Gyros and Greek Salad- My Pinterest Meals

I've talked before about my love for Pinterest.  The internet can be such a wonderful thing.  Something I've been trying to do is to have more rounded meals.  I had fallen into a rut where we had our main dish and maybe a side if I remembered to throw something out there at the last minute.  Not very exciting.  Plus there weren't leftovers to send with my husband and for me to eat the next day.  So Pinterest has helped me to create more exciting meals.  Now we have a main dish, at least one side, and some fruit to go along with.  My husband likes it and it means I can sneak in more veggies and fruit with everyone.  Double win!

I thought I would start sharing my meals that I've put together using Pinterest.  These are all recipes tried by me and given my families stamp of approval.  This week gyros!

Gyros are my new favorite meal.  I find myself craving them every couple weeks.  They are so good and a little on the lighter side which is nice to mix in with those heavy, delicious meals.  It makes a girl feel likes she's trying to diet.  I've meshed pieces of different recipes to create my perfect gyro.

Whole wheat pita bread by Annie's Eats- Do not be afraid of making pita bread.  It's actually pretty easy.  And once you've had homemade those store bought ones taste kind of like cardboard.  I make a double batch when I make them and throw them in the freezer so I have some around for next time or lunch time pita bread pizzas for the kids.

Gyro filling by Tasty Kitchen Blog- I adore this beef filling.  It's so good and super fast.

Tzatziki Sauce by Annie's Eats- The reason I like this tzatziki sauce versus the one in the recipe with the gyro filling is the fact that the cucumber is shredded giving it a finer texture although I do add some dill to it just like in the recipe on Tasty Kitchen Blog.

Greek Couscous Salad by Jonesin' For Taste- Obviously this is a favorite in our house...you know...it's from my own blog.

Serve with a fruit salad.  I personally like a mango, blueberry, strawberry salad with this.  Light and refreshing and fitting for this bright and colorful meal.  Perfect perhaps with the warmer weather we are having here in the south.  Hope you enjoy this meal as much as we do.

Do you like this feature?  Is this something you want more of?  Let me know in the comments what you think.

Mr. and Mrs. Felt Potato Head

So my wonderful and dear husband has recently flown cross country with each of our kids while he has been interviewing for a job.  He's done it twice now, once with each child.  He's awesome!  I made sure to send him with enough things to entertain and feed the children over the 8-10 hour travel days he had.  I had found some pattern pieces online but then couldn't find them again when I wanted to make them.  So I spent a ton of time drafting my own to go with the one I had already saved onto my computer.  These pieces fit with the Potato Head template on Oopsey Daisy (such a great site!).  If you are a fan of mysteries then you might recognize one of my creations is very specific.  Poirot's mustache is so distinct in the BBC series that I just had to have it.  I love it!

I cut these out of the felt that you buy by the yard not from the sheets.  The wool by the yard is just a bit thicker and holds up better.  I sewed them together using my sewing machine which made it pretty quick to put together.  There's no velcro on them because felt sticks to felt and it was one less thing to worry about.  Someday I will sew the main potato head piece into a quietbook but that is for another day.

Since making these I've found the links on pinterest to the other felt potato heads I had seen.  You can find all the links here:

Here in the waiting place

Jocelyn and Jason

Oopsey Daisy

And here's my pattern piece.  Just right click on the picture and save as image.  You should be able to print it off from there.  This pattern is provided for personal use only.

Happy crafting!

Lucky Door Hanger

My little family will be moving this summer and so I've started packing up some stuff.  My craft room was is bursting at the seams full of stuff craft supplies.  I packed up some of it so that I could make room for my sister in law to come visit.  Anyways, I found some old glass beads from the dollar store that I had used once upon a time to decorate something or other.  I saw them and envisioned them as a fun shamrock.  I wanted to pay homage to the colors of the Irish flag and add a little more color than just green.  So I used orange for the letters to add a bit of dimension.

I used some e-6000 glue to stick the glass beads to the painted board which was leftover from a different project.  I used my Cricut to cut out the word "Lucky" out of cardstock and modpodged the letters on.  I would have used vinyl but didn't have any the right color.  The wire is also leftover from another project.  I bought it at Lowe's I think.  It didn't take very long to put together especially because the board was already painted.

