Chicken and Dumplings

Eh.
It was good, but not our taste.  Before I tell you why, let me tell you what it is.
I found a pin with a recipe for Chicken and Dumplings...in the crock pot!  Well, what good southern wife doesn't make chicken and dumplings for her hubby?  I gathered my ingredients and wrassled my giant crock pot out of the cabinet it resides in.  I started dumping everything in before I realized I only had 1 of the 2 cans of cream of chicken that the recipe calls for.  I did have a can of broccoli cheese soup, so I used that.  It gave the dish an interesting touch.
The chicken was very tasty and very tender, but the dumplings just weren't for us.  I prefer Cracker Barrel dumplings!  Plus, using canned soups adds a lot of extra sodium.  Neither of use like a lot of salt, so it was a bit much.
I may make chicken using the recipe, but with my own cream soup base and without the dumplings.  That way it would be low-carb too.  I think it would be pretty similar to my grandmother's chicken stew recipe then.  Hm...maybe that will be on the menu next week!

Alpha Gamma Delta and me

This doesn't actually have anything to do with what I found on Pinterest, but I want to do it anyway.  So there.
Today I went back to my college, the University of Montevallo, for an Alpha Gam reunion.  This has been in the works for a while, but I didn't ever think I'd actually go for several reasons.  Most of it was thinking I hadn't done anything much to be proud of...my pride.
I'm so glad I went!  Nobody cared what my job is, where my house is, or how expensive my car is.  They don't care that I am divorced and remarried or that I don't have any children of my own.
We were all just so happy to see each other and to hear that everyone is happy and successful in their own ways.  We spent some of the best days of our lives together and will always have a special bond.

Here are some things I learned today:
1. I am now a "Ma'am."
2. I am middle-aged.
3. Three flights of stairs never get easier.
4. Taking risks are usually well worth the risk.
5. Old friends are always friends.
6. I can still fit into my jersey, but it sure doesn't look the same!
7. Alpha Gam WILL always be a part of me.

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

Yum!!!
I've been trying to cook only healthy foods lately.  In fact, I've diagnosed myself as insulin resistant and I've cut WAY back on the carbs, especially bad carbs - more on that later.  I've scoured Pinterest for recipes that would satisfy my family.
This recipe from Pipandebby was easy to prepare, easy to find foods to go with it, and impressive to everyone at the table.  I cooked some spanish rice for everyone else, sliced some avocado, and served low fat refried beans with it.
It had a kick to it, but not too much.  The flavor cooked all the way through the chicken (which doesn't always happen) and there was plenty of sauce left to pour over the rice and beans.  The cool and creamy avocado was a great compliment to the spicy chicken.

Pipandebby

Valentine Decor

I saw this pin in December and couldn't wait for it to be Valentine's Day!  I love the simplicity of it and the use of color.  It is so sweet and whimsical.

I have a lot of empty glass bottles and already had the bamboo skewers, but I wanted to use some cute milk bottles that I found in the Target dollar section a couple of year ago.  I bought felt (4 for $1.00) at Hobby Lobby and cut out 4 hearts from each color.  I broke the skewers into different lengths and glued a heart to each side of the skewers.  I think I like the hearts in the original picture better, but they look stuffed and sewn.  My way was much easier!

My Hearts!

Positive Thinking Thursday

That's Thursday's new name.  Now that I've decided to blog about my Pinterest addiction, I've had some thoughts.  Wanna hear them? Hear we go...


I saw this quote on TechCrunch: 


"Pinterest... where hot fitness models frolic among travel dreams and crockpot recipes."




Ha!  It's true!  It is easy to feel inferior or unproductive when you spend so much time looking at all the fabulous things other people are making/cooking/doing/going/being.  I don't know that I've ever consciously looked at Pinterest and felt bad, but maybe I have.  I tend to see it as more of a motivator or inspiration.  I've seen a lot of health and beauty tips that I've tried and loved. I've found recipes that made healthy eating taste a lot better in this house.  It has been a way for me to share my creative side with people all over. I love it!
Obviously, I'm not the only one who loves it.  Pinterest has more than 10 million unique visitors each month now!

