We found this piece of genius on Pinterest and the recipe came from here.

Guess who’s baaaaack? We’ve been total lazy a$$hats lately, so I’m going to stop guilt-tripping myself and just jump right in to a statement of how much I love my slow cooker now that I have this new full-time job and I can’t seem to find any free time for anything. So, when I saw this easy peasy looking recipe online that also provided one of the yummiest warm sandwiches out there, I just had to give it a try!

Pandora Station for the day is still the lovely Louis Armstrong.

Step 1: You’re supposed to spray your slow cooker with non stick spray and turn the heat to low. But, since I hate those kinds of sprays, I just ended up oiling mine up with some olive oil.

Step 2: Follow that with some butter and sliced onions.

Step 3: And green peppers.

Now if you’re like me and have never heard of or seen Dale’s Steak Seasoning in real life you would assume it’s a spice, correct?

Well, I certainly did and I spent seriously way too long in the spice isle of my grocery store to no avail. I finally ended up buying some McCormick rub instead and hoped for the best. But, of course, when I came home I decided to look this crap up just to realize it is a SAUCE! SO, save yourself some time and don’t go looking for a SEASONING that is actually a SAUCE/MARINADE and take a good hard look at what you’re supposed to look for. I was also pretty unhappy about the fact that it only came in this gigantic bottle, so this was the smallest quantity of this I was able to buy.

Step 4: So, now that we’ve cleared that up, chop up the chicken and season it with salt.

Step 5: And pepper.

Step 6: Toss the chicken in, let’s face it, Dale’s steak SAUCE.

Step 7: And add to the slow cooker.

Step 8: I added some sliced mushrooms too, cause you can’t really have Philly cheese without mushrooms.

Step 9: Cover the crock pot and let it sit for 5 hours on low.

About 5 hours later you should be looking at something like this.

The mushrooms look so delicious, don’t they!?

I did a little mix-a-roo just to make sure everything is nice and cooked.

Everything was cooked perfectly and there was a lot of sauciness going on too, which, based on the comments from where this recipe was originally pinned from, was totally expected.

Step 10: Slice up some hoagies.

Step 11: Melt some butter in a shallow pan.

Step 12: Give those bad boys some buttered toasting.

Step 13: Top that mofo with some sliced mozzarella cheese.

And let the melting begin.

If you wanna be a total piggy like me, slather some mayo on the bread slices.

And your Philly is ready to eat!

Ready for a bite?

Review

The ingredients: Other than the sauce/marinade disguised as a “seasoning,” the ingredients for this recipe are as straightforwards as can be. I mean, does it get any easier than chicken, onions, green peppers, and mushrooms? If you didn’t notice my tirade from earlier, Dales steak seasoning is actually a sauce not a dry seasoning like I thought. I was not aware of this fact, so I spent more time than I’m willing to admit in the spices isle of my local grocery store.

The recipe: The directions are also unbelievably simple and easy to follow. Chop everything away and dump into a slow cooker. Wait a coupe of hours and voila, you have home-made chicken Philly sandwiches. This one is a perfect solution for those lazy Saturday evenings when you want to put something delicious on the table without having to go through too much trouble preparing dinner. How amazing are slow cookers?

The flavor: This tasted pretty dead on. I thought that the chicken was a little dry (even though there was more than enough sauce in the slow cooker from all the vegetables juices), but otherwise it was just like a chicken philly you would order in a chain bar/restaurant.

Issues: The only issue I had was my unfortunate experience trying to hunt down the darn seasoning, but at this point I think I may just be blowing this out of proportion…especially if you were aware of the consistency of said seasoning.

Comments: Although the recipe doesn’t originally come with mushrooms, I would strongly suggest adding them, and not only because I have an addiction to mushrooms in my food.

Final Verdict: This recipe’s yum factor is a definite 8.5  out 10. With a few adjustments, it is a definite quick, easy dinner solution.

Another awesome Pinterest find. Get the recipe here.

So, I have to fess up…figuring out where to get free time to write posts while adjusting to a new full-time job has proved to be a little more challenging than I originally thought. Additionally, loosing access to a computer which I can use to edit and watermark our images has also put a damper on a few things. I’m hoping to get the computer issue sorted out soon, but I’m still working on figuring out the time thing. Turns out being an adult kind of sucks and hobbies have to be planned out now.

Either way, I want to take this opportunity to apologize for being a total slacker and ease back in with a Pinterest find that comes with absolutely amazing step-by-step instructions with fantastic images, so this post will not feature our usual format. Instead, I’ll show you what I ended up with and give you a detailed review since there definitely were a few hiccups that I really think you should note before making this otherwise delicious home-made Thai delicacy.

So let’s begin…or is it end since there wasn’t really a beginning?

So, I figured I’m just going to show you what my plate ended up looking like once I was done and you’ll note that it looks almost identical to the original recipe’s awesome pics.

Another view?

And another?

You’ve probably noticed that, unlike the original post, I included chicken in mine, but more on that in the review.

Ready for a taste?

Review

The ingredients: Even though this is a Thai recipe (and those usually taste much better if you use authentic ingredients), stuff you need for this piece of deliciousness is pretty common and straightforward. Depending on your supermarket, you really shouldn’t have any issues finding some of the trickier ingredients, like rice noodles, soy sauce or Sriracha. If your supermarket doesn’t have an ethnic food isle, you can find the rice noodles and Sriracha on Amazon.

The recipe: The directions are easy, peasy, and in this case lime squeezy! It also helps that the original recipe comes with glorious images and detailed step-by-step instructions. The ONLY problem I came across in making this was that soaking the noodles didn’t yield desired results. The noodles were most definitely NOT soft, fluffy and gorgeous like they turned out in the original pin’s pics and I’ll explain more in the Issues section.

The flavor: This tasted absolutely awesome, for a Thai recipe prepared at home. I don’t know if I would say it was Thai restaurant quality, but most definitely totally awesome for those nights you’re in the mood but don’t feel like ordering in. I mean, pad thai is the cheeseburger of Thai food, the California Roll of otherwise exquisitely complex flavored yet simple cuisine. So, if you’ve never eaten Thai food before, this is the intro meal that you will most likely have to open your pallet to this fantastic world. And for as simple and easy it was to prepare, it is most definitely a winner!

Issues: The ONLY actual problem I had with preparing this one was that, even though I followed the instructions on the box, and then the cooking instructions afterwards, my noodles remained rubbery and totally skipped the step where they were supposed to soften up once tossed in the pan and joined with the OMG delicious sauce. I even followed the suggestions from the original post and doubled my sauce (cause I’m one of those people who likes extra sauce on everything), so I thought that would have helped even more with the softening process due to the extra moisture in the pan. But NOPE! The noodles remained in that not fully cooked yet stage even after I gave them a few extra minutes in the pan.

According to the original post, a lot of people had the same issue I had.Thankfully, I bought a 16 oz box of rice noodles, so I have enough ammo to give this another go. So, according to the blog’s suggestion, next time I make this I will try to boil the noodles instead of soaking them, in hopes of not breaking my jaw while trying to chew this otherwise absolutely delicious piece of Thai yumminess.

