April Blog Giveaway

This month I'm giving away one of my initial bangle bracelets with the winner's initial.  It features a silver-plated pewter square charm on a hand formed silver-filled wire bangle.

To enter the giveaway either comment below and/or comment/share/like my Facebook giveaway post.  The giveaway will end on 12am, Friday, April 25th.  The winner will be announced on Saturday, April 26th.  No purchase necessary.

Good Luck!

love this soup

A while back I came across a recipe that called for green salsa verde and garbanzo beans and I think pork.  I have the recipe somewhere in my recipe collection.  At any rate, I wanted a soup with green salsa verde and rice.  I love rice, especially jasmine, it's so aromatic.
So I modified another recipe I found, I used ground chicken, broth, a jar of salsa verde, onion, cannellini beans, and cumin.  Oh and jasmine rice!

Oops, forgot the cumin!

Here is the recipe:

1 jar of salsa verde, any variety

1 lb of ground chicken

1 red onion

32 oz chicken broth

1 can cannellini beans rinsed

2 cups of prepared jasmine rice

1/2 tsp cumin

cheddar cheese for garnish

Prepare Jasmine rice as directed in a separate pan.  Brown ground chicken with onion, add broth, beans, salsa, cumin, and prepared rice.  Simmer for about 5 mins and serve with cheese.

Enjoy!

Happy Good Friday!

Trying out the space bags

Well, after a power outage, this is my 3rd attempt today to post!

I am a clutter queen, ask my dear hubby he'll tell you!

The evidence, this is my (only) upstairs linen closet.  It's so hard to house about 18 years worth of draperies, sheets, towels, quilts, blankets, slipcovers, wash cloths, sleeping bags, and pillows.  I know, but I might need them someday.  Hubby's solution is to purge, get rid of it, but that is just not for me.

So, after I heard that I could get Ziplock space bags at my nearest box store, I was excited.  I've been waiting to try these for years!   Plus they come in great colors!  Mind you, this is just a small fraction of my closet clutter.  I'm not sure how many bags I'll end up needing but this is a start at least.  :)

Couldn't be any easier than just filling and then vacuum-sucking the air out of them.

Viola!

Enjoy your day!  :)

long time no post

Been a while since I've posted!!! Last week was the kid's spring break.   I feel like I didn't get much done but I've been busy creating.  It's so hard to balance family, creating, and business stuff.

Sometime this month, I'm going to host a giveaway.  I'm trying to decide what to give away but it will be something.  :)

today

The crazy weather has been getting to me lately.  It's 60 degrees and raining down in sheets one day and the next it's snow and wind chills in the zero range.  Crazy Chicagoland weather!
But I was happy today to see that with the snow the little Junco birds were eating from our bird feeders.  This made me, the kiddos, and Zeeb the cat very happy!

bird in the middle behind the snow

Zeeb the cat



Using leftover mac n cheese...

My kids love mac n cheese.  My hubby loves mac n cheese.  I love mac n cheese.  However, no one likes mac n cheese leftovers.  It's a dried gooey clump of nasty!  You know, it doesn't even retain its cheesy taste.   But I hate throwing it away!

So, I came up with a recipe to use that leftover mac n cheese, it makes a thick soup:

one can of diced tomatoes
one large container of chicken stock (32 oz)
one jar of Bertolli's brand Four Cheese Rosa sauce
leftover mac n cheese any amount - if you have a very large batch, double the other ingredients
Heat it in a large pot and break up the mac n cheese while it warms.

That's it!  If you want even more flavor, you can add chunks of chicken, white beans, and spinach.  I do occasionally, spice it up with red pepper flakes, basil, oregano, and minced garlic (or powder). 
It tastes good and everybody seems to like it.  And I don't have to throw away food!  :)

My favorite Christmas gift I received

So, I love feeding the birds in the winter.  I adore how they visit the bird feeder throughout the day, looking for seeds to throw about.  This is my home bird feeder that hangs right outside our patio door.  It provides constant amusement to the kids & cats as well!

This Christmas, my mother, knowing how I adore the birds, purchased for me this wonderful window-mount see-through bird feeder!  It's from Plow & Hearth. 

So far, no birdies.  But it's only been up for a day.  It can be purchased at their website here: 

http://www.plowhearth.com/product.asp?utm_source=shopping.com&utm_medium=comparisonshopping&utm_campaign=default&r=shoppingfeed&pcode=401850#ReviewHeader