Testing Pinterest

Maybe I should have been a scientist.

I do love to experiment and see if things really work, or see how they work.

Take Pinterest. So many wonderful, fabulous, awesome ideas. But I've learned that not all of them work and some need a bit of tweaking.

Tweaking is my middle name. Angie Tweaking Quantrell.

Last Saturday, I tested Churro Cheesecake Bars. This recipe worked just fine, though I decreased the sugar by half. As I am on a diet, I couldn't eat any other than a sliver to test flavor. The rest were inhaled by kids at church and all adults that happened to walk by. This is a keeper recipe if you love cinnamon and cream cheese.

Yesterday Big D and I tested the salt dough recipe. We tested ONE of the recipes. There are hundreds. The one we found worked fine, but did not make very many handprints.

Today we tested ice cube painting. While simple in concept, I had to make quite a few tweaks. Last night I filled the ice cube tray with water and added food coloring to make colored blocks. I placed clothespins upside down in some to test how that worked.

Results:

~ A few of the clothespins fell over and froze at an angle. That was not big deal. Donavyn loved this activity.

~ Directions suggested painting on paper. This did not work other than smearing a tiny bit of color on it. Failed.

~ On the shiny metal 'big chair' tray, the ice painting worked fabulous! It melted fast and swirled all around. This was a big hit with our 2 year-old artist.

~ We also tried foil, since that is shiny. Nope. Definitely not. Fail.

~ Tried a cookie sheet. Yes. Not quite as good as the high chair tray, but close. Plus the edges kept melted water from rolling off.

~ Benefits included no concern for Mr. D who constantly sampled the different colors and total amusement for a good chunk of time. Rainbow fingers and tongue let mommy know what he was up to at Nana's.

Inspiration from Pinterest? Fantastic. Reliability? Not always there. One needs to be ready to tweak.

Better to view Pinterest pins as an experiment and an adventure.

 

Dry Toasted Muesli Recipe (Adored in this Home)

Meet our favorite breakfast of champions. It is very good for you. And who doesn't need a healthy breakfast in the midst of our Season of Desserts and Special Treats?

I discovered a version of this recipe years ago in some magazine, but have tweaked and tested it until it rests at the top of our breakfast list. Ages back, when on a mission trip in Germany, I was introduced to eating muesli (similar to this recipe) with a scoop of plain yogurt, a spoon of raspberry jam, and a splotch of milk. So delicious. I just can't make myself go back to boxed cereal. I've tried many of the commercially produced granolas and mueslis, but they all have more sugar than I like. What to do? Make up my own recipe.

Enjoy.

Dry Roasted Muesli Recipe

Ingredients:

8 cups plain oatmeal (I prefer the Costco type, as it has more whole oats and less powdery stuff)
2 cups walnut halves (Costco)
1 cup dried blueberries (Trader Joe's or Costco; add more if you really like dried blueberries)
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds (Trader Joe's)
1 T. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350. Roast ingredients in individual batches due to size.
~ Spread oatmeal on jelly roll pan. Toast about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Once you can smell the toasted oats, they are done. Dump in a big mixing bowl.

~ Spread walnuts on jelly roll pan. Toast about 10-15 minutes, stirring and watching carefully. I go by smell on this as well. Once that yummy smell hits my nose, take them out. Cool and chop into smaller pieces. Add to oats.

~ Spread pumpkin seeds on jelly roll pan. Watch very carefully! Toast about 5-8 minutes. They burn quickly (guess how I know that), so watch and remove at once. I have to go by sight on these. Add to oat mixture.

2. Add blueberries and cinnamon to oat mixture. Mix well. Let cool.

3. Store in airtight container. I love my gallon jars for muesli, as the muesli is so pretty.

4. Serve with yogurt, jam, and milk.

5. Bon appetite!