How Pinteresting!

What did we do before Pinterest? Well, I know what I did. I would tear pictures and articles out of magazines and put them in a big notebook, never to find what I'm looking for again when I needed it. Enter Pinterest. It makes it so simple! However, I'm one of those that will pin stuff and never actually do it.

Well, I guess I finally had a reason to do some of those pins. Stacey is leaving me to move back home, {enter sob here} and I am throwing her a going-away party, so I finally had a reason to do some of the pins that I had marked. The first thing that I did was make some Lemon Chex Mix. It is so delicious! It will become one of my go-to recipes for any type of party, or just a rocking Tuesday night.

Original Recipe Via

It's super simple to make. Way easier than those Muddy Buddies that I am so fond of. Here is the recipe:

Lemon Chex Mix

• 9 cups rice Chex
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 4 tsp lemon zest
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Pour cereal into a large bowl and then set aside. Melt the chocolate, butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a microwave safe container. Melt for minute. Stir. Melt for additional 30 second intervals until smooth when stirred. (Don't be like me and add your lemon juice/zest after the chocolate has melted. It will make it congeal into something not so pretty!)  Pour melted mixture over cereal and gently stir until the cereal is evenly coated.

 

Transfer the cereal into a gallon ziploc bag. Add the powdered sugar and shake the bag around to get all the pieces evenly coated. That's it! Easy peasy!  

 

Next thing that I saw that I wanted to do was to make a "pinecone" cheese ball. Since Stacey is leaving Thomasville, I thought it would be very fitting to make this. Thomasville is known for it's plantations and all things pine tree.

 

I had to call my mother to get the recipe for the cheese ball part, and I will give it to you the best I can remember. I still didn't write it down, just had her on the phone reading me the recipe while I was making it!

 

Cheese Ball

• 2 packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1  package (8 oz.) of shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp onion flakes
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tsp red pepper
• 1/2 Tsp garlic powder
• Salt to taste

Beat with an electric mixer (or by hand) the cream cheese, worcestershire, onion flakes, lemon juice, red pepper, garlic powder, and salt until smooth. Then mix in your cheese. Shape into a ball. We usually roll the cheese ball in chopped pecans, but for this occasion, I used almonds to make it look like a pinecone. Then just add some rosemary for garnish.

Here was another thing that I made. I didn't take a picture of it last night, so I'm using the picture from Pinterest.  And you can tell, because this picture isn't taken with an iPhone!

Recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Here is how I did my layers:

Layer 1 - Ground Beef w/taco seasoning
Layer 2 - Refried Beans
Layer 3 - Salsa
Layer 4 - Guacamole
Layer 5- Sour Cream
Layer 6 - Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese
Layer 7 - Olives, Diced Tomatoes

The fun thing about this is that you can make it your own. I however did not realize how time consuming it would be to make these individual cups. So be sure you have plenty of time to do them. Thank goodness my mother was there to help me do the fruit skewers while I was making these, or I would have been up all night!

So, that's a few of my pins that I have done. Stay tuned for the party!