Happy Thanksgiving to You All

Hi there everyone. Wanted to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thought, as I was sitting here by the computer, and watching the Macy's Day Parade and the Dog show afterwards.

My little tradition every Thanksgiving Day. I would say hi. Nothing spectacular going on today. Just going to take it easy with a small dinner in a few hours. I am going to make something different today. It's been on my mind. Green bean casserole mixed with noodles. I can see it in my mind, so I thought I would try it. It will be easy for JP to chew, as his teeth are getting real bad. I am also having chicken (already cooked), dressing, gravy, potatoes, cranberries and buns. maybe a pumpkin pie too. Sounds good to me. No turkey today, did not feel like cooking one for just the two of us.

Well you have a great day, keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Cards I Would Like To Make

Hi there everyone....Hope April is treating you well. Well, as I said in my previous post, the first week would be busy. It was.
1) Monday, JP had an appointment with Doctor. His prostrate cancer is stable, no growth, Praise the Lord for that.
2) Tuesday was a free day. Snow was predicted, 3-12 inches. Glad I didn't have to venture out. We might have gotten about 5 inches.
3) Wednesday, we had our dryer delivered.....they even came with all the snow predicted....I was surprised. We are loving the new dryer. Now I have to show JP how to run it.
4) Thursday, I took the car to Muntz to have a new CD/Radio installed....finally music to drive with.
5) Friday, Hospice meeting and all my cards are made, not unless I add a few more tonight.....we'll see. (60 cards made)

Whew...that was a busy week for me, glad it is coming to an end. Next week should be more quieter, hope, hope, hope.

The following pictures of cards are what I am planning to make. I have made a few cards using this Rose Wonder image....I like this technique, looks like water color pencil and the rose stamped on it.

Here we have the Rose Wonder die cut on 5 different colors....pretty neat. I get most of my ideas from Pinterest, love going there for card and recipe ideas, etc.

Isn't this a pretty card, it caught my attention only because it is in purple and gold....like, like, like. Pretty classy!

Below is the peony stamp that I ordered from Altnew, I still have to use it yet....just a little slow. But I think this would be a nice technique. Looks like water color paints, maybe the peony has been embossed to resist the paint. Something to try.

Tonight I want to try a new technique, it is called "Black Ice" If you look it up on YouTube, you will find some tutorials. I had never heard of this technique till I read about it on Brenda's Blog hope this leads you to her address. You should see her sample of a black ice card at this post.

I am going to make one tonight....maybe I will get it on my blog in the next couple of days. (if it turns out) Well, I think I will close here for now. Need to go make dinner. We are having a Blue Apron meal "Chicken Paillard & Olive-Raisin Sauce with Warm Fennel & Potato Salad" Should be fun, I have never worked with Fennel before, then mixed with potatoes should be delicious.

Note: the meal from Blue Apron above...was VERY GOOD!!

Have a great evening and keep looking up....better days ARE coming!!! Cheers ~ Louise

3 Blue Apron Meals and a Review from Youtube

Hi there everyone, how you all doing? Well, it's the last day of October....Halloween and no scary people dropped by our house. Glad for that. There were lots of parents and kiddo's walking by. I didn't have the light on....maybe they just knew there was no candy being passed out at this house.

Well, today I am going to show you the 3 Blue Apron meals I made this past week. I have cut down on my orders from Blue Apron to one box every 6-8 weeks. I still enjoy doing the meals but not so many a month. Blue Apron could come every week at $60 a week...that would be $240 a month. If JP does not like a meal, too spicy, too this or too that, it's kind of a waste. I still like making things on my own and keeping things simple. But, I have learned lots of new things, new spices, vegies and techniques in cooking with Blue Apron.

Following, is a YouTube tutorial making Lemon Thyme Turkey Cutlets. I have not made this meal, but it sure looked good. I liked the way this guy cooked....sort of reminded me of me in some ways. The end result though, is always delicious.

