Yummy Bread Machine Breadsticks

I read a blog called Money Saving Mom regularly, despite the fact that I am not a mom.  The blog has a bunch of interesting reads and I like her realistic view of life.  Awhile ago she had a recipe for homemade bread machine bread sticks and I bookmarked it.  Then the torn calf muscle happened and I haven't been able to cook.  Last night we  had meal planned for pasta Alfredo with roasted chicken and I thought the bread sticks would go great with them.

Of course, it was the end of the day and my leg hurt from the exercises I had done so I forgot to take a picture of the bread sticks, but they look a lot like they do in the link's pictures.  These bread sticks were so delicious.  Light, fluffy, sort of sweet but not overly so, and the melted butter on top was the right finishing touch.  Give them a try!

We are having Tritip steak and potatoes for dinner with some of the leftover bread sticks, so hopefully I will remember to take a picture tonight and add it on. 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins



I was finally able to cook/bake for the first time since tearing my calf muscle...over a month and a half ago.  Since I tweaked my calf a little yesterday tripping over my dogs, I just took it easy with a muffin recipe I found on allrecipes.com.  These Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins were so yummy and delicious.

 



 

 I changed the recipe a little by omitting the pecans since we didn't have any and adding about a teaspoon of homemade vanilla extract.  I also added vanilla sugar to the top of the muffins before baking them.

 

These muffins were moist, flavorful and light.  Now I will need to play with them a little and try to use some white whole wheat flour.  Happy Eating!

2013 Challenge

Up until about two years ago, we always had at least one yearly challenge that we set.  We've had a rough two years and haven't really done that.  2012 has ended on a rough note as well, but we feel like we want to set another challenge.

Our 2013 challenge is that we are not going to eat at the same restaurant twice.  If you know us, you know that we love to eat out.  In fact, it is pretty much our only vice.  The problem is that we live in a small town, with limited options and when we do go into Austin, we find ourselves going to the same places over and over again.  Here are the rules:

1.)  We cannot eat at the same restaurant twice.
2.)  If the restaurant is a franchise, we can only eat at one restaurant in the franchise for the entire year.  For example, if we go to the Taco Bell in town, we cannot eat at another Taco Bell in a different city.
3.)  Ice cream visits do not apply.  There are a limited supply of ice cream restaurants so we can visit the same places for ice cream treats.
4.) If we go out to eat with friends or family, we can eat at a restaurant we've already eaten at if the other party chooses the restaurant.
5.) If we do go on a vacation, we will try to adhere to the rules, unless there are no other options available.

We are excited about the challenge and looking forward to the new restaurants we will be able to visit.  Does anyone else set challenges?

Eukanuba BzzReview

I joined the Bzz Campaign for Eukanuba with 3D Dentadefense awhile ago, but due to my torn muscle, I haven't really felt like writing a review until now.  As a BzzAgent and part of this BzzCampaign for Eukanuba 3D Dentadefense, I was given a coupon for a free bag of Eukenuba 3D Dentadefense dog food.  The approximate value of the 17 pound bag of dog food was $32.

Here's how the Bzz Campaign described the food: "Recommended by vets, Eukanuba with 3D DentaDefense™ keeps your dog in top condition from tooth to tail. Ensure your canine's canines are healthy — feed your pup the only leading brand that provides complete nutrition and superior tartar protection in every adult and senior diet."

We initially started feeding this food to our oldest dog.  She has pretty bad teeth, although ironically, they are pretty good for a dog her age (13.5) and breed (greyhound).  She started eating it and seemed to like it but then started having some health problems and quit eating the food.  I do not think it was the food that made her stop eating it, but her health problems.  She was on the food for about two or three weeks before she stopped eating it, and I did not notice any improvement in the tartar on her teeth.

We have given the food to our other dogs as little treats, but not on a constant basis because of dietary restrictions.  They all, except our oldest dog, seem to really enjoy the flavor of the food and always seem excited to receive little bits as training reinforcements.

I wish I could tell you more and give you a better idea of the great potential benefits of Eukanuba with 3D Dentadefense.  I do think it sounds like a viable chance of improving the tartar of your dog's teeth.  The food is pretty pricey, but very well could be worth it.  If you decide to have your dog try it, I would love to hear if the food helps eliminate some of your dog's tartar.

As a side note, it was really cool of Eukanuba to include a little black light with the Bzzkit.  Did you know that when you shine a black light on your dog's teeth, the light will color the tartar pink?  It works on humans as well...Pretty cool!

Leftover craft paper

After my last craft, I had some leftover paper so I decided to make some cards.  When it comes to cards, I tend to be a minimalist so using the leftover scraps worked out perfectly.  I used my Cricut machine that I received from my in-laws for Christmas a couple of years ago to cut out the shapes, letters and words.

 

As a side note, I love homemade cards.  They are less expensive, but at the same time are full of meaning.  When I receive a homemade card, I think how wonderful it is that someone took time out of their schedule to make me that specific card.  Does anyone else feel that way?

 



Getting Crafty

Last month all I did was sit on my rear and watch movies.  I fully blame Blockbuster for this since they "gave" me a free pass for their $14.99 a month program that allows you to rent one video or game at a time with no return date and unlimited rentals.  Because I wanted to get the full value of the pass, I felt like I had to constantly get videos to watch.  Towards the end of the pass, I decided that I would not be renewing it because I didn't want to spend more time with my eyes glued to the TV.  I decided that I would start crafting more to occupy my time. 

 

I opted to work on a project that would be super easy, but was something that I had wanted to try for a long time.  My materials were:

 



* Wood Letters

* Paper in a matching color motif
* Mod Podge (matte)
* Foam brush
* Enamel Spray Sealer
*Scissors
* Pencil



I matched the paper with the letters I wanted them to be attached to, traced the letters upside down on the back of the papers, and cut them out. (Sorry about the photo, I forgot to fix it before uploading it.)

Using the foam brush I applied a thin layer of mod podge to the letters and then carefully applied the paper over the mod podge.  Once the mod podge was dry, I applied another thin layer on top of the paper.  I let that dry over night and then sprayed all the letters with the spray sealer.

After a day of drying, I think I ended up with a pretty cute little project to display on our mantel.

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Several weeks ago, I had the sweets urge and had seen this recipe somewhere online.  I don't remember if it was linked from a blog I follow or pinterest, but it contained three words that almost always are a sell for me..."chocolate peanut butter".  The link is here for the original recipe from a blog called Diva Entertains.

 

I did change the recipe some based on what I had in the house.  The recipe calls for brown sugar when making the crust, but I didn't have any so I used sucanat.  The recipe was not specific on what kind of chocolate chips to use so I used semi-sweet.

 



The crust was a little a difficult to work with, but I managed to get out a slice. :)

James and I were not super impressed with this pie.  The filling was good, but the biggest problem was the chocolate.  It needed to be milk chocolate and be a thinner layer.  I have other chocolate peanut butter no-bake recipes I like better that I will use before this one.