Mini Caprese Salads

Original Pin

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/39828777926411628/

Mini Caprese Salads

I married into an Italian family. I come from Lithuanian, Irish, German heritage. I had to learn VERY quickly how to make certain foods. Luckily, growing up, I was taught to learn to try everything and make a decision on the actual taste of the food, not the idea of the food. One of my favorites dishes that I learned from my mother-in-law was her HUGE caprese salad. Fresh mozzarella, fresh garden tomatoes, and fresh basil. And when I talk about fresh basil, I am talking that there are about at least 4 basil plants in the house at any time. Every portion was sliced for a mini meal and it was amazing. Then I was put in charge of the appetizers for one of the holidays. I want to say it was Easter Sunday a few years back. Not just an appetizer, all the appetizers. I decided to look for Pyro's favorites and make all of them bite sized.This recipe was one of the results. 

Materials

• Cherry Tomatoes
• Fresh Mozzarella
• Fresh Basil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Toothpicks
• Serving Tray

What I Did

Rinse off the tomatoes and set aside. Cube up the mozzarella into bite-sized piece. Cut/rip the basil leaves into smaller pieces (I was able to produce about 6 pieces per leave). Get decent toothpicks. They may cost a little more, but they are thicker and hold up to making these. Plus, they look nicer and have a little more length to them, making them easier to pick up.

Make an assembly line. The last time I made these was for Easter Sunday (again on Easter.....it must be a tradition now) and I was still recovering from a major back injury, so Pyro helped put together each one. It is really simple and you can stack them any way that you would like. I just found that the way I stack them worked the best for use. Hold the toothpick, slide a piece of the cubed mozzarella down towards the tip, slide a tomato down, & then fold the basil over two or three times and slide that down. Give each one enough room for people to be able to grab each one with ease, but make sure that the ingredients are secure. Once they are all assembled, you can drizzle a little bite of the balsamic vinegar over the entire batch or have a bowl for dipping. 

Conclusion
I gave it 3.5 out of 5 because the pin itself is one of the pins in which you have to click multiple times to get to the actual recipe; however, once you get to the site itself, just follow the directions. Fun, easy, simple, but you don't have to make it as complicated as you read on these sites. Just make it and have fun.

Crayon Letters

Original Pin

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/117586240240359459/

Crayon Letters

I love this idea. This is the cutest thing I have seen in a while. I love being able to give one to each of the minions and then some. All you need is either a piece of paper, a wooden letter, a paper letter, a letter, word, whatever, and some glue. I attempted a few different ways to try this, but I love this way.

Materials

• Crayons
• Glue
• Letter

What I Did
I bought a wooden letter at Hobby Lobby on sale for $1.50. The crayons were part of a pack for about $7.00 that I have been using for a lot of projects. Any glue that you have in the house should work, but I have a really big soft spot for my hot glue gun. The glue gun itself costs around $8.00 and the sticks come in bags for about $3.00, but I have a lot of them in the house, so it cost me nothing.

This becomes a puzzle game for the kids. Long pieces, pieces pieces, little pieces, large pieces, messy piece, and a whole lot of fun. This is your rainy project. It took me, maybe, an hour to create. Even though this one was for Pyro and I, I plan making a lot more of these for the minions.

Conclusion
Pin it. Have fun. This is the cutest, fun, kiddie project. A few materials and a lot of creativity. You can use all colors. You can use a single color palette. This is a lot of fun. LOTS OF FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sleep - Or The Lack There Of

Original Pin 

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/280560251760385362/

Lack of Sleep

This is not a pin in which you have to do anything but read. Or look at the picture. And the reason I am posting this is due to my severe lack of sleep over the past few days. Launching this site has been both a blessing and a curse all wrap up in a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey wimey stuff. Not only do I still have my 9-5, but the month of May is a killer month. I have my mother's birthday, my nanna's birthday, a minion's birthday, a sister-in-law's birthday, mother's day, Memorial Day, and finally, baby brother's graduation from college. The driving, the lack of eating properly, awaiting my appointment with the neurosurgeon, and complete lack of sleep have been destroying my skin. Now, I already have extremely sensitive skin, in which I do not wear make up unless it is a very important event and I hardly go out in the sun without at least SPF 50 all over my body. The slightest change makes me look like an extra on the walking dead (hey, I turn lobster red in about 10 minutes of sun time). This photograph really grabbed my attention and reminded me that taking a little bit of time off of a busy schedule (such as a full blog post) is not only better for my skin, but better for my health.

Conclusion

Pin it! Go to the original article! Do it for yourself. It is a reminder that even when the world is driving you mad, you need to take care of yourself.

Original Article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/08/sleep-deprivation_n_4557142.html

River Rock Tray

Original Pin

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/45036064993221327/ 

River Rock Tray

I was really excited about this pin. This one link to a picture (as this was the first one that I looked at) and I was like, "I CAN DO THIS AND IT IS EASY". I was so excited. And then I talked to Pyro about it. I was all jumping up and down and excited and going on and on and on and he was like "Really? I don't think so". So I asked him why he did not like it. And here was his very important, very knowledgeable, very "thanks for kicking me off my happy high" with logic. It is a tray, with heavy rocks, to hold wet shoes. You would be making a tray that hold stagnant water for in the house or mudroom. This will breed bacteria. And once you want to wash it out, you would have to take a HEAVY ROCK FILLED TRAY outside to spray it down. Thank you Mister Logic for killing a pretty idea and making it totally not worth the project. So, I thought about it and I still wanted to do it, but I knew it had to be for an outdoor project. So I made one for outside that can be rinsed off easily.