The meal below was really good, "Baked Whole Wheat Rigatoni with Cone Cabbage and Sage" (4 stars). Did you ever use a Cone Cabbage? I didn't, and it was sure quite different from a regular cabbage, easier to cut and slice. So all the vegies had to be cleaned and chopped.

A potato chopped, onion, cabbage and sage, seasoned with salt and cooked till the cabbage wilts, water was added and stirred occasionally. Pasta was cooked. 

Then a Béchamel sauce was made with butter, garlic and flour, milk added slowly then 3/4 cup reserved pasta cooking water. Half the Fontina cheese was added and well combined with salt and pepper to taste. The cooked vegies, pasta and sauce are added together then baked. Fontina cheese and parmesan cheese topped the casserole with more salt and pepper to taste.

In the picture below is JP's meal for the night. His fruit with some yogurt, tomatoes and home-made pickles and the Baked Rigatoni and cabbage.

In this next meal, I really enjoyed this one. "Roasted Pork Steam Buns with Black Garlic Mayonnaise & Spicy Cabbage Slaw." (was a bit too much cabbage for these two nights....so I had to make this meal 2-3 days later) This was really good though (I gave it 4 stars). The pork is fried in a pan, then roasted in the oven for 20 minutes till the temperature reaches 145 degrees. The cabbage is combined with the white bottom of the scallion, sesame oil, ginger, vinegar and as much of the spicy gochugaru as liked....This would make the cabbage salad spicy and JP does not like spicy.

The buns are steamed, the roast has been resting. Cucumbers have been marinating in ginger and vinegar, salt and pepper. Black garlic is mixed with the mayonnaise and salt and pepper added to taste. This will be spread on the steamed buns, topped with the sliced pork roast and the marinated cucumbers. Yeah, I really liked this pork and steamed bun combo. The cabbage was a bit too spicy. I ended up throwing a lot out, cause JP did not touch it.

This was a good meal, "Spicy Chicken & Carrots with Harissa, Dates and Chickpeas." (another 4 star) although JP does not care for carrots that much. Rice was cooked and chickpeas roasted, then mixed together as a side dish. The chicken thighs and carrots are cooked together for 8 minutes then dates, water and harissa paste is added, depending on how spicy you want it. After cooking, almonds, parsley, salt and pepper is added. Below is a picture of the meal....I forgot one ingredient.

The sauce, labneh and vinegar seasoned with salt and pepper. I decided to add a taco shell to JP's meal....he did not eat it nor a lot of the carrots. I have to say, the meal looks better with the labneh sauce on it in the picture below.

So there you have it....3 delicious meals. I enjoyed them, which is why I am going to have to be very choosy in my next selections from now on....seems to be a waste when I include JP.

Well, time to close. I need to get some cards in my Etsy store and ride my bike yet tonight. Dinner is cooked for JP, so I don't have to worry about that. What is he having? Chicken, pasta, with cheese casserole....a simple comfort food with no spice.

You have a great day and keep looking up, better days are coming.
Cheers ~ Louise

Some Cards and Some Blue Apron Food

Hi there everyone.....yeah, I am a bit behind in posting these cards again. Made these cards at Betty's a week ago Wednesday. Oh gosh, it has been sooooo hot, I just have not felt like doing ANYTHING!!!!!

Today has been nice...tolerable. The weather will be in the high 70's and low 80's for the next week or so.....I can handle that. Until at least I can get a new air conditioner in the kitchen window.

So here are some cards I made at Betty's last week. Doesn't this card look yummy and cool. Pop-cycles!!! Remember when the Good Humor Man came around in his little white truck, oh and then there was the ice cream man on his bike pushing a refrigerated box full of pop-cycles.....ah yes, the good old days!!!!

I love this old lady.....she was fun to color too. While working on her all I could think about was the stamp that says......"dance, as if know one is watching".

This was a fun card....lots of pre-made embossed and die cuts....easy, peasy to put together.

