Consuming Pinterest Day 5

holy pattooooooootey...chicken schwarma = amaaaaazical...the super easy "tzatziki" sauce = super fantastic...the chickpea, tomato basil salad = YUMMMMMM

OK SO....here is how i tweaked the recipe:

- I did not have chicken thigh strips but i had bone in, skin on chicken thighs...worked just fine since they shred really easily after being in the crock pot

- I did not have curry powder so I threw a dash of ground ginger in there

- I did not have garlic cloves but i did have minced garlic so i threw in the equivalent to 3 cloves mmmm

This recipe canNOT get much easier....i sprayed my crockpot with nonstick cooking spray because I am anal like that...put the chicken in (which was frozen), mixed all of the ingredients together, poured over the chicken, set the crock pot on high for 5 1/2 hours and VOILA...moist, succulent, delicious chicken!!!!

The Tzatziki sauce is so easy....i chopped my cucumber into quarter slices, poured the plain greek yogurt on top and mixed!! I also threw a little chives on top yum!!!!

Chop you tomato, grab you pita and FILL!!!

NOW....THE YUMMY CHICKPEA (aka grabanzo beans), tomato basil salad!!!

It is beyond easy...the kids even loved it.  I would even say this is a really good potluck or bbq party side salad for the summer.  It's light and filling and the grabanzo beans add a nice crunch,

Here we go:

Here is an easy way to chop your basil too...clean them, stack you leaves, roll them, slice down the middle, and then chop from right to left or left to right...instant ribbons!!

And you have a yummy Mediterranean dinner!!! 

Next...Avocado, spinach, pesty, mozzarella grilled cheese!!!!

I HOPE YOU ENJOY!!!

-- Lisa

CONSUMING PINTEREST!! Day 4

OOOOOOH...this was amazical!!!

OK so i apologize for the delay..it's been a busy week with preschool starting, 65th wedding anniversary party, baptism's, blessings, and a 1 year old party!!! 

PHEW!! ok so we had this for dinner last night:

 Grilled Artichokes with garlic and cheese...YUM

Romano crusted chicken with bacon wrapped asparagus...WHAAAAAT?!?! AMAZING!!!!

OK so...the chicken was fantastic but here is how I tweaked it...sorry Martha!!!

Chicken is a little pricey and usually the boneless, skinless is more expensive than the bone in, skin on...not yesterday so i made mine with boneless, skinless breasts...pretty fantastical.  No need to change the cooking temp or time...25 min made them sooo moist and delicious!!  I also used bread crumbs instead of 2 slices of bread.  I had them on hand and it was just easier.

OK so it's super easy!!! line a baking sheet with foil...I sprayed some cooking spray.

Turn your oven to 375 F

This is how I "bread" chicken...sprinkle bread crumbs onto your baking sheet, place chicken on the baking sheet, sprinkle/douse romano cheese on each breast, sprinkle bread crumbs on top of cheese, and then season with salt and paper...done

Bake for 25-30 min...25 worked perfect!! I placed them into a serving dish and covered with foil to keep warm.

now...the asparagus...the recipe says to marinate the spears for 1 1/2 hours. um no, I am NOT that patient! So, before I started the chicken, I snapped the asparagus and placed them in a bowl and covered them with Italian dressing so they probably soaked for about 30 minutes.

Once your chicken is done, turn up the heat to 400 F.  While the oven is spiking, wrap your asparagus!!!

I had small spears and thick turkey bacon, so I wrapped 3 spears to one bacon slice and then just put the rest of the asparagus (i grabbed a big bunch) onto the baking sheet.  I did NOT use sesame seeds

PS...THE BEST PART ABOUT LINING THE BAKING WITH FOIL..easy clean up and easy switching...take the foil off of your baking sheet from the chicken..if it leaked clean it off or use a new one (mine was fine), line it with another piece of foil and place your asparagus down! EASY!

Pop them into the oven for 30 minutes...we were hungry so i grabbed them at 25 and it was darn good!

this is the only photo i have :-/

so good!! Emma even loved them!!

ok so the artichokes!! i love artichokes...i looooooathe cooking them so I'm not sure I'll do this again unless I can get them trimmed and prepared for me hahaha...but lemme tell ya!!! THEY ARE GOOD!!!!

