Balsamic Honey Glazed Carrots

Source: sowonderfulsomarvelous.com via Sharla on Pinterest

I tried this yesterday while also trying out a fresh beet recipe. I left out the honey. I remember hearing a lady talk about carrots and putting honey on them. She said that carrots were so naturally sweet it was just wrong to kill the taste with honey. Since we all liked carrots this reasoning made me skip the honey. I will note that I did add a small amount of very sweet orange that added flavor but didn't mask the carrot taste. I also used baby carrots that I removed the greens from but left a small amount of stem. The result was a wonderfully flavored carrot dish.

SOUR DOUGH BREAD

Source: wholeintentions.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Sour dough is an old fashioned idea updated. This past year I had a friend bring a start for friendship bread which is a sweet form of sour dough bread. I also have recipes for sour dough biscuits, cookies and chocolate cake. I used to keep  a sour dough start in my refrigerator but found I didn't make bread often enough to keep it fresh. I also discovered that we prefer bread without a strong sour dough taste. As long as I kept the start refreshed then the bread had the right taste for us. The longer it sits the more it tastes like San Fransicso sour dough bread.

Seeing this on pinterest made me decide that I might try it again. My husband loves a real crusty bread so I kept it moist during baking. You can open the oven every so often and spritz with water or you can do it the lazy way and just put a pan of water in the oven and keep it moist that way. I also placed a most towel over the loaf as it was rising.

PANERA (ST. LOUIS BREAD COMPANY) MAC N' CHEESE

Source: smells-like-home.com via Jena on Pinterest

This weekend I made St. Louis Bread Company’s mac n cheese recipe. I am not one to make mac n cheese but it was to be served to die hard mac n cheese lovers. I think the only change I made was I didn’t add a dash of hot sauce. It wasn’t my favorite side dish and those who love mac n cheese gave it a “its good” rating. I get better reviews when I serve Kraft Mac n Cheese which is cheaper, faster and easier to make.  

PINEAPPLE CHICKEN

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This dish was one of my favorite pinterest ideas so far. The soy sauce gave an Asian taste but it was truly an American dish which I enjoyed. The taste was mild but had a lot of flavor for only having 3 ingredients. I changed it a little, however. I didn’t cut my chicken breast into pieces and while the chicken was broiling I reduced the marinate by simmering over a low heat for about 10 minutes. I then added the pineapple and poured over the chicken. Served with a simple fruit salad this was a wonderfully light but filling dinner.

MOTIVATION

Source: get-thinspiration.tumblr.com via Lorrie on Pinterest

Getting motivated to exercise isn’t always easy. For years I did enjoy walking but after some health problems I couldn’t get back with a consistent exercise program. I have a jar in by my TV and a stack of $1 bills in a basket. When I am successful using an elliptical I place the $1 in the jar. As my money grows so does my motivation.

THE PERFECT CHICKEN BREAST

Source: its-fitting.com via Lorrie on Pinterest

The perfect asparagus needs a perfect chicken to accompany it. I tried this recipe and decided it was delicious. I had a bone in chicken breast so it took longer to cook then the recipe called for. I used lemon zest which was not called for but added so much flavor.

PARMESAN -ROASTED ASPARAGUS

Last night I made this delicious vegetable. I love asparagus but it can contribute to a rather boring dinner. I never know how to dress it up but this was the best. I decided to use the lemon zest on the chicken I also prepared and add the juice from ½ lemon to the asparagus. I really enjoyed the strong lemon taste. I don’t have parmesan that is ready to be shredded so mine came out of a plastic jar, pre-grated. I don’t have negatives to say about this dish. It’s a keeper!

Source: budgetsavvydiva.com via Lorrie on Pinterest

CHOCOLATE BOWLS

Source: the-tum-tum-tree.blogspot.com via Jamie on Pinterest

Another idea from Pinterest: We were having friends over for a fun evening and I decided to try the chocolate bowls for dessert. Since our friends have children I decided to make the bowls small and put a scoop of ice cream in the bowl. I picked up very small balloons at the store and used chocolate chips for the chocolate. I’ll have to admit the children were not too impressed with our adult conversation until the dessert came out. The bowls were a hit with everyone. We served the chocolate dessert bowls in real bowls since chocolate melts in warm hands.

OBSERVATIONS

• I think using a better chocolate would make for a better bowl. (Is that too obvious?)
• The balloons breaks if the chocolate is too hot.
• This presents an additional problem since cool chocolate creates a thicker bowl.
• There is a waste of chocolate unless you want to finish off the extra chocolate with a candy mold.

CROCK POT CHICKEN

Source: crockpot365.blogspot.com via Lorrie on Pinterest

I love using my crock pot. It is convenient and the slow cooking brings out flavors in most foods. I decided to try this chicken in the crock pot. I followed the instructions and the result was poached chicken. Which is great if you need to add it to something as a filler but not for a main dish. I won't try this again. A real disappointment especially when it smelled so good all day.

NUTELLA COOKIES

Source: tastykitchen.com via Jamie on Pinterest

Since Nutella is one of my husband’s favorite spreads I decided to try these cookies for him. They were good but I think if I added chocolate chips he would have loved them better. They were easy to make and froze well. I usually use a small scoop and drop onto a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen, I placed in a Ziploc bag and put back into the freezer. I take a few out at a time to cook. The only complaint I have about these cookies is the same complaint I have for every cookie. They shouldn’t be a house if you are watching your carbs or calories.

SMASH BOOK

Source: archiversannex.com via Lorrie on Pinterest

My daughter and daughter-in-law are wonderful cooks and involve their children in this so coming to grandmas and baking something isn’t special. So I needed to find something that was exclusively grandmas. I have always loved art so doing art projects with my grandchildren seemed like the natural choice. As my oldest granddaughter has progressed in her projects she is becoming quite creative. For her 8^th birthday I gave her a smash book. This is a cross between a journal and a scrapbook. It is perfect for a young person because there are no rules. You do what you want. Instead of adding all the expensive add-ons I have used pinterest to print off free journaling cards, pictures of the Titanic (her newest obsession) and envelopes.

Source: sweetlyscrappedart.blogspot.com via Lorrie on Pinterest

Source: minieco.co.uk via Lorrie on Pinterest

Pros: this is loved by my granddaughter and used more often than any other do-it-yourself craft project she has gotten. I’m not into prepackaged craft projects so this works for me. I believe that it sparks creativity which needs to be developed. Smash books are great for those who don’t have time to scrapbook.

Source: popartuk.com via Chelsea on Pinterest

Cons: It can become very expensive if you use all the special tags, tapes, cards and envelopes that come with this line of products.

TOMATO BASIL SOUP

Source: 365daysofcrockpot.com via Lorrie on Pinterest

I have never been a fan of tomato soup. I think the main reason was a childhood taste memory. We were a poor family and as such food was at times not available. In order to save money my mother had her go to meals. One was Spanish Rice. It consisted of condensed tomato soup, rice, green peppers and water. All were cook in a sauce pan and served as our entire dinner. After a week of eating this for every meal I vowed to never eat anything with these three ingredients again.  

Over the years I have been able to acquire a taste for these ingredients but not together and not often. When I saw the pinterest recipe for Tomato Basil soup I decided I would like to give it a try. The recipe was easy to follow and liked by both me and Kent. I added the shellfish and made one other modification to the recipe. Instead of using ½ and ½ I used fat free ½ and ½ . I found it at our local grocery store. The fat free version added the richness of cream without the fat and calories.