Pinterest Party: Two new dinners
My friend Bethany over at Happy Homemaker Me is hosting a Pinterest Party! Want to join us? We’re all making something from our boards, then sharing what we made.
So, I’m lame and I don’t have any pictures of the two recipes we made. I blame it on the recipes being delicious enough that I just dug in and forgot to take any. 
But I wanted to share the pins I’ve made lately, and the little modifications I made to each one.
First up is tonight’s dinner: Pizza Crescent Rolls.
Source: Uploaded by user via Stacey on Pinterest
Super easy! Crescent dough was on sale at the grocery store, so I picked some up. I modified the dough and made them into calzones – just take two crescent rolls and instead of rolling them up, sandwich pepperoni/cheese/a bit of sauce between the two. Press the two rolls together and then bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes. My husband proclaimed them “delicious.”
Next up was dinner from earlier this week: Fresh Mozzarella and Pesto Grilled Cheese.
Source: blogs.babble.com via Stacey on Pinterest
Once again, fresh mozzarella was on sale at the store, so I picked some up. I LOVE cheese! And I have a basil plant that I’m a little obsessed with. So I whipped up some very basic pesto (olive oil plus minced basil plus minced garlic), grabbed some chopped spinach (my modification to this recipe), and sliced up the fresh mozzarella. I used sourdough for my bread, and buttered what would become the outside of the sandwiches. I spread some pesto on the inside of the bread, and then layered two slices of fresh mozzarella with some spinach. I cooked these in a frying pan on the stove, and they were quite good.
So that’s the new and exciting food we’ve been eating this week. How about you?
And what have you made lately from your Pinterest?
My latest project
My blogging hiatus is getting out of control! But that picture above is part of the reason why. Our first child, affectionately nicknamed “Pudge” for now, is due July 30th.
Some day, hopefully soon, this will mean lots of baby project posts. But for now, this means I need to sleep more!!
It’s the little things
I have this grey pea coat with silver buttons that I bought in 2008, before I left to study abroad in England. The buttons are a constant annoyance – the shanks are too sharp, so they cut through thread and fall off all the time.
Today I finally bought new buttons instead of sewing the old ones on again, like I’d been talking about for years, and since they didn’t have any black buttons I liked, I opted for a deep blue. They make me smile.
Yikes, it’s December
Well hey, everyone. I underestimated how busy November and December would be, I guess! This is my first post from my iPhone though, so maybe now that my phone is all fancy, I will post more. (HA. It’s an admirable thought though.)
Next to figure out: how do I stick photos in from my phone’s camera? Cause that would be brilliant.
And more future posts I’m promising you: pictures of two projects I’m working on. Christmas break starts in four days, so they’re coming, I promise!
Hey look, I think I figured out pictures!
The Real-Life “Up” Movie House
You’ve seen Up, right? A quality Pixar film that I loved, but not one I can watch over and over – it’s got some sad moments and an overall somewhat melancholy/bittersweet mood.
This, however, made me exceedingly happy: there’s a builder in Utah who built a replica, full size, actual house from the movie. See for yourself:
Their chairs from the movie:
And their mailbox out front:
The rest of the pictures are here.
I’m now brainstorming what fictional house I want… Father of the Bride house? I Love Lucy’s Connecticut house? How about you – what would you pick?
Best of Pinterest: Oct 2
Things that have caught my eye recently on Pinterest:
I love celebrating birthdays but I’m not good at remembering them. I need this to help me out!
Source: smittenkitchen.com via Stacey on Pinterest
In my ongoing quest to find parts of fall/winter that I’m happy about… tomato soup with cheese on top? I can get on board with that.
Source: ohafternoonsnacks.com via Stacey on Pinterest
I want these, for my kitchen, SO BADLY. I love the top left and bottom right – they make me smile so much!
Source: team-t-adventures.blogspot.com via Stacey on Pinterest
Orange chicken is one of my favorite dishes, but I haven’t found a recipe I love yet – will have to try this one! And in the crockpot? Couldn’t be easier!
What are you pinning lately?
New Recipe: Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
Source: bakedperfection.com via Stacey on Pinterest
I finally made something off Pinterest! I pin all these things, and sadly don’t get to attempt nearly as many as I’d like. But yesterday we got a dinner invite from dear friends (who just had a baby and are already having dinner guests, they rock!) and they said they’d provide dinner if we provided dessert. Deal! So when I got home from work I browsed through the dessert recipes I’d pinned, trying to find something new. Those peanut butter cup brownies you see above fit the bill – something new, but ingredients I already had.
