Pizza!

Today I would like to discuss a controversial subject.....Pizza Toppings.  Now I know that some people will strongly disagree with this but I'm just going to say it.  I love Pineapple on my pizza.  I know many people hate this...Beezus5, everyone in my family, most other people I know.  But I love it.  I also like pineapple and pepperoni together on one pizza.  I also like pineapple, prosciutto, and blue cheese on a pizza.  My husband is ok with it.  Usually he doesn't care about the pineapple as long as there is some sort of meat on it.  I think he's growing to like it more and more.

I will eat a pineapple-less pizza though.  I also like just pepperoni.  Then there is sausage, pepper, and onions or the Elizabeth's Pizza Special aka pepperoni, sausage, green pepper, mushroom, and cheese.  I have enjoyed a nice BBQ chicken pizza in my time as well and I also like a nice Pizza Margherita. One time I had a pizza with potatoes on it.  It was pretty good.  Essentially the only thing I don't like on pizza is my least favorite food ever...the olive, and then probably also anchovies.  One time I met this girl in college who would only eat mushroom pizza.  She refused to eat a plain cheese pizza or anything with more than mushrooms.  She was weird.

So here are my pizzas I made the other night.

Pizza....
Fresh (whole wheat) Pizza dough from the pizza place in the grocery store
Pizza Sauce (I got canned)
Pepperoni
Canned Pineapple
Mozzarella Cheese

I split the dough in to three pieces to make 3 smaller pizzas.  I put a little flour on it so it's easier to work with and doesn't stick to everything.  I spread out the dough and baked it a few minutes until it was brown before adding the toppings.  Usually I do a layer of cheese, then a layer of toppings then another layer of cheese.  Sometimes I don't.  Then I baked them until the cheese melted.  Pretty good stuff.

Who likes pineapple on their pizza?

What's your favorite topping or combo?

What's the weirdest pizza you've ever had?

Do you ever make your own pizza at home?

My Favorite Chicken Casserole

As a kid I would always say that my favorite food was broccoli. Weird right? Anywho I still like broccoli and I love this Chicken Broccoli Casserole that my mom makes. I don't know if my mom invented it or what but she taught me how to make it and I've been making it for years. It's probably the first meal I made for other people when I was in college. And people always seem to like it. So here is my go-to Chicken Broccoli Casserole with photo instructions. Ok and I don't really usually measure out the ingredients but I tried to this time. But really it depends on the size pan you are using. You can see the size of my pan below. It made about 5 servings or maybe B and I just eat large servings.

Ingredients-
Cooked Chicken Breast (about 2.5 to 3 breasts)
Broccoli (I used one crown from the Grocery store. You can also use maybe 1-2 cups of frozen broccoli depending on how much you like broccoli)

Cream of Chicken Soup (I used 1 and a half cans this time of the healthier kind)

Mayonnaise (I used 3/4 cup this time and I used the light kind)

Lemon

Peppridge Farm Stuffing

Butter or Butter Spray

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook your chicken and shred or chop it up in to small pieces. You can add salt and pepper to this for flavor. You could also use a cooked rotisserie chicken for this and my mom has even used leftover turkey I think. Lay this on the bottom of a pan.

Next cook your broccoli. I just cooked mine in boiling water for about 3 minutes because I don't like it really soft. If you are using frozen broccoli just follow the instructions to cook it. Lay that on top of the chicken.

Squeeze some lemon juice on this but save most of the lemon. Now mix the chicken soup and mayo together and add more lemon juice and some salt and pepper. Then layer this on top of the broccoli and chicken.

Now mix some of the Stuffing with a tablespoon or so of melted butter in a bowl. Then layer that on top of the soup mixture. You can either dot some butter on the top of the casserole or spray it with butter spray which is what I did.

Now cook this for about 30 minutes or until the center is hot and the top is brown. Enjoy!

My mom adds curry powder to the soup/mayo mixture but I usually never have curry powder so I skip that. Sometimes I eat it with cranberry sauce on the side. That might seem weird but I like it.

So do you like broccoli?

Do you have a go to dish that people usually enjoy?

Did my pictures really help you understand exactly how to make this casserole?

