Tasty Tuesday and Bidding Farewell to January

Tasty Tuesday is here again...

Today's recipe is for a super quick and easy side dish that will go well with almost any meal.

Seeded Bow Tie Noodles

Ingredients:

8 ounces bow tie noodles

3 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon coarsely-ground pepper

Instructions:

1)  Cook noodles according to package instructions, al dente.

2)  Drain water from noodles.

3)  Toss noodles gently with remaining ingredients.  Serves 4.

Today is the last day of January.

It has been a whirlwind month -- a new year, a new President, a new outlook, a new opportunity for change, exploration, and building.  I have been working on inventory organization, improving business practices, setting new goals and doing my best to meet them.  Tomorrow a friend is coming to help me haul many items out for donation and for trash.  Some of the items are big (chairs) so the help is much appreciated.

I did not make any big New Year's resolutions this year.  Instead, I am doing weekly goals, which I am happy to sat I am keeping pretty well so far.  Last year I made one big resolution, and I am happy to say I kept it all year.  It was a major decision having to do with my freedom, well-being, and progress, and keeping it faithfully has certainly been paying off.

Do you make resolutions every year?  How is it going for you?  I have found that keeping the resolutions to a minimum helps me a lot.  Trying to accomplish too much at once is not something I do well.  For me, the small number of weekly goals tends to work better.

I hope you are all having a good week, and that your goals and efforts are yielding good results for you.  

Welcome to Tasty Tuesday, Everyone

Today's recipe is for a hearty, elegant main dish:

SHERRIED BEEF (serves 8 to 10)

Ingredients:

3 pounds stewing beef, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 cans cream of mushroom soup (do NOT add water)

1 package Lipton Onion Soup mix

3/4 cup sherry wine

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms (can use canned mushrooms)

Optional: about 15 pearl onions

Optional: about a cup of cut carrot slices (about 1/2 inch thick)

Instructions:

1)  Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2)  Mix all ingredients together and place in heavy ovenware casserole dish with lid.

3)  Bake for 3 hours at 325 degrees.  

4)  Serve with noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.

Tasty Tuesday (Sorry for my absence recently)

Hi All -- I have not blogged for a few weeks.  It's a long boring story, so I am just going to jump in to sharing a recipe with you for Tasty Tuesday.

The recipe this week is for a hearty, hot, flavorful soup.

Cheese and Onion Soup

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped in small pieces

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Pepper to taste

4 cups milk

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack and Colby Cheese

Seasoned croutons

Instructions:

1)  In large saucepan, saute onion in butter.

2)  Stir in flour, salt, and pepper until blended.

3)  Gradually add milk.

4)  Bring to a gentle boil, then turn heat down a bit and let the soup thicken, stirring constantly.  

5)  Add cheese and stir until melted.

6)  Remove from heat and serve in bowls.  Sprinkle surface of soup with seasoned croutons and serve.  Yields about 6 servings.

As We Say Goodbye to 2016...

I want to wish you all...

May your year be full of joy, prosperity, and purpose!

Merry Christmas to All!

I am taking time off over the holiday weekend.  My eBay store is closed, but will re-open on 12-26-16. 

Until then, I wish you all the happiest of holidays.  I am looking forward to a very happy and peaceful few days, doing things I enjoy, being with loved ones I enjoy, and celebrating the holiday free of drama -- what a blessing!

Photos of My Christmas Wreath

I completed my Christmas wreath just a while ago.  

All the materials I used came from one of my favorite stores, the glorious Dollar Tree, with the exception of the ribbon used to hang it.  I had some ribbon from the Dollar Tree, but it was too wide to look good, so I had to improvise on that, using items I had in my ribbon drawer.

I chose the colors of silver and red mostly because by the time I went to pick up the items (and I went in November), the Christmas decor items were pretty well picked over.  

The really fun part of making this was taking some of the items apart and fashioning them to work in ways I needed.  Also, rather than using a wreath form as the base, I just used a Dollar Tree 15-foot garland and left it rolled up, using floral wire in a couple of places to keep it from unrolling.  I don't like using forms, so this was a good alternative for me.

Anyway, here are a couple of photos.  I did not take photos of it hanging on my door because the lighting is so dim in our hallway where I live, and it is so hard to get a good photo.  So you all are seeing it when it was still on my art desk.

Store is Closed for Christmas and Tasty Tuesday Recipe

Christmas Week is Underway

Since it is too late now to reliably expect packages to arrive at their destinations in time for Christmas, and sales are winding down as people prepare for the holidays, I have closed my eBay store until December 27.  I have a lot to get done around my home, and I have been putting off making my Christmas wreath for my front door, so I want to get that done -- will share photos here when it is complete.  My goal is to handle that tomorrow.  Today is devoted to catching up on laundry.  Thursday I need to put together 2 IKEA carts to use for storage in my studio.  They will both have wheels, so they will offer lots of flexibility on placement as needs change.

For Tasty Tuesday, I have a recipe for an easy main dish meal using chicken:  

Chicken Paprika

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken parts

2 Tablespoons cooking oil or shortening

1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup

1 Tablespoon of lemon juice (try to use juice from an actual lemon rather than bottled lemon juice)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Instructions:

1)  In skillet, brown chicken in shortening or cooking oil.  Pour off fat.

2)  Stir in remaining ingredients.  

3)  Cover, and cook over low heat until done (roughly 45 minutes).  Make sure to stir occasionally.

4)  Serve over hot cooked noodles or rice.

Optional add-in items (add in when the soup is added):

* 1 cup frozen peas that have been thawed with hot water and drained.

* 1 small can of mushroom pieces and stems.

You can make this as a very basic recipe, or you can add the additional items suggested, or come up with some of your own add-ins.  It's a simple meal, cooked in one pan, and good protein when the family has a lot going on during the holiday preparations.

I hope to be back tomorrow with some photos of my wreath -- I am making it exclusively with items I found at Dollar Tree (one of my favorite places).