Comments: So, other than the rubbery situation my noodles were left in, the only other change I made was the suggested addition of chicken. I baked a chicken breast in the oven at 350, tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper. Once baked, I sliced it up and tossed on top of the noodles. This is totally not a necessary step and the pad thai would have tasted fine without it, but I just needed something else in there. Another option is frying up some tofu or adding a few roasted shrimp.

Final Verdict: This recipe’s yum factor is a definite 8.5 or even 9/10. However, the cooking part was a little more troublesome, so I will refrain from grading it based on my noodle issue until I go back and try the boiling method.

Have you made this one before? Did you encounter the same issue?

We’ve been seeing this paleo stuff all over Pinterest, so we finally decided to give it a try. You can thank this pin for this brilliant piece of deliciousness. The recipe came from here.

So, the latest (I don’t really think I can call it a fad, since it’s a take on what our Stone-Age ancestors had access to over 2.5 million years ago…so they’ve kind of done it before it was cool) diet is a modern rendition of the Paleolithic Diet. Apparently, this modern version of what is assumed was an ancient nutritional plan shies away from the commodities brought by modern agriculture. According to Wikipedia this “diet consists mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, eggs, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, potatoes, refined salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.” Although the anthropological data isn’t necessarily backing this hunter-gatherer’s nutrition lifestyle, the world of Pinterest is definitely in tune, cause there is a crazy amount of paleo recipes available.

To be honest, I’m not entirely sold on the concept, but this particular recipe just looked so delicious to me that I decided to give it a shot anyway! Now, I must add that I totally cheated and used regular goat cheese (mainly because I couldn’t find raw goat cheese). Furthermore, if we were going to be all nitpicky, anything canned should be out of the question (due to the overprocessed nature of stuff that goes into most canned foods), but we’re not here to question the diet, just check out the recipe…so we continue.

Pandora Station for the day is the ever fantastical Louis Armstrong.

Step 1: Chop up some vegetables. Now, I realized too late that I probably should have left the yellow squash and the zucchini in big circles as opposed to quarters, but it is what it is.

Step 2: Heat some olive oil and saute onions on medium high for 3-5 minutes.

Step 3: Add the ground turkey.

I had it brown a little before adding the rest.

Step 4: Add the diced tomatoes.

Step 5: Tomato paste (not the whole thing…read the recipe).

Step 6: You’re supposed to add Italian Spice blend, but I can’t find the picture of it, so just imagine. I also added some cayenne pepper, because I’m obsessed like that.

Step 7: Some salt.

Step 8: And pepper.

Step 9: And finally, crushed garlic. I’m not really sure what that means so I took some garlic and smashed it around a little.

Step 10: Cook until turkey is done and set aside.

Step 11: In a medium bowl combine the egg (which I decided to whisk before adding the rest).

Step 12: The goat cheese. Again, this is supposed to be raw goat cheese but I used my usual suspect – the garlic and herb goat cheese.

Step 13: And the Greek yogurt (YUM)!

I gave it all a whisk.

Step 14: And finally add the broccoli.

Step 15: Preheat oven to 375.

Step 16: Lightly grease a baking dish.

Step 17: This is the step where I realized I should have left these as medallions. Either way, just randomly throw down some squash and zucchini to make a bottom layer.

Step 18: Follow that with a layer of the meat sauce.

Step 19: Top that with a layer of the broccoli sauce.

Step 20: Follow that with another layer of zucchini and squash.

Step 21: Top with more of the meat sauce.

Step 22: And top off with the layer of the broccoli sauce.

Because of the size of my dish I ended up with just two layers of goodies. But, don’t worry, it was more than enough flavor about to rock my world.

Step 23: You’re supposed to top this with shredded goat cheese, which I also couldn’t find in my grocery store, so I cheated and went with shredded mozzarella.

Step 23: Bake for 45-60 minutes.

And voila! Your paleo lasagna is ready!

Here’s another view.

And a bit of a closeup…in case you’re not sold on this yet.

Step 25: Once you’ve let it chill for about 10 minutes, your dinner is ready to serve!

Keep in mind, it will be VERY juicy, but don’t concern yourself – it is a good thing. Just let it happen.

Are we ready for this?

Again, don’t be alarmed by the extreme amounts of sauce. If I could eat the sauce alone as a soup I would. It is SO SO good…and will make this already sinfully delicious smelling thing taste so much better.

Do we need another closeup?

I’m just torturing you now, aren’t I?

Luckily for you, I’m a benevolent dictator, so we’re now ready to taste.

Review

The ingredients: This recipe’s ingredient list is pretty straightforward. In terms of ingredient availability, things can get a little tricky if you’re trying to stay within the no processed foods parameters. I mean, finding raw goat cheese, shredded goat cheese, or cashew or walnut cheese are really not something your variety supermarket may have readily available. However, I totally cheated and used my tried and true friend garlic herb regular goat cheese and good ole shredded mozzarella for the top. Otherwise, this is a pretty simple recipe to put together.

The recipe: The directions are very straightforward as well, and shouldn’t be too difficult to follow. One thing I should have realized, and it really isn’t a big deal…it would have just made assembling this “lasagna” a lot easier, was that cutting the squash/zucchini into medallions as opposed to in quarter slices was probably a better idea. But, it worked out either way. The recipe does come with some images of the final assembly line, but if you need more detail, follow 2girlsandapin as we prepared this deconstructed approach to staple comfort foods (mac’n’cheese and hot wings) since we like to take pictures of every minuscule detail!

The flavor: This tasted unbelievable! It was SO yummy, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! I mean, is it really a lasagna…no, not really. To me, this was more of a vegetable medley moussaka than anything else. But whatever you wanna call it, it was absolutely wonderful! The veggies were cooked to perfection, the broccoli Greek yogurt and goat cheese sauce was absolutely delightful, and it all came together in a perfect harmony that turns out is not as bad for you as the traditional stuff. I ended up adding some cayenne pepper to my seasons mix (cause my name is Jelena and I have a cayenne problem), so it gave the meat that spicy sausage-y flavor, which is never a bad thing.

Also, note that because we’re using pretty juicy vegetables, your paelo lasagna will come up pretty saucy. The sauce is pretty soupy and clear, so don’t be alarmed. To be honest, I would totally just have the sauce on its own as a soup, cause it was that delicious. Furthermore, this dish reheats really well, and that extra moisture is just what the microwave gods had in mind when they decided to create this mystical machine that reheats food instantly.

Issues: I didn’t have any issues preparing this recipe other than the fact that I had to improvise with a few of the ingredients. I know that by using regular goat cheese and traditional shredded mozzarella cheese I kind of voided the whole paleo aspect of this recipe, but just the fact that we used CANNED diced tomatoes and tomato paste tells me that this recipe wasn’t all that concerned with sticking to the strict rules of no processed foods to begin with.

Comments: I’m sure this one probably lends itself to some serious creativity in terms of all the different kinds of vegetables you could use. Like I said, this really just reminded me of moussaka, which (at least in my culture) is prepared with eggplant, which I really thing would work wonderfully in this equation. Also, you can totally rock some cauliflower (which I hate, so you’ll never see me cook with), sweet potatoes, or just regular potatoes for the potato moussaka (even though that is a big no-no in paleo diet’s rules).

