Pintertest Kitchen: a tale of two tiramisu

this is a story about two tiramisus.
both cakes have a similar essence,
but both are oh so different.
one claims authenticity,
the other claims a unique twist on a classic favorite.

which one will claim the pintertest victory?
let the battle begin.


on the left are the makings of 
an authentic tiramisu trifle.

on the right, the not so authentic version.

i prepared both per the recipe.

although, for the trifle, i wish i had 

softened the mascarpone more.

they both turned out lookin good.
but who cares what it looks like?
it's all about the taste!

i didn't want to leave this heavy decision solely to myself.
so i had a blind tasting with six of my most daring friends.

the nail biting results?

real tiramisu: zero

fake tiramisu: six

i'll be real: the fake stuff was way tastier.

i give it five blondes.

next month, i'm going to try to fuze the two recipes,

so come back for that!

hope you all enjoyed a tale of two tiramisus.

did you try something from pinterest this month?

write about it and link up with jessica!

cincerely,

cindy

southern lovin'

this past week, i spent some time in raleigh, north carolina 
with some pretty awesome people.
we hung out, went to an international fair, 
spent some time at the beach, and pursued fall colors.
i won't bore you with too many words;
i'll let the pictures tell the story...

 my only hint of fall colors in the distance while i sipped chai and spent time with Jesus.

"fake friend" time over some pretty coffee and yummy food.

fun times celebrating culture with these chicks

 first view of the atlantic!

the sky is literally on fire

while the sun is being amazing and doing this,
i turned around and saw this:

 unreal.

later, we all hit the beach for a stroll.

 

i mean, the beach is pretty magical.

chai and chat in person.

so good for my soul.

 

it's  just pretty in the south. 

 fall finally showed its shy self.

 you can say what you want about the SBC,

but their focus on reaching the nations is unparallelled. 
grateful for their influence in my life.

 i got to have one more date with susan, too!

sadly, all good things come to an end
and i was california bound.
but not before one last amazing sunrise in the carolinas.

i am so grateful for this time away!

i was able to reconnect with old friends, make new friends,

and spend some much needed time with Jesus.

well, until next time.

cincerely,

cindy

10 on 10: east to west

ten on ten:

ten photos on the tenth of every month.

this month, we go from coast to coast.

away we go!

my vacay in north carolina was over

and this kid got up super early to take me to the airport.

busy, busy at the raleigh airport.

landed in charoletee just in time for this.

 layovers mean finishing books

guys! it's pumpkin smash season at jamba!

layovers are also good on the taste buds.

 

water and movies somewhere over the midwest.

the bay welcomed me home with fall in full effect:

pumpkins beckoned at traders,

 

and moccasins kept my feet warm.

 

this afternoon was spent sippin

on some pumpkin rooibus in my new mug.

grateful to take some NC home with me.

happy ten on ten, y'all!

linking up with rebecca

cincerely,

*jet lagged* cindy

 

PinterTest Kitchen Fiesta!

Guys. 

If you read my blog,

especially the Pintertest kitchen blog,

you know that I am all about laziness working smarter, not harder. 

This recipe is just that.

Crockpot chicken tacos.

I mean, who doesn't love tacos?

Three ingredients:

-chicken (6 boneless skinless breasts)

-16oz salsa

-1 packet taco seasoning

Put it in the crockpot for 4 or 8 hours on high or low (respectively).

It's not a great picture, but you get the idea. 

I URGE you to make this!

You will not be disappointed. 

This recipes gets five blondes straight up. 
In fact, I may be completely obsessed.
 
Linking up with *a very pregnant* jess

I hope you enjoy your tacos!

