Tortilla Pizza

I pinned this recipe a long time ago because it looked like a quick and easy after work dinner for when I'm just too tired to cook my usual four course meal for the husband (psssh yeah, right). But seriously, these tasty little tortilla pizzas only take about 15 minutes start to finish.

Ingredients (for one pizza)

1 tortilla

2 tsp pesto or pizza sauce 

Mozzarella cheese

Veggies of your choice (we used tomato, red pepper, onion, and mushrooms)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the pesto or pizza sauce on the tortilla. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Top with your choice of veggies and the mozzarella cheese. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and tortilla edges begin to brown.

That's it! These tortilla pizzas are so easy and soo good! And the best part is you can completely personalize the ingredients (these would be great for kids with just some cheese and pepperoni). Again, Steven loved this recipe, but I'm beginning to think he's just not that hard to please when it comes to food ;)

If you'd like to see the original pinned recipe go here! And to see more of recipes I've pinned go to my Pinterest board here!

Oh yeah, Happy Halloween :)

Chicken Pesto Bake

Chicken breast is always something Steven and I have on hand, yet I never seem to know what to do with it. Mostly because I hate handling raw chicken, but also because although I know there are many different ways to cook chicken, I usually decide on the same two or three tried and true recipes, and after a while those recipes don't sound so appetizing. 

When I pinned this chicken pesto bake and saw how easy it was to throw together, I was determined to give the recipe a try. 

Via

This recipe was adapted from SkinnyTaste. You can find the nutritional information for this dish here.

Ingredients: 

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

4 tsp Basil Pesto

1 medium tomato, sliced thin

6 tbsp shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tsp grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Wash chicken and dry with a paper towel. Slice chicken breast horizontally to create 4 thinner cutlets. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400° F. Line baking sheet with foil or parchment. 

Place the chicken on prepared baking sheet. Spread 1 tsp of pesto over each piece of chicken. 

Bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove from oven; top with tomatoes, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Back for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. 

Via

 Obviously, her photos are much better than mine so I had to sprinkle some in ;)

Steven seriously loved this dish! His comments were that the chicken was tasty, flavorful, and tender. I thought it was delicious too, but just the fact that you can whip this up in 20 to 25 minutes is enough for me to add it into my regular chicken dinner rotation.

I'd love to hear if you give this recipe a try and how it turns out! Trust me, I am no expert cook. So if I can make a good chicken pesto bake you can too! It's that easy :)

Pinterest Overload

This weekend was a lazy weekend. And I loved it.
I spent quality time with my husband playing boardgames, watching movies, and eating good food. I spent little to no time on the computer and instead read books and caught up on my Bible study. I feel like people need weekends like that more often. Slow, obligation free weekends.

But lately I've been determined to tackle more and more of the Pinterest ideas I've pinned. I've made a few Pinterst recipes in the past, like these Apple Chips, these Peanut Butter Cinnamon Cookies and these Chewy Chocolate Coconut Cookies, but I haven't made a lot of the dinner recipes I've pinned. {I mean, let's face it, the desserts look far too appetizing to give the healthier options even a second glance, right?} So this weekend, I decided to spend a little extra time in the kitchen and make a different Pinterest dish for dinner everyday! I tried to choose recipes I knew my husband would like and ended up going with Skinny Baked Pesto Chicken, Tortilla Pizza, and Homemade Stromboli.
I made everything from scratch, including the pizza dough used for the Stromboli (my first time making any homemade bread ever)! Every recipe turned out delicious and I think my husband fell in love with me all over again ;)

Starting tomorrow, I will share one of these Pintestest recipes with you over the next three days. I hope you're hungry!

Saw it. Pinned it. Did it.

Today I'm linking up with Steph at Beautiful Mess to show you one of the Pinterest projects I actually endeavored to recreate!  Here's the original Pinterest photo I pinned.

I absolutely loved the idea of this DIY office desk that stretches from wall to wall!  I wanted it to be recreated so that there would be no table legs for support, so I could easily maneuver my office chair  the whole length of the desk without knocking my knees on any support structures.
Obviously, I had no idea how to do this. So this should really be called saw it. pinned it. husband did it :)

 The office before.

