Pinterest Inspired

Over the past couple weeks I have tried a few of the recipes I pinned on Pinterest and I wanted to share our experience with them.

First was the Roasted Summer Squash. This was a hit, we absolutely loved it. We bought our squash and zucchini from our local farmer's market. The recipe is as follows (copied right from the website; http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-roasted-summer-squash/):

Ingredients
4 large zucchini
2 large yellow squash
2 tsp. Garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Pepper
Olive oil – In an oil sprayer
1/8 cup parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 1 – Chop your squash into large, chunky slices about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness.

Step 2 – Spray a cookie sheet with a light coat of olive oil.

Step 3 – Line up your squash slices like little soldiers. Don’t worry about leaving any space between them. They’ll cook just fine scrunched together.

Step 5 – Spray a very light coat of olive oil over the top of your squash.

Step 6 – Sprinkle your spices, including the parmesan over your squash.

Step 7 – Bake for approximately 30-45 minutes, or until they have a very light golden hue to them, and you can easily push a fork through them.

Step 8 – Allow to cool slightly and serve!

Another recipe was tried was for Kale Chips. I was so excited to try this recipe because I had heard nothing but good things about kale chips. We bought our fresh kale also from our local farmer's market. If you haven't tasted kale before, I would recommend you do that before going through the motions of preparing this recipe. It has an acquired taste and one that I was NOT fond of. Our kale chips also would've been burnt to a crisp if we left them in the oven as long as the recipe calls for - so I would definitely keep an eye on them throughout the process. I doubt I make these any time soon, again. We used dill seasoning instead of the chipotle seasoning. The recipe, if you'd like to try it is listed below (also straight from the website; http://www.acouplecooks.com/2012/05/chipotle-kale-chips/):

What You NeedTwo bunches kale (the fresher the better!)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Smoky chipotle paprika (We used Victoria Taylor’s, which we found at a local grocery; substitute smoked paprika, paprika, or chipotle powder if not available)

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 300°F.

Step 2 - Rinse and dry the kale. Remove the stems, and tear or cut into large pieces. In a bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Step 3 - Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (optional, but it makes for easy cleanup!). Place leaves on the sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with smoky chipotle paprika, or other spice of choice (if you use another spice, you may want to add some kosher salt if it is not already included in your spice mix). Bake for about 20 minutes until crisp. Cool slightly. Enjoy!  Remember that the chips will be a bit fragile, so make sure to be careful when you store them.

The last recipe we tried from Pinterest this week was English Muffin Pizzas which have really struck a homerun in the kitchen and our tummies! We fell in love with this recipe and it's so versitile, we made them for three days straight and changed up the toppings. Super quick, easy and kid-friendly preparation in the kitchen and a delicious meal. The recipe from the website; http://www.ivillage.com/veggie-pizza/3-r-313304 is as follows:

Ingredients:

1 English muffin

2 tablespoons diced red bell pepper

2 tablespoons fat-free marinara sauce

2 tablespoons sliced ripe olives

4 tablespoons shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon sliced basil leaves

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Step 2 - Place English muffin, cut side up, on a baking sheet.

Step 3 - Spread marinara sauce to edges; sprinkle with cheese, red bell pepper, and olives.

Step 4 - Bake until cheese melts and bread is toasted, 12 to 15 minutes.

Step 5 - Sprinkle with basil.

The awesome thing about the pizzas is that you can make them however you want to! The toppings we chose to use for our first go round were green bell peppers, orange bell peppers and cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella. The second and third time, we used fresh tomato and green olives. We'll be making these yummy pizzas much more often!

We are always looking for new recipes to try - we'll continue to blog about them and give you our opinion/experience with them. My grandmother just gave me an awesome cookbook with recipes from restaurants and I am sure we'll be trying some of those. Nothing better than delicious yummies!

Easy Bake!

Our schedule has become even more crazy lately now that cheerleading has officially began and photo sessions are being scheduled so often but we still take time to enjoy the time together.

Laekyn's 5 going on 6 and that attitude has been in full swing. Guess that's to be expected but man is it hard to handle sometimes. I am just so lucky to have such great people in my corner. Don't know what I'd do without Kasey and Laekyn's dad, Josh. They are incredible and I'm so thankful.

Anyways, to the point of this blog.. our activity last night was baking on Laekyn's Easy Bake Oven. Instead of typing out all that took place, I'm gonna upload a couple photos from the evening. Oh! And yes, Laekyn did the dishes during the process. :)

The finished product (red velvet & strawberry cake) was a hit! Enjoy the photos.