{taste this} easy pizza roll ups

Ya'll ... I do not claim to be a gourmet chef by any stretch of the imagination.  Occasionally I get a flash of brilliance or stumble on a to-die-for recipe, but most of the time, I need dinners that are quick, easy and do not require a ton of ingredients.  (Can we say 'budget' and 'baseball'?  haha!)  And for all the rest of you crazy busy families ... here is one for you!

easy pizza roll ups

To make these delightful little rolls (sort of an easy version of a stromboli), pick up:

- 2 tubes of crescent rolls (I used reduced fat - any help I can get, ha ha!)

- shredded 6-cheese Italian cheese (mozzarella works just fine!)

- Choice of pizza-ish toppings:  pepperoni, ham, veggies, etc.

- Pizza sauce (for dipping!!)

First, unroll your crescent rolls and flatten them out.

Add your meat/toppings and top with a heap of shredded cheese.

Roll 'em up!

Bake at 375* until the rolls are golden brown.  After you take them out of the oven, brush with melted butter or olive oil and sprinkle with one of more:  Italian seasoning, garlic salt or sesame seeds.

Warm the pizza sauce and serve on the side.  Now, dip, baby, dip!  (Sorry if that song is stuck in your head...) 

Okay, so there you have it ... a super easy, delicious quick meal that you can serve with a salad for a {somewhat} well rounded meal.  These would be great as an addition to a brunch menu, an Italian potluck, lunch box, in place of take out pizza night or just as a midnight snack!

That's a wrap!  (Or a roll!?)

These were shared at all the blogs/parties on my Link page!

{create this} crafty cubicle makeover with tons of DIY tutorials

It is Friday!  The Bugs have officially gone back to school and made it through the first week!  Our baseball season has officially started again!  I have officially turned 33!  Quite an official start to this post!!  :)

For those of you who are new to shaken together ~ welcome!  My regular readers know that {create this} is my weekly craft and tutorial and now, you do too!  And this just might be - officially - one of my favorite posts yet... my crafty cubicle makeover!

Quick background:  I work in a REALLY cool converted warehouse from the 1920's.  Exposed pipes, beams and brick walls, hard wood floors, a poured concrete desk in our reception area, a working garage door in our conference room ... it is totally nifty!  But, a cubicle is a cubicle and ours are pretty standard stuff.  Here are two before shots:

Other than the cool brick wall, pretty boring ... gray, gray, gray

Again, no real personality - a few odds and ends and knick knacks...oh, and a little more gray ;)

So this week, I realized I spend a LOT of time here.  9 hours a day; over 1/2 of the time I am awake each day!  Five out of my seven days every week.  (And believe me, I am SO thankful for my job and love it!)  BUT my workspace sure didn't reflect much about me. 
Until now!!!

There a lot of fun little touches and projects today ... the tutorials will be a little bit shorter than usual, but please leave a comment or email me directly at shakentogetherblog {at} gmail {dot} com with any specific questions!

And let the tour begin!!

- I added a berry wreath surrounding my name tag and made a fun little mini penny candy store with an IKEA shelf, some cool vintage-y jars labeled with these pharmacy labels from The Graphics Fairy and a little bird holding a sign (also from that sweet Fairy!) that I hand stamped with "please help yourself"! 

- This garland (full tutorial here) adds a whimsical touch to my bulletin board!

- New file folders for the few papers I actually still shuffle!

- I picked up these 3 metal trays at Hobby Lobby for a song - maybe $3 bucks for all 3? - and lined them with scrapbook paper. 

- The first tray holds my perpetual family photo calendar (full tutorial here) - dressed up with a few ribbons -and I found the fun little metal chair at an antique store and it makes the perfect spot for my cell phone.  Plus, it is just SO stinkin' cute!

- The second tray has 3 little antique measuring cups - again, dolled up with a few ribbons - holding my paper clips, correction tape and other office-y implements.

- Tray #3 has a watering can pencil cup and my tape and stapler. 

- Add cork to inexpensive picture frames, whip up a few felt rosettes, add a ribbon and voila!  Instant, adorable cork boards!!  (The printables I used can be found on my Pinterest board "Stuff with Words" and at Sprik Space - they have a TON of sweet free printables!!)

- A friend gave me these three photo holders.  Instead of photos, I added some cute little die cut shapes and sprinkled them around my desk.

- I repurposed a rustic metal star for a new coaster for my cup.

- Finally, I think my favorite project is this milk bottle bunting project! 

I took 2 glass milk bottles (mine originally held salad dressing!) and swirled some white acrylic paint - thinned with a little water - inside them to make them look like they are filled with milk. 



