another cookie post: thanks pinterest.

Sorry.
I'm talking about cookies again.
And...not some healthy, whole wheat, quinoa- and bean-filled cookies.
These are white flour, white sugar, butter, the whole unhealthy deal.
{so...of course...they're delicious.}

For Jess' Pintertest Kitchen this month I knew what I had to do.
I had been eyeing these pumpkin snickerdoodles for awhile.
Pumpkin + snickerdoodles...my two loves.



Don't they look delish?

I started making them this afternoon.
The kindergarten contingency was in full effect.



They're very easy.
Cream the butter and sugar...
add the pumpkin...
add the eggs and vanilla...
add the flour/salt/baking powder/cinnamon/nutmeg combo...
chill.
The kindergarten contingency was very unhappy
about the whole "dough has to chill for an hour before baking" thing.
Good thing I still had other cookies to offer them.

After the cookies had chilled
and the big kids were home from school,
we rolled the cookies in cinnamon and sugar.
The recipe calls for ginger and allspice too, but I didn't think my kids would like that as much.



There's never any shortage of people volunteering
to roll the cookies in the sugar in this house.

So...the cookie verdict.



The kids and I LOVED them.
Gary doesn't like snickerdoodles so he didn't have any.
{he clearly needs counseling of some sort.}



If you're a fan of snickerdoodles and pumpkin at all,
make these.
White flour and sugar, for the win.

This was definitely a Pinterest success story.
The original recipe is here.



Linking up with Jess.
The Pintertest Kitchen is turning one!
Go check her out.
You'll like her.

faux chipotle lime rice.

Every month my friend Jess hosts a Pintertest Kitchen link up.
Super brilliant idea,
because nine times out of ten I pin things and then forget all about them.

I've slacked the last few months,
but this month I found a recipe I had to try:
Chipotle rice, at home.
Yessssss.



{original recipe here.}

Gary and I love Chipotle,
but for some reason our weird children have decided that Chipotle
is their least favorite place in the world to be.
Well...technically Chipotle and Home Depot.
So we don't go there very often to avoid the complaining.

But tonight for dinner the kids had Trader Joe's fish sticks
{oh yes they did}
and I got busy making the Chipotle rice for the two of us.

It's so easy.
I bought some super gourmet basmati rice.



Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a pan and sauté 2 cups basmati rice until it's translucent.
Then add 4 cups water and a bay leaf and bring it to boil.



See my little bay leaf in there?

Once it boils turn the heat down, cover, and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes,
or until the water is gone.
Then turn off the heat and let it sit, covered, and get all nice and puffy for about 30 minutes.

While your rice is getting puffy
take 1 teaspoon of salt and dissolve it with the juice of a lime.
After the rice has steamed for the 30 minutes add the salty lime juice
and fluff.
YUM.

You're supposed to add 2 tablespoons of minced cilantro at this point,
but I didn't have any, so it was a little naked.



I was keeping it warm while waiting for my Chipotle partner in crime to come home from work.
I added a little green onion for color, but I liked it better without.



It was yummy.
Two thumbs up from us.
I mixed it with a salad I had made and we pretended we were at Chipotle.
Minus the complainey kids.

And I highly recommend a little guacamole to go along with it.



So...all in all...it was a Pinterest score.
I'll make it again,
but since it makes A TON I won't need to for awhile.
Good news: salad and lime rice for lunch tomorrow!

Check out all the other good stuff here:

my best pin yet.

I am so happy to report I've come across a Pinterest winner.
You can never be sure, you know, with Pinterest.
Sometimes you get a Pinterest success story
and other times...notsomuch.

When Jess mentioned it was Pintertest Kitchen time again,
I knew what had to be done.
Nutella. brownies.
Let's do this.



{original recipe here.}

First gather your...ready for this?...three ingredients.
Nutella, two eggs, and flour.
And you know what?
I used whole wheat flour.
Yep.  These are WHOLE WHEAT Nutella brownies.
{i'll stop short of using the term 'healthy', but they're pretty darn close.}



Heat your oven to 350*.
Take 1 cup Nutella
and two eggs and mix until blended.
{you can microwave your nutella for a little bit to make it easier to mix.}

Then add 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. whole wheat flour
and mix until smooth.

Once it's all mixed fill your cupcake liners about half full.
And I can't confirm or deny, but these brownies might taste better if you have
the super cute Katie Daisy cupcake liners
from Target last year.



Bake at 350* for 12 minutes,
remove from oven,
and marvel at their beauty.



Trust me when I say that these are deeeee-lish.
Seriously.
Not too Nutella-ey (if there is such a thing), but just perfect.



Oh my gosh.
I'm going to make another batch tomorrow.
Because there haven't been enough sweets in our house lately.
{i can't even type that with a straight face.}

Make them.
You're welcome.

Linking up with Jess.

chocolate + sprinkles + pinterest = win

I know it's only January 4th,
and many of us probably made some sort of decision
a few days ago to eat healthier this year.

This post is not going to help you with that decision.

{sorry}

Every month Jess hosts the Pintertest Kitchen.
It's a good excuse for me to peruse my pins and
figure out what to recreate.

This month I landed on this:



And by some miracle I had all of the ingredients on hand.
Even white chocolate.
{where did that come from?}

Here's the recipe:

6 oz. dark chocolate (i used semi-sweet)
12 oz. white chocolate
3 Tbsp. yellow cake mix
sprinkles

Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave
over in a double boiler.
Line a square baking pan with parchment if you have some
{i didn't, and it was fine}
and pour the melted dark chocolate in the pan and spread with a spatula.
Let harden in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Melt the white chocolate and, once, melted,
stir in the cake mix until smooth.
Spread evenly over the dark chocolate.
Top with sprinkles.
The more the better. :)
Let it harden in the freezer.
Once it's hard, break it into small pieces.