Now this card was really nice...Christmas in July....Betty borrowed my snow flake stamp and turned it into this lovely card. Betty usually has the background embossed and the die cuts made, all we do is put it together and add the gems on the snow flake. Pretty, pretty card, the light does not do it justice.

So these were my two Blue Apron meals. I think these will be my last ones for a few months....at least till the summer is over and the weather gets a bit cooler. It was much too hot to cook in my kitchen and I did not feel like putting on the oven. So no, only want to make easy-peasy things that don't take up a lot of energy and make things too warm in the kitchen.

The above meal, "Za'atar Chicken Burgers & Oven Fries with Feta-Labneh Spread & Garlic Chips" I think, what I like with each of these meals, is that I learn something new every time. I loved make the oven fries this way....just cutting them, oil, salt and pepper and back till they crisp. Garlic chips....slice the garlic and fry in oil till crisp and top the burger with the chips. I think the next time I make this I will use beef.....the only seasoning was lemon zest, parsley and the za'atar seasoning, salt and pepper. Then fry in oil. I guess the burger was supposed to have a Greek flavor to it. To tell you the truth, I was not impressed....guess that is why I will try beef next time.

This meal was "just okay". "Roasted Pork and Summer Salsa with Zucchini-Scallion Rice" I enjoyed the salsa, rice and zucchini more then the meat. It was a little tough. Plus......so hot in the kitchen, I did not roast in the oven. I sliced the pork and fried in a pan.

The salsa was a peach, cut up real fine added lime zest and a shallot-lime juice mixture, drizzled oil and tossed thoroughly and combined with salt and pepper. This was layered on the pork. (last night I mixed the rest of the salsa with some sour cream and mayo and put on some toasted naan bread with a sliced cucumber on it. very refreshing.)

We really liked the Zucchini...diced and cooked in oil till tender, add the minced garlic and scallions (bottom part) then the cooked rice added and cooked till heated.....oh, don't forget the salt and pepper. We really enjoyed that, then of course the peach salsa and onion  added a sweet touch. Yeah, I would do this again. BUT on a cooler evening.

So I shall monitor the next few months of meals on Blue Apron, to see if there is something I would like to make. I can always get their recipes off the site. So if there are some meals I want, I can get the recipe and buy the food myself. We shall see what transpires....in the mean time I have lots of great recipes and a few favorites I will try over and over again.

Well, time to go walk Kylie....oh my, it is after 6pm....I sure can get lost doing this post. Time to close. I got some new stamps today and I want to go downstairs and play with them.

You all have a great evening and keep looking up.....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Busily Working on Cards and Eating

Hi there everyone.....how is your day going??? It's a beautiful sunny day and the temps are in the 60's. I guess the next few days will be warmer and Saturday will be in the 80's.....Spring has Sprung!!!!! Such a nice time of the year. I am hoping to work outside the next few days. Get some things done and pull some weeds.

I will be visiting my neighbor on Saturday, who has been sick and home-bound for 8 weeks. She is going stir-crazy and needs company. I will take her a card...something like the one below.

These two cards were made with the Stampin'up "Rose Wonder" stamps and die cut. Gosh they make a beautiful card. I have been really enjoying playing with this set. So much can be done with this beautiful rose.

I think I showed you this card earlier, but layered the flowers on grey card stock with black background. I bought this new punch, wavy circles. Like the look it gives.

I have added these cards to my box of Hospice cards for this month....I am sure they will be liked. Below is another  "Rose Wonder" card.....so pretty. The meeting is tomorrow, so tonight all I have to do is add the inserts to the cards and if I have time add a few more cards. I have so many cards, but some are just not suitable for someone who is dying.

Blue Apron Day is today.....I have a box coming, I look forward to my boxes and the next few days of cooking. I call it my "Culinary School" for 3 days of cooking. I have learned so much and have enjoyed the different tastes that Blue Apron avails to us novice cooks. Well, I guess I can't say novice, because I have been cooking food for 46+ years.

