Olive Garden Imitation Meal

I love the Olive Garden.

Really, it could be considered an obsession.  But honestly, how can you not love it.  The unending supply of buttery bread sticks, the yummy scent of garlic in the air, white chocolate raspberry cheesecake.... delicious! 

There is only one part of my Olive Garden meal that I truly dislike - the bill!  I worked as a hostess at my local Olive Garden a few years back when I had just graduated from high school.  The only thing I liked as much as the food was the discount I received on my meals while I was employed there!  These days, I get to pay full price for my trips to the OG.  While I do love splurging on a nice meal every now and then, it's just not financially possible to eat there as much as I'd like (which could possibly be every day)!

By Saturday, Matt and I were both so tired of eating Thanksgiving leftovers.  Don't get me wrong, the foodie in me loves the holiday.  But turkey and mashed potatoes for three days gets a little boring!  In the midst of my craving for an amazing Italian meal, I came to an incredible realization - I could make this myself.

Olive Garden Seafood Alfredo is my all-time favorite.  A simple Google search for "Olive Garden seafood alfredo recipe" took me to a really nice blog called Mrs. Happy Homemaker.  I followed this recipe to make the sauce for my pasta.  I left the scallops out of my recipe, being as neither Matt nor I like them (and when I order it from the restaurant, I usually pick them all out anyway) which also helped save a buck or two at the grocery store when getting all the ingredients for this meal.  And of course, what good would an Olive Garden imitation meal be without bread sticks?  Following a Good Morning America recipe exactly (as this was my first time making bread from scratch) I made what I'd like to think are a pretty good replica of the Italian chain's bread sticks.

In total, I spent about $30 at the grocery store for this meal.  This may sound pricey, but there are some important factors to think about when shopping for your ingredients.  Firstly, I had to purchase some items that many people have on hand in their kitchens already (such as bread flour, olive oil, and active dry yeast). Secondly, some things shouldn't be skimped on.  Buying fresh (not frozen) shrimp was a bit more expensive, but I prefer working with fresh seafood and I feel that it really makes a difference in the flavor.  If you prefer to tighten your budget, frozen seafood would do just fine.  Finally, These recipes make a lot of food.  I'd say you'd be safe making this meal for a family of four at least.  We had tons of leftover pasta and sauce, which you can also use to dip your bread sticks into (which I highly recommend doing).

All in all, this meal was a HUGE success.  This was my first time making anything from scratch, and I couldn't be happier with how it all turned out.  The bread sticks tasted just like the ones from the restaurant, mine were just slightly fatter!  And the pasta sauce was incredible.  Not exactly like what you would get from the restaurant, but to be completely honest, I may have liked this better.  After all, the recipe does say "Better than Olive Garden seafood alfredo."  I'll definitely be saving these recipes and making them again.

What restaurant recipe would you copy if you could?

I'd like to try my hand at making an imitation of Raising Cane's dipping sauce.

xoxo,

C

My Halloween Costume: Done!

Halloween was a success!

My costume turned out great, especially after putting it all together (Including elf ears and healthstones)!

We only had a few trick-or-treaters, which was surprising considering the amount of kids that are usually running around the neighborhood!  But, that just left more candy for us!

Now that's over and done with, the Holidays will be upon us before we know it!  Time to think about Thanksgiving, homemade gifts, pumpkin pies, snowflakes, and best of all.... Christmas music!

I told myself I'm not playing Christmas music at home/in the car until the day after Thanksgiving... we'll see how long that lasts!

Speaking of Black Friday, I think this will be the first year since high school that I don't have to work on this day!  I'm planning my shopping spree as I type.

I'll be making homemade gifts again this year.  I have a Pintrest board dedicated to my gift ideas!  It's not very populated yet, but as the holidays get closer, I'm sure the board will be packed full of ideas!  Check it out for your own inspiration!

xoxo,

-C

Halloween DIY: Armor

As you may (or may not) already know, this Halloween my costume is inspired by World of Warcraft - warlocks in particular.  Last time, I showed you how to make a fantasy inspired staff, which was the first part of the costume that was actually finished.

What's an RPG character without armor?!

Dead, that's what.

But seriously, this part in the costume making process took the most time and effort.

I would NOT suggest taking this project on if you don't have the time to go through with it because you will not be happy with the results.  Take your time with this and it can turn out very cool.

