DIY Bedazzled Bib Necklace

So what does one do with all their left over gems used to make the infinity gauntlet?  Make a bedazzled bib necklace, of course.  I found the original pin on I Spy DIY but didn't have any nail polish handy or any Stick It Craft felt so I went to Pintrest and found something that was just as dazzling but with items I already had on hand and I found this one which is pretty simple and quick to do.

Pin Rating: 5

Duration: 30-45 minutes

Materials:

• Acrylic gems
• Black ribbon
• Felt
• Hot Glue & Hot glue gun

Optional

• Tissue/napkin template of bib
• Needle & thread 

I have crazy glue in the picture but didn't use it.

The picture does no justice for the colors of these beads.

Me Time

A different photo than what you would normally see but I thought you would enjoy a picture with today's blog post, even if the picture has nothing to do with what I normally blog about.  It's from a hike I did yesterday and I just love waterfalls, don't you?  :)

So I've been going back and forth on this for a about a week now and I've decided to cut down on my blog posts.  At some points in January I didn't even make my usual 3 times a week post (MWF) so instead of stressing about it I've decided it would be best to just cut back on blog post in general.  My blog was started as a way to keep myself busy during unemployment and to try and develop new skills and spend more time with my hobbies.  It's been almost 5 months since I've been unemployed and I still have had no luck finding a job.  I've been applying to jobs once a week but haven't had any luck landing anything yet.  So I figured it's about time to cut back on my time and dedication to the blog and focus a little bit more on "me time".  I'll continue posting at least once a week since I still like to keep up my hobbies and have fun doing it so keep an eye out for that.

Wish me luck & thanks for your support so far.

Lasagna Bites

Pin Rating: 4

I've seen a lot of different bites recipes on Pintrest and have pinned a couple of them.  I've finally had a chance to make the lasagna bites so I was very excited for this one.  I actually read up on a few different lasagna bites recipes and in the end got pinspiration from 2 of them (Here and here).  One thing you have to know about me is that I am a huge lover of lasagna.  Every italian restaurant I dine at I must try their lasagna.  (So far I think the lasagna at Macaroni Grill is the best because they use a thin pasta for the lasagna noodles.  If you guys know somewhere even better I must know!)  But because I'm such a huge lasagna fan, when I actually bit into the bites I was disappointed.  The extra crispiness from the wonton wrapper was nice, but I felt like it lost it's lasagna identity.  I debated between a 3.5 or 4 but in the end gave it a 4 because it did taste good, it just didn't live up to my high lasagna expectations.   

Ingredients:

• Mini muffin tins (silicone ones work best)
• Wonton Wrapper Sheets  (I was lucky enough to live close to an asian supermarket, but in case you don't, you can find them on Amazon.)
• 1 1/2 cup Ricota cheese
• Cooking spray (optional)
• Meat sauce
• I used 1 lb of ground turkey
• 1 24oz jar of sauce
• 1/2 small onion chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 2 cups of Mozzerella (I was generous with the cheese :))

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Regular sized muffins: 18-20 minutes

Mini muffins: 10-12 minutes

I made my own adjustments to the recipe in terms of the size I used for the bites but other than that I followed the recicpe and layering instructions.  I also tested out the original size in the full muffin tin as well as made the mini muffin sized lasagna bites.  I ended up liking the smaller bites better.  

Copy Cat Applebee's Spinach Artichoke Dip

I ran across an awesome blog on Pintrest in search of this artichoke dip - The Budget Savvy Diva.  Her website is filled with tons of budget friendly recipes and deals.  Definitely check it out if you have the chance.  I did make minor changes to the amounts in the ingredients but the items are still all the same.

Also, before I dive into the blog post I wanted to give a quick shout out to the members of http://bloggingitforward.com/ for helping me make some changes to my blog.  So you'll probably see some changes to the website in the near future, and it will all be for a better blogging experience for you and me.  :)

Pin Rating: 4.5

This recipe was easy to make and tasted great.  However, I think there is probably a more delicious spinach dip out there.  Even though this dip was served fresh, it didn't seem as too many people were eating it.  My friends seemed to have gravitated towards other dishes that was served.  I also realized I didn't take too many pictures because it was my last dish that needed to go into the oven and the guest were already arriving.

Ingredients:

• 10oz bag of fresh spinach
• 14oz artichoke hearts drained & chopped
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 8-10oz alfredo sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 4 oz softened cream cheese
• 1 tsp pepper
• Chips or bread for dipping ;)

Oven 350 degrees.  Bake time 30 minutes.

Game Night - Dice Cheese Blocks

The dice cheese blocks were pinspired by this pin here.  Unfortunately the pin link itself leads you to a blog round up which leads you to a dead source.  On the other hand, the pin image itself gives you the right idea just not the materials.  So here's my blog post on what I used an how I made it.

Pin Rating: 5

Ingredients:

• Frozen Grapes (I had grapes left over from the PB+Chicken salad wraps 
• Frozen grapes are easier to cut in my opinion and it also holds it's shape well.  You can also use olives but since I had left over grapes I used those instead.
• Cheese block (Or some sort of soft cheese that you can mold)
• Toothpicks 
• Crackers
• Dice (for a sample on where to place grapes if you care for accuracy)

More DIY Game Night Decor

At the beginning of the month I posted about a Game Day food table & decor and now I'm finally getting around to posting more details about the prep.  This blog post is going to be a few Fast & Simple projects put together.

Playing card box, Vase Decor & Card Cover for a Dip

What you'll need:

• Playing cards (2 decks for $1 @ Dollar Tree)  I am still using the same deck I used for the card banner.
• Cardboard box to height of your liking.  I just used an amazon cardboard box I had laying around.
• 2 short vases (Dollar Tree purchase)
• 1 pack of dice (Dollar Tree purchase)
• Hot glue & hot glue gun
• Tape

PB+Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

Pin Rating: 5

I feel like it's been a while since I had a pin rating post so I'm starting this off with a 5 pin rating post.  I originally pinned this recipe for PB+Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps because it seemed like a nice quick, easy and delicious recipe to try, and it was!  I'm sure I could have made this dish in one swoop, but since I was taking on so many different dishes the next morning before the party I liked this one because I was able chop and prep it and then refrigerate it.  The recipe card makes 1 serving but I multiplied it for the party so see my adjustments below.

Serves 3

Ingredients :

• 1 1/2 cup chopped cooked chicken breast
• 1/2 green apple
• 1 bunch of grapes or 1/3 cup
• 1/3 cup peanut butter 
• 3 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup honey
• Iceberg lettuce