"A Beauty Of A Cake"

Had to totally show off the talents of my sweet little friend and daily companion at work

 Kristen and her Mr. Eric..

A cake made with love for his Mama..

Kristen was so kind as to send me pictures of each stage of their fun and yummy weekend project..

Can't let something like this go by without talking about it, now can I.. :-)

They are soooo adorable and so is the cake..

I believe the cake is white chocolate as well as dark chocolate, mixed together in a very magical way to make this..

Ok guys, I hope I explain this right..

One with white chocolate, one with dark chocolate, each dropping by cupfuls alternately, working very quickly to make the pattern..

This is after baking...

Sooooo darn pretty and amazing I say!

Like a Zebra...how cool is that!!!  And she said it is 

quite yummy indeed!

Now decorating start to finish..

I am over the top impressed!

Neither one of them has ever done anything like this before, truly proves the point that with determination and an open heart, not to mention a trusted, excited, enthusiastic someone beside you,

you can do and achieve anything..!

What a lucky Mommy Eric's Mom is..

Do I see a cute little bakery in your future??? :-)

Incredible job, you guys are amazing!

P.S.

And just because I couldn't resist, had to throw in a pic of their baby Mugsy!!

A couple days before the "Cake Making Challenge" Kristen was enjoying a nice, relaxing, warm bubble bath and he just had to join in...what a smart puppy!

Now is this not the cutest picture and look at her little toes poking out of the water..

I swear this dog is a human in "Pug Disguise" Ha Ha!

Love and Hugs,

Miss Val

"My Favorite 8 Things For This Week"

I'm just going to jump right in because I absolutely love all of these favorite things this week..

1.  Someday when we remodel our laundry room, I would love it to be just like this..in fact I showed it to my sweet Mr. and he actually said 

"we could totally do that" eeeeekkkk..ok then I'll start dreaming for real.

2.  Right now, today in fact, I am still working on my art room. I feel like I have been working on it for weeks now and actually I think that is pretty accurate..it has gotten to that point where it needs more than just straightening up...it needs to be gone through and re-organized.  Other than the fact that I don't have quite the same window set up in my room, I sure would love it to be more like this, at least the office part anyway...hmmm...

3.  Ok...all I can say is uhhh HELLO!

Really, really love this, everything about this..I like both of these rooms..

Choosing is such a burden :-)

4. This is a way cuter way to separate my embroidery floss..and I even have clothes pins already...

5. Love this!

6.  Even though these don't match my kitchen by any stretch of the imagination, I just think they are dang adorable..

7. Seriously, is this not a really cool ingeniously creative way to use an old fashioned suitcase..

8.  My reminder for the week to come...I think this is not only darling but pretty simple but great reminders..

So there you go...

May you always find a favorite thing, everyday..!

Oh and be kind out there to one another..

Blessings again..

Me

"Oh How I Love A Good Saturday"

Yesterday was an over the rainbow kind of a day for all..

My Mr. and daughter the fabulously talented duo from www.2eesphotography.com

off to the fall Bridal Fair..well to keep a keen eye on the Wedding Photography industry here in good ole Spokane..

Son in-law at work, but off early as well to run by and pick up his Dad in-law for a 

 Micro-Brew tasting at a new neighborhood gathering called "The Manito Tap House"..

Several local brewers were there with the wonderful offerings to share..

Son at work, but soon to be done and off to a friends "Bachelor Party"..

and Me off early...

After leaving work I stopped off at my favorite grocery outing place to grab this weeks menu pickings..

Have to tell you that making a menu, making a list and sticking to it absolutely pays off in so many ways..I've known this for years, but have to admit that until the last year or so wasn't very good at it..

Now that my hubby and I are doing our best to follow the incredible financial and budget advice of the very wise Mr. Dave Ramsey

www.daveramsey.com

I am being quite diligent at my weekly planning.

