Pinterest Challenge No. 5

I hate cooking, but a little while back my husband asked me to start taking up cooking some of our dinners. I suck at it, so it made me mad, but I realized I was just going to have to accept it and get over it. 

Which is a good thing considering he just came home last week to tell me he's getting mobilized for 6 months. Ugh, Now I have NO choice.

I tried this recipe- "Slow Cooker Coconut Ginger Chicken & Vegetables." It looked so good until I read the directions. Um, this was not for me. So, I just winged it. And it came out awesome as a soup!  If you use the cornstarch, it would be great with rice.

Here's my adjustments:

I used chicken breasts instead of thighs. I baked them first until they were about 90% done, and then took them out and cubed them.

To the ingredients-

• Instead of fresh garlic, 1 tsp garlic powder
• Instead of ginger root, 1/2 tsp ground ginger (you can use more if you like it hot!)
• No olive oil or butter since I baked the breasts
• 2 large or 3 medium chicken breasts instead of thighs
• No cornstarch (it's a thinner stew, more like soup)
• Instead of a can of baby corn and 1 cup frozen veg, I used 1- 12oz bag Bird's Eye Steamfresh Asian Blend Lightly Seasoned (it has the baby corn in it)

After I baked the chicken, I threw everything into the crockpot including the cubed chicken and let it simmer on low long enough to thaw and thoroughly heat through the frozen veg. It also was the perfect amount of time to get the flavor into the chicken. 

This was a wonderful recipe! I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Thai food. :) I'll definitely be making this again in the future.

Pinterest Challenge No. 4

This was a quickie, and I'm so glad I pinned it. I have shirts I need to do something with but they're mostly of that "I participated in this run and there's writing all over the front and back to tell you all about it" type. Unfortunately, life manages to land its stains in the middle of the front of the shirt so that you have to get really creative to use a shirt like this. This project is PERFECT for shirts like this!
It takes little time and effort to execute this. AND you can manage it if you have plain old needle and thread (though a machine will give you more uniform and firm stitches).

Here's the link to the blog page I pinned- http://www.moredesignplease.com/moredesignplease/2010/6/6/diy-recycled-t-shirt-tote-bag.html

And here's my final product! I will make a few more since I'm a little um- accident prone...

Pinterest Challenge No. 3

It's time for the third "I'm Not Just A Pinner" Pinterest Challenge, and I'm pretty excited about this one!


This is my new favorite recipe EVER. I met my dear friend, Jenny, online and quickly became friends with her as she shares a lot of interests that I do and we both have daughters the same age. She revealed she had switched her family to the Paleo/Primal lifestyle so I was interested in what she'd been eating for breakfast. I'm not a big breakfast eater, so I thought this would be a great way to cut back on wheat at that time of day.

She posted this fantastic recipe for her version of Paleo Granola to her blog awhile back and I pinned it immediately. It's so good!

I've made a few different versions of it, and recently settled on this one that swaps out the pepitas for sunflower seeds and the figs for golden raisins. Also, I use pure olive oil instead of coconut oil, and I changed my "sauce" ratio to 2 parts honey to 1 part oil. I also bake it about 5 minutes longer because I eat mine with milk so I like it a drier. 

ENJOY!

GraceLaced Mondays- May 7, 2012

It's nice to be back posting on Mondays! I've sincerely missed participating with the other ladies who join in with Ruth at gracelaced.com for the blog ring that is Grace Laced Mondays.

I had to take a short hiatus from blogging because I honestly couldn't manage the level of activity I have been involved in over the last few weeks. It constantly baffles friends and family why I can't manage a few activities. 

To be honest, I live a bit like a hermit, with my hubby and one little one out here in the mountains of West Virginia. I don't like a fast pace, and it bothers me to get busy, almost to the point of stress. My social life is almost non-existent because I have a hard time making new friends when I'm the one having to take initiative (well, I usually don't at all if that's the case), though I am slowly making them because of the patient perseverance of some ladies at church.  

It took me until recently to realize that it's OK if I can't fit into the "modern woman on the modern schedule" mold. God's given me the grace to realize that my limits should not be a mark of shame for lack of ability but simply who I am. As long as I'm not making excuses for being lazy or avoiding what I should be doing, I can be content with conforming to the pace that keeps me and my family happy, and know it's God's will. 

Maybe that's why I am most happy here, and not living the dream in NYC? There's only one being who knows me better than my mom...and He gives me exactly what I need. It's so pleasing when he reveals the reasons his plans work out the way they do, and why he did it just for you and me. :)

Feel free to join us every Monday!