3-SIX-5 Recipes

Times have changed and I have less time to do things that I want to, since I unfortunately do not have the time to do arts and crafts like I would love to I decided to take a different route and I will be doing a blog called 3six5recipes.blogspot.com it will be centered around nothing but recipes.  I have a passion for cooking and so does my fiance so lets see what we can come up with!  Please visit me there (:

Its a girl thing.

Brown and Black double cheetah bow.

Since I found out I was having a girl I have been obsessed with everything girl.. check out my etsy account (:

Fresh Strawberry Pie

So since this summer I have been big on fruits, since I'm pregnant I have been on this healthy kick!  I found a recipe for some things that I had randomly in the house which included strawberries and graham crackers.  I found on the Honey Maid website.

Here is what you will need..

For the crust...
1 cup crushed graham crackers (I suggest without cinnamon, because it just doesn't taste right with it)
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp butter

Mix sugar, crushed graham crackers, and butter all together and line a glass pie pan bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes until it is nice and firm.  Once out of the oven set aside and start the filling.

For the filling..
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup water
1 pkg of strawberry instant jell-o
1/2 cup of chopped strawberry

Put cornstarch, sugar, and water in a pan and bring to a boil stirring constantly, stir for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is nice and thick and it will be a cloudy white color.  Once the mixture thickens add jell-o mix and cook & stir for about 2-3 minutes or until the liquid is clear and jell-o is completely dissolved.  Let filling cool for about 5 minutes, once its cooled just slightly pour 1/3 of the mixture into the pie pan and pour the freshly cut strawberries into the remaining mixture and stir it up.  After adding the strawberries pour the rest into the pie pan.  Place in the refrigerator and allow the filling to set for about an hour or so.  Once it is set, serve with a dollop of cool whip on top and ENJOY!

Gender Reveal Cake!

So a friend of mine found out that she is going to be welcoming a little boy into this world come January!  I am so excited about this because I got to participate in the reveal of the babies gender.  She sent me a picture of a bumble bee cake that she really liked, so I decided to make her a cake similar but a little different because I had to add my own touch.  Here are some pictures of the cake I made.  Hope you like it!

I love it!! I am so excited, congratulations Jennifer.. boys are sooo MUCH fun!

Cinder Block Beauty!

Since I have found out that I was pregnant I have not been myself, I hardly do any of the fun activities that I used to do.  I honestly, just feel worn out!  Well, since I gained some energy this past week I decided that I would work on my garden.  I don't know why but I find working on my garden one of the most stress-relieving things to do.

 Well after browsing pinterest for a really long time about a new activity that I can do to keep myself occupied I came across a posting about using cinder blocks as planters.  Since I didn't really think cinder blocks would look cute in my garden, I thought that maybe doing a mosaic on them would be fun.. so that's what I did!

What you will need..
Cinder blocks (however many you need)
Tiles (multiple colors and full sized  3x3 tiles)
Glass tiles
Mortar (you will need a trowel for the mortar)
Grout (you will need a rubber trowel for the grout)
Sponge

Step #1:

After going to the local home improvement store and finding the cinder blocks & tile.  The estimated total cost for cinder blocks & tile is about $12.  I prepped the cinder blocks by making sure they were nice and clean and prepared the tile by putting them one at a time in a plastic zip block bag and gently tapping them with a hammer until they broke, set aside.  Once all the tiles have been broken you want to start to prepare your mortar, prepare how it states on the package, once it is ready to be laid use the trowel and apply a thin layer on the cinder block but ensure that it is thick enough to press the tiles into it without worrying about it moving.  Place tiles on the mortar in any pattern you want.

Step #2:

Once the mortar is set up and the tiles are not going to move use a squirt bottle to wet the mortar slightly so that it adheres to the grout.  Prepare the grout as stated on the package and start to apply.  Make sure that you apply a nice good layer getting into every crack and trying to apply as evenly as possible without applying too much.  Let set up, the amount of time should be listed on the package.

Step #3:

Once the grout is somewhat dry, use a large sponge and water to get the excess grout off the tiles and to make a nice smooth surface.  Set aside and allow to fully dry, this is my least favorite step.. I hate waiting!!

Step #4:

After the grout has completely dried set the cinder blocks wherever you want them to go fill about 3/4 of the way with dirt and plant some flowers.. and TADA!! a beautiful cinder block garden (:

Go ahead and try it, it took me 4 days to complete my whole garden.  Enjoy!

Fajita Salads!

Since it seems like the temperature outside is not going down anytime soon, my fiance and I are trying to think of new ways to make dinner without heat up the entire house.  Since salads have been our favorite thing to make lately we have been looking up different dinner salads all the time, tonight we decided to make some fajita salads! YUMM!!

What you will need...

• Chuck Steak
• 1 Bell pepper
• 1 white or red onion
• 1 16 oz sour cream
• 1 12 oz salsa of any kind
• 1 head of romaine lettuce
• 4 flour tortillas

Cook the steak to your liking and cut it up into thin strips, set aside.  Prepare salad by cutting up the lettuce, onion, bell pepper and mix it in a large bowl.  After preparing the salad, mix the whole sour cream with the entire bottle of salsa, salt and pepper to taste.   For toppers we chopped the tortillas into thin strips and deep fried them in our deep frier and seasoned with pappys which is just a seanson-all but it is one that is sold locally here in California.

Put your salad in the bowl and top with steak, then a little dressing and the tortilla toppers.  Fast and easy meal and I am sure everyone will love it!!  Enjoy!  By the way I hope everyone had a fun & safe 4th of July!

Bacon Pasta

One of my FAVORITE recipes is this recipe.  I have loved it all my life and my son has loved it as long as he has been old enough to eat whole food.  It is a great recipe for summer because you do not have to use to oven.. here it is and I hope you love it too!!

Bacon Pasta

What you will need is..

1 lb bacon
1 box of penne pasta (or pasta of choice)
1 medium white onion
3 roma tomatoes
1 can of diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning
2 cloves of garlic
garlic salt, Italian seasoning, basil leaves, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.

What you will need to do..

In large pan bring water to boil, while the water is coming to a boil slice up bacon and in a skillet fry up bacon to crispy.  Once it bacon is nice and crispy strain on a paper towel and plate, set aside.  After the water has come to a boil add some salt and a little vegetable oil to ensure that your noodles do not stick together, then add pasta.  Set timer for about 11 minutes and cook until aldente.  Strain and set aside.  Once you've added the pasta drain 1/3 of the oil in the skillet into a bowl and dispose of.  After you've removed 1/3 of the oil dice up the whole onion and the garlic cloves and put in skillet with bacon oil.  Sautee the onion until transparent and dice up tomatoes and put in pan with the onions and sautee until soft, not too soft you still want them slightly firm.  While the onion & tomato are cooking add seasonings to taste, if you do not like spicy foods then I suggest not adding the red pepper flakes.  After adding all the seasoning the final step is to add the can of diced tomatoes and bring to a simmer and add to strained pasta.

ENJOY!!