These instructions are so easy...trim, steam until moist, quarter, remove choke...douse with olive oil, season with romano cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic INSIDE THE LEAVES!! Pop them on to a hot grill and flip until the cheese is nice and crispy...5 minutes or more but less than 10 sooooo good!!!!

Tonight we are having Chicken Schwarma with chickpea and tomato salad!!

I am also making some Honey Whole Wheat sandwich bread right now!!


YUMMMM...Enjoy!!!


-- Lisa

today...

today was emma's first day of school for the summer session but technically her first day of actual pre-school...MOMENTOUS DAY!!!!! So proud of her!! it is a definite adjustment for her, as any child who is adjusting from a daycare setting to a more structured school setting, but she did well today :-).WOOO!!!

So taitum and I had a day...all day she kept saying "mmmmmA!!!" aka EMMA EMMA EMMA...threw in the "Consuming Pinterest" dinner around 11, started sanding my desk and then realized I had the wrong sanding disks (yeah i know...rookie mistake hahaha...note: make sure you are buying the VELCRO disks and not the STICKY one's hahaha or be smart ask the Lowe's rep hahaha). so the sanding will continue tomorrow and the desk will be DONE!!! I AM SO EXCITED TO SHOW YOU ALL!!

 before...

 after...so far...

 oye...before...and then i realized i had the wrong sandpaper haha

 ooooof....bleh

drip marks stink...drip marks painted over 2 paint jobs stink even more...

I finally situated the entryway and am going to be working on organzing/purging the closets WHICH I am pretty excited about!!! We have a WILD ANIMAL PARK date with a bunch of amazing people thursday,  taitum turns the O-N-E on Friday and Noni and Nona have a very amazing 65th wedding anniversary on Saturday...we have a BIG BIRTHDAY PARTY for miss taitum next weekend and dad gets home...PHEW....My entryway will be totally finished this week and I am SO EXCITED to finally not have to worry about it every time i walk in the door haha

OOOOOH I ALMOST FORGOT!!! ok so...a piece of tempered glass for my kitchen table (below) = almost $300...no thank you...a piece of plywood = almost $30...better, but no thank you...a flat, hollow door = $25...better buuuuuut no thank you...3 shelves from the As-Is section at Ikea = $6...YES PLEASE!!! It works for now until a) i find a new piece for the kitchen table :( or b) I find a cheaper quote for a piece of glass haha...

this photo was from christmas. time i think, last year...I'll get some more up tomorrow :-)

The post for Consuming Pinterest today will be up mañana!! it was YUMMMMM!!!!!! AND beyond easy!!! 

My BFF, Nina, got us tickets to Taste of La Mesa this evening for my biiiiirthday and it was soooooo yummy!!!!! THANK MOMMA!!!! and her wonderful momma stayed with her 2 munchkins and my 2 munchkins and then my brother came by to relieve her of my 2 haha...2 is easier than 4 :-)

I hope you all had a fantastic start to your week!!! Busy, fun times ahead :-)

-- Lisa

Consuming Pinterest Day 3!!

Another yummy day in this casa!!

On the menu:

Grilled Pesto Chicken

Avocado, Tomato, Cucumber & Mozzarella Salad (for some reason the link associated with the pin doesn't work SO this is the link to her actual page :->)

30 Minute No-Knead Rolls (these have become a dinner staple if we want rolls with dinner)

OK...again...ok well I just realized earlier today haha the chicken is from the same amazing chica over at Budget Bytes !

This is pretty cut and dry simple but looks like a million bucks!!

what you need:

boneless skinless chicken (beth uses chicken breasts, cut in half...I used chicken thighs)

pesto

mozzarella

salt

pepper

oil

TRIM THE FAT OFF YOUR CHICKEN!!!

I broke out my cookie sheet, laid down some foil and put my trimmed thighs (or breasts) on there...DO NOT TOSS YOUR COOKIES SHEET...just replace the FOIL :-)

Heat up your grill outside or your grill pan inside...cook those suckers for about 6-7 minutes...THAT'S IT...you don't want them on there any longer because they are going to go into the broiler to melt the cheese so you don't want to dry out :-)

PS...If you have a lemon...cut it in half and you can rub it on your grill racks as a non-stick "cooking spray" ;-)....no harsh lemony taste either

Then put them onto your cookie sheet lined with a fresh foil sheet :-) Put your oven rack right above the middle but not too close to the top..you don't want to char your cheese just melt it :-) now turn on the broiler!!

