Pinned: Success or Fail? Avocado Macaroni and Cheese

So this avocado mac and cheese has certainly made the rounds on Pinterest. The photo is what really sells it, right? Well, I guess that's probably why it's so big on Pinterest. Plus it sounds like it would work well. Avocado, plus cheese, plus pasta... what's not to love? 

Well, if you basically want guacamole on top of pasta, then topped with melted cheese that is basically what you are getting. It was edible, but only for like a day because it browns quickly. This photo makes it look amazing and if you cook it yourself it will not resemble this at all. See my photos below.

I was excited to use the avocados I bought from the side of the road when KC and I went to the lavender fields.

I used some ricotta in place of some of the milk. I also used gluten free noodles. These changes shouldn't have made too big of a taste change.

You can see it has an ugly color even after just being mixed together.

So, the verdict: FAIL. I really had high expectations for this and it fell very short. Don't bother with this recipe.

Pinned: Success or Fail? Chocolate Covered PB Bananas

Another Pinterest review post from Sharon Fain! We're glad she's making this a regular thing. :)

I am no Julia Child in the kitchen, but I can follow a recipe. As I've mentioned before, I am also often impatient and lazy, which is probably why I am no Julia Child. So I am in love with simple recipes that don't require lots of prep or speciality techniques. 

I found this Pinterest recipe for chocolate covered frozen bananas that also have a dollop of peanut butter on top. I thought, "This sounds and easy enough." And looks to be delicious because I go through boxes of those chocolate covered frozen banana slices from Trader Joe's all the time.

The ingredients (yes, my milk is in a small container
because I don't usually buy milk and had to borrow some)

Here's the basics of the recipe (parentheses mine):

2 large bananas (I used three small ones)
1/4 cup nat­ural peanut but­ter (why measure this when you can just spoon directly from jar)
1/2 cup choco­late chips (hah! double that)
2 tbsp-1/4 cup milk of choice

This is about how far I got before the chocolate ran out.
I had to go back and add to some.

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper or parch­ment. Slice bananas into coins about 1/2–3/4 inch thick. Spread a lit­tle dol­lop of peanut but­ter on top of each one. In a small bowl, com­bine the choco­late chips and milk: remem­ber, less is more. Microwave in 15 sec­ond increments until you can whisk them together. You want it to be a dip-able con­sis­tency, not spread­able. Add a splash more milk if nec­es­sary. Dip the banana chunks using a fork as a little chocolate-coating fork­lift, dip­ping them into the melted choco­late. Place choco­late coated bananas on the pre­pared sheet and place in freezer until completely frozen: 3–5 hours (mine took probably on the 2-3 side). Remove frozen banana chunks from the sheet and store in a freezer container.

Setting up in the freezer!

Success or Fail? Success on Taste, Fail on Recipe

THE FAIL:
I guess this is why you do these things because how could such a simple recipe go wrong? Well, first of all the peanut butter was very difficult to wrangle in the chocolate covering process (hence my very messy photos). I would suggest freezing the cookie sheet of banana slices with the PB on it before going into the step with the chocolate covering, especially if you are using a PB that is not a processed kind like Jif or Skippy. I did this on a cool day and even after a few minutes my PB started to spread on the bananas and then became completely uncooperative during the chocolate process.

Also, I did try the chocolate dipping technique the blog pictures, but because of the PB it wasn't happening and because the chocolate was just maybe a little to thick to be "dip-able." This is probably a bit my fault since I fear burning chocolate after some bad experiences. However, the unruly PB still would have made this hard to do even if it was as watery as chocolate syrup.

In the end I just spooned the chocolate on top of the banana slices (which I held over the bowl in a spoon). It did the trick.

The chocolate was not really enough either. Even if the consistency would have been more liquid, I don't think it would have helped (I also like a lot of chocolate).

THE SUCCESS:
I tried one of the bananas before it went in the freezer and it didn't taste that great. I was a little afraid it would be too peanut buttery. But when I took them out of the freezer they were delicious. They set up very nicely and store really well. I ate them in two days. Despite the inaccuracies of the recipe, I would do it again.

These got eaten real quick!