For this project you will need:

- 2-3 cans of spray foam insulation (the kind that you'd use to fill cracks outdoors - I'd recommend getting the kind that expands to the largest size you can find)

- Cardboard

- A hot glue gun (and glue sticks, of course - you will need a lot of these)

- a razor knife (I'll include a picture of the ones we used - not quite sure what else to call them)

- a sharp and sturdy pair of scissors (or knife)
- Scotch tape

- regular paper (I used the lined kind from out of a notebook - but any paper you can draw on will work)

- newspaper (and lots of it!)

-lots of white glue (like Elmer's school glue) - we used about 4 bottles

- spray paint (ours is left over from the staff project, and therefore makes the armor match the weapon)

- time, patience, and imagination!

The first step is to figure out what you want the armor to look like.  Once the general design has been worked out, draw it to scale to fit your own body on the plain paper.  This step can take a lot of measuring and trial and error - Be patient, it will work out!

Once you have the pieces drawn to scale, cut them out of the paper.  The pieces you see here are what is going to make up the shoulder armor.  You only need to cut out each piece one time and trace them as many times as needed, this way all the pieces that are supposed to be the same will be identical.

Place the paper shapes on the cardboard and trace them.  I traced four of most of the shapes (making the front and back of the shoulder pieces identical, as well as the two pieces of armor being identical themselves).  The "wing" shape you see at the bottom was a really great idea I had, but didn't turn out as I wanted - but Matt helped me save that idea... more on that in a bit.  Cut the shapes out of the cardboard using the sturdy/sharp scissors or a knife.

Once you have all the pieces of cardboard cut out, fit the pieces to your body and use the Scotch tape to hold the pieces at the right angles once you have figured out the way you'd like it to look.

After you have the angles all figured out, use the hot glue gun to fix the pieces together.  

You will end up with cardboard mockups of what your armor will look like when you're done.  Don't worry about any words or stickers that may be showing on the outside of your pieces, they won't show when you're done.  As I'm sure you can tell, the piece on the left is the breastplate, complete with awesome fake abs :)

The next step in the process (once the hot glue is dry - which takes only a matter of minutes) is to cover the entire thing with the spray foam.  Make sure you get the WHOLE outside of the piece covered completely with no cardboard showing on the front/outside.

This part of the process was simultaneously the most fun and most frustrating.  I found out some tricks via trial and error - and I will share them with you so you don't make the same mistakes!

1. The foam won't expand a whole lot bigger than it does when it comes out of the can, so really make sure everything is completely covered.
2. Follow the directions on the can of foam exactly - when it says to shake the can for an entire minute before using it, it really means it... the foam won't expand right if you don't.
3. Its okay to have more foam than you need on your pieces of armor.  It really beats not having enough.
4. If you feel that a spot isn't thick enough and it has already begun to dry (even the slightest bit), let it dry completely before trying to add more foam.  I didn't do this, and the top layer of foam I added melted the bottom layer and I was left with a giant bubble in the middle of my chest piece - which I later fixed by adding more foam AFTER it dried.

Wait overnight for the foam to dry before doing anything else.  Realistically, the foam takes about 8 hours to completely dry, so you don't necessarily have to wait overnight if you're impatient (but remember, I told you patience will come in handy with this project!).  The foam will be ready to carve down once you can insert a knife into the foam and it comes out clean.

The next step is definitely the most messy.  I'd recommend doing this outdoors (or in a very well ventilated room at least) and with something like a trash sheet or tarp underneath you while you work.

Taking the razor knife (like the ones in the picture above - which we got at Harbor Freight Tools for 99 cents for a pack that came with the two different sizes), carefully carve down the dried foam so that your armor is back into its original shape.  I didn't get a photo of this step, and as I said it is very messy.  You will have tiny pieces of foam all over the place.  Make sure that there is at least 1 inch of foam left when you are done carving the pieces out.

As I said earlier, the "wing" decorations for my shoulder pieces didn't work out.  The cardboard guide that I made that was inside of all that foam wasn't sturdy enough for the razor knife and I sliced right through it without realizing until it was too late.  Matt saved the day (I was pretty upset at this point) by carving the foam out to look like curved horns instead, which ended up looking really cool.

When you have the general shape of your armor carved out, you can carve out details.  I re-drew the lines for the "fake abs" on the front of the foam on my chest piece with a Sharpie, and carved them down as well. Don't be afraid to make them fairly pronounced, they'll get covered up in a bit.

Once you're happy with the shape of your armor and have carved in any details you'd like, it's time to paper mache.  I had never done this before, and I felt like a kid again doing it.  We mixed the glue with water at a 1:1 ratio.  If you're using a thinner brand (pretty much anything that's not Elmer's) use a 3/4 glue to 1/2 water ratio.  This step will also be messy. We covered the entire work area (a.k.a. the living room floor) with newspaper first and then put down some cardboard on top, just for good measure.

