Wednesday, June 13, 2012

diy: {chalkboard wine glasses}

 Awhile back, I found this cute idea on (where else?) Pinterest.


I started out by taking some wine glasses that my aunt graciously gave me for free....
Do you spy my little helper?

and used some painter's tape to tape off the stem so that the barrel of the glass remained paint free. 
 Then, I wrapped some newspaper around the glass to make especially sure that the glass was safe.
 I then took my glasses outside to a well-ventilated area to spray the stems. My helper tagged along.
I used this Krylon Chalkboard spray paint which I found at Hobby Lobby. It was $7.99, but I used a 40% off coupon and got a good deal on it. Also, I hardly used any of it so it will definitely last me forever.

I then sprayed the stems on the top and bottom and let them dry a bit.

Albert really wanted to lick the glasses, but don't worry, I didn't let him.

And in the end, this was my finished product! They turned out just like the picture, and I found a chalk marker that writes beautifully at Michaels. Not that we host parties a lot, but I can't wait to use them some day (I already used them for my bff's bachelorette party and they worked well!). One cautionary note: do NOT wash these in the dishwasher after you've sprayed them with the paint. It will come off...and then you will have black flecks all over your dishwasher. Whoops!

a spin on chicken pizza

A few weeks ago, I went to a Pampered Chef bridal shower (for A), and they made a delicious veggie pizza for the recipe of the day. I loved it, so I committed some of the recipe to memory and Sam and I improvised our own version the other night.


It's not a typical "pizza" in that it didn't have cheese or sauce on it, but it LOOKED like pizza, so I'm sticking with the name.



This is what I we did: 


I pressed out a can of crescent rolls on my Pampered Chef baking stone which is the best thing besides Sam that's ever happened to me.  I then baked it in the oven for about 14 minutes and pulled it out to cool. I don't think I let it cool QUITE long enough, so I'd recommend about 7-10 minutes of cooling time.
Sorry ladies, that gentleman staring longingly at the crust doesn't come with the recipe.
While that was cooking, I boiled some chicken to cook it through then diced it up. If anyone has recommendations on how to quickly cook chicken for other recipes, I'd appreciate it. I HATE cooking chicken because I'm afraid it's going to be undercooked. I blame my medical microbiology classes for that!

Meanwhile, Sam helped me out by making our "sauce". This is the part that I wasn't sure about, so I improvised. Here we used some cream cheese, mayonnaise, fresh garlic, and parsley to make a creamy spread to put on the "pizza".  We didn't soften the cream cheese and it turned out find. Use a big spoon to whip up the cream cheese as best as possible, then stir in the mayo, garlic, and parsley.

 


Cut up the fresh veggies (leave them raw!) of your choice. 


After the crescent roll crust comes out of the oven, spread your cream cheese mixture over the crust just like you would sauce on a pizza.


Then, add the chicken and veggies!
Voila! I'm not sure how healthy this is, given the crescent roll crust. We did however use fresh veggies, reduced fat cream cheese, and reduced fat mayo...so i'm going to say it's not THAT bad for you. Sam was pretty impressed and I liked it a lot too. This is definitely something we'll try again. My favorite parts were that it was really easy, was a "cool" alternative to pizza on a warm Missouri day, and that each time you make it it's so easy to switch up!




Garlic & Herb Chicken Pizza

1 pkg crescent rolls (6 rolls)
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
2-3 cloves fresh garlic
2 Tbsp parsley
veggies of your choice
1 lb cooked chicken, diced.


Press crescent rolls out like a pizza crust, bake at 375 for 14 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil chicken until cooked through (about 20 minutes). Dice and lightly season with salt and pepper. Mix together cream cheese, mayo, garlic and parsley, set aside. Chop up vegetables. After crescent roll crust has cooled slightly, spread cream cheese mixture over entire crust. Top with veggies and chicken (or other toppings of your choosing).

Bon appetit!


*Sorry about the blurry iPhone pictures. Not sure what the problem was.
**My opinions regarding Pampered Chef products are solely mine and were not solicited or paid for by Pampered Chef. I just think they're totally rockin.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

a return to the blogging world

Hello, world! It's me, Molly. Remember when I used to update this blog on the reg?

A lot has happened since my last post:

I successfully passed my nursing boards. Woot woot!


Said some goodbyes to some good friends (and some good family). 


Said hello to living with this guy. 


Traveled 1500 miles (each way) to watch my best friend get hitched. 



And started my new job (as a nurse, if you couldn't figure that out). 
Can you believe I've done all of that in 3 weeks? I can't either. Stay tuned for more details on each of those things (except my boards, I never want to talk about those again).