Pies, Pies, and More Pies!

I LOVE pie. I attribute it to my birthday being on Pi Day (3.14!), but I'm not sure if that's actually the reason. I've almost never met a pie I didn't like (although that could also be said for every type of dessert...), except of course for pumpkin because who wants vegetables in a pie?! Not counting chicken pot pie of course.

I rarely get to make that many pies because someone else in my household (ahem, not me), doesn't love them as much as I do. But this holiday season, I've already made four!  We had a pie night for relief society and several of us volunteered to bring pies we could all eat after we learned how to make a pie. I knew I wanted to make this banana cream pie from A Spicy Perspective because it was the perfect balance between a regular ol' pudding banana cream, and some fancy homemade custard kind of banana cream. It turned out so well! I had several people tell me it was their favorite of the night (I personally loved the cookie dough pie the best..that is totally on my list to make soon!). Unfortunately, the crust didn't stick together as well as I wanted, but that could be due to my extreme dislike for using too much butter. :) I used a banana cream pudding instead of vanilla, and I quite liked it, even though it did have a somewhat fake banana taste. And I didn't use the coconut, but I certainly will if I make it again!

The other pie I made was totally random - I wanted to make something that didn't involve going to the store, and somehow I happened to have strawberries in my house! That almost never happens, so I took advantage of it and made a strawberry peach pie. I couldn't really find any recipe... so mine is very loosely based on this one from All Recipes. I didn't use the cinnamon, used canned peaches and fresh strawberries, and added some sort of mixture of flour and cornstarch...I was just winging it. This pie was the only one that was all eaten at the pie night! I quite like peach and strawberry together, it turns out, so once summer hits I'll do this again too!

And finally, for Thanksgiving I was asked to bring pie to my cousin's house. Pecan is the best (even my husband thinks so!) so I made two of them - both the pie crust and the pecan pie recipe is from the Taste of Home cookbook, and they are super simple (pie crust = flour, shortening, salt, water), but always delicious! If I did it again, I'd make extra filling - probably 1.5 times, since my pie dishes are apparently super deep!

Pin 1 Down: Zucchini Brownies

With no time to waste, I accomplished my 1st pin in my personal 6 pins in 6 weeks challenge. We received a giant zucchini from my family when we came to visit - or rather, we received only part of a giant zucchini! This recipe only used 2 cups of shredded zucchini, so I still have quite a bit left to play with....or hide and pretend it doesn't exist....

Every Pinterest recipe that I found for gooey-looking zucchini brownies used the same recipe as this one from Mommy I'm Hungry. And while it sure is gooey (or rather, the frosting certainly is), the brownies themselves weren't my favorite. For one, there are no eggs in this recipe! How can we have brownies without eggs? So the brownies were slightly gritty from the sugar (I think I may have done the steps in an incorrect order though..) and I thought they were pretty dry. But then I put this frosting on top- and you can't even tell! I only did about 2/3 of the actual frosting and it's still so gooey, chocolatey, and delicious!

So while I'll keep searching for a better zucchini brownie recipe, I was actually pleased with how these came out. Plus there were plenty to share with our neighbors, especially the wonderful ones who lent me powdered sugar when I had absolutely none.... :)

6 Pins in 6 Weeks

Lately I've been in such a creativity rut. I don't feel very motivated to try new foods, desserts, crafts, sewing projects, anything! I loved the 6 pins in 6 weeks challenge I participated in earlier this year, so I think I'll have my own little challenge over the next month and a half to get the juices flowing again. Here we go - these are the 6 pins I'd like to accomplish in the next 6 weeks (give or take a few months... :D ):

Order fabric online (something I've been afraid of) and make a cardigan: http://pinterest.com/pin/55450639131526721/

With some of the fabric I order, make myself a new purse: http://pinterest.com/pin/55450639132710723/

I love apples but I never take full advantage of apple season. Buy some and make this delicious-looking pizza: http://pinterest.com/pin/55450639133691477/

Use up that zucchini and make brownies! http://pinterest.com/pin/55450639132658432/

Do at least a few of these different ways to improve your life: http://pinterest.com/pin/55450639132782959/

And finally, get to work on another necklace! http://pinterest.com/pin/55450639135049832/

Blue Necklace

I can make jewelry! Or rather, I can attempt jewelry. It has long been a goal of mine to start making jewelry. However, unlike sewing where I already have the machine and just have to buy fabric each project, or crafting where I already have a glue gun and just need some random supplies, jewelry making involves a whole new set of tools and materials - so I had to start from scratch. That's why I've been putting off jewelry-making for so long...but now I can make jewelry forever!

Over the course of a month or two, I collected Michael's coupons and purchased the supplies - wire, chains, necklace closures, straight pins, crimps..all kinds of things! I was planning to just use our wire cutters and pliers from the tool kit- but I discovered I really needed one of those round pliers. So I got one of those too, and it made all the difference!

After acquiring alllll of that, I finally got some beads as well. They're all cheap-y ones from Walmart right now, but once more coupons come in I'll probably get some prettier ones at Michael's again! I have so many jewelry ideas on my Pinterest board that I want to try, but I settled on the Cobalt Blue Cluster Necklace from My Girlish Whims to start. It looks pretty easy....boy was I wrong!

Okay it wasn't actually too bad. The hardest part (just like she mentions) is getting 50 or so beads on the straight pins and creating the loops. I was doing so terrible, but then I got those round pliers and it was way easier! Unfortunately, the holes in my (cheap) beads were too big for the pins, so I ended up hot gluing all the beads onto the pins...which may not hold forever, but I was determined to make do with what I had on hand!

After getting all the beads on pins (this only took me like...a month? I'm a slow worker :D), getting the chain and crimps and everything else was super easy. And I am very excited and pleased with this necklace! Now...what to work on next?! Maybe earrings to go with it!