My 1st Crocheted Flower

I've always wanted to try making flowers. But anyways backed out of doing it because I thought I was too much of a beginner...well...I was searching on pinterest.com for more ear warmer/head band crochet patterns, when on one of the many blogs I've been clicking though had a link to this awesomeness!

Crochet Geek - Free Instructions and Patterns
(tried to pin the website but got an error from pinterest saying that I was unable to)

So this will be my would have pinned:  Slinky Crochet Flower post. :)

I Tried: Got out my yarn scraps, my size 6mm crochet hook (since I make really tight stitches), and pulled out my tablet. I love that she has done videos of every step even with slow motion as well so you can see in detail what she's doing. So I set up my tablet next to me so I could play/pause and crochet my flower along with her. This is what I got

It is a bit smaller than what the tutorial had shown but again I stitch really tight and everything I do is smaller. I always use the bigger hooks for everything so I can get the gauge I need. This one on the other hand is pretty easy going and you can do pretty much whatever you'd like concerning types of petals and etc just make sure your line of petals continues to get larger. Loved this tutorial!

I Conquered: Double conquered even! Went back to All About Ami-Knotted Headband pattern but left out the knot and replaced it with my flower. Turned out pretty awesome and I'm adding it to my Christmas gift-away pile! woo!

Guest Blog: Peanut Butter Squares

Howdy... the incompetent husband, guest blogging today. I've recently had a hankerin' for those old school "peanut butter squares" that they used to (still do? I dunno) serve to kids as dessert as part of school lunches back in elementary school. I found a pin that was supposedly an official school district peanut butter square recipe, but when looking at the ingredients, they didn't seem anything like what I remember as a kid. Sure, it's been more than two decades since I've had one, but I remember them pretty well and I knew that recipe wasn't going to work. I eventually found a very simple recipe on Kraft's site.

Pinned: No-Oven Peanut Butter Squares

Tried: To be honest, this recipe didn't seem quite right, either, so I didn't exactly follow the recipe. Graham cracker crumbs didn't seem appropriate—I don't remember them tasting graham crackery—so I used crushed up Rice Krispies instead. It took a little more than 3 cups of whole Rice Krispies to equal 1 ½ cups when crushed.

Yikes! What's this guy's problem?

We decided against the 13x9 inch pan, as there really wasn't that much dough (batter? I dunno, what do you call this stuff?). It fit the 9x9 inch pan much better. I suggest you do the same (I believe some other pinners also made this recommendation).

We got lazy with the chocolate and just threw in what we had, which was an 11.5 oz bag of Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips (er... more like 11 oz, since we ate some before they got in the bowl). Sure, it was almost half again as much as the recipe called for, but could more chocolate really be all that bad?

Woo, chocolate...

Conquered: All told, I think this was a success. The Rice Krispies substitution was definitely a good idea—it tasted much more authentic that way. The 9x9 inch pan gave the squares a good thickness. Not as thick as I remember them being, but these squares came out a bit denser so a little less thickness was best (of course, everything in your youth seemed bigger, didn't it?). The real problem was the chocolate. It was way too thick, a real pain to cut without cracking in every direction, and was hard to bite through after cooling in the fridge. Don't be lazy like me. Only use the 8 oz that it called for. Even a little less would probably be fine.

Predictably, he tried to demand another

Crochet Knotted Headband

I pinned:  Knotted Headband by All About Ami.

I Tried:

I sat in front of my computer during my kiddo's nap time today, browsing my pins on pinterest.com wondering what I could possibly do that didn't pertain to food and felt that some crochet needed to be plastered on this lil' blog of mine. So, here is my headband that I sat here in front of my computer with the window open to All About Ami.

 I love crochet. I've tried many crafts, needlework, and sewing in my day only to be so mad by the end of the project. Crochet is the only thing that is relaxing and rewarding to me anymore. 

So, I charged onto headband glory! It only took two hours or so and I now have a new ear warmer for this coming winter and endless gift idea possibilities.  

Just look at the headband!

It be Saturday so my forehead is just nasty and so is my hair...

I conquered! But I don't think my 9 month old was too impressed...

Silly mommy and her headband...

