New Year Resolutions

I know we are already into Feburary but I figured it was never to late to start some new year resolutions. I have recently fallen in love with Pinterest! I have had an account since this summer but never really gotten into it until a few weeks ago. My sister Erin has been making all sorts of wondering homemade cleaning productions. So I was inspired to make my own homemade laundry detergent. It actually wasn't that hard to make and it is going to be so much cheaper! The kind I made was a powered laundry detergent. So far I have only washed my sheets with it but they smell good and feel the same. I call it a success! It calls for:

- 2 cups Borax
- 2 cups Washing Powerder
- 2 bars of FelsNapth (sp?) soap
*grate the soap using a cheese grater or food processor, than mix with the other ingredients.



Another new resolution has also been inspired by Pinterest. I have found all of these amazing recipes and things that look so good! I am also tired of making the same thing over and over again. So my new goal is to make at least one new recipe a week or change something about a recipe I make all the time. This past Thursday I made baked ziti for the first time. The recipe I found wasn't from Pinterest but my friend Natalie made it all the time when we were at ECU and gave me the recipe years ago and I never tried it. For the first time making it I think it turned out pretty good! I thought it had a little too much pepper but all the other people who ate it with me said it tasted fine to them.

4 Cheese Baked Penne
Preheat Oven: 400

- 1 lb Penne Pasta
- 1 1/2 cups Cottage Cheese
- 1 1/4 cups Mozzarella Cheese
- 1 cup Ricotta Cheese
- 3 tablespoons Chopped Parsley
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 15 oz can Crushed Tomatoes
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
- 1 small Onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons Ms.Dash
- Grated parmesan to taste


- Combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella and parsley in bowl. Incorporate and set aside.
- Cook pasta until tender but still firm (2 min less than package).
- Heat oil in same pot over medium heat. Add onion, stirring occasionally until translucent, about 5 min. Add garlic for 30 sec. more. Add the tomatoes, sauce, and spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for approx 10 min. until sauce thickens slightly.
- Return pasta to pot with sauce. Turn off heat. Add cottage cheese mixture.
- Spray 13x9 glass dish with cooking spray. Add pasta mixture. Top with remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella and parmesan.
- bake until heated through and cheese is melted. Approx. 20-30 min.

I also want to try changing things that I make all the time. I make a yummy chicken stir fry at least every week or two. I mixed things up by making it with angle hair pasta instead of rice. Then I mixed the stir friend chicken and veggies with the pasta. It was soooo Yummy!!! My sister Erin introduced me to this recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

Honey-Glazed Chicken Stir Fry
- 12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or things
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 cups loose-pack frozen veggies

1. Rinse chicken, pat dry. Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces; set aside. For the sauce in a small bowl stir together honey, vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce, and corn starch. Set aside.
2. Poor cooking oil into a work or large skillet. (Add more oil as necessary during cooking) Preheat over medium-high heat. Stir-fry frozen veggies for 3 min or until veggies are crisp-tender. Remove veggies from wok. Add chicken to hot wok. Stir-fry for 3-4 min or until chicken is no longer pink. Push chicken from the center of the wok. Stir sauce; add to center of the wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
3. Return cooked veggies to wok. Stir all ingredients together to coat. Cook and stir about 1 min or until heather throughly.

Well those are the cooking adventures for now. The scarf is still going well. It is about a foot and a half long right now. I ripped it out several times but I think I have finally gotten the hang out of. Check out a picture I added to the last post to see the start of the scarf!