Cinnamon Sugar Twists Recipe (Meal Plan and Recipe Review)

This past week I experimented with a couple of recipes to try to use up what we had here at the house. On Sunday I shared this picture of one of my experiments on my Instagram (facebook, flickr, twitter, etc.).

There was such an interest in these that I thought I'd share with you how I made them. (They were really easy!) The 'recipe' is at the bottom of this post.

First, let me go ahead and share my meal plan and recipe review for the week.

Breakfasts: Doughnuts, Smoothies, Toast w/PB, Cereal, Cheese omelets, Waffles

Lunches: Leftovers, Soup w/grilled cheese, Chicken finger wraps, Pepperoni paninis, Bean burritoes, PB&J, Cheese quesidillas

Dinners:

No Noodle Pad Thai

Broccoli and Feta Pasta

Taco Soup w/tortilla chips

Veggie burgers w/sweet potato fries

Beef Stroganoff w/green beans

I'm linking up for Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

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Recipe Review

Broccoli Cheese and Potato Soup:  I've made this before, and we really enjoyed it again. The temperatures dipped over the weekend, and I wasn't feeling well so it was perfect. I did cook up a little Conecuh sausage and we 'topped' the soup with it. Yum!

Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole: This was part of my last Pinning with Purpose. Though Pat had his doubts, it turned out really well. I might just make it again.

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As I mentioned above, this recipe originally started as a way for me to use up something I had on hand. I had used one sheet in a box of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry for the quiches a week or so ago and the other one was defrosted and ready to go. I just had to come up with something before it wasted away. I'll admit that I just eyeballed the measurements. Feel free to do the same to your tastes.

Cinnamon Sugar Twists

Ingredients: 

1 sheet of a Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry (thawed)

1 1/2 Tbs butter (defrosted)

4 Tbs (approx) Sugar

1 1/2 -2 Tbs (approx) Cinnamon

Directions:

~Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
~Melt butter
~Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a small, shallow plate.

~Lay the puff pastry out on your work surface (I placed mine on a piece of parchment paper for easy clean up). Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough in half and then into about 1 inch wide strips. 

~Brush melted butter onto either side of the dough and then dip the dough into the cinnamon sugar mix on both sides.

~Slightly twist the dough before placing it on a baking stone or parchment paper lined baking tray.

~Repeat for all the strips

~Bake in oven for 12-15 minutes or until done.

Like I said, these were super easy and so good. I served them with a banana. We ate every last one of these little treats...oops. I suppose you could use the whole box of two puff pastry sheets and just double the other ingredients. Enjoy!

Pinning with Purpose | Week 15 (the last one)

Because of lack of interest in this endeavor (others as well as my own), this will be my last Pinning with Purpose entry.

I definitely want to thank Jenna at The Painted Apron for her almost weekly participation in this linky party. THANK YOU! Here are the two recipes she shared last week.

Cold Weather Comfort Bowls

Spinach Ravioli Alfredo with Chicken and Asparagus

These seem perfect now that the weather has turned more chilly.

As for what I had on my list. First was this cut-out skully tee for Halloween from my HOLIDAY | All Hallow's Eve board. It's based on this original skully-tee tutorial. (for some reason I can't get the original picture to share with you, please click over to see it.) Here's how I went about making it.

I bought a plain, black t-shirt at the thrift store.

Using some templates that I made from thick paper, I traced out the features with chalk.

With sharp sewing scissors, I roughly cut out the facial features.

I layered the black shirt over a white one to make sure the face could be seen.

I got a few compliments on the shirt as well as a few weird looks, but I really like how easy and interesting it was. I even had one lady tell me about her friend who made a similar pumpkin one layered over an orange tank top. Cool beans.

Secondly, I planned on making this Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole (from my FOOD | Healthy-er Eats Board).

Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole

I was a little worried before I made this about how it would go over at my house since my husband informed me as I was in the process of making it that he doesn't really care for tuna casserole (despite liking my tuna noodles). Gah! Seriously!?

my version

 It all worked out in the end as he ate 2-3 helpings of it. However, the leftovers are still sitting there. (One of the downfalls of no microwave). I might just make this again.

