FREEZER FOOD, SEEDLINGS, AND CIRCUS FUN

I have one new item in my Etsy shop, a Spring desk tote. Watch for more Spring pieces to come!







Recently, we had a huge bag of broccoli that would soon go bad if SOMETHING wasn’t done with it. We get the family-sized bags at Costco, and it’s hard to go through them quickly enough.

So…I poured the bag into my cast iron dutch oven that I recently rescued from a second-hand store…I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to get it!



I added a little water, covered, and steam cooked in my oven. Then, I put it all in my blender and pureed. Next, I cooled the mixture and then put it into containers to freeze. I’ll use it down the road for creamed soups.





Another thing I freeze up are bananas. I used to freeze them in their skins, but my daughter freezes hers without, and I’ve found that they’re a lot easier to work with. I just peal them, cut them in half, and put them in Ziploc bags. Then, voila, I’ve got frozen bananas for my green smoothies!





On the warmer side of things…my little seedlings are doing wonderfully.

There’s something about watching new life emerge that is so gratifying and makes one thankful for what God gave us.







On the fun side of things…the circus came to town!

And…we just thought that we’d better go!

So…all the big kids and the little men went to the Shrine Auditorium for a night of entertainment.

On the way there, we listened to French music…





And made funny faces…





Bring on the clowns!





And the horses…



And the balancing acts…



A fun night for all…







There’s nothing like family!

GRACIE APRON GIVE-AWAY

For a very sweet Gracie Apron give-away chance, pop on over to A Joyful Handmaiden and enter to win!

GIVE-AWAY

Do you like hand-stamped jewelry?

Do you like sterling silver jewelry?

Today's give-away is a $20 gift certificate for PunkyJane jewelry.



Hop on over to A Giveaway A Day and check it out!

SOUPS AND TEAS

I was so hungry when I came home from work at around 8:30 last night. So…I looked in the fridge to see what I had that would be quick to make and ended up making us a refrigerator soup.

A refrigerator soup is one in which I dump any odd left-overs into a pot, add water and seasoning, and voila, a nice warm bowl of soup in not very much time!

I happened to have left over baked potatoes, some frozen corn that needed to be used up, and a red onion. After everything was cut up, I added some chicken bouillon (paste form), three pepper corns, and salt and pepper to taste. Mmmm…it sure hit the spot! (Forgot to take pictures, but it's pretty self explanatory).

While that was stewing, I used the potato skins to make a little snack. I laid them on a cookie sheet and covered them with shredded cheddar cheese.



After I baked them in the oven for a few minutes, I had some tasty cheese peels.

At the same time that I was cooking, Keira was whipping up some chicken butternut squash soup. It sounded very healthy (Nate was sick, so she was cooking it for him), and it tasted wonderful!

The soup was supposed to turn out orange in color…



But, since she cooked it in the cast iron dutch oven...



It turned out a nice, dark, healthy hue...





Keira also brewed us up some yummy tea. For herself, she chose a fresh ginger and rosemary tea.

You can kind of make out the ginger in the bag to the right. It had a wonderful lemon scent to it. In the small Tupperware container is some pomegranate jelly that my other daughter let her try. She purchased it at our local health food co-op.





For me she made a delicious ginger mint tea.



Ahhh…a nice cup of tea and then curling up for a nap…



Who could ask for more?

OF TEACUPS AND TREASURES

A HUGE Thank You is going out to Jan and Tom of Rose Haven! I received, in a give-away, a pretty teacup from them and was SO excited to get it today!



My cup came with a beautifully hand-crafted Rose Haven gift tag…



And…a vintage needle card! Oooo!...What a fun surprise that was!





Thank you so much, Jan and Tom, for your great generosity.



Blessings to you both.



My honey and I went thriftin’ on Saturday. It was such a beautiful day for being out and about.

I found a pair of Naturalizer shoes, which would run between $40 and $65 in the store. Naturalizer is one of the few companies left that still have sizes for the toe and heel of the shoe along with the length. I rarely buy them due to their price. These are in near-perfect condition, and after I have the toe stretched just a bit, they’ll be perfect! They were only $2.00!

I didn’t get a good close-up shot but found some cute orange and yellow flower and heart-shaped buttons. I’ll use these to embellish homemade Mother’s Day cards.



We picked up a nice spread (which is actually a duvet’ cover) for our bed. We paid $5.00





My most fun purchase was a 5-qt. Dutch Oven. For some time, I have wanted to accumulate a large amount of cast iron cookware. I have one skillet that I use almost exclusively, but that is all. I paid more than I would have liked at $12, but once it is cleaned up and reseasoned, it will be fun to cook in!









I LOVE good deals!