What about you? Would love to hear how this recipe turns out for you and any other tips or tricks you may have to perfecting it.

Pinned: Success or Fail? Mayo for Water Rings on Wood

The second post in our Pinned series, Sharon reviews what's working and what's not working for her on Pinterest.


This was one of the first pins I noticed on Pinterest and wondered if it had to be true. Mayonnaise as a way to remove water rings on wood? Makes sense. Essentially it’s eggs and oil, with a dash of lemon, vinegar and other spices. If you’ve ever done an at-home hair mask, these are typical ingredients, so it makes sense that this would be what would be good to rehydrate wood. Plus it's all organic materials, so that's better than buying some kind of chemical concoction.

You can see that there was a bit of damage. Also, I hadn't dusted. Sorry!

So, I followed the fairly easy instructions (here's the pin to check it out): put mayo on the affected area and let set overnight (I’ve also read everything from 15 minutes to a couple hours as well, but I think you need a couple hours at least on this one). The next day I used SEVERAL paper towels to mop it up and rub it into the table, which made for a nice shine on the table. You just need to really work to make it not so slimy.

If you are the kind of person that gags at the sight and smell of mayo, well then this one just isn’t for you at all! You’ve got to really spread the stuff around and of course smell it while it’s setting. The dog was going crazy!

After a few hours it's an oil slick.

Results: Pin Fail(ish)
Well, I have to give it a fail, though I think if you are having company over it’s a good way to spruce up your wood. Just do it with time to get the grease and smell off. Also, I might try doing it a couple more times. If you have “thirsty” wood it would probably be a good way to treat it, generally. I admit, it had been there awhile and when I researched it a bit more it says this really works best on fresh stains. I can see that.

This is after a couple of days and it had mostly reappeared. Better, but not brilliant.

I’m a little bummed that this is the second review for the blog that has been a “kinda fail.” But I have other pins that have been successes that I just haven’t reviewed here yet. Hopefully the next one will be more successful.

What about you? What pins have been a bust? Which ones have been a surprising success?

Pinned: Success or Fail? Alvin Corn Cleaner

Today is the first post of a new segment... Pinned: Success or Fail? Now with so many DIYers trying things they pin on Pinterest it is so helpful to get the results & reviews they found. Which pins are awesome and what are your thoughts while trying out the things you are inspired by?

Alvin Corn Cleaner in refillable bottle

Pinned: Success or Fail? Alvin Corn Cleaner

I’m a DIYer mostly out of laziness and cost. Example: I started making my own Febreeze because I have a dog and go through it like whatever it is that people go through things quickly. Making it saves me multiple trips to Target each month and a lot on buying bottles of Febreeze (which isn’t cheap). I have also been making my own household cleaner out of vinegar and water. Super easy. But I’m not really thrilled about the smell and it could do better cutting grease. So when I came across this recipe for “Alvin Corn” cleaner (called that because it uses alcohol, vinegar and cornstarch) on Pinterest, I was intrigued. The pinner who pinned it raved about it. I had to try it and decided to share with you all whether this is a Pin Fail or a Pin Success.

Alvin Corn Recipe
1/4 c. rubbing alcohol
1/4 c. white vinegar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 c. warm water
Pin- http://pinterest.com/pin/47217496063223515/

Results: Pin Fail (mostly)
I followed the instructions and tried to mix it really well, but to no avail. The cornstarch clogs up the bottle and drips everywhere. I tried removing the filter at the bottom of my bottle, but that just made it worse. It is super annoying. However, the cleaner itself does seem to work better that just vinegar and water. The problem is just getting it out of the bottle. From now on I will just pour it on a rag to use it. This recipe filled up most of my bottle, so I’ve got a lot left to go through. But when it’s done I will try to do the recipe with either far less or no cornstarch.

Alvin corn photo where you can see the sediment

What about you? What’s your favorite homemade cleaning solution?

Sharon is part-time professor, sometimes DIYer, and full-time mother to a rescued French Bulldog. She lends her creative talents as a PR strategist and writer to small businesses and community organizations. You can follow her at @sharskee or http://pinterest.com/sharon_fain.