Final Verdict: This recipe’s yum factor is a resounding 10/10. I will DEFINITELY be making this again and is most certainly going into my repertoire of quick, easy, healthy dinners. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Original pin from Cooking Light magazine can be found here. And the recipe with an ingredient list here.

Let me start off by saying that though the picture doesn’t look remotely like what’s on the Cooking Light Magazine’s website, the recipe has passed the most scrupulous test. And that, ladies and gents is the test of taste buds in my husband’s mouth. He is the PICKIEST person when it comes to chicken. All I hear is “I love you but not this chicken, it’s too [dry, bland, healthy, etc]” If it were up to him, we would eat chicken thighs and drumsticks cooked in buttery goodness covered in breadcrumbs and fried. But it’s not up to him, it’s up to me and my blood pressure. So to keep it low, I have been searching everywhere for a good comprise. Something that would provide juicy and interesting for him, and healthy and low cal for me. This recipe has accomplished both. So I decided to give a try. Here we go!

Gather all the ingredients and a slow cooker.

My slow cooker was a bit dusty. I haven’t used it since we moved. I knew it was time to pull it out and exercise its little cooking muscles. Since I have such a picky eater on my hands, I cut the recipe in half. There was enough chicken for me for a week in case he didn’t like it. Though I kept the veggie amount because I love veggies and can never have too much.

Step 1: Remove skin off the chicken.

I also removed the bone from the chicken. I use the bone and skin to make chicken soup for my dog. Of course I don’t give her the bones, I just use it for some taste. I fill it up with rice and veggies. She is so easily fooled!

Step 2: Put it in the slow cooker and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Let it chill in the slow cooker while you work on everything else.

Let’s get started with the veggies.

I am not a big fan of fennel but I decided to give it a try this time around. The recipe calls for cored bulb cut into wedges. In case you are not sure how to do it, I am going to walk you through step by step. And if you know how it’s done, go ahead skip it.

Fennel – Step 1: Cut off the stems the closest to the bulb.

Fennel – Step 2: Rinse it off. Cut off the butt and pull off the top layers off.

Fennel – Step 3: Cut it along the length. Open it up and cut out the core. I usually go side to side, then bottom.

Fennel – Step 4: Put it back together and slide each half one more time.

Fennel – Step 5: Cut across and your wedges are ready.

Pepper – Step 1: Cut the pepper length wise into four wedges.

Pepper – Step 2: Open up the pepper from the bottom.

Pepper – Step 3: Pull the wedge out along the seed coat.

If you can’t cleanly pull the wedge off the core, try making a small cut before pulling it off. It will act as a guide for the tear.

Pepper – Step 4: Clean off the inside.

Pepper – Step 5: Cut the large wedge into two or three smaller wedges.

Step 3: Cut the onion into medium size wedges.

Sit your veggies aside. And return to the chicken in the slow cooker.

Step 4: Add cannellini beans to the chicken.

I just recently discovered a can strainer. What a magical thing! I’ve been trying to add more beans to my diet to help with the fiber intake but I absolutely hate rinsing and draining cans. But one faithful morning, I was shopping with a friend when I suddenly discovered this can strainer. Since it was so cheap, I decided to give it a shot. And guess what, it’s awesome! It makes draining cans of beans so much easier. I haven’t tried it on anything else just yet.

Step 5: Add the veggies.

Step 6: Measure out your spices.

And add them on top of the veggies and the chicken.

Step 7: Combine diced tomates and chicken broth

Step 8: Add the tomato paste. And mix well.

Step 9: Add the tomato mix to the slow cooker.

Close the cooker and set the time. Lay back and enjoy the rest of the day.

I served the dish over pasta.

Review

I would give this dish a 7/10. Certainly not a dish to cook if you are trying to impress someone with a dish and presentation. Otherwise it’s fit for any occasion. Easy to make so you can prepare it early in the morning before heading out and it will be ready by the time you get home.

The picky husbster was impressed with how tender the meat was, but it’s usually the case with a slow cooked meals. I personally am not a fan of too tomato sauce-y taste. This wasn’t as bad as I expected, judging by the amount of tomato based ingredients that went into it. Though, to be honest with you, I am a huge fan of bloody marry, go figure.

Have you tried this recipe or any others we tested? If so, share your results and opinions with us.

This brilliantly simple, yet absolutely delicious piece of Pinterest gold came from Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour (awesome blog alert!).

Hey, guess who’s back!? Long time no read! Yeah, yeah I know I have failed you all miserably and you must have missed my ridiculously tempting Pinterest finds, but I promise I have a great excuse for the disappearing act – I got a brand spankin’ new job!! I am now a Marketing Specialist for a small consulting firm close to where I live and I’m super duper excited about this new opportunity!

But, as you can only imagine, leaving the previous job I was at left me insanely busy in the weeks leading to my last day because I wanted to make sure I left them nice and taken care of until they find a suitable replacement (as if that is possible ). And then the first week at the new job was filled with getting to know everyone, learning about the company, countless hours of orientations and training and other super exciting things, so unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to cook much.

But, I am getting a handle on my new schedule and I’m working on figuring out how to make time for hanging out with you guys AND cooking up some serious storms, so hopefully there will be no more extended periods of time without a food post from 2girlsandapin on your news feeds.

Now, let’s get down to bidnis!

Pandora Station for the day – the Foo Fighters Radio. Can I just say, this station was a last-minute creation and has turned into one of my favorites (still not even close to my Bloc Party station, which will hold the torch for the most listened to station on my Pandora for all eternity, but great nonetheless) so it was on rotation for this post too!

Step 1: First, we got to cook the chicken. I only had these two breasteses, but they totaled to about a pound, so I think it worked out.

Step 2: The recipe doesn’t specify, but I just went with a little olive oil.

Step 3: Some salt.

Step 4: And peppa. I cooked mine for 35 minutes on 350.

Now, if you don’t feel like cooking these chicken breasts from scratch, I’m sure precooked chicken will be fine to. Just make sure to have roughly the quantity the recipe calls for.

Step 5: Don’t have a picture for ya, but don’t forget to cook the pasta. That step is actually the one that will take almost as long as it will take the chicken and sauce to cook. So, what I ended up doing was popping a pot of water on as soon as I started working on the chicken.

Step 6: In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter.

Step 7: Once the butter is nicely melted and bubbly, add the flour.

Step 8: Whisk together until the flour completely disappears and the mixture gets a nice brownish color.

Step 9: Turn the heat to low and add milk.

Step 10: Whisk until the sauce thickens. However, you won’t be looking at an incredibly thick roux, so don’t get alarmed if it doesn’t get very thick.

Step 11: Add the monterrey jack cheese.

Step 12: And the cheddar.

Step 12: Once the cheeses are melted and smooth, add the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce or whatever wing sauce you prefer.

Step 13: Mix well.

Step 14: You can add some salt if you wish.

Step 15: And pepper.

Step 16: Pasta should be ready by now.

I decided to combine everything in a bowl before loading up the baking dish.

