Lent

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday.... the start of Lent.  

We were asked to ponder the idea of fasting.  Not just the common idea of fasting - food.... But fasting something that really would be hard to give up.  The result is that during the time of hunger pains or the desire of doing something you really want to do.... you would pray and ask God to fill up that space... to come closer.... to take over the desire... replace it. 

I like this.

Kitchen Therapy

Today was errand day..... 

After spending two wonderful hours with my Prayer Shawl Group and my hubby finishing up practice with the band, we headed off to Sprouts.  We LOVE Sprouts.  There are just so many goodies to choose from....  all the fresh fruits and veggies.... the meats... ahhhhhhhh lots and lots of inspiration.  And we really needed to do this too... our cupboards were bare! 

Came home with a car full of yumminess (is that a word.... well it is now).  All the fruits and veggies into the sink for a good soak - strawberries and blueberries, pears, green and yellow peppers, a whole bag of little sweet peppers, roma tomatoes....  

The pork roast in the freezer, hubby making hamburgers to freeze (he loves to make his special hamburgers with garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce and they are very very very good when he grills them...) and cutting up the chicken into bite size pieces to freeze for a later time.  

Then it is off to Wal-Mart for a new crock pot... ours finally made one too many meals....  and all the cleaning supplies and can goods.  

So it was a busy errand day.....  The kind of busy errand day that just knocks all of the wind right out of you.....  makes your feet hurt and your legs feel like rubber.  You are pretty certain you cannot go any further! 

But then I made pico de gallo salsa....  I love how the tomatoes, green onion, garlic, lime and cilantro smell all together.... then you add the heat - one jalapeno.... I must admit right now that I take all the seeds and ribs out -  but it still has a nice bite to it.  All the feeling of spring and summer right there in your bowl... 

mmmmm.... 

While I was dicing, slicing, juicing and mixing..... the smells all rising up to my nose.... the pleasant rhythm of my knife...... there was another warm aroma coming from my oven..... oh does it ever smell so delicious.... 

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake  from Pam at For The Love Of Cooking.... oh my... my kitchen is just the best place in the world to be right now..... 

So I am really really REALLY happy that we had errand day........  

    

Valentine Card Swap

I participated in my very first ever handmade card swap.... it was for Valentine's Day.  I made and sent a homemade Valentine to a new friend in Norway.  (I will post at a later date some of the items made in the Valentine craft room....) 

I wanted to share with you the beautiful card that I received from Kerri in Orlando, Florida. 

She did not give me her return address.... it would be fun to continue to exchange homemade cards with her.... but maybe we will be reconnected at some other time. 

Such a nice job on this card..... and I was so lucky to get this surprise in my mail.    

Blogging Fun!

It has been so much fun reading all the blogs and working on mine.  What I have been amazed about is how I am now always looking at things and thinking..... "maybe I should take a picture."  The fun part of this is that I am now looking at my world in a different way.  

I recently was able to upgrade my cell phone and with my youngest daughter's urging I upgraded to an HTC Evo.....  Oh how I love this droid! 

My daughter upgraded to an iPhone and she loves it!  She has wanted one for so long....  I am happy she was able to finally work towards and get something she wanted. 


And my friend Annette over at Nettie's World also got a droid.... we both have been marveling at the wonders of these phones.  

I personally got quite a bit of joy out of being in the car while my husband was driving and I was able to log on to Facebook.....  Anyway, for fear of showing more of my ignorance in technology, I will get back to my point which was that I love the camera on the droid.... I even slipped and said my camera has a great phone to a co-worker today!  

One of the reasons I love the camera is that it is always so handy.... so it is making my vision just a little bit easier.  

Who doesn't love easy!

Mmmmmmmmeatballs...........

Have been working on a perfect meatball recipe.  There have been many trials and errors.... too dry was always the main hurdle to jump..... But on New Year's weekend I finally perfected it....  Funny thing is that I totally forgot about my recipe and the pictures from that weekend, until I found a batch frozen in my freezer and yes, they were so yummy for dinner last night.  

First I soaked some garlic croutons in milk until they had soaked up all the milk.  Using a higher fat content ground beef (about 3/4 pound) and about a pound of mild Italian sausage, I carefully mixed the meats along with the milk soaked croutons, minced garlic (I use tons of garlic), a little olive oil, Italian seasoned bread crumbs  and some grated Parmesan cheese.   I seasoned with a little bit of salt and lots of pepper.  Because of the higher fat content, oil and milk soaked croutons... no need for an egg

I carefully (meaning - I did not press them too hard - kept them airy and light) rolled them into ping pong ball sized meatballs....  

 I placed them on a baking sheet and baked them in a 325 degree oven - probably about 20-25 minutes until they were nicely browned...  do you see the bits and pieces of cheese?

I made a tomato sauce which I saw on the Rachel Ray show a long time ago.....  


Saute onions and garlic in olive oil.... once the onions are soft.... add about a 1/4 cup of a good red wine and about 1/4 cup of chicken, beef or veggie stock (I used chicken)  - remember to season with salt and pepper.... She said by using the stock... you are adding the flavor that cooking for hours would achieve... (So it must have been a 30 Minute Meal show)

Once it has reduced down a bit... add a couple cans of whole stewed tomatoes (large cans) and mash with potato masher... I also added a couple of small cans of tomato sauce and Italian seasoning.... Then place your meatballs in the sauce, cover and let simmer....  the sausage seasonings the sauce and then yummy dinner....  I would be happy just sitting down in front of the bowl with a nice crusty bread and just dip, take a bite of a meatball, and dip some more.... However my family would prefer to be bit more civilized.... so pasta was a must....  


Silly family!

From My Craft Room..........

Thought I would just post some pictures of stuff from my craft room.....  but then I realized I only have one picture from the craft room in this post.  The rest are pictures of items I made when I did not have a craft room!  So they are from my kitchen table and family room easy chair!  
 

This is a ribbon board which I made for my oldest daughter and her husband this past Christmas.  It is hanging in their living room with wedding pictures all over it.... I love that it is getting put to good use! 

I started this a few years ago - I think I got this pattern from a book that I checked out from the library as I do not find it in my stash of quilting books.... it is called crazy log cabin.  I have four completed 12 x 12 blocks.  Now that I do have a craft room with my sewing machine out at all times.... this is on my list to finish this year.  It may end up as a Christmas present for my son. 

 This is a "Day of the Dead" doll I made for my sister for Halloween... it is her favorite holiday! 

This is a crocheted wire and bead bracelet I made for my mom for her birthday a couple of years ago.  I really love working with wire and this was a lot of fun. 

Finally...... I wanted share something from some very special ladies:  

I am honored to belong to a wonderful group of women who crochet and knit prayer shawls, youth afghans, baby afghans and winter hats.  We started our group a few years ago at our church just stitching Prayer Shawls...... but then we expanded with the hats for our Food Pantry and then afghans for a battered women's and children shelter....  The above picture is this year's batch for the shelter. Aren't these just beautiful?

This is why I craft......