Thursday, June 21, 2012

Golden Smoky Eye

They say not all that glitters is gold, but I beg to differ! To achieve this golden smoky eye look, I simply swept a beige eyeshadow all over my eyelid. Next, I applied black eyeliner starting from the inner eye and working out on both top and bottom. I took a gold eyeshadow and lined only the inner rim of my eye. To finish, I applied 2 coats of mascara on top and bottom lashes.
 

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Spinach Lasagna

This featured blog is very delicious. It's a great alternative for meat, and just as filling. Here is the original recipe.


Serves: 8
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 70 minutes

Ingredients:
-1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
-2 10 oz packages of frozen spinach
-1/2 onion, chopped
-1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
-1/2 teaspoon dried basil
-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
-1 32 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
-1 1/2 cup water
-2 cups non-fat cottage cheese
- 1 8 oz package of part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
-1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
-1/2 cup of chopped, fresh parsley
-1 tablespoon of salt
-1/8 tsp black pepper
-1 egg
-8 oz lasagna noodles

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Rinse the spinach and dry thoroughly. Chop up.


2. On medium heat on the stove top, sautée the spinach, onion, oregano, basil, and garlic in the olive oil.


3. Pour in the spaghetti sauce and water. Simmer for 20 minutes.


4. In a large bowl, mix the cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and egg.


5. Place a small amount of sauce in the bottom of a lasagna pan. Place 4 uncooked noodles on top of the sauce and top with a layer of sauce. Add 4 more noodles and layer with 1/2 sauce and 1/2 cheese mixture, and then continue to layer with noodles until all is layered, with cheese on top.


6. Cover with foil, and bake in the over for 55 minutes. Remove foil, and bake another 15 minutes.


Monday, June 18, 2012

Light & Ribbon Garland

I saw this idea on Pinterest and loved it. I am a big fan of lighting, and always have multiple light sources in my room, and even at work. Christmas lights are my absolute favorite year-round light. You can find them at Target in the patio furniture section. When I saw this twist, I definitely wanted to do it. Here is the original idea. This project took me about 7 hours total. It may not look like much, but I worked on it over multiple days. The hard work was worth it--it turned out great! So put on some good tunes and get tying!

Materials:
-Rolls of ribbon of varying thicknesses/colors/designs (my 20ft lights needed 2 rolls per color)
-String of white lights (any desired length)
-Scissors

*As a note, plug your lights in and make sure they work before attempting this project. I cannot tell you how bad that would suck if you put all the work into it only to discover they do not light up!

1. Cut a piece of ribbon (approximately 4 or 5 inches in length).

2. Wrap the ribbon around the light strand and tie once.

3. Repeat with alternating ribbon colors in any desired order, until entire string of lights is covered.

Here is the final result (with lights on):

Monday, June 11, 2012

Green Onions

Guess what? You need only buy green onions once in your life. Yep, I said it. It blew my mind too, especially being a budgetarily conscious woman. Once you buy them, save the bottom (white part), and place it in a glass of water. In just a few days (3 in my case), new green onions will sprout from the roots, and replenish your stock! Here are my before and after pictures:

Before
After

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Bang Bang Cauliflower

I love cauliflower, and frankly, anything fried. So naturally, this recipe jumped up and bit me. It does have a kick to it! I am a wimp and totally cried when I ate it, but it was still good. Here is the original recipe.

Bang Bang Cauliflower



Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Breading:
-1 head of cauliflower
-1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
-1/2 cup egg whites
-salt and pepper to taste
-1/4 cup cornstarch
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-green onions
-1/4 cup vegetable oil

Sauce:
-1/4 cup light mayonnaise
-1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce or Sriracha
-2 tablespoons sugar
-2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1. Wash cauliflower and cut into small florets.

2. Get 3 bowls. Line them up in a row. In the first one, pour the cornstarch. In the second one, pour the egg whites. In the third one, mix the garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Panko.


3. Dip each piece of cauliflower in the cornstarch.



4. Dip each piece in the egg whites.


5. Dip each piece in the Panko.


6. Place on a plate and set aside.


7. Heat the vegetable oil in a shallow pan. When hot, place cauliflower in. Cook until brown, then flip until browned on each side.


8. Remove from pan. Soak up excess oil with paper towel.


9. Mix up the hot sauce, light mayo, sugar, and rice vinegar.


10. Chop up green onions into tiny pieces.


11. Pour over the top of the cauliflower. Sprinkle the green onions on top for garnish and serve immediately.


Thursday, June 7, 2012

Rainbow Eye

Somewhere over the rainbow...In honor of PrideFest this weekend, I am contributing a rainbow eye inspiration. I love all of my family and friends for who they are, and regardless of who they love! To achieve this rainbow eye look, I applied yellow eyeshadow on the inner rim of my eye. Then, I applied red eyeshadow inside the yellow. Next, I blended the yellow into grren eyeshadow for a section across my eyelid, and underneath (note how the colors line up on top and bottom). Then I applied blue eyeshadow to the next section on top and bottom. Finally, I applied violet shadow, shaping it into a point where the top and bottom of my outer eye meets.To finish, I applied 2 coats of mascara on top and bottom lashes.


Monday, June 4, 2012

Martha Stewart's Peanut Butter Cookies

Hello ladies and gentleman! Welcome to my Food Feature Blog (FFB). You will see many more of these as we go along on our gastronomical journey. Today's FFB is starring two wonderful friends of mine, Brent and Aaron. The recipe is courtesy of Martha Stewart!

Brent and Aaron
A very special thank you to them for sharing this great recipe, and for also helping the creative process as well. Six hands are better than two, after all, especially when photography in the kitchen is involved!


Serves: 12
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 18-20 minutes

Ingredients:
-8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
-3/4 cup smooth/crunchy peanut butter (we used crunchy!)
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
-1 large egg
-1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-3/4 teaspoon baking soda
-Extra sugar for topping
-Hershey's kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. In a bowl mix butter, peanut butter, and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and mix until well combined.

3. In another medium mixing bowl, mix flour and baking soda together. Add to the butter mixture, and beat until well mixed.


4. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough, shape into a ball, and place on one of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.

5. Add some sugar to a separate bowl. Take a drinking glass and dip the bottom part of it into the sugar. Then press on one of the cookie balls to add a sugary topping. Repeat until all cookies are flattened and sugar-coated.


6. Transfer to the oven, and bake until golden brown, approx. 18-20 minutes.



7. Unwrap a Hershey's kiss, and press it into the middle of the cookie after it is out of the oven, and before the cookie cools.


Enjoy! These cookies are really delish, especially when accompanied by a nice tall, icy cold glass of milk (I am from the dairy state, what did you expect?) Mmmmm!

Friday, June 1, 2012

Non-stick Measuring Cups

Before you pour a sticky substance (such as honey or peanut butter) into a measuring cup, rinse the cup with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry the cup. Add your ingredient, and watch how easily it will come out!