Click on the picture to see the pin, or click here for the original website. Overall – super simple! Make brownies, don’t bake all the way, fill with melted peanut butter and chocolate chips. Verdict? AMAZING! Although my muffin tin failed me and none of the brownie cups had bottoms. They were more like brownie cookies. But, they still tasted really good!
Best of Pinterest: Sept 25
Things that have caught my eye recently on Pinterest:
Source: makeit-loveit.com via Stacey on Pinterest
I think this is just brilliant for wedding showers! Then you don’t have to stick masking tape on and scribble your name with a Sharpie. (In fact, I kinda want to do this to all my Pyrex now…)
Source: flirtyguide.com via Stacey on Pinterest
This just makes me laugh, so much. A “Chia Pet” pet costume? Awesome!!
Source: google.com via Stacey on Pinterest
I’ve been in search of some DIY art for our very bare living room walls… This might make the cut. Or perhaps in the bedroom? Not sure yet.
Source: ideas.thenest.com via Stacey on Pinterest
This is definitely happening soon for my living room! In shades of light and dark blue and apple green.
Source: scrapbook.com via Stacey on Pinterest
The only way I get through fall and winter (I HATE COLD) is because there are cute decorations to make me happy until the weather gets warm again. I just put out all my pumpkins today, and I reeeally want to make these to add to my collection!
What are you pinning?
Well hello again…
Yeah, so life got busy. We moved. I started teaching. Tyler is officially accepted into the Air Force as an officer, and we are still jumping through hoops. Etc, etc. But, this weekend has been a wonderful time of catching up and relaxing. My kitchen is stocked with food for the first time in a month, I made a Target run, and got some crafting in.
I’ve got a few blog posts in the works, but first wanted to share my personal tips for first year teachers. I’d heard it was a killer year, and I was pretty sure I was going to die. But, I’m not dead, and actually I love it. Every day I arrive with a smile on my face. Granted, I still get way too many emails and have way too many papers on my desk to go through, but this is what works for me…
1. Clothes get laid out the night before. Yup, just like when you were a little kid. Don’t just think about it in your head – literally get the shoes/clothes/underwear/socks out and stick them somewhere. Saves me a lot of headache in the morning.
2. Be okay with random lunches. I grab a fruit, a grain, a protein, and a granola bar. If the grain and protein is a pita with cheese and nothing else, it works. It’ll get me through the day.
3. A sub told me, don’t let students get free rent in your head. They don’t think about you when they get home, so don’t think about them. That thought has made the biggest impact on me this year – yes, I still want to make great lessons and have brilliant visuals and all that, but in the long run the kids need to know the material. As long as we learned something that day, it was a success.
4. ASK. Sometimes I feel horrible because I’m having to ask questions about everything, but I’ve learned so much by being willing to ask. Everyone is happy to help, they were a first year teacher once too!
5. Laugh. Kids are hilarious! Enjoy what they say. And write it down!
6. Be willing to educate outside of the content. My health class, oh man. We get started on some random topics. This week, I taught them what the term “baby boomers” meant. Especially in special education, I’m there to help them in whatever way they need.
This is just what works for me – but it’s been the most valuable thing for making my first year a success.
Coming up… posts about my latest finds on pinterest, and another about how to throw a baby shower on a budget.
So how are you all doing? How have your August and Septembers been?
New Recipe: Turkey Chili Shepherd’s Pie
I picked up this cookbook, Rachael Ray’s Look + Cook, at the library last week, and flipped through it while I was at jury duty on Monday. (Side note: got excused! Yay!)
There are some pretty good dinner recipes in there, and I tried one tonight: turkey chili shepherd’s pie. I used my recipe for chili instead of the recipe from the book, made in a crockpot a few days ago. Then today, I put some of the leftover chili in a 9 x 9 Pyrex dish, and topped with mashed sweet potatoes. Yes, sweet potatoes. I was skeptical, but Rachael was right. I stuck the chili and the potatoes in the oven at 475 degrees for about 20 minutes, then sprinkled on some cheddar cheese and stuck it back in until melted and golden. No picture, cause I was starving and forgot. 
Our verdict: pretty good!! Definitely a good way to use up leftover chili, and it’s a change from our typical chili meals. I added a little sour cream on top of my serving, and I loooved the creamy rich tang it added.
Are you a Rachael Ray fan? I can’t watch her show because I feel like she’s yelling at me, but I do love her cookbooks!
