Recipe: Apple Brownies

This is another recipe that I found on Pinterest, and they call it brownies, I call it Apple Crisp-ish Brownies.  It's really good, and really easy to make.  It was eaten within two days of being made, and if that doesn't say a lot, then I don't know what would.  It was great.  I loved it.  It's best warm and you can even top it off with some vanilla ice-cream with caramel sauce.  

Ingredients: 

½ cup Butter, melted 

1 cup White Sugar

1 Egg 

3 Medium Apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

½ cup Chopped Walnuts

1 cup All Purpose Flour

¼ tsp Salt 

½ tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon 

Directions:

Pre-heat your over to 350 degrees and grease a 9x9 inch pan.

Beat together the melted butter, sugar, and egg, until fluffy.

Fold in the apples and walnuts.

In a seperate bowl sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.

Mix the flour mix and the apple mix together and then place in the greased pan.

Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Enjoy! 

xx 

** I didn't add the walnuts because my sister doesn't like nuts. 

Covergirl & Revlon Lipsticks:

To be completely honest, I'm not 100% sure why I bought these two lipsticks.   I would have never picked up the one from covergirl if it wasn't for one of those try out different hair and make up simulators.  On the outside it's purple.  On the inside it's purple with blue sparkles, applied it's purple, but after a bit it's more pink.  Which is totally confusing.  I love this lipstick.  I don't know how often I am going to wearing, but I love it.  I chose the Rimmel London lipstick because I've fallen in love with their lip butters and I think I'm slowly, subconsciously, trying to collect them all.  

The blue glitter doesn't show while it's on, and it's more pink after it settles in to your lips.  It will be in a FOTD in a few weeks. 

Covergirl 335 Embrace: 

Like I said above, it looks a lot different on the lips.  I wasn't so sure about the purpleness.  It scares me.  But also now that it's fall I've been looking for the perfect dark lipstick.  Something less spring/summer.  And if you've been here long you know that is a struggle for me.  I feel like I don't have the right skin tone for lipstick so dark, but the I see all of these amazing people who pretty much have the same skin tone as me wearing deep reds and burgundy and all of that.  So, I figure why not.  It a comfort thing that I have to get over, because I like the dark lip look, who cares that it's not exactly fashionable for me.  (that's not the right word, but it's the one that came to my head.)  

This lipstick has amazing staying power.  I have a lighter colored tube and I was wearing it the other day, forgot, took a shower, and when I got out of the shower it was still on.   It does not budge with light drinking out of a bottle, and it does not budge with my nervous lip biting/rubbing together habbit that I have somehow gotten myself stuck on.  I haven't tried it against eating a sandwich or anything like that, but I think it will be fine.   It's hard to remove.  I used a makeup wipe against it the other day, and I couldn't get all of it off.   I've used garnier fructis oil, and it was still difficult to remove.  

My only negative notes about this lipstick is the smell and after a bit it feels a little drying.  There is just something about Covergirls formula, that I don't like.  It's like old fashioned lipstick paired with perfume.  Not the best, but for how long it lasts, I can power through it.  

Revlon  050 Berry Smoothie: 

I expected this butter to be a little bit darker and more berry than it is.  It's more pink but it's still a very nice color.  Again, like I said above, I think I'm subconsciously collecting all of the Revlon Lip Butters.  This is my 3rd and that doesn't seem like much, but I'm not really one to have a lot of color options (yet).  

I haven't played with this one as much as I have with the Covergirl lipstick because I kind of feel like I already know how well it works.  You'll need to check it every little while, but other than that, it's really nice.  It doesn't dry your lips out and they're not as committed as a regular lipstick, meaning that they can be light or you can build them up.  

I do really love Revlon lipsticks.  I want to say their currently my favorite brand.  (Just be sure to stay away from the suede line.  Ick.)

I highly suggest covergirl and revlon.  Love, love, love! 

xx 

Recipe: Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

I found this recipe on Pinterest and I just had to make it.  I love anything with pasta and cheese, and this dish did not disappoint! 

Originally the recipe said to only use 10 oz of dry pasta, but I decided to double it after cooking the 10 oz and feeling like it wasn’t enough.  I left everything the same and it worked out perfectly.  

I will definitely be making this again. 

Ingredients:

2 cups of Dry Farfalle Pasta
2 tbsp Butter
½ Onion, chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
4 oz of Chive and Onion Cream Cheese
1 cup of Sour Cream
1 cup Whole Milk
½ cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp Black Pepper
1-1 ½ cups Chopped Fresh Spinach
2 cups Cooked Chicken, cubed or shredded
½ cup Fresh Grape Tomatoes, chopped in half
Fresh Parsley

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Cook the pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter in a medium sauté pan.  Add in the onion and garlic.  Cook for 3 to 4 minutes but do NOT brown them.

Add in the cream cheese and stir to melt it. 

Reduce the heat to low, and add in the sour cream.

Add the milk, salt, and pepper.

Add 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese.

Add the parmesan cheese.

Make sure everything is well combined and melted.  Turn off the heat.

Combine the pasta, chicken, spinach, and tomatoes to a large bowl. 

Add the sauce and gently stir.

Coat a baking dish with cooking spray, and pour in the pasta mix.  If it looks a little dry, add a little bit more milk. 

Top the dish with the remaining mozzarella cheese.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and beginning to brown.

Top with parsley and serve!

Enjoy!

xx

**I don't have a completed picture because I was just so hungry after it was done, I forgot.  But I can tell you this dish was AMAZING! 

Garnier Fructis Clean and Nourishing Oil & Clean and Balancing Gel Exfoliator:

Garnier Fructis Clean and Nourishing Oil:

After receiving an oil face wash I decided that I wanted to try a few others.  I chose Garnier Fructis because it's one that I see often.  It was the first I saw on the shelf, so I figured it would be the best match.
According to their website, this bottle cost $7.99.  

Garnier Fructis says this oil "instantly dissolves impurities, and long wear make-up with no greasy residue," and as long as you use a washcloth while washing the oil off, there will be no residue.  If you just use your hands (as suggested), then there will be some left over.  I had the same results with the other oil I tried. 

When up against make-up, this oil works greats.  It doesn't get into my eyes as much as the other oil did.  This oil dissolved my hardest make-up like it's nothing.  I really like that. 

It smells great and makes my skin feel so soft! 

My only problem so far with this oil is the pump.  If you're not careful and you squeeze too fast then the oil will splash up out of your hand and could potentially stain your clothing.  (I'm just assuming that, since it is an oil.) 

Even though I've only used it a few times so far, I really like this face cleanser, and I would recommend it if your were looking for a cleansing oil.  

Garnier Fructis Clean and Balancing Gel Exfoliator:
I got this cleanser because I've been getting little flaky spots on my face recently, mostly my nose, so I decided an exfoliator is what I needed.
This costs around $7.99 also.
It's a very light exfoliator.  I can't even feel the beads when I use it.  It is very bubbly though, so it takes a bit for it to feel like the water is washing anything off.
Garnier Frucits say that it "targets T-Zone to deeply cleanse away oil and impurities."
Since this is a different cleanser from the oil, there is no instant result.  It will take a little bit for this one to show the effects.  So I'll get back to you with the results.
I'm not the biggest fan of the smell, but it's nothing I can't ignore.  It's not so strong it knocks me out, and it's not a scent that sticks around.

xx