Before bottles after a quick run through the dishwasher

After!  Little swirl of paint and instant milk ;)

I tied some twine to drape between the bottles, cut and inked seven paper flags, glued on a few buttons and done!  It makes me smile everytime I see it :)

Okay...and just a few more pictures so you can see it allllll together!!

This is to my left - LOVE!

Front and center - makes me happy!

To my right (obviously pre-candy, ha ha!) - welcome home!

I love sitting in my space and finding inspiring, creative bits and bobs everywhere I look.  It really feel so much more ME.  It makes my work day just that much better!!  So many of these ideas and easy projects can be incorporated to home offices, kids' bedrooms or workspaces, kitchen command centers ... endless possibilities!

These were shared at all the blogs/parties on my Link page!

{taste this} oriental coleslaw with no mayo!

I am a Southern girl.  Born in Michigan but raised in Texas and Florida.  I have eaten swamp cabbage.  My dad had an air boat and I have had bugs stuck in my teeth.  We have hosted many a fish fry.  I raised a pig, a duck, a rabbit, three cats and a parakeet (for the record - none were eaten!).  We love grits and tomato gravy, fried green tomatoes and anything slathered with barbecue sauce.  And Southerners love coleslaw.  Typical coleslaw is just shredded cabbage and/or shredded carrots and a mayonnaise-based dressing.  But The Saint does not like mayo.  (Or milk, or cream cheese, or sour cream...see a pattern?)  So this Southern girl's coleslaw repertoire is sadly limited.  Or should I say was?  Not after this ...

This recipe is courtesy of my friend Ashley - she made it at work for a pot luck and I knew I just had to make this and share it with you!  For this tasty twist on coleslaw, you'll need:

• 1 bag of shredded coleslaw mix - you could shred your own.  but why?  ;)
• 1 Oriental flavor ramen noodle packet
• 1/3 cup slivered/sliced almonds
• 2 tablespoons Sesame seeds
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons white vinegar (use a little less if you are using apple cider vinegar)
• 1/4 cup sugar (use a little less if you are substituting Splenda)

Crunch up the ramen noodles - hang onto the seasoning packet.  In a saute pan, add the butter, noodles, almonds and sesame seeds.  Toast until light brown; set aside to cool.

While the noodle mixture cools, mix up the coleslaw dressing.  Whisk together vegetable oil, Oriental seasoning packet from the ramen noodles, vinegar and sugar/Splenda.

Dress the slaw and add the noodle mixture right before serving. 

This is a great dish to take to a BBQ or outdoor party since the dressing does not contain mayo and will not spoil in a little heat!  It makes a great side dish for burgers or grilled chicken and seafood.  The dressy is tangy with just a hint of sweet, the sesame seeds, almonds and almonds are a nice nutty addition to the crunchy slaw ... needless to say, we all know what the Bassetts are bringing to the next BBQ :)

So glad you stopped by, can't wait to see you again (this time, I'll be one year older, ha ha!).

These were shared at all the blogs/parties on my Link page!

Uprinting.com {WINNER}!!!

The lucky winner of 100 5x7 postcards from Uprinting.com - as selected by random.org - is ...

True Random Number Generator
Min: 1
Max: 3
Result: 1


COMMENTER #1 who wrote:  Looks like a great giveaway! I'm a big fan of yours :)

I will be passing your email address onto Uprinting.com who will contact you within 30 days.  Congratulations!!

Thanks so much for playing along!
Keri

Part Kitten, Mostly Ninja

Do not let this little face fool you ...

Little aka Bitty (aka Assassin)

Behind that soft fuzzy fur, camoflauged by her little rat-a-tat purr and concealed under that sweet Mickey Mouse shaped spot, beats the heart of a fierce, highly skilled warrior.

Seriously ... Bitty is SO darn sneaky!  She doesn't weigh enough for her claws or paws to make any noise on the hardwood/tile so she can sneak up on you like a lion on a sleeping gazelle.  Ankles, toes, hands ... all fair game.  And she is armed with the sharpest teeth and claws in the western hemisphere.  The Bassetts all realized just how much her arrival has impacted our family as we waded into the salt water at the beach - sting city, people!!

Waiting just behind the bed skirt ... gotcha!

Wedged under coffee table, fluff stealthily concealed ... you're mine!

Inside a 1/2 full case of water ... you just thought you were safe!

Toes innocently tapping to my new favorite song ... done!

Awesome aka Boss sleeping, tail making little contented movements ... my next victim!

BUT ... then I see this:

and this:

and this:

And she pads up and purrs so loud you wonder how that sound could possibly come from that little body, tucks into the curve of your arm or sprawls out next to you ... and we have decided that maybe the ninja kitten can stay.  Now, Awesome may have something to say about that, but that is another story :)

Buying stock in neosporin and bandaids,
Keri

{create this} perpetual family photo calendar using a $1 IKEA frame

It's Friday...you're here, I'm here, there's a craft tutorial below...must be {create this} time!  And here's what I've got in store for you this week!!

