Lemon Merangue Minis - NEW by Joelyn & Mya, inspired by Cindy

Cindy (my sister) made Lemon Merangues for Thanksgiving and put Lemon Curd between 2 of them. So I wanted to take that and make something similar with a "pie" taste to it.

So Mya & I came up with these and they ROCK!

preheat oven to 325

beat 2 egg whites until foamy
(I use powdered egg whites + water because they ALWAYS work perfectly)

add pinch of salt
2 pinch cream of tarter

beat until stiff (lifting the beater up should result in peak holding its shape)

slowly add 2/3 Cups + 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar while beating the mixture (don't over beat)

turn oven OFF

drop teaspoon size (or small cookie scoop size) onto parchment paper
put in the warm oven for a few hours.

once cooled
spread Lemon Curd (Trader Joes makes a good one)
on the bottom of the merangues
dip bottoms in graham cracker crumbs to keep curd from sticking to things

YUM YUM YUM TART AND WONDERFUL

Christmas Poofs - Classic Mint Chocolate Chip

My favorite Christmas treat:

preheat oven to 325

beat 2 egg whites until foamy
(I use powdered egg whites + water because they ALWAYS work perfectly)

add pinch of salt
2 pinch cream of tarter

beat until stiff (lifting the beater up should result in peak holding its shape)

slowly add 2/3 Cups + 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar while beating the mixture (don't over beat)

gently add/stir mint extract (we used to dye green to make them look festive)
carefully stir in mini chocolate chips or slivers of chocolate

turn oven OFF

drop teaspoon size (or small cookie scoop size) onto parchment paper
put in the warn oven for a few hours.

Roasted Veggie Subs

Caramelize Sliced Onions while doing the following other tasks

Roast in oven with a little olive oil:
halved Red Peppers
thin slices of Butternut Squash
grape tomatoes

Saute sliced Mushrooms

Lightly toast whole wheat sub buns (any hearty bread would be good).

Add Goat cheese (or any of your choice)
place back in toaster oven to melt cheese

Assemble YUM YUM YUM

Impromptu Creamy Pasta (w/out the cream)

Boil pasta (I use wheat fettuccini)

• Quickly put some frozen Chicken sausage into a pan w/ a little water. When they started to thaw I used scissors to cut them into pieces. Let cook covered so the juices and flavor stayed in the pan with the meat.

*don’t feel like you have to use the meat, this dish would be great without meat and you could add broiled portabellas!

Drained pasta

Pulled out left over veggie broth from fridge. (Any broth you have would be fine)
Heated broth as I added reduced fat cream cheese
It wasn’t thick enough so I tossed in my leftover baked sweat potatoes and mashed them to make a smooth thick sauce.
Added Pesto & meat with the juices.
Topped with a little parmesan asiago blend.

YUM YUM YUM

Pasta & Sauce - QUICK, easy, yummy

I keep frozen pasta on hand for those rushed nights. Stuffed with whatever you like: cheese, ricotta, mushrooms, chicken, spinach, sausage....

So tonight I tossed some in boiling water, moved to drain.
add balsamic vinegar to hot empty panto reduce
Tossed equal parts of the following in the pan to heat:
tomato sauce, pumpkin puree, pesto
added pasta back in

YUM
(actually tasted very similar to Trader Joes Vodka Sauce oddly enough...)

Stuffed Red Peppers

This made 6 stuffed peppers (12 halves)

put 1 cup of Quinoa or Couscous in the rice maker with 2 cups of low sodium vegetable broth (love ya Trader Joes ; ) –sub if needed, any broth or water would be fine to cook the grain….

Sauté minced garlic
Add diced onions until they start to brown on the edges
Add diced mushrooms
Cook down

Combine mixture w/ grain
Add spinach
Add feta cheese
Add Greek seasoning
(optional) add diced cooked chicken &/or chick peas

Cut red peppers in half, remove seeds.
Fill with mixture
Top w/ a little feta

Bake at 400

Steak Salad

mmmmm


Marinade steak Overnight. Here's Joes steak marinade recipe.

