Pinterest Palooza continues into book club night.

Even Book Club wasn't exempt from Pinterest Palooza at Casa Feasts and Fabrics.  

Pinterest Dinner #4:

Low Carb Chicken Wraps

from: The Frugal Girls

All of my Book Club friends and I are watching our girlish figures so we are always looking for book club dinners that we can enjoy and still watch our calorie/carb intakes.  

Subbing the wrap for lettuce and low-cal, high protein chicken breasts…worth a try.

The verdict:  Pin It!!!

Using some help from a good bottled teriyaki sauce made this a fast and delicious and just six chicken breasts made a TON of chicken for wraps. 

I fed 6 hungry book-clubbers, one hungry husband and one hungry daughter and still had enough for a couple of lunches.  

Changes I made:

• I doubled the recipe.
• I sprinkled the chicken breasts with some of the greek seasoning and then grilled the chicken breasts - much easier than trying to brown the chicken in batches in a pan.
• After the chicken was mostly done on the grill, I chopped it into 1/2 inch cubes and added it to the sauté pan with the vinegar and the remaining Greek seasoning.  It is quite possible I used more greek seasoning than was called for.  (I'm not a great measurer - especially on a Friday evening!)
• I added the teriyaki sauce and mixed it in to taste (Again, probably definitely added more than the recipe called for) and then removed the pan from the heat and added the cilantro, green onion and sunflower seeds just as everyone arrived.
• I used red leaf lettuce instead of swiss chard leaves.  Although I think that the chard would have been delicious, the local grocery store didn't have any chard on Friday evening when I needed them.

This was a great meal for a potluck or to take to someone's house for new baby meals, etc.  It can be eaten warm or cold.  (I've tried it both ways and it was great!).  If you are not watching carbs, it would also be wonderful in a wrap.   

I tweaked this recipe more than my other Pinterest features this week, but still a winner.

More Pinterest fun tomorrow!  Until then!

Day #3 - Pinterest Week

I know you have been waiting for day #3 of Pinterest Week.  
Drum roll please….Day #3 is….

Garlicky Swiss Chard and Chickpeas
from:  Foodie Crush

Garlicky Swiss Chard and Chickpeas


I cooked this up as a yummy side with some marinaded flank steak and a baked sweet potato. 

Sweet potato secret:  Sprinkle some cinnamon on top.  Mmmmmm...It's hard to decide if it a dessert of part of the dinner.

The verdict:  Pin It!










Both DD#2 and DH voted this the best swiss chard recipe ever - even better than the ones I've made with bacon - what?!  Although, both agreed that adding a little bacon would not have hurt this recipe, either.  :-)

Cooking the chard in chicken broth helped make it nice and tender and mellow tasting.  The garlicky flavor and the salty feta really made it pop.  Definitely a do-over!

Changes I made:

• I used one large bunch of Swiss Chard instead of two (That Sunday night shopping trip left us with sad pickin' in the chard department.)  
• Because a big pile of chard cooks up to nothing, I added a big box of baby spinach to make enough to serve 4.  If you want enough to serve 4, get 2 bunches of chard like the recipe calls for.  It will look like a ton, but - I promise - cooks down A LOT.
• I used some of the stems.  You can see the little red beauties in the top picture above.  I really hate to waste them and they taste really good if you cook them right.  I cut them on the diagonal and added them to the pot.  It calls for the chard to simmer for 15 minutes in the broth and that is plenty of time for those skinny jem-bright stems to get to just the right barely soft texture.

If you've never tried Swiss Chard, this is a great starter recipe.  Mild chard flavor that lets the other bold flavors shine through.  

So 3 new Pinterest experiments in 3 days and 3 wins!  I'd call that a success!

Another new Pinterest adventure tomorrow…Until then!

Pinterest Week Continues...

And the Pinterest fun continues...

Tuesday's Pinterest Feast:

Lemon Rosemary Basil Chcken
from:  Tidy Mom

Sorry about the blurry photos - we were in a hurry to serve up because it smelled so amazing!

The verdict:  Pin It!  

This dish uses chicken tenders in a quick, sweet-tangy, lemony marinade that tenderized the chicken and left the, normally blah tenders with some serious flavor.






Changes that I made:

• I used 2 Tbsps of olive oil instead of 4
• I used a bit more lemon juice - cuz my lemons were big and I didn't want to waste the extra couple Tbsps.
• I used more garlic and rosemary - 4 cloves of garlic instead of 3 and 1 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary from the garden
• I rushed the marinating a bit.  I think that it would have been even better if I had given it 45 minutes or so.