New recipes with a few old favorites, keeping in season offerings in mind for the budget minded and of course most incredible flavor..

This weeks menu offerings came in at a total cost of just $60.07 for 3 of us and sometimes more..

pretty darn good huh!!!

So for this week, which for me is 4 days of cooking, 2 days of combining leftovers into new dishes and 1 day of "fend for yourself", these are my choices..

Beginning with this literally incredible recipe from the fabulous 

Ree Drummond of www.thepioneerwoman.com

Oh my gosh I do love this woman !!!

Sausage, Potato and Kale Soup...

Please visit her site through the link above..this soup is dated Oct 3rd 2011 and you can not only get this recipe, but follow along in the making with her beautiful photographs..

 It was a tremendously flavorful, beautiful soup and absolutely divine..

My Son In-Law was bowing to my soup making devices and coming from him, an incredible cook in his own rite, that is incredibly meaningful to me..thanks Ree!!

This last week my sweet Mom In-Law

bestowed upon me a very large zucchini, so after shredding all into several 2 cup packages for the freezer I decided to make this for breakfast...so yummy!!!

Paula Deen's Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

Offerings for the rest of this week are:

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

another recipe from www.thepioneerwoman.com

dated September 9th, 2010

also from my own stash

Veggie Quiche

Herb Roasted Chicken

and Salisbury Steak with Parmesan Yukon Gold Mashed potatoes

And if I have time I am definitely going to make this

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

From: www.melskitchencafe.com

using the leftover roasted chicken

1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 green onion, finely sliced (white and green parts)
1/2 red or green pepper, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups shredded cheese (I used a combination of monterey jack and sharp cheddar)
Sour cream (optional)

6 burrito-sized flour tortillas

Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and sour cream. Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. (Optional: on some of the wraps, I dotted the cheese with about 1-2 tablespoons of reduced fat sour cream before arranging chicken and rice mixture down the center – it made the wraps delightfully creamy.) Roll stuffed tortillas, leaving edges open. Spray the tortillas all over with cooking spray.

Heat a large non-stick skillet (or griddle) over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange 2 wraps, seam-side down, in pan and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps. Serve.

Does anyone have a towel, because I am totally drooling now...

Many blessings to all for a most wonderful family filled weekend..

Me

"Rainy Fall Days There's Just Something Wonderful About Them"

In our neck of the woods (the beautiful Northwest), it has been

raining for the last couple of days..

Slightly dark and misty

That absolutely wonderful rain smell

and the sound...ohhhh how I love going to sleep to the sound of rain!

I actually quite like it, not too much of it at one time mind you, but I find it quite pleasant and refreshing and in the fall especially, quite comforting...

Wouldn't these be wonderful for a day such as this?

Oh my oh my...how adorable is this..not quite mean't particularly for rain, but I am thinking with an umbrella in tow...PERFECT in every way...

And this...just because

Such a lovely felted hat...but honestly, this mannequin head scares me!!! :-)

And

These of course need to be on my feet..

Ok I get that they don't quite match what I have going on above, but I'm not so much a matchy, matchy girl anyway..they are just peachy heaven though...

And lastly..

A SEE THROUGH UMBRELLA!!!  

OMG...how cool is this...protected from the rain, but you can still see it coming!

I gotta find one of these..

Oh and dare I say these..and then my day will be quite lovely indeed!!

Yummmmmmm...now thats what I'm talkin about!!!

and yes please on a couple of these..

Ok, I think I'm all good now...

Time to hit that road I mentioned..

Blessings of all kinds..!

Me

"Yesterday Was A Great Day and Today is Starting Out Pretty Darn Good Too!"

Yesterday, for me, started out as most other days, well except that it was my day off. With my job I have Sunday's and Monday's off. I love having one weekend day and one weekday, for a few reasons.

