Pinterest Part Two: The Test Tube Spice Bin

Random shapes and sizes make it hard to organize.

My spices in the pantry were a mess.  I hate spice racks because they never include all of the spices you use, plus they include spices you may never use!  I found this idea on Pinterest (you know, the new crack for women) and decided to try it out. 

I went to Etsy and purchased test tubes and corks.  They were at my door step within a few days.  If you were smart you would use a funnel, but I did not.  Got a little more on my table on a few spices, and I've been sneezing like crazy.

I filled the tubes with the spices I had on hand.  Some of them required two tubes.  I was also glad I did this because I found some spices that were expired and should have been thrown out like five years ago.  I wish I was joking.   





Miss Kia is quite the assistant. 

I used a fine print Sharpie to label the spice on the corks.




Coolness....I'm done!  I used a little basket that I've had for years.  This project cost less than $30...$21 for the test tubes and corks, $8 for shipping.  There were cheaper tubes, but I really liked the look of the cork tops.  This was well worth the time and money because there is more room in my pantry and all of my spices are accessible with out taking up counter space. 





I decided to leave my salt and pepper in its shakers.  Maybe some day I'll get big girl shakers, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?    ;)



Bleu Cheese Burgers

I'm a sucker for curley fries.....

I love bleu cheese.  Love it.  I eat it with salads, wings, and will evem dip veggies in it.  Who knew rotting cheese could taste so good. 

Mr. Whoa and I live down the street from a tasty sports bar (hell, we love it so much our rehearsal dinner was there).  Eight times out of ten when we dine there, I order the black and bleu burger.  I've been hungry for one, but Mr. Whoa and I went out to lunch yesterday, so I wanted to try and make it myself.  Plus the sportsbar burger can be a little too spicy or salty, so I was hoping I could fix that. 

What you need:
1/2 pound of bacon
1 pound of ground beef
4 oz of crumbled bleu cheese
1 TB of hot mustard
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper


What to do:
Fry bacon in a frying pan.  When finished, cover in paper towels and set aside.
In mixing bowl add ground beef, bleu cheese, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Mix together and form into four patties.  Heat in frying pan about 5-7 minutes each side. 

I served on an onion bun and broke a slice of bacon in half to put on the sammy.  Since the bleu cheese was in a 5oz container, I sprinked a little on the top of the burger. 

Mr. Whoa rating:
☺☺☺☺☺

Hot damn these were good.  The flavor was perfect. 

Any other "stuffed" burgers you think are TDF?

My first Pinterest project: The Chalkboard Menu

So I've pinned a gang of cute ideas to do the chalkboard menu, but I don't have a lot of wall space to do anything big.  As I was about to leave the craft store last night, I walked by the spring clearance (Clearance before spring?) and found this little flower pot chalk board. 



before

 I snatched it and grabbed some paint, because I finally had an idea of what to do.  When I got home, I removed the flower and the vine.  I painted around the pot a cream color, and then attempted to paint leopard print.  I added a bow in the corner and attached my chalk.  Glued some old magnents on the back and voila!

after

Since I had NOTHING (no paint, brushes, etc) it was probably pricier than I wanted to spend, but it ended up only being about $20 or so.  Not too shabby!  It took a long time, but it was fun.

Ranchy Chops

Every day, the group of girls I email with share their menu for the day to hold each other accountable.  I don't normally participate because I mostly just eat supper, but once in awhile I will skim through the thread.

Nicole posted her menu and for lunch she wrote she was having ranch pork chop leftovers, even followed by an "OMG," so a few of us were intrigued.

Jesus H, was this as simple as ever, and pretty effing tasty too.

What you need:
Canola Oil
4 Boneless Pork Chops
2 Ranch dressing packets 



What to do:
1.  Pour canola oil in the bottom of the frying pan.
2.  Pour ranch packets on a plate, cover the chops by rubbing both sides into dressing.
3.  Fry chops in the pan.  When flipping over the chops, sprinkle some more ranch seasoning on top. 

Mr. Whoa rating:
☺☺☺☺☺
He loves pork chops, but we never seem to have them.  He said the ranch wasn't overpowering, but it gave it a nice little kick.  He said they were nice and juicy, and hopes we have them again.

Thanks Nicole.  :-D

Crockpot Chicken Cordon Bleu

Its finally cold and snowy here in good ol' Iowa, so I've been craving some comfort food!  I had four boneless skinless chicken breasts to use up, so I searched for some new crockpot recipes on Allrecipes.com. 

I love chicken cordon bleu, but I never want to take the time to cut and stuff the chicken breasts, so this was an easy way to get the taste with out having to do all the work. 

