Pinterest Test # 2: Baked Chicken Taquitos

Baked Chicken Taquitos
I made these for dinner last night after seeing rave reviews on Pinterest.  These came out amazing, and they were so easy to make!
I pretty much followed the recipe exactly, except for the garlic.  I used about 2 teaspoons of garlic powder instead of the fresh garlic it called for, and 4oz of cream cheese instead of 3oz. After baking for 20 minutes at 425F they came out prefect.  Brown on the edges and very crispy!  They were also very flavorful and they tasted great dipped with salsa.  I would probably add a little more cheese next time, even though it calls for 1 cup.  But I really love cheese, so that's why I would have liked a little more.  Overall, these came out so good!  It's quick and easy for a weeknight meal.  Definitely something I would remake!

Pinterest Test #1: Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
I found this recipe on Pinterest through a friends post, and I knew I had to make it right away.  We bought a bag of whole wheat flour and had been looking for recopies to make with it (other than muffins).  After looking through all the reviews, I decided to give it a try the other night.  I think most people are really intimidated by making bread, but this recipe was so easy!  It really helps that there are step-by-step directions with pictures on the site. 

I pretty much followed the recipe exactly, but instead of using a stand-mixer I did it by hand.  I think it might have been easier to mix the dough with a stand-mixer, but it's not impossible by hand.  It just requires a little more work.  The directions say to mix until it doesn't stick to your fingers, but even after adding a little more flour, it was still sticky.  So we just covered it and let it rest.  After the hour, it wasn't as sticky and it was easy to form the dough into rolls. The recipe also calls for 2T of yeast, but I used just under 2T, because after opening 2 packets of yeast, it still didn't equal that amount.

Al together it took about 2 1/2 hours or so, most of the time the dough it rising.  The wait time is definitely worth it, because these taste amazing!!  I brushed the tops with butter like the blog recommended, and I think they turned out great.  They are light and fluffy, and slightly sweet because of the honey in them.  We got 24 rolls out of this batch and had a lot of leftovers.  They keep really well in an airtight container.  We just reheat them in the microwave and it tastes just as good.
I highly recommend trying this!  Really easy to make, and it tastes amazing!  I think I will make this for thanksgiving this year.  Great find on Pinterest! 

September Update: In Photos

Avington Coffee Table from Target

Our brand new Avington coffee table from Target!  Bought after a crazy drive, getting lost in Kapolei one night.  We actually intended to get a coffee table over a year ago, after we moved into our new place, so it was was about time.  It was really easy to assemble, and great quality.  It was about $140, but it's very nice and made from real wood. 

 One day a couple of months back, I saw a puzzle while shopping at Barnes and Nobel.  It was a scene from a town in Cinque Terre, Italy, and it immediately brought me back to last spring when we were there.  Although I've never done a 2000 piece puzzle before, I knew I had to buy it. Another reason we bought the coffee table was so we could do the puzzle on it, but as you can see, the puzzle is clearly too big, so we had to move it to the floor. 

 The above picture is after our first night of working on the puzzle.  It took about 4 1/2 hours to get this far. 

And this is the most recent shot, from a couple days ago.  It's been about 2 weeks since we've been working on it, and I've lost count of how many hours we've put into it.  We are planning to frame it after it's done, but I think that in itself will be a big challenge. 

Awesome lemon raspberry muffins!!  Made from a recipe I found on Pinterest made with whole wheat flour: http://www.faithfitnessfun.com/8420/healthy-muffin-recipe/
I'm thinking about doing a few blog posts reviewing recipes I've tried on Pinterest.  I've tried several others that have come out amazing, and they've become staple dinners in our house :)

Kainoa getting ready for a trip to the store!  We took him out to Petco last week.  I don't know if he enjoyed it too much, because he seemed more scared than anything, but he definitely enjoyed the car ride!

As far as wedding planning goes, we met with our florist last week.  We had a consultation with her, and hopefully will get an estimate by the end of the week.  We had out engagement photos done yesterday!  We had our engagement session at Hawaii Loa Ridge, and it was so much fun!  Our photographer Shannon Sasaki was amazing!  Even though we were both nervous at first, she was super easy to work with and so much fun!  We had a great time and I can't wait to see the pictures!
Work has been crazy lately.  I finished my training, and have been on my own for the past week.  Even though it's been super busy and stressful, I do like my job, and I'm learning a lot. 
Hope everyone is doing well!  Sorry for the lack of posts...my life lately has consisted of work and puzzle time.  Btw isn't it crazy that it's almost October??  I can't believe how fast this year is going!

Wholegrain Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins!

So I was browsing through Youtube videos the other night when I stumbled upon this recipe.  I love raspberry and chocolate so I just had to try these.  Plus, they're made with whole-wheat flour and flax seed so they're healthy too!  I saw this video on RachhFit (who also does some awesome beauty videos as well!) and I had most of the ingredients on hand.  The only thing that was hard to find was the oat bran, which I was only able to get at Whole Foods in Kahala.  These came out great!  They're really delicious, and the whole batch made about 24 muffins.  These would make a quick breakfast or a good healthy snack. 
I got the recipe from her blog which also includes nutritional facts.  She has a lot of other healthy recipe ideas there too, so definitely check it out!