The Acorns Get Married-My Favorite Wedding Details

One of my best friends and former post-college roomie got married this past weekend (which you probably already know if you have been reading this blog).  Mrs. Acorn and I lived together after we graduated from college and both ended up moving back to our home town.  I moved back home (with my parents) because I made no life plan for myself while in college and therefore had no job.  Mrs. Acorn would call me every day and force me to update her on what I had done that day to secure myself employment.  After all, I would need a job before we could move out of our parent's homes and live together.  A loooooong 6 months later (no offense Mom and Dad) we found a cute little rental house and Mrs. Acorn, her giant dog Barkley, and I moved in.  It was a time of ups and downs.  I think after college we both had expectations of getting married, making tons of money and being super happy.  Instead we were both working at unexciting low paying jobs and were not having huge successes in the relationship department.  We also got robbed and discovered that killer bees (ok maybe not killer, but giant) had infested one of our walls.  We did have some awesome times though, especially after Beezus5 and Curly J also moved back to the Boro.  Eventually we both decided to move away.  Mrs. Acorn moved to Chapel Hill for grad school and I moved to Maryland to be with my now husband.  After her first year in grad school, Mrs. Acorn started dating Mr. Acorn.  Her whole outlook on life seemed to change for the better and I was super excited when they got engaged last December.

Now, my favorite wedding details.......

The wedding was held at The Hayloft in NC.  This place is really cool.  Mrs. Acorn's Sister-In-Law's family owns the place and restored it a few years back when Sister-In-Law got married to Mrs. Acorn's brother.

Some beautiful bridesmaids (and bride) in their beautiful bridesmaid jewelry standing in front of some hay after drinking some champagne (the bridesmaid jewelry did not ruin the wedding btw)...

Sister-In-Law/Wedding Coordinator made our bouquets and all the other flowers...

The cutest cake topper ever (featuring my old roomie Barkley and his new sister/wife Dixie).  This was custom made by Etsy seller Lynn's Little Creations...

The homemade hot sauce favors made by Sister-In-Laws family.  I took like 6 of these and am excited to try them out....

My favorite/exciting moments included.........

-Right after we hung up the wedding dress it fell off the hook and all the bridesmaids screamed and slammed the door shut so Mrs. Acorn would not know.  (All's well that ends well, right?)

-My shoe fell off right after I walked down the aisle and I had to struggle for about a minute to get it back on.  I could see my husband laughing at me.

-A bee jumped on my head during the scripture reading and I kept myself from screaming.

-The Minister's speech about the bride and groom being best friends.

-Mini Ham Biscuits!

-Mo Young gave my bouquet toss a shout out in her Maid of Honor Speech.

-Curly J, Beezus5, Mo Young, and myself somehow convinced Mr. Acorn to lay across our laps for some whimsical photos.  I really need a copy of this $hanzie!

-The Cake! It was strawberries and cream and quite tasty.  My husband had two pieces after getting approval from the bride

-This photo that I made my Dad take of me and B.  It started as a joke but then my dad seemed game to take the photo so I went with it.  Check out the cool corn fields in the background.

All in all a beautiful, hot, fun day of love!

Pre-Wedding Activities-Nails, Rehearsal, Brunch and the Tale of How Beezus5 and I Saved the Day.

When I found out that Mo Young was coming in to town on Thursday night for Mrs. Acorn's wedding and that Curly J was taking Friday off work to get her nails done and such, I knew that I too would have to take Friday off as I did not want to suffer from the dreaded disorder known as FOMS.  Fear of missing something (or stuff).  Beezus5 taught me that word.  It pretty much involves all of your friends hanging out together while you are somewhere else like work or at a family function.

So the Acorn Wedding Weekend of Fun began for me on Thursday evening when I picked up Mo from the airport.  As I had expected her suitcase was quite large and quite heavy.......

Remember how Mo's husband, J (aka Triangle Head) got us a bunch of free stuff in Vegas?  Sure you do.  Well I wanted to be a good host to him and Mo.  I don't really have access to free hotel rooms and comped dinners and mini bars and such so I decided to just make them a mini bar at my house.....