Marinade Portobello mushrooms in Balsamic Vinegar & Olive Oil for 15 min

Grill the mushrooms and steak (or just have 1 or the other)

Make Salad:
Spinach
Grape Tomatoes
Caramelized Onions
Blue Cheese (Mya doesn't like blue cheese, so she had goat cheese)
Pecans
Grilled Steak
Grilled Portobello mushrooms

Dressing: any balsamic would be great. We used Briannas American dressing tonight which was great. This kind would also be good.

Salad: Perfect Summer Dinner!

Grill marinated Chicken breasts (I used Trader Joes Tuscan Italian dressing, or any Balsamic Vinaigrette)
Slice & cool

Red leaf lettuce &/or Spinach
Green Onions
Fresh Blueberries
Goat Cheese
Pecans

dressing: Trader Joes Tuscan Italian or any Balsamic Vinaigrette

Greek Style Pasta salad w/ a Twist

Boil/Cool Wheat or full fiber pasta

Dice:
Cucumbers
Yellow or Red Peppers
Green Onions
Grilled/Cooled Chicken Sausage (I used Spinach Feta ones)

Mix all together and add
Feta Cheese
Grape Tomatoes
Dressing (I normally use ceasar, but I was out, so today I used Olive oil with infused Italian herbs, then I added some lemon juice and greek salt free seasoning)

Serve over Spinach

Asian Pizza - CPK eat your heart out!

- Crust (I use pita bread)

- Thai peanut sauce
buy pre-made or whisk: pb, pepper flakes, sesame ginger dressing (I use Paul Newmans)

- Shredded carrots
- Diced green onions
- Diced Mushrooms
- Diced chicken (marinade in Sesame Ginger dressing OR buy Trader Joes cooked Asian Chicken in the freezer section)
- Shredded Mozzarella

Bake

top with diced Avocado

Yummy Dressed up Wedge Salad

Lettuce Wedge
Thin slices of red or green onions
Diced Avocado
Blue Cheese Dressing

Optional extras:
- Caramelized mushrooms & onions
- Finely diced left over steak or bacon bits

Myas party

Mya had a great Bday party. We are happy to have so many wonderful friends in her, and our, lives.

still behind, but catching up!

We all got better from our colds/sinus infections in time to celebrate Myas 7th Bday and Finish her science project AND get taxes done! I managed to get new items to Karma, a GREAT Hair Salon in Saline MI where I sell some of my work. I have yet to catch up on posting new items to Etsy... Getting ready for Myas Bday party on Sat for her friends to come over. Then life should return to its normal level of slightly more manageable chaos. I have been cooking a lot and am making mental notes of recipes to type/post.

Oh & did I mention that Mya finished Basketball. She got a basket in her last game - SO proud. She is still in Dance and starts Soccer soon. THE FUN NEVER ENDS!

Aiden is sitting up now and eating cereal. He doesn't crawl yet, but he gets where he wants to be! Dragging, rolling.... He is a MOVER & a SHAKER.

Super behind!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ..............

No I DON'T have  a Super Behind! I need time to workout on that! - I AM super behind in..... Everything: life, laundry, cooking, dishes, blogs, creating, photographing, cleaning, posting items, projects, working out, planning a Bday party for Mya...

As if I weren't behind enough. We all had the flu 2 weeks ago, were better a week then had/have cold all this week. Just trying to do some laundry & dishes today - the piles are EXPLODING!

I will share a yummy recipe I found online. It went great with the Roasted chicken I had Joe grab at the store....


http://www.mydailymoment.com/recipes/holiday_butternut_squash_and_pecan_gratin.php

Butternut Squash and Pecan Gratin

Created by The MDM Team, Saturday, 27 October 2007

You butternut skip out on this scrumptious squash dish. A creamy, dreamy casserole, the squash and pecan gratin is chock full of goodness. Infused with rich flavors, it's one of those recipes you'll prepare time and time again.