Supplies:

Board, painted white (not pictured)
21 Green glass beads
e-6000 glue
Orange card stock or vinyl
Modpodge (only if using cardstock)
Foam brush (only if using cardstock)
Wire

Drill holes at the top of you board.  Arrange the beads how you want them to be on the board.  Carefully pick them up and add a little glue and place them back down.  Modpodge the word "lucky" down.  Add your wire hanger and allow the glue to dry.  There you go and your done.

Hang it up!  

Erin go bragh! 

Homemade Playdough- Apple, Pumpkin, and Gingerbread

I really love this playdough and thought I would share the recipe with everyone.  I made my first batch of this stuff back during the summer and it hasn't dried out at all, not like regular playdough.  I really like this stuff.  It    uses stuff that I have in my cupboard, makes the perfect amount, and the texture is perfect!

The original recipe can be found at the blog Oopsey Daisey.  She has some wonderful preschool packets that have songs, hand plays, flannel board stories, activity ideas, worksheets...talk about a labor or love!  Definitely check out her stuff!  T loves to go pull out the flannel board stuff and asks demands that I tell her the story.  And she loves it when I sing the songs.  She thinks they are so fun. Seriously go check out Alison's awesome packets!

I know there are lots of other recipes floating around out there but I feel that this recipe is the fastest and the simplest.

Here is the basic foundation for the playdough:

1 c. flour
1/2 c salt
1 Tbsp cream of tartar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 c water

All you need to do is change the spices and add some food coloring to change it up.  I want to try some glittery peppermint playdough but I want it to be safe to eat so my little man can play with it too.  I pinned something forever ago about making glitter from salt or sugar so I think I will try that and if it works I will make sure to share.

I'm going to share the three variations I've done here with the instructions after the last variation.  Hope it provides some fun play in your home!

Apple Pie scented playdough
recipe from Oopsie Daisey

1 c. flour
1/2 c salt
1 Tbsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cardamom
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 c water
Red food coloring

Pumpkin Pie scented playdough

1 c. flour
1/2 c salt
1 Tbsp cream of tartar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Dash of ground ginger
Dash of ground cloves
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 c water
Red and yellow food coloring (ratio of 2 yellow to 1 red)

I used 10 drops yellow and 5 drops red to get the light orange color of my playdough.

 Gingerbread scented playdough

1 c. flour
1/2 c salt
1 Tbsp cream of tartar
1/2 Tbsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 c water

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a pot.  Add water and oil and food coloring and mix to combine.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture forms a ball.  Turn dough onto a board and knead until smooth.  Cool.  Store in a plastic container.

recipes adapted from Oopsie Daisey

Korean Style Short Ribs

I've mentioned before how much I love Pinterest.  It has exposed me (in the non-flasher way) to all sorts of new people and new blogs.  Not that I now follow all those blogs but I've at least explored there blogs for a while.  I usually glean some new ideas and they hopefully benefit from the increased traffic flow.  I've even benefited  from Pinterest.  I found out I had been pinned by people I don't even know!  Yipee! It was a good day in my eyes.  Anywhoo...so I try a lot of recipes from Pinterest and do love lots of them but I've come across a few that haven't really worked for us.

One of those recipes was these Korean Style Short Ribs from What's Cookin, Chicago?  They looked delicious but we were kind of underwhelmed by them.  Didn't hate them but didn't love them.  Kind of underwhelmed by flavor and overwhelmed by the grease.  Total bummer.  But I was not about to give up on it.  Try try again!

I've made it twice now and have absolutely loved it.  It is now solidly engrossed in the favorite meal list.  The main change- separating the fat from the sauce- it was a major factor I believe in allowing the flavor of the sauce through.  I also changed out the type of ribs because whenever I've made it it seems to fall apart anyways.  Just my preference.  So go check out the recipe below and remember to have hope when you find a recipe you really want to like!

Korean Style Short Ribs (crockpot)
adapted from What's Cookin, Chicago?

