52 Pins in 52 Weeks - September Edition

I love Pinterest.  I love pinning recipes from my favorite food blogs or scrolling down the Everything section to see what everyone else has been pinning.  I love the idea of all the crafts and recipes and everything else right there at my fingertips.

Right now I have around 10,000 pins in 60 boards.  I do use Pinterest a pretty good bit but tend to stick to the boards regarding Dinner and let other delicious looking recipes or fun crafts languish unused and ignored.  This year I'm trying to get more use out of Pinterest so at the beginning of the year I created my 52 Pins in 52 Weeks Board as well as a Results Board to keep track of it.  I'll be posting my results the last Saturday of each month.

This week went find though I'm not feeling too enthused.  I'm really excited for the Halloween treats I have coming up next month!  I've had them on my board for far too long.

Week 36:

Pin: Ice Cream Sandwiches and Other Valentine's Day Treats from The Idea Room

Reason Picked:  Honestly, I didn't know what the pin was and thought it was a chocolate chip cookie sandwich with frosting.

Basic Idea:  Make your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and then take two cookies and put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle and roll in holiday colored (which ever holiday you're in the mood for) sprinkles and have yummy deliciousness.

The Results: Ice cream sandwiches are just ridiculously good!  I forgot how good they are.   I used the Cook's Illustrated Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe (which you can find here) though I used 1 cup of chocolate chips instead of a cup and a half like the recipe calls for.  I also pulled out a little contraption that's been lounging around forgotten in my gadget drawer - an ice cream sandwich maker I got from Williams Sonomoa.  It's super easy to use and actually really works.  You put a cookie at the bottom, then your ice cream, then the 2nd cookie and put the top on and squeeze and a perfect ice cream sandwich pops out.  You could do all kinds of flavors and different combinations.   I'll definitely be making these again - though maybe a peanut butter cookie and chocolate ice cream or a sugar cookie with some kind of fruity ice cream.  While this isn't exactly the point of the pin it did get me thinking and ice cream sandwiches will be on the menu much more frequently now!

Week 37:

Pin: Beef Rissoles with Grilled Potatoes from Curtis Stone on The Chew

Reason Picked:  I watched Curtis Stone make these on The Chew and it looked so good but somehow I kept passing it by.

Basic Idea: A larger meatball with onions and bacon mixed in and cooked on the grill along with a vinegar based potato salad (which aren't grilled in anyway shape or form that I saw) and salad greens tossed in a light vinaigrette.

The Results: Mixed.  The potato salad which isn't grilled was super good but I found the Rissoles themselves lacking in flavor.  I'll probably make the potato salad again but not the Rissoles.  They weren't bad but just not worth going back for.

Week 38:

Pin:  Online Cooking Lessons from Kathleen Flinn

Reason Picked:  I've always wanted to try cooking lessons and this seemed like an easy way to do it.

Basic Idea:  Basically taking a cooking class but in my own kitchen which is way more comfortable!

The Results:  The original pin linked to an offer that has long since disappeared.  However, Flinn has a number of tutorials that seem to be around 10 minutes where she really walks you how to do things.  I watched one about cutting an onion and knife skills and really felt like i learned a few techniques.  I'm definitely looking forward to trying more even if it wasn't what I was originally going for.

Week 39:

Pin:  Easy DIY wall art from a pin that links back to Better Homes and Garden but the actual pin doesn't exist anymore.

Reason Picked:  I'm not artistic and this looked simple enough that even I could manage it.

Basic Idea:  Get a canvas and paint the entire canvas.  After it dries use painter's tape to make some kind of pattern and paint another color on top.  Remove painter's tape for clean lines.

The Results:  You're not getting a picture because I didn't end up finishing this because once I started I realized it really just wasn't me.  However, I did experiment enough to verify that it does work and would be a really fun project and look good if done by the right person.  I do recommend using spray paint over acrylic or anything else just because spray paint finishes so much smoother.

I'm linking up with Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads