A Pinterest 1st Birthday

I need to start with a great BIG APOLOGY for my lack of postings on this blog. It turns out that building a house, trying to get settled into a new city, working part-time, and having an infant really doesn't leave a ton of time for blogging....but I'm hoping to remedy that situation in the coming months. While I haven't been posting, I HAVE been cooking and testing recipes from Pinterest very regularly and I've got some catching up do! But, to kick-off my return to experimental pinterest-ing, I thought I'd post some pics from my son's 1st birthday party! 

His current favorite read is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?" so it only seemed appropriate that we do a book themed, rainbow colored party! I tried to pull in all the colors from the book and create a very bright and fun birthday, but let's be honest, it was a one year old party so I tried not to go too overboard and create an over the top, pinterest-perfect party. I did, however, allow pinterest to inspire some of my decor and theme/food ideas. 

Here's the table, all decked out with our brown bear inspired foods...

Brown bear fabric ordered from the Eric Carle Storybook Museum Gift Shop, Cupcake toppers designed by Frost and Fete via ETSY,  Food labels made by me and my mom :) and cake by Sweet Hope Cafe, Tyler, TX

It's hard to see but I paper clipped monthly photos of the little guy to balloon strings that hung over the table. This was inspired by this pinterest post http://pinterest.com/pin/103793966382996028/ Also, I made a cute balloon wreath but I put it around the bottom of the cake stand and liked it so much I left it as table decor instead of hanging it. Inspiration and instructions here http://pinterest.com/pin/127226758192694324/

This was the favor table. I made a little snack mix of chocolate Teddy Grahams (Brown Bears), Goldfish Crackers, Animal Crackers, and colorful M&M's and ordered the cute gift tag designs from Frost and Fete on Etsy. Floral Arrangment by my mom (she's gifted).

Gift Tags

One of my favorite shots...not too sure about that cake :)

...But he came around

Little man had an amazing time at his first birthday. We also served juice boxes and my dad's famous breakfast burritos (for the grown-ups:).  I ended up buying a couple of craft punches and LOTS of colored cardstock, rainbow plates etc...we may be having a Brown Bear themed birthday party for the next 4 years :)

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

Oh Pinterest, you post recipes that look and sound delicious....and then you make me do something that completely ruins the hope for the deliciousness to live up to my expectations, like cook chicken breast at 500 degrees. sigh.

Well, I knew this recipe was flawed when I read through it, but for the sake of keeping the test kitchen true to it's roots, I decided to give the recipe the benefit of the doubt and assume that whoever wrote it knew something I didn't (not too hard to imagine that would be true, right?).   The result was some well flavored rubber chicken that was, literally, hard to swallow.

So, here you go pinterest world. I made this mistake so you don't have to!

Link to Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/103793966383043581/
Link to Actual Recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-garlic-chicken-5478

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons brown sugar
3 teaspoons olive oil

HERE's WHERE IS ALL WENT WRONG:
Directions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees and lightly grease a casserole dish
WARNING- if you cook chicken at 500 degrees it actually turns into a rubber chicken! DO NOT serve rubber chicken... PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.

In a small saute pan, saute garlic with the oil until tender, remove from heat and stir in brown sugar.

Place chicken breasts in a prepared baking dish and cover with the garlic and brown sugar mixture.

Add salt and pepper to taste, bake uncovered  for 25-30 mins  (original recipe said 15-30 minutes, a 15 min. cook time window is pretty catastrophic for people who like to follow a recipe exactly!)

It's hard to review this one since I cooked it with the 500 degree method but I will say the flavor was great and if I made it again following my revised recipe above, I think it would be a great weeknight chicken dish!! If you make it, let me know your thoughts!!

Sausage Rolls

Another Saturday morning standing hungrily in my kitchen and rummaging through the fridge led me to whip up these easy sausage rolls. Seriously all you need is crescent rolls, cooked sausage and some cream cheese and this is done!

Link to Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/103793966383181877/
Link to Recipe: http://abiteofmylife.blogspot.com/2009/02/cream-cheese-sausage-pinwheels.html (use this link for the recipe, she's got great step by step instructions with photos.

Cream Cheese Sausage Pinwheels

1 Roll Breakfast Sausage

1 Tube Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

1 Pkg Softened Cream Cheese

Brown sausage and drain.

In a large bowl, combine cooked sausage with softened cream cheese. Remove crescent roll dough from packaging do not separate sections, and roll out into a rectangle, sealing the perforated areas with your fingers.