On Friday, Morgan and I had the most important task of the wedding.  Delivering the wedding dress from the bridal shop to the wedding venue.  Well they kept calling us and saying that it wasn't ready yet.  It was still being steamed so we went ahead and went to Chick-Fil-A to have the new Spicy Chicken Sandwich.  Mo misses Chick-Fil-A since Las Vegas is too sinful of a city for Chick-Fil-A to be associated with.  The spicy chicken sandwich was "quite a treat" just like the dude who rung up our order told us it would be.  We then headed out to meet Mrs. Acorn and Curly J to get our nails done.  Beezus5 had to suffer through FOMS as she was working......

We finally delivered the dress.  The bridal store made us wrap it in a sheet instead of the garment bag.  Not sure why.  It was super wrinkled still.  We were scared.  So we took it to the barn (an old renovated barn where the wedding and rehearsal were held) and hung it up and went back home to get ready for the Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner.  The rehearsal went well and the dinner was great.  It was BBQ from the bride and groom's favorite BBQ joint in Durham.  My favorite was the beef brisket.  The groom baked a cake for dessert.  How cute is that?

We also got our sweet bridesmaid gifts...Monogrammed Vases...

  

After the RD, Mrs. Acorn decided that her wedding dress was important and that it should not be wrinkled on her wedding day.  We all agreed with her and offered to take it to my alteration lady in the morning to have it professionally ironed.  During this time things were getting tense but I knew one day we'd all laugh about it so I took this photo...... 

I then had Beezus5, Mo, and Curly J put my hair up in the bumpit.  I mean Mo Young did spend what I assume is tons of money to buy it for me.  I also assumed it would provide some laughs at the Rehearsal Dinner after-party.  I stayed strong and had only 1 drink.  The boys did not so much.  My favorite part was when they (pretty much B and Mr. J Young) plotted a very specific plan on how to steal the bride's (giant) dog from her mom's house, dress him in a tux and bring him to the wedding because that "would be her dream come true." 

The next morning we had a Bridesmaid Brunch hosted by the Aunts of the bride.  Beezus5 and I decided to take the dress in so Maid Of Honor Mo Young could be with the Bride at the Brunch.  Beezus5 and I got to the alteration place and sat on the curb and waited for it to open.  We pretty much jumped on the lady and told her we had an extreme emergency and asked if she can help us.  She said yes...maybe!  This is the nicest alteration lady I have ever met.  She sort of kicked other people out (in a nice way and without them really knowing they were being kicked out) so she could work on our dress.  Forty-five minutes later we arrived at the brunch with the dress to a heroes welcome.  Mrs. Acorn thought it looked great.  We saved the day.  Plus they waited for us to get there to eat.  The food was awesome and featured cheese grits, shrimp, danishes, quiche, breakfast casserole, fruit.....pretty much every breakfast food you can imagine.  Plus we each got a mini parfait and some mimosas.  A lovely time was had by all....

So we dropped off the dress one last time and Beezus5, Wunka and I headed back to my house to get ready.  I took a power nap and then worked on my hair.  It did not go as well as I hoped but B got us all coffee so that was a bonus....

Then it was off to the wedding.......

Have you ever heard of FOMS?
So is Mo's bag big or do I just pack light?
Do you want to come stay at my house so you can get your own personally tailored mini fridge bucket?
Do you think B5 and I saved the day?
Did you have/witness any wedding dress mishaps?

Best Dad in the Hole World....

I guess I have always liked to make stuff.  Because more and more I am remembering things that I made when I was a kid. 

Lets time warp back to approximately 1989 (could have been between 1988 and 1993 really).  Father's Day was just around the corner and I came up with a brilliant idea for a Father's Day gift.  You see my Dad has always been a fan of golfing.  So I decided to make him a t-shirt that said 'Best Dad in the Hole World'.  But the 'o' in 'hole' would be a golf hole on a golf course.  Genius.  I made this t-shirt using fabric markers.  I drew it right on to the shirt.  It was awesome.  I mean, I literally thought I was super brilliant for coming up with that idea. 

My parents claim that they have it at the house somewhere but have yet to produce it for me.  So I decided to go ahead and do a new updated version for my dad.  I mean the old one was a little tight and tight t-shirts are not so 'in' right now.  At least for Dads. 