So, on this first POSITIVE THINKING THURSDAY of mine, what do you have to share with the world?  What would your hallmark pin be?  We've all got something that the world needs to see!  What's yours?

A new FAVORITE!

I found this recipe on Pinterest and i piqued my interest.  This blog is so cute too!  Anyway, I've decided that I am insulin resistant, which is also called pre-diabetic.  Scary!  My mother is diabetic and so was her mother.  I'm going to break the cycle and be healthier!  Anyway, this recipe fit right into my plan.
I did break a few of her rules.  I didn't have fresh basil, so I used dry Italian basil.  I'm sure fresh Thai basil would be even tastier.  I also used already ground chicken.  I think I'd like it better starting with whole chicken breasts, but it was so much easier the way I did it.  I also didn't have Thai chiles, so I used jalapeno instead.

K and I both like it.  I LOVED it!  I was easy, filling, and healthy.  I think I will make this often.  I may try out some other ways to use the basic form of this recipe with different flavors.  Maybe I'll try a Mexican theme next time. K can have it in a taco or burrito form and I'll have it over spinach again.

Cajun Kale Chips

So, I've heard for a while that kale is a superfood.  To me, that means it tastes funny and is too expensive. Well, I found a recipe for Kale that included the word Cajun, so I decided to give it a shot.  I used Old Bay Seasoning because it's what my Grandpa would have used!  That smell reminds me of childhood in Slidell!  Tony Chachere's would be good too!  I plan to try other flavors now too.  Maybe a greek seasoning or asian seasoning?

And I'm so glad I did!  It tasted wonderful and was actually pretty filling.  My favorite pieces were the ones that had gotten completely crispy.  I baked mine for 10 minutes because I didn't want to burn it, but I think I will bake it a bit longer next time so it's all crispy.  

Kale is now permanently on my grocery list!

Arnold Palmer Cake

My Mom's birthday is in July.  This year, i wanted to be the one to make her cake.  She loves fruity desserts, especially lemon, so when I found this recipe, I knew it was a winner!

This cake was a hit with Mom and everyone else!  I want to find a way to get more of the sweet tea flavor in the frosting though.  Maybe I'll start with more tea and cook it down a little longer.

The recipe didn't say that it needed to be refrigerated (because of the filling) and I didn't think about it until it was too late.  I was VERY sad to have to toss what was left.

I would make this again!  It's a great summer treat!

 Mom can't have candles with her oxygen, so she blew out her lemon!

Washing my face with oil

I wrote a post about being a natural woman a while back.  This pin from Pinterest is part of that inspiration.  Well, I've been washing my face with oil for almost 3 months now and the results are fantastic!  I've mixed 1 part olive oil with 1 part castor oil and it seems just right for my skin.  During really cold weeks, I've needed a little more olive oil to keep my skin from feeling dry.  Everyone once in a while I'll use Skin Rever-Upper from Bare Minerals to keep it smooth.
I smooth the oil on my face while my shower is warming up.  I get a washcloth hot and lay it over my face for about a minute.  I then rinse the washcloth and lightly wipe/scrub my face to remove the oil.  It feels great and works well.
I was keeping it in a baby food jar on my counter until a trip to Honduras in December.  Those suckers don't seal up so well in the luggage, apparently.  While we were in a third world country, I didn't really have access to olive oil and castor oil so I washed my face with bar soap.  My skin broke out like never before.  I decided to use Cetaphil after we got back in hopes that it would clear up.  NOPE!  As soon as I went back to my oil mixture, my skin started behaving itself again.  I don't think I'll ever use another facewash again!

Picnik can't go!

I used Picnik with my 5th graders in the photography and scrapbooking club and they loved it.  I was familiar with the ability to edit photos using the website, but I didn't know it could make stuff like this.

I'll be making as many of these as I can until Picnik closes in April.  What else do I need to make?

After April, I will see what this pin has to offer!