Yummy Soup, Yucky Side & Healthy Salad

I laid in bed for as long as I could this morning.  As I started feeling guilty that the day had started without me, I rolled out from under the covers and half-sleep walked to the living room.

There I found my youngest son bundled up on the couch with bloodshot eyes and a frowny face.  :(

My first thought was, "My poor baby."  My second thought was, "Is it too early for a Dr. Pepper?"  My third thought was, "I guess we won't do school today."  My fourth thought was, "That means I can finally write that Pinterest blog."

Soooo...  Now that we're all medicated...  Here I am.  And here's what I've been up to...

Pinteresting Idea #3
When the cold weather hits, I love to go to Subway.  Not for their sandwiches.  I mean, anyone can make a sandwich, right?  I love their broccoli cheddar soup.  It is soooo good.

I've been trying to replicate this recipe for awhile now.  My latest attempt is the closest I've come to perfection.

Although I can't really take the credit because I didn't come up with the recipe.  I pinned it to my  Soups, Stews, Chilis & Chowders board, from a blog called The Little Girl's Guide to Sugar and Spice.  You can find the recipe here...

http://thelittlegirlsguidetosugarandspice.blogspot.com/2010/09/broccoli-cheddar-soup.html

It's still not exactly like the Subway version.  I had to add a lot of salt and pepper for enhanced flavor.  Also, it tasted better the second day.  So next time, I'll probably let it cook longer before serving.

Pinteresting Idea #4

Crack Potatoes.  Sounds yummy, right?  The whole idea behind the name is they're supposed to be so incredibly delicious that you become easily addicted and can't stop eating them.  How could I not try these?

We didn't like them.  We could eat them.  But we did not get immediately addicted.  In fact, I threw the recipe away, and forgot to take a picture.  The picture above is from the pin that is no longer on my Side Dishes board.

If you want to try them, click here for the recipe.
http://justaddasliceoflove.blogspot.com/2011/12/crack-potatoes.html

Let me know if you get addicted.

Pinteresting Idea #5
As I was browsing my Salads, Sandwiches & Wraps board, I came across a pin for Chicken and Avocado Lettuce Boats.  You had me at avocado!

This recipe was not just for the salad, but also for a buttermilk-dijon dressing.  I loved the salad, especially served on the large romaine leaves.  But the dressing didn't exactly "float my boat".  It didn't look good or smell good to me, so I tasted it before serving.  I was not a fan.  So my boys and I put ranch dressing on our boats.

My husband wasn't crazy about the dressing by itself, but said it was really good when drizzled over the salad.  So...  here is the recipe from The Perfect Pantry.  Try it.  Let me know what you think about the dressing.
http://www.theperfectpantry.com/2012/03/recipe-for-chicken-and-avocado-lettuce-boats-with-buttermilk-dijon-dressing.html

...

I did a lot more pins.  But I'm afraid you might get bored if I write about more than three at a time.

Most of the other things I did are from my homeschool boards.  I can't decide if I'll write about them here or on my homeschool blog.  I guess I can do both.  I am the author.  They're my blogs.  And I'm 35-years-old, so I can do what I want.  :)

I hope to get to that later today.  We'll see...

Have a Pinteresting Day!

Happy New Year!

Starting January 1st,  each week I had hoped to try and write about at least 3 pins from my wide variety of boards on Pinterest.

It sounded so simple in my mind.  I would try at least one recipe each week, incorporate one educational pin into my homeschool curriculum, and try something from my "Good to Know" board on Pinterest.

Yeah...

That didn't really work out...

insert frowny face, full of embarrassment and shame...  :(

Okay.  So it's the second week of January, and already I've not held up to the "pinteresting deal" I made with myself back in November.  I guess it's a good thing I revised my original plan.

My original plan was to try a new pin each day, but once I realized this "great idea" had already been attempted and conquered by so many before me, I kinda lost some of my motivation.  (See my previous post.)

Still, I'm not a total loser.  I did try two pins last week.  I just never got around to writing about them.

Until now...  insert smiley face...  :)

Pinteresting Idea #1
We tried my first pin on New Year's Eve, which technically was last year, but since I'm already behind, and it's my blog, I get I get to make the rules, so I'm counting it.

I will never forget the first time my parents let my sister and I stay up with them on New Year's Eve.  We ate fondue.  We watched the ball fall.  It was actually an apple back then.  I know, I'm old.  The most exciting thing to me was that they let us drink out of wine glasses.  We didn't actually have champagne, like Mama and Daddy.  I think we may have had orange juice.

Anyway, I felt like "big stuff" drinking out of a special glass on a special night.

When I saw this particular pin on Pinterest, it brought that memory back to me.  So I pinned it to my "For the Kids" board and decided to try this special drink with my family on New Year's Eve.

It is a fairly easy pin to try.  You just fill a glass with cotton candy, then pour Sprite or Sierra Mist over it.

We tried it.

As you can see from the picture, our glass doesn't look nearly as "special" as the one shown in the background.  It didn't taste all that great either.  So we probably won't do this again next year.

It's okay though.  I had a backup plan.  I picked up a bottle of Sparkling White Grape Juice.  We poured it in wine glasses.  My youngest son, Camden, thought we were letting him have wine.  No matter how many times I assured him he was not drinking wine, he still seemed shocked that we would allow him to consume this beverage.  

I think we created an awesome memory.

Pinteresting Idea #2

I was not at all disappointed in my second pin.  I am an organizational freak.  I am so much of an organizational freak that I have an entire board devoted to organizational ideas.  I titled this board "A Place for Everything" because I love for everything to be in its place.  Although most of the time life doesn't really work out that way, does it?  Except with this particular pin, it does.  

For this reason, you might think this pin came from my "A Place for Everything" board.  But it did not.  

I like to shake things up.  Keep you on your toes.  

Not really.

The truth is, I found this to be such a genius idea, I pinned it to my "Why didn't I think of that?" board.

The original idea was posted by a lady named Jo on the Mom's Party Cafe blog site.  Click here - http://momspartycafe.blogspot.com/search/label/organization

This pin was also very easy.  Start simple, right?  

As I began packing up my Christmas decorations last week, I remembered this pin.  The instructions tell you to hot glue solo cups to cardboard and put them in a storage container.  Then fill the cups with your Christmas tree decorations.  This keeps ornaments organized, helps eliminate breakage, and just looks pretty.  

Totally out of character for me, I deviated from the instructions.  I did not use hot glue, and I used the cheap cups from Walmart.  So my final product was not nearly as pretty as the original pin, but I believe the results should be the same.

See.

I'll let you know next year if I have any breakage...

Have a Pinteresting Day!