Ingredients

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided use 
3/4 cup pecans 
3 lb. butternut squash 
2 tsp. olive oil 
1 cup yellow onions, finely chopped 
2 garlic cloves, finely minced 
1 cup heavy cream 
1 cup milk 
1 tsp. kosher salt 
3/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper 
4 oz. fresh mild goat cheese 
2 tbsp. Italian parsley, chopped

Methods/steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Generously grease a 2-quart casserole dish with one tbsp. of butter and set aside.
Spread pecans on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 5-7 minutes, or until fragrant and deepened in color. Set aside to cool and chop coarsely.
To make a whole squash easier to cut, pierce in several places with a paring knife.
Microwave at high for 2 minutes, then rotate and repeat.
Remove from the oven and set aside 5 minutes.
Cut the ends off of the squash, then cut into large chunks, seed, peel and slice 1/4 in. thick.
Heat remaining butter with 2 tsp. oil in a deep 12 in. skillet or Dutch oven on medium heat.
When sizzling, add onion and sauté 5 minutes until lightly browned.
Add garlic and sauté 1 minute.
Add cream, milk, salt and pepper, bring to a simmer.
Add squash and simmer gently 5 minutes, stir in pecans.
Transfer half of the squash mixture to prepared pan and dot with half of the goat cheese.
Spoon remaining squash mixture on top and dot with remaining goat cheese.
Place on a sturdy baking sheet and bake 45 minutes or until squash is very tender and cream is almost absorbed.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with parsley.
Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
There are plenty of easy ways to add a nutritional punch to your food. Check out our guide to slipping more fruits and vegetables into your diet with these meal ideas.

Rejuvenate Reuse Recycle - NEW Section in my Etsy store

Check back often, I am having a blast making a ton, can't keep up with photos/posting....
Pendants, Rings, Earrings, more Hair Items, Sets.....

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArdentDesigns?section_id=5757006

Raspberry Vinegrette

Raspberry Vinegrette

1/2 C Rasberry Vinager
1/2 C Olive Oil
1/2 C Peanut oil (or Walnut)
1/2 C Maple Syrup
1 T Dijan Mustard
1 T Tarragon
1 t sea salt

Goes great on greens w/ blue cheese & walnuts & dried cherries or fresh red pears

Pa Pas Valentines Day gift

Mya & Aiden and I made this for Joe for Valentines Day. It is fused glass cut into the shape of a heart with gold mica for the prints and text. The purple side has Mya's hand print & name, the red side has Aiden's feet and name. It just came out of the kiln, but I think we will end up putting it in a square frame.

Sorry for the poor quality snapshots, I took them on the dining room table quick so I could post tonight, or it may never happen as it will quickly fall to the bottom of my long list of things to think about....

Myas 1st Acrylic Painting (at 6 yrs & 10 mths old)

Well this was a long fun adventure... I worked with Mya (note, I have no painting skills...)
I tried to show her the concepts of different textures, blending colors....
She did most of this painting herself. I helped smooth edges & outlines of the more complicated components for her to color in... (wings, wands, bodies...), but in general I tried to have her do as much of it as possible. Also, she controlled all choices of colors and did the more simple components completely alone (sky, bushes, mushrooms, flowers, butterflies....). She did most of the grass with brushes and toothpicks, but got "sick of it so I had to finish a section. The bush was her idea and I taught her how to make it reds in addition to greens with a textured brush.

I am so excited that we were able to enjoy this activity together. Normally she is "done" with a project after minutes. It is neat to see her at an age with an attention span that if I say "are you sure you're done? or would you like to learn how to make the grass look more real by making a pattern with a toothpick" - that she will say "Show me" instead of "no this is good, I'm done" : )  The sunset colors in the sky were her idea after she painted it all 1 plain flat color blue and I showed her on another piece of paper how to blend shades of blues and whites to create a more realistic sky.... It was a blast, even if it did take us way longer (weeks) than I expected.

In the end, CREDIT must go to Aunt Cindy for the facial features. She is a professional artist and we just felt that neither of us could draw mouths or eyes that didn't ruin the whole thing... so Cindy was kind enough to paint very simple features to compliment the rest of Mya's piece - THANKS CINDY

Super spins on Pizza!

CRUST:

Normally I keep my freezer stocked with Greek flat bread (also called pocketless pita). You can get it anywhere, but I have found the best price in a yummy thick soft option at Sam’s Club. They are perfect to pull out of the freezer, toss toppings on & pop in the oven at 400 for personal pizzas on Friday nights. I generally get giant pepperoni from the deli when Boars Head is on sale, it freezes wonderfully as well. (I also use the bread to toast w/ soup, dip in hummus…)

Anyway, since we made traditional pizzas Friday night, I was out of the flat bread Saturday so the photos you see this time are traditional pizza crust (yikes! lucky I found yeast in my fridge!)