There was a time that you could not even get me to peel potatoes and boil them and then I would scorch them because I got side tracked and forgot they were cooking....uge!!!

This was a really yummy recipe "Seared Chicken with Sauteed Purple Potatoes, Kale and Apple" I really enjoyed making it. The chicken breast was salt and peppered and placed in oil, browned and cooked through, then left to rest while the vegies cooked. Butter and 1/2 cup water is added to the fond, scraping up any fond from the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and pour over the meat and vegetables.

The vegetables: purple potatoes (where do I find purple potatoes???????) diced, 1 onion diced, kale roughly chopped and 1 Granny apple diced. Cook the potatoes till tender, add the onions (don't forget the salt and pepper) then add the kale and apple and 2 Tbl water. Stirring, till the kale is wilted. Slice almonds, mustard and 2 Tbl. water was added and (salt and pepper)

Place vegetables on plate, top with the chicken and pour the fond over.......oh this was really good, 5 stars for sure!!!!

Note: one thing I have decided is to not add as much salt and pepper as their recipes call for because EVERYTHING is salted and pepper in every step. So, no, not so much salt please.

This was another card in the Hospice card collection.....I really like this card, I have not used these stamps in a very long time and thought they would make for a nice Father's Day card......I was right!!! I need to make more of these cards and put them in my Etsy store for sure. My step father might like one too, eh, maybe one for JP too.

Well, that's about it for today, you all have a great day and keep looking up.....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

The Day After.......

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Mine, it was quiet....but as I get older, I like it like that. My family is pretty much gone. My daughter lives in another state on the east coast and is busy with her own life. My step-father is in Las Vegas and busy with his life. JP's family is in Chicago and....busy with their lives. That leaves us pretty much alone at Christmas, and like I said, we like it like that.

This was our Christmas dinner and it was scrumptious. The main course was from Blue Apron their site. This was a "Spiced Roast Chicken & Collard Greens with Maple Butter & Thyme" Oh my, this was extra delicious. I never cooked with collard greens before and we really liked them. The greens were cooked with onion, salt and pepper, the chicken layered on the greens and a cooked sauce of butter, maple syrup and vinegar poured on the chicken. The right combo of tastes. The Chicken was fried, skin down till browned then roasted in the oven till the meat reached 165 degrees in the breast and thigh parts. I most certainly would make this recipe again and again. I shall be looking forward to my next whole chicken cut in half.

So we had the chicken with collard greens, baked potato with sour cream and chives, bread dressing with chicken gravy and cheese cake for dessert. Yum.....a very good meal to say the least.

Here is a snap shot of all our presents under the little tree.

And.....a picture of my presents. 6 tins of different teas. A new spice rack to organize all my Penzy spices. A new copic marker carrying case. A brand new (el-cheapo) purple watch. AND a new WOK.....healthy meals, here we come.

JP got a pair of slippers (need to get a larger size), socks, Amaryllis plant and 10 little bibles to pass out to truckers. He'll probably get a pair of jeans also.

Kylie got a pair of boots.....now we have to train her to wear them before the snow flies, she will love us for that. Oh and she got some soup bone chewy's.....right now she is hiding her bone so no one can find it....then she moves it to another place, then another place. That bone sure is keeping her busy.

Well, time to close and get to organizing my spices. You all have a great day and enjoy these last days of 2015. Keep looking up....
Cheers ~ Louise

Another BA Meal and More Snowmen

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. I did, yeah it was my 69th birthday...we did nothing special, but I was able to do what I wanted. Instead of going out to eat, I made this wonderful meal from Blue Apron see their link here. "Seared Chicken & Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds with Chestnut and Brussels Sprout Pan Sauce." Oh my, we were both oohing and ahhing at the same time. This was such a good meal. JP loved the sweet potatoes cooked the way they were. Sliced then placed on a pan, oil, salt and pepper and baked for 20-25 minutes at 475 till tender and browned. The Brussels sprouts were deleafed and pan fried with chestnuts then the butter, lemon zest  and sauce was added. I did add the onions also.

