Spinach and Artichoke Pasta

Another Pinterest Win!

So, keeping in line with the theme of the week I decided to try another recipe that I found on Pinterest. Last night I tried the fried rice and chimichangas and it was amazing. I'll include the link at the bottom.

Tonight was pasta. Dood is playing hockey in about an hour and he loves to eat pasta on game nights. I hate spaghetti and I'm a little tired of the same 'ol stuff. Pinterest to the rescue!

I found this lovely number on Saturday night and thought it looked simple enough so I added it to my meal plan for the week and off to the store I went. I was surprised how easy this recipe was. There is minimal chopping involved. Seriously, I only minced the garlic. And you can buy that stuff pre-chopped to make life even simpler should you choose.

It took a little while but that was my own fault. I opted to save calories and used 2% instead of whole milk. I'm ok with that. It just took a little longer. I ended up throwing in a little bit more cheese anyway. So much for saved calories!

It was quite colourful and amazingly delicious. It's definitely going to be another starred recipe in my book.

Here are the links:

Fried Rice

Chimichangas

Spinach and Artichoke Pasta

Raspberry-Swirl Cheesecake

I've been known to bake and create on occasion.

Now that Dood has a few options of sports on TV I've got the kitchen to myself. He knows that he is better off asking me to get something for him than come into my domain when I've got my bake on. Even Newman knows to stay out of the kitchen. I have peace.

A friend brought these delectable mini cheesecakes into work one day this week and since then I have been unable to stop thinking about it. Could be the pregnancy or that I'm a sucker for cheesecake.

I immediately asked for more information about the concoction to which she replied, "Martha Stewart". Nuff said. Online I went and found the recipe. I liked the idea of modifying for mini cheesecakes. I thought it would prevent me from slicing off a piece the size of my leg.

I've never used a Martha recipe and thought, "Oh boy, this is going to be complex" since she is the Queen of Domestication. Not so. I have to say, it was rather simple with simple ingredients.

At one point I had to stop and look at myself. "Oh for Pete's sake! I'm barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen!". Oh well, at least I get to eat cheesecake after.

One thing to note with this recipe is that I found my oven to run a little hot (that's an understatement). Oh wait, I'm not talking about being pregnant again. I mean my actual oven not the baby oven. Anyway, I found that the base got a little too overdone. It may also be that I modified the recipe for 9 mini cakes. Next time I'll leave them in for 7 minutes instead of 9. But really, who cares? I'm still going to eat it.

Here's the recipe but be warned. It's so freakin' good that you may eat more than one mini cake or you may find yourself eating less at dinner to make sure you have enough room left for a slice of cheesecake that's as big as your leg. Jus' sayin'.

Raspberry-Swirl Cheesecake

Thanks Martha - for widening my ass.

The Laundry Ball

As promised, I have tested out The Laundry Ball. They do a wicked job of explaining all the neat things about it so I will just send you on over to the link to learn more. I'm not a scientician.

Now, I should take this opportunity to state that I am not affiliated with this company nor the company Zigglebaby from which I purchased this item. I happened to find it and try it.

On to the review!

I've used it a couple of times, once to wash my brand-new diapers before baby arrives and then something a little more "telling". I thought to myself, "Self, these diapers were not dirty so how can you truly know that this little ball will remove poo stains and the like once baby is here." Remember Newman? No, I didn't put him in my washer, but I put a part of him in there. His blanket. I looked at that dirty 'ol thing and knew it was time for a wash. Well, what better test for stain removal than dirt, grime, fur, and bone marrow stains. This is sounding more and more like a horror movie than my house so let me explain. If you have a dog who is a strong chewer, consider purchasing a deer antler for him/her. They last a long time, are generally not messy, and the don't splinter so you won't have to pay about $2000 for a foreign object removal surgery. My dog loves the darn thing but the marrow sometimes leaks out of his huge mouth onto whatever surface he happens to be chewing on. Hence, bone marrow stains on his blanket (and my carpet).

Back to the review!

I threw my little fur friend's blanket in the wash on cold like I normally would except I threw this ball in with it. I admit, I was sceptical. It went through the regular cycle and I took it out of the wash and saw that it was noticeably cleaner and the bone marrow stain was gone. Yet, I was STILL skeptical! I threw it in the dryer on low for about 45 minutes and went to bed. I got up this morning and pulled it out of the dryer and couldn't believe that I was still sceptical! Geese, enough already! It worked! Get on with it! So I brought it upstairs in brighter light for further scrutiny. Well, as you can see in the photo below, I had the blanket folded into a quarter since it is a large blanket that fits on top of Newman's bed a little better this way. When I tried to find the same side this morning to make sure I was documenting the proper side, I couldn't determine which way was up! Then I noticed the green stitching on the bottom right hand side of the blanket so that was my guiding light. Take a look at the before and after:

Notice that green stitching in the very bottom right side so you know you are looking at the right side of the blanket.

The best thing is that is little magical ball is good for about 365 loads of laundry so it could last well over a year. Your wash will contain no chemicals!

When I saw the difference myself and became a believer I told Dood that he needed to high-five me because I just saved this family hundreds of dollars. Seriously, when you think of the price of the non-additive detergent that you must use when cloth diapering it will cost way more for detergent than for this $45 laundry miracle. I'm really excited about this product.

I'll do another review once the baby is here and pooping up a storm to see how it fares with those stains!

My First Post!

What's it all about, anyway?

Welcome to my blog! I thought this would be an interesting way to keep my family and friends back home up to date about what's going on in the great West. I'm certainly not the writer of my family since Dood has a journalism diploma but I like to pretend that I have something interesting to say.

As the first line asks, what's it all about? I've decided to blog about anything that I'm trying, feeling, going through, thinking about, wondering about (what if the hokey poky is what it's all about). The main thing overtaking my life at the moment is the impending birth of Baby Doody. He or she is due to make the big debut on March 5, 2013. As it goes with this type of thing, the exact date is yet to be determined. But, of course, this type of life event will throw any expectant mother or father to the Internet looking for answers, products, opinions, and the like. This is something that I will be blogging about in the next couple months as I prepare for baby.

Some of the "product reviews" I will be posting here include cloth diapers (BumGenius and Zigglebaby specifically), Jeep stroller made by Kolcraft, the Laundry Ball (which I am using in my wash as I type), the Tummy Tub or Spa Bath, and those long wrap-around cloth carriers that come in a variety of colours, sizes and names. You probably guessed it, my first review that I will likely write tomorrow or later tonight will be on the Laundry Ball. Be sure to look for the link in the next post.

Since I am sure there will be a few people who find themselves lost on the interwebs and find themselves here at my blog, here's a little background on who MacDoody really is.

Doody and MacDonald met in 2001 and started dating in early 2002. We shacked up for a few years until we were both out of college and university and felt we were ready to get hitched. We married on August 8, 2009 and MacDoody was born! We are now expecting the birth of our first human baby. We have a beautiful fur baby by the name of Newman who we were fortunate enough to adopt from Willows Haven Bulldogges in 2010. Mr. Newman is quickly approaching his third birthday and he makes us laugh every day. He receives more affection that any human I know... and I'm totally ok with that.