Step 17: So, mix the pasta and the buffalo and cheese sauce.

Step 18: Add the chicken (which we cut up into chunks once it was done cooking).

Step 19: Once it’s all mixed well, pour into a lightly greased baking dish and cover with Panko bread crumbs.

Step 20: And top with remaining cheese.

Step 21: Bake for 25 minutes on 375 or however long it takes for the cheese to melt and create that perfect crispy brown crust.

And Voila! Your Buffalo Chicken Mac’n'Cheese is ready to be served!

You can top this deliciousness with a little more hot sauce.

And it should be ready to serve. You can drizzle some ranch or blue cheese dressing on top for the more authentic hot wings feel.

Ready for a taste?

Review

The ingredients: This recipe’s ingredient list is super convenient and straightforward. In terms of ingredient availability, everything that was used today you probably either already have in your fridge/pantry or you can easily find in your local supermarket. I ended up using Frank’s Red Hot wing sauce, but I mixed the original recipe with a little bit of their buffalo wings one, so it was a nice little amalgam of deliciousness. If you have a favorite sauce, feel free to experiment!

The recipe: The recipe is listed below several images of the preparation process for this dish. The instructions are separated by chunks but not very clearly delineated, so if you lose your place at any point it may be a little tricky to find where you were in the recipe. However, this is truly a minor detail in an otherwise simple and straightforward recipe. If you need more detail, follow 2girlsandapin as we prepared this deconstructed approach to staple comfort foods (mac’n'cheese and hot wings) since we like to take pictures of every minuscule detail!

The flavor: The taste of this smart and easy casserole was really very good. It didn’t have any bells and whistles about it. It tastes exactly what you would think a buffalo chicken mac’n'cheese would taste like. Simple, savory, delicious and a great way to kick some common comfort food into gear. It doesn’t hurt that the recipe is easy to follow and comes together rather quickly.

Issues: I didn’t have any issues preparing this recipe. It really was super easy and uncomplicated. It uses simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen and comes up with a great busy weeknight meal.

Comments: I’m sure this one probably lends itself to some serious creativity in terms of type of cheeses to include in the cheese sauce, the type of hot sauce to bring the kick, or even the meat of choice. I can also see some vegetables doing really well in this mix.

Final Verdict: This recipe is a solid 9/10. It is a familiar approach to staple comfort foods. Is it the most inventive and innovative thing I’ve tasted? Not at all. Is it delicious and easy to fix for an easy dinner? Absolutely!

This pin originally came from here.

We actually caught this recipe on the tail end of St. Patrick’s day Pinteresting, but the more we thought about it, the more it seemed like it was going to be turning into an Easter meal. Either way, it looked REALLY delicious on the original pin’s image, so we gave it a shot.

You’ll also notice that we made some more changes to our images – we have a new 2girlsandapin marker! How do you like?

Let’s dig in!

First up, the Pandora Station for the day. I don’t know why, but it was an ABBA day.

Next, let’s work on that rub.

Step 1: Add the packed brown sugar (this means you just need to tap the sugar until it’s tightly compressed so you get most out of it).

Step 2: Add some chili powder.

Step 3: Next is some salt.

Step 4: Followed by some crushed red pepper.

Step 5: And lastly some black pepper.

Step 6: Give it all a whisk.

Step 7: And rub into the chicken thighs.

I usually just use my hands to do the rubbing (no pun intended), but I guess if you’re grossed out by touching raw meat you can use a meat brush.

However the best way to ensure both the top and the bottom of the chicken thighs are well seasoned is to get your fingers dirty (there really isn’t a non-sexual way to talk about this, trust me…I’ve been sitting here for 5 minutes trying to think of it. My mind must be in a bad gutter!)

Let the chicken sit in the rub for 10 minutes.

This step is the sole reason this recipe got a yellow badge, but more on that in the review.

Step 8: Heat some oil in an extra large skillet over medium high heat. You’re supposed to “cook until well browned on both sides and skin is crispy.”

Now, the biggest skillet I have couldn’t house 8 chicken thighs, so I had to split them up.

Step 9: Obviously, don’t forget to flip the chicken over to let both sides brown.

Step 10: When your chicken is nice and browned, remove from skillet, set aside, and reserve some of the chicken fat for the next step in this recipe’s process.

As you can kind of tell, my chicken got a little crispy, so medium high temperature was not the right call since the chicken wasn’t fully cooked but the skin was already burned a bit. I should have tried to mend this since I did have the chicken thighs split into two batches, but I totally didn’t so my chicken ended up a little on the charred side.

Step 11: In the same skillet cook the onions.

Step 12: Chopped celery. I am now completely spoiled by my awesome
food processor, but you can totally just chop if you want.

Step 13: And whole carrots (peeled). Cook until the vegetables are tender (about 5 minutes).

Note, however, that the whole carrots will not be tender in 5 minutes, so just look for tenderness in your onions and celery.

Step 14: Stir in the flour.

Step 15: Cook and stir for a minute.

Step 16: Next, add the broth.

Step 17: And the brown ale.

You should be looking at something like this by now.

Step 18: Bring the mix to a simmer.

Step 19: Add the garlic.

Now, because I don’t own a skillet that can go both on the stovetop and inside the oven, I did a little switcharoo. You’re supposed to bring the chicken back into the skillet, cover it and bake, having used the same skillet for the entire cooking process.

Step 20: What I had to do is move the chicken to a oven safe dish and then add the vegetables and sauce.

Step 21: Which ever way you do it, cover the dish and bake for 40 minutes on 350 F.

About 40 minutes later, brown ale braised chicken was born.

Here’s another look.

Step 22: Sprinkle with fresh thyme (and celery leaves, but I didn’t use those).

This is what the brown ale braised chicken looked like for me. If you take a look at the original pin, it is slightly different and a little less gorgeous, but it smelled divine, so I’m thinking we got the general idea.

And voila, dinner is served!

As you can see, my chicken turned a lot more crispy than the original recipe’s but more on that in the review.

I served mine with a side of garlic mashed potatoes.

Ready for a taste?

Review

The ingredients: This recipe’s ingredient list is listed in a super convenient manner so it will be pretty straightforward and easy to follow. In terms of ingredient availability, everything that was used today you probably either already have in your fridge/pantry or you can easily find in your local supermarket.

The recipe: This recipe was one of the easiest to follow, not only because it’s directions are extremely detailed and well written, but also because comes with a video, so even though there aren’t step-by-step images, you can literally watch a cook prepare this recipe. Furthermore, you have very detailed nutritional information listed at the bottom of the recipe, so if you’re paying attention to the calories and other specs of your food, this information is available as well.

The flavor: The brown ale stew brought a whole unexpected dimension to this dish. The carrots took on the smoky and savory nature of the sauce, which gave them a wonderful texture. The natural sweetness of the carrots and the deep, heavy flavor of the beer mixed really well and were the saving grace of this dish in my opinion, because otherwise, this would have been a red badge. The reason for this is because the chicken was completely and utterly bland!

