Caldrea

How about a great scented kitchen set for a gift this season, or for your home?  Have you tried Caldrea?

Cookbook Yum

I made banana bread from the recipe found in this cookbook - Aunt Bee's Mayberry Cookbook - and it's the best ever!  In fact, you'll find lots of good home-cooking recipes - so consider the book for yourself or for a Christmas gift!  Here's the recipe, but I used walnuts instead of macadamia....

Fried Duo

What a fun dinner to make - quick and easy too - fried ravioli and green beans!

Take fresh ravioli and dip them into a water/egg mixture, then into a panko bread crumb/parmesan mixture - fry in 2 Tbsp olive oil on both sides til golden and crisp - drain on paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt.

In the same skillet, place a can of drained green beans, with crumbled (cooked) bacon, and a freshly chopped tomato - heat until beans are hot and toasty.

Serve up with marinara sauce and enjoy!

Hot Dog!

Saw this hot dog maker on line, and on TV - might make a cute christmas gift for a newlywed couple or a kid in college!

From the Food Network Magazine, I used this cornbread recipe for tonite - made in my cast iron skillet - boy was it good - with canned pumpkin and pepper jack cheese included!

Cornbread Mix 1 cup each cornmeal and flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Whisk 1 cup each pumpkin and milk, 2 eggs and 3 tablespoons melted butter; stir into the cornmeal-flour mixture. Fold in 1 cup shredded pepper jack. Spread in a hot oiled 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Bake at 400 degrees F, 30 minutes.

Cute Bag

I've posted backpack purses before, because I LOVE carrying them.  Hands are free, and they are roomy for carrying water bottles, and theater candy!  Check out this website and look at all the handbags.  I really like this pack - it comes in black too!

Cookbook

Got this book for my birthday and I am so excited to use the recipes from it.  I love the show The Chew and this is their second cookbook!

Veggie Sandwich

My lunch today was quite good - sliced cucumbers, shaved carrots, red onions - heavily peppered - on fresh wheat bread spread with mayo.  This sandwich tasted great with pretzels and a slice of avacado!

Tuna Melt

How do you eat your tuna from a can?  One way I've enjoyed it since I was a kid, is mixing it with chopped dill pickles and onion, mayo and season salt.  I then take one slice of bread, place one slice of cheese on top, and spread the tuna mixture.  Next, I grill the open face sandwich in a bit of butter.  It is delicious!

Spiderweb Cookies

Spiderweb cookies - great for your family and friends!  Martha Stewart has the recipe for the cookies and the web, but I'm going to buy the cookies from World Market and just melt chocolate to pipe the web onto the cookies.  These cookies are delicious!

Beautiful Ring

We are sponsoring a table at Market of Hope next month, and this ring is one of the products that will be for sale.  Check out the other products! 

Avacado Fries

We had Torchy's Tacos tonight and I had a fried avacado taco.  I've also  made avacado fries before, and recently found this healthier, baked version!

Chocolate pecan brittle

Why not make some chocolate pecan brittle for a fall treat for friends and family? Butter, sugar, water, milk chocolate and pecans - how hard can it be?

Candy Corn Bark

I've got candy corn on the brain, and I remembered this candy corn bark I make during the holidays that is so yummy.  It's from Real Simple magazine!

Pumpkin Tea Lights

Saw this craft on television - and it turns out such a cool autumn array.  Doesn't seem too hard or time consuming! From The Chew.

Dish Soap

Look at these cute dish soaps at World Market - great ideas for Christmas or for your own kitchen! Orange Blossom and Rosemary Mint are two of them.

Zucchini Walnut Spaghetti

An easy spaghetti dish that uses veggies and nuts!

Shave a couple of large zucchini into thin half-moons.
Thinly slice four garlic cloves.
Roughly chop 1/2 cup walnuts
Grate 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
Measure out 1/2 cup raisins.
12 oz spaghetti

Heat 3 T olive oil in a pan.  Meanwhile get the spaghetti cooking in salted boiling water.  Back in the skillet, add the walnuts and let them cook til just brown, 3-4 minutes.  Add the garlic and zucchini and raisins, plus salt and pepper, and stir and cook until the zucchini is tender.  After the pasta cooks, drain it, and put it back in the hot pot.  When the zucchini mixture is ready, add the pasta to it and toss. Serve with the freshly grated Parm.