Anyway, we made 3 variations this weekend:

PESTO, CARAMELIZED ONIONS, MUSHROOMS & GOAT CHEESE


PREPARATION:
 
-        Warm a couple Tablespoons of Olive Oil in a non stick pan

-        Thinly slice 2 onions

-        Put them in the pan on Medium heat & stir from time to time until caramelized

-        Add a package of diced mushroom and a package of diced portabella mushrooms

-        Cook down a few minutes to reduce juices from mushrooms

 

You can use store bought PESTO, but if you would like to make your own, here is how I did it, just throw these things in a food processor to make a paste.

-        Basil leaves

-        Sun dried tomatoes (if I have them)

-        Pine nuts or walnuts or pecans

-        Olive oil

-        Normally I put parmesan in my pesto, but not always if I know I am putting it on pizza that will have cheese as a topping anyway… 

ASSEMBLY:

-        Mix Pesto with a teaspoon or so of balsamic vinegar

-        Spread pesto/vinegar mixture onto crust

-        Spread the onions & mushrooms that you caramelized evenly over the pizza

-        Sprinkle Goat cheese on the pizza (fresh Mozzarella would go well if you don’t like/have Goat Cheese)

-        Bake at 400

-        (if you have it) garnish with chopped fresh basil

This pizza is great hot, but was also wonderful the next day cold!

Too tired to type the other recipes tonight, so more to come later this week!

Joe's Luminary Lamp with his Photographs - Progress Update

Joe has made SIGNIFICANT progress on his Luminary Lamp project this week. He had this vision of using his photographs to make lamps. He has tried a few options and believes he has come up with the one he wants to move forward with. He did tests this week with the prints on the lamps and they look great. Now we are on to the final step of integrating handmade paper to frame the image and we will have one beautiful finished piece! Can’t wait, but in the meantime, here is a picture of his prototype. It looks so nice whether the light is on or off, I can just see the final product in my head and it is wonderful!

Joe’s Braised Beef Roast

Braised Beef Roast

Well Joe made a WONDERFUL dinner the other night. He also was kind enough to type out the recipe and take a few snapshots of the process for me to share with you all!

2 lbs roast, round steak, or ternderloin
2 cups red wine (3 buck chuck from Trader Joes works good)
1/4 cup olive oil

2 1/2 cups Beef or vegetable stock

1-2 stalks Celery

2 Tblsp minced garlic

2 large carrots or equivalent baby carrots, cut 1/4 inch pieces

1/2 cup red onion

1/2 cup sweet or yellow onion

1 Tsp Thyme

1 Tsp dill

1 bay leaf

1 Tsp ground pepper

1/2 Tsp salt

2 1/2 cups mushrooms any type, a variety works nice.

Make marinade for the roast and marinade for 2-6hours prior to cooking


Combine:
1 cup red wine
1 1/2 cup stock

1/4 cup olive oil

1 stalk celery finely chopped

1/2 Tsp Thyme

1/2 Tsp dill

1/2 Tsp pepper

1/Tsp Salt

1 Tblsp minced garlic

Add to Zip lock bag with the roast. Refridgerate for as long as you can before cooking. 2-6 hours

• Grill -- or - sear the Roast on each side in a HOT skillet with a bit of oil 5 minutes a side or so.
• Reserve the marinade for the sauce.
• Use 1/2 of the reserved marinade for the Braising vessel and 90% of the onions both red and yellow, 90% of the Mushrooms. cover tightly Place in oven at 425 degree F for 45 -75 Minutes or to desired doness

Make the sauce

• add remainder of the reserved marinade just a few carrots, 10% of the onions both red and yellow, 1 Tblsp minced Garlic, remaining thyme, dill, pepper, Bay leaf.
• Add a 1/2-3/4 cup more wine and also Broth. Should start with about 3-4 cups total
• Bring to boil in Sauce pan then reduce heat an simmer to the desired thickness. 45 minutes or so
• Strain to a sauce vessel or bowl.

Remove roast from oven
Let the roast rest covered for15 minutes.

Goes wonderfully with steamed Green Beans & Garlic Smashed Potatoes

SALE OF THE DAY

Myas Muffins & My most recent work of Pearls

Well Mya & I make Blueberry muffins from time to time. We have been close to perfecting a recipe when she said "Let's add Chocolate Chips". I didn't think it sounded right, but we tried it and they are yummy... So here it is!

