Shirataki Noodles....Dun Dun Dun.

Well I have finally tried them: Shirataki Noodles (aka Tofu noodles). They are used as a pasta substitute and are extremely low in carbs and calories. They are also featured in Hungry Girl. So, why not try them? I decided  to just go for a classic spaghetti dish with beef and tomato sauce on top of the noodles. 

Let me first just start with I am not trying to start eating tofu and/or any meat substitute. But I am open to trying new things. Secondly, I am not posting this because it was a "success". I think its only fair that if I keep posting all my wonderful cooking adventures, I might as well share my, um....more interesting and off-beat meals also. 

I decided to make these just for myself. As you know by previous posts, Hil and Mo are fairly picky and especially critical of my cooking. So I figured I'd do this more daring recipe for just myself... 

So, according to Hungry Girl, to start these off, you need to wash them and "pat them dry". Since they are tofu, they soak up a lot of moisture and for any of the sauce to stick, they need to be patted dry with a paper towel. 

Here are the directions.....

NOTICE* I have never heard of needing to cook something to "reduce the authentic aroma". Strange. Anyways, I go and open the package and about fell over. The "authentic aroma" that they refer to is one of the most fowl smelling things I have ever experienced. I wanted to choke. As I'm writing this a week later I can still imagine the smell!! Just EEWWW!!! Trust me! 

Being the trooper that I think I am, I go on with cooking them...

They were a little more rubbery than normal noodles. Just in case you do try them, cooking does actually reduce the smell, but not entirely. 

And I pat them dry. It took more paper towels than I want to admit to soak up all the water.

Here is the final product. To tell you the truth I did not eat it all. I think I mostly couldn't get over the whole smell, and the texture was pretty rubbery. My final say is that if I had to eat them I would and could, but not voluntarily. I would much rather just give up pasta. :) 

So there you go....probably the worst meal I have ever prepared. I'm sure there will be more to come, but it was a risk worth taking. (What if they were amazing and I would never have to waste my caloric intake on regular pasta again?) That, however was definitely not the case! 

Pioneer Woman"s Breakfast Burritos

Attention ALL!! You have to try Pioneer Woman's Breakfast Burritos!! They are wonderful. Nothing fancy and totally easy, and my absolute favorite: GREAT for leftovers!! If you don't have PW's cookbook, then go to her web page: thepioneerwoman.com. Also, here is the direct link for her Breakfast Burrito recipe. 

Here is the recipe in her book. Highly recommended! 

The recipe called for sausage, but I prefer bacon so I substituted them. Hil and Mo thought that was the end of the world so since the first time I have only made it with sausage (which, is actually a ton easier!!). 

It cooks in the skillet and you just mix in the eggs a viola! Its also extremely easy to add your own ingredients, like chives, veggies, cayenne or something!

Final product! I'm addicted!!

New Sweet Obsessions!

Baked Apples....Nothing could be better. Nothing. I. Love. Them. They are EXTREMELY easy and hey, whoever can say the words "baked" and "apples" in the same sentence has to be some sort of healthy, RIGHT?? Well, I know that they are not that great, so I'm going to offer 2 recipes, a normal one that is Awesome and a tad more scrumptious and an alternative one that is still tasty for those of us who are counting every last drop. :)

Bake Apples {Normal}

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of butter

4 large "tart" apples- peeled, cored and sliced, 1/4 inch thick

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 cup of cold water

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a large, covered skillet, melt butter over medium heat; add apples. Cook, stirring constantly, until apples are almost tender, about 6-7 minutes. 

2. Dissolve cornstarch in water; add to skillet. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

You could also do less cornstarch and add nutmeg and vanilla for a little extra something!

Baked Apples {Diet}

Ingredients:

4 apples, cored

2 Tbsp of water

2-3 packets of stevia {or other sweetener}

Pinch of cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Core the apples, being careful not to cut clear to the bottom, and pare a strip from the top of each. Place in an 8x8 baking dish. 

3. Dissolve the stevia in the 2 Tbsp of water

4. Divide into four portions and pour into each apple. 

5. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of each apple and add 1 cup of water around the apples

6. Bake for 45-60 min.

(They also suggest to add Vanilla Creme Stevia, I have not tried that yet, but I'm sure its great.)

SSOOOO, obviously these are both very different ways to prepare, but I'm not gonna lie....I used the {Diet} ingredients and followed the {normal} directions :) Let me know how ya'lls go!! 

These colorful little guys are nothing special. White cake mix and white frosting. I just wanted to play with food coloring. But they are fun to look at!!

My Go With Shabby Soul

Well, the past few weeks have been wonderfully crazy! I was able to go down to Aledo, TX for an internship with Shabby Soul. Shabby Soul is made up of two wonderful girls, Brittany and Kasie. I had a blast working with them for 3 days while they were working on a project for Nieman Marcus. It consisted of 5 mannequins that they needed to cover completely with Nieman Marcus magazine clippings. It was a lot of hard work and sticky fingers!! 

Here are a few pictures of the progress we made while I was with them.... ENJOY!!

This is the undressed man-nequin. Doesn't he look amazing? This is not the hair that went on him, we just really enjoy the Bieber look.

This is GLAM!! She is probably my favorite!! We finished her in one, yes ONE DAY!! 

These are the remaining 3 girls: 944, Christmas and InCircle. (All named after Nieman Marcus magazines)

Glam's FAB bling!! Brittany did such a great job!!

Christmas is amazing with the red and white contrast!!

And the crazy 944!! Definitely the wild one of the bunch :) Her skirt is my absolute favorite!! Its made of nothing but necklaces!!

At this point in the process I had to go back home to Oklahoma :(  But I had so much fun with Brittany and Kasie and learned A LOT!! They were so nice for letting me come and join them and I can't wait until I get to go back and help with the other side of their business, interior design and faux finishing furniture! Everyone should check out their website: ShabbySoul.com

Here are the rest of the pictures from the photo shoot!

All 5 of the mannequins!!

Christmas!! She is so chic!!

944 and the lone boy!! 

Christmas' accessories, isn't her bra studding amazing?!?!

Glam! So elegant :) You'll never look at blue the same way again!!

InCircle (aka Green) Cute Dress!

Glam closer up, I love the layering of the necklaces!

Don't you want some sweet suspenders like him? So hot!

944!

Green and Glam!

Did they not turn out amazing?!?! It was so much fun getting to do this!! Thanks again to Kasie and Brittany for taking me under their wing! They are both so talented and I can't wait to go back!! Please take a look at their site or Facebook page: Shabby Soul's Facebook page or ShabbySoul.com! Also, did you not love all that amazing jewelry and studded bras?? It was all done by Gypsy Soule, some good friends of Shabby Soul! Here is their site: GypsySoule.com

Thank you so much for reading and I love you all :)

U Create

Just a quick little post....but I HAD TO SHARE!!! I've made it onto U Create's blog :) I am super pumped!! It shows the wreath that I talked about in my previous post!!

Here it is: U Create Blog

Hope everyone has a "quake"tastic night and have a Happy "Hangover Appreciation Day" tomorrow :)

-Mal