Falafel and Cucumber Sauce

So most of you know that I'm trying to raise money to study abroad in Greece (click here to see my blog about it) so I thought it would be a good idea to try and make some Greek food! I had heard that falafel is awesome, but I had never tried it before. Well, I'm glad to say that it is pretty great. You guys are going to laugh at them because my blender broke and you are supposed to blend all of the ingredients together. This recipe would have been perfect if my roommate knew how to properly use a blender. She tried to turn on the blender BEFORE putting the pitcher on the base and it broke and plastic pieces went flying all over my kitchen. Incidentally, my falafel looks a little chunky/crumbly. Nonetheless, I still loved it. This recipe is very strong in garlic so if you aren't a garlic fiend such as myself, maybe cut that out of the recipe. This recipe also has lots of ingredients so it was just a little pricey, but I made it for our anniversary so it seemed worth it. The cucumber sauce is a necessity for this because the falafel are a little spicy and the cucumber sauce complements it very well. I will definitely try this again once I have a new blender!
Once again, sorry for the pic quality. This was before I got my digital camera.

Click here for the recipe. It got great reviews on Allrecipes.com

Breakfast Pizza

When I was little, we would always order little individual breakfast pizzas from the Schwann's man. They were my absolute favorite, so when I saw this recipe on Pinterest I knew I had to try it. So like always, I took the shortcut of buying pre-made pizza dough instead of making my own because I was running short on time before going to work. I pretty much took everything in my fridge that would taste good in an omelet (which isn't a lot of things) and threw it on this pizza. I used onion, garlic, bacon bits, eggs, and cheese. It was pretty good, however the egg yolks got cooked all the way through before the crust was finished baking. I wanted it to look like their picture in that I really love eggs over-easy. I think if I were to make this again, I would put the dough in the oven for a few minutes before adding the other ingredients. It was wayyy too dry without gooey egg yolk! I think next time, I'm going to try little individual pizzas on English muffins and put one egg on each one. I do recommend trying this recipe, as it is a great idea for breakfast or if you are like me, for brinner (breakfast for dinner).

I apologize for the picture quality. This picture was taken on my camera phone before I got my digital camera.

Click here for the recipe.

Monkey Squares

Well, it's just as you suspected. These were great. Found this recipe under Pinterest's most popular pins so lots of you might be wondering about this one. When I was making it, I was amazed at how much butter is in this! There are two sticks! Not to mention a cup of sour cream and 1.5 cups of sugar. Needless to say, I felt pretty guilty after eating this one. However, I brought it to work for people to eat and that made me feel better about having a 13" x 9" pan full of guilt. The one thing you need to know before making this recipe is how to put the frosting on. I know that sounds so simple and stupid but it really will make this taste better! Drizzle the frosting on the cake while the frosting AND cake are still hot. This makes it easy to spread. Also, spread it fast! As soon as it cools down just a little bit, it sets in and you can't spread it anymore. A lot of my frosting sat right in the middle of the cake and it made the middle pieces really mushy. This cake is naturally moist so it really doesn't need a puddle of frosting in the middle. Next time I think I will use just a little bit of cream cheese frosting, because I think that would suit the monkey bars more. But don't get me wrong! These things are great.

Click here for the recipe.

Hawaiian Lava Flow

I've never been to Hawaii, but I have heard lots of good things about Lava Flow drinks via Pinterest. So this recipe is for the non-alcoholic version, which was good for me because I made these before I turned 21 ;) This recipe has a lot of good tips that I recommend using if you want it to turn out pretty and yummy. Next time I think I'll try adding a banana when I blend the strawberries. Also, I think this would be pretty awesome with some Malibu rum. This recipe makes a LOT so we cut it down for just a few drinks. She has great tips on making it have the 'swirled' look. If the strawberries don't come up the sides of the cup when you add the white coco lopez mixture, try adding more water to the strawberry mixture. Also, you can try swirling the strawberries around the edges of the cup before adding the white mixture.
If you love pina colada's, you will love this recipe for sure. It was fruity and delicious and introduced me to coco lopez: the best thing ever. If you haven't used coco lopez, it's a coconut product that comes in a can and you can find it in the mixed drink section (right next to the pina colada mixes). This drink would be good for adults or kids as a yummy summer drink.

Click here for the recipe.

Red Lobster Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

OMG I love these things. I loved them at Red Lobster, and I love this recipe. They are cheesy and soft and soo good. It's such an easy recipe (7 common ingredients) and they're pretty much fail proof...and trust me. If there was a way to fail at them, I would have. I prefer to make these compared to regular dinner rolls because they have so much more flavor. I highly recommend that you try these if you love Red Lobster's. Couldn't get enough of them!

Click here for the recipe. Seriously...try these. And vote for my next project on the right ===>

Instant Oatmeal Packets

I used to always eat cream of wheat and oatmeal and I thought this is a great idea: to make your own oatmeal packets. This is so much cheaper and makes more packets than they have in the oatmeal boxes. You can also adjust them to have whatever ingredients you like and there are less preservatives. Yay!
I made mine with regular oatmeal, a dash of salt, brown sugar, and cinnamon. All you have to do is add milk or water and any choice of topping. I think I will like it even more when I pick up some fruit to put in it (such as bananas, apples, or blueberries). I also would like to try adding some pumpkin puree to it after it's cooked because pumpkin oatmeal is just the best!
If you have any more suggestions similar to this to save money, let me know! I love hearing about how people make their own laundry detergent and Mod Podge. I'm always looking for more ways to save money!

 Do you like my new snail and mushroom pepper shakers? =D





Click here for instructions to make this on your own.

Styrofoam Wall Art

I love the look of these diy canvases. My apartment living room was looking a little empty so I decided to head to Hobby Lobby (like always). I picked out 9 pieces of scrapbook paper that I liked and some foam board. This is the big, cheap foam board that kids use for presentations. I cut the board to be the same size as the paper and glued it on with spray adhesive. I tried using regular Elmer's glue but I didn't like how the paper looked bubbly. I didn't put ribbon on the edges of the canvas, like it says in the directions, but that would definitely make it look more finished. This was one of the easiest projects I've ever done and it really brings color to your room, especially if you live in an apartment where you aren't allowed to paint the walls. Love it!

Click here for the directions.