Myas Muffins: Blueberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Preheat oven to 400

Beat until smooth:

1 Cup milk - WARM it a few seconds in the micro (just to get to room temp) so it doesn’t make the butter lump up

½ Cup softened butter

½ Cup Canola or Smart Balance Oil

½ Cup Egg White beaters (or 2 eggs)

2 Teaspoons Vanilla

Add these ingredients on top of mixture, but don’t mix them in yet:

4 Cups flour

You can use all purpose, OR here’s what we do to really add some grains & depth of texture/flavors):  1 Cup all purpose, 1 ½ Cup Whole Wheat, 1 ½ Cup Oat Flour (if you don’t have any, toss some oats in the food processor for a while)

1 Cup Granulated sugar

1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Brown sugar

4 Teaspoons of Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon salt

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Pinch of Nutmeg

Optional, but we like to throw in ½ Cup Flax Seed Meal

Now gently mix the dry ingredients together (this is to get them integrated with each other evenly without having to do it in a separate bowl – save dirty dishes!)

Once dry is mixed, fold the dry mix with the moist batter below just enough to start to integrate the dry with the wet. DON’T Over mix.

Add Blueberries & Chocolate Chips – don’t be shy : ) We normally do about 2 Cups BB & 1 Cup CC (but Mya may add more when I am not looking : )

Fold together

Put in muffin tins

Bake 15-25 min (length depends on size S/M/L) Until toothpick comes out clean.

Also, here is my most recent Pearl designs, which I made my sale of the day today! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArdentDesigns

Leftovers into AMAZING "Chili"

- mashed potatos

- chicken chirizo (I had left over from taco salad nigth, so you could use other mexican meat if you want)

- salsa (I used my new favorite kind from Trader Joes, the fresh black bean & corn - which I worried wouldnt last another week raw)

- chicken broth

Joelyns Turkey Chili

Boil: diced potatoes, drain set aside

Sauté:

Cumin Seeds

Sun Dried Tomatoes

Minced Garlic

Add & Saute:

Minced Onions

Minced Mushrooms

Minced Celery (opt)

Minced Apple (opt)

Add, Mash & Simmer:

White Wine

Veggie Broth

Basil Leaf

Ground Coriander

Pepper

Lemon Juice

Diced Soft Potatoes

Minced Jalapeño Peppers

Add & Heat through:

Black Beans

Baked Beans

Corn

Spinach

Scallions
Cilantro
Chunks of Turkey (or Chicken)

Serve with tortilla chips to dip in it - yum.
Garnish w/ diced avacados if you have them

PaPas Best Chili (named by Mya : )

Chili perfected over many years by Joe Welch:
16 Oz tomato sauce
16 Oz diced tomatoes
1 Ib - 1.5 Lb sirloin (see marinade recipe) - broiled or grilled - sliced to desired size
Med sized onion - 1 inch cut /sautéed in olive oil
1 red or yellow pepper - 1 inch cut /sautéed in olive oil

2-4 Serrano peppers sautéed in olive oil then chop finely
1 - 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
1 t chili powder
1/2 t salt
1 t thyme
1 bay Leaf
1 t basil

bring to boil then lower to mild simmer for 1-2 hrs

once simmered add:
8 Oz pinto beans
8 Oz baked beans
additional chili powder to taste

simmer additional 15 minutes
pull out bay leave

Steak Marinade perfected over many years by Joe Welch, based off his moms recipe:

Ketchup

Mustard (dry or jarred)

Olive oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Worcestershire sauce

Minced Garlic

Seasoning salt

Thyme

Basil

Best to marinade steak overnight & then grill or broil it, but good no matter what

Friday night Food w/ a twist! YUM

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes & Blue Cheese

OK, so 1 of our favorite Friday night foods is to make our own twice baked potatoes. Earlier in the week I bake potatoes (this week w/ the meatloaf I already posted).

So then I normally empty the potatoes, mash w/ a little light sour cream/garlic/bacon bites/cheddar. Then I top w/ green onions after baked for the second time.