Issues: Which brings us to the major issues I had with this recipe. As flavorful and full of potential the delicious chicken rub was, 10 minutes was absolutely not enough time for it to give the chicken any flavor. Yeah, the crust was savory, but if you had a bite of chicken without the crust, you were stuck with a completely flavorless piece of meat. Not even the savory beer sauce made any difference!

Another reason I think this was the case was because my chicken skin ended up essentially burning after it spent the time it was supposed to be browning getting it’s chicken butt handed to it on medium high heat. I think that, at least for my stove, this was mistake number one. The heat was just too high and the skin burned before the chicken even got a chance to cook. This in turn locked the chicken meat in a flavorless bubble, not allowing any of the fabulous flavors that were happening around it to give the meat any dimension.

But, these issues are exactly why 2girlsandapin are here! We find recipes on Pinterest, we make them at home, we show you each and every step we take, try to figure out what went wrong (if anything) with each pin we review, and let you know what we think. Keep in mind, I take these pictures in my rinky dink kitchen, using nothing but my smartphone camera, so this is a very DIY operation, trying to replicate what I think you may encounter when you do this yourself, without the benefits of glorious photography and presentation.

Comments: So, even though this recipe has TREMENDOUS potential, it fell flat because the rub needed to sit on the chicken for longer than 10 minutes (I would leave it on for couple of hours or even over night). Secondly, at least for my stove, the medium high heat was too much and it didn’t allow the chicken to properly cook without burning the skin. This issue will of course vary depending on your stove’s idiosyncrasies, so try and figure out what you think the best temperature would be to brown the skin AND cook the chicken at the same time. This is also one of the important rules of cooking – know your tools and how they act.

Final Verdict: This recipe’s yum factor was a 6.5/10, unfortunately. However, with the few suggestions we listed above we truly believe that this recipe could be amazing! The stew and the carrots tasted unbelievable, but the star of the show fell flat and remained flavorless.

Difficulty: intermediate

Level: beginner

Original pin is chilling here in our Tested Beauty Queue. You can find the original blog post here.

I thought I’d given up on the whole animal print on nails since so far I haven’t been successful until I did this particular design. I am in love, everyone! Let’s jump in.

You will need:
- Base nail polish
- Grey/Brown nail polish for the dots
- Black nail polish for the outline
- Top coat
- One or two toothpicks
- Something to use for polish drops

Don’t get intimated, it’s a not as complex as it looks.

Step 1: Dull the toothpick just a little bit so your lines are thicker and the points don’t pick up underlining polish.

Step 2: Apply the base color.

I discovered this new line of nail polishes released by Wet & Wild called Spoiled. They have a lot of different colors and it’s right under $2.00. I suggest you give it a try if you want something to play with and not feel bad for taking it off a few minutes later because your design isn’t what you want.

Step 3: Very carefully draw circle like designs on your nails with the nail polish brush if it’s not too large. I kind of angled my brush and tapped it on the nails.

Don’t be afraid to put dots everywhere. They look weird but it’ll get better.

Continue with the rest of the nails.

Step 4: Take the dark nail polish and put a few drops on your “drop medium”.

Step 5: Dip the toothpick into your nail polish, swirling a bit side to side to get good coverage.

Step 6: Draw a small line on side of your dots, dipping the toothpick for every line. Don’t be greedy!

For best results, don’t try to make the lines exact on each side, parallel to each other. You can do top and bottom, side and bottom. Anything that can happen in nature.

Continue with the rest of the dots.

Step 8: Apply the top coat. Be careful not to put it on too early or press hard, otherwise you will have a smear like this.

With the top coat, I dipped the brush in every two strokes and didn’t go over the same spot twice…well after the first few oopsies.

Here is the final shot. Puuurrrrrrfect!

Review

I really love this design. And the technique that has failed me before is now my favorite way to get this pretty design. I think that I will be returning to this technique and the leopard print often. You may even get tired of it.

Have you tried any of the prints we have tried so far? Let us know!

We totally stole this pin from one of our fans on Pinterest. Thanks Kate! You can find the original recipe here.

I must confess I’ve never really been a fan of even the idea of pumpkin anything until my awesome sister-in-law intervened (Check out her FABULOUS boudoir photography at Sitting Pretty). And boy am I glad she did! Let me explain. Back in the motherland (I’m originally from Serbia), we don’t actually consume pumpkin the way it comes in the US.

What I used to associate pumpkin with was the way my mom used to prepare it. She would cut up the pumpkin into watermelon-like slices, pop it into the oven until the pumpkin meat is softened, cover it with sugar and cut it up and eat the whole pumpkin slices like you would a baked potato. Baking with store-bought pumpkin puree and mixed with delicious spices (most of which are included in this muffin recipe) leaves your house smelling DIVINE! That is unfortunately NOT the case with baking raw pumpkin.

I still cringe at the thought of that foul smell to this day! Even if I’m totally exaggerating how yucky baking raw pumpkin smells, my feelings towards this unsuspecting squash were most likely formed as a defense mechanism. I know now how healthy pumpkins are, but when I was a kid being forced to eat this burnt tasting, yucky smelling, crazy orange colored monstrous vegetable was just the worst! The association was formed and solidified over the years, so once I moved to the States I avoided ANYTHING pumpkin for years!

It wasn’t until VERY recently that my sister-in-law convinced me to give this delicious smelling (very conflicting, I know!) pumpkin bread a taste. My niece and nephew were INHALING it, so I figured if babies love it, it can’t be that bad. So, I put my VERY WELL FOUNDED reservations on the shelf and gave this bread a chance. And OhEmGee was it delicious! I was officially converted! Once I hunt that recipe down, we may need to run a test of it so you can be exposed to its wonderfulness too.

Which brings us to this muffin recipe. I was frolicking around Pinterest and found the pumpkin cream cheese muffin recipe in my sister-in-law’s boards! She gave it rave reviews, so I figured we should give it a shot!

Now, I know we’re just a bit late to the pumpkin game (with the first day of Spring being like a week ago), but with the weather being more Fall-like than hey-we’re-a-hop-skip-and-away-from-pool-weather, I decided it would be as good a time as any to talk about pumpkins! So, here we are.

Pandora Station for the day – the Foo Fighters Radio. I just felt in a rocking out mood.

Let’s get cracking with the cream cheese filling.

Step 1: Soften up some cream cheese.

Have I told you yet how much I LOVE my stand mixer? It is awesome that you can just walk away and it can do it’s mixing thing. HOWEVER, it does come with a few things that bug me to no end, but that’s a whole other post! One to come soon to 2girlsandapin…so stay tuned.

Step 2: Add the powdered sugar.

Step 3: Mix until everything is nice and joined together.

Now, this is where things get a little overly complicated for my taste. This is also where having more than just images of the gorgeous finalized product would have actually been useful. The instructions kind of make sense, but I’m really not sure I did this right and you’ll see why in a moment.

Step 4: We’re supposed to transfer the cream cheese mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap.

Step 5: Once on the wrap, we’re supposed to “shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter,” according to where this pin came from.

Step 6: Once smoothed over, we’re supposed to wrap the cream cheese log tightly with the cling wrap.

I’m just going to show you exactly what I did, even if it seems silly. So, one side of the wrap over the other.

