Tomato Soup

This was the best tomato soup I've ever made at home - it's from the Barefoot Contessa's cookbook - and it wasn't hard to make at all.

Heat 3 T olive oil in a large pot, add 1 1/2 cups chopped red onions and 2 carrots unpeeled and chopped, saute about 10 minutes.  Add 1 T minced garlic and cook another 1 minute.

Add 5 large chopped vine-ripened tomatoes, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 T tomato paste, 1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves chopped, 3 c chicken stock, 1 T kosher salt and 2 tsp pepper...stir well.  Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer 30-40 minutes til tomatoes are very tender.

Add 1/4 cup heavy cream.  Then in small batches (very carefully) blend the soup (and pour back into pot) until the big pieces are gone and the soup is thick and creamy.

Serve with julienned basil leaves and croutons (I cut multigrain bread into cubes and stir fried in butter, the sprinkled with Parmesan.)

Delish!

Fingerlings & More

These are a delicious combo of veggies I wouldn't have thought of, had it not been for Barefoot Contessa's cookbook!

Roast fingerling potatoes (halved lengthwise), with fennel tossed in olive oil, S&P (just the bottom of the bulb cut into six pieces) at 425 degrees about 30 minutes (turning once).  Then add in haricot verts and asparagus (cut into 3 in pieces) and toss again, roast another 15 minutes or so. (I did two different baking pans).  I loved the flavors!

This is super delicious!

January Road Trip

Road trips are the best.

If you live in the Central Texas area or are visiting here soon, here's a detailed account of the trip we took today - starting at 8:30 am....  We LOVE to drive through small Texas towns and look for bridges, old old vacated buildings, nice eateries, courthouses, town squares and anything else weird, interesting, or just plain cool!  We use websites like Texas Escapes, Texas Handbook Online, and we just type in the towns' names, print out the history and also some of the sites to see.

From Austin we drove first to Oakhalla, TX (not far from Lampasas) - and just drove on through to Kempner.  (Hwy 190 and RR 2313).  Then to Rumley, and on to Topsey, Pidcoke, and Purmela onto Ireland (one of my faves for old buildings!) and Aleman.  (We drove by the Pidcoke Cemetery and past it, to see a beautiful creek and valley nearby - Bee House Creek).

Here are a few pics of the old buildings we saw, plus the safari ranch we drove through in Topsey. 

Cute church with a bell!

See the faint painting of balloons and there's sign that says coffee on the 1st weekend.

The Topsey Exotic Safari was $11 pp (adults) 

We then stopped in a bit larger town, Hamilton, to eat lunch around 1pm at Central Perk - super delicious sandwiches, wraps and soups in an old house with a nice patio.  After we ate, we planned to walk the square (around the pretty courthouse) but we met a blind man and ended up helping him get groceries and get home!

Next, we drove to Pottsville and Indian Gap (my favorite picture below of an old schoolhouse - see the Indian face under the center window?)  We read that Indian Gap got its name from the gap between two small mountains there - and we saw it!

We drove on to Priddy, Center City (an old oak tree there is supposedly the very center of the state of Texas - we found it but it looked very dead!) and then Star.  Below is the Star Historical Museum, and it's believed the town was named for a mountain nearby that has five points that make it a star shape!

We then drove on back, planning to go to  Copperas Cove for a movie there (Cinergy Cinema) (they have a very cool theater), but we opted to meet our kids for dinner instead :)

This was a super fun road trip.  We always pack trail mix ( several kinds of nuts, pepitas, dark chocolate pieces and dried cranberries and cheerios!), a bag of magazines or books to read if we stop in a park to take a break, and water bottles for drinking!)

It's a great way to spend a Saturday on the back roads away from major highways looking at the past and reading the folklore surrounding these towns that used to be...or still are.

3 Closet Hacks

Sometimes...organizing parts of your closet is so therapeutic and satisfying...here are my finds today.

I used shelf dividers to hold a place for all of my smaller purses and clutches - now they're not all over the house!

Next, I got my hats off of the doorknobs and hung them on hooks on the wall of the closet.