The chicken was pan fried, patted, salt and pepper then floured on both sides till browned. The bottom picture was plated with both chicken breasts and the vegies, so we just ate up the whole platter. YES....I would make this again. I suspect if you type in Seared Chicken and Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds....you might get a recipe from someplace. I think I shall have to try that, just to see what happens. Try this recipe, you will truly love it.
Note: yep that is what happens...you type in the name of the recipe and it will take you to the Blue Apron recipe....perfect.

So here are some of my snowmen cards that I have put up in my Etsy store. These cards were lots of fun to make. Made from Christmas napkins then I just used speckles to emboss the snowmen. Each card is $3.00 so 4 cards = $12.00 + shipping $2.50.

The cards in this next picture, I will put up in my Etsy store tonight. Made with Christmas napkins and speckled. These cards will go for $9.00 + shipping.

In the two pictures below are the cards I sent off in the mail today....took a picture of them so I could remember what they look like, and make them again. Gosh, I may have to buy a set of speckles....running low on red and green.

There were 9 different Snowman cards.....love, love them all. In all I sent 21 cards, there was a set of 8, a set of 4 and a set of 3.....Hope she likes them.

I bought my turkey the other day.....just bought a breast and will roast that on Thanksgiving day. We'll have dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce (the real stuff, not canned) bean casserole and baked potato. If I get out to the store again, I want to get some sweet potatoes and cook them the way I did in the first two pictures....roasted....gosh they were good. We will probably have pumpkin pie or maybe cheese cake from Festival foods....yes, we will eat well and there will be left overs for a couple of days......we truly are blessed beyond measure.

Well, you have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy your family and friends. Keep looking up, things will get better.
Cheers ~ Louise

Blue Apron ~~ My New Order Came

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a beautiful day....it was gorgeous outside today, wasn't it???? I heard the sound of the locust today, I just love that sound, it reminds me of those lazy, hazy days of summer when I was a kid. All I had to do was enjoy the summer and play before school started the Day after Labor Day in September. Yeah....those were the days!!!

So, in my post yesterday I mentioned I was waiting for my next order from Blue Apron. It came about 7:00 pm in a refrigerated FedEx truck. Makes me wonder just how long my box from last week actually sat on that neighbors porch. Because the ice block was partially melted. The order that came today....nope, the ice had not even started to melt. So everything in the box was still cold.

Here is what the box looks like...... it felt like Christmas when it arrived.

I Pulled everything out of the box and laid it all on the table....looks pretty good huh?? So dinner tonight will be "Vadouvan-Spiced Lamb Burgers with Crispy Curried Zucchini Rounds" and fries and fruit. JP was VERY ok with the menu for tonight. Gosh, I love cooking!!!!

The 2nd meal in this box is "Chicken Milanese with Summer Corn, Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad" The 3rd meal is "Cod & Miso Soba Noodles with Multicolored Cherry Tomatoes & Eggplant" Can you see the beautiful eggplant and zucchini in the picture....yum!!! I like that there are different things in the box that I have not ever tried. Been in such a rut lately, I think this new experience will help me spread my wings a bit. I get so tired of cooking the same stuff week in and week out. This will put some pzazz into my cooking.....I think!!!

I was sitting on the porch this morning, getting some sun on my legs.....they are still very white!!! So for a half hour I sat on the steps and took a few pictures of the pretty sky and clouds. What do you see up there......I think that is a turtle......maybe a duck, maybe a kitten????

Gosh, can you believe today is the last day of July.....where in the world is this summer going??? Next week Wednesday I have my second cataract eye surgery at 8am or so. I have to be at the clinic by 6:50 am to sign in and change clothes, and get that WARM blanket put on me....that is such a comfortable feeling. The lady that sang on the phone to me "Pack up all your cares and woes, singing low, bye, bye black bird" will be there too. She said she would have a new song for me. Will be fun to match the voice on the phone with the real person.

