Mozzarella Stick Fail = Cheese Bread Win!

I had a party on Saturday, and I was excited because it gave me an excuse to make some appetizer recipes I had been wanting to try! One of them was homemade baked mozzarella sticks! String cheese dipped into milk and then into bread crumbs, then put in the oven. I made the mistake of not watching them carefully.....

OOPS! Ended up with a layer of cheese and bread crumbs! Which was very yummy all on its own, but couldn't imagine serving it at a party!

Luckily I had some flat bread squares! I let the cheese cool a bit, cut it to the size of the squares, then popped them back in the oven for a few minutes so the cheese would adhere to the bread.

Ta-Da! Accidental YUMMY cheese bread :) But you can do it on purpose if you want!!

Easy Spinach Patties

Made these for dinner tonight! So good :)

You will need:

1 bag of thawed and well drained spinach

2 eggs

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or cheese of your choice)

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder (not to be confused with garlic salt!!)

1) mix all ingredients well in a large bowl

2) Form into patties (Makes about 4 regular sized patties) (mine in the picture is XL haha)

Cook until heated through. Flipping over every few minutes.

Time will vary depending on size. My first patty was extra large, so it needed about 12 minutes, while normal size ones need about 8-10

I just ate this as it was. I LOVE spinach. You could use it as a burger patty and put it in a bun, make miniature patties and serve them on crackers as an appetizer, oh the possibilities!! :)

Scrabble Coasters

These are a cute fun idea! You can use random letters, or spell words. I made mine drink related :) I used 4 tiles across and 4 tiles down, 5x5 gets a little big. 

You will need:

Scrabble tiles! (you can use them from an old game, or I got mine on etsy.com)

Cork (depending on the thickness, you may need enough for 2 layers)

Glue made for sticking to wood.

An Exacto knife

Modge podge or an acrylic sealer

1) Figure out what your want your coasters to say, or where you want the tiles to be.

I wanted mine to be drink related, and since they were a present for my mom for mothers day, thought of all the drinks she enjoyed! In this case, Red wine, Hot Tea, Diet Coke, and Margaritas! It took me a long time to get it all figured out with a standard tile set. You may want to order 2 so you have more letters to work with!

2) Glue your tiles onto your cork

I found this "Scotch" glue at Joann fabrics for about $5 it worked well! It doesn't bond right away, so make sure the tiles aren't slipping out of position as you glue them.

3) my cork was very thin, so I added another layer underneath

4) Add a layer or 2 of modge podge or sealer of of choice on top.

4) Once everything is good and dry, cut your squares out (carefully please)

You now have beautiful personalized coasters :) 

Andes Mint Cookies

These are some of the BEST cookies I have ever tasted!! So quick and easy as well. That is dangerous!

You will need:
Box of Devils food chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
Package of "Andes" mints.
Cooking spray/

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

1. Spray cookie sheet(s) with cooking spray
2. Mix your cake mix, oil, and eggs together.
3. make balls with your dough, and place onto your cookie sheet.
4.Cook 6 to 9 minutes MAX
5. After you take your cookies out of the oven, place your "Andes" mint on top. It will start to melt, spread it out with a spoon and let cool. Or gobble it up if you can't resist!

ENJOY! :)

Baked Green Bean Fries

Adapted from: http://nutritionfor.us/2011/11/baked-green-bean-fries-and-good-living/

What You Need:

Bag of fresh green beans

Flour

Bread Crumbs

2 Eggs, Beaten

Salt

Pepper

(you can add chili powder to the flour if you want them to be spicy!)

cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees

Spray a few cookie sheets with your cooking spray. Set aside.

Put your flour in a shallow bowl.

In a 2nd bowl, beat your eggs.

Put your bread crumbs in a 3rd shallow bowl. Mix salt and pepper in to your liking.

Dip your green beans into the flour, shaking off an excess. Dip your bean in the egg next, then into the breadcrumbs, making sure it is good and covered!

Transfer your bean to cookie sheet.

Repeat!

Bake 15-20 minutes depending on how many beans you are making. They should be crispy on the outside.

Serve with ranch or hot sauce.

Nutritional information per serving (8 beans)  150 calories, 12 grams of fat, 2 grams of protein, and 6 grams of carbohydrates. 

But really, who is going to only eat 8 beans????

ENJOY!:)

Running Outside!

