Pinteresting Experiments

So a couple of times this week I have worked on projects or recipes that I have seen on Pinterest. Here are the results:

Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies were purported to be the fluffiest, chewiest, BEST ever. I have had them pinned for a while now but it wasn't until Sunday that we actually made them. A friend brought them over as a thank you to Chance for helping them move. When we fell in love and asked for their secret family recipe, she replied, "Pinterest." I've been sick all weekend so Chance did the work on these.

They truly are the best cookies I have ever had. EVER! I can't wait until Chance makes them again!

Stain Remover

This was supposed to be the magic cure for yellow pit stains and it is supposed to be the "only stain remover you'll ever need." FAIL!!! 
Since it didn't work I'll spare you the pictures of our pit-stained shirts. I did everything it said. I tried it on three different shirts.

Napoleons
You guys saw that I already blogged about these but they were, technically, part of the Pinterest experiment.

This Recipe is Dynamite.

Napoleon. Dynamite.

I found this recipe for Napoleons on Pinterest and decided I had to try it right away.

Easy Strawberry Napoleon Recipe:

(Recipe from All Things Delicious)

1 sheet (half of a 17 oz. pkg) frozen puff pastry*
1 (3.4 oz) pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
1 c. milk
1 tsp. almond extract 1 c. whipped topping
2 c. stemmed and sliced strawberries
1/3 c. sliced almonds, toasted (optional)
Powdered sugar, for garnish

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Thaw folded pastry sheet for 20 minutes. Open sheet and cut along folds to make three equal strips; halve each strip to make six rectangles. Space apart on baking sheet. Bake in center of oven about 15 minutes until well browned and baked through. Remove to rack to cool.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk pudding mix, milk, and extract for 2 minutes; fold in whipped topping and blend thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate.

Carefully split each piece of pastry in half horizontally. Cover bottom halves with almonds, then pudding mixture and sliced strawberries, dividing equally. Cover with pastry tops. Dust with powdered sugar.

Success!!

Question and Answer Session

Andi from Jane of All Crafts tagged me to answer some questions about myself. I can't possibly think of 11 questions to forward on to someone else so I won't ask anyone else to contribute. I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to answer questions from a blogger I so admire. 


RULES
**You must post the rules
**Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you & then create 11 questions to ask the people you've tagged
**Tag 11 people and link them in your post**Let them know you have tagged them


And now for my questions:

1. If you had to eat the same thing everyday for the rest of your life what would it be?
I truly do not believe that I can answer this question. I get bored of the same thing every day. In fact, I made lasagna last week and we had it for dinner 3 days in a row. By the 4th day I begged Chance to take me out to eat!
Even during the course of one meal I have to eat around the whole plate to cleanse my pallet. 
I'm an Idaho girl at heart though and I can do a lot with a potato!

2. If you woke up one day and were an animal, what type would you be?
When I initially read this question I assumed I would be something cuddly. I am a sucker for pictures of baby animals. Then I remembered when Jack Hanna came to Capitol Hill last year and I got to meet him and play with some cool animals, like this baby cheetah. I've decided to call him Charlie because he bit me and it was awesome. :) How cool would it be to be a baby cheetah who tours around with Jack Hanna?

Then I thought, I could be a Phoenix and hang out with Dumbledore!! I would definitely help out wizards and witches who were fighting against the Dark Lord!! Then of course, that made me think about being a Griffin! 
I can't leave out the Liger (or a movie quote just for you Andi!)
"It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed ... bred for its skills in magic."

3. If you could pick any profession other then your current one, what would it be?
I would work in advertising. I constantly point out to Chance what tactics are being used in commercials. I notice who they are aimed at; I mull over the implications of time slots and such. For example, during Price is Right the commercials are all aimed at senior citizens. HoverRound, Medicare, Wilford Brimley telling you to check your blood sugar. It is all fascinating to me and I think I could have been really good at it. 

