Here's a song from their newest album Ten Stories (which is, you guessed it, stories!).
Here's a picture from the show we went to. You can see that we had an awesome view, but we were catching the bouncing sides of the sound and a lot of sound from the on-stage monitor speakers.
love,
Laina
I've been falling in love with this band for a while now. My life has been super hectic and a little stressful. This particular song is one that I can listen to and instantly feel calm. Not only does this folky band have a great sound (um, hello... violin!), but they're also lyrically gifted. Man, I would love to see them live.
Take a break from your day, stop whatever you're doing, and just listen to this. Really take it in.
I really dig Kate Nash. I love that she has this angry and torn vibe going on. The first song is super relevant to my life.
I hope your week is fantastic! I'm going to try to post a new recipe by the end of the week.
love,
Laina
This is one of my most coveted Pinterest finds for two reasons: 1. It's wicked good and 2. It's astonishingly easy. I can be a pretty lazy person, so I love a recipe that requires little effort. Not only that, but the main dish only requires 4 (yes, 4) ingredients. So here's the thing, this recipe varies around the web since the original post isn't available. The amounts are somewhat dubious, but here's what I did tonight. I liked this over pasta, but I'm thinking it'd be really good with rice too.
Note: I doubled the recipe that I originally found.
Ingredients:
About 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. (I used 2 super big breasts that I halved.)
1 stick margarine/butter (I used about 1 1/4 stick of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)
2 packets of ranch dressing mix
Lemon juice to taste (I used about 3 tbs)
Directions:
1. Let the butter melt in the crock pot. I do this on the High setting.
2. Add lemon juice and ranch packets. Stir until well blended.
3. Add chicken and make sure it's coated with the liquid.
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. I check on it every couple of hours and ladle the liquid over the chicken.
I love this folky-orchestra group because it has this really fantastic combination of meaningful lyrics and beautiful orchestral instruments. I've heard that the number of band members on stage can range with each show, rendering the sound of each show unique. Their music contains instruments like guitar, violin, cello, French horn, tuba, and I'm pretty sure there was a glockenspiel at the show I attended last winter.
Here's my poorly recorded video of favorite song (sounds good though!):
Here's a great song from their newest album A Church That Fits Our Needs to illustrate their current sound:
Here's a pretty ballin' recipe I found on Pinterest. I made it for the first time a few months ago and to be honest, I kind of forgot about it (which is surprising because it's super delicious. I thought of it again the other day and decided to make it again tonight. This recipe is pretty large. I'd say it would make enough for 4 adults. My favorite thing about this is that it's ridiculously easy to make. The first time I made it I used precut onions and peppers. You could even get the fajita chicken pieces that are already cut into neat little pieces. Try it, you'll like it.
Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel)
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into strips
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken strips in a greased 13×9 baking dish.
In a small bowl combine the oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt.
Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and stir to coat.
Next add the tomatoes, peppers, and onions to the dish and stir to combine.
Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
Original recipe credit: Real Mom Kitchen
By now you should realize that I love Skinny Taste. Here's another one of my favorite recipes by Gina. I used some corn flake crumbs instead of panko since I had some left over from a chicken recipe. Here's the original recipe. Stay tuned below for mine.
Makes 12 servings of 2 poppers each. Each serving has 2 Points Plus and about 62 calories.
Ingredients:
12 jalapeño peppers, sliced in half lengthwise
4.5 oz light cream cheese
5 medium scallions, green part only, sliced
2 oz shredded low fat sharp cheddar
1/2 cup egg beaters
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp chili powder
spray oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Cut peppers in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.
Combine cream cheese, cheddar and scallions in a medium bowl.
Mix corn flake crumbs, paprika, chili powder, and garlic powder in another bowl.
Fill peppers with cream cheese mix.
Dip in egg beaters.
Put the pepper in the corn flake mix and coat.
Place the peppers on an oil-sprayed baking sheet. Lightly spray the tops of the peppers with the spray.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden and cheese oozes out.
Remove from oven and serve immediately. Serve hot.
When I started redoing my bedroom, a friend of mine gave me an old lamp that she used to keep in her classroom. It has a lot of shells in it and a slightly stained and outdated shade. It also had a dead seahorse inside. It's non-existant eye haunted me. Haunted me, I tell you. I really wish I had taken a picture of it. Oh well. Anyway, here's a before picture:
I picked up a round shade from Target when it went on sale for around $18.00. Then I sat down, unscrewed the bottom of the lamp, and started shaking the shells out. The awkward part came in when I tried to clean the inside of the lamp. Long story short; it's still slightly dusty/linty inside. Ready to see the final result?
