Homemade Mozzarella Sticks

You MUST make these. I am using all my restraint to continue typing this post instead of running to the store and getting the ingredients! Really, they are that good! My girls I totally inhaled them!

Seriously, MAKE THEM TODAY!!!

(Making these brought me back to my 8th grade cooking class where for our "free cooking" day we tried to make mozzarella sticks and instead started a grease fire on the stove. I've come a LONG way baby!)

These wonderful bundles of yumminess come from Taste Of Home. (Did I mention that you need to make them TODAY?!?!)

Ingredients
Mozzarella cheese sticks
Egg Roll Wrappers (**you could also use wonton wrappers and cut the cheese stick into 3 pieces for a bite sized snack)
Panko Bread Crumbs (optional but makes it so yummy!)
1 Egg, beaten (optional)
Oil for Frying

Instructions
Wrap each cheese stick in a Egg Roll/Wanton wrapper. Dip your fingers in water and seal the edges.

**Optional but a wonderfully de-lish step** dip each wrapped cheese stick in the egg and then roll in the Panko bread crumbs.






Heat approximately 1/2 inch of oil in electric skillet or heavy sauce pain to 350 degrees.

Fry a few sticks at at time for 30-60 seconds on each side until golden brown. Drain on paper towel serve with marinara sauce or ranch dressing for dipping.

Enjoy the yummy cheesy goodness!

NOW GO MAKE THESE!!!

Chalkboard Paint O' Fun

Remember my latest craft run?

You already saw the adorable worry dolls I made from the doll pins. Today I'm sharing what I did with the glass jars and the wine glasses. Both were purchased at the dollar store making this a thrifty and fun project.

It also involves this wonderful can of goodness.

CHALKBOARD PAINT! I love it!!! It was $6.99 at Jo-ann Fabrics but I used a 50% off coupon so it was a total deal! Each can covers 12 square feet so it's going to last and it can be used on practically EVERYTHING! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

First I washed, dried and taped off my glass jars and wine glasses. I found this great trick on Thrifty Decor Chick's blog and it was such a time saver! (On a side note, if you haven't checked out her site YOU MUST! She gives great, and thrifty, ideas on home arrangements and projects-love her!) 


Now the trick...You wrap the parts you don't want sprayed in an old plastic bag! Saran Wrap would work too! So brilliant!

Take all your plastic wrapped pieces to a well-ventillated, wind-free area and follow the directions on the can. It is better to do several thin coats rather than one thick one. This will help you avoid drips.

Once all your pieces are sprayed they need to dry. I moved mine into our screened porch for an hour so that I didn't end up with any dirt or bugs stuck in the paint.

(Do you like the iron table? That was a Craig's List find last summer. It was $35 for the table, 4 chairs and 4 chair pads. Such a steal!!! It was white when I bought it, but a can of spray paint turned it into the beauty it is!)


Once everything was dry I carefully removed the masking tape. There were are few places on the wine glasses where the paint bled under the tape. Next time I will use a better quality tape like Frog Tape.

I was able to fix the edges with my Exacto knife.

Once the paint has cured for 24 hours you need to "season" the painted areas. To season the paint you gently rub chalk onto the painted areas and let it sit over night.

Once everything is seasoned you are all set!

I love these glass jars and lids from the dollar store. They only had 3 or else I would have bought more. They are perfect for the kitchen. They also had indented squares on the side so they were super easy to tape off.

This was a jelly jar that I had saved. I just soaked it in water and the label peeled off easily. It's new home is the crafty area.

I'm planning on saving more for this project. It's such a great space-saving idea!

Last but not least...the wine glasses. My friend Erin has a set of these and I LOVE them. It's such a clever idea! These glasses are also from the dollar store and are great. The glass is really thick and they are big, making them perfect for summer Sangria!

The painting possibilities are endless!

Have you already discovered the awesomeness of chalkboard spray paint? What chalkboard projects have you done? 

Hoosier Dirty Girl? Me, That's Who!

I'm pretty sure I have found my newest running obsession...obstacle racing! I finished my first this past weekend, the Mudathlon, and I am hooked!

If you're not familiar with obstacle races, and I wasn't until this weekend, they combine running with various physical challenges. There is a wide offering of races out there that offer their own unique level of difficulty. Bottom line, if you're interested, there is a race for you!

