "recycle" copies that I have read, and then am done with... So I may have to borrow this idea for one of my own future packages. Now... On to the food. There were 2 Blueberry Crisp flavored Clif bars, a jar of PB2, a small jar of fancy ketchup, a box of Godiva chocolate covered pretzels, a bag of Lundberg Christmas red rice, a bag of Wicked Wolf coffee beans, and a small macadamia nut chocolate bar.  I know, so many goodies!
Now for the breakdown.  I love Clif bars... These didn't stand a chance.  I'm pretty sure I ate one while also still sitting in my car.  I don't think I had tried this flavor before, but I will definitely be having it again.  PB2 is a new obsession of mine.  I've been going through the stuff like crazy.  It's a powdered low fat peanut butter, that you can read more about here.  I eat it on apples, and use it in smoothies and shakes... I love the stuff.  I used the jar of Sir Kensington ketchup as a topper for my turkey meatloaf, and it was delicious. Chocolate covered pretzels are my husband's favorite, so I had to hide these from him.  Thankfully, he got plenty of his own for Easter.  We like to eat ours frozen, so I stashed this little box in the freezer, and have now been snacking on few here and there, when I just must have something sweet. I haven't yet tried the rice, but I am looking forward to it, and will definitely keep you posted. I'm a coffee addict, so the bag of Wicked Wolf certainly did not disappoint! Lastly, to be honest, I forgot about the little chocolate bar since I stashed it until Lent was over, but now that I have been reminded, I have a feeling it will be gone before the end of the day.
All in all, this was such a neat and fun program to take part in, and I will, for sure, be signing up again in the future! For the month of April, however, my fabulous foodie cousin and I have decided to do a little foodie pen pal swap of our own... Which I am soooooo excited about! So keep your eye out for a future post about this!  I'm off to find that candy bar!

Rainy Day Blogging, a Yummy Granola Recipe, and Lots and Lots of Laundry

Spring is 3 days away.  Last weekend, it was 70 degrees in Pittsburgh.  Max and I went to the park for a walk and then even hauled the pack and play out on to the deck to enjoy some fresh air with Homer while my husband went golfing.  Today it is 30 degrees out, it is rainy and icy, and miserable.  So, even though last weekend we were so hopeful that spring was just around the corner that we went ahead and bought a jogging stroller... Today, Max, Homer, and myself are stuck inside, and sadly, I am a slave to the loads and loads of laundry that never seem to end in this house.  Did I mention how much I HATE doing laundry? I can't even blame all of the dirty clothes on the baby, because the truth of the matter is, I was buried in laundry long before he even came along.  I shudder to think of bad it will get when more children come along.
I decided to take a short break from the folding, and nursing, and book reading, and playtime this afternoon to whip up a quick batch of these Pumpkin Granola Bars. I first tested this recipe, that I found on Pinterest of course, last week.  My husband raved about how good they were.  Granola is so easy to make, that it truly pains me to buy bars in the store at this point.  They are over priced, and most of the time I can't even pronounce half of the ingredients. So... Since we liked this recipe so much, I made it again and decided I had to share.  I plan on making it about a million more times and even experimenting with some of the ingredients. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Foodie Penpals... AKA the coolest idea EVER!

Recently while reading a recipe on one of my favorite blogs, The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood, I stumbled upon one of the coolest ideas I have ever heard of! It's called Foodie Penpals, and you can find all of the info about it here.  In a nut shell, what it is, is an awesome way for foodies all over the country, and beyond, to share the foods they love with other foodies.  You sign up, and then you receive an email with your pen pal assignment. It is then your responsibility to get in touch with this person, to get their mailing address and other info, like if they have any food allergies and what some things they like, or don't like, are.  Then comes the fun part.  You get a $15 spending limit to go buy a bunch of fun items for your Foodie Penpal to try!!! You also have to include one handwritten item in your package.  It can be a recipe, or a card explaining the items you chose... whatever you want to add, as long as it's handwritten. After all of that, you stick it in the mail, and wait for your own goodies to arrive!
Now, a part of this whole process is that if you have a blog, you wait until a specified date to go on your blog and post about what you received from your pen pal.  You DO NOT have to have a blog to participate though.  So... For the sake of not revealing too much before I am technically allowed to, I will leave you all waiting with baited breath, until April 1st... Stay tuned, on that day I will post much more about all of this.  I am so excited!!!

Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup... And a Recipe for Baby Too!

I've been on a bit of a soup kick lately.  I'm not sure if it's this time of year, or the fact that I love how satisfying it is to smell a pot of soup simmering on the stovetop, all the while knowing that I will be happily eating the leftovers for days to come.  I decided to take a more exotic route with the soup I made yesterday, and man did it pay off!  This carrot ginger coconut soup is just so delicious and easy to make, that I had to share.  Personally, I think it is enjoyed best with a nice big glass of prosecco... cheers!

Ingredients:

6 carrots, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
1 tbs curry powder
1 tbs minced fresh ginger
1, 14 ounce can coconut milk
3 cups vegetable stock
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper

Over medium heat, in a large pot, saute onions, carrots, and ginger  in olive oil until onions become translucent.  Then add vegetable stock and curry powder, as well as salt and pepper to taste.  Allow to simmer about 20-25 minutes, or until carrots are tender.  Turn off heat, and let cool a bit.  Add can of coconut milk, then puree in food processor, blender, or with immersion blender.  Enjoy!

And... because Max needs to eat too, and I like to use what we have on hand, I whipped him up a batch of strawberry banana basil baby food.  Here is the recipe for that.

