Chicken Eggs

I buy chicken eggs from a dear friend and I just wanted to post some pictures to show you the beautiful colors of these eggs.

Lilacs

One of my favorite flowers. Their ethereal scent and lacy flowers beckon one to linger and absorb all they have to offer to us. I have a memory of walking to grade school and passing a hedge of lilacs in the spring and remembering how beautiful and wonderful they smelled. Another memory is my mother's garden, she had two huge lilac bushes in one corner of her flower bed and she had artfully displayed peonies and bearded iris making a breathtaking display. There is only one flaw with lilacs, they are barely with us for one month. :(

If you don't have one of these beauties in your garden you must get one. You will get so much enjoyment from it. I would love to have a hedge of them....all different colors. Lilacs are violet, blue, purple, lavender to magenta and pink and one that almost looks white with many shades of each in between. There are hundreds of varieties so you have a lot to chose from. Although lilacs are relatively easy-care plants, they need good air circulation and good sun light at least 6 hours. Never tear off blossoms but sure and cut with pruning shears. You can damage the plant by tearing. Lilac bouquets make a lovely scent in your home.

I have posted a couple of pictures of my lilac bush. It is three years old. I also posted pictures of my flower beds that I have worked on during the winter. These are just old bricks that I have used as edging. For our old home in the country, I love the look.

Have a wonderful weekend and go buy a lilac bush! Big smile~

Creamy Avacado Dressing

This dressing is wonderful. It is great as a dip for raw or steamed vegetables or as a topping for sandwiches. This dip has such a great flavor. If you like avocados, dill and garlic you will love it.

We have had such a mild winter that my dill is already coming up in my herb garden. You can use dried dill in this recipe but the flavor is just not the same.

The salad that I use for this dressing is all greens. I use a mixture of butter, romaine, red leaf and spinach. If I can find arugula I also use that. I put in a large cucumber (peeled and sliced) and about 2 cups of sprouts (alfalfa or sunflower). Clean lettuce, drain and tear into bite size pieces, add cucumber and sprouts and toss.

Dressing:

1 avocado
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Peel avocado and remove pit. Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until creamy and smooth. I double this recipe and you can see from the picture that it doesn't make that much even when doubled. I would say that doubled it makes about 2 cups.

Don't forget the next time you have a vegetable platter make this as the dip.....it's the best.

To end on a funny note - If you know my husband you will appreciate this and get a big laugh. When I made this I told him it was a Green Goddess dressing because avocados have never touched his lips. He didn't fall for it.....he insisted on using his Ranch dressing :( . I told him he would like it if he would only try it. His response, "you've been saying that for 38 years and trying it will not make me like it." But it might! :)

Gardening Projects

If you are not a gardener at heart you will not understand this statement. I had the most exciting weekend! I got the soil amended for my blueberries and got them planted. I worked in a good amount of peat moss and nitrogen to the soil for the blueberries. The soil looked great and so did the berry bushes. My husband and I got the PVC guttering up and I got the soil in and spinach and 3 different lettuce types planted. The most wonderful part of the guttering that I never even thought of was....I can stand up and plant. I'm not bent over on all fours walking on my knees down the row. I had never even thought of this, I was just excited that I knew there would not be all that dirt and grit on the lettuce and spinach. My wonderful husband built me a new container for my compost pile. It's a lot closer to our house.

I took a picture of my rototiller. This is one of the things I love the most as for gardening tools. It's a machine but it's small and easy to handle and I can start it every time. It's easy to maneuver around plants instead of hoeing all the time. As you can see, my sugar snap peas are coming right along, looking great.

I plan on being outside working today, you do the same. It's great for your body, mind and spirit. Have fun~ g.

More Spring Decorating

Decorating close to the Heart

The quotes that hang in our home especially those about God all have a little story behind them. Years ago when I read Hines Feet In High Places, Much Afraid would always collect a stone and keep it in her bag and that would commemorate a major obstacle she had overcome. When the Israelites were going through the wilderness God always told them to build some type of monument after every major trial so every time they would see it, it would remind them of what God had done for them. Hopefully, they would never forget and they would always have the reminder that they could overcome anything with God.

The other thing that I have learned is, it helps our subconscious mind to see something over and over again. I have always had this scripture by my kitchen sink because I really needed to see this one everyday, over and over again. :) "She opens her mouth in wisdom and the law of kindness is on her tongue." Having things before my eyes jogs my memory and reminds me to think upon these things.