Its that time again! Spring! I love the warm weather! Means more time spent outside! Especially while working out. Now I don't know about you, but I refuse to wear a fanny pack. And who wants to carry a purse while they are out for a run?? I went searching for armbands but they were too pricey for me. I just wanted something simple that would hold my house keys and my phone. (phone mostly because I use apps to track my workouts) So searching around the house we go! I came up with this:

Socks I had bought in high school (gasp!) that I had worn for a costume once, and never again.

So you cut the sock in half. You keep this part.

Slide it onto your arm. Then fold it over on top of it self. You now have a pocket! You can sew it if you like, but I like mine to be adjustable.

Happy running! :)

My "Winging it" Lasagna

I had never made lasagna before. But it seemed easy enough. Beef, cheese, noodles, sauce, right? So I winged it. (wang it?, no that can't be right)

Materials:
OVEN READY Lasagna noodles (next to regular lasagna noodles in your grocery store) technically you should only need one box but I always end up with broken ones, so I buy extra
1- 1/2 pounds ground beef
6 jars "prego" sauce of choice
LOTS of mozzarella cheese (I just buy the largest bag they have and end up using most of it!)
15oz tub of ricotta cheese (you may not use it all)
Garlic (you can go the hard route, and buy a bulb and mince it up yourself, or buy pre-minced)
McCormick "Italian" spice mix
cooking spray

Saute pan
9X13 pan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

First, you brown your ground beef in your saute pan. throw all your garlic in there and let the meat soak up the flavor. I personally love garlic, so the more the better. I used the whole clove.

Spray your 9X13 pan with cooking spray.

Then you start layering. Sauce, noodles, beef, ricotta, mozzarella, spices. Repeat. Repeat.

1. It is important you cover the bottom of your pan with sauce before you place your noodles, I did not the first time, and the noodles on the bottom burned.

2. Lay as many noodles on the bottom of the pan lengthwise as you can fit without them overlapping. I can get 3 or 4 depending on the pan.

3. Lay on a good layer off your beef garlic mixture, although you still want to be able to see the noodles!

4. The ricotta is the fun part, because of its consistency, you can just pinch it out of the tub, or you can use a knife. Place it randomly within the layer. Use as little or as much as you want. You should barely be able to see the noodles now.

5. Give it a nice coat of mozzarella! The more the better :) I just love cheese!

6. Add a couple of shakes of spices to your liking.

Repeat steps 1 through 6. I can usually fit 2 full layers in.

Then finish with a final layer of noodles, lots of sauce, and some spices. (you will put more cheese on top later)

You may want to put your pan of lasagna on a cookie sheet before you put it in the oven to control any spill over!

Let bake about an hour, Add some more mozzarella on top. Bake another 15 minutes.
NOTE: All ovens are different. In my oven, it takes an hour and 15 minutes. In a different oven it has taken an hour and 45. The sauce should be bubbling around the edges, and the noodles on top should be soft.

Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving, so it stays together better

ENJOY! :)

New Drink!

You need to combine these ingredients right now!

1 1/2 ounces absolut peach

3/4 ounce peachtree

Fill the rest of your glass with mango juice

Mix well!

ENJOY! :)

Tiered Sever/Decorating Piece

So I have this corner of my bathroom counter just COVERED in things I use every day. Partly because I have no bathroom storage, and partly because lets face it, I'm lazy. I use them morning and night and I don't want to have to keep taking them out and putting them away. But its not very "nice looking"

Yea so.... I decided to dress it up a bit.

Materials:
2 or 3 plates of your liking. If your feeling adventurous you could even use a bowl as the top tier!
Candlestick (I only used one because I decided to only have 2 tiers) P.S. got it at Walmart!
Hot glue gun
Beads

I started with the top tier. Flipped the plate over, put a layer of hot glue on the bottom, then put a layer of hot glue on the candlestick. Stick together immediately. MAKE SURE IT IS STRAIGHT!
I glued the base of the candlestick to the base of the top plate, so I would have more room for things on the bottom plate.
Wait a few minutes.
Then repeat the process except this time, layer your glue on your candlestick, and where you want it to go on the plate. The glue will spurt out and look ugly. This is okay, that's what the beads are for!
I glued my beads on in sections going around in a circle. Put your glue down, then place your beads as quick as you accurately can.
Done!
You can play around with it, put more beads places, have fun! This is the first one I have made, but I see more in my future!

 There you have it. A (slightly) more aesthetically pleasing yet still lazy way to store the products I use every day!