And finally, I set a collapsible laundry tube, one that can easily be carried to the washer, just inside the closet door, replacing an old laundry sorter.  It doesn't look like much, but it's awesome... 

At the Table

Next time you have a dinner out with a bunch of kiddos at the table (we had 7 tonight!), stop by the Dollar Tree for these goodies:

journals (Dory and Princesses), pens that have different colors of ink, and sticker sheets you can cut and place several in each journal.

This way the kids have something fun to do while you wait on the food to arrive...it does work...for the most part :)

Veggie Crisps

These tasted so good!

I shaved an eggplant with my peeler - into thin strips.  I used my spiralizer to slice a peeled sweet potato into thin strips (they need to be very thin).

In a pot of hot oil I fried these in two batches, about 10 minutes each, and took them out to drain on paper towels.

In a small bowl I combined 1/4 tsp coriander, 1/4 tsp chili powder and 1 tsp season salt.  This I sprinkled and tossed with the crisps.

YUM.

Scarf Solution

I've bought scarf hangers, put hooks on the wall, and tried all sorts of ways to organize my scarves.  However, they all end up in a mess, covering each other up, falling on the floor...

I recently organized by clothing drawers using the KonMari method, where you fold clothes into  squares and put them away on their sides, in drawers, and I've loved it.

I wondered if this would apply to scarves, and so I cleared out a shallow drawer, folded the scarves into squares and it worked - except they would fall over if they didn't fill the space - so they needed a bookend (or scarfend) to hold them up!

I found a heavy candle in a jar and used it, and it will double as a drawer scent (unlit of course!)

I think I'm happy with this solution!

Fritters

Fritters - made of grated veggies - delicious!

Grate one potato, one peeled sweet potato, one zucchini, and one carrot - then thinly slice white part of one leek.  Toss in a bowl, then squeeze out the water of the veggies in handfuls.  Toss in 2 T flour and 2 eggs, and mix.

Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a skillet and drop 2 T of mixture into patties in the pan, about six in a batch.  Fry 3 min each side until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Serve with tomato sauce.  YUM.

For the broccoli, we just grilled cashews with a crushed garlic clove in 1 T olive oil, then added in small broccoli florets, and stir-fried.  YUM.

Enjoy.

2 ingredient FONDUE

Easiest fondue ever...and ever so tasty...even the kids liked it!

1 8oz carton Cool Whip
1 bag of Ghiradelli dark chocolate pieces

In a small crock, place both ingredients and heat, stirring to combine as it melts.

Cut up your favorite fruit, insert toothpicks, transfer the mixture to a small fondue pot and serve!

We have a tiny fondue set for two - and it was perfect for the kiddos (be careful as the chocolate can get hot!)

Car Party

My niece recently threw a party for her husband with the theme being cars.  Look at all of her cute ideas!

Real tool box with buckets of "nuts, bolts, and tools" - nuts, flatware, and candies

Spare tires - chocolate donuts

Dip sticks - carrots and celery

Jack stands support a tray of cupcakes

Tree stump knitted pencils!

Aren't these so cute - tree stump pencils with animals or Valentines on top! They are on the shelves at Marshalls...not on line.  Get them while you can...

Veggie Enchiladas

These are a lot of work, chopping and cooking, but they are very very good!

Heat oven to 350.

In a skillet, cook 2 yellow onions (peeled and minced) in oil about 3 minutes, then add in 2 cloves minced garlic.  Add 1 tsp chipotle chili powder, 1 minced (seeds removed) jalapeno, 1 can rinsed and drained pinto beans, and 1/4 cup water, about 3 minutes more.  Remove, then mash the mixture until its a chunky paste.

In another skillet, in olive oil, cook 8oz sliced mushrooms about 6 min until browned, then remove and place in a med bowl.  Then in same skillet add a bit more oil and cooked 1 sliced zucchini, 1 sliced yellow squash, and one sliced red pepper (seeds out) til tender. Mix in with the mushrooms and toss.  Wipe out skillet.

