I was gonna take a little blog break today just because my kids are off, I have a doctor’s appointment, one kid has an appointment, two kids have practices, etc. Even though there’s no school, it’s just a busy day! But instead I’m sharing a random assortment of things for your Monday. Kind of-What’s going on inside Erika’s head-kind of post?
First up, remember when I asked for you to complete a little blog survey? No doubts about it, the one thing you guys requested more of in 2024 is before/afters of our home renovation. I’m trying to give the people what they want. 🙂 However, each room has like one or two more things before I’m ready to share. It’s coming. I promise!
Today, I’ve got a quick recap for you. Just in case you’ve missed any of the new rooms I’ve shared so far….
This new pantry might be my very favorite space of the entire renovation. You can see the entire post here where I explained all the details. We ended up switching the laundry room/pantry spaces in order to accommodate some “musts” we wanted in the renovation. We went with a really neutral kitchen but I love that we added lots of color into the pantry!
I did an entirely separate post where I shared all the new organization happening in my pantry. My girlfriend, Lauren, {who has an organizational business} came over to help unpack the kitchen/pantry and organize things. She did an exceptional job and had so many great ideas for this space.
The laundry room was the next space I shared. I was looking for as much storage as possible in this weird space we had available plus I wanted something that would make me smile. {The crazy wallpaper does just that!}. We really took advantage of the space and decided to put the washer/dryer essentially “under the stairs” to eliminate any wasted space.
And the most recent room I shared was our “Front Room” all decorated at Christmas. It’s a space we really don’t use often but we could come up with absolutely nothing that made sense to change it into. It’s what you see right when you open the front door so I want it to look inviting and cozy.
I already have the next room I want to share. It’s a cute one!
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16 ounce cottage cheese
1 Ranch seasoning packet
That’s it!
Blend those two ingredients in a blender/food processor for 1-2 minutes. I read in many places that if it’s too thick of a mixture you can always add a little milk and blend more until it’s the right consistency. Tab grilled chicken last night and we added this to the top of the chicken. Did it taste as good as Litehouse or Hidden Valley? No, but it tasted pretty good especially considering this was a much healthier version!
By the way, do you remember when we had a Year of Cauliflower?? Cauliflower rice, cauliflower crust, cauliflower wings? What food do you think will be next? Maybe broccoli?
If you have a FAVORITE cottage cheese recipe, please share!
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If you’re a reader, STOP what you’re doing right now and order this book, The Frozen River. It’s Shay’s Book Club Book this month and I’M LOVING IT! I have about 75 pages left before I’m finished which makes me absolutely useless right now. I want to sit, not be bothered and finish this book! It’s SUCH a great one! I’ll share it {along with the others I read this month later}, but for now I absolutely LOVE and think you should read too!
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Friends, thanks for popping in today to see what was on my mind! I hope you had a great weekend. This week every spring sports is in full force with practices and such. I’m off to find some slow cooker dinners, get my groceries delivered, and enjoy each and every moment of the crazy. Happy Monday!
XO
I’ve been loving your house updates! Thanks for sharing-looking forward to more!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
I hope you like our March book too because it’s your rec!!! Eeeeks! I’m already excited to read it!
I started reading it today!
I have seen that ranch and cottage cheese recipe before, I think I need to try it! Have a great week!
Happy Week to you too, Jennifer! It’s a really good dupe! {Especially knowing it’s a much healthier option!}
The Frozen River was incredible. I literally paused life one afternoon to finish reading it. It’s been two weeks and I still cannot stop thinking about it. What an incredible read!
ME TOOO!!!! It’s SO GOOD!
Have you heard of the pizza in a bowl, or pizza dip with cottage cheese? It’s amazing! Here’s what you do:
To a microwaveable safe bowl, add
one cup of cottage cheese
two tablespoons of marinara
two tablespoons of diced olives (or other toppings you prefer)
a sprinkle of parmesan
garlic powder
dash of salt
more cheese if your heart desires
I microwave mine for about three minutes, then it turns into this hot and bubbly pizza dip that somehow tastes EXACTLY like pizza! I eat mine with tortilla chips, or I crush some and throw them in the bowl and eat it all with a spoon. It’s super satisfying and sometimes I have it for lunch! It has a ton of protein.
Oh Jennifer! Sounds delish! THANK YOU for sharing!
If you like the egg bites at Starbucks, this recipe is great. You can pretty much put whatever you want in them (ham, cheese, sausage, veggies, etcc…) The tray with warm water inside the oven acts as a sous vide so they turn out perfect! And the protein is high because of the added cottage cheese!
https://therecipecritic.com/starbucks-egg-bites/
Thank you!