This is one of my new favorite recipes! I found the original version by Canadian Moms Cook through my Pinterest. I made it a while back and while I liked it, I thought it needed just a couple changes. To be honest, I really only added more cheese and little Rotel, but I think it made a difference.
It's ridiculously easy and relatively quick to make.
Makes 8 1-cup servings. Each serving is 8 points plus.
Ingredients:
1/2 - 3/4 box of bowtie pasta
1 pound of ground beef (I used ground sirloin because I'm fancy and it has a lot less fat).
1 pkg/envelope of taco seasoning
1 cup of water
1/2 can of tomatoes with green chiles (i.e. Rotel)
3/4 package of cream cheese (I actually used Neufchâtel, but you could live it up)
1 1/2 (approx) cups of shredded Mexican blend cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Boil pasta until just cooked; drain, run cold water over it.
3. While pasta is cooking, brown ground beef.
4. Mix taco seasoning and the water; pour over cooked beef and let simmer for about 5 minutes until the liquid has reduced.
5. Add the cream cheese to the beef mixture, stir until melted and combined. Remove from heat.
6. Combine pasta and about 1 cup of the cheese. Add 1/2 can of Rotel. (note: I normally do this in the same pot I cooked the pasta in. You can do it in your casserole dish, but it seemed to messy to me)
7. Top pasta and cheese with beef mixture, gently mix until the pasta is coated.
8. Transfer to casserole and top with remaining 1/2 (and maybe more!) cup of shredded cheese.
9. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes.
Additional Note: I have used both a 9x13" dish and a 1-quart dish for this recipe and both worked fine. Also, I kind of eyeball the amount of cheese used on the top; 1/2 cup is just a guideline. You can do more or less.
Enjoy!
This band is called Other Lives. The song in the video above isn't my absolute favorite song by this band (that would probably be Dark Horse), but it has a nifty new video that reminds me of Doctor Who for some reason.
I saw them at a bar venue in North Carolina back in February right before they went on tour with Radiohead. They sounded amazing live and I would highly recommend seeing them if you have the chance. I've decided to throw in a bonus cheesy Instagram picture to the right!
You know what's even more of a bonus? The fact that you can listen to their whole album Other Lives on their website and here below.
Ok, seriously, Skinny Taste is one of my all-time favorite recipe sites. I've tried many of Gina's recipes and most of them are amazing. For real-- 2 points+ for 3.5 tablespoons! I made this a while ago and it is seriously one of the best dressings I’ve ever had. No joke; I see myself using this as salad dressing, on sandwiches and as a dip. 3.5 tablespoons is a pretty big serving, but this dressing is kind of thick, so it works well with larger salads.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 small jalapeno, seeds removed, leave them in if you want it spicy
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro
1 medium haas avocado
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp chopped scallion
juice of 1 lime
1/8 tsp cumin (note: I'm not a fan of cumin, so I left it out)
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
For a thinner dressing add more buttermilk, for a thicker dip use less.
Want to check out Gina's original posting of this recipe? I don't blame you, man. Click here for the goodness!
I just want to preface by saying that this is one of my all-time favorite Weight Watchers appropriate recipes. I tried my hand at these muffins that have been floating around Tumblr. Holy crap, guys. They… are… AMAZING! I brought them to work to let my friend try and he was totally blown away when I told him what was inside. These are great incentive to get your dairy in for the day too — super good with a glass of milk. The French Press’ recipe below:
Ingredients:
1 box Betty Crocker Supermoist Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1/2 box (22 grams) Jello Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Chocolate Fudge Pudding (dry)
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup (80 grams) Nestle Toll House Mini Morsels.
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix everything together except mini morsels.
Line muffin tray with foiled cupcake wrappers (if using regular wrappers use a little non-stick cooking spray) and fill each 3/4 full.
Bake about 22-23 minutes, take out of oven and lightly mush down top of muffin so it’s flattened a little, sprinkle mini morsels on top.
Return to oven for another 3-4 minutes. Test with toothpick, it should be a little moist and not completely clean.
Take out of oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
18 muffins @ 3 pp each.
My name is Allaina but you can feel free to call me Laina. This would be my blog. I plan to fill it with things I love (hence the name). I look forward to sharing pictures, recipes, projects, and crafts with you.
Let's do this.
love,
Laina
