A Lake, a Cini Mini, and a Big Idea

It was a typical Saturday morning in the Spencer cabin.  After feeding our six month old son, our family of three set out on a little walk down the road to check in on the progress of our home we are building. A few months ago, we left the bright lights and big city of Dallas to move to the piney woods of East Texas. My husband grew up in the area and had a job opportunity that was too good for us to pass up, so, after much deliberation, we decided to completely change our way of life and build a house on a lake in the country to raise our family and settle down in.

As fortune would have it, my in-laws have a little cabin on the lake about 1/2 a mile from our future home site and graciously offered to let us bunk here until our home is completed.  The scenic view, amazing sunsets, and on site petting zoo (our son loves to look at the donkeys and goats!) have made the 20+ minute drive to the closest grocery store more than worth it, but with our most accessible "dining out" option being a Dairy Queen about 15 minutes away, I've definitely spent a lot more time in our little cabin kitchen than I did before!

I've always enjoyed experimental cooking and trying new recipes, but I've also been disappointed more than a few times with the outcome of a new dish. When I discovered Pinterest, my excitement for new recipes was renewed...until I started trying to make some of my most delicious looking pins and found big holes in the recipe process, strange ingredient requirements or super long cook times, and just overall bad tasting food! 

On this particular Saturday morning, hubby decided to go on a swim and run while I returned to the house to make us some brunch. While searching my cabinets, I remembered a cini mini recipe I had pinned recently and decided to give it a shot. I found all the ingredients in my pantry (a rare thing actually as I'm not the best at keeping everything stocked!) and began cooking.  As I was whipping up the bite size cini bites, I found myself taking mental notes about ways I might do things differently if these turned out well and I made the recipe again. I thought to myself, I need to make a comment/note on all the recipes I make about whether I liked them or not so I can go back and reference it when I cook it again. Or maybe I can compile a separate board of recipes I've tried....and then it hit me...maybe I will start a blog where I can document the recipes I try and share it with others who have the same pinterest interests that I do!  So, here it is...my personal Pinterest test kitchen. I will try recipes from Pinterest, review and rate and give tips for making cooking, eating and cleaning up that recipe as enjoyable as possible.  

My hope is that this new little blog will be both interesting and helpful to those who stumble upon it (or seek it out.)  I would also welcome requests from readers to test recipes they are interested in so I can do the dirty work for you.  I love to cook, eat and write so my excitement level about this whole project is pretty large.  Your comments, suggestions, and sharing of this little idea are welcome and encouraged :)  Let's get to cooking (and pinning, and eating....and maybe someday....even some crafting).