For the side, I made up a quick zucchini sauté inspired by my time in Italy:

Sauteed zucchini with mint

• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 4-5 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 4-5 large mint leaves, thinly sliced 
• Olive oil (about 1-2 Tbsp)

1.  Heat oil over medium heat in a non-stick pan.  Add garlic slices and sauté until lightly golden brown and fragrant.  Remove garlic from pan, leaving the flavored oil. Be careful that you do not burn the garlic or you will have to start over with a clean pan because burnt garlic is very bitter.

2.  Add the peppers to the garlic-flavored oil in the pan and sauté until just beginning to soften.

3.  Add zucchini slices to the pan and allow them to lightly brown on one side before turning them over.  Continue to sauté until the zucchini are just past crisp-tender.

4.  Remove to a serving platter.  Sprinkle with coarse salt, and sliced mint.  

If you are really lucky, you have a great friend who brings you finishing oils from New York City and you can drizzle your zucchini with that - and boy was it good!  Thanks Jill!

 

It's Pinterest Food Week in the Feasts and Fabrics Kitchen!

I avoided joining Pinterest - for about a second - and then gave in and have spent many hours happily perusing and pinning.  But what do you do with all those pins once you pin them???

 Welcome to Pinterest Food Week at 

Feasts and Fabrics! 

Every day this week I will be making a dinner that I found on Pinterest linking you back to the original blog post.  I'll let you know if it was worth pinning and any changes I made to the dish.

Monday night's Pinterest Feast:

White Beans with Spinach and Sausage
From:  It's My Side of Life

The verdict:  Pin it!  Sooo delicious!  This dish went together in a snap and there was hardly any clean up. 

Changes that I made:  

• I used Andouille sausage in place of the kielbasa called for in the recipe.  (Wegmans was strangely out of kielbasa when we went shopping this week.  Ok.  we were shopping at 8 pm on a Sunday night so maybe not so strange.  Have I mentioned that Hubby and I are both night people?)
• I used a bit of oil in the bottom of a dutch oven to brown up the sausage slices and then added the chicken broth and garlic.  I didn't add any more oil.  
• I added a bit more spinach and tomato than the recipe called for.

I made some quick toasted cheese with a hearty multigrain bread and some shredded provolone.  Popped it under the broiler until the cheese just started to look bubbly and a tiny bit browned.  Perfect for dipping in the broth.

Who knew beans could taste so good?!!!  So…I'm calling it a Pinterest success!  

Recent Pinterest fail:  Do not write on your washing machine with dry erase markers - no matter how much you want to remember not to put your giraffe-print shirt in the dryer.  It might take you a couple hours to get the marker off.  Just saying…

Pinterest successes?  Failures?  Clue us in to what to pin next!

'Tis the Season to... Sew for Others

I have two new projects for me in mind, but am waiting for a pattern and some fabric to arrive…Tomorrow?

In the meantime, I have been stealing snatches of time to sew for friends.  I made 2 more of the lunch bags like mine for 2 lovely young ladies' birthdays.  One for my DD #2 who turned 23 (!) and one for my walking buddies daughter.

More pretty lunch bags!

I was able to fussy cut one, but there wasn't enough fabric to squeeze out another with the design in the center.  The fabric is so pretty that I don't think anyone will mind.  I used more stiffener in the bottom of these bags to give them more shape.  I didn't tackle the zipper - I know…I promised - but #2 and #3 sure go together in a snap and I was in the mood for a fast, fun project without too much thinking.  DD #2 loved it!

Tonight's project was for a co-worker who just got married.  She has an amazing blog that you should check out if you are at all into food:  Ellen In the Kitchen  

So what to make a fellow foodie?  Embellished kitchen towels, of course!

Have I mentioned how I love my embroidery machine?

Kitchen Towels that walk on the wild side!

The towels are the burgandy and gold of our school's colors and the zebra stripe?  Well…everyone knows that all teachers - especially high school special education teachers have to enjoy living on the wild side just a bit!  :-)

I'm hoping that you have a little bit of a chance to find your wild side this week!

Wine, Bacon, and Pasta...A Food-Centered Weekend!

We had the BEST weekend this weekend.  It started with dinner and a movie with my sweet god-daughter and niece on Friday night.  Gravity is a fun thriller (even if it is a bit far-fetched!).