It's the 2010's so I decided to use puffy paint instead of fabric markers.  Cause puffy paint T's are totally 'in' right now.  Right?  Aren't all the 'cool' Dads wearing puffy paint t-shirts?

So Happy Father's Day, Dad.  I'll make you an even more updated one in 20 years.

Random story about my Dad.....All my friends refer to my Dad as "Sock" (well not to his face). One time when I was in a taxi a few years back after having a couple drinks I felt the need to tell the cab driver that my dad's name was 'Sock' because 'he invented socks'.  Now while my Dad has worked in the sock industry for many years, he did not actually invent socks.  Still, cool nickname though.  Right?  Also he kind of looks like Bill Clinton.

Me and Sock as he prepared to walk me down the aisle.  I was super freaked out at this point and told him to tell me a story so that I didn't pass out.  I did not pass out.  Wedding photo by Robert Ross.

Bridesmaid Jewelry

So I finally got my big break as a jewelry designer when my friend Ms. Acorn asked me to make bridesmaid jewelry for her wedding this weekend.  I sent her several photos via email and she decided she wanted something pretty simple. 

So I present to you....photos of me modeling the bridesmaid jewelry...

What?  He wanted to be in the picture.

I am also practicing my breathing.  The dress in my size came with normal sized stomach area and giant size boobage area.  So I had to get this taken in.  The alteration lady told me if I was not going to wear straps then she would have to make it tight.  Apparently that meant tight in the area where oxygen flows to my lungs cause I'm having a bit of trouble breathing normally.  I'll work on in though.  I'm also practicing walking around in my new silver heels.

Ok so here's some close ups of the jewelry.  I used some crystal beads, silver beads, and sterling silver ear wires and chains to make these.

So I hope the other Bridesmaids like them or at least pretend to. 

Also in Hair news, I have purchased a new gadget and am practicing with it this week to see if I can make a low loose bun for the wedding.  My backup plan is a hot ponytail.  Has anyone ever used the Goody Simply Style Spin Pin?  I kept seeing commercials on TV so I decided to go ahead and pick one up.

I'm super exciting about the wedding this weekend!  Go Team A-Corn.

Do you think my bridesmaid jewelry is acceptable?

Or do you think the jewelry will ruin the wedding?

Should I take Hobie as my date because we look so good together or should I let B come with me?

Do you like weddings?

Taco + Nacho + Burrito in Casserole Form = The Tachoritorole

I wanted to make some sort of Mexican or Taco casserole but I could not find an exact recipe that I liked, so I decided to wing it.  I ended up using components of Tacos (ground beef, taco seasoning), Nachos (tortilla chips and melted cheese) and Burritos (rice and beans) to make the Tachoritorole (patent pending). Pronunciation Key={Ta(co)+(N)acho+(Bur)rito+(Casse)role}

Tachoritorole

-1 quarter of an onion, diced

-1 pound ground beef

-1 envelope taco seasoning

-taco sauce or salsa
-2 cups instant rice
-1 can black beans
-1 can rotelle (tomatoes with green chilies or just diced tomatoes if you want)
-approx 3 cups shredded cheddar, Mexican blend or pepper jack cheese or a combo
-crumbled tortilla chips
-sour cream
-jalapenos

Ok you might want to read through this all first and make adjustments as I really did make this up as I was going.  We ate this for two dinners but I'd say it makes a good 8 servings.

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Saute the onion in a little olive oil or butter or whatever you have.  Add raw ground beef to this and then add taco seasoning and water according to instructions.  Add some salsa or taco sauce to this to make it saucy but not too saucy.
-Meanwhile, cook the instant rice.  Once rice is cooked, heat up the rice, black beans, and rotelle or tomatoes in a sauce pan.  Add a little salsa or taco sauce to this.
-Now layer the ingredients.  I put some of the rice mixture down on the bottom of the pans (I used two smaller square casserole dishes but this could be made in one big one).  I then sprinkled that with cheese then I added a layer of the beef mixture.  I repeated all this.  At the top I crushed some tortilla chips and then topped them with more cheese.
-I baked this for about 10 minutes or until all the top cheese was melted.
-I served this with sour cream, more taco sauce, and jalapenos.  You can even add the dreaded black olive if you have to.  I'm against that though.

