French Onion Soup Recipe

When you were growing up, did you have certain family traditions? Well, homemade French onion soup and hot chocolate were always waiting for us when we returned from picking out and cutting down our Christmas tree. If my mother can be described in one or two words, they would be "amazing cook." Seriously, don't even try and say your mom is better, because it's impossible. Because I've long since moved away from home, I am constantly trying to recreate traditions from my past. Enter this amazing (and easy) French onion soup recipe...

Wine Bottle Painting

I've noticed that I tend to cook more than I tend to craft, and I've also noticed that I really enjoy a glass or two of wine. Red or white, I won't discriminate. After seeing my friend Tina's crafty painted wine bottles decorating her kitchen, a light bulb went off - "I could and should totally do that!" Without further ado, enjoy my wine bottle painting craft.

Smoothie Thursday: Random Mix #1

First off, I would like to just say Happy Thursday! Hang in there: tomorrow is Friday. Secondly, I want to let you know that, ever since my lovely Aunt Lisa got me my first blender last Christmas, I have tried to be a smoothie goddess. That lasted for about a month, then my blender went unused and I returned to my extremely unhealthy eating patterns.

But now that we are going on a cruise in less than two months (my first real vacation in the real world!!!), I've been trying to at least eat healthier and hope it reflects well on my bikini bod.

After buying out what seemed like the whole grocery store produce section and gaining the motivation to toss everything in the blender in the wee hours of the morning (trust me, it's not easy to grow this motivation), I finally got back on the smoothie horse!

Mexican Lasagna

Y'all ready for this? The second that I saw a form of this recipe online, I knew that I had to tweak it, make it mine, and throw a Mexican fiesta of deliciousness in my mouth. If there's one thing I've learned during my 23 years in this world, it's that Mexican food is one of the best kinds of food in existence. It doesn't matter how you lay it out: you will never go wrong with lots of beans, cheese, and salsa.

All I can say is, "Ay!"

If you are not a fan of all things Mexican, you probably won't enjoy this recipe, but if you are human and do enjoy it, then I think this recipe will make your week (or life).

Pesto Haddock Kebabs

Really, all you need to do is look at the title of this post and the following picture and you should be convinced to try this recipe:

"Pesto haddock kebabs, what are those?" Probably one of the most delicious fish dishes ever that I swear will make your palate thank you and jump for joy (if palates could jump). Advanced word of warning: If you have cats, do not let them smell the fish as you cut it up, or you will have crazy zombie kitties who only have fish guts on their minds. And you'll probably end up with a hair or three in your kebabs.

Let's begin. You can thank me later (in the comments section) for this recipe.

Golden Birthday Fun and the 23 Item List

Yesterday, October 23, was my 23rd birthday. In some circles this is known as a "golden birthday," and interestingly enough, someone on Urban Dictionary decided that this particular golden birthday is one of the most powerful:

The two most Powerful Golden Birthdays are 31 and 23. While 31 is stable and at a constantly high Power level, 23 is an ever-shifting entity that at times holds nearly infinite levels of Power. This can be dangerous and has the potential to unknown chaos, depending on if the wielder (birthday boy/girl) is aware and can harness the Power.

Interested yet? Then read on about my powerfully adventurous day.

Pesto Zucchini Spaghetti

Looking for something light, delicious, and easy to make for dinner tonight? Don't reach for that box of angel hair pasta: reach for the squash and create this mouth-watering, sure-to-please dish with zucchini, broccoli, and (none other than but an optional addition) bacon!

Past crafts and home do-it-yourself projects

Soon after we first moved in to our new apartment, I started getting this itch. It wasn't just a small, nagging itch, it was literally consuming my thoughts, and I couldn't let it go unscratched. No, it wasn't poison ivy: it was my urge to decorate, craft, and create an overall amazing looking space for my little family. I did not bring this upon myself (completely): my co-worker, Angela, began linking me to all these DIY home blogs and the seed grew into a plant, which eventually grew into a huge Redwood.

I started out pretty slowly, gathering hundreds of ideas and never quite deciding which ones to act upon. Until the day that I realized there's a craft store not too far from the apartment...

Let's begin with one of my first experimental crafts: Canvas Wall Art. There are so many walls in our new apartment and they are depressingly bare, so I decided to do something about it, which resulted in this:

Potato Crust Taco Pie

Do you and your family love tacos? Have you ever run to the grocery store and picked up every ingredient to make them, but somehow forgot the hard shells? Well, then this Potato Crust Taco Pie recipe was created just for you. By switching out a pre-made crust for a homemade one, you can increase the healthy factor of this dish. Let us not forget, also, that this pie tastes like a taco made by God himself.

Don't I look amazing?

The impossibly tiny apartment

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the one who'll decide where to go." -Dr. Seuss

Well, Dr. Seuss, I decided to pack up all my stuff from home only a couple of days after graduating college and move three hours away from everyone and everything I knew. Talk about mildly traumatizing. The only thing more traumatizing was the fact that all of my stuff had to fit in this 600-square-foot apartment with little to no storage space. Not to mention the fact that I was on a very strict budget from just starting life on my own. Think: lots of ramen noodles and canned ravioli.

So, to set the stage for upcoming posts in my newer, larger apartment, I thought I would lay out some history:

Miscellaneous

DIY Home

Wall Art

Paleo

Crock Pot

Side Dishes

Turkey

Seafood

Pork

Appetizers

Beef

Chicken