Enjoy!

Peanut Chicken Salad

Delicious peanut chicken salad - a great meal for your lunch on the go - served in pita bread or on crackers!

2 cups cubed cooked chicken (I boiled chicken breasts)
2 chopped celery ribs
1/4 cup chopped cucumber
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1/4 cup mayo
2 chopped green onions
1 T minced fresh parsley
1 T lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

serve in pita pockets, on whole grain bread, or crackers

Combine all ingredient and enjoy!

Bookbag

This is great idea for yourself...or for a gift.  Barnes & Noble has some great book bags, messenger bags, and backpacks.

Jeweled Accessory

Francesca's is a store here where I live, but you can also buy on line, and their jewelry is so affordable and cute!  Here's a necklace that will look great with your sweaters this fall!

Cute Dress

What a cute dress for fall - all you need is boots - and you're off for a night on the town! At Target for under 30 bucks!

Milkhouse Creamery Candles

I got a set of these candles as a gift, and they smell divine!  They would make great gifts for the holiday season coming up...and come in all sorts of scents....  They were so fragrant, I could smell them before I even opened the box from Milkhouse Creamery.

Amazing Shoes

I'm in love with the shoes on this website - a bit pricey - but I've picked a few here that are simply awesome:

Pesto in a Quesadilla!

These quesadillas are so unique and tasty - because they have pesto inside!  Cilantro pesto, that is!  Check out Carla Hall's chile cheese quesadillas - we had them for dinner tonight!

Sandwiches and Pinking Shears

Saw on a cooking show a cute way to serve sandwiches when you have guests.  Take small paper bags and cut them off with pinking shears, to about half their height.  Serve the sandwiches inside, so that if the sandwiches insides fall out, they are caught in the bag!  Here's a great recipe for sausage, peppers, and onions on a sandwich:

Tee for You

This cute graphic tee is from Target and is great for weekend casual wear, or add a black jacket on top, and you've got a whole new look!

The Color Red

What better color to usher in the fall season than with something in red?  These are a bit pricey, but oh so pretty...all from Anthropologie!

Choco Tacos

We made these choco tacos for dessert last night.  They were super easy and super tasty:

Carefully fill taco shells (about 8) with softened vanilla ice cream, stand up in a dish, place in the freezer for at least two hours to harden.  Melt 6 oz semi sweet chocolate in the microwave, then stir in 6 T chopped butter and 1 1/2 T corn syrup.  Dip the tacos in the chocolate, sprinkle with chopped peanuts and the chocolate will harden - in about 2 minutes.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

These sandwiches were so tasty - buffalo chicken!  Use a rotiserrie chicken - mix 6 TB mayo with 1 1/2 TB buffalo sauce, then toss in chicken, 1/2 cup sliced celery and 1/2 cup sliced carrots, with 2 scallions, salt and pepper.  Serve on toasted whole grain bread, with bleu cheese crumbles.  The chicken mixture can be made ahead, and then just assemble before guests arrive, or at your picnic!

Fall Wreath

What a cute door decoration my niece made, and she started with a wreath she found at Goodwill! She then took 1 bunch of orange dried wheat (from HEB), some old fabric strips to make flowers, button and leaves off an old harvest scarecrow she had, and then put it altogether like this! (the flowers were made by twisting and wrapping fabric around itself to make a rose) - beautiful!

Sweet potato flatbread

This is a fun flatbread pizza, if you like sweet potatoes!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Dust a cookie sheet/pizza pan with cornmeal and spread out your refrigerated pizza dough.

Just slice one medium sweet potato very thin.  Toss in a bowl with 2 sliced shallots, 2 T olive oil, S & P, 1 T chopped fresh thyme, and 1/4 cup slivered almonds, along with 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese.  Spread it out over the pizza dough.

Bake 20-25 minutes until done.

Enjoy with a green salad!