Day 145: Foil-Wrapped Salmon (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

Ingredients:
Salmon fillet (I purchased the wild salmon from Costco -- and was able to cut it in large pieces before baking and freeze 3/4 of it for future meals)

2 tsp. olive oil (to grease foil)

4 tsp. basil pesto (I used the Costco basil pesto in a jar)

Tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 F.  Place a baking sheet in the oven to heat while you prep the salmon (I didn't do this step, and the salmon was still baked to perfection).

Tear two pieces of foil, big enough to wrap salmon with some overlapping. Place foil pieces one on top of the other. Put about 2 tsp. olive oil in center of top piece of foil and lay salmon on top of oil.

Spread basil pesto over the salmon. Arrange sliced tomatoes over pesto so they cover the top of the salmon.

Wrap salmon securely in foil, doubling over the seam and ends several times. Place salmon packet on heated baking sheet and cook 15 minutes.

Remove from oven after 15 minutes and let sit 2-3 minutes. Then open carefully and serve immediately, while salmon and tomatoes are hot.

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 142: Using Baking Soda to Exfoliate (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

Through this pin-a-day journey I'm on, I've discovered that the most versatile item in my house is baking soda.  It feels like it can -- and should! -- be used for everything!  About two months ago, I decided to attempt using baking soda as a facial exfoliate, and it has worked great!  I decided to spare you a close-up photo of my face, and instead explain just how different my face feels :)

Instructions:
Wet your face (I use a washcloth).  Pump a quarter-sized dollop of facial cleanser into the palm of your hand (as you can see, my true Costco loyalty extends even to my facial cleanser!).  Pour about a teaspoon of baking soda into your hand and mix well to combine with the facial cleanser.  Using a circular motion, massage the mixture onto the skin for 30 seconds to remove dirt, oil and dead skin, particularly around the nose, chin and forehead.  Rinse the baking soda scrub away (this is my only complaint with the baking soda scrub -- I try to carefully wash it away with a washcloth, but this step can be a bit irritating to my skin.  It takes a few times of wiping my face and rinsing out the washcloth before the gritty baking soda is completely removed from my face).  Repeat once a week.

I've tried other exfoliating treatments in the past, and my skin has never felt this smooth.  Try it!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 92: Break-Up with Your Build-Up (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

We have hard water where we live, and I vacillate between my annoyance for the hard water spots on our glass shower doors and how dry my scalp / hair is (something that I didn't realize was caused by hard water minerals, but now see the connection).  My hair ends up looking frizzy much of the time and I notice that with the colder weather, my scalp is particularly dry:

I have loads of baking soda in this house (Costco!), so I tried this "break-up with your build-up" pin about removing build-up from hair that has accumulated from shampoos / conditioners, hard water minerals, environment, hair products, etc.  All you need is baking soda and water!

Recipe:
1/3 cup baking soda
4 T water (I used the hard water from my tap, which seems counter-productive -- but it seemed to work!).

Mix together the two ingredients to form a paste and then step into your shower.  I made my hair wet, and then starting with the ends, massaged the paste into my hair / scalp.  I left it on for 15 minutes, and then washed my hair with my normal shampoo and conditioner.

Voila!

My hair is definitely less frizzy, but honestly, the best part of this has been that my scalp no longer seems dry / flaky at all -- here's hoping that continues!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 48: Avocado Chicken Salad (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

My husband and I loved this, but our kids wouldn't try it because of the avocado.  We didn't force the issue because that meant we could eat more of it!

Ingredients:
Chicken, cooked and shredded (I threw three frozen chicken breasts into the Crock-Pot with about 1/2 cup of chicken broth.  It was done and ready to shred after 3-1/2 hours on high).

One avocado.

A little bit of mayo.

Sliced green onion, to taste.

Cilantro, to taste.

Lime juice, to taste.

Salt & pepper, to taste.

I'm planning to enjoy the leftovers of this on a sandwich tomorrow, but we used it as a dip for dinner tonight with Food Should Taste Good multigrain chips (purchased from Costco).  Delicious!

Verdict: success!

Day 27: Crock-Pot Pork marinade (fail).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I am determined not to waste any of our Costco pork tenderloins (4 in a pack for $20!), so here's yet another Crock-Pot pork tenderloin recipe we tried!

Ingredients.

I substituted Agave nectar for pancake / maple syrup...

...and misread the directions that said to cook it 6 hours on low; I cooked mine 6 hours on high.  Although it was a bit burnt on the outside, my pork and marinade were frozen, so I subconsciously must have wanted to ensure that it was really cooked in those 6 hours!

My husband liked it and even had seconds, and I agreed that the meat was really tender from sitting in a marinade and cooking in a Crock-Pot.  However, I decided it was a fail because the marinade was really strong -- much too salty and tasted primarily of soy sauce.  It looked pretty plated, though!

Verdict: fail.

Costco Craze -- freezing bulk items.

I buy much of our food at Costco, and used to throw away a lot of it before we could use it up.  I've started prepping and freezing some bulk items {potatoes, onions, carrots, ground beef} to use in future recipes.  Now, we get the savings from buying in bulk, plus I already have a few prepared ingredients in the freezer to throw into soups, casseroles, nachos, spaghetti sauces, etc.  This morning, I chopped up the remaining onions and potatoes from the Crock-Pot Breakfast Casserole prep and separated them in sandwich bags for easy freezer storage.