Things I've Tried from Pinterest: How to Make Homemade Ice Cream in a Baggie

This pin is a delicious and simple concept. Make a small amount ice cream in a plastic bag. No ice cream maker necessary. The recipe came from 2 Little Hooligans.I've tried it three or four times.

What I used:

• Everything the recipe called for.
• I made a cinnamon ice cream by adding cinnamon.
• Chocolate version by adding cocoa
• Coconut version by adding coconut extract.

What I like about it:

• No ice cream maker needed.
• I can make a single serving of ice cream, no need to feel like I'm overeating or having to freeze the rest.
• I know what's in it. Simple straightforward ingredients.
• It's totally customizable. I can try new flavors all the time.
• It was kind of fun to shake the bag up.
• It's yummy.

Concerns:

• Messy: One of my Ziplocks leaked getting salty water everywhere. Even when it wasn't leaking the condensation was everywhere.
• Melts very quickly.
• You can't make a large amount using this method.
• It's really cold shaking that bag!
• It uses a lot of salt.

I would definitely do this again, and I look forward to trying more flavors!

Things I've Tried from Pinterest: Skinny Pizza Rolls

This is a great concept.Skinny pizza rolls from Dashing Dish. A quick and easy after school snack as yummy as Totino's Pizza Roles, but with far fewer calories, and homemade!

What I used:

• Wonton wrappers
• Store bought pasta sauce, Prego I think
• Shredded cheese, whatever I had handy
• Fresh herbs like rosemary and basil

What I like about it:

• The original recipe says they are only 30 calories each! How can you go wrong?
• They were yummy!
• I knew what was in them. No mysteries about "cheese product" or any other unknown ingredients.
• They are totally customizable. I think I may have even added a bit of spinach when I made them. You could easily make different types with bacon bits or sausage or pepperoni pieces. In fact the orginal recipe uses pepperoni, so my version must have been even lower in calories! Score!
• They lend themselves to being vegetarian. I made them at a time when Steve wasn't eating meat. They were a great snack that we could both eat.

Concerns:

• They were very time consuming to make.
• They were a bit messy.
• They weren't super filling.
• I don't usually have wonton wrappers on hand.
• I couldn't use the whole wonton wrapper package in one shot and many of them were wasted because I didn't use them again.

I will definitely try this recipe again. I might try freezing them next time to make them a faster snack. They were definitely yummy!

Things I've Tried from Pinterest: Chocolate Frosting Shots

This idea intrigued me; Chocolate Frosting Shots. Basically, the concept is dairy free, gluten free chocolate icing using coconut milk. The pin comes from ChocolateCoveredKatie.com. I've tried it twice and plan to try it again.

What I used:

• Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa
• Vanilla
• Powdered Sugar
• A Touch of Thai Coconut Milk

What I like about it:

• The obvious. It's a dairy free alternative. 
• It's easy, with simple ingredients I usually have in the house.
• It's yummy and rich.

Concerns:

• My results with it have not been consistent. I don't know if it relates to the temperature of the coconut milk or what, but it has turned out differently both times.
• It's almost too sweet and rich. In order to get a good consistency, I have to add a ton of sugar and cocoa.
• The consistency is not the same as regular frosting. It really is more like a mousse.
• You have to prepare ahead by keeping the coconut milk in the fridge. 

Like I said, I plan to try this again, but unless I am specifically making cupcakes for, say, my cousin who is lactose and gluten intolerant. I would possibly use it as an actual mousse with a ton of whip cream on top. I definitely would have a glass of milk with it!

Things I've Tried from Pinterest: "Mind Blowing Cake Decorating Tip"

I have used this amazing Pinterest find often. It's a great video explaining a tip for using cake decorating icing bags. The original pin leads you back to this site, but the original video comes from karenscookies.net.

What I used:

• Wilton decorator bags
• Wilton decorating tips
• Homemade butter cream
• Generic plastic wrap

What I like about it:

• No need to deal with cleaning out those stupid decorating bags. They are a pain in the neck to was by hand, and in the dishwasher they always move around and often have residue left behind on the inside.
• It's easy.
• It's always difficult and messy to add more icing to a decorator bag. This eliminates that problem.
• It's really easy to switch tips in the middle of decorating. I really like that.
• I can just throw the mess away.

