lemon-zucchini bread with lemon glaze

This is the direct link for: Lemon-Zucchini Bread with Lemon Glaze.

The original photo alone of this bread convinced me to make it! The moist-looking bread with little flecks of green in it and the promise of lemon flavor -- a quick bread that sings summer!

This recipe comes from the blog, Nancy Creative. This isn't your traditional zucchini bread recipe, very fresh and light. I loved it. The recipe calls for a cup of grated zucchini, which is a medium-size zucchini. Not very much at all. The loaf doesn't taste like zucchini at all, only the hint of lemon. The lemon glaze makes the bread, giving it that added tang. As one reader comments, "Be sure to let the bread cool completely before adding the lemon glaze." I did just that and it turned out beautifully.

Lemon Zucchini bread looks good and tastes good. Can't beat that! A great addition to a brunch or tea party.

The red pin award for another keeper of a recipe! I have been very lucky lately!






Happy pinning!

quinoa & apple salad with curry dressing

This is the direct link for: Quinoa & Apple Salad with Curry Dressing.

This is actually the second time I have made this salad. The first time I deleted the photos by mistake thus no story until now. Right off the bat this should tell you something about this salad . . . it is worth making again!

This recipe comes from Martha Stewart's endless website. Quinoa is such a trendy ingredient these days. Healthy too. So to find a great salad recipe using it is a nice bonus. This salad is very pretty besides. I love the crunch of the toasted almonds, the fresh mint and the hint of curry. Yum! The recipe calls for two tablespoons of dried currants which I used the first time, but didn't have on hand the second time. I wonder why? Instead I substituted dried cranberries and they worked perfectly! I diced them into finer pieces.

I took this salad to a function and wanted the apples to stay fresh-looking so after slicing them thin, I soaked them briefly in a lemon juice-water mixture to keep them from turning brown too quickly.

The red pin award, of course! This recipe is a keeper! Very fresh and delicious and a beauty to behold!






Happy pinning!

breakfast burritos

Here is the direct link for: Breakfast Burrito Bonanza.

This burrito recipe comes from the blog, Mom On Time Out. The blog's author, Trish, like me wanted some freezer meals ready for on the go, and in this case, breakfast freezer meals. My husband and I made these burritos as well as the Egg McMuffin Copycats to freeze for later.

Everybody loves these little guys! The possibilities are endless in the combination of ingredients to use. In the end, we used turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese and hash browns in our burritos. I personally would love a little spinach and sausage in mine, but we made these especially for our teenagers as a quick and easy school breakfast. The tortillas I used is my favorite tortilla brand. I met a Mexican woman in the tortilla isle of my grocery store that highly recommended this brand of tortillas, and I'm so glad she did!

The recipe made 24 smallish burritos and they froze beautifully. To reheat one, all you do is wrap the burrito in a damp paper towel and place it in the microwave for 3 minutes at half power. If you don't have or use a microwave, you are out of luck here. But for a quick and healthy meal on the go, you can't beat breakfast burritos.

This recipe is a keeper as is, but has lots of room for creativity. With a side of Spanish rice, these burritos would make a great last-minute dinner idea as well. 

The red pin award for a winner freeze-ahead recipe with great taste!






 Happy pinning!

a back-to-school breakfast

A frozen sandwich right from the freezer.

In preparation for busy back-to-school schedules, my husband and I spent 1-2 hours making do-ahead breakfasts, like this Egg McMuffin Copycat, to freeze away for later. The store-bought versions of these egg sandwiches are high in fat and made with high fructose corn syrup.

Here is the direct link for: Make Ahead, Healthy Egg McMuffin Copycats. This quick breakfast idea comes from the blog, The Yummy Life. Monica, the blog's author, is amazing with all her details, photos and great tips. I love her blog for that alone!

Monica recommends creating your own turkey sausages but I used Quick n' Eat! Pork Sausage Patties instead. My grocery store was out. I also used low-fat American Cheese. My kids love them!

It has really worked slick. In fact, my son, Isaac, was telling his girlfriend about it and now she want her mom to call me for the recipes! Isaac says, "It sure makes mornings a lot easier, Mom".

I also bought the deli wrap papers she recommends at Cosco. We are going to start using them instead of plastic sandwich bags.

FYI. Next time I want to use turkey sausage to lower the fat, and also try the brand of cheese she recommends: Sargento Ultra-Thin Mild Cheddar Cheese Slices.

Overall, it takes a little time upfront, but it is well worth the effort on the other end.

The red pin award for excellent quick breakfast idea and great tutorial!






Happy pinning!

a summer well spent

someecards.com

My kids are off to school today. Feeling some sadness and the quiet is overwhelming me today. My Pinterest Summer Adventure has ended. The kids have left for school. Now what?

People I hadn't seen in a while would say, "Hey Marie, what have you been up to?" I didn't know quite what to say. "Actually tons, I am trying to learn something new each day, and for instance . . ." My kids were really starting to roll their eyes. Suppers were disrupted a bit until 'the photo' was taken. But I was learning a new routine and my family has been very supportive. We are sick of chocolate-like bar recipes. But I love how smooth my legs are and all my new favorite recipes thus far.

What did I glean from this? First off, creating an entry a day is really too much. No one was making me do this, I wanted to do it. This was for me. Believe it or not, Pinterest and my endless boards were starting to look all the same to me after a while. What I did enjoy was the fresh thinking that came from trying something new each day whether it be a new knitting stitch or an intriguing new salad recipe. Trying something new from Pinterest each day can be rather limiting actually. I can't try a new salad recipe every day, although I wanted to, but my kids would have moved out. Plus all the leftovers, etc. Thus came the variety of pins: Words to Live By, health items, craft ideas, etc. 

Blogs and their authors are amazing in how they can keep it up day after day and still stay inspired. I have seen quite a few blogs over the summer and what I loved were the blogs that gave that little added detail or two, such as where they bought their bottle in which they photographed their home-made vanilla extract in. This has inspired me for both of my blogs. I love the idea of being a resource to help others.

Many blogs frustrated me with their amazing photos but lack of detail necessary for a successful outcome. Leaving out details, like what size Mason jar they used. You shouldn't have to scrutinize each photo to read between the lines. Reading the reader's comments helped out quite a few times giving new ideas and suggestion that helped push the idea even further, adding uniqueness and zest. Sometimes these comments were more educational and sometimes more intriguing than the blog itself. But you need a blog and its entry to get the readers and their comments.

Is this the end? No, I don't think so. What I see going forward is continuing but in a more sporadic or theme-like time frame. For instance, tomorrow I have a entry or two on some Back-to-School frozen breakfast ideas. And come Halloween, a week of spooky treats and decorating ideas. And before you know it, it's Thanksgiving, then Christmas and New Year's . . . see where I am going here?

What ideas would you like to read about?

Happy pinning!

my pinterest summer adventure collage

My Pinterest Summer Adventure

These are a few of my favorite things! Yesterday was the last day of my Pinterest Summer Adventure.

Boy, where did the summer go to?  In the next couple of days, I thought I would share some of the insights I received from doing this blog for 90-something straight days. Plus, talk about my plans for going forward.

Thanks for listening all these days. Stick around, there is more to come!

Happy pinning!