My husband ate like 20 servings of this.  I think it would also be good with shredded chicken instead of ground beef.  If you make two casseroles and plan to save one for the next day, put the tortilla chips and cheese on right before you bake it. 

Which is your favorite; tacos, nachos or burritos?
Do you like Mexican food?
Have you ever make your favorite foods into casserole form?
Are my made up words dumb?

Don't forget to enter my blog-ive-away.  You've got until Thursday!

Making Myself have a Hott Bridesmaid Hairstyle!

This blog is mostly supposed to be about making stuff.  (It is obviously also about tv a lot if you have noticed).  So anyways, does creating a Hot Bridesmaid Hairstyle for myself for my friend's upcoming wedding count as making stuff?  I think it does. 

(getting 150 bobby pins stabbed in to my head circa 2006)

Ms. Acorn sent me an email a few weeks back asking if I would like to have my hair professionally done for her wedding as she is having a hair stylist come out to the venue to do her hair.  After much thought, I decided that I would do my own hair.

Reasons.....

1-I usually hate how my hair looks right after it is professionally done.  I got my hair done for my senior prom, came home, took it all down, and re-did it.

2-My hair is realllly thick which means when I get an up-do they have to put over 100 bobby pins in my hair.  How do I know that it's this many?  I have counted them upon removal.  Plus after about an hour, my head is not feeling so great.

3-Hairspray Asthma.  I actually had to go to the doctor one time after I had my hair done when I was a bridesmaid to get an inhaler b/c I got hairspray induced asthma from being in a closed up room with ridiculous amounts of hairspray for a long period of time.

4-Chance of accidentally getting the Beehive.  When Ms. Acorn got her hair done for Mo Young's wedding it pretty much ended up being a beehive style.  It actually looked pretty good in photos but we have made fun of her for years for wearing a beehive to Mo's wedding.

5-Dolla Dolla Bills Yo-From my past experience as a professional bridesmaid, getting your hair done can cost anywhere between $50 and $100.  I will save that money to buy more craft supplies.

So anyways, why am I writing this blog now?  Well I was hoping to get some suggestions or pictures of easy bridesmaid hairstyles that I can give myself.  I think maybe I should pull my hair up because it's going to be super hot that day but I'm open to ideas.  I have a hair straightener, a curling iron, some headbands, a bunch of bobby pins and rubber bands, and a hair brush.  My hair is thick and a little past my shoulders. 

And just for fun here is a picture of me with my best youth hairstyle ever...the short haired perm.  Geez mom.  No wonder I was never the coolest girl in school.

Hair ideas?  Do you like getting your hair done?  What's your favorite style?  Do you like my koosh ball earrings?

Mini Greek Pita Pizzas

I had some hummus left over from the wine fest/picnic that I went to this weekend so I decided to make something Greek/Mediterranean themed out of it. I like the idea of combining cultures to make a new dish. Instead of having a traditional Italian themed pizza with mozzarella and tomatoes I made Greek Pizza with Hummus, Feta, and Greek Salad on it.

I saw these mini pita pockets and the grocery store and knew I had to try them. I love mini stuff.

Mini Greek Pita Pizza's
Mini Pitas or Regular Sized Pitas
Olive Oil
Pre-made Hummus (or you can make your own)
Lettuce-of your choice (I used baby romaine leaves)
Tomato
Cucumber
Red Onion
Feta Cheese

-Split pitas in half and drizzle a little olive oil on them. Toast them at 400 degree F for about 10 minutes. Just watch them to make sure they don't burn.
-Let them cool for a couple minutes and then top them with hummus. I had five pepper fire roasted hummus. It was really good. Also spicy.
-Make a Greek salad with the lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion and feta cheese. You can add those Greek Olives if you have to or any other vegetable you want.
-Toss salad with your choice of Greek Dressing. I used Girard's Greek Feta Dressing.
-Top Toasted Pita's with some Greek Salad.
-Enjoy!

Do you like Greek Food?
What is your favorite non-traditional Pizza?