Followed by one corner piece over the other.

Until you have something looking like this. This is just flipped over once tucked in.

Step 7: We’re then supposed to “reinforce” this log with a piece of aluminum foil.

Step 8: Until you’re looking at something you’d be in a whole lot of trouble if TSA found in your carry-on.

Step 9: Move the block of cheese into the freezer and let sit until at least “slightly firm,” which the pin suggest needs to be a minimum of 2 hours.

Step 10: In the meantime, we’re working on the dry ingredients for the batter. First, some flour.

Step 11: Followed by cinnamon.

Step 12: Ground nutmeg.

Step 13: Some ground cloves, reminiscent of junior high when clove cigarettes were all the rage

Step 14: And of course, pumpkin pie spice.

Step 15: Some salt.

Step 16: And finally, baking soda.

Step 17: Whisk all the dry ingredients together.

And let’s move to the wet ingredients.

Step 18: First, we start with the eggs. Like I’ve mentioned before, I was thought to always mix the whites separately from yolks, so that’s what I did.

Step 18a: Once the whites are nice and whipped, add the yolks and mix on low speed until combined.

Step 19: Add the sugar.

Step 20: The pumpkin puree.

Step 21: And finally, a surprisingly large amount of vegetable oil.

Step 22: Run on medium low speed until everything is nicely joined together.

Step 23: Now, we add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mix. It is suggested that you keep the mixing speed on low.

Step 24: Mix everything until it’s well incorporated.

You should be looking at something like this.

The last step is to prepare the crumbly topping mix.

Step 25: In a separate bowl combine sugar.

Step 26: Flour.

Step 27: Some ground cinnamon.

Step 28: Then, take the cold butter and cut up into chunks.

Step 29: You’re supposed to bled everything together “a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly,” according to the recipe. But, I used my hands.

This is what you should be looking at. If you’re not ready to start assembling the muffins, put this in the fridge until you’re ready to use.

Step 30: Preheat oven to 350 and line your cupcake/muffin pan with liners.

Step 31: Add 1-2 tablespoons of the batter into each cupcake liner.

Step 32: About 2.5 hours later, I was ready to take the cream cheese block out of the freezer.

It was definitely not a solid block, but it wasn’t soft and runny either.

Step 33: You’re supposed to slice the log of cream cheese into 24 individual slices to divide among the cupcakes. I just kind of cut as I went along.

Step 34: You’re supposed to place a slice of the cream cheese mix into each cupcake well.

What the recipe doesn’t specify, and I didn’t find out until I was digging through the comment section of the blog from which this recipe was pinned from, you’re supposed to push the block of cream cheese down as much as possible to prevent it from rising to the top. We’ll discuss how the lack of this information affected my muffins.

Step 35: Top the cream cheese with the remaining batter. I ended up using about a tablespoon per each (one for the first layer, one for the top layer of batter).

Step 36: Lastly, we’re instructed to sprinkle a small amount of the butter topping mixture on top of each muffin.

Step 37: Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Notice that my cream cheese filling ended up pushing towards the top. More on that in a second…

Step 38: Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool off completely before serving (we don’t want scorching cream cheese to melt your face).

Although they didn’t turn out anything like the ones in the original pin’s images, my house smelled DIVINE and it was all because of these cuties.

Like the nail-biting show, the original recipe provided 24 muffins.

However, I ended up with 4 extra muffins with all the fixin’s.

Unfortunately, the same could be said of the butter topping.

Even though the recipe called for a small amount of topping to be used, because I followed those directions on my first batch of 12 muffins, when I was working through the second batch and the additional 4 muffins, I ended up generously topping it with the mixture…and I still had more than half of it left. Next time I make these, I will definitely cut the topping quantity in half.

The case was the same with the cream cheese mix. I ended up putting it back in the freezer between batch assembly in hopes of having it harden some more.

However, since most of the cream cheese ended up floating up from my muffins, I didn’t want it to go to waste…so in a make-it-work moment, I used the excess cream cheese as frosting.

Unfortunately, in most of these, the cream cheese was either completely melted or risen all the way to the top.

Nevertheless, these were SO SO delicious, moist, and juicy.

Ready for a taste?

UPDATE!

The next day, my significant other actually stumbled upon one that I think turned out the way it was supposed to, with the cream cheese in the middle and all!

Review

The ingredients: This recipe’s ingredient list is super convenient and straightforward. The ingredients are separated by sections, so you’ll have a clear idea of what goes into he cream cheese filling, what’s going on with the batter, and finally, what’s included in the topping. In terms of ingredient availability, everything that was used today you probably either already have in your fridge/pantry or you can easily find in your local supermarket. The ingredients list yielded 4 more muffins than the estimated 24 and quite a bit of leftovers on both the cream cheese and the topping front. But, more on that below.

The recipe: This recipe is not the easiest to follow in some sections. Even though the instructions are clearly delineated in sections, and each section covers a specific step in the baking process, I can see how the way it’s worded may seem a little intimidating for someone who’s new to baking. I’m mainly referring to the cream cheese block making section. I wasn’t really sure I was doing this correctly myself, but following the instructions I did what I thought was needed. Like I said in the body of our step-by-step, it would have been very helpful to have some guidance images from the original blogger. I ended up putting my cream cheese block in the freezer for over 2 hours and the block itself was as solid as I thought cream cheese would need to be in order to be cut easily. But, when it came to the baking part, it definitely rose to the top and a good bit of it melted (more on why this happened in the Issues section). The post doesn’t come with any step-by-step images, so if you need more detail, follow 2girlsandapin as we prepared these fantastic smelling, delicious muffins since we like to take pictures of every detail in our cooking process, no matter how inane it seems,

Furthermore, some of the quantities were a little off, at least for me. However, this type of recipe is not an exact science, since the size of cupcake pans varies and therefore quantities could be off by a little. I ended up with 4 extra muffins, more than half of the butter topping left, and about half of the block of cream cheese left. I don’t know if I needed to use bigger chunks of cream cheese or what, but I ended up taking advantage of the small mishap in how my muffins baked and used the leftover cream cheese as frosting.

The flavor: Even though the cream cheese filling didn’t turn out quite right for me, these tasted phenomenal! Not only did they leave my house smelling like Thanksgiving and Fall (and I know that’s weird, but hey…this Spring has felt more like November than something leading to poolside margaritas) but these muffins were simply scrumptious. They came out wonderfully spiced, with a perfect consistency of moist and flavorful muffinness.

I think adding the extra cream cheese I had a as a frosting was the right call, because the lack of the same in the middle was definitely noticeable. Without the cream cheese, as delicious as these are, they would have been a little too heavy and in your face. I mean, cinnamon, ground clove, nutmeg AND pumpkin pie spice all packed into one tiny punch is a bit overwhelming, but I think that is precisely why the cream cheese is even introduced in the formula. They may be a little on the time, effort and resource heavy side, but they are totally worth it!

Issues: OK, so my main issue with this recipe was the cream cheese. I followed the instructions to the T and did what I thought the recipe required. I understand that the recipe claimed that the minimum time the cream cheese was supposed to spend in the freezer was 2 hours, so when I took mine out 2.5 hours later, I assumed that since the recipe listed that time period as a minimum, it would have turned out without issues.