For some time, I have wanted something I could put quotes or sayings or even little pictures on. I didn't want anything permanent because I wanted to be able to change it out. There are so many quotes that I like, I wanted to be able to leave something for a while and then change it and put something else in its place. I found this little piece and have had fun putting quotes and pictures on it.

This is currently what's on my little heart hanger!

Pop's Onion Fried Burgers

Last night we had onion fried burgers and french fries, one of my favorites. I'm not just saying this because "Pop's" is my husband but he makes the best fried onion burger I've ever eaten. We always call our children when he's making onion burgers because they love them as much as I do and they never miss a chance to eat his burgers. Last night, several of our children came for burgers and fries. We haven't had them in a while and they were wonderful.

Making these burgers are easiest on a griddle but you could do it in a skillet but I would suggest a large skillet. He starts with using about 8 ounces of hamburger per person. He says the secret is using more onions than hamburger because that is what gives it that great taste. The hamburger is rolled in a ball put on a hot griddle topped with thinly (very thinly)sliced onions. He puts a good amount of onions on the hamburger and then uses a spatula to smash the meat and onions flat. After the meat cooks a little, he lays the bottom and top of the hamburger bun on the meat and onions and this steams up the bun and makes it hot. After cooking about 4 minutes on one side he flips the meat, still keeping the bun on the meat. About a minute before he is going to take the meat off he puts on cheese for those who want cheese on their burgers. Everyone gets their bun right before the meat is finished and puts on mustard, dill slices and tomato if desired and he then lays the hot pattie with onions on the bun and you're ready to go. I also have lettuce if anyone wants lettuce on their burger. He also seasons with a little salt and pepper before he puts the onions on the meat.

That's how it's done! I will have to say that I forgot to take a picture of the finish product. Can you believe that! But I was so hungry and overtaken by the smell, that when I got my burger I totally forgot. :)

More Spring Decorating

These are a couple of ideas that you might incorporate with things that you have. I took some old little vases, a couple of them were my mom's and one I picked up at a garage sale. I made a little grouping of them and put different spring flowers in them. The other idea I really like. These are flowers on our dining room table. I didn't want a flower arrangement on my table because my buffet sits behind the table and I already have the horn of plenty arrangement sitting on the buffet. I knew that would be too much to have another arrangement on the table. These are some flowers I picked up at a garage sale and tied a pretty taffeta ribbon around them and laid them on the table. If you go to shop that carries home interiors, they usually have really nice silk flowers. They are more expensive than Hobby Lobby but they are worth the price because the look is great. Depending on the size of the bloom 4 or 5 stems is all you would need. I like the way this looks.....it's different.

Have fun getting your home spruced up for SPRING!

Weight Watchers Pumpkin Muffiins

I was thinking about these muffins the other day and remembering that they were good and low in calories. So I actually found the recipe and tried them. They are not really sweet but very moist and satisfying. I wish I had the data for calories, fat etc. but I didn't have it on my recipe card.

2 cups pumpkin
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups dry milk
3/4 cup flour
6-8 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons soda
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup water

Mix altogether and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Fast, Easy and Delicious

For those busy evenings, when you don't have a lot of time to prepare a meal this is something that is very tasty and quick, for me anyway. My family likes anything Mexican, so when my kids were home and I was busy this was an easy standby. I made these bean and rice tacos in less than 30 minutes. I used a can of refried beans and Knorr Fiesta Sides Spanish Rice. Knorr also carries Taco Rice but I like the Spanish the best. The rice cooks in about 12 minutes and it comes out perfect every time just follow the directions.

Just put several tablespoons of re fried beans in a taco shell, then a couple of tablespoons of rice, then cover that with some cheddar cheese. At this point, I put the tacos in the oven and melt the cheese and it also heats the taco shell. When the shell is golden and the cheese is melted remove from oven. Fill with chopped onion, lettuce, tomatoes and I like sliced avocados and top with salsa. On these nights when I'm pressed for time, I stop and pick up salsa at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants rather than trying to make salsa. You can also add a dollop of sour cream if you wish. These are really good and this can also serve as one of your meatless dinner nights.

I cook brown beans at least once a month. I always have leftover beans. When my children were still home they knew when we had brown beans that one night that week we would also be having bean burritos. These are great also. I would heat up whole wheat tortillas when some cheddar cheese on them then add the Spanish rice, a little onion, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, a little fresh chopped jalapeno, and sliced avocado or guacamole. Roll them up and they are wonderful. Instead of re fried beans, when you have leftover beans just rinse them off and use them in the taco shell. They are really good too.

I really never get tired of these. It makes my mouth water thinking of them and we just ate them last night.