 I'm so excited about this project for a couple of reasons...and since I love lists, let's make one!

• It uses something I bought at IKEA - for $1!!  Other than the cost to print 31 pictures (I actually printed mine at home), everything I used was from my stash!  Now this is crafting on the cheap!
• I got to use our gorgeous family photos again!  Ours were taken by my friend, Linda Wilson ... I shared a few here if you want to see them up close and personal.
• I love crafting useful things ... I mean, I love making wreaths and home decor stuff and cupcakes, don't get me wrong!, but I really love creating something that I can use every day!  This calendar isn't year or even month specific - perpetual, you see! - so you can use it over and over!
• It also makes a fantastic, very personal gift.  Weddings, birthdays, engagements, baby showers ... can you guess what everyone I know will be getting for Christmas?  ;)

Okay, I know, I know ... enough chit chat. After all, {fin de friday} is my weekly craft and tutorial.  Sooooo, without further ado, the HOW TO:

This project starts with this $1 Tolsby frame ... road trip to IKEA!!  (Wear comfy shoes, hydrate and bring a GPS, ha!)  I removed the inserts that you would normally sandwich a picture between.

Now, cut 16 pieces of card stock a little smaller than 3.5" x 5.5 (adjust if you are using a different frame); these need to "swing" easily through the opening.  I used kraft card stock to provide a neutral background - truthfully, you won't see much of it, so save your fancy scrapbook paper :)  Each card stock piece will hold two pictures back to back.  Next, I stacked the card stock rectangles up, wrote the numbers 1-16 on the front, flipped the stack over and wrote 17-31 on the back. 

Gather or print 31 pictures - one for each day of the month.  I printed all of my photos in black and white so they were a little more cohesive and I didn't have to worry about the different colors competing with my embellishments.  Crop your pictures just smaller than your card stock pieces.

Here is why the numbers you wrote before are important and this requires a little planning if you want to make this really personal ... you are putting your favorite pictures on special or meaningful dates!

• The Saint and I for our anniversary on the 2nd
• My favorite picture of each of us on our respective birthday days (9, 20, 22 and 24)
• Highlight holidays and meaningful dates for your family, too:  family picture for Christmas Eve, little goblins on Halloween, lovey dovey photo on the day you met, etc.

Adhere all of your pictures to the card stock pieces and keep them in order :).  I used my Crop-o-dile to punch holes in all of the card stock rectangles since I can set the distance and punch all of my holes evenly and in the same place.

In my mind, I figured I would hang these with binder rings.  But the hinges made it hard to flip the pictures and just didn't work.  So, I resorted to good ol' twine.  (Do my brainiac readers have any better ideas?  I am most definitely not an engineer, ha ha!)

And now my FAVORITE part ... embellish!!  This is where you get creative...add number stickers, punched shapes, metal tags, etc. ... whatever strikes your fancy to add the date to your picture calendar pages!  I even used several of these vintage numbers from the Graphics Fairy (upper left hand picture in the collage below).  I love the font and simplicity.  Here are a few of my favorite little embellishments:

And here is a peek at some of the other pages ...

Simply flip each page as the days go on ... at the beginning of a new month, start all over! 

Now, since I am going to keep my perpetual family photo calendar at my desk at work, this project sparked an idea (actually, several) and I've decided an extreme cubicle makeover is in order!!  Hopefully, I'll have most of it done by next Friday for your viewing pleasure!  I have some great ways to personalize and brighten up your work space!

Now, off to get The Bugs back-to-school haircuts, meet some teachers, watch the Bigger Bug play in a baseball tournament and thoroughly enjoy this weekend!  Hope you do the same!

These were shared at all the blogs/parties on my Link page!

Uprinting.com Postcard {giveaway}!!! Hurry - Ends 8/18/11

I really don't get the opportunity to host fun giveaways often ... so I am SUPER excited to get the chance to host this one with a great prize from Uprinting.com!!  Uprinting.com is your one stop shop for postcard design and postcard printing ... oh, and just about anything else you could ever want to print :)  Calendars, brochures, letterhead, business cards ...

One lucky winner will win 100, 5" x 7" postcards!!

Now, I bet you're wondering...What would I use a post card for?

• Unique, personalized thank you cards
• Share the details of your party, event or get-together
• Market your blog, website, business or online shop!
• Create a birth announcement
• Quick and easy Christmas or holiday cards
• The possibilities are endless and Uprinting.com has a great design page with ideas, guidelines and helpful hints!

