Pinterest is eating my brain...

I remember my first semester at Union University when we first got facebook, way back when you had to have a college email address to register. I remember students staying up ALL NIGHT LONG and not getting any work done because they were so addicted to facebook.

Move over FB, helllloooooo Pinterest! The worst thing that has ever happened to my productivity. haha.  But let's try to look at this positively, shall we? Let's just remember that its a place of inspiration which may result in productivity...right? Here's some things I've got on my "Crafts" board and if you've ever been on Pinterest I'm sure you've come across them too...

Source: Shanty 2 Chic

Interchangable picture frame.  Duh, why didn't I think of that?? Why didn't we ALL think of that? I want to make one for my desk at work.

Source: Violet Paper Wings

It's no secret I love wreaths, and I have quite the surplus of yarn laying around so this would be a great project.  I think this would make a great gift! But of course I'll probably make one for myself first :)

Source: flickr

So I'm not going to cover my walls in thumbtacks but this made me realize that thumbtacks could be used in a really cool way to design something on canvas.  Plus, they're cheap and I already have a ton left over from my DIY vase fillers.

Source: The Art of Doing Stuff

I think this is just so cute and totally up my alley since it involves mirrors from the dollar store! My favorite! These simple mirror boxes make a big statement when grouped together like this.

Last but not least this is on one of my food boards and I'm eventually going to HAVE To put my foot down and make this for myself...

Source: One Orange Giraffe



Homemade Cream of "Something" Soup Mix! It looks so easy and I would love to make my own rather than use the salty canned stuff.  Call me crazy, but I think this would make an awesome gift for the cooks in my life! Don't you agree?? I was going to make homemade vanilla extract for some friends for Christmas, but this would cost a lot less and may be used more often for those who cook more than they bake.

So, what about you? Are you obsessed? Have you completed any projects that were inspired by Pinterest? If you'd like to follow me there just click below!



Eggplant Frittata

Sometime last year I bought an eggplant and was so excited to try what I just knew was going to be my new favorite meat-free meal: eggplant parmesan. Fail.  It was probably a combination of things I did wrong, but I ended up throwing away the majority of it and proclaiming myself anti-eggplant.

But they're so darn pretty. And they are full of nutritious good stuff and when they are on sale they are a great option for vegetarian dishes. And most importantly, I believe in second chances! So when my local grocery store had them on sale of 99 cents per pound last week I decided to try again.  I searched Pinterest and found this recipe for eggplant frittata on Chico's Kitchen and I went with it.  Here's the original recipe posted by Cherine...

Eggplant Frittata

• 8 eggs
• 1.5 pounds eggplant, peeled every other strip and cubed (I used half this much and thought it was still a lot of eggplant.  The full amount would have been overkill for me.)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated (my local grocery store had this in the deli section. You know over where the hummus and prepared pasta/potato salad is. The cost for the amount used in the recipe was about $1.40.)
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley (I used dried)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoon olive oil

1. Sprinkle chopped eggplant with salt and let sit in a colander for thirty minutes.  Rinse well and dry with a paper towel.

2. Heat olive oil in skillet and saute onions.  When they start to get translucent, add the eggplant and garlic. Cook on medium low heat, stirring often, until golden brown and soft.

3. In a bowl whisk together the eggs, cheese, and salt and pepper.

4. Pour egg mixture into skillet and move around the eggplant a bit so the eggs can cover the bottom of the skillet. Cook on low heat, covered, until eggs are set and cooked through.  This took way longer than I thought it would... probably because I kept uncovering it...

5. Slice it up (4-6 servings depending on how hungry you are) and sprinkle with parsley.

My thoughts.... this whole anti-eggplant thing is all in my head, I'm sure of it. This fritatta has a great flavor, which I think has a lot to do with the onions and the Gruyere cheese. Props to Cherine for putting the whole thing together. But I kept finding myself pretending the eggplant chunks were mushrooms, and that made it better for me.  In the end I liked it (even more so today as I eat leftovers for lunch). But will I make it again?  Probably not.  But I do hope YOU will try it and if you like eggplant, I think you'll love this.

By the way, this recipe felt very fancy in a simple-yet-fancy French cuisine kind of way, so much so that I even wore my new apron while I made it. I had to balance that out somehow... by serving it with simple steamed broccoli.  And store-brand boxed macaroni and cheese. I'm classy like that.

So do you like eggplant? How have you used it? Is there anything you've given a second chance but just decided you didn't care for it?

Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods

Cast Party Wednesday

Nautical Baby Shower

If there's anything worth celebrating, its a new baby. And you can't have a celebration without great food, some fun decorations, and fantastic friends. So...we did just that!

