Pinterest in Real Life

Pin #17: Bacon Wrapped Cinnamon Rolls

Posted on May 22, 2013 by amylaree

Bacon Cinnamon Rolls
from The Quick Dish.

Yup. You read that title right: Bacon. Wrapped. Cinnamon Rolls. One look at this Bacon Cinnamon Roll pin and I knew I had to give it a try. It looked way to easy and way to awesome to get lost in the abyss of my Yummies board. Look at that picture over there… How could I not give that a go?

Here are my thoughts: Ummm… YUM. Yup, this oooey, gooey cinnamon roll paired with a good, long strip of bacon was delicious. Shocking, I know. However, there were a few things that could up the ante if you want to get serious about perfecting this cinnamon-bacon concept…

Cream cheese, please. If you want to keep things simple, go with the tubes of refrigerated cinnamon roll. However, make sure you get the one with cream cheese frosting. To make it even more tasty, mix a little maple syrup or maple flavoring into the cream cheese frosting before drizzling it onto the baked cinnamon rolls.
Thick & Smokey. I inadvertently discovered that the type of bacon really can make a difference for this dish. We made this with thick cut, applewood smoked bacon slices and the smoke flavor perfectly complemented the cinnamon and frosting. The thickness of the bacon made sure that it didn’t get lost between the thick layers of the cinnamon roll dough. Just be sure to fry up the bacon for only 2 – 3 minutes so it’s still pliable when you go to roll it in the dough.
Go homemade. Don’t get me wrong, the refrigerated cinnamon rolls were delicious, but they weren’t over-the-top-amazing that I anticipated. I’m sure this is because the cinnamon rolls weren’t homemade. Next time we give this a go (and there will be a next time) I’ll try my hand at homemade rolls – maybe this recipe or maybe this maple pecan recipe - and include a maple-flavored frosting.

Give this one a go, but double the recipe… because everyone is gonna want seconds.

Pinterest in Real Life: Bacon-Wrapped Cinnamon Rolls

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Because We Could Use a Lift Right Now…

Posted on May 21, 2013 by amylaree

With the rough news from yesterday’s tornadoes,
I thought this pin might bring a few smiles amidst all the tough news.
Donate to the Red Cross today to support relief efforts.

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Posted in Humor and tagged heartwarming moments, humor. Bookmark the permalink.

Friday Originals: Spicy Chicken & Edamame Noodles

Posted on May 17, 2013 by amylaree

Ready to get cookin’: Spicy Chicken & Edamame Noodles

One of the things I like best about Pinterest is the inspiration that leads to the thought “Hey, I could do that.” Looking at all the pins tends to get my creatives juices flowing, so I’m starting a new series called “Friday Originals.” These are recipes or projects the I’ve come up with on my own and want to share with masses.

So here’s my first swing at an original recipe… and by original, I mean inspired by an assortment of other recipes. I came up with this when we had some of the Six Sisters’ Slow Cooker Asian Glazed Chicken leftover. That stuff is delicious. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough for a full meal of it. Trying to figure out what to do with it, I stumbled upon The Pioneer Woman’s Simple Sesame Noodle recipe. With these two ideas in mind, I ventured into the kitchen and cooked up some Spicy Chicken & Edamame Noodles.

Let me know what you think!

Spicy Chicken & Edamame Noodles

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

Spicy Peanut Sauce
- 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon Garlic, minced (about 3 cloves)
- 2 tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Sesame Oil
- 1 teaspoon Hot Chili Oil
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons Peanut Butter (crunchy or smooth)
1 cup Cooked Chicken, shredded (I recommend using this Asian Glazed Chicken recipe to prepare it, but any way will work)
1 cup Edamame, shelled
1 cup Carrots, sliced
2 Scallions, sliced (use both green and white parts)
1/2 cup Peanuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped
10 oz. Thin Spaghetti Noodles (or any noodles you have on hand)

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine ingredients for Spicy Peanut Sauce. Stir all ingredients together until sugar and peanut butter dissolve. Set aside and let meld together at least 20 – 30 minutes.
Prepare noodles as directed. Toss in edamame and carrots during the last minute to soften them up slightly. Drain water and place noodles, edamame & carrots in serving bowl.
Add chicken to the noodles and stir well. Coat noodle mixture with Spicy Peanut Sauce. Start with using only half of the sauce and adjust according to your taste preferences.
Top with scallions, peanuts and cilantro. Serve warm.