Well, I guess it is time to go walk Kylie around the block, the sun is going down, so it won't be too bright on my eyes. You all have a great evening and see you in August!! Cheers ~ Louise

Basil Tomato Soup With Meatballs

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a good day. For today's post I will be giving you the recipe for that delicious soup in my title. Excuse the pictures, I had to find them on the internet. YES....I did make the soup, but it went so fast before I could take a picture!!!!Honestly, I thought there was still a bowl of this soup in the frig......but it strangely disappeared before my eyes. All I can say, it must have been good....seems to me I only got 1 1/2 bowls the rest JP got.

This was really easy to make...of course I changed the recipe to suite my needs....I will give the recipe....but tag on what I did. Ready???

Basil Tomato Soup with Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients: to make the balls
8 oz ground turkey (this will make 13 - 1 inch meat balls)
3 T basil pesto
3 T whole wheat bread crumbs
Kosher salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
1 teasp. red pepper flakes (All the above ingredients were replaced with already made turkey meatballs...I added 24 meatballs to the soup)

The soup ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2  small carrots peeled and chopped (I used one)
1 small stalk celery chopped (did not use)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2-1/2 cups chicken broth
1-28 oz can diced tomatoes in juice
1 cup orso pasta (I will use maybe 2/3 cup next time, 1 cup was too much)
Fresh grated (or jared) Parmesan cheese, for serving

To make the meatballs:
In a small bowl, combine the ground turkey with the pesto, bread crumbs, 1/8 teasp. kosher salt, 1/8 teasp. black pepper, and 1 teasp. red pepper flakes. Mix until evenly blended. (I used frozen turkey meatballs).

In a pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery, then cover and reduce the heat to low. cook 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for a few minutes.

Add the chicken broth and diced tomatoes and juices from can and bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 15 minutes.

While cooking, roll the turkey into uniform meatball, (you should end up with about 13-1 inch meatballs).

Once the broth/tomato mixture is done simmering, if you have a submersible blender, blend the soup till it is smooth (if you have a food processor or blender, do in a couple of batches till all the soup is blended to the desired smoothness).

Return the pureed soup to the soup pot and add the pasta and meatballs. (this is where I added the already made frozen meatballs) Cook on medium for 15 minutes or until the pasta is tender and the meatballs are fully cooked.

To serve, top with grated or sliced Parmesan and Enjoy!!!
*******************************************************
I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we did...it is worthy of  another pot very soon. Hope you have a good day tomorrow, keep warm. It's suppose to warm up this next week, like in the 30's, is that a heat wave? Spring starts March 20th, and that is just 2 weeks away.

Don't forget to leave a comment on my blog for the next 5 days. I will be picking 4 names to receive a St. Patrick's Day card. Who knows, maybe you all will receive one. Have a good one.
Cheers ~ Louise

Happy Thanksgiving 2 You All

Hi there everyone. Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. With many blessings coming your way.

I decided not to make a turkey this year....didn't feel like it for 1 reason....and for another reason, they just seemed too expensive. I am making chicken breasts, dressing, broccoli, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberries and pumpkin pie with whip cream. Sounds just like a turkey dinner doesn't it?

So I wonder what the Pilgrims and Indians really ate back at that first Thanksgiving....do you think they had turkey??? Maybe they ate venison...who knows. Beans and rice, corn bread and apples? Oh and there must have been pumpkins too. I should really check out the history of what they ate....that would be an interesting search.

We have nothing planned. So I shall watch the parade for awhile, then at 1:00pm is the dog show...we always like to watch that. Maybe we will eat around 2pm or so. No plans to go shopping....no, I have never been a "Black Friday" Shopper, it does not excite me that much.

Can't believe how fast this month went....zip, zip, zip and time gets away from us. I wonder if time will ever slow down????

