Pinterest, DIY, Messes & Successes!

I'm really all about giving "gifts from the heart".  Personally, I'd much rather receive anything you put your time and effort into making for me, rather than what you shopped for in the big box store.  On that same token, I'd much rather put my time and effort into making you a gift that wander aimlessly around a box store looking for something. Anything. A batch of my favorite cookies touches me more than a gift card that says 'I couldn't be bothered to figure out what you'd like- so here- you do it yourself'. My nightstand drawer is filled with homemade cards from my kids- they still make them at 14 and 16, and I hope they never buy me a card from Hallmark.

I have recently discovered the website Pinterest.com, and have become sufficiently addicted! Once you are a member of Pinterest, you can post pictures or tag pictures from the internet of things that interest you for other members to see.  members can then "repin" the photo to their personal board for future reference.  This site is full if DIY ideas, recipes, photos, fashion, home decorating, you name it! It has almost negated my need for magazines! (almost!)

I have been pinning gift ideas to my boards, and had decided to try a few out.
Project #1: Hand Stamped Washer Necklaces
I had seen several tutorials for stamped washer necklaces and I thought this would be a perfect gift for my niece's college graduation!  The tutorials said you need a metal stamping set you could purchase very inexpensively  from harborfreight.com.  True. I bought the stamping set, and I bought a lot of corded necklaces from etsy.com and anxiously awaited for them to arrive.  I went to Lowe's and bought three bags of washers because the tutorial said you might want to practice, and to have extras for mistakes. Check. thus far, my investment was about $25 for the stamping set, 10 corded neckaces, and washers.  Good thing I bought extra!

Stamping the washers was not as easy as it looked! I tried several different methods, and found the best way was to sit on my brick stairs and pound the stamp onto the washer there.  Even then, if your hand wavers even a little bit in between whacks, the letter image will come out blurry. After using most of the washers, I thought maybe it was the word I was trying to spell. My other niece has a birthday coming up, so I tried her name.  Her sister's name. The year.  After all the washers were used up, I had only about five sort-of usable stamped image washers.

Step two called for using a sharpie to fill in the stamped grooves, and wipe off the extra quickly with a baby wipe. This didn't work, either. ALL the ink kept coming out, no matter what I did- fat sharpie, skinny sharpie, shoe polish, you name it.  I double checked the tutorial, found other tutorials, and finally surrendered.  this project was a FAIL!

Project #2: Teacher Gifts
On pinterest, I saw that someone posted an idea for s'mores-on-a-stick, and I immediately thought this would be a great edible bouquet for end of the year teacher appreciation. 
http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/06/23/smores-on-a-stick-from-todays-creative-blog/

I found giant campfire marshmallows and graham crackers at Walmart,  and purchased extra long pop sticks, chocolate melting wafers,cute cpcake liners, and large paper doilies from Michael's, I dipped the marshmallows into melted chocolate, and rolled the tops into graham cracker crumbs. I set the sticks in mason jars, and put them in the freezer for a few minutes to harden.  I used 5 s'mores sticks per bouquet, and wrapped them with a doily and ribbon. They came out super cute, and the teachers loved them!
SUCCESS!!

Needless to say, my niece got a check for graduation, and I have a lot of necklaces I'm going to try to use for future projects. If anyone would like to try metal stamping, I have the stamps you can use for free! And if you decide to check out Pinterest.com for yourself, don't say I didn't warn you- it's awesomely addicting!

Where's the beef? Meatless Meals

Almost everyone I know is doing some version of "Meatless Monday". Forgoing meat once per week is a great way to save money on your grocery bill.  During Lent, Catholics abstain from meat on Friday. That's already twice per week, So I wondered, could I give up meat altogether for Lent this year?

Yes!

Let me clarify: I gave up meat, but I did not go vegan.  Fish and eggs are still on the menu.

The first thing I did was go through my recipe box and write down all the meatless recipes I already had, and figure out which recipes could be modified to exclude meat.  I was a little bit scared that we would be eating spaghetti with marinara and fish stick for six weeks!

I was pleasantly surprised at all of my options...my list included items such as black bean burgers (a favorite of the whole family), spinach ravioli lasagna, eggplant au gratin, cauliflower macaroni and cheese, fish tacos, and shrimp and grits with spinach...when all was said and done, I had twenty-five recipes to get started.


I was a little worried, because my husband did not go meatless for Lent, nor did my youngest daughter.  I can honestly say that, as a family, we did not miss the meat at dinnertime.

When I was a part of a homeschooling co-op, I knew a very wise woman who had 10 children. One day she told me she was going to put a chicken in the oven for dinner. I asked her how many chickens do you need to cook for a family of 12? She said, "you didn't listen to me- I said I put 'a' chicken in the oven- when you have a large family, you need to stop looking at meat as the main course...it's a side dish." Hmmm. Like I said- a very wise woman. 

Lent is over, but I think we will consider meat as less of a staple, and continue include more meatless meals into our weekly dinners.

In case you would like to try going meatless, here are a few recipes for inspiration:

Rainbow Pizza
1 loaf of french bread, split
broil in oven until toasty (about 4 minutes? just watch it)
spread with alfredo sauce
add chopped red, yellow, and green peppers
add chopped purple onions
sprinkle with mozzarella cheese
place back under broiler until cheese melts (2 minutes?)
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Baked Nestled Eggs

2 packages Archer Farms squash risoto, prepared
(found at Target)
3 red bell peppers, halved and seeded
6 eggs
Stuff pepper halves with risoto,
spray Pam in baking pan, put remaining risoto in pan
arrange peppers among risoto, so they are level
crack eggs onto each pepper half
Bake at 400 for 30 minutes
salt & pepper to taste
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Creamy Cheese Grits and Spinach

28 pieces medium deveined & peeled frozen shrimp
1 package frozen chopped spinach, microwave cooked
1 cup quick cooking grits
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/2 package mozzarella/provolone cheese blend
bring grits, broth, milk, salt, and garlic powder to a boil
reduce heat & simmer, stirring occasionally for 10-12 minutes
until thickened
stir in spinach and cheese until well blended
Top with shrimp boiled with Old Bay seasoning