My friend Brenda and I co-hosted a baby shower for some sweet friends who will soon be adding a little boy to their crew of two girls.  Baby Tony's room is being decorated in a really cool vintage nautical/surf theme and so we decided a nautical-themed baby shower would be perfect for the summer celebration. Let's walk through some of the details that made the day fun, shall we?

The drink station was kept pretty and simple and included an ocean-colored punch with a cute little sail boat on top.  Top secret secret: that tablecloth is actually a shower curatin.  You gotta improvise, ladies!

People come to parties for the food, and most baby showers have their staples: chicken salad sandwiches (and pb and j's for the kids!), fruit salad, pigs in a blanket, chips and dip, and cake.  I lost my close-up shot of the napkins, but if you look carefully Brenda tied up the silverware with some twine and a life saver candy.  So cute, right?? Some of our sweet guests contributed to the food table, and we were very thankful...especially because it was all so delicious! In a future post I'm going to share the recipe for the dip I made because it is SO. FREAKIN. GOOD.  It includes avacado, black beans, and corn and I could literally eat the whole bowl.

The cake is always the main attraction at a baby shower (second to the glowing pregnant lady, of course...) so I decided to try something new.  They're just regular cupcakes with a thin layer of icing which is then dip in a mixture of finely crushed graham crackers and some light brown sugar.  SAND! The seashells, starfish, and sand dollars were my first time working with fondant. Definitely not my favorite crafting medium.  My husband is very creative and great at all kinds of art, so I knew he would be helpful with the fondant, and he was.  His shells were way better than mine.  He even made one cupcake "manly"...with a shark tooth...

I brushed a little gold pearl dust on the fondant (except for the manly shark tooth), and it made them very pretty.  The cupcakes were displayed on a cupcake stand and a vintage-looking tray that I got at Goodwill well over a year ago and stashed away for such an occassion. Perfect!

The mantle was done up with some netting, candles, a couple of nautical accents and this wreath that I made for the family to hang in Baby Tony's room. Gotta love a yarn wreath :)

The coffee table was super simple.  Just a basket from the dollar store filled with shells and vase with flowers. (This display was soon removed because of all the little people walking around wanting to eat seashells. See the cute example in the background?).  You may have seen these cute red vases on the food table.  Guess what? They were not red when I bought them at the Dollar Tree!

Yep, it's yarn.  This was so easy and was a great way to take a cheap vase and update it for the party.  Vase, yarn, hot glue. Done.

And last but not least, here's just a couple of pictures taken during the game portion of the shower. My word, was that funny... In our circle of friends we generally do co-ed baby showers.  Trust me, guys just add "something" the event.  I think they're much more fun this way!

Here's me and my bottomless pit of a husband in the baby food eating contect.  We put up a good fight but didn't win.

This is the BEFORE picture for the husband-styled hair do competition. The point here was that when a new baby comes along, the husband may have to help with some tasks that he normally wouldn't do...

And... the results...

Adam trying to pull all of my hair out...

You'll notice that one of us was luckier than the rest and got some nice-looking pigtails.

It was a fun afternoon with friends and we're so excited to meet the newest addition to the Holland family.  Congratulations, Hollands!

Me, Amanda (mom-to-be), and Brenda

Just a reminder for you to get in on the action over at my Willow House giveaway. It's easy to enter and the winner is going to get the cutest set of wine stoppers. Good luck!

Willow House Giveaway!

Hyacinth Ramekins

Have you guys heard of Willow House? I didn't know about the company until recently when I saw that one of my oldest friends, Jessica, had joined in on the fun as a consultant.  I DARE you to visit the site and not find something you love. You're going to find things for cooking, entertaining, decorating, and even things to make your outdoor spaces beautiful. They have products for every budget and what's really great is they have weekly and month specials along with an online outlet store with DEEP discounts on some their great items.  I'm loving the ramekins ^ up there ^. I would love to serve dessert in those beauties! Want to see some other goodies that I'm adding to my wishlist?

Petite Arrange-It-Easy Vase- $9.96

I *big puffy heart* love this vase and think it could make your average grocery store flowers so special!

Indispensable Prep Bowls- $7.96

I've been looking for some prep bowls, and these are perfect. Those of you with kiddos would love these, too for serving ice cream or small snack servings.  I can see these being useful for entertaining as well. I would totally use these for different salad toppings... or ice cream toppings! :)

Shop and Go Totes (Set of three)- $21.96

I always take reusable bags with me to the grocery store, but these are SO much cuter than your average bag.  Plus they snap closed!

I know you don't want to think about it, but Christmas will be here before you know it! Why don't you start shopping now and mark some of those lovely ladies in your life off the list at Willow House. Ordering online is easy.  And while you're there, be sure to contact Jessica if you're interested in hosting a party (in the Middle TN area) or becoming a consultant yourself.

Because she's fabulous and loves a good giveaway as much the next person, Jessica has offered to give one Our Life's Legacy reader this bee-utiful set of Carrigan Wine Stoppers!