Well, you all enjoy your day with family and friends. Keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Toad in a Hole and Walking With Kylie

Hi there everyone. Burrrrrr.....baby it's cold out there. Just got back from walking Kylie...even she does not want to be out there too long. She has her cute little purple sweater on to keep her warm....but a pair of booties would help too. It's not so bad when people shovel their sidewalks, but when she has to walk on the even colder sidewalks with snow on them. Burrrrrr....she runs...pulling me all the way.....yikes, good thing it is not slippery out, I'd be sliding all the way home. She is so happy to be inside, whew, take off her sweater and leash, she is sooooo happy. Now it's time for snacks and a sip of milk. Now she's resting on the lazy-boy...keeping an eye on me and my next move.

Last week I made "Toad in a Hole" Yeah, I know, sounds like a weird thing to make. But, I like weird sometimes, breaks the monotony of life.

"Toad in a Hole" is a very popular dish in England and Australia. Depending on which place you live....the main ingredient is sausage or chicken or roast beef. Then a flour mixture is poured over the meat and baked.

So I used polish sausage, laying them into a casserole dish that was buttered. The other half of the dish has cooked chicken in it. The directions call for lightly browning sausage, but I did not. You could though.

1 lb. pork sausage, cooked chicken or roast beef or half
    sausage and half cooked chicken
1 1/2 cup sifted flour
1/2 teasp. baking powder
1/2 teasp. salt
1 tbsp. butter
2 eggs
1 cup milk
pepper

Fry the sausage until lightly browned and all the fat has rendered. Place the sausages or meat that you are using in a 13x9 or smaller baking dish. To prepare the batter, place milk, eggs, flour, salt, pepper and butter in a blender. blend 1 minute until smooth. Pour batter over sausages and bake, uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. The batter will become puffed, crisp and golden brown. Serves 4

Another recipe said 350 degrees for 1 hour, parsley was also added. I checked out a few "Toad in the Hole" recipes...so maybe find the one that sounds the best to you.

You will also find that "Toad in a Hole" is the same name for a slice of bread with a hole in it and an egg dropped in the hole and fried.....I have often made that egg dish, but always called it "Egg in a Basket". I saw a Youtube.com recipe where a guy made this egg in a hole with a slice of cheese on top. I thought it was kind of weird, but it worked when he flipped it over.....made one for JP for his lunch, it turned out pretty good.

Well, time to close for the night. Have some dishes to do and go make some Christmas cards for Hospice and for my own use this Christmas. You all take care and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Funny Picture Wednesday......LOL

Hi everyone.....how is your day going? Was playing around on Pinterest again.....found these funny pictures that just absolutely cracked me up. Thought I would share them.

In the picture above....aren't we used to seeing those "non-smiling people" they had to be sitting so long, it must have been very boring waiting for the photographer to take the picture. I like the audacity of this lady....probably made a lot of funny faces before the photographer took this one. I think her personality reflects mine....no doubt....this could have been me back then....hahahahaha

Do you remember having your picture taken in those old photo booths?? I have a lot of those pictures. My dad would bring me to work on Saturdays....I loved going to work with him. There was a photo booth at his work place. He was the manager of Cascade Bowling Alley. So I do remember the pinball machines, candy and pop machines, the photo booth (25 cents for 4 pictures) the restaurant and hamburgers and very skinny French fries, more candy then money in the big walk-in safe, talking with the office ladies, rides on a dolly by one of my dads employees. Oh and there were lots of free games of bowling too. Most likely the bowling alley is gone now, cause I'm talking back in the 50's, yeah....lots of good memories.

Well, this girl is not me....but again, no doubt I probably would have taken a picture like this back in those days.....yep, that could have been me.

This lovely lady is another funny.....something I probably would have done as someone is taking my picture...a good selfie....hahahahahah I hope you enjoyed the walk back in time with me....with funny pictures. I may do this again...oh and I hope your April Fools day didn't find too many jokes being played on you.