Tear the newspaper into strips 1 inch thick.  The length depends on the piece that you're covering, but try not to make them too long or you lose some of the detail that working with smaller pieces offers.  Dip the entire piece of newspaper into the glue mix and wring it out with your fingers (I told you it would be messy!).  Place the pieces of newspaper onto the armor, making sure you are covering any edges as well, until the armor is completely covered.  Wait about an hour for the glue to be tacky-dry and apply another coat of paper mache and let dry overnight.

The next step (the most fun, in my opinion) is painting.  Make sure you get each piece covered well enough that someone can't read the headline of yesterday's news on your armor.  I had to use three coats of spray paint to get rid of Marmaduke's face on my chest piece.  The black obviously covered a bit better... the only color I really had to coat on was the red.

Once the base coat of your armor is dry, you can paint on any details you'd like.  I'd recommend getting acrylic paints for this part, but me being the thrifty (and lazy) girl that I am, I simply sprayed a good amount of gold spray paint onto a small piece of cardboard (in one small spot) and dipped my paintbrush in that.  This method forces you to work a bit more quickly than I'd imagine you'd have to with acrylic paint as the spray paint dries faster, but it worked out well as you can see from the first picture in this post.

And Voila!  You have your very own set of armor.

***DISCLAIMER****

this armor won't actually protect you from swords or magic spells.

As tonight is Halloween, I'll finally be getting dressed up in the completed costume.  I can't wait to see how it looks all put together!

But, that's a post for next time ;)

xoxo

-C

Halloween DIY: Fantasy Inspired Staff

Halloween.  My favorite of all holidays for multiple reasons:

• Horror movies are my favorite.
• Dressing up is so much fun.
• Haunted houses
• Carving pumpkins

This year, a friend of mine and I decided against spending an insane amount on a store-bought costume that we'd probably only wear one time.  Instead, we are making our own costumes.  This way, we can be exactly what we want and make it look completely unique.  So what did we decide to be for Halloween?  The obvious (and nerdy) choice: our warlocks.

Both of us being World of Warcraft players (as well as both playing a warlock as our main), this choice just made sense.    As my warlock is a Blood Elf, the inspiration for my costume was drawn from this picture.

The first step in creating my costume masterpiece: the Staff, which I modeled after the Golden Staff of the Sin'dorei.  Making this was a lot easier than it looked, and I think it turned out really great!

Finished!

Things I used to make this:
 - 1" pvc pipe (was about $2.30 for 10 feet, we cut it in half to make two 5 foot poles)
- Wooden fence post topper (what the staff's head design is mounted on)
- pvc pipe cap
- spray foam insulation (the kind you'd use to fill cracks outdoors)
- foam-filled poster board
- spray paint
- hot glue gun
 

First, I drew out the design onto a sheet of paper.  To make this easier, I just blew up a picture of the staff's design on my computer and then taped a sheet of paper to my monitor and traced the shape.  It could be even easier if you have a printer at home.  You'd just have to blow it up to the right size and print it out.

Once I got the shape that I wanted and cut it out of the paper, I taped the paper down to the poster board.  Tape all the way around every edge, that way it wont move while cutting.  I was lucky enough to get Matt to help with this part - he cut out my shapes with a razor knife.  Remember to make two of each shape - that way your design will have more of a 3D effect instead of just being a flat top.

Next, we took to the outdoors and spray painted everything the colors that we wanted.  On a side note, the gold spray paint we got was really cool and only needed one coat to cover what we had.  This included the pvc pipe, the cutout shapes, and the fence post topper.

Be sure to get both sides of each of the cut-outs painted, as well as the edges.

Once all the paint is dry, you can start putting the staff together.

First, spray some of the foam insulation into the very top of the pvc pipe (the end that you want to be the top - the other end should have the pvc cap on it).  Set the pipe aside to let the foam begin to dry.

Using hot glue, mount your two main design pieces to either side of the fence post topper.

This photo better shows how the poster board pieces are secured to the fence post topper.  One piece is glued on either side of the square topper.  This is my friend's staff inspired by Staff of Beasts.