You can make this project for serving pieces as well. Mix up the colors, sizes, height. The possibilities are endless! :)

Crock-Pot Bacon Ranch Pork Chops

I LOVE my crock-pot. It's my absolute favorite kitchen tool. Probably because of how easy it is to prepare amazing meals!!

I made this recipe a few times and it just seems to get better!
Its loosely adapted from here: http://realmomkitchen.com/287/ranch-house-crock-pot-pork-chops-with-parmesan-mashed-potatoes/


This picture is not mine


Yes it tastes as good, if not better, than it looks. I wish I had thought to take a picture of my own but I was just sooooo excited to eat it!

What you will need:

For the main dish:
A Crock-pot (at least 5 quarts)
6 pork chops (I have also made this with chicken thighs, also Ah-mazing)
1 can Cream of chicken soup
I packet dry ranch seasoning OR dry packet bacon ranch seasoning
Bacon bits

For the potatoes:
Yukon Gold potatoes
Milk
Salt
Butter

Plug your crock-pot in and turn it to LOW.
Put in your pork chops or chicken, can of soup, dry seasoning, and bacon bits.
NOTE: I put my meat in the pot frozen.
Let sit for about 4 to 5 hours, or until meat is cooked through, and you have a good amount of gravy. Stir occasionally.
NOTE: You can use your crock-pot on HIGH if you would like it to cook faster! About 3 hours.

Boil your potatoes until they can be pierced with a fork easily, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Drain.
Return to pan and mash 'em up! Add milk, salt, and butter to your liking.

Serve potatoes, then place pork chops on top, cover with gravy. ENJOY! :)

Fun Flower Hair Clips!

I worked as a waitress for a long time and the uniform was black shirt, black pants, black shoes, etc. So I was always looking for fun ways to spruce it up a bit! We were not allowed to wear necklaces or bracelets, so that left my hair! So i went shopping for hair accessories. I found bows, and headbands, and clips. You name it, they make it! But I didn't feel like spending all that money. Instead I made a few "hair flowers" of my own!

Materials:
Silk flowers (I got mine from the dollar store)
Standard hair clips (whichever suits your fancy) and bobby pins
Glue

I took the flowers off of their stems so I had just the budding part.
Then I put the clip underneath to see where I would want it to be attached to the flower.
Then you just glue and hold for about 30 seconds to make sure you have a good bond.
Some flowers wouldn't sit right on the clips so I just stuck a bobby pin through the bottom!

Then you are done! Quick and easy :)

Kale Chips

I had been seeing a lot of chatter about "kale chips" and then my mother said she had some and they we Ahhhh-mazing. So I had to try them myself! Very quick and easy, and yes, amazing!!

Materials:
Cookie sheets
Kale
"Pam" olive oil or other cooking spray
Salt

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees
Rip up your kale into bite sized pieces. We noticed the stalk is still chewy, so I recommend removing all parts of the stalk.
Arrange your kale on the cookie sheets in a single layer
Spray with olive oil "pam"
Let bake for about 20 minutes. If not crunchy yet, put in for 5 minute increments until it is to your liking.
After you take the kale out, sprinkle with salt.
Enjoy! :)

These are great for when you need that "crunch" or craving a salty snack, but don't want all the calories of a potato chip!

Welcome/Framed Paw Prints

Hello! 

Welcome to Eat, Craft, Love

I'm just a girl who LOVES good food. 

And I'm always looking for great ideas to spruce up my home, or make life easier!

Lets start with a few of my past projects!

Framed Paw Prints

I was looking for an easy (cheap) project for my moms birthday since I was currently out of work. She has 2 dogs, Lucy and Maxine, and loves them dearly! I was playing around with different ideas of maybe a picture of them together, or a silhouette... but they don't pose very well! So I ended with paw prints!

Materials:

Frame (doesn't have to be fancy, check the dollar store!)
Cardstock paper
Large ink pad
Dog/cat/other pet :)
Pencil/pen


First step is getting the paw prints onto the cardstock.
If you have uncooperative animals, this is the hard part!

1. Put your pets paw into the ink pad, make sure you get it covered really well.

2. Put your pets paw on the card stock,being careful not to smear it, press down!
(this may be easier to do if you have the pet stand, you lift their paw, then slide the paper under, and let them set their paw back down)
This may take a few tries.

3. Write your pets name, your favorite quote, anything you like in pencil, to make sure you like how it looks!

4. Write over your pencil with pen.

5. Put your beautiful artwork in the frames! :)