Time to close, have to walk Kylie around the block and get some exercise for us both. Chicken is in the oven and need to get some potatoes baked....maybe some corn bread too. You have a great evening and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

P.S. Watch for my 7 year Blogaversary "give-away" The gift will be a set of cards....of course. All you have to do is comment and follow my blog for the month of April. I will put your name in a cup or bowl (depending on how many visitors I have) and on April 25th I will pick a name. So do visit me every day or so. More visits = chances to win.

Delicious Bread and 2 More Cards

Hi everyone...keeping warm and toasty??? I was out and about today. Mailed a package, and went to the local meat market for some hot dogs and hamberger, pizza crust and some mild Italian Chicken sausage for my Lasagna Soup. Got some bacon in the oven right now, JP is having eggs, bacon, baked potato, toast and fruit for dinner at 1:00am (he'll be impressed with his "WoW" as I put each plate on the table)

So in the above picture is the wonderful "fresh out of the oven bread" I made yesterday. (See previous post) The bread is all sliced up, looks pretty doesn't it? And, it was very tasty too!!! This bread is so easy to make and in a pinch, when there is no bread to be had, this is on the menu. Oh and I might add....this bread makes a wonderful turkey and pepperoni sandwich!!

This is another Get Well card I made last night. It was lots of fun to make. I colored the tulip with dye ink then sprayed it with water. The effect, when stamped looks like a water-colored tulip. I wrote "Get Well Soon" on cardstock that has a black board finish, that was rather a new technique for me. I think I am needing to go to Archivers to get more of that cardstock and special pen for writing as everything at the store is 40% off right now.

In this card, I must have made the stamped and embossed image a couple of years ago. Actually I made quite a few....so now I have enough to make more "get well" cards or whatever else comes up.

So there you have it.....my set of "6 Get Well Cards". Next on the agenda is a set of 6 Birthday, 6 Thank You's, and 6 Thinking of You. I really need to get more cards and things up in my store....so that will be my focus for the next couple of months. I'll probably sell the cards 6 for $15.00 + postage.

Well, time to close for the night. Need to go ride my bike for 4-5 miles. Straighten up my stamp area for the next session of card making. So take care and keep looking up. Spring is right around the corner....(wink)!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Some Happy Birthday Elephant Cards

Hello everyone, how is your day going??? It is bright and sunny today with a chance of being in the 70's this week-end.  Maybe I will work in the yard the next couple of days. The tulips are popping up along with the crocus's. Noticed my chives are popping up too!! Have not checked the rhubarb yet....but I am sure they are about to make their appearance too.

Added some birthday cards to my blog today, will be putting these cards into my Etsy store today and tomorrow. I am trying to get more of an array of cards in my store....I don't have a high traffic flow, so maybe doing a couple of cards a day for a week might help, may hurt the pocket book, but it is worth a try. I do promote my cards on different teams and get lots of lookers, but no buyers. Hopefully with the economy picking up, things will be better on Etsy for everyone.

Both these elephant cards are called "Polaroid Picture" technique where I taped off a rectangle or square then dabbed ink on the inside then stamped the image in the same color ink. Then inked in red the hats and balloon.

Both are Birthday Cards and will be for sale in my Etsy store for $3.00 + postage a piece. The inside of both cards say "Simply enjoy it all." This still is cheaper then buying a card at the store....I have seen cards for $5.00 to $8.00 at high end stores. Low end stores are $1.00 to 3.00, but you get what you pay for and my cards are all handmade with much love and creativity goes into each card.

Well, time to close here for today. Have to go get some things done. Chicken in the crock pot for today. Will be a simple recipe:
1 whole chicken (fryer or roasting)
pam spray
salt and pepper
seasonings
Pam spray lightly your crockpot. Place whole chicken in pot. Cover with lid and cook on high for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, put on low and cook for 6-8 hours. DO NOT ADD WATER!! The chicken makes it's own juice and gets golden brown.

So you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise