Monday, May 21, 2012
What would you do with $150 Target giftcard?
Enter the giveaway at www.notjustahousewife.com and you may win! She also has a review for the 3M projector that plugs into your iPad or iPhone so you can watch movies, view pictures or play games on your walls! So cool. Have fun!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
It's been awhile since I posted anything- but I have lots of "pinteresting" things to blog about. Unfortunately, my home computer has been out of service for awhile. As soon as we get it all set up again I can update. For now, I wanted to mention a new blog I found- Danica's Daily. I plan on starting Weight Watchers again next week and I found her blog while doing a search for WW friendly recipes. There's a ton of great menu ideas on there! Today, Danica is hosting a giveaway for an Eat Smart Precision Get Fit Scale. Head on over and enter!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Penne with Balsalmic Butter Sauce and Roasted Broccoli
The other day I was looking for something relatively simple to make for dinner since I knew I'd have to go to the store for ingredients after work and THEN cook. I came across the recipe that I had pinned awhile back for Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter. I wasn't sure if Will (the husband) likes asparagus, so I decided to go with one of the variations listed and use broccoli instead. This was a simple and fairly quick meal to make and, as promised, I took a crappy cell phone pic to share.
Recipe: Penne with Roasted Broccoli and Balsamic Butter
Source: FoodandWine.com
Difficulty: Simple!
1 lb penne pasta
1 lb broccoli
1/2c + 2 Tblsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 Tblsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1/4 lb butter (1 stick cut into pieces)
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Cut broccoli into florets and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Cook pasta as directed. In a small saucepan, simmer vinegar until reduced to about 3 tablespoons. Add brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Toss together balsamic sauce, pasta, broccoli, butter and cheese. Serve with more grated cheese.
Verdict: This was a good recipe and I got the "OK" to make it again from my picky, new recipe-phobic husband. My 17 month old daughter loved it as well. I, personally, thought it was a bit bland. I followed the recipe to a T this time, but next time I will add some fresh sliced garlic (probably about 3 cloves) when I roast the broccoli and try to cut down the butter a bit. A whole stick of butter is a lot. Especially when the dish is served with Semolina bread spread with more butter. I would also add some red pepper flakes. I thought the vinegar sauce could be a bit tangier as well. I'm not sure how to fix that though- besides maybe adding a few splashes of balsamic at the end.
Due to the impending hurricane, I'm not sure I'll be able to get any new recipes in this weekend. I'm hoping to try something new since we'll be stuck inside- but that all depends on whether or not we lose power.
Stay dry everyone!
Follow me on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kh9107/
Recipe: Penne with Roasted Broccoli and Balsamic Butter
Source: FoodandWine.com
Difficulty: Simple!
1 lb penne pasta
1 lb broccoli
1/2c + 2 Tblsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 Tblsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1/4 lb butter (1 stick cut into pieces)
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Cut broccoli into florets and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Cook pasta as directed. In a small saucepan, simmer vinegar until reduced to about 3 tablespoons. Add brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Toss together balsamic sauce, pasta, broccoli, butter and cheese. Serve with more grated cheese.
Due to the impending hurricane, I'm not sure I'll be able to get any new recipes in this weekend. I'm hoping to try something new since we'll be stuck inside- but that all depends on whether or not we lose power.
Stay dry everyone!
Follow me on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kh9107/
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Ahhh...the wonder of Pinterest and Butterfinger Bars
If you're anything like me- you've discovered the world of Pinterest-the site that lets you "pin" anything on the web that tickles your fancy onto a board and revisit from anywhere. Also, if you're anything like me, you've pinned a zillion recipes, DIY ideas and interesting products that you have every intention of "getting around to."
After drooling over recipes and cute little crafts for months and never once attempting any of them- I've decided to start this blog as an incentive to finally try and review some of my pins.
I started last night with this recipe for Homemade Butterfinger Bars from the Plain Chicken blog. I chose something super easy to start with since I had a meeting last night and knew I wouldn't be home until 8pm. These bars have only 3 ingredients- peanut butter (obviously), candy corn (surprising!) and chocolate candy coating.
Luckily, retail is AWAYS at least 3 months ahead of the game, so candy corn is abundantly available wherever you happen to shop, the PB is a no brainer. I was tempted to use an all natural peanut butter in order to avoid extra sugar and corn syrup, but I was afraid the seperation would effect the recipe. So, I went with the "New!" Planters Creamy Peanut Butter that was on sale and Stop and Shop brand Candy Corn. Unfortunately, the store doesn't stock that Candy-Quick chocolater coating so I decided to just melt down some milk chocolate chips I had in my freezer.
