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

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

Post Vacation PinterTest Kitchen

welp, i just got back from vacation.
i know it's the fourth of july and all,
but i didn't have much interest in making something patriotic.

instead, i thought i'd go with something inspired by my time overseas.
in italy, i ate the best lasagna i have ever consumed.
so i decided to attempt true, italian lasagna.
but in order to do that, i'd have to make the sauce from scratch.

this homemade pasta sauce looked so promising,

but, guys, it wasn't good. 
stay away.
buy the jar stuff.
it's the most patriotic thing you could do.
this recipe earns itself a measly one blonde.

i was so disappointed, that i needed to try 
something that i knew would taste good.
so i went with bananas foster from 
the "all recipes dinner spinner" app.
(which, by the way, you need if you don't already have it.)

the picture doesn't do it justice.
i give it four and a half blondes
(deductions for being a little too sweet).


i hope you get a chance to try the easy bananas foster recipe.
if you have a good recipe for homemade pasta sauce, please enlighten me!


happy fourth!
be patriotic and link up with Jess:




cincerely,

*a still jet lagged* 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: 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

10 on 10: just another sunday

as i mentioned last month,
sundays are my favorite day of the week.
here's why:

the shift may have only been 11 hours,

but night nurses love to read.

and put their feet up.

  

 did i mention that my shift was an hour shorter?

daylight savings time did me good.

hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

apparently i really like wearing black, grey, and green.

please note the debut of my europe purse.

good strap length, zippers, durable.

and freaking cute.

i was so sleepy today at church, i chilled in the back 

with a pretty adorable kidlet and her mama.

but davis still brought it.

where my girls at?!

right here.

and they be pretty darn awesome.

a house on my street has two beautiful tulip trees.

the picture doesn't even come close to how awesome it is.

hi, my name is cindy, and i'm a candy crush addict.

kim is all about the B.O.Y.D.

you know,

bring your own dessert.

thankfully she shared.

wanna know what she made? 

check out her pintertest coming to a blog near you!

PinterTest Kitchen: Trifecta of Delicious

i've been busy pintering my lil' heart out!
i went back to cooking because i'm better at that then crafting.
three recipes have been tried and found true.
check it:

 made these on a whim one night and they were delish!

original recipe here.

i know it doesn't look like much,

but it was SO easy and SO good.

the first time i made it, i used half balsamic vinegar
 and half balsamic vinaigrette.

i liked it that way better.

here's the recipe.

dude, they really taste like the brownies from school!

very decadent and total simple.

side note:

i added the nuts to the top so the no-nut people wouldn't flip on me.

recipe here.

another month of successful testing.

can't wait to read what you all did!

and if you did something, 

you should link up with jess, too!

cincerely,

cindy

PinterTest Kitchen: Cincerely gets her craft on

you read that right.
please, sit down and take a few slow, deep breaths.
hell isn't frozen and pigs still can't fly.

but that's right, blog world.
i crafted.
voluntarily.

i found the idea to create your own french memo board on pinterest.
of course, i can't find the link now, but it looked easy and awesome.

i got 4 small cork boards.

5,238 texts to my crafty friends later,

i went with pre-cut fabric

and spray fabric adhesive.

we don't own an ironing board,
so i improvised.

it was easy!
1) spray the adhesive
2) spread on evenly
3) do the same to the back

they're cute, yea?

i opted out of ribbon and buttons;

didn't want to be too ambitious.

not sure how to get them on the wall, though. 

any advice?

thanks for joining me for this unusual 

addition of pintertest kitchen.

linking up with jess

cincerely,

cindy

and that's a wrap!

well folks, 2012 is about to be over.
when i was a kid, adults would tell me time would go by even faster when i grew up.
that's one of the truest statements i've ever heard.

this year has been a good one.
let's review, shall we?

i turned 26, celebrating the last year of my mid-twenties.

i also participated in intensive training weekend at my alma mater, 

watching four hundred staff and students eager to serve the Lord.

i watched hope church spread it's wings

as we sent teams to south sudan

and partnered with hurting people there 

as well as in its neighboring country of sudan,

proclaiming Christ all the way.

i loved getting be a part, however small, of God's work in a post-sandy new jersey, 

and spending some precious time with my friend who returned from 

the field after two years in southeast asia. 

i was able to watch four of my dear sisters get married,

went to a few concerts,

and watched and listened to a bunch of giants games.

oh, did i mention that the giants won the world series?

cause they did.

went to tahoe with my sisters and discovered snowshoeing is one of my favorite things.

went to hawaii with my fam,

hiking in yosemite for the first time i can remember,

and hung out in sunny san diego.

said goodbye to my beloved grandmother 

as she went to be with the Lord

and said goodbye to our sweet puppy.

all dogs go to heaven, right?

baked and tried some new recipes,

read a lot of good books,

listened to some fantastic sermons,

and read some soul piercing and spirit quenching scripture. 

and those are just the highlights!

2012 will definitely go in the books as a fantastic year.

as for 2013,

what will it hold?

i have no clue!

but i know that i'm not making any resolutions, per say.

i simply strive towards what i always want:

to love Jesus more and to know Him more,

all the while serving and loving people.

of course i pray that this year would be the year i get to go overseas,

or that i would actually run that half marathon, 

or have some miraculous attitude transformation 

to be a hard core health nut.

but instead of setting my standards on things,

and things often too lofty,

i will set my gaze on Christ,

trusting in His perfect timing and all-sufficient grace,
praying i would fight through laziness and self-absorption.

^"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

ephesians 3:12-14

cincerely,

cindy

PinterTest Kitchen: December 2012

the last two months, i've shared a recipe having to do with pumpkin.
the holidays are in full swing
and so i still get to blog about pumpkin.
truly, my favorite ingredient.

this month, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
i added them to pinterest just so i could 
share all its glory with the world.
i've been making these cookies for the past two years 
and they never do me wrong.
trust me, you need them.

the cookie dough is just as delicious as the finished product.
i don't add the powdered sugar 
cause i don't want to ruin a good thing.
i've used semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips before. 
if someone uses dark chocolate chips. please report back!

just enjoy with a nice, cool glass of fat free organic milk from TJ's.
you won't regret your decision.
not for one minute.


linked up w/jess here:

cincerely, 

cindy

Pintertest Kitchen: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars

i love having an excuse to try something from pinterest.
and i love that so many popular pins have to do with pumpkin!
summer may be my favorite season, but i sure do love that availability of all things pumpkin during the fall!

last month i tried pumpkin brownies.
a total win.

i wanted to replicate somthing equally as awesome.
so i tried these:
pumpkin cream cheese bars.
low cal, few ingredients, very promising.

except they weren't that great.
they tasted good, but they were kinda crumbly.
i think this may have been my fault.
not enough pre-bake knife-stirring action?
i'm not really sure.

if anyone has any suggestions about what i may have done wrong, 
please feel free to let me know!

can't wait to read about what others have tried!



cincerely,

cindy

linking up with jess here:

PinterTest Kitchen: Sluggard Edition

Sluggard.

such an ugly word.

but the reality is, i'm lazy.

i'm easing myself back into the pintertest world with this no brainer recipe.

pumpkin brownies.
two ingredients.
five if you include the frosting.


 
check it.

 
1) put the brownie mix and pumpkin in a bowl; stir.
2) grease pan and put in the oven for 25min at 350 degrees.
3) in another bowl, cream a stick of butter and 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice together. add 2 cups of powder sugar and mix with electric blender.
4) let brownies cool and then frost.
5) consume with joy.


so easy, right?
pinterest win



linking up with jess here:

ps, this new button is rad!
well done, katy!