Well, it turns out that (and I found this out after extensively digging through the pin’s comment section hoping to see if anyone had encountered the same cream cheese popping out phenomenon) if the cream cheese is not sufficiently frozen it will start to melt and rise to the top! This is exactly what happened to me, even though I had my cream cheese in the freezer for a little more than the required 2 hour period. Now, mind you, this was not explained in the recipe itself, but deep in the recipe’s user submitted comments. SO, keep this in mind – 2 hours may actually not be enough time for your cream cheese mix to reach its optimal consistency (one which wasn’t explained very well in the recipe either, in addition to no visuals confirming what we’re supposed to expect)

But, these issues are exactly why 2girlsandapin are here! We find recipes on Pinterest, we make them at home, we show you each and every step we take, try to figure out what went wrong (if anything) with each pin we review, and let you know what we think. Keep in mind, I take these pictures in my rinky dink kitchen, using nothing but my smartphone camera, so this is a very DIY operation, trying to replicate what I think you may encounter when you do this yourself, without the benefits of glorious photography and presentation.

So, other than the cream cheese issue, the rest of this recipe was easy breezy. I definitely had some extra muffins, a significant amount of leftover topping, and half of the block of cream cheese…but the muffins still tasted amazing and I even popped some in the freezer  for later consumption (since this was also a suggestion I saw in one of the post’s comments).

Comments: With this delicious little ditty, keep in mind that it is a little labor and time intensive, so if you only have like an hour to whip something out, I would not suggest this recipe. Also, the quantities are a little off, so I had some leftovers. And of course, the cream cheese! Make sure you leave in the freezer for longer than 2 hours, but as for what you should be looking for consistency wise, I can’t tell you yet. When I replicate this one in the future I will try to apply the small changes to the time and quantities and update you accordingly.

Final Verdict: These muffins’ yum factor is a 10/10, without a doubt! These muffins (or more like cupcakes in my case) were really, really delicious. A very nice little Fall nostalgia treat! However, because the few issues I had, I’d give the recipe an 8/10, simply because I didn’t feel it gave me enough guidance and the issues I had would have been avoided if the information was provided in the recipe and not in the comment section. Difficulty is definitely a medium, but with 2girlsandapin’s help, it should be a piece of cake!

Original pin is here in our Tested Beauty Pins Queue. The original post is by Women’s Day and you can read it here.

Brace yourselves, this is going to be a very long post. First of all, I need to talk to you about something sad. My 8-year-old kitty has been sick for a few weeks now. The vets are constantly running tests and nothing conclusive is coming up. Recently, we had to pause the testing because the cost has drained our savings. But last night, right before sitting down to write this post, I realized that my poor kitty hasn’t peed or pooped in two days. Any cat owner knows that with a kitty this age, this is very dangerous territory. So completely freaked out, I convinced my husband to take the kitty to the emergency pet care. There, the vet told us that the cost for JUST the diagnostics would be a hefty $2,600. Since all the tests taken prior would take a week or so to get back, the vet had to run the same tests to TRY and figure out what’s wrong with her right then and there or they wouldn’t treat her at all. We were so devastated to hear the cost because we knew we couldn’t afford it. We asked the vet what would our other option be and the only answer he had was to euthanize her that night or in a few days. I cried, and I cried hard. After a few minutes, my husband was convinced that it was the right choice. I didn’t buy it though. I fought those two to keep her alive for a few more days. You may say I am selfish but I don’t think she has given up on herself and I just couldn’t give up on her. She is still so lively, purring away and asking for food very vocally. She still jumps up on my lap. She’s actually sitting on me as I write this post.

Laying on my lap this morning when I woke up and was reading news.

You can see where her belly has been shaved for the ultrasound and some other test that involved large needles. But so far she is still a pretty happy cat. She is a bit more shy than usual but who isn’t when they are sick. We have to administer her fluids so she can stay hydrated while we wait on the latest test results. My husband has given up…well mostly, but I truly believe that it is not something too serious. I have lost 7 cats in my lifetime and I know a cat in pain and I know a cat that’s near its end, and I know that my baby isn’t.

I knew that the IV pole I got for my form would come in handy!

I haven’t used any Instagram filters on this picture, I promise. It’s just the iPhone cover I have on that gives pictures this gloomy effect. Anyhow, I am really happy I haven’t given up last night and kept my kitty alive. She is purring in my lap as I write this. I don’t know what tomorrow may bring but I am full of hope.

Now onto the post!

I decided I am going to approach the Facial Friday a bit differently and it may become more of a Facial bi-Friday. You see, as I was walking around with the mask on my face, the hubster asked me, “Are you doing that mask again? Why are you doing it every week?” I was shocked that he hadn’t realized that every week was a different mask. Then I asked myself, “Why am I doing a different mask every week? Will I really know its effects if I do one once a week?” Probably not! Therefore, from now on, I will use a mask for a week or two, depending on its ingredients and what it is supposed to do and then write about it. I would like to document my progress with pictures and more details. After all, our motto is “Give pins a chance” and a chance is not truly given in one try.

This week, I am starting off on a wrong foot but I promise I will get this straightened out as we go. So hang in there!

I divided the ingredients amount by half and it was still too much so I would only use a quarter of suggested amount next time.

As we discussed in the previous few posts, you can’t always make certain masks ahead of time, and this is one of them. So make enough to use that day.

Step 1: Mix all the ingredients together. This is the consistency you will get.

Step 2: Apply it to your face in circular motion. Always avoid eye area, especially with mask involving lemon. Pardon the blur.

After a few minutes, I could feel the lemon working. It was drying out and tingling. I didn’t expect to see anything spectacular after I took of the mask but I did get something.

The pores on my noes opened up and felt like the blackheads were all ready to come out.

At this instance I was assured that my decision to test a mask over a longer period of time, rather than just once was a right decision. I think that over time, this mask could prove to be a really great way to keep large pores on my nose and my cheeks cleaner than usual. And just FYI, there is no way to get rid of blackheads completely or shrink your pores, you can alter the appearance a bit by keeping the pores clean and tight with certain ingredients but you can never EXTERMINATE them or shrink the size.

Review

I am not going to write an extensive review right now. A week or so from now, when I see the results of constant use of this mask, I will update you on the badge that I assign this mask and on the results. For now this is just an overview.

Ingredients:
Ingredients are the usual residents of most fridges/pantries. They are not that hard to find. I used an organic spreadable honey that I use for consumption. I can’t say one way or another for the processed honey you can get in any store but I personally wouldn’t use it. You have to remember that everything you put on your skin gets inside of your body through absorption. And I am not going to lie, it tastes yummy! Gotta love added benefits!

Texture:
The mask feels very smooth and it’s very easy to apply. Make sure you mix the ingredients really well so there are no lumps.

Application:
The mask doesn’t run but it takes time to dry so be careful not to touch your face. Because of the honey, try to avoid your hair as much as you can, that includes your eyebrows and eyelashes. But that’s a common rule with most of the masks – stay away from eyebrows and eyes.