Now pour 1/2 can enchilada sauce in a 7X11 inch baking dish.  Return skillet to med hi heat and add 1/2 cup oil, and fry one at a time 20 seconds or so to soften - six tortillas - doing the following:

Pass the tortilla through the sauce, then...
Place 3 T bean mixture, grated cheddar, and 1/3 cup veggie mixture and roll up
Place seam side down in the dish.

Pour rest of enchilada sauce over top and add more grated cheese.

Bake 22 minutes.

Serve with avocado and chopped onion.

Quinoa Salad

super delish - quinoa salad - here's how it goes:

Cook 1 cup quinoa

While it's cooking, blanch a handful of green beans til just tender, dunk in ice water to stop cooking, then cut into bite pieces

In a medium pan, in olive oil, cook a sliced shallot 3 minutes, add two mashed garlic cloves aand cook 2 more minutes. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, mix:

Quinoa, green beans, 2 cups rinsed and drained chickpeas, 1 cup rinsed and drained kidney beans, and 3 T dried cranberries.  Add the shallots and garlic, and toss.

Add 3 T apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 T raw honey, sea salt and fresh black pepper.

Serve topped with toasted walnuts!

(I ate it with fresh cut carrot sticks and a few crackers)

YUM.

Amazingly Good Chowder

This chowder is delicious!

Chop 2 onions and cook in a deep pan over med high heat, in 3/4 stick of butter, about 5 minutes til golden, then add 2 tsp cumin seeds and a smashed clove of garlic.  Stir about a minute, then add in 2 peeled chopped potatoes, let simmer 10 minutes.  Add 2 cups fresh corn kernels, 1 cup cream corn, and 1/4 cup chopped parsley, simmering another 10 minutes.  Stir in 1 cup grated cheddar and 1/4 cup cream at the end and stir til cheese melts. Season to taste.

Serve with sprinkled chopped chives on top.

Amazingly good.

Oil Burner

I only saw this in the store, not online, at Earthbound Trading Company.  It's a round gray pottery-like oil burner for those cool fragrance oils you burn with a tea light underneath.  They had some cute ones on clearance for $7!  I absolutely love this one...I have gingerbread oil burning right now!

Flat & Organized

I love browsing all of the clearance aisles at Target.  Just recently, I found these flat, oversized pocket wallets.  I bought two, and inserted them into my purse, and I love them!  The other item is a small journal from Market of Hope!

Taquitos!

Taquitos -

Mix 1 can refried beans with 1 tsp cumin, coriander and salt, and 1 T hot sauce, with 3/4 cup grated cheese of your choice.

Heating corn tortillas, a few at a time, in the microwave, roll up bean mixture in each, securing with toothpick. (This will make about a dozen).

Heat canola oil and fry the taquitos, seam side down, until browned and crispy on both sides.

Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt while still hot.

Serve with guacamole and salsa!

Ring Purse

Would you carry these?  I think they're so unique and would be so fun to wear say...on Valentine's Day or for any date night out!  They're purses that have rings on them, for carrying on your fingers!  So cute!

This one is from Walmart

This one is from Amazon

This one is from Ali Express

Chickpea Spinach Salad

Delicious salad!

baby spinach
chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
grated pepper jack cheese

that's the salad

1/2-1 lemon, 1 T honey, 4 T olive oil, pinch of cumin and salt, raisins

that's the dressing

Qupid Booties

I got a pair of Qupid booties recently at a store called Fabrik.  However, these are also sold at JC Penneys, they're super stylish and comfy, and affordable.  Here's mine, and a few other cute ones on line!

Plaid Wrap

My sister gave me this for Christmas and I really love it!  It's a blanket wrap that can be worn three ways. I use it for working at home on chilly  mornings, to wear out as a cover-up, or for a blanket watching tv.  Great gift - and it's from Costco!

PackIt

Found this cute lunch/ice pack bag on the shelves at Marshalls.  It folds up and goes in the freezer, and the bag itself freezes . It's GREAT for carrying water and candy to the theater, or for carrying that item you need to buy but you need to keep cold, because you're going to be a while before you get home!  I love that it folds up compactly and doesn't take much space.