These are going to be great to have on hand at your home OR to officially begin working on marking people off that Christmas list! Here's how you can win.  One entry for each thing you do:

1. Visit Willow House and leave a comment back here telling me one thing you'd love to have for yourself or give as a gift. Or something you would like to give your good friend Dana... :)

2. Become a follower of Our Life's Legacy and leave me a comment letting me know you did.  If you're already following, leave a comment letting me know!

Be sure to include your email address in your comment(s) so I can get in touch with you if you win. Giveaway ends Sunday August 21, 2011. Good luck!

Cowboy Skillet Casserole

We have a freezer in the garage filled with homemade chicken stock, meat that I've cooked and bagged to thaw for additions to quick weeknight meals, and some organic angus beef that we bought last year.  We bought a share of a cow and split it with his dad and step-mom and we've loved it.  Not only is it great quality meat, but I haven't had to buy beef at the grocery store since last fall! I sure hope the order form comes around to buy a share again before we run out. We don't eat a lot of red meat, so it really has lasted us a long time.

The majority of the beef that we bought was processed into ground beef, and for the most part I've used it for spaghetti and tacos.  I had been given some fresh corn and had some onions and green peppers than needed to be used, so I did the old ingredient search on Allrecipes and found the recipe for Cowboy Skillet Casserole.  As usual, you can check out the original recipe, but I've explained below what I used and how I did it! No step-by-step pics this time.  This is a no-brainer, you can figure it out!



Cowboy Skillet Casserole

• 1 pount ground beef/turkey
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1/2 large bell pepper (I used green, the recipe calls for red)
• corn... didn't measure, I just cut it off the cob until it looked good!
• about two cups beans (the recipe calls for a 15oz can of baked beans; I cook my own dried beans and then freeze them in 2-cup portions, so I just let a bag of pinto beans thaw in the fridge while I was at work)
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 8.5oz package cornbread mix (mine was 6oz but worked just fine)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• cheese, amount is up to you!

1. Preheat oven to 300.

2. Cook crumbled ground beed in an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat.  Once the meat starts to brown, add the onions and peppers. Once meat is cooked and veggies are soft, drain grease.

3. Add beans and taco seasoning. Cook until heated through.

4. In a bowl, combine cornbread mix, egg, milk, and some cheese.  Spoon over meat mixture and spread evenly.

5.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cornbread layer comes out clean.  Since its a pretty filling dish on its own, I just served ours with some fresh steamed squash.


Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods

Cast Party Wednesday

Artichoke Chicken

First things first! As promised, one of you lucky commenters is going to win a free one year subscription to Better Homes and Gardens magazine! I used random.org's True Random Number Generator to pick a winner...

Christin M who said "I vote for Artichoke Chicken! It just sounds very interesting!! Can't wait to see what wins and how you like it!" 

Congrats, Christin!!! I'll be in touch with you soon to get your info and send the magazine your way!


Now on to the yummy stuff.  Once again we had a tie, so I've decided that my new "tie protocol" will be this: if there is a tie between two recipes, the first recipe that was voted on between the two will win.  And thus we have artichoke chicken :) This is a super simple recipe to throw together on a weeknight, although I think its definitely special enough to serve to guests. (Please excuse the pics.  Our camera is temporarily out of commission so the droid took over.)

Artichoke Chicken

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I used thin-sliced breasts)
• 1 (15oz) can of artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed well, and chopped
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup mayo (I used reduced fat; check out the reviews on allrecipes for ideas on replacing some of the mayo with sour cream)
• salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

1. Preheat your over to 375.

2. In a bowl mix together the artichoke hearts, cheese, mayo and some of the seasonings. I went pretty heavy on the pepper to balance out the saltiness of the cheese and the artichoke hearts. **Rinse the artichoke hearts really well if using some that came in a can with brine.  They are very salty! Next time I will use artichoke hearts that have been marinated in oil rather than stored in the brine.**

3. Place the chicken in a greased baking dish (I recommend using foil on the bottom of the dish for easy cleanup), and season the meat with some of the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cover the chicken evenly with the artichoke mixture.  I had quite a bit leftover so next time I will use more chicken or reduce the amount of mixture.

4. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle and juices run clear.  Since I was using thin-sliced chicken breasts I baked mine for about 20 minutes, then I broiled it for a few more minutes to get the top nice and brown. Yumminess.

I served the chicken with some garlic mashed potatoes and...garlic green beans.  What can I say? I love garlic! haha.  We both liked the chicken a lot and I'm sure I will make it again with the few modifications I mentioned.  I think it would be equally delicious with rice or pasta instead of potatoes. 

Thanks for the new recipe, friends! I hope you'll try it, too and let me know what you think.

Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods

Cast Party Wednesday