Spanakopita (updated)

A while ago I took a Greek cooking class then I made baklava and posted it here. Since my baklava post I have taken a pizza cooking class -- the Greek class is still at the top of the list with the pizza class at a close second. (I'm taking an Egyptian cooking class at the end of the month!!!!!!!!)

We had an "Around the World" pot luck at work. I knew this was the opportunity to make one of my favorite dishes from the Greek cooking class I took. 

Gift Wrapping "Station"

I'm sure you avid pinners have seen gift wrapping rooms all over Pinterest and drool with jealousy like I do. Shoot, I'm not even passionate about gift wrapping but the rooms look so organized and beautiful I want one.

I do NOT have space in my apt to dedicate a room/closet simply for gift wrapping.

The first blog I ever started following was Cupcakes and Cashmere. Everything she does is beautiful. She posted a DIY of her version of a wrapping station. I love it. I love that its over the door and doesnt take up a whole room. It's small enough to hide but big enough to to do some creative wrapping.

Since my wrapping materials aren't that extensive I searched the Container Store website to find the perfect wrapping "station" for my needs.

Remember: tiny apt, roommates, no room, building up supplies

Until I can work up to a gift wrapping room my "station", though small, will fit neatly under my bed, out of the way, which I LOVE.

I can't wait to wrap some gifts!

Total Cost: $15.00

Chicken Quinoa Soup

I made chicken noodle soup for the first time on my own and it was not very tasty. I hate adding salt but I realized after this test, that's what I was missing.

I am now on a mission to make a great chicken noodle soup; this one is on the right track :).

DIY Cake Stand Perfume Holder

As many of you know Pinterest loves cakestand storage. I do too, it adds a little bit of depth, a little color, and overall it just looks a little bit classy. When I saw this pin I knew I had to make it.

follow: http://www.weddingchicks.com/2012/11/29/diy-cake-stand/, http://factorydirectcraft.com/factorydirectcraft_blog/diy-cake-stands/


send her pics of what i did: http://somethingturquoise.com/2012/03/16/diy-painted-mirror-glass-table-numbers/
Total cost per item or pair or project: $24.00*

Baklava

I recently took a Greek Cooking class through Living Social. If you are not familiar with Living Social, you need to be. Living Social offers "things" (sorry dad, I know how much you hate that word) at a discount. For example, I've taken two cooking classes (brunch and Greek), a Kimchi demonstration class (showed me how to make Kimchi), a wine and paint class where we got two glasses of wine and painted a flower. I'm not an artist, I’m more of a crafter, so I wouldn’t do that again, but it was a great girl’s night. I also got a discounted Tough Mudder ticket (wohoo!!). I've ordered iPhone cases, skydiving experiences, 3 course dinners, tubing trips, the list goes on. Check out Living Social to find discounts in your area, it really is a great way to enjoy your city at a discount.

Any who, in the class I learned how to make VERY VERY good food, baklava, lamb kabobs, tzatziki, Greek green beans, and spanakopita. The way that the class is set up is it's two people per cooking station, my mom paired up with her friend, and I lucked out at got the whole station to myself. I also didn't have to share my spanakopita or lamb kabobs (nom nom nom). Since I wasn’t a big fan of the baklava (too much rose water for my taste) I figured I would just share it with my coworkers. They are pretty cool. The baklava was a HIT at work; I knew that's what I would be making for the next potluck...of course with a few updates to my liking :).

Pigs-in-Pigs (lil smokey's wrapped in bacon)

My friend decided to have a little pre-game-nosh party before hitting the bars on her birthday. I was tasked to make pigs-in-a-blanket. A relatively easy task if you buy the right kind of dough -- aka the sheet kind not the pre-cut kind. But that is NOT what this post is about.

So, my friend is allergic to gluten, in addition to pigs-in-a-blanket I made pigs wrapped in bacon, or pigs-in-pigs as I like to call them. They smelled amazing, and were a hit!

Ingredients
-Bacon
-Lil Smokey's

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Cut the bacon into thirds
3. Begin wrapping the lil smokies
4. Place on cookie sheet
5. Bake for 10 minutes, or until bacon looks good! mmmmmmm

Lesson's learned:
-Use a tooth pick to keep the bacon from unrolling
-Bake them on a cookie rack so the fat will drip off


FYI, it tasted just as good as it sounds :)

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