Concerns:

• You can only put a small amount of frosting in the bag using this method which means you end up having to do this several times. Inevitably, I run out of icing half way through a cupcake.
• When I do run out of icing, and know I don't have enough to finish a whole cupcake, I have to squeeze out the excess back into the bowl. Because it's in the plastic wrap, a lot of the icing gets wasted in the process. This annoys me.
• Sometimes this whole process doesn't work as well as it's supposed to. I've spent a lot of time trying to get the little plastic wrap tail through the tip or having the plastic wrap burst open or not fit as far down into the bag as I want it to and getting the bag dirty anyway.

Overall, I like this tutorial and use it often.

Things I've Tried from Pinterest: Crocheted "Swiffer Sock"

This is one of the best things on my "Tips and Tricks" Pinterest board, although I can't say that I found it on Pinterest (like the last "Things I've Tried from Pinterest" post) because I think I posted it directly from the blog where I found it (which, by the way, I highly recommend).

This pin is a pattern from Crafzine.com's blog for a crocheted reversible "Swiffer Sock."

What I used:

• Lion Brand Yarn Homespun I had some laying around and I thought the added texture would help it pick up more dust. I actually did it in similar colors as the picture

What I like about it:

• The pattern was simple and easy to follow. I probably made several mistakes because the homespun is a little bit more difficult to work with, but this didn't seem to really affect my final product.
• It works pretty well. Picks up quite a bit of dust, etc.
• It is washable which means I'm not spending money on new Swiffer cloths or creating more garbage by throwing out used cloths.
• It's reversible. I used the fluffy side for dry and the smooth side for wet.

Concerns:

• My original plan was to make two, so I always had an extra if one was in the wash, but once the novelty wore off, I forgot to make another one, so if it's in the wash, I don't have it available.
• I was right when I chose to use the Homespun yarn that it would pick up more junk. Unfortunately, some of that junk had stayed trapped in the fibers even after I washed the sock. I don't like that.

Overall, I love this pattern. I do use it, but not as often as I would like. If I made a second one, it would be perfect. I just have to actually do it.

Things I've Tried From Pinterest: Homemade Fabric Softener

I love Pinterest. Mostly because it's become one big bookmark for me. I have links that lead me back to so many amazing ideas and tips. I don't know about you, but there are some of pins I've seen, the ones that get pinned over and over again, that I would like to know more about from other Pinterest users. So I thought I'd do a series of posts sharing my experience with some of my favorite pins starting with...

Homemade Fabric Softener

This pin originally come from Thefrugalgirls.com  I'm pretty sure I've tried some of the other recipes on their list too, but I think this one is my favorite. It is a simple recipe for homemade fabric softener.

What I used

• white vinegar
• Hot water
• Cheap conditioner that I stopped using because I didn't like how it felt on my hair
• A little bit of my actual conditioner because I liked the way it smelled

Why I like it

• It really does make a difference in fabric softness. I have really hard water (well water) and sometimes my towels and things come out really stiff. This totally stopped that feeling.
• I don't have scientific proof, but it must have far fewer chemicals than regular fabric softener.
• It's WAY cheaper than actual liquid fabric softener, which I have actually never bought.
• It makes me feel better about the environment; reusing an old container to store it instead of buying more, not throwing out conditioner I don't want to use, using fewer chemicals.
• Again, no scientific proof here, but I know one of the concerns with regular liquid fabric softener is the heightened flammability for children's clothing. I'm pretty sure this isn't true with the homemade kind.

Concerns

• Sometimes it's hard to remember to make more of it.
• Steve insists he can smell the vinegar on his clothing. I totally disagree. Just in case though, I use really good smelling Gain detergent (I know this totally counteracts my "more natural" motives with the fabric softener, so sue me).

Anyway. I really like using homemade softener. I feel like doing things homemade that either are healthier or cheaper is worth it, but I like to do it a little bit at a time. I'm not going to switch to homemade everything right now, but switching one things at a time is totally worth it!