I created a 5" x 7" Christmas card post card in under 5 minutes - upload a picture, add your text and DONE!  Click here - postcard size - to browse their templates and see how easy it is to design your own postcards!

One winner (U.S. Resident, 18 yrs or older) will receive 100, 5" x 7" postcards printed on 14 pt glossy card stock, no fold, one side printing only, 2 day business shipping.
 
Okay, want to enter to win?
 
Please leave a separate comment for each entry - your email address would be appreciated so I can contact the winner ASAP!! 

• Be a follower here at pressed down, shaken together.  Leave me a comment letting me know if you are a wonderful existing or fabulous new follower. **Required entry**
• Like Uprinting.com on Facebook - come back and leave me a comment letting me know.
• Leave a comment on their Facebook wall and tell them pressed down, shaken together sent you  - come back and leave me a comment letting me know.

Okay, this giveaway is open until 8pm EST on 8/18/11.  And GO!!

Have a great day, lucky ducks!!
Keri

Disclaimer: This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, an online printing company, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive postcards for hosting. See more information about available postcard size and postcard design on UPrinting.com.

{taste this} senor Caesar salad or a taco Caesar salad

What a whirlwind weekend...

• Saturday at the beach with friends - CHECK
• School clothes and shoe shopping for the Bugs - CHECK (quick side question:  Is anyone else finding that there is a short shortage??!!  SO strange, but there is a serious lack of selection or just no shorts at all in several stores...)
• The Saint went scalloping for the first time - CHECK
• Packed The Bugs up for a few days with Grandma since their summer program is closed this week - CHECK
• Easy week day night dinner to share with you - CHECK

And that brings us to this week's {taste this} recipe...  my senor Caesar salad!!  Just for the record, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get the tilde over the n in senor...sorry!

I can't take all of the credit for this salad ... The Saint came up with a version and I just tweaked it a bit.  It is pretty much the blending of a Caesar salad and a traditional taco salad ... hence the "senor" ;) but there is a twist with the dressing and croutons, so let's get right to it!

Shopping list:
Romaine lettuce
Caesar dressing (homemade or prepared)
2 packets of taco seasoning (or use 1 packet reserving 1 T of the dry mix)
Chicken, ground beef, steak or tofu (whatever protein you would use in tacos)
Nacho flavored chips (i.e. Doritos)
Shredded Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, black olives (basically other typical salad/taco toppings you like)

Buy this stuff + Caesar dressing + toppings you like

Prepare your protein as per the instructions on your taco seasoning packet.  I used ground beef for our salads.

Now, for each 2/3 cup of Caesar dressing, add 1 tablespoon of dry taco seasoning mix and incorporate thoroughly.  This made enough for 3 generous salads.

Instead of croutons, use slightly crushed Doritos...chip-tons?  Cru-itos?  Either way, delish.

Build your senor Caesar salad, add your toppings, the slightly spicy Caesar dressing, your fun crunchy chip-tons/cru-itos and enjoy!!

These were shared at all the blogs/parties on my Link page!

{create this} - back to school back pack tags using baseball card protectors

Happy Friday!  I'm back from my mini blog break and I'm so glad you stopped by for this {create this}!!!

Well, our big back to school rush has begun here at the shaken together household ... bags and bags of school supplies (love!) are camping out in the dining room, my list of school clothes and shoes has been made (hello retail therapy this weekend!) and we got all of our meet-the-teacher info in the mail yesterday.  And can I just say ...

Holy cow! I will have a 6th grader & a 3rd grader in 11 days!  EEEEK!!!

But I am taking deep, cleansing breaths and have decided the best way not to freak out about having a middle schooler, is, of course, to craft!  So, for this {fin de friday} craft and tutorial, here is my super easy (seriously 5-minute!) ...

These are a quick and easy way to ensure that no one accidentally snags your child's backpack, lunch box or even diaper bag!  So, without further ado, the HOW TO:

1.  Gather your supplies (see above) - I also grabbed an ink pad and letter stamps

Slide your cut paper (double sided paper makes life SO easy for this) into the baseball card protector and punch a hole in the upper left hand corner.  You don't want the hole too far down because it makes it difficult to get the keyring on.

Cut and punch your index card (this insert will have your child's name, teacher & room # or baby's name, allergies, etc.)

And stamp it up!

Here are a few other tags I made with different embellishments!

Slide a picture in the front and your mini notebook paper insert in the back, slide it on a zipper and call it done! 

The Little Bug LOVES his rock star back pack tag ... and I love that it will hopefully help his backpack find its way to his teacher or back to him easily if someone accidentally picks it up (or more likely, if he leaves it somewhere!). 

These were shared at all the blogs/parties on my Link page!