Friday Originals: Spicy Chicken & Edamame Noodles

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Posted in Original Recipes, Recipes and tagged asian food, noodle recipes, original recipes, pioneer woman recipes, spicy peanut sauce. Bookmark the permalink.

Pin #16 – Whole Foods Sweet Corn and Black Bean Salad

Posted on May 15, 2013 by amylaree

Sweet Corn and Black Bean Salad
from Whole Foods

Summertime calls for everything fresh and delicious… and that means sweet corn! I’ve always loved Whole Food’s Sweet Corn and Black Bean Salad but am not a fan of trekking across town to get it (or paying that much for it!). Fortunately this pin showed up in my feed last month so I gave it a try!

Here are my thoughts…

This is super easy! And there’s a good bet you’ve got most of the ingredients in your fridge and pantry already. All I had to get from the store was a red pepper and we were good to go.
Consider modifications. The original recipe calls for seasoned rice wine vinegar, but as I read through the comments, a lot of people recommended subbing in balsamic vinegar instead. This is what I did and it gave it a great flavor. I’m not a big fan of red onion, so I left it out completely – those were my only changes.
Don’t forget the cilantro or lime. Cilantro and lime are used so frequently as garnish that I never know when they really contribute to the flavor of the dish. This time they both make a huge difference! The cilantro is a delicious complement to the tartness of the vinegar and the lime juice. Both these ingredients really round out the flavor and make it an exceptional dish that you’ll want to make again and again.

There are tons of ways to use this salad – serve it solo or add it to other basic meals to amp up the flavor. Check out this Corn and Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potato recipe at our sister site Marking My Territory for just one idea of how to use this recipes with other dishes. Here’s how it turned out for me:

Pinterest in Real Life: Whole Foods’ Sweet Corn and Black Bean Salad

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Because It’s Monday

Posted on May 13, 2013 by amylaree

Because it’s Monday… and we could all use a laugh.

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Posted in Humor. Bookmark the permalink.

Pin #15: DIY Photo Light Box

Posted on May 8, 2013 by amylaree

Photo Light Box Tutorial from Flax and Twine

I love chronicling my Pinterest attempts, but one thing that bugs me is how poorly the pictures have turned out. We have terrible lighting in our kitchen so it’s a struggle to get good pictures. Luckily, I came across this great Pinterest find: DIY Photo Light Box.

Photography tools can get really pricey really fast. Fortunately, Anne over at Flax and Twine wrote up a great (and easy!) tutorial on how to make your own photo light box. Our camera (Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-TX10) takes pretty good pictures, but lighting issues have always given them funky tints. Well, that problem is no more thanks to our new light box!

Here are my thoughts on Anne’s DIY Light Box:

It’s Cheap! Aside from needing to pick up some white tissue paper and white poster board (which cost about $5 combined), we had all the tools necessary at home: cardboard box, tape, cutting blade.
It’s Speedy! This project comes together fast! This went so quickly I was able to get it done while our 14 week old son (who is a nortoriously short napper) snoozed in his crib down the hall. It took me about 35 minutes to make my light box – cutting out the cardboard was the longest process.
Check Your Size. Be sure to select a cardboard box that is big enough for what you’ll be photographing. I started with a smaller box to see if the concept translated as well into reality (which it did) but really the box is too small for most of the food shots that we take. In the pics below you can see the edge of my light box at angles that can’t really be cropped out. If you’re taking pics of objects bigger than jewelry you’ll probably want to start with an 24x18x18″ box or bigger.
Add Some Light. If you’re not able to use the light box with natural light filtering in, place a couple of lamps on both sides the box (and on top, if you’ve got a lamp that will work at that angle). This was something I read in the comments of Anne’s original post and it really helped my pics pop.

So how’d the results turn out? Judge for yourself: