Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Beautiful Fall Weather

Ahhh, loving the weather today!  Perfect temperature and not a cloud in the sky!  It actually got down into the 30's last night, I just wish we could open the windows.  We need to replace the screens because there are holes in them, but that's a project for this weekend  :) 

I've been searching Pinterest for some DIY Christmas gift ideas, so I actually have a lot of projects I want to start on!
To see some of the ideas I want to try, check out my Cool Ideas Pinterest board:  http://pinterest.com/BeachBunnyBrit/cool-ideas/

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Microwave Chicken Tacos!

Yes, you read that right.  I made chicken tacos in the microwave tonight thanks to a WONDERFUL Pampered Chef recipe.  The original recipe is actually for fajitas, but my boyfriend and I are very picky eaters and ours turned out more like tacos.  You are supposed to use their Deep Covered Baker stoneware, but unfortunately I haven't been able to afford that yet  :(   So I'll admit, I had to cheat and use another dish I have because it MUST be covered.  I'm co-hosting a Pampered Chef party in a few weeks though, and I'm hoping to be able to afford it by then (or at least the smaller version, which is supposed to be perfect for cooking for 2!).

*Sadly, I was so hungry, I totally forgot to stop and take pictures, lol. 

It was so easy!  I just roughly chopped up some onion and bell pepper and put them in the bottom of the dish with a little lime juice. (Even if you're like us and don't like the taste of them, I still recommend putting them in because they give the chicken a wonderful flavor and aroma.)  Then put 2 chicken breasts seasoned with taco seasoning, salt, pepper and a little onion powder on top.  Put the lid on and pop it in the microwave for 15 minutes.  While it was cooking, I got all the other ingredients ready, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, etc. When the chicken is done, you can cut it up with Pampered Chef's Salad Choppers, but again I don't have them (one day! and when I have a kitchen big enough to hold it all!) and just used a knife and cutting board.

The chicken came out moist and tender. My boyfriend could not believe I had just made it in the microwave, he told me at least 3 times how good it was!  This is definitely going to become a staple in our house thanks to its ease of preparation and wonderful taste! 

 

Friday, October 19, 2012

Influenster

In case you haven't heard of Influenster, you really should check them out!  They are a great (FREE!) company who rewards their members for reviewing companies and products, either good or bad.  They recently re-did their website and it's taken me a little bit to get used to it, but now that I'm a little more comfortable with it I quite like it.  It's great to have an idea of your rank among other member, both overall and in specialized areas (you can get expert badges in areas like gaming, fashion and more).

The only downside to all the changes is that the site is now invitation only, so it you decide you are interested and are serious about being active, send me a message. 

Yumminess!

I've been seeing all of these recipes with cookies or mini candy bars stuffed inside cookies or brownies on Pinterest and I HAD to try it out!  So much for my diet, lol 

I figured I would start out with a fairly easy one - an Oreo cookie inside of a chocolate chip cookie.
It ended up being a little too messy for me to take "during" photos, so I had to just settle for an after photo...of course "after" I had a bite to show you the center!


It was delicious!!! 

Next I want try the cookie/candy/brownie version with a Reece's peanut butter cup stuck in the middle of a cookie bottom layer and brownie top layer!  Thinking about making them for Thanksgiving as a surprise for everyone  :)

Monday, October 15, 2012

Caramel Latte Nescafe Memento....Finally!!


Ok, here it is!  I tried out the Caramel Latte flavor back at the end of August, but I've got to be honest, I didn't like it very much  :(   It was nice and foamy again, and had a surprisingly creamy texture, but the flavor was just too watered down and bland.   Unfortunately, I won't be buying them in the future. 


I've looked for packs of the Mocha flavored Mementos while shopping at a couple grocery stores, but so far haven't had any luck finding them (to clarify, haven't found any of the Nescafe Memento products in any flavor).  I sent a message to the company asking if they will be coming to any of the stores I go to (Walmart, Publix and Winn-Dixie) anytime soon and will update if I get a response from them.

Update - 10/18/12:
I did receive an email back from Nestle, but it never actually answered my question, they just gave me a script answer about how they have no control over where products go once purchased by a retailer.  :(   And those mocha's would be wonderful this time of year as its starting to get a little cooler...

Update - 10/23/12:
Went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart tonight and low and behold, they had Nescafe's Mementos! I had given up on them and wasn't even looking for them, I swear they jumped off the shelf at me! :) 
And at only $0.50/drink, I wanted to do a happy dance.  Much better then the $3.00 you'd pay for a small drink at a coffee shop!
 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Changes

I know, I know, I've been gone for a while and never ended up posting a review for the Caramel flavored Nescafe Memento, but I will do it by the end of the day!

My life has felt like a roller coaster (HATE them!) for the past few months and I've been really down. So I decided I'm going to make some changes in my life and this blog is going to be part of it. I've been avoiding posting anything new because I haven't done much healthy cooking lately.  But from now on, I'm going to use this blog to talk about all the things going on in my life....good and bad! So whether I make something healthy or sinfully fattening, exercise or don't, feel happy or sad, I'm gonna post about it. At least expressing my feeling should help me feel better, whether anyone is reading/listening or not!  =)