1 cup soy sauce (I used low sodium)
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 Tbsp sesame oil
4 Tbsp rice vinegar
4 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 head of garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
3-4 lbs beef short ribs, flank cut
1-2 stalks green onions, sliced thin for garnish (optional)

1/2 tsp white sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Mix first 7 ingredients together in crock pot.  Add short ribs and press down to make sure sauce mostly covers.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.  Remove meat from slow cooker.  Pour sauce into gravy separator in batches. Let fat rise to top.  Pour sauce (that is on the bottom of the gravy separator) back over ribs and toss the fat away.  Repeat as needed.  Serve with rice and garnished with green onions and sesame seeds.

Cantonese Black Pepper Beef with Green Beans

So, I have a confession to make. I have a HUGE stash of recipes. I see something good, I rip it out of the magazine, put it in my pile...AND promptly forget about it.

 Hi, I'm Jade and I hoard recipes. I have a problem.

In order to address my problem I've tried to:

 1. Find the recipes online and pin them onto my Pinterest board (still hoarding perhaps but takes up infinitely less space in my house)

 2. Actually try to cook some of these recipes.

 Thankfully part of my catalyst for change was getting a CSA (community supported agriculture) produce box from our local farmer's market. We've gotten some stuff that, well, we just do not like. Collard greens and my family just do not mix. Oh well.

 However, we got an abundance of green beans one time and I wanted to use them in something not just next to something. I've found that doing this stretches whatever meat I use a whole ton and my husband will eat a lot more veggies if its part of the main dish as opposed to just being a side.  Double win!

This was one of those recipes that was in that huge pile that I am so glad I have saved for who knows how many years.  It was absolutely delicious!  I've tweaked some of the amounts to suit our tastes and it is a new favorite.  This time I used half green beans and half yellow beans.  Yellow beans are the same as green beans just yellow.  They look cool, taste the same.  Don't get too freaked out.  Use what you got.

Cantonese Black Pepper Beef with Green Beans


1 lb green beans, trimmed and stringed
1 lb flank steak, trimmed of fat
2 Tbsp dark soy sauce or regular soy sauce (I use less sodium soy sauce)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
3 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup water, plus more if needed
6 slices unpeeled fresh ginger
1 medium onion, sliced

Cut green beans to make 2 inch long pieces.

Slice steak with the grain into 2-inch-wide strips.  Then slice the strips across the grain into 1/8-inch thick slices.  Place in bowl.

Pour soy sauce, cornstarch, rice vinegar, sugar, and black pepper over meat.  Using your hands toss the meat and seasonings together to mix well.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a wok or stir fry pan over high heat until hot but not smoking.  Add green beans and stir for about 1 minute.  Add water and reduce heat to medium.  Cover and cook until crisp-tender or about 6-9 minutes.  If water gets low add another 1/4 cup.  I usually add 1/4 cup right before the end so there is a little water left in with the beans.  Transfer beans and liquid to a dish.

Add remaining oil to pan and increase heat to high.  Add ginger and cook until ginger sizzles.  Add onion and stir constantly for 1 minute.  Add beef mixture and cook until meat is no longer pink, about 2 minutes.

Return beans and liquid to pan and mix well until heated thoroughly, about 1 minute.  Discard ginger.


Recipe adapted from Helen Chen's recipe featured on American Profile

Still cooking

Despite my non-existence in the blogging world I am still alive and cooking. As you can imagine between a new baby and the holidays blogging has fallen to the bottom of my list of to-dos. Not that I don't think about blogging about the food we are eating but actually having the time to do it has been a bit harder.

So what have I been cooking?

Thanks to Pinterest I've been cooking up all sorts of new recipes. Most have been big hits, while a few have totally fallen flat. Don't you hate that. My friend and I were just talking about a recipe we had both pinned that looked absolutely delicious. She made it one night and although it was okay it wasn't great. She was so bummed! And I was bummed for her. So I decided to create 2 boards one of recipes I need to try and one of recipes that I've tried and we love. Here are a few of my favorites.


Flan (picture credit to The Pioneer Woman)



Quick and Easy Gyros (picture credit to Natalie from Tasty Kitchen Blog) using homemade whole wheat pita bread 


Brown sugar and balsamic glazed pork loin (picture credit to C+C Marriage Factory)

And for my little sister's birthday while I was visiting home in January


Cold Stone copy cat cake batter ice cream (say that really fast  few times, sheesh) (picture credit to CopyKat Recipes)

And about a dozen more.  Follow me on Pinterest to see what else I've been making and see if you can find something to try yourself.

Happy eatings!

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