My Bumper Crop of Tomatoes

Hi there everyone......well, I've been kinda busy with my tomatoes. That's why I have been missing for awhile. These two bushes of Beef Steak Tomatoes have produced an abundance of tomatoes. Oh and so delicious....nothing like a fresh tomato from the garden.

So many things to make with my tomatoes. I want to can some tomatoes in the next few days. I've put a large bag of tomatoes in the freezer...maybe will do another bag for soups during the winter.

I am planning on dehydrating some tomatoes and maybe put some oil and seasonings on them and let they dry. I will take pictures after the drying process. Maybe I could grind them into powder and use as a seasoning. Just thinking about this process right now.

 I have made a few salads with the tomatoes. Tonight I had the salad, mixed with bacon and ranch dressing....yum that was good. I want to make a crustless tomato and spinach Quiche. I found the recipe in a magazine at the Doctor's office. So....this recipe is on the agenda to make soon.

Oh and then there are the BLT's.....so, so good! Tomato Soup was the first thing I made with my tomatoes.....oh and on the agenda is some tomato sauce too and then maybe can the sauce. The ideas are just endless, aren't they? I have been looking at "Tomato Jam" recipes, that sounds like fun too!!

These tomatoes were just so perfect....hardly any blemishes on these tomatoes. It most definitely was a good year for tomatoes and I most definitely will be planting Beef Steak Tomatoes next year also.

Another recipe I want to try and will give you the recipe here. I've have not tried it yet, but I can tell it will be really good.

Parmesan Oven Roasted Tomatoes:

3 large ripe tomatoes, halved

1 slice of bread or 3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons of fresh herbs, (parsley, basil and oregano) or 1/2 teaspoon each dried basil & dill)

salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Using a blender or magic bullet, process the bread into fresh breadcrumbs. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic, olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Toss until well mixed.

Place sliced tomatoes in a shallow baking dish, season with salt and pepper, Top with breadcrumb mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until crumbs are lightly browned. Be sure not to over bake so the tomatoes don't become mushy.

Another think I have been doing with my tomatoes is just slicing them and putting mozzarella on them and cooking along with my eggs in the morning.....soooooooo.good.

So there you have it, my tomato post, hope you enjoyed every bite of my tomatoes!!! Have a great evening and enjoy the last day of August tomorrow....where did this summer go??????

Tomato Cheers ~ Louise

Making Cards At Betty's House

Hi there everyone. Well, finally we met at Betty's house to make cards. She took the summer off to enjoy the summer with her family. Don't really blame her....everyone needs a break and time off. Today I will show you the cards we made at her house. I took pictures right away....so these cards were fresh off the press.

I like this card which was colored with Copic markers. We pretty much used the colors we wanted so each of our cards were a little bit different color wise.

Another neat card. The flower is stamped with versa mark then embossed. We colored the back side of the flower then cut it out. and place it on the card and added the gems and bow.

I really like this card, I think it is actually 3 different stamps. Betty let me borrow the spider with the heart. I will probably use it for Valentines. But I like the way she set the spider on the daisy....so cute. We then colored in the image with copic markers.

And here is a leaf turned into a cute fox. His ears are made from a butterfly punch....must remember this for cards next year. She already colored in the fox we just rubbed black ink on his face and added the nose and eyes.

Well, I think I will close this post for tonight, you all keep looking up cause better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

A Few Cards and Vegies From the Garden

Hi there everyone. How you all doing today??? Hope you are enjoying August. July was kind of a rough month for us....so I am taking August one day at a time and trying to get over the hurdles as they come. In between the hurdles, I found some time to make a few cards. Sorry about the lighting on a few of these pictures. I tried something different....guess I won't do this again. I thought the lighting from above and the side lamp would do the trick....but no, it didn't.

So anyways....these cards are from the stampin'up  Paper Pumpkin Kits. They are really neat cause all the supplies are in the box to put these cards together. I probably will donate these cards to Hospice, maybe keep one for a sample. The "hooray" is a wooden piece that really adds to the card. The circle is covered with washi tape. The card itself already had the watercolor mark on it and the I stamped the star bursts and saying "it's your day" on the card.

The American Flag card is a napkin glued on card stock. I just added the Thanks stamp. I have made quite a few of these cards for Hospice. They will be given to the War Veterans in October.

Another couple of cards from the Stampin'up Paper Pumpkin Kits. This was July's kit....Watermelon's. Again, all the supplies are in the box to create these cute cards.

From the same box, the stamp to make the watermelon and the inks too. I like the watermelon stamp. You could make a gift bag with the supplies or turn the bag into a card like the two cards on each side of the bag. The two cards at the bottom, used the left overs from the bag.

AND....vegies from the garden!!! I can't believe I FINALLY got a zucchini!!! I have tried so many times to grow these guys....to no avail. I planted this plant right on the side of the house. There happens to be a bee nest real close by....I guess they pollinated at least ONE zucchini!!! The tomato's are doing wonderful in the front of the yard....two bushes are producing more then I ever have seen I will take a picture of the tomato plants tomorrow. I have so many stakes trying to hold the tomatoes up with lots of old nylons.

Well, time to close, it's going on 2am and I am just finishing this post, (took me all night). JP is home and eating his dinner. Chicken soup, steak, potatoes, corn, cucumbers and a bagel. You all have a good night and keep looking up better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Mechanism of a Mosquito Bite

Hi there everyone. Here it is....August 1st....how did your day go??? Did you get bit by any mosquito's today? I must have brought one in the house with my walk with Kylie. It found me and attacked me while making Kylie's dinner. I saw it buzz around and go into the refrigerator while it was opened, buzzing, buzzing, it landed on a drawer, I hit it and SMOOSH!!! Blood came out....yep, it must have been my blood. I HATE MOSQUITO'S!!!!

So I thought you would enjoy this little education on the Mosquito. I found it on Facebook and shared it to my Blog.

Combating those little bugs has been a challenge for me. I have found that rubbing alcohol works when I get a whole bunch of bites. One small bite, an ice cube or a tube of "After Bite" works. What kind of remedies have you used. I would be interested in knowing.

My next post in a few days, I will be sharing some more cards...yes, I have been working on them. Getting ready for my Hospice meeting September 1st. My goodness, this summer is flying by. Pretty soon the snow will be flying too....one good thing, there will be NO MOSQUITO'S!!!!

Have a great night and keep looking up......better days are coming.
Cheers ~ Louise