Oh, How Pinteresting...The Food Files

I'm still worried that in a few short days my blog may disappear to never-never land, but I figured I'd link up for Wednesday's blog party anyway!

One of my most despised house-hold tasks is to come up with a menu each week.  Luckily, pinterest has proved to be a wealth of inspiration and (most of the time) yummy recipes!  Here are pins of all the recipes I've tried and fallen in love with:

Source: Uploaded by user via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: tastebook.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: beckyhiggins.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: awelltraveledwoman.tumblr.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: onceuponachef.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: mogwaisoup.blogspot.com via Felicia on Pinterest

To get any of these delicious recipe's just click on the picture!  You will need a pinterest account to do so.  Don't have a pinterest account?  Comment me your email addy and I'll send you an invite! 

Source: someecards.com via Felicia on Pinterest

'Til next time, Happy Pinning!

Oh How Pinteresting

I'm linking up for the "Oh How Pinteresting" blog party today!


I love how popular these "keep calm" signs are becoming.  I saw this one and fell in love!  I can't wait to have one in my house!

Source: Uploaded by user via Rebekah on Pinterest

We hosted a large New Years Eve party and I did this trick below!  I just took the pan out of the freezer 30 minutes prior to adding the cubes to my beverage server.  I used a butter knife to pop them out.

Source: industriousjustice.blogspot.com via Felicia on Pinterest

I bought the frames the other day to do this!  I can't wait!

Source: realdanagentry.blogspot.com via Hillary on Pinterest

The only reason I'm posting this is because I made it on Christmas morning.

Source: jimmydean.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Unfortunatley it was disgusting! 

That's OK, Pinterest...I still love you!

My New Favorite Crock Pot Recipe

Last week I tried out a recipe from my Fix-It-And-Forget-It cookbook. (By the way, I think if someone owns a crock pot, they should also own that book!) It was so awesome that I'm making it again today and I thought I'd share it!

Kielbasa and Cheese Casserole

3 cups uncooked noodles
oil
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
4 oz. cheese, shredded
1 lb. kielbasa, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, diced
2 carrots, grated

1. Cook noodles until barely tender. Drain. Toss with small amount of oil.
2. Dissolve bouillon in boiling water.
3. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
4. Cover. Cook on low 8 hours.

I have a habit of making myself notes in my cookbooks. I have convinced myself that really good cooks do that all the time. Please don't rain on my parade. What was my note for this particular recipe? YUMMY!!!

BTW-the recipe also called for a 2 oz. jar of pimentos. I omitted those but wanted ya'll to know it's an option. Bon Appetit!

Tasty Tuna Salad

Last weekend our friend Travis came down to the lake house and spent the weekend with us. I love it when he stays with us because one of his favorite things to do is cook. Which means HE cooks for US! Yay!

I have always been a fan of tuna fish, but have never actually had tuna salad. I've always just mixed it up with some mayo and considered it good to go. Travis changed that for me! His tuna salad is super yummy and way easy! Here is how to make it:

2 cans of tuna, drained
3 hard boiled eggs, diced (he discarded 2 of the yolks which I loved because I'm not a yolk fan)
A spoonful of sweet pickle relish
*Here's the kicker* Ranch dressing until it looks really moist.

I made it for lunch today and I did half mayo and half Ranch dressing. It's tangier if you use all Ranch dressing.

I love easy, simple recipes! Especially since I'm not the kind of gal who can look at her pantry and just whip something up. Cookbooks and recipes are my saving grace!

My Hot Date!

We finally finished remodeling our master/upstairs bathroom (pics coming soon)! I told myself that as a reward, I would indulge myself in a nice relaxing hot bath. My husband is out of town for the weekend, so this was my hot date for the night!

I don't take baths very often (I'm more of a shower gal), but when I do, I like to do them right! We made this as our craft at the last MOPS meeting, and that was sometimes the only thing that got me through all the painting I had to do. I love treating myself to a reward after a job well done.



Here are the instructions to make your own Ginger Soak:
2 cups baking soda
1 cup Epson salts
2 Tablespoons ground ginger

I have heard of people soaking in tubs with baking soda and Epsom salts (Gwyneth Paltrow does it), but have never done it myself. About 30 minutes after my bath my skin felt pleasantly tingly. I'm not sure if that's normal, but I sure liked it and felt very refreshed afterward.

My companions in the bathroom were these two items:



Capped off by an episode of Sex in the City! I planned on having a mini SITC marathon, but I was so relaxed and tired after my bath I barely made it through one!


Once I finished watching my show, I sprayed some Deep Sleep pillow spray from The Body Shop onto my sheets, and I hit the sack and slept like a baby!

Smoothies are my friends!

I did it! I bought a blender last Friday, along with all kinds of fruit, as well as light soy milk, coconut milk, and OJ concentrate so I could be fully equipped to make some yummy healthy breakfast smoothies! I'm so proud of myself because I've become a semi-professional. Meaning I cut up all my fruit and placed them in portion appropriate zip lock bags and then stored them in the freezer. I also bought a few jars of baby food, because the little jars with the lids were perfect for my left over coconut milk! (No, I didn't eat the baby food. I did consider it for a minute or two but then just decided to heck with it and scooped the food into the trash).

I was all geared up and so excited to make my first smoothie on Saturday morning. I asked Greg if he wanted one, but he opted for eggs, toast, and sausage instead. Typical male! So by the time I got finished preparing his meal I was literally about to bounce off the walls with all my excited anticipation about my blackberry-apple smoothie I was going to make. I followed the recipe to a "T" and then got a little thrill when I selected the "smoothie" option on the blender. After about thirty seconds, I was able to place my glass under the dispenser (yes, it has a little fountain style dispenser. I know you're jealous!), filled it up with the purple smoothie, took my first glorious sip, and thought, "Ewww".

Yup, my first smoothie was not the best. I drank it anyway and reminded myself that at least I got two servings of fruit plus a dairy into my diet. Luckily, I wasn't discouraged because I was armed with several smoothie recipe's. Sunday we had breakfast at a friends house so my next Smoothie was yesterday. And it was FABULOUS!! It was a yummy strawberry-banana smoothie that my friend Krissy emailed me. And today was just as good with a pineapple-coconut smoothie.

The great thing about these past three breakfasts are that they work so great with my WW diet. WW online has a section where I plug in everything I eat so I can keep track of my points throughout the day. They also have a box in the bottom corner with all the elements of the food pyramid that one is supposed to intake daily. Whereas pre-smoothie life I was lucky if I got 1 serving of fruit in a day, now I'm getting anywhere from 1-2 in the morning as well as a dairy, and a glass of liquid for the day! As an added bonus, I never drink the full smoothie in the morning so I have a small afternoon "smoothie snack"! I'm so glad I listened to what the universe was telling me and began making these amazing breakfasts!

PINEAPPLE COCONUT SMOOTHIE 3 WW Points

16 oz. canned pineapple, undrained (I used fresh pineapple along with some of the juice)
6 oz. frozen OJ concentrate (I used the Unsweetened kind)
1/2 cup light coconut milk (couldn't find "light" so oh well!)
1 cup ice (I used 4 large ice cubes)

STRAWBERRY BANANA SMOOTHIE 4 WW Points

1 banana
1 cup strawberries
1 cup light soy milk
1/2 cup light non-fat yogurt (called for 6 oz. but I figured 4 was good enough!)