(the only pic I remembered to take...oops)

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the dough in a thin even layer. Roll the dough lengthwise (if you roll from the short side- the pinwheels will be fatter- but you wont get as many!)

Once rolled up- refrigerate for at least 20 mins- or if you are in a hurry like I usually am, put it in the freezer til' firm... this will help the dough keep shape while cutting

Cut in about 1/4" sections and lay on baking sheet. Bake for about 15 mins or until crescent roll is cooked.

Ingredient Availability-10
 I keep crescent rolls on hand at all times, and who doesn't stock cream cheese and sausage??
Ease on the Waist Line-5

Enjoy in moderation :)
Prep Mess-8

very little mess
Overall Difficulty-EASY
Overall Taste- 8
My friend made a different version of the same thing for a brunch at MOPS and it was better...I'll try and figure out which pinterest recipe she used!
Hubby Rates It-8
Great little brunch food item, and it's got sausage...man food.
Ease of Clean Up-8

No "Cream of"Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

Well, hello blog world. Let me start by apologizing for my delay in posting yummy recipes lately. I have been a little absent from posting due to sick babies, surprise parties, trips to Dallas etc., but have no fear, people in my family still have to eat so I have been cooking!! Hopefully I'll be all caught up by Sunday so check back for updates.

Last week, I decided to try the chicken and wild rice casserole which claimed to have no "cream of whatever"soups in it, thus giving the impression that it was a healthy casserole. Let me assure you, this puppy is still loaded with cheese saucy good-ness, so really I'm not sure it's any healthier, but maybe just a little messier to make since you can't just pop a can of cream of chicken soup for the sauce :)

Here's the rundown.
Link to Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/103793966383258210/
Link to Actual Recipe: http://picky-palate.com/2010/09/13/cheesy-chicken-and-wild-rice-casserole/

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

3 stalks celery, finely diced

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic

2 Cups shredded, cooked chicken breast*

2 Cups steamed white rice*

16 oz prepared wild rice *

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

** Please note that all three of these ingredients are pre-cooked...so you've got to cook the chicken and the 2 rices before you can make this recipe. If you don't this the day before, your stove top and your kitchen timer can get pretty messy!!!

______

Cheese Sauce

4 Tablespoons butter

1/4 Cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 Cups chicken broth

2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese

Top with 1 1/2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Heat oil into a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat.  Saute onion, celery and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in chicken, both rices, salt, pepper and garlic salt.  Reduce heat to low.

2.  To prepare cheese sauce melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper then slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously.  Whisk until thick and nearly boiling then stir in cheese until melted.  Pour cheese sauce into rice mixture then transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish. Top with additional cheddar cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted through.  Serve.

cheese sauce in progress

Right before it went into the casserole dish

Ingredient Availability-7
I did have to go the grocery store (I don't have wild rice in my pantry) but everything was pretty straight forward and easy to find.
Ease on the Waist Line- 3

Two words...CHEESE SAUCE!
Prep Mess-1

seriously, like 12 pots and my crockpot and a casserole dish were required to cook all of this!
Overall Difficulty-Medium

Just because of the labor intense prep process...it's hard to juggle all of that at once...oh and I consider making a sauce a medium level difficulty cooking skill!

Overall Taste- 8
Despite the frustration of making this casserole, it was pretty good! I actually looked forward to eating the left-overs the next few days which is really the measure of a good recipe for me!
Hubby Rates It-8

As far as man food goes, he loves cheese, rice and chicken so this was a winner with the hubs.
Ease of Clean Up-2

See this giant mess.... zero fun to clean up!

Roasted Cauliflower

I know you probably saw cauliflower and decided to skip this post, but don't! This was actually a pretty tasty, spicy little side and  recipe I would try again!

Here's a link to the pin:http://pinterest.com/pin/103793966383108961/

and the actual recipe: http://remcooks.com/2012/02/02/roasted-cauliflower-with-red-chile-cilantro-lime/

Actual Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 large head Cauliflower
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp Red New Mexico Chile Powder (substitute Ancho Chile Powder if you don’t have Red New Mexico)
• 1/2 tsp crushed dried Red Chile
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds toasted and ground
• 4 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1/2 Lime, juiced
• Salt to taste

** I substituted regular chile powder for Red NM Chile Powder and ground cumin for the seeds. I never like to buy an expensive spice I will only use once!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 F. Separate the florets from the Cauliflower.  Put them in a bowl with the garlic, chile powder, crushed chile, cumin, salt & olive oil and toss gently to mix together and coat well. Spread the seasoned Cauliflower in a shallow roasting pan. Roast 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until tender, stirring occasionally. Dress with lime juice and stir in chopped cilantro and serve.

