Verdicts from the week of the 5th

1.  Cherry-vanilla layer cake - 3 out of 5  Tastes good and the icing isn't horribly sweet, but not amazing enough to do again.  This was the first time I've made swiss meringue buttercream and...it was a disaster.  Everything was great until I added the vanilla and then it 'broke'.  That's the only word I can think of to describe it.  It looked like this:

Confections of a Foodie Bride

So like any good researcher does, I went online and googled "swiss meringue buttercream problems".  I found Confections of a Foodie Bride, followed her instructions (popped part of it in the microwave, then whipped the entire thing again), and I couldn't believe it...a miracle had occurred right before my eyes.  The Internet...oh what would I do without you?

2.  Butterbeer - 5 out of 5  Best copycat recipe I've found.  I made a little too much topping, but I'll adjust next time.  Yes, I said next time. 

3.  Spinach-artichoke dip - 3 out of 5  Tastes super salty or garlicky to me.  Not a bad recipe though.

4.  Grilled cheese with tomato soup - 5 out of 5  I had no idea making homemade tomato soup was this easy and yummy.  I'll be making my own from now on.  I imagine it's more cost effective than buying canned soup too.  The grilled cheese called for three types of cheese but I'll think I'll just stick to my one slice of cheddar from now on.  P.S. I LOVE my immersion blender!!  Best invention ever.

5.  Tomato-sausage lasagna - 5 out of 5  Very time consuming (took over 2 hours from start to finish), but well worth the wait.  Best traditional lasagna I've ever made.  Lasted us all week too.  Speaking of which, I wonder if lasagna freezes well.  That would be the best way to do it...make it before hand & freeze individual servings for eating later.  Hmmmmmm....

One drawer at a time

A couple of weeks ago my friend posted a link on Facebook to a 365 day decluttering calendar.  Okay, I'm up for a challenge...let's do this!

This calendar has been so helpful.  Granted, there are some things that don't apply to me or I just don't do.  This week for example:
Monday - clean off left side of dresser top
Tuesday - clean off center of dresser top
Wednesday - clean off right side of dresser top

Well, I don't really have anything to clean off.  And boy does it feel good to say that!!

The week before last's tasks were so great.  Go through plastic bag/foil drawer (very needed), clean out one kitchen drawer (again, very needed), and we cleaned out & wiped down the fridge.  I don't know about you, but I very rarely give my fridge a good cleaning.

It just feels good and I wanted to share that with you guys.  Hopefully there's a 'clean out your office' task soon.  :oD 

At Last

Here's what's on the decluttering calendar this week:

Monday - Put away or give away books on your desk
Tuesday - Declutter left desk
Wednesday - Declutter center desk
Thursday - Declutter right desk
Friday - Go through printer stand
Saturday - Clear off any bulletin boards of old things

It's about time!  As easy as last week was (clear off bedroom dresser & shelves), this week will be the opposite.  It'll be well worth it and I can't wait!

And counting...

I spend more time on Pinterest now than Facebook.  What is the world coming to?!  I pinned this 2 weeks ago and there have been 577 repins so far.  I had no idea an egg carton would take me so far in life.  :)

Funny thing is that I saw it was pinned by someone else as well and that one has well over 1,000 repins.  An egg carton.

Source: bhg.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Happy pinning!

Recipes Week of Feb 5th

Note: as soon as can figure out the html code to center the caption along with the picture, I'll fix this.  This left alignment is driving me crazy!

1.  I've decided that along with 2 savories & 1 dessert recipe to try, I'll try a drink recipe.  First one, of course, is butterbeer from the wonderful Harry Potter books.  I made this yesterday...review at the end of the week!

Source: bakingdom.com via Nicole on Pinterest

2.  "Healthy" Spinach & Artichoke Dip in honor of the Super Bowl

Source: fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

3.  Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup - In our household, we have this more often than we have spaghetti.  I figured I'd see how sprucing up my basic grilled cheese and canned tomato soup will do.

Source: jennysteffens.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

4.  Tomato-Sausage Lasagna - I made this one last night...I'd estimate it took over 2 hours from start to finish.  :oP

Source: marthastewart.com via Nicole on Pinterest

5.  Cherry-Vanilla Layer Cake - I made this last night as well.  Quite a disaster, but I'll save that story for another day.

Source: sprinklebakes.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Verdicts from last week

1. Pumpkin Crunch - 2 out of 5  I didn't care for it, but I still ate it.  My husband, however, liked it and probably would rate it higher than I did.  I think the problem was that I only had an 8x8 pan-not the 9x9 it called for.  The topping (which was just a box of vanilla cake mix, mind you) didn't get cooked through so it was still powdery instead of crunchy.  Yeah, not my cup of tea.

2.  Creole Black Beans with Sausage - 5 out of 5  Yummy!

3.  Vegetarian Quinoa Chili - 4 out of 5 just because of the veggie content.  Felt like I got my recommended number of servings for the entire year.  I added a can of chipotle sauce + same amount in water and it made it super spicy--which I liked.