Materials

• BBQ Tray
• River Rocks
• Glue
• Paper Towels

What I Did

Place a few sheets of paper towels under the BBQ tray, as it has holes and the glue will get on the surface. It took a little trail and error to figure out the glue that would work and Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue seems to be the best that worked. I got 4 bags of river rocks from the Dollar Store and lined the border first.

Once the border was completed, I then basically played "puzzle pieces with rocks". Laying ones down, picking them up, replacing them, figuring it all out. What is great about this glue is that it dries clear, so if I messed up and there was glue on the top of a rock, it would dry nicely. I finally got everything in order and let it sit outside from about noon until 8:00 pm. I flipped over the tray and none of the rocks fell off. It is now sitting outside and will house Pyro's snow shoes. And that is about it.

Conclusion

Do not pin it. This is a pretty idea, but not worth it. 

Pencil Flower Vase - Teacher Appreciation Gift

Original Pin

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/28991991324357090/

Pencil Flower Vase - Teacher Appreciation Gift

This is a really cute and adorable gift to give teacher in which your child can help you make. It is different and more thoughtful that a gift card or candy bar jar. I do not have children; however, I have heard my family that have the minions talking about want they should get the teachers this year. All the materials that I bought cost less than $10.00. I did not follow the description and used the picture of more of a guide.

Materials

• Vase
• Glass Stones
• Pencil
• Pin Flowers
• Ribbon 
• Tag

What I Did

I got all my materials together and just did one thing after another. I rinsed out the jar and placed all the glass stones in the vase. I choose blue and green because I like the color combination. Once that was completed, I started putting together the pencil flowers. 

I got REALLY luck and found the flower kits at Hobby Lobby in the clearance section. I bought three different kits, each kit cost less that $2.00 and I only used a half of each of the three kits. If you cannot find these kits, fake flowers and thumb tacks work just as well. I used a dozen pencils flowers to create the "bouquet".

Once all of the flowers were completed, I placed them into the vase, pushing through the glass rocks. Make sure you have enough rocks that the pencils stand straight up without tipping over. Once everything was in place, I used a piece of ribbon that I had from previous project, tied that around the top of the vase, and attached the "thank you" tag.

Conclusion

Worth the pin, but only use the picture as a guide. I hardly used the website and just went with my gut feeling on it. And let your kids help out. The project is really easy and fun. 

Red Velvet Cherry Dump Cake

Original Pin

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/286400857527389295/

Red Velvet Cherry Dump Cake

This is interesting. I have been on a dump cake kick for a few weeks. And we have a ton of pantry items that we just need to use to make shape. Pyro and I love red velvet cake and I love cherries and coconut. Yeah, this one is for me. How is it?

Materials

• 9X9 Baking Dish
• Mixing Bowl
• Wooden Spoon
• Small Pot

Ingredients

• Red Velvet Cake Mix
• 1 Can of Cherry Pie Filling
• 1 Stick of Unsalted Butter
• Flour Baking Spray
• Shredded Coconut

What I Did

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take the butter and melted it in the pot. In the mixing bowl, mixed the red velvet cake mix, the cake pie filling, and melted butter.

I used the baking spray over the baking dish and put the dump mix into the baking dish. Sprinkle the coconut and a little sugar over the top. Place into the oven for about 45 - 75 minutes or until the cake is firm.

Conclusion
Pin it! It is not bad at all. The issue with the baking is that the cake never really firms up completely, so that cake can overcook on the edges. With the coconut shavings on top, they can burn to a crisp and give it a really odd flavor. But I love red velvet cake and I love cherry pie and this is a beautiful combination of the two.

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

Original Pin

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/123286108521690818/

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

I am originally from the beautiful, wonderful, amazing, awesome Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. So whenever I get a chance to make a meal that reminds me of my hometown, I jump at the chance. This pin sent me directly to the link and I loved it; however, it seems like their cooking times were WAY OFF. Saute for 30 minutes? Ummm, no. 

Materials

• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Frying Pan
• Baking Tray
• Aluminum Foil
• Mixing Bowls
• Wooden Spoon
• Dinner Spoon 

Ingredients

• 1 lb of thin sliced roast beef (I used Boar's Head)
• 3/4lbs of provolone cheese (once again, Boar's Head for me)
• 3 medium green bell peppers
• 1 medium onion
• Mushrooms (We like a lot, but it is up to you how many you want)
• 2 garlic cloves
• Olive Oil 
• 1 Tablespoon of butter
• Salt and Pepper

What I Did

Slice the green bell peppers in half, take out the seed, and rinse. Place to the side. Chop onions, mushrooms, and garlic into bite size pieces and place into a mixing bowl.

Heat up a frying pan and place in olive oil (I used garlic infused) and butter. When the butter is melted, add onions, mushrooms, and garlic into the pan and saute until the onions get translucent, mixing frequently with a wooden spoon. This should only take about 15 minutes at the most. While this is cooking, take the roast beef and cut into slices.Once the saute is completed, add the sliced roast beef to the onion mixture and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add one slice of provolone cheese over each green bell pepper, covering it. Once the mixture is cooked through in the pan, taken the dinner spoon and spoon a little bit of the beef mixture into the pepper, pressing the cheese into the pepper. Fill the pepper until it is almost overflowing. Repeat for the 5 pepper halves. 

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place each pepper half on the sheet. Take another slice of provolone cheese and cover the mixture stuffed pepper. Place into oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese over the top is melted and crispy around the edges. 

Conclusion

Pin the recipe. It is a great dinner, simple ingredients, and a lot of fun. Just keep an eye on your time. If you follow the times of the site, you will over cook your beef mixture and it will have a burnt taste to it.