Ingredient Availability-3
The original recipe is full of unique ingredients I don't keep on hand, but there are pretty reasonable, simple substitutions you can make (as noted above)
Ease on the Waist Line-10

This is super healthy and quite spicy!
Prep Mess-7

Very little to clean up
Overall Difficulty-EASY
Overall Taste- 6.5
Pretty good for a veggie but a little too spicy for my taste. I'll have to reduce the amounts of red pepper and chile powder next time.
Hubby Rates It-6

When I asked him this, he asked if he should rate it based on how it was for cauliflower or compared to anything else he wanted to eat...he came up with 6. So, hubs doesn't like cauliflower...good to know.
Ease of Clean Up-7

Before

All Seasoned up

Out of the oven

Add cilantro and lime

Serve it up!

On the plate with sweet and spicy chicken!

I served this with Spicy Honey Chicken so it was an overall spicy night at our table! I'll review that recipe soon!

A Quick Note on Ranch Dressing

I have seen this post floating ALL OVER my Pinterest lately....

"I love ranch, but it's not so good for you, until now. This whole jar of ranch is only 1.75 grams of fat and 255 calories! 1 cup dannon oikos plain greek yogurt, 1 packet hidden valley ranch mix, 1/2 cup 1% milk. Whisk together, chill 1 hour before use. Perfect consistency and tastes better than bottled!"


I tried it- it WAS NOT as good ranch made with mayo and had a really bitter taste. I added in some miracle whip which almost made it edible but I won't be doing it again.  If you're going to have ranch, just bite the bullet and have ranch... just my thoughts.

Sweet Pepper and Sausage Pizza

We had a Sunday night- pizza night tradition when we lived in Dallas. I love pizza. Like the "I'm pretty sure my neighborhood Papa John's is feeling the revenue hit because we moved" kind of love for pizza. I actually debated whether I wanted to proceed with building our home out here once I realized there were no pizza delivery options. AT ALL.

So, for awhile, we have been trying different brands of frozen selections, and though Digiorno comes closer than any other to tasting anything like my beloved Papa's, it just wasn't cutting it. Desperate times call for desperate measures so I scoured pinterest for a homemade pizza option and found this little beauty.
Pin:http://pinterest.com/pin/103793966383284271/

Now, this recipe involved a homeade crust...and when I started craving pizza on Sunday afternoon, I just didn't feel like I had the patience or self-control to watch dough rise for 2+ hours....so I pretty much LOOSELY used this recipe as an inspiration for toppings and made my own version.

Here's a link to her recipe:http://joythebaker.com/2012/09/spicy-sausage-and-sweet-pepper-pizza/

Here's what I did:
(makes 2 pizza's)
2 Boboli ready made pizza crusts
3 packets Boboli ready made sauce (this has a little bit of sweetness to the flavor, much like PJ's)
1 package hot pork sausage
1 package mile pork sausage
2 red bell peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
LOTS of Mozzarella and a little parm. cheese

Crumble the sausage and cook in a deep skillet until browned (fully cooked,no more pink showing)
Drain on a plate with paper towels
Wash peppers and remove core and seeds. Slice peppers into long strips
Layer crust with sauce, cheese, toppings, more cheese
Follow baking instructions on the crust package
DEVOUR!!

This was actually pretty amazing pizza for using store bought crust and sauce and so easy to throw together on a Tuesday night.  So glad I made 2 and can't wait to eat our leftovers later tonight! I served this with a little green salad and tried out the "ranch dressing made with greek yogurt thing." I'll write another post about that...

Official Numbers (even though this wasn't an official, by the book Pinterest recipe)

Ingredient Availability-7
Easy to find but all specially purchased for this dish
Ease on the Waist Line-4

It's pizza....and sausage...so it's awesome...but
Prep Mess-8

very little mess
Overall Difficulty-EASY
Overall Taste- 9.5
Loved this. Will definitely make again
Hubby Rates It-9
He's not a pepper fan but he actually didn't pick them all off!!
Ease of Clean Up-8

Sorry I don't have pics of this! I will add some next time I make it...maybe tomorrow...maybe tonight...mmmmmm...pizza....