Ingredients:

1 pint of strawberries, hulled and sliced

2 bananas sliced

2-3 fresh basil leaves

Now, I have a Beaba baby food maker, but this recipe could just as easily be made on the stove top and with a blender or food processor.  Basically, you just want to steam the ingredients until they are soft, then puree them to the desired consistency for baby!  I got 7 large servings out of this.

A Healthy "kozy" Dessert on a Snowy Day

A winter storm passed through Pittsburgh yesterday. It was lovely to watch the big flakes fall from the sky, and it covered the ground in a beautiful, glistening white blanket of snow.  What was not so beautiful, was being shaken from a peaceful slumber at 6:00 AM by the sound  of a tree gently falling across our yard, landing on our deck, and taking out our power and cable lines. Our power was instantly knocked out, and when you live in a house that gets its water from a well, and runs off old fashioned radiator heating, no power also means no pump to bring the water from the well into the house, and without water... No heat! 
Now that I have taken on the role of a stay-at-home mama, I have come to enjoy and appreciate a good snow storm.  There is something sweet and cozy about being trapped inside a warm house with a snugly baby and a hot cup of coffee  while knowing you don't have to trudge out in horrendous weather to be anywhere... So this occurrence was not exactly ideal. Thankfully, there was no damage to our house, and we were all perfectly okay.
Luckily, the electric company was able to restore the power within a few hours, and all was well again... As soon as I made myself a nice, hot vanilla latte.

When it is cold outside and warm inside, I crave comfort food.  However, having given up sweets for Lent, and because we are trying to eat healthy right now, this posed quite the challenge.  I was trying to think of something dessert-like, that wouldn't exactly be considered a sweet, and was somewhat healthy.  I did a quick scan of the items we had in the house, and came up with this delicious, healthful treat... That I swear tastes like apple pie!

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

3 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, and diced)

The juice of 1 lemon

2 tsp cinnamon

A pinch of nutmeg

1/8 of a cup of brown sugar

Frozen vanilla Greek fat free yogurt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss all ingredients, but frozen yogurt, in a large bowl. Spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.  ***I had 2 small oven safe ramekins so I used these for personal servings. Bake for 30 minutes and top with a scoop, or two, of frozen Greek yogurt. Enjoy!

Now, just because I'm sure you're all just dying to see a photo of our fallen tree, here it is! On the bright side, our garden will be amazing this year, as this tree always partially blocked some of our sun light.

Painted Wooden Spoons

I told you I had some catching up to do... This is a project I actually did a few weeks back and just had to post about! Of course, it is yet another Pinterest find, that I just knew I had to do the second I saw it.

Most of us already have a collection of wooden spoons at home... A couple of mine are actually pretty beat up, but I love them and still use them all the time! When I saw this pin, I thought it was a great way to spruce up something I already had!
So I started by wrapping some painters tape (you know, the blue stuff you use to tape off trim when you're painting your house) around the handle of each spoon. I did this at varying positions on each spoon, but you can do yours however you'd like. I used Martha Stewart Multi-Surface High Gloss acrylic paint, and I really like the way it gave the handles a shiny, enamel-like finish.

These are the only colors I actually purchased, and I mixed them until I came up with more colors that I was happy with. The paints were purchased at Joann Fabrics, and I never buy anything from there without a coupon... So I'm pretty sure I got a few of them for 40% off.  Either way, they are less than $2.00 each, so this does not have to be an expensive craft.

I did one coat of paint and then set each spoon in its own glass to dry so they wouldn't rub off on each other.  Once they were dry, I went back and added a second coat. After letting the second coat dry, I took all of the spoons outside and gave the handles a good spray with a clear finishing shellac.  I used Zinnser Bulls Eye shellac, which I found at Lowes, and is totally safe to use on items that will be handling food.
Once the shellac was dry, they were ready to use... And I can't express enough how much I love the 
way they came out! I have them proudly displayed right next to my stove, where they are handy for cooking and I can admire them!

A Fun (and free) Easter Craft

Oh thank goodness for Pinterest. Without it, where would I spend all of that free time I have at night when the boys in my house are fast asleep, and I am wide awake?  While pinning recently, I stumbled upon the most adorable, and FREE, Easter craft. I am newly obsessed with paint chip crafts. They're fun, cheap, and they give me something to look forward to when my husband drags me along to Lowes to get more materials for our ongoing home renovation project. I am also obsessed with decorating our mantle with garlands... I have been trying to make one for every holiday.  Festive colored yarn pompoms for Christmas, hearts for Valentine's Day... You get the hint.  So of course I needed one for Easter!

To do a so-called tutorial for this project would be a little ridiculous, because it was just so easy,  but I will list the materials that I used, and also give you the link to the original pin that I found on Pinterest!

Materials:

Paint chips (in whatever colors you'd like)

Scissors

Needle

Dental floss or string

Pencil

***you can freehand the shape of an egg for your template, I just happened to have this egg timer handy and it was the perfect shape and size to trace.

Click below for tutorial:

Pinterest link for Easter egg garland

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While I try to make ideas and concepts my own, I always give credit where credit is due when using the ideas of others. I will aim to do this by adding the link where the idea was found, or by mentioning the name and/or location of where an idea was found.

The tutorials and images that I put on this blog, are my property and are not to be duplicated or used elsewhere.

If you would like to use any of my patterns to make something and sell it, that is fine, however you may not use the pattern itself to sell. If you are going to sell an item made from a pattern on this blog, please post a link to where you found it.

Thank you.