What you'll need:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

4 ounces sliced ham

4 ounces sliced Swiss cheese

1 (8 ounce) package herbed dry bread stuffing mix

1/4 cup butter, melted

What to do:

1. Mix together the cream of chicken soup and milk in a small bowl. Pour enough of the soup into a slow cooker to cover the bottom. Layer chicken breasts over the sauce.
2. Cover with slices of ham and then Swiss cheese.
3. Pour the remaining soup over the layers, stirring a little to distribute between layers. Sprinkle the stuffing on top, and drizzle butter over stuffing.
4. Cover, and cook on Low for 4 to 6 hours, or 2 to 3 hours on High.

I went to the deli and asked for 1/4 pound of ham, and it was just enough pieces to cover the chicken.  The deli ham was a little more pricey than the others found in the meat and cheese section, but I think its tastier, and this way none of it went to waste.  I also used shredded cheese, which I will add more next time as I really couldn't taste the swiss. 

Mr. Whoa rating:
☺☺☺☺

If stuffing is involved, Mr. Whoa digs it.  He even offered to do the dishes.  ;)

Cheeseburger Cupcakes

Ohhhh, Emily Bites, how I love thee.  Another recipe in the books that was super tasty, and the leftovers were awesome. 

I was kind of weirded out with the whole cupcake thing, but it tasted like an awesome maidrite eggroll.  As you can see from the picture, mine were a little crispy, but they didn't taste burnt.  These too were super easy and delicious.  Sister Whoa was up for dinner last night and all but one cupcake was gone (and I made an extra one).

What you need:

¼ c onion, finely chopped

½ lb 95% lean ground beef

1 T McCormick Hamburger Seasoning

4 Laughing Cow Queso Fresco & Chipotle wedges, chopped

3 T ketchup

1 T mustard

16 wonton wrappers (typically found in the produce section)

4 oz (1 cup) reduced fat 2% shredded cheddar cheese

What to do:

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 8 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.

2.    Mist a large skillet with cooking spray and bring to medium heat. Add chopped onions and sauté until cooked. Add ground beef and Hamburger seasoning and cook until meat is browned. Add mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until mushrooms are browned as well.

3.    In a microwavable bowl, combine meat/mushroom mixture, cheese wedges, ketchup and mustard and stir. Microwave for one minute on high. Stir to combine until meat mixture is fully coated.

4.    Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the eight sprayed cups in the muffin tin. Using about half of the meat mixture, spoon evenly into the wonton wrappers. Sprinkle about half the cheddar cheese evenly over the top of each cup. Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients.

5.    Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin.

This recipe yields about 8 cupcakes, but I had enough for 9.  I also omitted the mushrooms since Mr. Whoa is a brat, and I used the garlic and herd laughing cow because I didn't have the queso kind.  I am sketchballs on buying LC cheese that I've never tried, since my disappointment with the Sun Dried Tomato, and it also being expensive as hell. 

Mr. Whoa rating:

☺☺☺☺☺

He snarfed four of the cupcakes down.  He liked the crunchiness of the wonton wrapper.  Sister Whoa asked for a copy of the recipe.  Easy to make and little clean up?  You bet your ass.  I think these would be a lot of fun for a football party or poker night. 

Cheesy Taco Pasta

I have made not one, not two, but three new recipes this week!  I think Mr. Whoa is liking me only working three days a week, because he has a hot dinner on the table every night.  I am having a lot of fun trying new recipes and just overall being more domesticated. 

I found this number on my girl, Emily Bites blog, and decided to cook it up.  We love tacos, we love casseroles, and it was super easy.  If you haven't checked out her blog yet, do it now and thank me later.




What you'll need:

8 oz wheat pasta (I used Barilla medium shells)

1 lb 95% lean ground beef

1 oz packet reduced sodium taco seasoning

1 ½ c chunky salsa

½ c water

¼ c fat free sour cream

¾ c shredded 2 % reduced fat cheddar cheese  (I used the Mexican cheese)

¾ c shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used extra sharp)

Salt & pepper to taste

What to do:

1.    Cook pasta according to package instructions.

2.    While pasta is cooking, place ground beef in a large sauté pan and cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the beef as it cooks. When the beef is cooked, drain any grease from pan. Add the taco seasoning, salsa and water and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes or until pasta is done cooking.

3.    Once pasta is done, drain pasta and add it to the beef mixture. Add the sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cheese will melt when thoroughly mixed. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Mr. Whoa rating:

☺☺☺☺  

I think if we would have used white pasta instead of wheat, it would have been five smilies.  Mr. Whoa is okay with wheat pasta, but it always tastes undercooked to me.  I know some boardies were concerned about tasting the sour cream, and honestly, you can't.  Leftovers were great...will def add this in the rotation!