It was so easy to make these bars, but the cleanup is going to be torture. The candy coated bowls are still sitting in my kitchen waiting to be cleaned. I melted down the candy corns in a glass bowl and mixed in the pb. I then realized that I didn't have any parchment or waxed paper, so I improvized and lined the pan with tinfoil coated in a bit of vegetable oil. I left it in the fridge to cool over night and this morning I was able to turn out the mixture and peel the tinfoil right off. I melted the chocolate chips in the microwave and dunked the Peanut Buttery rectangles then put them in the fridge to set. The melted chips weren't that great to work with- way too thick and the chocolate doesn't truly solidify.
Verdict:
These are a great substitute for a Butterfinger! The inside isn't as crispy and flaky as the original- but the taste is exactly the same and it still sticks to your teeth! I only made a few bars for now as I plan to buy some candyquick today to coat the rest.
Recipe: Homemade "Butterfinger" Bars (Source: Plain Chicken)
Difficulty: Simple (except Cleanup)
Ingredients:
16oz Candy Corn
16oz Creamy Peanut Butter
Chocolate Candy Coating
Directions:
In a microwave safe bowl, melt down candy corn. Start with microwaving on high for 1 minute and stir. Then, continue microwaving at 15 second intervals stirring in between, until completely melted. Stir in peanut butter until fully combined. Spread mixture into an 8x8 baking pan lined with parchment and allow to cool completely (I put it in the fridge overnight). Cut into small rectangles or squares and dip into melted chocolate coating. Lay on waxed paper to set.
I apologize for the lack of pictures on this post- I decided to start this blog at the last minute and only took cell phone pictures. Unfortunately, they didn't save to the phone. I'll definitely be including pictures in the future.
Follow me on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kh9107/
After drooling over recipes and cute little crafts for months and never once attempting any of them- I've decided to start this blog as an incentive to finally try and review some of my pins.
I started last night with this recipe for Homemade Butterfinger Bars from the Plain Chicken blog. I chose something super easy to start with since I had a meeting last night and knew I wouldn't be home until 8pm. These bars have only 3 ingredients- peanut butter (obviously), candy corn (surprising!) and chocolate candy coating.
Luckily, retail is AWAYS at least 3 months ahead of the game, so candy corn is abundantly available wherever you happen to shop, the PB is a no brainer. I was tempted to use an all natural peanut butter in order to avoid extra sugar and corn syrup, but I was afraid the seperation would effect the recipe. So, I went with the "New!" Planters Creamy Peanut Butter that was on sale and Stop and Shop brand Candy Corn. Unfortunately, the store doesn't stock that Candy-Quick chocolater coating so I decided to just melt down some milk chocolate chips I had in my freezer.
It was so easy to make these bars, but the cleanup is going to be torture. The candy coated bowls are still sitting in my kitchen waiting to be cleaned. I melted down the candy corns in a glass bowl and mixed in the pb. I then realized that I didn't have any parchment or waxed paper, so I improvized and lined the pan with tinfoil coated in a bit of vegetable oil. I left it in the fridge to cool over night and this morning I was able to turn out the mixture and peel the tinfoil right off. I melted the chocolate chips in the microwave and dunked the Peanut Buttery rectangles then put them in the fridge to set. The melted chips weren't that great to work with- way too thick and the chocolate doesn't truly solidify.
Verdict:
These are a great substitute for a Butterfinger! The inside isn't as crispy and flaky as the original- but the taste is exactly the same and it still sticks to your teeth! I only made a few bars for now as I plan to buy some candyquick today to coat the rest.
Recipe: Homemade "Butterfinger" Bars (Source: Plain Chicken)
Difficulty: Simple (except Cleanup)
Ingredients:
16oz Candy Corn
16oz Creamy Peanut Butter
Chocolate Candy Coating
Directions:
In a microwave safe bowl, melt down candy corn. Start with microwaving on high for 1 minute and stir. Then, continue microwaving at 15 second intervals stirring in between, until completely melted. Stir in peanut butter until fully combined. Spread mixture into an 8x8 baking pan lined with parchment and allow to cool completely (I put it in the fridge overnight). Cut into small rectangles or squares and dip into melted chocolate coating. Lay on waxed paper to set.
I apologize for the lack of pictures on this post- I decided to start this blog at the last minute and only took cell phone pictures. Unfortunately, they didn't save to the phone. I'll definitely be including pictures in the future.
Follow me on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kh9107/
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