Since this is my last PwP, I haven't selected any new Pins to work on, though I do encourage you to link up. I'll leave the link open a little longer than usual just in case you do have something to share. Thanks to those of you who have played along with this. I thoroughly appreciate it.

An InLinkz Link-up

Personalizing My Bullet Journal with a Gelli Print

I'm a list-maker through and through. Always have been. I can't remember much or even function productively without a list. It's sad, I know. While I've gone through several versions of list-making, when I stumbled on the Bullet Journal method (as recommended by Kim of Zoot) I knew I found a method that suited what I needed. The great thing about the bullet journal is that you can personalize and mix it up to suit your style and needs. I've done just that.

I started with a basic smallish, spiral-bound graph notebook over a year ago.

I found this at Wal-mart with the school supplies

When I began, I kinda stuck to the basic instructions as portrayed in the video.

Boring!

As my style evolved, and I added some color (via washi tape - love!) each day to my journal/list.

A year later. (pardon the blurs, there's just some things you don't need to know. ;)  )

I've just about finished up that original journal, and it'll be time to start a new one on the first of November. Don't think I'm weird, but I'm kinda excited about it.

The old one is well worn and loved. (The tags are Post-it Durable Filing tags that I added)

While I had intended to personalize the cover of my original one, I never seemed to get around to it. I guess I should have added it to my list. Since I've become addicted to papercrafting, I couldn't let the new one be. I sorted through some of my Gelli Plate prints and found my favorite of the bunch.

Just check out the variety of colors and textures in this print. Isn't it dreamy?

My original print was done on cardstock which seemed too heavy to adhere to the notebook, so I scanned and printed a copy of it on some basic printer paper. After some cutting and gluing, I now have a beautiful new bullet journal cover.

Much better! Now to wait and see how this one evolves. How do you handle your day-to-day lists?

Meal Plan and Recipe

Over the weekend, Pat and I decided to be more active than we have in a while and played a round of disc golf. That single 18 basket course wiped us out completely. It was shameful! It was also a stark reminder of just how lax we've been with out diet and exercise lately. Seriously shameful!! Now that my health is better (headaches are gone) and the weather is cooler, I'm hoping we can get back into some better habits. This starts with what we put into our bodies. Here's the plan for this week.

Breakfasts: Smoothies, Cereal, Toast w/PB, Conecuh (sausage) w/eggs & toast, Homemade puff pastry pop-tarts or cinnamon sticks

Lunches: Leftovers, Soup w/grilled cheese, Chicken finger wraps, Pepperoni paninis, Bean burritoes, PB&J, Cheese quesidillas

Dinners:

Conecuh (sausage) w/green beans & mac-n-cheese

Skinny tuna noodle casserole w/corn

Broccoli cheese and potato soup

Veggie burgers w/sweet potato fries

No-noodle Pad Thai

I'm linking up with Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

I'll be the first to admit that the above menu is not the most healthy, but I need to get rid of some of the junk we have on hand first. I just can't let food go to waste. Excuses, excuses. . .

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Recipe Review

Sticky Orange Tofu Bowl: I think this is the second time I've made this recipe. I reviewed it back in May. This time I had more success with not caramelizing the cashews. Again, it was a wonderful use of tofu.

Mini Quiche (w/crust): I think Pat had some reservations about this recipe when I mentioned it to him. (Real men don't eat quiche or something like that.) But, I added bacon and mushrooms to bulk it up a bit. I think they were really great!

As you can see, my Monday plan fell on a Tuesday. This means I'm already a day behind in this week and desperately trying to catch up. There's so much I want to do. What have you got planned for the week?

Pinning with Purpose | Week 14

After all the birthday merriment this week/weekend, I'm running bit behind on today's Pinning with Purpose. I do hope you'll forgive me.

As a reminder, here's some info on Pinning with Purpose. Each week, I pick out a few pins from my Pinterest boards and try to recreate them or use them for inspiration. And, I challenge you to do the same. Find a pin that gets your creative juices going; be it a craft tutorial, recipe, style inspiration, or organizational tip and run with it. I encourage you to share your results on your blog and then link it up here. I do ask that if you are going to link up here, that you mention it on your blog with a link back.  As well, if you want to pin anything seen here, please make sure you go to the original post to do it.

Big thanks to Jenna at The Painted Apron for sharing her super fun and festive Halloween tablescape last week. Thank you Jenna!

