Pinterest Made Me Do It {Cooking Edition}

Pinterest has changed my life.

If you live on this side of a rock, you can relate to the above statement.  The change for me has been threefold:
1.  I waste a lot more time than I did before I found Pinterest.  Or it found me.
2.  I have a rich fantasy life that consists of an amazing wardrobe, an impeccably decorated and perfectly organized home, a sharply dressed and photograph ready child, and a variety of incredible craft ideas that would keep me busy for the remainder of my natural born life.  And all of this is organized within several cleverly named boards that house thousands of pins.  And more await....
3.  I have cooked more in the past month than ever before.  If you listen closely, you can hear my husband singing praises.

In all seriousness, Pinterest has been my inspiration, muse if you will, for a plethora of things.  From painting without sanding tutorials to how to make homemade liquid hand soap.  It's the instruction manual for my life.  If it's been done before, it's been pinned.

I have pinned,  I have made. 

The biggest inspiration has come in the kitchen.  Here I would like to share my favorite recipes I've tried so far.  You'll thank me.

Coconut Custard Pie

Balsamic-Garlic Encrusted Pork Tenderloin

Parmesan Baked Fries

Homemade Granola Bars

Paula Deen's Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Pumpkin Lust Pie

Ah, Pinterest.  My waistline will not be shrinking with your dominating web presence taunting me with new delicious pins each day.  Oh, but you taste so good!

NOT the end.  

NOT the Mac-n-Cheese in the Blue Box

Not there's anything wrong with the Kraft brand macaroni and cheese.  I like myself some Kraft every now and then.  I especially love to eat the bites in which the cheese powder has not been all the way stirred in, so you get an extra cheese-y (is that cheese?) bite. 

But THIS stuff, it's good.  And it's one pot (well, plus a colander, a spoon, and a pan if you want to add bacon). 

I've actually tried two different recipes for this dish and read a bunch more.  I've kind of compiled elemetns of all of them and created this pasta, cheese-y masterpiece....

Momma's One-Pot, Not-the-Blue-Box Mac-n-Cheese

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

2 1/2 cups milk

1 cup grated cheese (can be a combination of whatever you like, however, if you use a hard cheese, like parmesan, use it with a soft easier-to-melt cheese, too.)

1/2 tsp. ground mustard

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp butter

bacon crumbles (optional)

toasted bread crumbs (optional)

Rinse uncooked macaroni in a collander and drain.

In a medium saucepan, combine macaroni, milk, butter, salt, mustard, and nutmeg.  Cook on MEDIUM until simmering.  Stir often.

Once the mixtures simmers, turn heat to LOW and cook for 15-20 more minutes or until milk is nearly completely, stirring frequently.

Once milk is absorbed and pasta is soft, add cheese (I used 1/3 cup parmesan and 2/3 cup colby-jack) and stir.  Turn off heat, cover pot, and let sit for 5 minutes.  

After 5 minutes I added crumbled bacon and stirred it in.  Then I topped with toasted bread crumbs.

I cooked the bacon while I made the mac-n-cheese, then crumbled it when it cooled.  With a little of the bacon grease still in the pan, I added some bread crumbs (I had garlic & herb - it tasted yummy!) and stirred them over a MEDIUM-LOW heat until browned. 

Produce, Volunteering, and the 5-0 Giveaway

Off and on for the past year I have participated in a produce co-op, Bountiful Baskets.  It's easy, awesome, inexpensive, and delicious!  Each week they offer a variety of fruits and veggies (you usually don't know what you're gonna get until you get it).  There are also "extras" offered, like a case of tomatoes, or ethnic packs (Italian pack, Mexican pack), granola, breads, and even desserts.  It is really easy to order online, then you pick up your goods on Saturday morning.  It is a ton of stuff, even enough to split with another person.  If you have not already participated, check out their website for more info.

Well, in addition to ordering and picking up produce, this past Saturday I volunteered at my pick up site.  The Bountiful Baskets organization is not for profit, but a cooperative of people wanting fresh produce on the cheap.  It all runs on volunteers.  So on Saturday I showed up one hour before pick up time to lend a hand.  I didn't really know what to expect, but I soon found out that it's a lot of work!  A truck brings the produce to the site and it's all hands on deck to unload and distribute the food.  We are talking boxes and cases upon boxes and cases that must be opened and split among 60 or so individual baskets for the folks to pick up and take.  It was a lot of walking, carrying, bending, lifting, and more.  But, it was fun!  Plus, volunteers get a few extra items ;)




Ok, so I did it!  Well, you did it!  Actually, we did it together!  I do the writing, and you do the reading.  I'm up to 50 followers and I'm over the moon!  So, here is the official giveaway.  One of you lucky ducks will get this lovely tote bag.

Here's what you gotta do...

1.  Be a follower of I Heart Andy Gross and leave a comment on this post.
2.  Share about the giveaway on FB, twitter, and/or blog and leave a separate comment for each place you share.

Enter before 10pm on Wednesday, June 15th, and I'll announce the winner on Thursday, June 16th.

Hooray!

My Current Obsession {Awesome Starbucks Tumbler}

This cup changed my life.

If you know me, then you know I like to say that:  It changed my life.  I say it about a lot of stuff.  And I mean it every time.  Every time.

This is the same cup that I couldn't decide which size to get, spent 10 awkward minutes in Starbucks choosing, got the smaller one, regretted the purchase, tried to return it, kept it, regretted it again, then got the tall one a week later as a gift from a friend.  I thought it would be freakishly too tall, but now I think it is freakishly totes awesome.

And the best part about the cup is what I have been drinking from it.  You see, it's seriously difficult for me to NOT drink ice cold Coca-Cola on the rocks all day long.  So, when I drink something other than diabetes-waiting-to-happen-in-a-shiny-red-can it's a big deal.  My current drink of choice is ice water and few squirts of this....

I drink it like, well, like water.  But, I still have a place in my heart for Coca-Cola.  And a place in my kitchen for this...

Thank you Mique @ Thirty Handmade Days for this awesome free printable