Cleaning Microwave with Vinegar

This is my microwave: 

This is evidence of an EPIC mommy fail...warming baby food up for more than 10 seconds leads to nasty brain looking matter (maybe more like poo looking matter) on the inside of the microwave...
And of course I left it...
Don't ask how long I left it. You'll think less of me if I told you.






I Pinned:  practicallyfunctional.net- how to clean your microwave in 2 minutes

Are you sure this will only take 2 minutes??

 I Tried:  Water and white vinegar in a microwave bowl for 5 minutes...The link above will tell in more detail. But seriously EPIC win for my old school corelle wear!! If you wanna conquer something and have it last long time your take corelle with you! This bowl belonged to my grandmother who passed away 6 years ago, who had said bowl for 50 some odd years before it was given to me.

 yada yada moving on...

5 minutes later...

ooohhh ahhhh!  I must say that it was really nice to just wipe it all off.
It was really flake like in texture so a lot of it fell onto my glass top stove right below which made for more clean up.

I conquered: Why yes...BUT it did take me longer than two minutes to clean it. More like 10 minutes. Also I put in the water bowl for another 5 minutes just to steam up the really bad bits that wouldn't come off more.  Adding probably 10 more minutes of clean up time..Had to pick off some spots with my fingernails too...It was nasty...but after all was said and done, my poor stove was wounded in the mission of bombed baby food clean up with water and vinegar... Adding more cleaning...meh...Oh well it's clean! hoorah!!

So pretty!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pinned:    Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies from allrecipes.com
This is one that I actually pinned from the allrecipes.com website because it is our most favorite cookie recipe evar! I had to share this with the world of pinterest.com.

Tried: Multiple times! I stick with the recipe on this one, no alterations because this one is just that good. no need to change... Unless you want mini chocolate chips instead of regular ones. Which is what I did in my picture. Minis are fun and give it more of a pumpkin taste than just chocolate punch in every bite.

Conquered: Can never go wrong with a cookie attack on the battlefront! ;)

                                                         *the wee general approved*

Taco Mac

I Pinned:     Taco Mac Casserole   <3 <3 <3

I Tried:  This will be our second time trying out Taco Mac Casserole. The first time it was super easy and yummy! Totally followed the recipe... But this time around I was in a hurry and didn't have enough cheddar cheese in my fridge so I changed it up a bit.  Found some "sell swords" if you will, to help with my battle plan for last nights dinner.
First found myself some cottage cheese and mozzarella to add to what little cheddar I had left. So, after my first layer of mac I put some cottage cheese then mozzarella/cheddar mix then the meat mixture. Topped with the rest of my mac. After the cooking part, I put on more cottage cheese then salsa and finally the rest of my mozzarella/cheddar mix with a little green taco sauce as well. Reinforcements just to make sure the job gets done.

I Conquered: No doubt!  We slaughtered that casserole and claimed it as our own! The wee general named it this weeks dinner favorite and gobbled it all up!  Hoorah!

                                                       *the wee general approved*

Crockpot Italian Chicken

I pinned:

pinterest.com

 which is, actually, a link to a whole other recipe called 

White Cheddar Chicken Pasta by homemade by holman (totally trying some other day and have no idea why someone put a different recipe in the explanation box!)

BUT

I Tried: Crockpot Italian Chicken by The Girl Who Ate Everything <-- link to actual recipe that I used and that is explained on the under side of my pin.Will repin correctly on my FOOD! board....

 And this is what my end result was: 

I conquered! My own taste buds cause the two year old wouldn't have it. And the fact that tonight's dinner was easy on a mommy who had a hell of a day. 

I think my wee general is leveling up in this MMO game called life!  

Bundt Conquered

The first of my many pinned adventures from the wonderful world of Pinterest. 
I blame my Mother-in-law for the invite to join and the addiction to Pinterest. But oh, the wonders she and I have found and loved! 

But onto Bundt Conquered! 

Pinned: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/pistachio-cake-iii/detail.aspx

Tried:  White Cake mix and no food coloring. 
                 (original recipe asks for yellow cake mix and green food coloring)
              It's what I had on hand and I really didn't feel like putting food coloring in. 

Conquered: How do I know I conquered?... 
                      My toddler liked it so much we had to hide it in the cupboard. And when the wee     General approves, all is well on the home front. 

                                             *the wee General approves this message*