Once the hot glue is dry (this should only take a couple minutes), return to the pvc pipe.  While the foam is still drying, put some hot glue around the rim of the pipe, as well as on top of the drying foam.  The fence post topper should then be inserted into the foam - it will dry around the screw at the bottom of the topper and hold it in place.  Once it is in the position you'd like it, add some more hot glue around the edge where the pvc pipe meets the topper to give it a good seal and to help firmly secure the top.  This will be very top heavy - be careful!  You could add a heavy duty screw to the bottom of the pipe (secured to the inside of the pvc cap) if you'd like to even out the weight a bit.

Let it dry overnight and you'll have your very own fantasy-inspired staff!

Find the armor making tutorial here.

xoxo,

-C

Soup's On!

Last Saturday was the first day of fall.

Fall colors are one of my favorite things about this season!

The weather forecasters called for freezing temperatures overnight Saturday through early Sunday morning here in the Midwest.  I am not ready for that kind of cold - it feels like it was just 90 degrees and the swimming pool was sounding like a great idea!

But, because the Fall feeling was taking over, what better way to "celebrate" the end of summer and the beginning of  autumn than a warm bowl of creamy soup made in the Crock-Pot?  As I was feeling not-so-great with my seasonal allergies taking their toll, this soup idea sounded like a dream come true.

Soup in first phase of cooking

I have never made soup from scratch before.  I have wanted to for some time now, and with the cold temps being forecasted, I thought this was a great time to do it!  For inspiration, I consulted Pintrest (of course) and browsed through dozens of slow cooker recipes before deciding on making cheese and potato soup.  After reading through a few different recipes, I created my own recipe for the soup, using the others as measurement guides.

Let me tell you, this ended up being the best soup I have ever had.  Better than any store bought brand, better than any I've had at a restaurant.  I'm so glad that Matt enjoys being my cooking experiment guinea pig - he rated this soup as one of the "top 5" things that I have ever made (He's been eating it up all weekend since I made it!).  All of the vegetables and the cheddar used in this recipe came from (you guessed it) my favorite farmers market, so most of this recipe is using locally grown and made ingredients!  It's important to support local growers!  Keep scrolling down for my recipe!

Final product - garnished with shredded cheddar and fresh parsley
(straight from my patio "garden")

Cody's Cheese & Potato Soup

• 2 pounds potatoes (peeled and cubed)
• 1/2 large green pepper (chopped)
• 1/2 large head of broccoli (chopped) - I didn't measure the exact amount, I just added until I thought it "looked right."  You could probably substitute a small package of frozen broccoli here.
• 1 1/2 cups Velveeta (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (a bit more if you'd like to garnish)
• 1 can (10.75 oz) cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups water

1. Add water, cream of chicken, potatoes, green pepper, and broccoli to slow cooker and stir until mixed well.  Cook on low for about 6 hours or until potatoes are cooked to your liking.
2. After vegetable mix is cooked, add Velveeta, cheddar, milk, and flour and stir until flour is well blended.  Replace lid and cook for another hour on low, or 30 minutes on high.  Be sure to stir the soup a few times during this cooking phase.

I have gotten about 5 servings from this recipe.  It can be altered for larger groups or put into containers and frozen.

Hope you enjoy!  Let me know if you tried the recipe and what you thought!

xo,

- C

Perfect For Summertime

I don't want to have to be the one to break the news to you but...

Summer is almost over.

I know, I know - I don't want it to be either.  But fall is coming, which means Pumpkin Spice Lattes, sweaters, football, and gorgeous fall leaves.

To celebrate summer and send it on its way, what better than to make  a dinner filled with the best that summer has to offer?  Nothing like BLTs and sweet corn to bring out the flavors of summer.

The tomato was fresh from my patio "garden" and of course, the corn, cheese, and bacon came from my favorite farmers market.  Absolutely delicious.

The farmers market here runs until October.  This means I only have a couple weeks left to get all this amazing fresh produce and fun crafty stuff.   What will I do when the market closes for the fall and winter?!?!

Happy Autumn!

xo,

- C

Finally a "Cornhusker"

For my whole life, I have never liked corn.  As I said before, I am not a veggie fan, but I probably liked corn the least of all.  Something about the texture and the flavor was just not right to me, and I have never been one to eat it.  Living in Nebraska, aka The Cornhusker State, one can see how this situation gave my family members room to make hilarious comments like, "how can you be a Cornhusker if you don't like corn?"  (As if I have never heard THAT one before...) but I'll get back to this later...

As many of you know, I have made a mission of this summer to start trying new things in the kitchen.  Once again, after a trip to the Saturday morning Haymarket Farmers Market, I came home with a bag full of locally grown and made goodies for a new cooking adventure.

