I am a nerd!

I am so excited for The Avengers movie tomorrow night! So excited that I made this....

She's crafty!

My very good, dear friend Laurel's 30th Birthday Extravaganza was Saturday night. I wanted to give her something that was perfectly "Laurel". She's crafty, thoughtful, clever, loves wine and give the best gifts.

I came up with the idea of Chalkboard Wine Glasses! Chicks on Pinterest are chalkboard painting almost everything within an inch of it's life so I thought it was my turn to be crafty!

Chalkboard Wine Glasses

What you will need:

1. 6 pack of wine glasses from Ikea ($4)
2. Painters tape (already had on hand)
3. Can of black Chalkboard Spray Paint ($4 Home Depot)

Step 1- Run a bit of painter's tape around the stem of each glass at the base.

Step 2- Carefully spray each base..also make sure you check that the spray can has a little nozzle before purchasing. My nozzle was missing (of course), lucky for me I have about 3,529 cans of spray paint hanging out in my project cabinet in the garage.

Step 3- Let dry for 2 days before chalking it up. Gently rub a piece of chalk all over spray painted surface then wipe off to prep it for chalkboard use :)

Step 4-Start thinking of other things you can transform with chalkboard spray paint :)

The finished project!

What can I say she loves pea soup!

C'mon...all the cool kids are trying it.

Kale chips. Yep, they are delish! I ate an entire bunch of kale in a matter of minutes. You have to try them. They are as crave-able as potato chips. A healthy, yummy, salty snack. This recipe is super easy peasy lemon squeezy; 3 ingredients, one bowl, one cookie sheet, and 15 minutes is all you need.

Kale Chips

1 bunch kale

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt


Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees 
2. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. Carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces.
4. Wash and dry kale (must be dry or it won't get crispy)
5. Toss kale with olive oil and kosher salt.
6. Bake until edges are browned, about 10-15 min.

Enjoy!



I'm a winner I can feel it.

The Grilled Cheese Invitational 2012!!!!

Yep, I will be entering my very first cooking contest at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on April 28th. You should come on down if you are in the area! Click the link above for info! I have been brainstorming about my recipe and was encouraged by my friend, Laurel, to incorporate on of my special dishes into a grilled cheese sandwich. I tested it out today and it is caloric gold! Just a few modifications and I just might have a winning recipe! Win or lose I will be sure to post the recipe after the competition.

Tasty Tuesday- Lemony Orzo Pasta Salad!

My office was known far and wide as the Potluck Crew. We would potluck it up for birthdays, holidays, wedding showers; if you can think of a reason to celebrate we could think of a reason to eat! January 1st marked the start of our office Biggest Loser challenge...which yours truly happened to win recently by losing 18lbs in the contest. Once the Biggest Loser challenge started all potlucks ceased :(  Last Friday was our first potluck of the New Year, some went crazy with tasty treats and others; like my co-worker Sue, brought in yummy dishes on the healthier side.

 Here is my interpretation of Sue's recipe for Lemony Orzo Pasta Salad:

INGREDIENTS
One 1 pound box of orzo pasta
Juice of at least 1 fresh lemon*
Salt and pepper
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley
Just over 1/2 cup olive oil
A handful of pine nuts( or almonds), toasted (be careful when toasting them in a pan-they can burn very easily-they should only be golden brown)
6 to 8 ounces of crumbled feta
*The recipe is not exact, almost everything is to taste, so feel free to add more lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper, scallions, feta, pine nuts.
PREPARATION
1.Cook the orzo and let it cool completely before adding any of the other ingredients.
2. Mix together the lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper. When the pasta is cool, stir in the juice/oil mixture. Then add the chopped parsley, pine nuts and feta. Mix thoroughly.

It's all I could do to not eat the entire bowl! You could throw in a bit of grilled chicken to make it a main dish!

On a different note, last night I discovered the band

Two Door Cinema Club

 

They are great, from Northern Ireland and you might like them if you like Foster The People.

Click their name to listen on last.fm 

Happy Tuesday!!!!

Music Monday- Martin Solveig & Dragonette - Hello

I love music! Most people say that they love all music; except rap and country, or classical and christian, or easy listening and heavy metal. I can truly say I love all genres of music. My record collection, ipod and Pandora account can attest to that, AC/DC and Glen Campbell, Frou Frou to Third Day, and a little DJ Kool for good measure. Lately, I have been listening to quite a bit of Dubstep and Techno. So much in fact that my Pandora station keeps throwing in music from DJ Pauly D. Remember I said I love all genres, not all musicians/artists/whatever he is. I am listening to so much Dubstep/Techno that I had a nightmare Thursday night that "The Situation" was my adoring boyfriend. Yuck! He was shirtless and smelled like onions. He was constantly fist pumping and was trying to make me go tanning and get me to get gross sparkly, pink and purple acrylic nails. One artist that I love that falls into the Dubstep/Techno category but won't make you feel a need to run out and GTL is Dragonette. I love her stuff!

Click the link below to go to SoundCloud to hear her tunes :)

Martin Solveig & Dragonette - Hello

Her music has helped me push through when working out, when 5 more minutes seems impossible. I love to listen when cleaning my house and she is one of the artist I like to listen to when getting ready for work.

What are you listening to?

Deviled Eggs on Steroids

There is quite a bit of how-to's, diy's, tips and tricks on Pinterest. I have spent many an evening starting by perusing the pin boards for tasty treats and end up at 1am on a page dedicated to making your own laundry soap and shampoo from things in your pantry. I try to throw something I have gleaned from Pinterest into my rotation once a week. I feel that my Pinterest self is much more fashionable, cool and a bit more of a gourmand than I truly am in real life. Well, here's a stab and upping my h'orderve ante.....

Avocado Deviled Eggs

18 hard baked eggs

6 tbsp mayo

1tbsp yellow mustard

1 tsp kosher salt

1tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

black pepper to taste

paprika for garnish

Hard baking eggs is the way to go! It's easier, it's far less smelly and I think it gives the yolks a smoother texture.

Hard Baked Eggs

1. Move oven rack to the middle of the oven and place 18 (room temp)eggs directly on rack.
2. Place a cookie sheet on bottom rack in the event an egg cracks.
3. Turn oven to 350 degrees and set timer for 30 minutes.
4. Once 30 min is up transfer eggs to an ice bath(bowl of ice cubes and water).
5. Once eggs are cooled; peel under running water, and pat dry.
   
   

   

   
   

   

   

Deviled Eggs

1. Slice hard baked eggs in half; dumping yolks into a bowl and setting whites aside.
2. Smoosh up yolks with a fork until fairly fine in texture.
3. Add in Mayo, mustard, salt, garlic powder, cayenne, and black pepper to taste. I add extras of each because I love food that packs a punch.
4. Add in diced avocado an smoosh up until consistency is creamy.
5. Transfer mixture to frosting gun or bag and pipe into egg whites.
6. Garnish with a smattering of paprika.

These are a fun twist on the traditional deviled egg.

Enjoy :)