Nailed It!

this is a little thing I like to call Pinspiration...
Apparently I saw these awesome nails on Pinterest and stashed them into my subconscious, 'cause I didn't even realise that they were my inspiration until after I had created my version.

pinkurock's version:




My version:



Not a carbon copy, but I'd say more of a loosely based on.  The pink is Essie "Cute as a Button" and the Black & White is a Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips.

Bacon, egg & cheese "cupcakes"

How cute are these little guys!?!  I saw these HERE and decided to give them a try.  I love when I see something online and I go into my kitchen and discover I have everything to make it.

So I'm not sure if you noticed, but I have a soft spot for cupcakes.  What's not to love about individual treats that are cute and tasty??  Well this is all of your favorite things about breakfast in a cupcake costume.  When Mr. B took a look at his plate he was like, "well what are these little goodies?"  Once he cut one open he actually gasped, "It's even more spectacular when you cut it open!"  Yeah, that much enthusiasm out of him & I know it was a success!  

These don't really require a recipe, just some assemblage and preparation of ingredients.  The amount you need will vary depending on the number of mouths you are feeding:

Biscuit Dough - Homemade, from a boxed mix, or premade will do.  If you are going the easy route (why not go that route??) and want to use premade, do me a favor... STOP buying the canned refrigerator biscuits.  The frozen ones are SO much better!  They taste almost like homemade (unlike the canned ones) and you can pull 2 or 10 out of the bag and back into the freezer they go. *For this recipe pull them out and let them defrost while you get the rest of the ingredients together.

Eggs - Prepair however you usually make your breakfast scrambled eggs.  My tip, low and slow makes soft creamy eggs.  No hard rubbery eggs here!

Breakfast meat of your choice - You can use bacon, ham, or sausage, or even a combination.  I went with bacon.  Chopped and fully cooked.

Cheese - Use any chees you have on hand.  I chose grated colby jack.

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll out one biscuit, and top with your prepared toppings.  Crimp seams together creating a stuffed dough ball.  Place in lined cupcake pans seam side down.

I sprayed the tops with a little bit of olive oil and a light sprinkling of sea salt.  Bake 15 min or until golden brown.

How cute is this!  Give them a try, your Mr and/or your littles will be glad you did! Enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Black Bean Avocado Burritos

By no means am I a vegetarian.  Honestly, I could never give meat up.  well, red meat maybe, but never chicken or pork.  Hello, can you imagine a life without bacon?!?!  It would be a dull, sad, lonely place.  Having said that, once in awhile we like to have a tasty meatless meal.  Why, I'm not actually sure, but if done right you don't even miss the meat in a dish.

These burritos were just right.  Easy, tasty, and guilt free.  You can adjust and customize these about 100 different ways, but here's what I did:

Black Bean Avocado Burritos

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 cup black beans

Pico de gallo or fresh salsa

1 avocado

tortillas (the bigger the better for folding purposes)

a bit of cheese (I used Monterey Jack)

Pre heat panini maker.

While rice is cooking, heat and season beans.  I use a can of plain black beans, mostly drained with a little bit of water.  Add a spoon full of salsa/pico de gallo, some salt, pepper and garlic.  In a separate dish, smash your avocado.  I like to keep it simple, with just a little salt, pepper, garlic and cumin.

Into a tortilla add, rice, beans, salsa, guac, and cheese.  Roll, tuck and fold ends to make a nice little burrito.  Repeat until burritos are assemble.  Place 2-3 into the panini maker at a time.  Enjoy!

Wall Decor

We got our new bedroom furniture 2 years ago & I have been looking for above the bed wall art this whole time.  I've seen many different DIY art projects that I liked, but nothing I had the motivation to follow through on.  I've looked at countless pieces of completed wall art, but nothing that really did it for me.  I knew I wanted something mostly DIY for this wall.  Finally after 2 years I was "Pinspired"!  I saw THIS and knew it would be simple to recreate.

Things fell into place when we were helping my dad move and we came accross the perfect frame to go with our bedroom.  I ordered the bird decals on Etsy from Decorette.  The next step was to convince the ever skeptical Mr. B that this would be a good idea.  To my surprise, he was all for it.  And after I got it on the wall he was pretty pleased with the results.  I absolutly love the out come!  It was so simple and cost me less than $30!  Can't beat that! 

Caramel Marshmallow Popcorn

This delightful stuff has been floating around Pinterest for awhile now.  A big THANK YOU to blogger Chef in Training for introducing this easy & oh so naughty snack to the world!  And despite my BFF's WARNINGS not to make this addictive little treat, I couldn't help myself.  We'll blame it on the newly acquired popcorn machine! 

Since we were having a few friends over for a BBQ & Mr. B was having fun playing with his toy, after he'd popped up 3 or so batches of popcorn, I decided it was time to try this irresistible looking treat.  So, into the kitchen to gather the few necessary ingredients.  Luckily I had basically everything on hand.  Unfortunately, I only had a small amount of mini marshmallows left, which sent me into a near panic, until I discovered the jar of Marshmallow Fluff in the fridge!  Phew, that was a close one!

So glad I finally made this!  Also glad I chose to make it when there were 9 other people to help us eat it.  A whole batch of this to yourself would be a DANGEROUS thing!  Make this, share this, enjoy this!

Ingredients:

1 bag of microwavable popcorn
1/2 cup butter
1 cup of brown sugar
2 Tbls loght corn syrup or honey
1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
12 large marshmallows

Directions:
Prepare popcorn making sure to remove any stray kernels (if you are fond of your teeth, you really shouldn't skip this step!)  Melt butter over low heat. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, extract and marshmallows.  Turn heat to medium and stir until marshmallows are melted, no lumps!  Pour over popcorn and stir in until popcorn is evenly coated.

Store in an airtight container or ziploc bag. Who am I kidding, there will most likley be NO leftovers to store!