Cincerely,

*taco lovin* Cindy

Paleo PinterTest

i have a dream.
a dream to be a lean, mean, fighting machine.
a dream where i can be buff and eat chocolate.

so far, this dream has not been a reality,
but i'm hoping with this recipe
i may be able to see my dream come to fruition.
well, at least the chocolate aspect.

may i introduce you to primal fudge.
i had to buy almost all of the ingredients,
which was not my fave, but i think worth it.
blend all of the ingredients in a blender,
pour in muffin tins, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

pretty simple, yea?
here are some tips:
don't buy your ingredients at safeway unless they are on sale.
it's all really expensive, otherwise.
layer the ingredients in the blender well.
aka, don't put the almond butter on the bottom.
go with the cocoa.

the best part is the end result:
rich, satisfying chocolate where one really is enough.

overall, this recipe gets four and half blondes.
and i get to be one chocolatey step closer to my dream.

pinning up with jess:



cincerely,

*dreaming* cindy

PinterTest Kitchen: heart to heart

well, it's six am and i must be lonely.
wait, that's three am.

anyway, i'm blogging before work
which is probably a first.
but i needed you all to know about this recipe.
it changed the way i view healthy muffins
and embraces my love for lazy.

banana oatmeal muffins.

easy, delicious, and healthy.
five blondes, straight up.
from this tele nurse to you,
you're welcome.

linking up with jess



cincerely,

*heart lovin'* cindy

PinterTest Kitchen: delinquent post

welp, this is awkward.

i'm a bit late in posting,
BUT i hope you enjoy this pinter-test.
lemme tell you, i sure did.

reese's bottom no-bake mini cheesecakes.

yea, it's a mouthful.
but dude, totally worth it!
easy to make,
delicious in your mouth,
but a little hard on the waste-line.
i give this recipe four and a half blondes.
hope you get a chance to enjoy them
in the very near future!

missed the link-up, 

but you should check out other folks'

 recipes from this month!

cincerely,



cindy

PinterTest Kitchen: things just got complicated

okay y'all.

i've got two recipes comin atcha this week.
one easy, one not so easy.



number one: 
crock pot oatmeal

pretty simple.
throw everything in a crock pot
and cook overnight.
the taste was good, but the texture wasn't my fave.
i think more water would probably solve that problem.
i'd give it three and a half blondes.
(sarah and vinnie....anyone? anyone?!)

number two:
carrot cake supreme

 

here comes the complicated part of this post.
i needed to make carrot cake for easter dinner with the fam.
i cast a wide net for recipes and ended up combining a few.
i used the cake and glaze recipes from above. 
SUCH a win! 
the cake-moist.
the glaze-heavenly.
but the frosting. 
the frosting can make or break a good cake.
so i went with a lemon cream cheese frosting 
and i'm SO glad i did. 
another win!

just a warning, it makes quite a bit of frosting,
but sooooo worth it!
i give this recipe an enthusiastic four and a half blondes.

hope you enjoyed this edition of pintertest kitchen.
can't wait to read what you all have done!
linking up with jessica and you should too!



cincerely,


cindy

fabulous february

i haven't been blogging much lately.
laziness has been the rule these past few weeks.
but here's a quick recap of february anyway...

helped out at C.A.L.L. primrose sorting through
 coats for their annual coat drive.

please note mama belleson's fabulous christmas sweaters.

i wanted to take them all.

 gammy fell at the beginning of the month,
so we've made some extra effort to hang out with her.
not to shabby for 94, eh?

 thursday fun day with my first friend laura.
we both have thursdays off so we try to hang out.
yay for beautiful days in the half mooner!

 i've been collecting things to put on my wall for over a year now.

thanks to some very hip people,

it's finally up!

i love that each one tells a story.

maybe i'll have to blog about that...

 gorgeous mornings on my way home from work.
san francisco is amazing.

had a sister date with some cuties.

the older they get, the more i love 'em.

been going on walks and hikes with my mom to prep for our mediterranean cruise.

days like that make me love where i live.

 blog world, meet 'the giant.'

my very large, giant's colored ipad.

i think i'm in love.

 sister date again.

seriously though, these are my favorite kinda nights.

great company, baked alaska, and bruschetta for days.

my dear friend angela and i decided to hit the beach to enjoy this beautiful weather.
we finally found blue sky and stuck around.
some serious gorgeousness!

 

i'd say february was pretty great.
hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse into my crazy life.

how was your month?

cincerely,

cindy