rainy day blues

i was supposed to take the kids to a birthday party today, but the rain postponed our plans.  instead, i am thinking of making some sort of crock-pot concoction with chicken and vegetable broth-- i'll let you know how it goes...

here are some other things i've made in the kitchen recently, while bored:

simple and yummy!

ever have one of those mornings where nothing in your pantry will suffice for breakfast, and all you REALLY want is a big, fat hunk of chocolate cake?  that's what happened this morning, only there was no cake!  instead i started the day with chocolate for breakfast:  nutella on wheat bread and a huge amount of ovaltine powder in my coffee!  a delish way to start the day!  the only downside is that my 5-year-old wants to eat this every day now!

this lunch cannot be good for me-- but it sure was yummy!

i had a bite of grilled cheese sandwich with pesto at a festival earlier this summer.  if you like pesto the way i like pesto, then you're probably drooling right now!  and since i had an open jar of pesto in the fridge, i decided to dress up my sandwich at home.  just a smear of pesto on either slice of bread, two slices of deli american in the middle, and tons of butter on the outside = YUMMMMMM!!  and i added some fried plantain to my plate, also cooked in butter, to, um, round out my meal...  ;)

pesto pizza and fried ravioli, with pizza sauce for dipping

more pesto!  this time, the hubby requested pizza like his favorite, the mel cooley, that our local two boots restaurant no longer has on the menu-- it's a white pie with peppers, onions, pesto, and probably a few more ingredients.  my pizza came out pretty good, considering i had limited ingredients on hand.  actually, i wish i had taken a picture of the entire thing, because it truly was a specialty pizza:  the crust was made with a canned dough, which i spread with pesto on one half and pizza sauce on the other.  i covered the entire thing with shredded mozzarella cheese.  then i put pepperoni on 1/2 of the red side and thinly sliced bell peppers and vidalia onions on the entire green side and baked to a golden perfection!

and yes, i did say fried ravioli, a la tgi fridays!  i figured:  how hard could it be?  but just to be sure, i looked up a recipe online.  it called for buttermilk, which i did not have, so i used egg and milk instead, followed by plain bread crumbs, which i seasoned with dried basil, salt, and pepper.  i fried them for literally 60 seconds, turning once, in super hot canola oil-- they really cook up quickly!  also, the recipe, which i did not follow, suggested sprinkling them with grated parmesan while still hot.  i didn't do that, 'cause i thought this meal was rich and fatty enough, thank you very much!

oh, gotta go check on that soup...

rhonda :)

pinterest

so pinterest has sucked me in-- deep!  for the past few months i've been constantly pinning and pinning!

i have 38 boards, almost 1800 pins, and over 200 likes.

i have a ton of breakfast, dinner, and dessert recipes, menus for any party theme you can think of, tips on how to clean and organize my house from top to bottom, ideas on how to decorate my home inside and out, dozens of inspirational quotes, hundreds of exercise regimes to flatten my tummy, firm up my thighs, lose 20 pounds, hairstyles, manicures, outfits, shoes, jokes, pretty pictures of nature, nostalgia from my favorite books, movies, tv shows, toys, teaching ideas, crafts, kids' crafts, patriotic crafts, halloween crafts, christmas crafts...  phew!  

will i EVER paint my nails like this? doubtful!

i try to only pin things that i'm actually capable of and willing to do.  i'm not pinning crochet projects when i don't know how to crochet, nor am i pinning elaborate recipes that require hours in the kitchen or exotic ingredients.  my expectations are fairly realistic:  yes, i can make baked potato soup in the crock-pot;  yes, i can build a planter out of cinder blocks;  yes, i am certainly able to harvest and dry sprigs of rosemary and maybe even make infused olive oil with them!  i'm hoping that in this lifetime i'll get to actually try out all these recipes, tips, ideas, and lifestyle improvements that i have bookmarked, but at the rate i'm going, it's likely to take decades!

what i love most about pinterest is that i see fantastic recipes and projects, and then i get inspired to experiment, put a different spin on them, and make my own stuff!  here are some things i've made recently-- it helps that i've been on summer vacay for the past 7 weeks!  :)

baked french toast casserole, aka heaven on a plate!

baked french toast

this is a paula dean recipe, so you know that not only is it delish, but it's also really bad for you!!  here's the recipe, but basically, you soak slices of french bread in a concoction of eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and spices overnight, spread a fabulous layer of sugar, corn syrup, more spices, pecans, and 2 entire sticks of butter on top, and bake to a nutty, caramel-ly goodness!  i added sliced bananas on top and decided to forego the maple syrup that paula dean suggests-- no need for any extra sugar in this dessert-type breakfast!

it seems so counter-productive to deep-fry quinoa!

cheesy quinoa cakes

i've been buying lots of quinoa lately, trying to eat things that are healthier and full of the vitamins and nutrients that my snack cake and tortilla chip diet was severely lacking!  these quinoa cakes were absolutely yummy, though they did not taste the least bit healthy, in any way, shape, or form!  here's the recipe, though i altered it a bit, by using red quinoa instead of yellow, havarti cheese instead of fontina, and chives instead of green onions, or is that the same thing?...  i also did not make the accompanying aioli in this recipe, opting instead for a cilantro lime greek yogurt dip that i had on hand from a previous recipe.  it was a lot lighter than a dip made with mayonnaise, which was good, 'cause these cakes are very greasy!

peach cherry crisp = a healthier dessert alternative!

peach cherry crisp

i am constantly looking for ways to use up all the overripe fruit in my kitchen-- needless to say, my family eats a lot of muffins, banana bread, smoothies, and fruit crisps.  only having ever made apple crisp, i wasn't sure how this recipe would turn out, but i had to too many peaches and cherries on hand not to try it!    i used sliced peaches, sliced cherries, lemon juice, cornstarch, oats, flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon.  here's the recipe i loosely followed-- i used regular enriched, unbleached flour, regular granulated sugar (and less of it), and bottled lemon juice, and i had no nuts on hand, so i did without.  it was super tasty while piping hot and still crispy on top, especially with a dollop of whipped cream on top!

next up:  i'll post some things i made without the help of my fellow pinners...  yes, there is life beyond pinterest!  

rhonda :)

must give credit where credit is due:

• giraffe manicure photo is from fuckyeahnailart.tumblr.com

• though the food pics are all my own, the original recipes are from foodnetwork.com, spoonforkbacon.com, and karma-free-cooking. com, respectively

it's been WAY TOO LONG!!

sorry i've been away so long!  facebook and pinterest, work, and of course momhood have totally consumed me!!  what's been up with me in the past year and a half?  to sum it up:

• i never finished my 30-day challenge...  but i plan to start a new one real soon!  here's a fun one!

• i grew out my relaxer (it's been 27 months!) and am now obsessed with natural hair!  i'm even contemplating making my own natural hair products and trying to figure out a way to make it onto "the curly cruise" next april...

• i bought a new, more reliable, more efficient car-- did i mention it was NEW?!!

• i had a booth not once but twice at the annual bridgeport arts fest!

• since pinterest has reared its not-so-ugly head into my life, i've been doing lots of experimenting in the kitchen and the craft room.

painted flower pots for teacher appreciation week

warm and nutty cinnamon quinoa for breakfast

• and of course, i'm maintaining my stagnant jewelry business online-- staying afloat, even though my heart is not nearly as much in it as i would like...  i am still looking for my "niche"...

see you soon-- i promise!

rhonda :)http://www.thecurlycruise.com/