QUICK & YUMMY. Healthier than getting them from a chain & still yummy enough to feel like a treat.

but, tonight I was out of cheddar AND I needed to use up both plain & sweet potatoes so I came up with a YUMMY SURPRISE NEW RECIPE : )

- Hollow out potatoes & sweet potatoes (equal amounts of each)

- Mash w/ pepper & light sour cream & Blue cheese (I bet goat cheese would be good to, I plan to try that nx wk)

- I add bacon bits from the freezer which I either buy precooked/cut OR make by cooking & breaking up turkey bacon to freeze & pull out as needed.... BUT THIS WOULD BE GOOD W/OUT MEAT TOO

- Top with a little light cheddar or mozzarella blend (if you have it)

- bake to heat through

- Top w/ diced green onions

YYUUMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!

I just made these & posted them to Etsy. Just in time for Valentines day shopping!  They are called Secretly Jaded Valentine because they  have the little sterling silver hearts and the stone I ended up using is called Soochow Jade (which I will tell you more about in the post)

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38621870

Yummy Bold Meatloaf (& it freezes great)

Meatloaf (which Joe said he never liked until he had mine : )

1 lb lean beef or ground turkey
1 pks Spicy Italian chicken sausage (Trader Joes. If you cant find this, use whatever you can find & add some dried crushed red peppers to kick it up – Ground Turkey also works well)
1 pk sweet or original or Italian chicken sausage (original pork sausage will work too)

Ketchup
Worcestershire Sauce
Bread Crumbs (oats or crushed croutons are fine substitutes – you just need enough to balance the moisture and help bind)
Egg White Beaters (or a normal egg if you aren’t worried about cholesterol)
Minced onion

Dry or normal mustard

IF you don’t like veggies, don’t have any or are in a rush, this meatloaf is great without them too, but we love veggies and always want them in everything so….

As for veggies, sometimes I chop, sometimes mince, sometimes purée. I use whatever of the following that I have on hand, I use this as an opportunity to clean out the fridge.

(total about 1.5 to 2 cups):
Garlic

Red cabbage
Carrots
Celery

Peppers

Onions

Mushrooms

NOW, if you sauté the veggies you DON’T need as much of the breadcrumbs because you will have already cooked out a lot of excess moisture. I’ve done it both ways; it’s just about time and mood. Also sautéing does change the flavors of the veggies.

This is supposed to be a semi spicy meatloaf, so if you didn’t include spicy sausage, then I suggest putting BBQ sauce on top of the meatloaf. Trader Joes is pretty bold so I mix with ketchup. If you used spicy sausage you don’t need to put anything on top, unless you’d like to.

This meatloaf goes GREAT with baked sweet potatoes

I haven't been able to bead much this past week, Aiden has been sick with a cold. Here is a piece I did get done and plan to post tonight.

Oh and here are the kiddos

Yummy & Easy Peanut Beef Crock Pot

Yummy & Easy Peanut Beef Crock Pot

Well I didn't get to post a recipe last night. I didn't get to make dinner last night actually! Aiden was sick and Mya had some hard homework. Pretty sure I won't get to cook today either, so I am going to share what I made last week and how quick and easy and yummy it was.

Slow cook:

Beef Roast (chicken would also be good, or pork for that matter)

Carrots

Onions

Peanut sauce or peanut dressing to taste (Marzetti Thai Peanut Dressing or Trader Joe's to name a few... I have made sauce pretty easily in the past too, but when there isn't time, just buy it!)

Toss in frozen peas once the dish is cooked, they just need to heat uppp

Serve over rice

Joe likes xtra peanut sauce heated up in the side to pour on his meat, but you don't need it (or much in the cooked portion) if you are trying to go lean! It's flavor goes a long way and is such a nice change to traditional pot roast....

As for Ardent Designs... that was on hold today to take care of the kids. I do have a picture to share of one of the new designs, but I have yet to post any new items to my store or to get the rest of my works photographed in the past coupld of day.... I hope the weekend brings me time to get more done and posted.