Results:
UPDATE: So finally I got two weeks into using this maks and here is what I have to say. I am definitely not having the dryness issue on my cheekbones anymore. It’s quite the opposite, my skin is now a bit oily. But nothing major to worry about. So if you have an oily skin to begin with, use this mask just once a week instead every two days. I alternated between using the mask and using my scrub. I love me some St. Ives scrub. It seems like the blackheads on the tip of my nose had easier time getting out than usual when I scrubbed. So that’s definitely a plus. And the blackheads on the side of my nose don’t seem as brownish as they usually are.

I am definitely going to use this mask at least once a week to keep my blackheads at bay while I am training. Though running has been great for my skin overall, it’s not so good for keeping the pores clean. May be I am just a bit too sweaty for my own good.

Have you tried this mask or any other ones we wrote about? If so, let us know how it turns out for you. We’d love to see some before and after.

We found this gem on Pinterest. Recipe originally came from, and then we adapted from Table for Two.

So, when you see the original pin this one came from, you’ll understand why I wanted to test it. I mean, even though the gorgeous picture the original recipe provides is exponentially better than the picture I took with a potato (read: my phone camera), it still looks absolutely divine and scrumptious! However, the benefit of a 2girlsandapin review is that we’ll show you EXACTLY what you’ll end up with if you attempt to recreate a Pinterest recipe at home, without the benefits of gorgeous food styling and professional cameras (like I said, I’m literally doing this with my 5.0 megapixel camera phone).

So, without further ado, let’s dig in!

The Pandora Station for the day – my Reggaeton Station. I just wanted to shake my booty while I cooked, what can I say!

Completely unrelated, am I the only one who can’t stop thinking about Kermit the Frog every time Shakira starts singing? She just sounds like Kermit to me! Think about it!

Back to the recipe…So, with this one I decided to switch to ground turkey instead. As I may have mentioned before, we’re not too huge fans of red meat, and with the recent chuck steak overload we had with the delicious Irish Beef and Stout Stew, we needed a red meat break. So, ground turkey it is! I mean, it tastes almost the same to me (if you season it right), so that is the change #1 I made making this recipe.

Step 1: Since I’m using ground turkey, I definitely needed a little bit of olive oil to get the party started.

Step 2: Get the ground turkey (beef) browning. I had it over medium high heat.

Addition #1: Now we’re at the second bit of the recipe I changed. I used my trusted friend the food processor to chop up one small onion and added it to the meat.

You’ll notice I added the chopped onions once the turkey was already browned a bit. Since this whole operation will take a minute, I figured the onions will have more than enough time to get soft and tender.

Step 3: Then, add some chili powder.

Step 4: Followed by some delicious cumin.

Step 5: And finally, one of my personal favorites, cayenne pepper.

Addition #2: I also added 2 cloves of minced garlic to the mix…simply because my name is Jelena and I have a garlic problem. (Everyone in a warm, accepting voice, say ‘Hi Jelena.’)

Step 6: OK, now that I’m done making changes…once you give everything a good mix, add the cream cheese.

Step 7: Stir this delicious boat of yumminess until the cream cheese is melted.

Step 8: In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream.

Step 9: Enchilada sauce.

Step 10: Half of the required shredded cheddar cheese.

Step 11: And half of the required monterey jack cheese.

Step 12: Follow that with some thawed frozen corn.

Step 13: And some diced green chiles.

Step 14: Mix everything together.

Step 15: Mix the sour cream and cheese enchilada mixture with the ground beef (or turkey in my case) and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Step 16: The recipe doesn’t specify when to include the marvelous s&p, so I added salt.

Step 17: And pepper now.

Step 18: Your egg noodles should be done by now. Make sure to drain them well.

Step 19: Add them to the sauce.

Step 20: And mix well. You want the noodles to be coated well in the enchilada sauce mix.

This is a closeup of what you should be looking at. You’ll notice that what we ended up with is SIGNIFICANTLY less enchilada saucy (at leas when it comes to the distinct color orange) than the original recipe’s picture…but, more on that in the review below.

Step 21: Once you pour the pasta and sauce mixture into an baking dish, cover the top with the remainder of the monterey jack cheese.

Step 22: And the cheddar.

Step 23: Once it’s cheesy highness is nice and topped, bake at 350 for 15 minutes (or until the cheese is melted).

Say cheese! I mean, seriously…how inviting does that look!?

Aaaand, 15 minutes later you have THIS!

Another view of the cheesy goodness.

And another, since I couldn’t stop taking pictures of it.

Step 24: Cover with some fresh or dried parsley.

And your Enchilada Pasta Casserole is ready to serve!

Like I said, the final result doesn’t look as enchilada-y as the original recipe’s.

But it is definitely inviting!

Ready for a taste?

Review

The ingredients: The ingredients this delicious piece of cheese goodness comes from are listed in a super easy and convenient manner. In terms of ingredient availability, everything that was used today you probably either already have in your fridge/pantry or you can easily find in your local supermarket. The only changes I made were that I switched ground beef for ground turkey and added 1 small chopped onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic.

The recipe: The recipe is very easy to follow and shouldn’t be difficult to master. The directions are very clearly delineated and even numbered, so even the least experienced of us shouldn’t have many difficulties. The post doesn’t come with any step-by-step images, so if you need more detail, follow 2girlsandapin as we prepared this deconstructed approach to a traditional enchilada recipe since we like to take pictures of every minuscule detail!

The flavor: This tasted really, really yummy! The sweetness and the crunch of the corn complemented the spicy kick the chili powder and cayenne pepper added to the mix. The enchilada sauce was a little lost for me, under the cream cheese, sour cream, and the copious amounts of shredded cheese (which, don’t get me wrong, I am not objecting). So, if you’re looking for something that tastes EXACTLY like an enchilada but without the additional work that assembling one requires, this may not be the exact recipe I’d suggest. However tasty and delicious it was, had this recipe’s name not had the word enchilada in it, I would have thought it was just a regular spicy casserole.

Nevertheless, it was very savory and filling, and reheats wonderfully in the microwave. I ended up needing a little bit more salt in my plate, but that may be the case because I didn’t add enough salt in the s&p portion of the recipe. Still, a very easy fix!

Issues: The only issue I have with this recipe is that it doesn’t taste much like an enchilada. This was probably also visually evident since my casserole didn’t turn that enchilada sauce color and not nearly as prominently as the original recipe’s pictures claim to be. I think this is a very easy fix, though. I would probably just double the amount of enchilada sauce I use in the mix next time I make this one (and there will definitely be repeats) and we’ll hopefully have the same color as the original recipe and more of an enchilada flavor than this one comes with in its current rendition.

Comments: If you didn’t follow our step-by-step, I made a few edits to the original recipe. I opted for using ground turkey as opposed to ground beef (simply because I’m beefed out). I also added some chopped onion and minced garlic…since those just seemed to belong in this one. And even though it didn’t taste exactly like an enchilada, this was a very good, easy, and straightforward recipe. I will definitely be making this again in the future.

Final Verdict: This recipe’s yum factor is a 8.5/10. I made a few changes, I suggest a few changes, but in it’s current rendition it is still a very good recipe.