It's rich and you'll only need to eat a small piece,
so it's not that bad for your new healthy diet plan.
{right?}



This was a fun, easy treat.
The kids will like it.
Go ahead and add this to your "make it" file.

Thanks, Jess, for a good excuse to get the sprinkles out tonight.

a pinterest take on advent.

We have always been a chocolate advent calendar kind of family.

There's nothing like eating a daily piece of cheap, waxy chocolate to get you

into the Christmas mood.

I mentioned a few days ago that we decided to forego

the traditional chocolate advent calendars this year.

The Legomaniacs in the house got the Lego advent calendar

and are waking up before six every morning to see what they get to build that day.

{help us.}

I had trouble finding a cute advent calendar 

for the non Lego lover in the house, though.

Except for the $75 My Little Pony version on Amazon.

Uh, no.

So off to Pinterest I went,

and I found this:

{tutorial here}

So cute.

It was a little time consuming to make 25 little pockets,

but the end result is worth it.

I strung up some red pompom trim

and clipped the pockets with clothespins.

I didn't bother to paint the clothespins,

and just wrote the numbers on with sharpie.

 We folded over the tops of the pockets she's yet to open,

because it's really really tempting to peek inside.

I like that we'll be able to use it for years to come.

I bet I'll be putting iTunes gift cards or make up in those pockets one of these days.

But for now?

Squinkies.

{called squishies in our house.}

And to get my chocolate fix,
I'm going to buy a bag of mint hershey kisses.

Love those things.

Linking up with Jess' Pintertest Kitchen.

gifts. and pinterest.

Unless you have been living underneath
an internet rock,
by now you are familiar with Pinterest.
It's an awesome place
to see the work of others
and be inspired to do something,
or create something.

If you're like me,
sometimes it's easy to look at what others are doing
and compare yourself.
Maybe even get caught up in feelings
of inadequacy.

Maybe your photography isn't as great as someone else's.
Or you can't write as eloquently as someone else.
Or you can't reach out to people as easily as that other person does.

Sometimes it's easy to think that since we can't do things
as well as someone else,
that we don't have any gifts to share.
We're wrong.

And it's good to have a reminder.

My inspiration was this project.
{found here, via pinterest.}
So lovely!

(source: the lettered cottage)

I wanted a version in my house,
so I called my favorite woodworker
and asked him if he could make me the slatted wood base.
{he called me two hours later from home depot, wanting dimensions.  he doesn't mess around.}

He delivered the wooden base to me a few days later,
but it has taken me quite a bit longer to decide what to paint.

Finally, I decided on Romans 12:8 NLT.

I want my kids to know that they have been
blessed with gifts that are unique to them.

I like how it says "If your gift is...",
and not, "if you have a gift...".
Your gift may be showing kindness or being encouraging.
Making meals for someone who could use it.
Running to the grocery store for a sick friend.
Gladly letting someone else go in front of you
in Target when they have only a few items.

I'm not sure yet where this is going to live in our house.
But I like the reminder that we all have gifts to share.

What are yours?

{linking up with jess, who i know has the gift of showing kindness to others.}

today at home.

Avery and I stayed home for most of the day today.
It felt good to have time at home,
even if I did have a headache and do a ton of laundry.
I like my house in the fall.

Dinner was chicken tortilla soup.
I love the crock pot.

A project in the works.
Possibly my next entry in the Pintertest Kitchen?

Leftover soup for lunch.
{guess i'm on a soup kick.}
Chicken broth, potatoes, squash, garbanzo beans,
and chard.
I know...chard?
I got chard in my farm box last week and I actually used some of it.
It was a proud moment for me.

Aren't those cool?
They are old dead blooms from
my friend Joy's aloe tree.
I think they look part beachy/part Halloween-y.

These guys have a date with the carving knife tomorrow.

Paint choices and window coverings
are a thorn in my side.
Just when I think I have things figured out...
I change my mind.
Argh!

There seem to be Lego's in every corner of our house.
I bought a few old printers trays several years ago
and my hunch was right: they're the perfect size for mini-figures.
{one of the other trays i bought is in the entry way picture above.}

And one more sneak peek of the
Crazy Halloween Costumes of 2011.

I probably gave it away.
:)

***************

updated to add:

I think John Rambo might be having a bad day.

{see comments}

And after reading all of his reasons to boycott American women

I would just like to say, on behalf of all American women,

what a relief. 

And...sorry, international gals.

He's all yours. 

PinterTest Kitchen - pumpkin chocolate chip brownies

This is the first week of Jessica's Pintertest Kitchen .
The idea is:
find something you have pinned on Pinterest,
and make it!
Brilliant, Jess.

I thought about what I wanted to make
and decided on pumpkin chocolate chip brownies.

Yum!
They look so delicious, right?

Let's get this pinterest party started.
Here is your obligatory ingredients shot:

what you don't see in this picture is the insanely huge mess that was on the countertop behind me.

just thought you'd like some behind-the-scenes info.

And, well, I took pictures of the rest of the steps,
but I'll just spare you the details.

Here's all you need to know:

That, my friends, is what you call a Pintertest Kitchen F-A-I-L.

They didn't rise,
they were rubbery,
and I'm so bummed that I wasted a half cup of my Guittard chocolate chips on them.

I'm not sure what went wrong,
but I'm not going to revisit them to find out.

Next week, I'm determined to have a better experience.
The Pintertest Kitchen is not going to defeat me.

Maybe I'll stick to sewing next week.

I'm linking up these sad little loser brownies with Jess.
Let's hope others were a little more successful.