Pinterest Fail or Prevail: Kale Salad

Everywhere on Pinterest I see kale this & kale that.

Varieties of kale are growing in my garden as we speak, so, I have been wanting to explore recipes for this amazing super leaf! Last night I tried this Better-than-Trader Joe's-Kale Salad. It started off as a Pinterest Prevail, then by the end of the night it was a Pinterest Fail.

(Photo by original blogger)

Let me explain the fail portion: I have a sensitive digestive system and the kale was a bit too much for it.  I thought I was safe because I used baby kale. Not the case. So next time I will have to chop and steam the kale a bit. It was delicious enough for a "next time".

Here is the original recipe:

Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons EVOO
• 1 minced garlic clove
• ¾ teaspoon dried Italian herbs
• ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt

Salad

• 4 cups of finely chopped kale
• 1 can of rinsed and drained chickpea
• 2/3 cup of dried cranberries (rehydrated)
• 1 cup of prepared edamame bean
• Some mint and basil
• Carrot Shreds
• Garnish with cherry tomatoes and slivered almonds 

You pretty much just toss it all together.

Of course I did "this and that" with the recipe. I omitted the carrots and added green onions. Instead of almonds I added pumpkin seeds (quickly becoming my new favorite snack.) Then I added white balsamic vinegar to the dressing.

I spent April just eating away. Chips, pizza, DQ Blizzards, you know, the works. My poor digestive system was in tangles by the end of the month. So my goal for May is to eat as raw and as veggieful as possible.

I made these raw beauties last night too to help me fight my desire for an Oreo Blizzard: German Chocolate Fudge Bites. Three words: OH MY GOODNESS! (Double the recipe, I think it processes better. Also, I bought Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder, which I think is much better than Hershey's original cocoa powder.)

Happy raw eating!

Pinterest Fail or Prevail : Stuffed Peppers

My friend, Lacey, blogger extraordinaire, inspired me through her series of blogs titled “Pinterest Test Kitchen.” So, I am going to follow her lead. Lacey and I are real people with real lives. We are busy, we work, and we have picky eaters in our families. We need meals and projects that work.

The truth is, Pinterest can, and eventually it will fail you. When it fails you, you end up with a grumpy family and a full compost bin (ain’t nobody got time for that.) So my goal here is to try out recipes and let you know “Fail or Prevail.”

Tonight we prevailed VICTORIOUS!

Stuffed Peppers (This is the originalPin from ABC's The Chew)

Here is my take on it because I do not like to follow recipes to a T.

Grocery List (In Order of how you find it at the store so that you can copy and paste it to your list)

4 Large Poblano Peppers

3 Average Sized Jalapenos

3 or 4 Tomatillos

1 Bunch of Cilantro
1 Red Onion
Garlic
1 can of Corn
3 Chicken Breasts
1 Bag of Colby Jack Cheese or Block (I’m lazy so I get the bag)

Things already in your spice rack:

EVOO

Sea Salt

Pepper

Cumin

This is a meal for 4 hungry people- It takes 1 baking sheet, 1 Pan, 1 cutting board, 1 mixing bowl.  

 

• Grill up your chicken in a bit of EVOO and diced it up into about dime sized bites. After it is fully cooked, let it cool.

• Slice your jalapenos in half and de-seed them. Cut your tomatillos in half. Leave your poblanos whole. Coat all of this in EVOO and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Place them on a baking sheet and broil at 500. Broil until the peppers are tender. Remove and let the Poblanos cool. BUT immediately put your tomatillos and jalapenos in your blender (I love my Magic Bullet) with a dash of salt and pepper. Blend until it is liquefied and set it aside.

 

• Dice up about a cup of red onion, tbls of garlic and tbls of cilantro (really however much you like) add all of this to a large bowl. Drain and add the can of corn. Add the chicken and a cup of cheese. Dash it with cumin and pepper and salt to your liking. Mix it up.

• Once your poblanos are cool split them open (not in half) and de-seed it. Stuff them with your chicken and veggie mix.

Bake for 20 minutes at 425.

Once you plate your peppers, top it off with the tomatillo & jalapeno sauce.

This is really amazing with some black beans and rice.

This is a pretty healthy meal… exclude the cheese and it is a really healthy meal… but why would you want to do that!?

This meal is Mike approved and will become a regular meal in our household.

Cover to Cover

I was struggling.

Men have been going to war for eons.

Women have been saying goodbye to their husbands since war began.

I was not unique in this, but I was struggling with deployment none-the-less.

One night, in the thick of distress {ugly crying} I heard the song Psalm 91 by Sonicflood. The lyrics struck a chord with me and I wrote the words on my heart.

“God you are so many things.”