Let's start layering the pesto, tomato, and mozzarella...in that order :-)

 A couple had the pesto left off for Taitum since there are pine nuts in pesto and I'm not sure about peanuts yet with her...I'm a "wait until they're 1 1/2 to try the things that are 'ok' for them to have at 1" person :-)

Plus side to you using breasts instead of thighs...the breasts will be bigger obviously haha..dad is gone though so little thighs worked perfect the small stomachs in the house :-)

Pop those into the broiler for about 5 minutes!!! Check on them so your cheese doesn't melt too much :-)

VOILA! MMMMMM

My plate...yummm

Emma's plate num nummmmm

Taitum's bowl haha she ate about 3/4 of it before I could snag a photo hahaha.

I turned the broiler off but the oven was obviously still warm so I threw the rolls we had leftover from Parm Honey Pork Roast night into an oven safe dish and stuck them in the oven for a couple minutes to warm up and VOILA!!! WARM DINNER ROLLS!!

OK the salad is so easy...I bought one of those plastic containers of mozzarella medallions which was plenty for the chicken and salad..

Grab your tomatoes (i used 3 roma tomatoes), avocado (I used 2 avo's), cucumber (I used one big one), and mozzarella (I used about 4-5 medallions)

Chop them up chunky and toss!! you seriously don't need dressing...it's really yummy!!!

YUMMMM!!! to store the leftover salad we had I squeezed some lemon juice into a tupperware and in the fridge it went!

ALRIGHT!! we are STUFFED!!! Tomorrow we are taking the day off!! We have a cake tasting date with my brother and his fiancé!! yummy and I am super excited they invited me and kiddo's! we definitely have leftovers so if we're hungry, leftovers it is! mmmmmmm...so stay tuned for SUNDAY!! Healthy CrockPot recipe Greek Chicken and Quinoa Tabouleh!!! CAN'T WAIT!!

HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEKEND!!!!

-- Lisa

My Favorite Things - GIFT EXCHANGE!!

I LOOOOOOOVE GIFT EXCHANGES WITH YOU AWESOME BLOGGERS!!!

This one comes courtesy of 3 Four and Under and I was paired up with the super sweet Alicia over at The Seeley Family!  You should definitely go check her out!! She's hunting, camping, awesome momma to 3 boys!!

OK..so...she took really fab photos so I'm going to share hers...and I'm a huge doofus and forgot to take a photo of what I sent to her...and I have this love-hate relationship with the USPS and sometimes I try to multi-task while multi-tasking so stuff like writing the correct address but wrong city happens and i get my box back...so yeah.  Alicia should receive hers today or tomorrow the latest :-)...I hope she LOVES her stuff!!

ok so here is the awesome stuff I got!!!

I AM DIIIIIIGGGIN' the coasters she made!!! How cute is that paper?!?!!! The lip gloss = perfect!! and lotion = perfecto also!!! my hands and lips get so dry and the lotion scent is deliiiiicious!!!!

Emma and I have had some fun with the yellow nail polish and that ring is just beyond awesomely cute!  I can ALWAYS use hair ties especially with little girls! and the paracord bracelet she made...AWWWWWESOME!!! eyeliner...yes please!!!

I mean for reals....snail mail is fantastic but a snail mail gift is even better!!!! I can't wait for her to receive mine!!!

NOW MOVE YOUR MOUSE OVER TO HER BLOG AND CHECK HER AWESOMENESS OUT HERE!!!!

-- LISA

Consuming Pinterest Day 2!!

Alright on the menu...ZUCCHINI PIZZA BOATS!!!

ok first things first...you don't need a side...you can eat 2 and be stuffed!!! so I'm glad I didn't make the cheesy cauliflower tater tots...carrots and ranch are a great side to this one!

and secondly...THESE ARE AMAZING!! and the even better thing...you most likely have everything in your kitchen.  I just had to get zucchini so this meal was seriously pocket change...$2.50...and done.

Here is the "they are amazically, fantastically YUMMY" proof :-)

yummmmmy!!!