 Hubby hard at work.

 We decided on a dark oak stain to contrast with the white walls and carpet in the office.

Steven really did a great job!  And I know, you're dying to see the finished office, but although the desk is done...I want to wait until the decors in place before I show you. Sorry!!!
But don't fret, friends. Soon enough! (I hope)

The Kettle

Before discovering the cozy, little bookstore I posted on yesterday, Steven and I dined at The Kettle. It was the second time we've ate here, so we knew better than to order two separate dishes. The portions here are HUGE!! They are kinda known for their scramblers --egg, harsh brown, sausage, and veggie goodness smothered in cheese-- so we ordered one to share and still went home with plenty of leftovers.

This is a 1/2 order!!! I could only finish about 1/4 of it! So.Much.Food.

Sleepy husband.

It was a cute diner with good food and a fun, relaxed atmosphere. Enumclaw is quickly becoming one of the best small towns I've been too. (And I'm from West Virginia, so I've been to a lot!) I wanted to take more pictures of all the cute decor in the diner, but the place was super packed and I didn't have the courage want to be that crazy blogger lady...probably much to Steven's relief ;)

..oh yeah, in case you haven't noticed it's Wednesday. We are half way there!! Oh weekend, these days I feel as if I live for you!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

A Small Town Treasure

Have you ever walked into a shop and thought, oh my, I could waste hours in here? The sights and smells are almost intoxicating and you know, this little space was created just for you.

I felt that sensation this weekend when Steven and I explored the small town center in Enumclaw, Washington. It's the country, folks. Like small, small town country. Little mom and pop shops reside on every corner and the cows far outnumber the people. It's cute, quaint, and homey. We enjoyed a tasty breakfast at a small diner and then decided to do some window shopping before heading home.

That's when we found the cutest little bookstore I've ever stepped foot in, The Sequel.

It's a tiny shop stacked from floor to ceiling with used books, charming trinkets, and plenty of seating for you to plop down on and flip the pages of a great find while enjoying a freshly made cup or joe. In other words, one step removed from heaven.

They even have an adorable Scrabble setup just a few feet away from the coffee bar. I told Steven that the next rainy Saturday we have we should head out here for a little book browsing and a friendly game of Scrabble. There is simply something about used bookstores in small towns. They hold a sort of charm that other stores like Barnes&Noble can never attain. The books that fill these shelves were well worn and loved, and, I suppose, there is comfort in that.

Books, coffee, and boardgames?? Is there really any better way to spend a rainy Saturday? I think not.

Weekend Snapshots

Beautiful colors.

Long walks.

Husband and puppy cuddling.

It was a good weekend.

Friday Letters

My boys. So cute.

Dear Washington Weather - It looks like your  back to your signature status. The forecast calls for rain, rain, and rain. It's okay though. I really enjoyed the beautiful fall weather but this is nice too. Dear Home - Why is there always so much to be done?! I feel as if you are one GIGANTIC, never-ending project. All the unfinished rooms within you are starting to stress me out. I guess what I really need is a money tree to sprout in the backyard. Then Steven and I could really get some things done ;). Dear Huckleberry - You need to go a little easier on Herschel. He is still just a baby. And although I know you are simply playing and think Herschel is your toy, he is only 6 lbs! Be gentle, love. Be gentle. Dear Husband - I think we need to go away together. Get out of town for a few days, turn off our phones, and leave our laptops behind. Evaluate and readjust. Sometimes life is good at throwing things all out of whack, so it's simply best to just get away from it all. Anyways, I love you. Dear Blog Friends - I've been able to cross off so much on my fall to-do list! Apple picking, pumpkin carving, baking fall recipes...basically, I'm on a roll and should be awarded a medal or something. But I'm out of ideas! What are some other fall festivities I can add to my list?? What are your favorite fall traditions?

Hope you have a great weekend!

I'll be back Monday :)

Another Fall Failure

You already learned this week that I'm the world's worst pumpkin carver, but apparently I am also a terrible pumpkin seeds cook. 

