Friday, January 29, 2010

Spring Set

I ventured away 
from my typical seed bead and gold tone metals 
 with this necklace set


Even though it may look like gold the metal is actually silver


I made this as a birthday gift for a family member



It has been so cold here
 I think I wanted some "Spring" colors to look at







Lemon Sage Pork Salad



From winter 2008 Diabetic Living Magazine
1 pound pork tenderloin
1 tablespoon finely shredded lemon peel
6 leaves fresh sage, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 head green leaf lettuce, torn
1-1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 avocado, halved, pited, peeled and chopped
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped green onions
















Red Hot Pepper Vinaigrette*

Directions
Trim fat from pork. 
Cut pork crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices.
Place pork slices in a large bowl. 
Add lemon peel, sage, cumin, pepper.
Toss well to coat. 
Let stand for 10 minutes. 

 In a very large skillet cook pork, half at a time,
 in hot oil over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes
 or until meat is just slightly pink in center,
turning once. Remove from skillet and set aside.
.
 Place lettuce on a serving platter.
 Top with tomatoes, avocado, beans and green onions.
Arrange pork slices over salad.
Drizzle with some Red Hot Pepper Vinaigrette;
 pass remaining vinaigrette.
I did a different vinaigrette 
I took a jar of roasted peppers
and processed them with the lime,
 vinegar, and oil
I also added sun dried tomatoes


Red Pepper Vinaigrette
(if you choose to make it from scratch)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Halve 1 red sweet pepper and 1 fresh jalapeno pepper lengthwise. Remove stems, seeds, and membranes. Place pepper halves, cut sides down, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until skin is blistered and charred. Bring foil up around peppers to enclose. Let stand about 15 minutes or until cool. Use a sharp knife to loosen edges of the skins; gently pull off the skin in strips and discard.


 Place peppers in a blender or food processor.
Add 2 tablespoons lime juice, 
2 tablespoons vinegar, 
2 tablespoons olive oil  
Cover and blend or process until smooth.


Nutrition Facts
Calories 266, Total Fat 14 g, Saturated Fat 2 g, Monounsaturated Fat 8 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g, Cholesterol 49 mg, Sodium 269 mg, Carbohydrate 17 g, Total Sugar 5 g, Fiber 7 g, Protein 21 g
 
 




Thursday, January 28, 2010

Here comes the sun......

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter

Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right.......The Beatles









"If the sight of blue skies fills you with joy,
 if the simplest things of nature have a message that you understand,
 rejoice, for your soul is alive"...Eleanora Duse



Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Somethin to Crow About.....

Sunday morning
I woke up to loud squawking
Can you see the two crows?



 They were just chattering up a storm



in between bites of berries



I'm not sure about what or why



and after they woke up everyone
they left



Please join
A Southern Daydreamer
for




Monday, January 25, 2010

Trashin'

We had a real yucky w/e
I had hoped
since it was going to be  warm
we'd get some yard clean up
no such luck

On our way home from store
we noticed our neighbor putting items
out to the curb
She is cleaning out her Mom's
old house and told us
if we see anything we want
to go ahead and take it


My eyes went right to some old doors
I have hated our back door
since we moved here
I'm not sure why I don't like it
I think its the window
The glass is very thin and
I'm always afraid it'll break


This new door is more like the other  panel doors
in the house
Now you have to use your imagination
to see what it'll be like


Now I am waiting for the Spring so I can take it outside
 and get it stripped and stained


linking up with



Sunday, January 24, 2010

Hearts and Blue Mondays


I haven't crafted in about 4 weeks
It was strange to sit down and work

I wanted to do something for Valentines 
 but wanted it to be different than
the usually pinks/red

While I was looking at my beads
I saw these blue hearts
BINGO






Saturday, January 23, 2010

Spicy Ginger Marinated Chicken

I got this recipe from
the Winter 2008 Diabetic Living Magazine
I didn't find this very spicy
so I would add more red pepper
my hsb does not like sweet foods
and he really liked it
it also leaves your kitchen smelling good!

I added parmesan couscous and a salad

Marinate
1/4 C low sugar orange marmalade
3 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 tsp fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (or to taste)
4 skinless chicken breast

Mix the first 6 ingredients
 set aside 1/3 C in a seperate container
 to use when you are serving


Close up of Marinade


Marinate the chicken in a ziplock bag for 4-6 hrs turning occasionally.
Cook in a non stick pan sprayed with oil until chicken is no longer pink.


Once cooked throughly transfer the chicken to a serving plate.
 Pour reserved marinade into the pan, heating throughly.


Serve over chicken.


4 servings

191 cal per serving. 5 g total fat, 66mg chol,
 7g carb, 0g fiber, 27g protein,


Friday, January 22, 2010

Tossing, Cleaning and Reading



A birdie told me that I have disappointed some people
by not posting on my blog

I have been cleaning, purging and organizing
I figured that would be pretty boring to most

I've given 5 bags to charity



Tossed out 4 bags of garbage



I even spent one whole day organizing my computer -
cleaning out photos, burning to CD's things I want to keep

I still have one more room to go
we are setting it up as an exercise area

I'm not even gonna talk abt the basement
that will have to wait til it warms up
a little to nippy for me down there

My craft room took a whole day to re-organize.
Months ago
we put all new IKEA antonius
shelves in there.
I just threw all the stuff in the bins
to be sorted "someday"
I guess this week was someday

know it probably looks junkie
but it actually is organizd inside

I got my craft area cleared out
Hopefully soon I can paint the ugly white walls


I'm hoping to get it all done
by the first of next week
so that I can get back to creating

My form of escaping is reading
and I read 3 books this week:

American Pie
Crazy Ladies
and
She Flew the Coop

What great reads!

all by Michael Lee West
aka as Designs By Gollum
her blog
is




Can you see it?????

I . think . I . might . have . a . slight . problem

Can you see it?
Here:


Here:


and even here:



Yup I‘m a frame junkie

soooo....
I counted them

I have 52  
only....51
 (I’m giving one to a thrift store)

When I told my husband my dilemma  -
 he told me just keep the good ones....
ahhhh if it was that simple.....

I can see the potential in all of them!
is there help for me?
any suggestions????



Wednesday, January 20, 2010

National Pie Day

Saturday is National Pie Day



My favorite pie is sour milk pie
like mincemeat but better



My husband’s is peach



My one daughter like chocolate pecan



My brother in law makes a mean apple pie
of course I don't have a picture of one of his pies

So what is your favorite pie ?
 Celebrate Pie Day on Saturday