Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad

I just made this yummy Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad for the 4th of July Festivities. Recipe here: http://ift.tt/1KAEmvj

Granola Cups

Yesterday I didn't feel like doing what I should be doing, so I decided to do a little baking. One of the things I made were these Granola Cups made with gluten free granola. I saw Molly Sims make on The Hallmark Channel's Home and Family Show and they looked easy to make (they are) and rather tasty (they are that too). They are variation on the yogurt parfait idea, just in a different form. Great for breakfast or as a dessert. You can fine the recipe here if you want to make some for yourself.

Enjoy!

xo

Jeanne

Share It Saturday

Today I'm taking part in  Share it Saturday, which is a brand new linky party dreamed up by Jennifer Rizzo. The idea is to share something you read on another person's blog or website. You can read the details about it here. 

Last week I came across this photo of these yummy looking cinnamon rolls from Country Living Magazine on Pinterest. I don't know about you, but I find cinnamon rolls irresistible. And to make these even more delectable, they are almond filled cinnamon rolls. So I decided to test out the recipe and make them for myself. 

And the recipe certainly didn't disappoint. . .

However, I don't really need to be eating a dozen cinnamon rolls, so I think if I make them again I will cut the recipe in half.

If you'd like to make some of these Almond Filled Cinnamon Rolls for yourself, you can find the recipe here.

xo

jeanne

Lunch Anyone?

I made this meatless dish for lunch yesterday and it was very yummy.

BLACK BEAN TOSTADAS

2 servings

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed & drained

6 Tbls mild salsa

1/2 tsp ground cumin (I didn't have this, so I used a dash of cayenne and a pinch of dried cilantro)

4 corn tostada shells

4 Tbls refrigerated guacamole (or you can use your own guacamole recipe like I did)

1 cup chopped romaine lettuce

1/4 cup chopped tomato

2 Tbls chopped green onion (I didn't have green onions, so used Vadalia onion instead)

Grated cheddar cheese (optional)

In a medium saucepan, stir together beans, salsa, and cumin. Heat thru and mash slightly. Meanwhile heat tostada shells according to package directions. Divide bean mixture evenly among tostada shells. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the guacamole onto each tostada. Top with lettuce. Sprinkle with tomato and green onion. 

Nutrition minus the cheese: 

258 calories, 12 grams fat, 37 grams carbohydrates, 11 grams fiber, 8 grams protein,
7 Weight Watcher Points Plus.

Enjoy!

Smoothies Anyone?

 My daughter told me about a smoothie recipe she found on Pinterest. It's very pink and oh so yummy!

The recipe is pretty simple:

1 cup Frozen Mixed Fruit

1 cup Light Vanilla Soy Milk (or 1 c milk + 1/4 tsp Vanilla)

Handful of Baby Spinach (this is optional - I didn't use it because I didn't have any spinach)

1 Tbls Ground Flax Seed

1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon

The best part is the website where she got the recipe from (Budget Bytes) suggested making individual ziplock packets of the mixed fruit and having them on-hand in your freezer. This makes putting the smoothies together quick and easy. Enjoy!

Making Yogurt

Did you ever think about making your own yogurt? If you're like me, it sounds way too complicated. And why bother with all that fuss since you can just buy it all ready made for you at the store? Well guess what? It's not that hard to make! And it's pretty easy too. 

 You don't need many ingredients - just 2% milk and a few tablespoons of plain yogurt - that's it! Honestly.

 You simply heat up the milk and mix in the yogurt.

Pour it into a jar, then wrap in a couple of towels to keep warm and let it sit on the counter for about 5 hours.

 And then - voila! You have yourself a quart of delicious homemade yogurt.

 You can eat it plain. Or you can stir in a spoonful of preserves.

Or have it the way I like it -  topped with some crunchy granola.

If you want to try making some fresh tasting yogurt for yourself, you can find the recipe I used here. 

Party Time!

This weekend I had my brother and sister-in-law over to celebrate her birthday. I decided to make a Strawberry Cake from a recipe I found in Southern Living Magazine. It was supposed to be a triple layer cake, but since I only have two 9-inch cake pans, I converted it to a two-layer cake. No one seemed to really care how many layers it was when they were eating it! For the recipe, you can click here.

Color Inspiration

I made myself a pot roast the other day (Mmmm...) and decided to have some fun and do a color story with the photo for some Saturday Color Inspiration. This is what I came up with.

It's going to be a gorgeous weekend here in the midwest - sunny with temperatures in the mid 60's. I think (and hope) that Spring is right around the corner. I'd love to be able to put the shovel away and start thinking about flowers and green grass and birdies again.

Hope you have a beautiful weekend!

Ole!

Yesterday was a fun day. My daughter came over and announced, "We're going to make salsa!"

She brought over all the ingredients, including this batch of freshly picked cherry tomatoes from her garden.

Fragrant fresh cilantro.

Green pepper, jalapeno pepper, onion and spices all mixed together.

It smelled so fresh and tasted like a fiesta in your mouth!

If you'd like to make your own, here is the basic recipe we used. We added green pepper and lots more cilantro. Delicioso!

Destash - Cookbooks

UPDATE: The already low prices of these cookbooks have been reduced even further!

I've been sorting through my cookbook stash and thought maybe some of you would be interested in some of the books I've decided to part with. These are great deals. All are regularly priced at $14.95 to $27.95. Even if you don't cook, the hand-drawn illustrations on every page of the plaid cover Gooseberry Patch cookbooks are worth the price! These make great gifts too. . . Enjoy!!!

Just leave your email address in the comments section below, along with whichever title(s) you are interested in and I will send you a Paypal invoice.

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Almost Homemade

$5.00 + $3.00 Shipping

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SOLD!

Comfort & Joy

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Meals in Minutes

$5.00 + 3.00 Shipping

* * * * *

SOLD!

Get-Togethers with Gooseberry Patch

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30 Minute Meals

$5.00 + $3.00 Shipping

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More destash items coming soon, so stay tuned!!!

This & That

I did some baking yesterday. Not sure why I decided to heat up the kitchen on a 90+ degree day. But the end result was worth it. I made these carrot cake cookies for my DH on the suggestion of my daughter. She knows he likes carrot cake and forwarded this recipe to me.

Since I was s-o-o-o hot from having the oven on, I decided that the refrigerator was way over due for a cleaning. What better way to stay cool than to have your head inside the fridge? Here is the "after" shot of the all important drink shelf. I could use one of those icy cold drinks right now!

Do you see anything interesting in the photo above?

Ah, yes . . . this cute little guy is very interesting, don't you think? He lives in the little bird house attached to the top of my twig garden chair outside our front door.

He comes out of his house to chat with me every time I water the planter full of these beautiful petunias my daughter and son-in-law gave me on Mother's Day. He's a very friendly birdie. He comes back every year to "rent" out the little house on the chair.