So here is the break down of the Hoosier Dirty Girls at their first Mudathlon:

I "think" that I may have been the ringleader in getting the team together. I had heard about mud runs and thought they sounded like fun. I'm always up for trying something new and for some reason running through the mud sounded like a lot of fun.

One of the great things about obstacle racing is that they offer staggering start times. This means way less crowds than your typical half-marathon of 10,000 people. We had a great time, 10am. We didn't have to be there too early and we finished before the heat of the sun kicked in. Our resident hair stylist and photographer Sassy helped get us all pretty before we got muddy.

We got a lot of questions about the duct tap on our shoes. It is used to help keep your shoes on while trying to get through the mud pits. The knee high socks were initially just because we thought they were cute, but in the end they helped keep the bugs, scratchy branches and mud away and we were so glad we were wearing them!

Being early gave us time to take some pics and to get pumped for the run!

(Can you tell which Dirty Girl used to be a professional ballerina?)
Here's another hint...

Then we were off!

There were various obstacles along the way.

Walls to climb over...

Giant wooden spools...

The hay bales were my least favorite. Some were fairly easy...

And some were near impossible...

There were also lots of steep muddy muddy hills to climb, a gianormous rope wall and a wonderful cool creek that we got to go through.

Our moto was "No Dirty Girl Left Behind" so we didn't move on to the next obstacle until each and every one of us finished. It was all about team work. No one was going to skip a task. We pulled, pushed and lifted when necessary!

Where did we spend the most time? In the 100-foot-long mud pit! We had to cross it twice! At first I tried walking through it, but that only caused my feet to get stuck. Someone yelled, "You have to crawl!!!" So that's what I did. I lost my gloves but kept both my shoes! The top woman winner ran the whole course in a little over 37 minutes, I'm pretty sure I spent at least that long in the mud pit!

Take 1:

Take 2 was a little more challenging and WAY more muddier!

I DID IT!!!

There's me and T my wonderful running partner! We've done more races together than I can count, but this was by far the most fun!

We did it! I'm so proud of all my Dirty Girls! We had so much fun and everyone should be so proud of all their accomplishments. You can tell how much fun we had by the HUGE smiles we have on our muddy faces! BEST DAY EVER!

***Big shout-out to Dirty Girl Renee who lost her shoes on the first trek in the mud pit and did the second half of the race WITHOUT ANY SHOES!***

So would I do it again???

O-M-G without a doubt! The hubby and I are already signed up for the Warrior Dash in August...the best part???

YOU GET A WARRIOR HELMET!!! You know me, I'm all about my medal, post-race beer and race day swag!

BIG thank you to Jessica, aka Sassy, who did everyone's hair and took fab-u-lous pictures of the whole Hoosier Dirty Girl team. She is also available for individual photo sessions here in Indy. You can see more of her work on her Facebook page Foto Lilies. 

And a big THANK YOU to all of you for checking in each day! You're what keeps me going and I really appreciate all your support! So again, THANK YOU!

Make Over Your Monday

It's hard to believe it, but it's Monday again! It's also the last week of June, is anyone else feeling summer fly by?

Were you able to find some time for yourself this week? I did something that I haven't done in FOREVER-I took a nap-TWICE! They were wonderful, I felt so refreshed after. Even though both my kids nap, I find it so hard to use that two hour window for something that I don't consider productive. It's the time of day where I usually get so much done...laundry, dishes, meals and planning for the week ahead. I've been feeling a little overwhelmed and burnt out lately and desperately needed time to recharge. I was amazed at how great I felt and how much better our evening was. Every once in awhile I need to remind myself that in order to take care of others I must first take care of myself!

This week's challenge is to do something nice for someone else with out them knowing. It can be for a friend, a neighbor, one of your children or even a total stranger. Let's spread some lovin' around this week!

Have a wonderful week and I'd love to hear about how you did on last week's challenge so send me a comment (I love to get 'em!!!).

Sunday Funday At The Freedom Festival

Today was unseasonably cool and the absolute perfect day to take the girls to the Fishers Freedom Festival! I love this time of year in the Midwest. We never seem to be lacking in fun outdoor fairs and festivals to take the girls to. They are always full of deliciously delicious food, fun art projects in the kids area, and never ending music. It also gives me a chance to check out the local crafties like myself and see what wonderful things everyone is making.

Have a wonderful Sunday and thanks for checkin' in!