This cheese is what began the idea.  The lady who was running the cheese stand this weekend said to me, "This flavor is great in macaroni and cheese," which got my attention immediately (as everyone knows my love of mac & cheese).  It has small bits and pieces of red bell pepper inside, giving it the most amazing flavor.  So, being the creative genius that I sometimes claim to be, I came up with a hybrid recipe that combined two of my favorites, the Kraft Homestyle baked mac & cheese and my own recipe of homemade mac and cheese.

Instead of using regular Velveeta, I used the Queso Blanco variety and left out the black pepper.  After pouring the mac and cheese into a baking dish, I shredded the Havarti Bell cheese and sprinkled it on top and baked at 425 for about 8 minutes.

I know I say this every time I try a new experiment, but this really was the best mac and cheese ever.  The flavor was perfect, and the bits of bell pepper really added that "something" that kicked this up from bland to awesome.

Now, as I said before, I have never enjoyed corn.  That morning at the farmers market, Matt wanted to get some sweet corn, and my parents showed us the right place to find the best quality.  I have no idea how to cook sweet corn (as I found out, it's probably one of the easiest things to cook I have ever seen), so I enlisted the help of my "lovely assistants."

Matt and his brother got the sweet corn ready, and I decided to try it, in the name of my vow to try more veggies.

I came to this conclusion:
Congrats, family members.  I can finally be a "Cornhusker."

xo
-C

Farmers Market Finds

I have never had a taste for veggies.  Call me crazy, but I have just never liked the taste of most of them.  What's even more silly is that the vegetables I do eat are almost always canned.  I always say fresh or frozen veggies taste like grass to me.  I have made it my goal over the summer to eat more fruit and vegetables.  The fruit part isn't a problem - I love all kinds of fruits (bananas and strawberries are my favorites)!

On a trip to the farmers' market (I really love going to these!) I got some fresh carrots, baby potatoes, and green beans in an attempt to make myself eat more healthily.  I used these in a veggie medley with herbs that I have been growing on my patio "garden" and served them along with pan-seared steaks and garlic bread.

Garlic bread, pan-seared steak, and veggie medley

My patio herb "garden"

The herbs really gave the veggies a big kick of flavor, and all ingredients used in the medley were locally grown!  As I said, the vegetables were bought from the farmers' market and came from various local growers, and the herbs were grown on my patio!  It was also a very healthy side dish - I cooked the veggies in water only (no butter).  After they were done, I seared the steak in the same pan the veggies were cooked in so they had a hint of flavor from the herbs as well.  Lastly, I popped the steaks in the oven to finish cooking through.  This meal is one of my favorite recipes I have made in a long time!

**NOTE**

Some of you are used to me posting my recipes and culinary adventures on my other blog, Cody's Cooking. I will no longer be using that blog for two reasons.

1. The name/theme of the blog is too single-minded.  I have many other things I want to blog about besides cooking.
2. More than one blog is just too much for me to work on right now.  After all my course work (and being less than a year away from graduation) I barely have enough time to cook, let alone keep up a blog JUST about cooking.  By combining, I can post fairly regularly again without having to cook an awesome meal every single day.

I hope that everyone will start following me here.  I'll be posting all sorts of random things.

xoxo

-C

What a Hoot!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love owls???

     Ever since I was little, I have loved owls.  One of my favorite books when I was a kid was a National Audubon Society field guide to North American birds, and there was a permanent crease in the binding from turning to the section on owls constantly.  Saw-whet owls (like the ones in the photos) were always my favorite; they are just so pretty!  I love the way they look - they are what I picture whenever I think of "owl."

     I love that "retro" owls are very trendy right now. You will see them everywhere if you look:

- on clothing

- home decor

- jewelry

- fabric by the yard

I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to my love of these feathered creatures!  A couple months back I got an owl necklace at a really cool store at the mall called Earthbound Trading Company.  This piece is the very first thing that fueled my hunt for all things owl.

Over the past few months, I've been collecting owl-themed items since I see them everywhere now!  My newest (and favorite) piece is a wooden wall/door hanger owl.  This HANDMADE decoration was a fun piece I found at a farmers market last weekend.  The most fun part of this little guy? His belly area (the dark gray painted area) is a chalkboard.

I have had friends give me owl-themed things as gifts lately, too.  Wall hangings, wall stickers (I'm sure there is another name for those things, but I can't think of one!), etc.  I'm so happy with this owl trend!  One day I hope to have an owl/woodland themed room in my home.  Possibly a library or (in the distant future) a nursery.  The possibilities are endless (well, at least for me!).

xo
-C