1.  My husband usually has photography jobs on Saturdays, so I might as well work anyway.

2.  One of my favorite days of the week is Sunday. For me, Sundays are truly family day. A restful day, especially this time of year, full of cooking, football, movies, putzing about the house, working in my Art Room, etc. Enjoying the company and all in my jammies if I wish.

3. Monday's...ahh Monday's. Alone in the house to do as I wish. Boys are at work,  or a day spent running errands, doing a little window shopping or real shopping, visiting the library, visiting with my "Sweet Mama"

This Monday was exactly what I described..

Some chores in the morning..

Errands in the early afternoon..

And then on to Barnes and Noble to meet my "Sweet Mama" for a chat and a coffee.

First of all it was my intention to pick up a couple of books that

the beautiful Mikal of http://mikalslanding.blogspot.com

had recommended on her blog..

and..

So excited for both..

I arrived a few minutes before my Mama did, grabbed the "School of Essential Ingredients, they did not have "Cold Tangerines" and headed to the cafe..just as I arrived, there she was..!!

Oh it was so wonderful and perfect to see her!..you see my Mama is quite the little spitfire, running around volunteering and galavanting on little trips with friends. In fact she is headed out this very day with her best friends 

(my GodMama Gigi and her wonderful Australian hubby Murray)

for a couple of days in Wintrop, Washington..

www.winthropwashington.com.. 

Anyway we gabbed as girls do and then it was time to go..me, to finish my errands and my Mama to finish packing..

As we were getting ready to leave I decided to put

 "The School Of Essential Ingredients" back.

You see I had promised my husband that I wouldn't buy any more books until I had read all the little beauties standing in wait in my various bookshelves..

My Mom was so proud, as only a Mother can be when her child honors a promise..see even at 54 years old, you can still make your parents proud!!! :-)

So off we went, with a little extra visiting at our cars, of course...the day was a beauty, in the mid 70's..

Me stopping at my local Hobby Lobby for some of these.

A stop at the grocery store to get the ingredients to make this for dinner, one of our favorites when we want something light..

Stars and Spinach Soup
Adapted from Ronzoni

Ingredients

1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
1 can (46 oz.) chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
1 cup Ronzoni acini di pepe or pastina, uncooked
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
Salt to taste
1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach

Directions

1. Cook and stir onion and garlic in hot butter and olive oil until tender but not browned.
2. Add wine and chicken broth and bring to a boil.
3. Add pasta, pepper, and pepper flakes; simmer about 5 minutes.
4. Add chopped spinach and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Season to taste with salt, if desired.

Serves 8.

Heading home from getting groceries I decided to stop by the library, its on the way, and I thought..well I promised not to buy any new books..

Well lo and behold there it was

 "The School Of Essential Ingredients"

right on the shelf..oh my gosh was that a gift or what..

not only did I find the book, but I saved myself $16.00 to boot..

I also found these, which I have had on my list for some time.

and

and this movie..my husband loves anything golf..

Pay Dirt!!! I was so excited that I had to call my Mama right then and there..we both had a good chuckle over that one.

Such a wonderful, beautiful day full of blessings!

Today I am up early to see my Mr. off to the airport..

So with my extra time this morning I decided to make these and surprise my son when he gets up..

It is his day off and he loves anything pizza..

We will see if he likes..

Just a note..

I added a spoonful of pizza sauce on the top before baking, but next time I would double the recipe, add some sauted onions, peppers and mushrooms, maybe some olives and some parmesan along with the mozzarella.

I also would add cheese to the top before baking..

But the basic recipe is pretty darn good...just not cheesy and greasy enough for me.

Pepperoni & Sausage Pizza Puffs

From: www.plainchicken.blogspot.com 

Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

adapted from Everyday Food
(Printable Recipe)

3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
2 oz mini turkey pepperoni, (about 1/2 cup)
4 oz low-fat sausage, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup pizza sauce

Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, sausage and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Its now just 7:53 am and time to start thinking about getting ready for work..

May your day be filled with blessings..

Me