Butternut Squash Casserole

THINGS I DO AHEAD OF TIME

1. Cut in half, bake, deseed & mash 1 large or 2 small butternut squash (I generally do this on the weekend when I am baking other things)

2. I generally make a variation of this Green Bean Casserole recipe earlier in the week when I plan to make the squash dish later in the week….

http://tinyurl.com/y9jta44

I modify the above linked recipe for health & speed by

 -  skip topping (I just use some Trader Joes fried Onions which are trans fat free), or don’t top it at all

 -  For the beans: I just steam them for a couple of minutes

 -  For sauce: less salt, low sodium/fat broth, use less half & half and replace the rest with skim milk or white wine, ONLY USE ½-2/3 of the SAUCE once you make it IN THE DISH SAVE THE REMAINDER of the SAUCE for the Butternut Squash Casserole recipe below

Butternut Squash Casserole

Boil a pot of water & toss in a box of Whole Grain pasta (any shape)

To the mashed squash add:

garlic, nutmeg, Italian seasonings, pepper to taste

In a bowl, add Ricotta cheese (I use low fat & generally use about half as much Ricotta as squash, but that’s a preference thing)

Add the sauce left from the bean casserole you made a few days ago : )

Add some broth or white wine or skim milk IF needed to make the mixture more the thickness of spaghetti sauce VS mashed potatoes… (just so it doesn’t dry too much when baking)

Add:

Kale (or spinach, but I preferred the Kale)

Drained cooked whole grain noodles

Dried cherries

Diced pack of precooked Chicken Sausage (I like the apple chicken from Trader Joes or Sams Club)

*or to go vegetarian replace the meat with a pack of diced portabella mushrooms

Mix all of the above, put in a dish, top with chopped walnuts & parmesan cheese

Bake at 350 or 400 until heated through

Today I beaded more jewelry as well. I managed to photograph some, but not all of it and posted one. Must get to bed so I can get up early tomorrow, so I will wait to post more items for my Valentines Day series. Here's a sneak peak.

Back to the Luminaire, Back to MacGyver'in

Back in November we posted a sad little post feeling sorry for ourselves because we were having a hard time coming up with a solution for a luminaire, or wall sconce.

It's a new year and we are back to the project with more successes than failures this time. No photo yet but seems we are on the right track with manufactured luminaire base with applied original photos printed on Vellum applied to the base to provide a one of a kind Luminaire Lamp. Look for it soon in ADPhotography etsy store

We are still working on the wall sconce too that will be made from warm glass.

Sweet potato and Mustard chicken with Roasted Veggies and Goat Cheese

I am so high energy now that I have recovered from pregnancy and birth, that I am starting to focus on Health again. I often make recipes on the fly that float through my head and when they are good I am so sure I will remember how I did them, but sometimes I don't. So I try to type them down if they were a hit with the family. It occurred to me.... I have a blog and never enough to say, I should share some of these recipes as we are all starting a New Year and most likely focusing on health.

Here's what we had tonight YUM....

Sweet potato & Mustard chicken

Bake/mash a sweet potato. set aside.

Heat pan to med-high, add a little olive oil

Add minced garlic & spicy mustard (& a little honey or maple syrup if you’d like)

Add diced mushrooms (if you have them)

Add chicken breasts

Cover with heavy skillet (I use this on top of the chicken to speed cooking, it’s fine if you don’t, just cover it with a lid instead)

Add veggie or chicken stock

As pan dries, add white wine & stock as needed

Add Tarragon & Thyme to taste

Flip chicken often so it doesn’t stick

When chicken is done, add a mashed sweet potato & stock to make desired thick sauce

(I have made this w/out the sweet potato, but it adds vitamins & fiber & thickness. Without it, the chicken is more like Honey Mustard Chicken)

Roasted Cauliflower & Grape Tomatoes

Coat cut cauliflower & whole grape tomatoes with olive oil & salt & pepper

I DID THEM ON SEPARATE PANS BECAUSE THE TOMATOES GET DONE QUICKER

Roast in oven at 500 (I used parchment paper)

When done, pull and mix in some goat cheese to melt and coat the veggies

I was out, but this would be great with fresh basil

Well I have been beading up a storm! I have been working on a lot of different series. I am continuing my "Jaded" series from last years Valentines day designs as well as the pink and red series.

Additionally I am rebuilding my Simply Silver & Gold collection since it was so popular and therefore depleted and I have a ton of new pieces. Lastly, I am returning to my Bali Silver and Natural Stones series that was sold out at past shows. I cant wait to get some of these new items photographed and posted. I will keep you all updated on my progress.

Happy New Year!

I have been busy making jewelry over the holidays. I also loaded up on new beads, so I am full of inspiration. Santa brought me glass and tools this year too. SO much to do, so little time.