Oh Pinterest...How I love Thee

I'll admit it.  I've become a bit addicted to Pinterest this week.  If you're still out of the loop and haven't figured out what Pinterest is, it's essentially an online bookmarking site where you can "pin" things you find from around the web onto your own bulletin boards to make finding them again nice and simple.  It's as if you were bookmarking a favorite page in your internet browser, only you're doing it online and other people can see what you're bookmarking--and you can see their pins and "repin" them for yourself.  It's amazing.  The ideas out there blow my mind sometimes.  I've been pinning a lot of things this week, and then decided it was high time I start actually trying them!  So here's the round up of my pinterest attempts this past week:

Our car needed a garbage solution, and lo and behold Pinterest had just the solution!  I bought a tupperware cereal container and put a trash bag in it.  The lid keeps the trash inside even if it tips over and it's the perfect size!

Apartment carpet is just crappy.  It traps dirt like no other (and we even have a no shoes policy!)  Needless to say our entry way and traffic area always looks dingy and dirty and it drives me crazy.  I went searching for how to clean your carpet (without renting a steam cleaner) and found this idea that worked like a charm.  Mix one part ammonia (yes it stinks to high heaven, open doors and windows if you try this!) and one part HOT water in a spray bottle.  Spray liberally on the spot you wish to clean, cover with a white rag or towel and iron it.  In seconds the towel will turn dirt colored under the iron and the spot will be gone.  It was amazing!  

I have always been a good water drinker, but now that it's getting hotter and I am nursing the babe just as much as ever I am finding myself more thirsty than I should be at the end of each day--which means I'm not drinking enough throughout the day.  I loved this idea.  I didn't use 2 water bottles, just my 1 32 oz nalgene but I wrote the times of the day at various marks on the bottle so I am spreading my water drinking out.  It's been super easy to consume 3 large nalgenes a day these past few days this way--almost 100 ounces of water, and I feel MUCH better!

 I kept pinning all these recipes but never made any of them.  Until this week--I've made 4 this week and all of them were delicious!  This was dinner the other night and my plan was to have leftovers.  We didn't.  It was that good.  A super easy pasta dish with sliced chicken, sundried tomatoes, regular tomatoes and a pesto cream sauce.  Sauteed zucchini or other veggies would be awesome to add to this.  You can find the recipe here.

 As a side dish to the pasta the other night I made these asparagus.  Simple steam them, then drizzle balsamic vinegar over them and top with feta and sundried tomatoes (they also used walnuts but I didn't have any).  So simple and a great way to jazz up some asparagus (although I love them plan too!)

 Beef stroganoff is one of those meals I remember liking as a kid but always assumed it was a tough one to make.  It's not.  And it's delicious.  This recipe is to make it in the crock pot which worked fantastically.

And dessert.  We can't forget about dessert.  Tomorrow night my parents, grandparents and sister will be here, and we're having chicken enchiladas.  I wanted to make a fun dessert, and this looked delicious.  No Bake Nutella Butter Pie.  It was so simple and I'll admit I already cut a piece (I had to make sure it wasn't terrible before feeding it to company!)  The crust is pureed nutter butter cookies and the filling is cream cheese, sugar, whipping cream, and nutella (I didn't say it was healthy).  There's no baking, just letting it chill to set and then you can top with melted nutella and cream mixed together to create a ganache.  My husband is in love with this pie after only a few bites already.

So! Those are my favorite pins of the week. Anyone else tried any that are a must to pass on??