Halloween Tablescape at The Painted Apron

Once again, I was too ambitious for my own good and only managed to get to one of my picked pins. (I was too busy to make dessert. How is that possible!?) The one I did focus in on was this adorable bracelet.

Delicate button bracelet tutorial from Just Crafty Enough off my Jewelry Tutorials board

I decided to be less precise with my bracelet and went for my jar of white buttons and bowl of mixed jump rings.

First, I picked out some similar-in-size buttons. From there I sorted through my jump rings for larger ones. I wasn't concerned that they match in metal or size, just that they were big enough to work.

I'm really happy with the results of this project. I ended up wearing the bracelet all day and even my 14 year-old niece noticed it. Win!

For this next week, I'll be working on. . .

• Making this cute cut-out skully tee for Halloween from my HOLIDAY | All Hallow's Eve board. It's based on this original skully-tee tutorial.
• As well, after a week of indulgence, I want to get back to eating better. As such I'll be adding this Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole to the menu (from my FOOD | Healthy-er Eats Board).

Now it's your turn to share what you've been up to with your Pinterest Pins.

An InLinkz Link-up

Thrift Store Score - Family Story in Ephemera

Over the weekend, Pat and I  hit up a local thrift store that's going out of business.At first only these two tins caught my eye.

Pretty!

However, as I neared the check-out counter, I spotted an old book and started flipping through the pages to find a brittle, aged piece of notebook paper. The owner noticed my interest and asked me if I like old papers. I issued an enthusiastic "Yes", and she showed me to this box.

It was a bit more. . .overflowing when I first saw it.

I couldn't resist  the call of this ephemera and paid what I thought was a reasonable price. (Was $25 too much, tell me after you see what was in there.)

Back at home a few hours later, I sorted through the box to find this treasure trove.

These Workmen's Time Books took up much of the space at the top along with the Day Book. There were also several books of what I think are deposit slips.

Unfortunately, the Day Book is mostly ruined but I can maybe salvage some of the top and outside portions.

The Time Books are full of names, dates, and hours worked.

This is one of the earlier ones, dating back to 1920

There were also several old, ragged books in the box.

I found only these three photographs in there. The portrait is an autographed picture of George Wallace.

It seems the man of the house possibly had a concrete construction business of some kind (I think) and there are all kinds of typed business letters and a few blueprints.

Letters, cards, and other written material (a play, a poem, recipes) were scattered in with the business papers.

Then there was the rest: old newspapers, pamphlets, cook books, travel souvenirs, certificates, and more.

As I dug through the box, the history of a family unfolded before me. The husband's business correspondence and documentation, the wife's letters from friends and family, recipes and cookbook pamphlets, school papers and valentine cards of their daughter's as well as her engagement announcements, and the father's obituary. I was touched at the story that played before my eyes and amazed that it all fit into the one box.

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with all of it yet. I know some of it will find its way into my new mixed-media, art journal obsession and my jewelry (somehow). I'll likely make copies of some of the materials rather than tear them up, as well as share some with others interested in ephemera (let me know if you are), as that was my initial intention with getting the box. But, the history it holds now feels personal somehow. What would you do with a box of papers dating back to the early 1900s?

I'm sharing this post at:
Thrifty Things Friday at Melissa's Antiques
Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch to Yours
Thrifter Share at Hey What's For Dinner Mom
Junkin Joe at The Cottage Market 
Show and Share at Coastal Charm
Thriftasaurus at Sir Thrift-a-lot
History and Home Party at We Call it Junkin
Let's Talk Vintage at Bella Rosa Antiques
Vintage Inspiration Link Party at My Salvaged Treasures 
What's it Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Art Journal, my new obsession

I've fallen down the rabbit hole of mixed media and art journaling. I mentioned this new obsession several weeks back, and it's only gotten worse. Other than taking some pictures and listing some items, I haven't really touched my beads. The table beside my desk currently looks like this

I've carved stamps for Pete's sake!

Here are some of the results of my messy, painty, inky play (if you follow me elsewhere, you've probably seen these.)

I don't see an end in site to this new obsession, but that's okay. I just need to get back into my beads too. I'm hoping for a more bead-centric day tomorrow. . .we'll see how that goes.