I have been reading the Bible since I could read, but I couldn’t tell you exactly what those “so many things” were. That night, in the middle of excruciating missing, I made a commitment to read the Bible cover to cover to find out who exactly God is.

 

Tonight I shut the cover behind Revelation 22:21.

It took me nearly three years.

It was an epic, trying, emotional, frustrating and fulfilling journey. Sojourn.

With all 2272 pages of Eugene H. Peterson’s Message accounted for, I discovered that I haven’t even touched the tip of the iceberg on finding, seeing, knowing who God is.

Tomorrow night I will break open Genesis 1, New Living Translation, and start the journey over.

“You are my refuge and strength. You are my hiding place.” That is who God is… just to start with.

 

PS. For those who feel the call to read the Bible through for the first time and you want to start with the Message, feel free to ask me about my thoughts on starting with that translation.

It's Been One Year

March: Flu Recovery (the same flu from the last post)

April: Broke my right arm because I fell down {Clumsy Much?}

May: uhm-teen doctors’ appointments

June: Finally adapted to being a lefty

July: Epic wedding in Asheville with friends

August: Endless work and physical therapy

September: Admissions Travel Season

October: Admissions Travel Season month 2 and FRANKENSTORM! (Awesome storm for us but insanely tragic for the Northeast)

November: Wonderful Thanksgiving with sisters, parents, brother-in-laws, nieces (one was being in utero) nephews and cousins  

December: Volleyball league & Christmas with the Lavoies = games and good conversation until the AM

January: Interviews and the decision to leave my job for a new career

Feburary: Hello Hannah! Grown ups, Abbey and I, flew to WI to love on our new niece.  

 

It was a doozy of a year to say the least, but I learned so much. Mike deserves a medal for surviving this year with me. He was a hero in many ways {too many to list now, but I will soon} Thanks Mike.

Smoothie Talker

Cold and flu season is attacking my throat. So I have been fighting back with VITAMINS and a touch of healthy paranoia after watching Contagion. On top of fresh kale, carrot, apple and ginger juice, and 3 squirts of Zicam every three hours, I have added this tasty treat, which is my take on the Green Monster Smoothie:

Grab your blender or Magic Bullet (two thumbs up on this single serving product!) and mash everything together.

• One Banana
• Two handfuls of Baby Spinach
• 1/2 cup of Greek Yogurt. Greek yogurt is super rich and full of 11g of protein. I like to use plain yogurt in this one because the fruit is naturally sweet (ps. like Dannon's Greek brand the best.)
• 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries and strawberries
• 1/4 cup of milk

Blend until smooth and enjoy.

Hopefully my self prescribed concoctions will do the job!

Ps. I don't recommend Contagion. Being star studded doesn't mean much.

A Day to Remember

I am trying to get back in tune with my crafty side. She went into hiding after college ended. Life huh?

Well because of this great website called Pinterest my craftiness is coming back out.

For this project you need:
1. A basic sewing machine (a product every household needs.) Mine was a cheap Kenmore from Sears. (Suggested and appreciated from my cousin Sarah)
2. A set of large stamps (or stencils.)
3. Plaid Paint (Made in the USA)
4. One yard of tan burlap (On sale today!)
5. Pillow Stuffing
6. A date that rocked your world. The one on here is our wedding date.

Homemade Chalkboard Paint

I have been looking at these amazing glasses in Southern Living and Country Living... They are just tumblers with chalkboard paint. You can write who is drinking what... So cute! But I am not able to pay the price that they were asking. So I decided to research how to make them myself. Long story short... I didn't make them. I just made Homemade chalkboard paint. Everyone from Martha to every other crafty blogger had the same recipe. "FOOL PROOF," I proclaimed and went to work




Step 1. Find a surface you would like to turn into a chalkboard. Then head to your local home improvement store and purchase Unsanded Tile Grout. Pick out a paint (you can even use leftover paint that you are storing in the basement. I suggest that you use semi-gloss paint) Clean the surface that you are painting. In a party cup mix 1 cup of paint to 2 tablespoons of grout. Mix well. (Plastic forks are great for mixing)




Step 2: Using a roller (Not a brush... yeah I know one is displayed above) coat the surface with paint and let dry. Repeat this step 3 or 4 times



Step 3: Lightly sand the surface with fine sandpaper until it is smooth.




Step 4: Decorate it and write on it! Then hang it up somewhere!




FYI: This stuff is pretty durable. I dropped the board twice and it didn't chip and it erases like a regular chalkboard.


Total Project Costs:


Board: Free it was laying in the basement

Grout (10 lb bag): 11$

Paint: 3$

Frame: Just some hotglue, twine and sticks from the yard.


Total: 14$ with a ton of grout left over for more projects.

Next project: Homemade Chalkboard Paint on Tumblers!!!