4. How many states have you visited?
First things first, I don't count a state if I have only had an airport layover there. So although I may have spent a couple hours in Chicago O'Hare airport I have never actually been to Illinois. (Something I hope to rectify this summer.) That being said:
I've lived in six. 
I've stayed over night in 18.
I have driven through 30. 
Below: On my honeymoon in Yellowstone. 2003. 

5. Ever been overseas? If not where do you dream of going?
I got my first passport last August and during our trip to St. Thomas USVI Chance and I hopped a ferry to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. I was as giddy as a school girl to get my first stamp. (A la Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping). Just looking at this picture makes me smile like an idiot.

I also took pictures of everything that said H.M. (Her Majesty's...)

I dream of going to the UK. I love all things British and can't wait to visit there one day. I have actually tried multiple times to convince my husband that we should move there. Just for a year or two. It would be SO much cheaper to travel around the rest of the world if we didn't have to cross the Atlantic every time! And all of our local friends would have British accents!!

6. If you had to choose, would you rather be an awesome dancer or an amazing singer?
Hmm. Dancer would mean I'd have a great body but singers are singers for life. Except poor Julie Andrews. Okay, yeah, singer it is. I sing all the time anyway! Chance would want me to sound like Jewel I think. I'd be okay with that. 

7. What is your favorite beverage? (alcoholic or non)
Oh man. I should tell you that I LOVE empty calories. Drinking water is a chore for me, so narrowing it down to just one is difficult. For the purpose of this question I will say Dr. Pepper. I love that perfect combination of 23 flavors. 
For those who are curious, other contenders are: YooHoo, Cherry Coke, Sparkling Cider, Grape Juice, Chance's Hot Chocolate, and all the Virgin Daquiris we had in St. Thomas. (There is just something about sipping a delicious smoothie type thing while sitting on the beach.)
 
8. What would your dream home look like?

9. What trait about yourself do you value most?
My sense of humor. I'm frickin' hilarious. Seriously though, a sense of humor can help you get through some of life's biggest challenges, especially if you can develop the ability to laugh at yourself. 

10. Have you ever tasted the rainbow? ;)
Heck yes I have. I have even chased a rainbow. Really. My sister-in-law, Charity, and I once drove through Rexburg, Idaho and we truly found the end of a rainbow. It landed in a potato field. Probably Yukon Golds. Hardy har har.  

11. Mac or PC?
PC. I'm not anti-Mac though. My husband has an iPhone which we both adore. I would love an iPad. I was truly saddened when Jobs died. I believe that he was a real revolutionary genius. In this same vein of thought: In looking at my blog stats I am always surprised at how many people use Internet Explorer and Firefox. I converted to Google Chrome years ago. I had it in my head that everyone else did too! Are all the Firefox users Mac owners? 


So class, what have we learned? Apparently I have commitment issues since I could only definitively answer like half of these questions. Thanks Andi for getting me to do a little introspection! If any of you have any other questions you'd like to ask go ahead and leave me a comment or send me an email. Also, I would LOVE to hear your answers to these questions. Just because I didn't tag anyone doesn't mean I'm not interested! 

Shake and Bake Ranch Chicken

So I bought this box of Shake and Bake and on the back it gives a recipe idea. They suggest dipping your chicken breast in BBQ sauce before coating with S&B. I thought that sounded okay but what sounded even better was dipping it in Ranch! So, for the second time ever, I went off book and did my own thing. 

Step 1: Coat chicken in Ranch. I am loyal to Hidden Valley. I have tried others and they just don't measure up.

Step 2: Coat chicken in Shake and Bake. I have used brand name and generic. No big difference. At our local Target brand name is just as inexpensive.

Step 3: Line a cookie sheet with foil before placing chicken. I use Non-Stick foil first. It makes clean up SO easy.

Step 4: Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.
Step 5: Serve! I made mashed potatoes and green beans for the side dishes.