I love pumpkin seeds. I can remember when my mom use to make them. Slightly chewy, perfectly salty, simply goodness. And so Autumn(y)! I was excited to make my very own batch for the first time.

I gutted my pumpkin and saved every single seed I could. Rinsed and cleaned them in cold water. Coated them with olive oil. And then...I reached for the salt. So far so good.

That is until the salt container dropped out of my slippery, oily hands onto the seeds.

So what did I do? I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone else saw the huge mound of salt on the pumpkin seeds, and when, to my delight, I saw that Steven and our guests were oblivious to my blunder, I quickly mixed the salt with everything else and tossed the pan in the oven.

Turns out, they were the worst pumpkin seeds ever! Salty enough to make your eyes well up with tears and your nostrils sting. 

I seem to be striking out on all these fall festivities...

Is it Christmas yet?

Countdown Of Me

5 Things I Can't Live Without:

1. my husband

2. my family

3. my fur babies

4. coffee

5. books

4 Things That Terrify Me:

1. Anything with more than 4 legs

2. Anything with less than 2 legs

3. My house burning down

4. Showering when no one is home {I know this one is weird, but I feel like I'm either a) going to be murdered while taking a shower or b) I'm going to slip and be severely injured and because no one is home I'm going to drown or something!..I dunno! Completely strange and irrational. I know!}

fire! fire!

3 Things That Annoy Me:

1. Steven trying to sleep on my side of the bed

2. When people leave cabinet doors/pantry doors/refrigerator doors open

3. The banana noise

2 Things I'm Working On:

1. My anxiety issues {this needs a whole post (or series) of its own}

2. Coping with the realization that Huckleberry is no longer a tiny baby :(

1 Thing I'm Grateful For:

Harry Potter Good Food Miniature Ponies It's really hard to pin down one thing I'm grateful for, but something that I've been struck by lately is simply how beautiful God's creation is. He truly is an amazing artist.

Niagara Falls

And now you know a little more clearly just how strange I really am ;) 

The World's Worst Pumpkin Carver

Is me.

I stink at carving pumpkins.

Honestly, I was so embarrassed with my pumpkin carving skills that I almost didn't want to display them on my front porch.

But then I did.

{Because, well you can put whatever the heck you want to on your front porch when you're the last house living on a dead end street ;)}

Seriously, how terrible are they??!!

And if you're thinking "oh, that one on the right isn't too bad..."

That's because I didn't carve that one.

Mine's the tall one on the left with the gaping hole in it's face.

In my defense, we weren't working with very good knives.

I know excuses, excuses. :)

But one good thing I did learn from this fall experience is that Huckleberry loves to eat raw pumpkin.

He did not want to let that piece go.  

Have you carved pumpkins this fall? Better get to it!

Mosby Farm

Some weekends it's hard to get moving. After working all week, it's easy to just spend your two days off sitting on the couch catching up on missed TV episodes. But no matter how exhausted I am, when Steven and I do decide to quit being lame and get our butts moving, I always have such a great time! It's worth it people, being adventurous, doing something you normally wouldn't do, turning the TV off --it's worth it. 

Lately, we have been discovering that there are simple, little treasure right down the street from us! While browsing the interwebs for a pumpkin patch, we found Mosby Farm. Mosby Farm didn't just have a pumpkin patch, but they also can boast of an extensive corn maze along with local, fresh produce from their own farm, as well as other smaller farms from the surrounding area. Homemade honeys, jams, hot coco...the list is endless. Needless to say, I was impressed. And the best part, it is practically in our backyard it is so close! 

 

Right now, their shop is full of fall decor. So simple and cute. I loved it!

And yes, we bought two of those massive pumpkins!

 

We also found out that they have wine and beer tasting nights. Unfortunately, we just missed their last one of the season, but hope to catch a few next year.

It was nice to get out of the house and discover such awesome finds so close to home! And I've learned that for Steven and I to have an adventure we don't have to go all the way into Seattle (although, that is nice from time to time, too). There is so much to do right out our back door if only we'd get moving! ;)