OK...Beth over at Budget Bytes has some pretty fantastic recipes!!! I'm sooooo glad I found her through Pinterest!!

Alright let's start!!!  It is beyond easy!

Ingredients:

(disregard the eggs, cauliflower, cream, oil and cheese on the right...those were for the cauliflower tater tots that we didn't end up making)

HERE WE GO:

 SLICE your zucchini in half lengthwise somewhat even :-)

 Grab a little spoon and scoop out the centers (boats remember?) and put your zucchini scoops into a small bowl!!

 You're going to want to leave some meat on the sides...once you get past the seeds, it's sooooo easy...kind go like a pumpkin)...

i skipped a photo :-/... put your zucchini meat onto a cutting sheet/board and chop it up...you don't want it mushy but just sliced up :-)

 Some zucchini boats may be a little wobbly...have no fear, the knife is here!!! just skim a SMALL piece of skin off to create a flat bottom :-)

 I had a HUGE can of tomato sauce so i just scooped 8 oz aka 1 cup into my zucchini mash and saved the rest :-)

 get your bread crumbs, italian seasoning (i don't have an italian seasoning blend so i threw some salt, pepper, oregano, and minced garlic in there) and parmesan cheese!

 this is the parmesan cheese i used instead of the shredded cheese...works juuuuuust fine :-)

SET YOUR OVEN NOW...425 F for 15 minutes...if you feel like they need more time, just increase by 2 minutes at a time juuuuuust so the zucchini boats don't get tooooo soft :-)

Grab a cookie sheet and line it with foil or oil it...i prefer foil...less clean up haha...you could even spray some cooking oil on there in case you're like me and scared the cheese will get to the foil and the zucchini and then you accidentally eat a piece of foil and explode...hahahaha

 FILL THEM UP!!!

 A little overflowage is ok but not too much (you'll see below haha)

This is how much "stuffing" i had left...

 Put your mozzarella cheese on top and grab a helper for the olives!! She eats too much of the cheese to help with the cheese hahahaha

THIS is what happens when you overflow the zucchini's hahaha BUT they taste juuuuuuust fine...I mean for reals..they were gone in minutes!!!!

carrots and ranch or maybe a little salad would be great with this!!! They are so filling and soooooo goooooooooood!!!!!!

I hope you enjoyed this!!! Tonight we're having grilled pesto chicken and avocado, cucumber, mozzarella, and tomato salad (i don't think the link for the pin works for the salad...)!!

YAY IT'S FRIDAY!!!

-- Lisa

Consuming Pinterest Day 1

Alright here we go!!! I am soooo excited about this! OK to start...here is my menu!!! 

(if someone knows how to add a pdf image to blogger...i would appreciate it :-) and then replace this screen shot haha)

I am going off of my "Consuming Pinterest" board as much as I can :-)

Today, Parmesan Honey Pork Roast and No Knead 30 Minute Rolls were on the menu...the crispy brussel sprouts are going to happen another day...just could not make it to the store today :-/

THE ROAST WAS YUMMMMMMY!!! Here are some photos:

 Ingredients (except I forgot to show the dried basil and parm cheese...)

 This is what mine looked like when I started cooking it...note: I had shredded parm and the recipe calls for grated...grated would be much easier haha but it still tasted amazical

 This is before the gravy topping...note the chunk in the bottom I put in my mouth haha

 maaaaaaaking gravy!!!!

 No Knead 30 minute rolls...DONE AND DELICIOUS...If your dough is still a little sticky after adding the flour...add a little more flour at a time...I had to add about 1/4 cup more

 Emma's plate!!!

My Bowl!!! I love eating out of bowls haha

The BEST part about the rolls, you can easily make them while cooking the rest of your dinner since you just let them rest; no covering for an hour or whatever just mix it all in the bowl, let them set, mix the rest of the ingredients, form the rolls, let them set, and then in the oven they go! done..LOVE AND LOVE!!!

Tomorrow we are having Zucchini Boats and Cauliflower Taters!!!

I hope you guys try this roast! The girls and I powered through 1/2 of a 3 1/2 pounder!!! SUPER YUMMY! Even Taitum looooved it! She got the center portion of the roast and the girls love their veggies!!

ENJOY!!!

-- Lisa