Last Week of Summer

The summer flew by! Usually by this time I'm ready to be back in classes and have people back on campus, but I've been enjoying having time to myself.

I guess that means that it's time to post the remainder of my Pinterest things!
First of all, I painted my nails back at the beginning of the summer. I really enjoyed the watermelon look. I did discover that I should practice using my left hand more!

I made some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins that I was planning to take with me when I went to St. Louis. Unfortunately, the recipe had a minor typo. It called for way too much baking powder. It ended up tasting chemical, and the texture was off. I should have been warmed when the batter was more like cookie dough.

 

Something that I was much more satisfied with was a Mac'n'Cheese dog. There was an actual pin with a recipe for it, but I just took a normal hot dog and put some mac'n'cheese on it. My sister thought I was crazy, but it was yummy!

The rest of my projects were not from any particular pin. First of all, I had some flower pots, so I painted them. The first 3 I made for my mom's birthday. The others are for me. I just have to decide what I'm going to put in them!

 

I was randomly inspired to draw a castle. I didn't want to figure out how to draw the towers, so it ended up being a fortress.

Finally, I've been working on a couple of blankets. The first is a fleece blanket. I got a kit for it years ago and decided to finally do it. I ended up realizing that it was meant to be a baby blanket, so I made it for my family's dog.
The second is crocheted. My intention was to use up old yarn that was leftover from projects that I've completed. The problem was that I had yarn of different weights. I've gotten to the point where I've started taking yarn out of my mom's craft closet that I know she won't use. By now it's about twice as long as in the picture.

 

Approved Recipes

Throughout the summer, I've tried several new recipes. I still have a couple planned for what little bit of summer I have left.

I made some Pizza Pocket Crescents for supper. I modified the recipe given to match what I wanted to eat. I've made them twice now, and I am a super fan. I ended up finding some squeezable pizza sauce that worked great to dip them in!

 

The next meal I made was Mac 'n' Cheesy Chicken Stuffed Shells. I made it for my family, and we all liked it at least a little. My dad and I both loved it. The main problem was that the recipe made way too much stuffing for how many shells we made. I would definitely make it again, but I would make more shells.
 

The next recipe I'd like to share wasn't actually from Pinterest. In fact, it wasn't really a recipe. I had been experimenting in order to make great nachos. I finally found a combination that tasted very much like Old Chicago's Nachos Grande! A thin type of nacho chip, layered with Mexican blend shredded cheese and shredded mozzarella. I also included taco seasoned hamburger and anaheim peppers. If I had had tomatoes, I would have included those as well. I put all this on a plate and microwaved it. Easy and delicious!

Next, I made myself some Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti. My crockpot was WAY too small for the recipe. The picture below shows just the sauce without the noodles added. I ended up putting in a few noodles, letting it get warm, eating those noodles, and adding in more until all my noodles were in the mixture. It made enough for me to have several meals. I got a little sick of it by the time it was all gone, but it was good!

Finally, my sister and I made Oven Fajitas. I was very happy with how they turned out. They were very easy, but it took longer than I would have spent on a meal just for myself.