Saturday was all about fall and farm and vine with a farm tour and wine tasting at a local vineyard. 

My hubby and me enjoying the beautiful fall foliage with a glass of wine!

The tour included a barrel tasting.  It was so interesting to taste the difference in the wines as they matured!














The highlight of the day, though, had to be the bacon on a stick.  Yep!  That is thick sliced bacon with a sweet/spicy rib rub slathered over it that was just delicious.  Who knew that bacon went so well with wine???











Since we are on a wine theme and just to make sure that Monday wasn't too jealous of the weekend...I made my husband's favorite pasta dish -

Wine Poached Salmon, Pasta and Snowpeas.

I started making this dish way back in the '80's after I picked up a recipe card in the grocery store by a Robert Mondavi wine display.  It has morphed a bit over the years - more veggies - less butter, but my husband pronounced it still a winner tonight at dinner.  

So here's to Monday! Enjoy a nice glass of wine - in a glass or in a sauce over pasta.  Happy Monday!  :-)

Wine-Poached Salmon Pasta with Snowpeas

• 8 oz pappardelle pasta
• 1 lb Salmon file, cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 4 cups sugar snap peas cut diagonally into pieces
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped (I always use 2!)
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup White Zinfandel or Rose wine
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 tsp lemon zest, grated
• Parmesan cheese to garnish

1.  Prepare dry pasta per package directions.  Add snap peas to water when pasta is nearly done - just until snap peas are bright green.  

2.  Save 1/2 cup of starchy pasta water.

3.  While pasta is boiling, in a small saucepan bring wine and water to a boil.  Add Salmon strips and reduce to a simmer.  Poach about 2 minutes.

4.  Remove Salmon and reduce stock to 1/3 cup.  Add lemon juice, ginger, and garlic.  Remove pan from heat and stir in butter until sauce thickens.

5.  Toss in pasta, snap peas and Salmon.  Add a bit of the starchy water if pasta is a bit dry.  

6.  Sprinkle with chives, lemon zest and a frosting of Parmesan.

Styling Lunch Tote

Last year I bought the cutest fabric at Hobby Lobby to make a new lunch tote to replace my raggedy looking old one.  Yesterday, it was finally complete!

Vera Bradley move over - There's a new lunch tote in town!

I don't know why, but I agonized over the construction of this simple bag.  I googled, I pinterested, I pondered.  And then I made it in an afternoon. 

It is just a 14 x 15 inch rectangle with two 2.5 inch squares cut in the bottom so that I could make the bottom of the bag.  I lined it with insulbright and a wipeable, waterproof lining.  

The draw string top was sewn together - side seams, casing, and then sewn to the bag top - right sides together.  Lastly, I pushed the drawstring part to the inside of the bag, pressed the top seam and then top stitched at about 1/2 inch all around.  Easy.

...And did I mention that I think it's pretty cute!

It is a bit different then I originally envisioned, but it does what I wanted it to do:

• It is cute (vitally important!) - and shows off the coordinating fabrics that I fell in love with. 
• It is big.  Big enough for my mega-clean-eating salads and snacks.
• It is lined with a wipe-able, waterproof fabric (ordered from Fabrics dot com)
• It has long enough straps to sling over my shoulder on the way to work.

I bought a zipper for the top (one of the reasons I was pondering and stalling I think) but then a slight miscalculation with bag width made it just too skinny an opening for my mega-lunches so it turned into a drawstring top.  

I actually like the drawstring, though.  It gave me a chance to showcase the striped fabric.  

So happy with the way the pattern lined up on the sides!
Groovy, right?

Even though I lined the bag with insulbright lining, with the drawstring top, I'm not sure it would really insulate too much.  

I keep my lunch in the fridge anyway.

Things I'll do better next time:

 - Treat the main fabric, insulbright and water proof lining as one and seam with a french seam.  (I lined it like a traditional bag and the lining is a bit floppy inside)

- Make the bag a bit shorter and a bit wider 

- Don't let the zipper intimidate me!  Next bag will have a zipper.  I swear!

Ok zipper...You're going here next time!

So, after a year, the pondering is over and the lunch bag is born!  Almost makes packing a lunch for my return to work after the weekend a bit less painful!  Almost.

How about you all...Has anyone else ever spent tons of time pondering a project and then found that it was not nearly the challenge that you thought it would be?  

Share your happy ending - leave a comment.  :-)