Menu Plan Monday and Recipe Review

It's seriously time to get back on track with the meal planning. Between working on the magazine and Pat being out of town, I simply didn't even bother with figuring out what I/we was (were) going to eat. That was probably a mistake as I/we ended up eating out or eating crap the majority of last week. While this week doesn't have as many meatless meals as I would usually plan for us, I'm letting myself splurge a little since it is my birthday week after all (bring on the bacon!)

Breakfasts: Cereal, Smoothies, PB toast, Cinnamon rolls, Eggs w/bacon & toast, French Toast

Lunches: PB&J, Tuna noodles, Chicken finger wrap, Pepperoni paninis, Soup w/grilled cheese, Cheese quesidillas

Dinners: 

Sticky Orange Tofu Bowl

Bacon and mushroom Mini Quiches w/salad

Soup (from freezer: either chili, pad Thai soup, or Italian Chicken soup)

Mac-n-cheese w/conecuh sausage & green beans

Turkey Filets w/mashed potatoes & peas

As usual, I'm linking up with I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

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Recipe Review

Spaghetti with Lemon and Parm: As with anything involving pasta, cheese, and lemon; I really loved this dish. It was pretty easy too. There's a definitely possibility it will be made again.

Honey brushed chicken thighs: I had the chicken thighs for another dish I had planned but never got to before some of the other ingredients. . .turned. So, I did a quick search for something flavorful and easy to do with the thighs. This was just that. However, there was something about it that was 'just okay' to me. I might make it again if I'm looking for something fast.

Parmesan basil orzo: (Another pasta and parm dish, go figure) I wanted a starchy side to go with the chicken (above) but also wanted to just use ingredients I had on hand. Somehow I have this box of orzo that seems to be self-refilling, and I always have parm in the fridge. I did substitute dried basil for the fresh, and I think that worked just fine. It was really, really good. This might come into regular rotation since I still have all this orzo!

Maybe next week I can get myself back in gear for the low meat diet we've been striving to maintain. Do you have any great vegetarian dishes? Please share.

Pinning with Purpose | Week 13

My post yesterday should have explained much of my absence this past week. However, today begins a new week and a new resolve to begin again. It's time for . . .

Here's a little bit of what Pinning with Purpose is about. Each week, I pick out a few pins from my Pinterest boards and try to recreate them or use them for inspiration. And, I challenge you to do the same. Find a pin that gets your creative juices going; be it a craft tutorial, recipe, style inspiration, or organizational tip and run with it. I encourage you to share your results on your blog and then link it up here. I do ask that if you are going to link up here, that you mention it on your blog with a link back.  As well, if you want to pin anything seen here, please make sure you go to the original post to do it.

Before I show what else I accomplished this week, let me feature the ladies who linked up last week.

Jenna's super cute Witch at the Door {The Painted Apron}

Also, Jenna's delicious-looking Pigskin Tailgate Dip {The Painted Apron}

Leslie Anne's Humidity-proof Caramel Apple results {Fairhope Supply Co.}

Thank you ladies for sharing the results your creative endeavors and linking them up here! Y'all are the best!!

I had two pins to work on this week but was only able to get to one of them:

Button-lettered pumpkin from  Easy Day's list of Pumpkin Carving Ideas

For my pumpkin, I too the more economical route and picked out a small, carvable, styrofoam one from the Dollar Tree.

Using a pencil, I sketched out my letter (because of the size of the pumpkin, I went with just a single letter; our last initial). You can see the lines of my first attempt at drawing the S. . .oops. I decided to use some gray buttons as well as the black ones and Aleene's Tacky Glue to attach them.

After letting the glue dry overnight, my button pumpkin was ready to be displayed with my other dollar store pumpkins. 

I know it's not perfect, but I like it nonetheless.

Now, for next week. . .

• I'm going to try AGAIN to make these peanut butter and pretzel bars off my FOOD | Sweet board. They look just too yummy not to try to make. 
• As well, I haven't made any jewelry in a week or two, so I hope to dive back in with this delicate button bracelet tutorial  from my Jewelry Tutorials board. It looks easy enough and I get to use some of my buttons!

Now it's your turn to share how you've been inspired.

An InLinkz Link-up