Fun with Fall Fotos...and alliteration apparently!

I am no phatographer...but I do own a camera and have a love for capturing moments in time, beauty, and God's creation, some even turn out okay! Just for fun...here are a few.

Come sit a spell, enjoy God's creation!

Sunflower 

Crisp & Delicious!

Pumpkin time!

My fall bouquet!

The Girls!

Bird sitting! 

Pretty girl!

My boys

Adirondack creek

Have I stumbled into Narnia?

Peaceful

Road trip!

Downtown 

The corner

What came first?

Puppy love!

Finally, it blooms!

Can I wine?!

Market

You say tomato...

Goals.

One mans junk is another man's treasure!

A few fun before and after projects we have done lately! 

Wall sconce .50 cents: Before (Forgot to grab a true before shot until I had already started painting) 

Wall sconce: After

 

Lamp $3.00: Before

Lamp: After

Wall lamps $5.00: Before

Wall lamps: After (I still need to finish the shades)

Healthy Homemade Apple Crisp for Two (less than 200 calories per serving)!!

Tonight I wanted a yummy snack but did not want a lot of calories and fat. So, I made up an Apple Crisp recipe that I felt was healthy...and it was really delish!!

2 tbsp Organic Maple Syrup (90 calories and a lot better for you than sugar and more good minerals than both sugar and honey!) 

1 packet Stevia (0 calories in this natural sweetener that does not register in the glycemic index!!)

2 tbsp ground flax seed (74 calories heart healthy due to omega-3's, and it helps keep you regular due to the fiber content!)

2 small apples (100 calories, I had honey crisp but I'm sure you can use any apple)

2 tsp Brummell and Brown spread (30 calories like butter but better for you than other butters and margarines cuz it's made with yogurt...and you don't use much anyway and prolly could omit if you want to)

1/3 cups rolled oats (102 calories: these were fresh from the farmers market and we watched then being rolled! A great whole food that includes amino acids, protein, folate, vitamin k, and more!) 

Total: 396 calories or 198 per serving

Peel and cut apple into bite size pieces

Toss them in a bowl with flax seed and stevia

Drizzle apple chunks with 1 tbsp syrup (optional)

Divide apples into two individual stoneware cups 

Mix oats, 1 tbsp syrup, and the margarine

Top each with half of the oat mixture (press down it down firmly into the cup. 

Bake at 450 for 5-7 minutes and turn the oven down to 250 finish baking for 10-12 minutes (you can cook it longer if you like the apples mushy)

The reason for the temperature change is because I was trying to walk on the treadmill at the same time and did not want to keep stopping to check it, so I thought if I turned it down that would give me at least 10 more uninterrupted minutes! :) 

ENJOY!!!

Some like it HOT....but I'm a mild kinda gal!

Ever since I was a kid I hated recipes. I rebelled against THEM telling ME what to do and how. Hence, my parents endured several gross concoctions that I made up all on my own! So, after being scolded for wasting yet more ingredients during a time when the budget was tight, I started using recipes as a guide, but still did my own thing with them! The results were much better in my opinion, plus who has time to measure?!

I still hate following recipes! So, my husband (a recipe follower and close measurer) bore with me as we created our own salsa. Then we found we really liked a batch but could not recreate it exactly. As a result, I wrote it down as we went last summer! I'm happy to say it was really delicious and a little ashamed to admit that it was so good, we didn't really share! Since we really enjoy sharing, we doubled the recipe this year...you're welcome friends and family! :) 

We canned our salsa so there is added lime juice and vinegar to adjust the acidity making the salsa safe to can, plus it adds good flavor! This is the part I implore you to follow, the Ball canning website has the specifics on this. There are a lot of sites where you can find canning advice so, I won't go into that. Just be sure to have the proper tools, be safe, and have fun!

Be sure to have farm fresh ingredients, if at all possible, because it really does make a difference in maintaining that wonderful fresh flavor you will enjoy all year! Roma tomatoes are best to use since they are hearty, firm, and meaty. This year we doubled the ingredients exactly except we used 3 limes and 1.5 bunches of cilantro...I saved some for my bunnies, they were appreciative!

 

Geatbullshihtzu Salsa circa 2012 

1/2 bushel Roma tomatoes 

2 ears of corn 

3 med onions

1 lime

2 bulbs of garlic and 1 section of elephant garlic

1 sm pack of yellow and red peppers

1  bunch of cilantro (chop finely)

4 jalapeño peppers (be sure to wear gloves...more on this in the tips section) 4 jalapeños makes a mild heat...add additional jalepeños for more heat or less if you are a complete wimp! :) 

Salt 4 tbsp

Pepper 1.5 tsp (fresh cracked)

Chili powder 1 tbsp

Red pepper flakes. 0.5 tsp (freshly ground)

Sugar 1/3 cup

Garlic powder 0.5 tsp or so...you never can have too much garlic!

This made 28 cups so we added 1.5 cups of white vinegar (5%) <-again, the most important thing to measure in the whole recipe....you want to be sure it's safe to eat in a month or two! Your family, your friends, your body, and possibly the health department will thank you! 

TIPS

1) boil water in a big pot (like the one below) dunk the tomatoes in for about 5 minutes then scoop them out and toss them into the freshly scoured sink (fill sink with ice water). This will help the peels just slide off. 

2) we put the tomatoes in a colendar to drain off some of the juice (drain off as much as you like to make it thick or thinner according to your preference.). We like our pretty thick and get about 3/4 of a gallon of juice off per 1/2 bushel...this will vary depending on your tomatoes. 

3) jalapeños...wear gloves like dish washing gloves from the dollar store then throw them away after. Do not touch your face or skin with the juice/oil from these little suckers, it'll hurt like the dickens and there is no good way to soothe the burning. Wash everything you use to chop these up before proceeding. Trust me on this, I learned the hard, I am now SUPER careful!

4) now, with gloves on, core the seeds out of the jalapeños and blend half the number of peppers in a cup of tomatoes (in the magic bullet if you have one...since they are indeed magical!) dice the others.  We think this helps incorporate the heat throughout the batch but still gives a few little surprises if you get a chunk! 

5) have fun, experiment it's going to be good no matter what, right? Or else you just have more to gift that year!! Seriously, make it yours if you want to....one year we added artichokes, that was pretty good! 

6) this process is very time consuming, plan on this taking a day...depending on how much you make. however, the results are worth it, and it's fun! grab a friend to help and it'll go faster! 

7) i just tasted the finished product....we might not be sharing! Sorry!! ;) 

We used a variety of onions for more color

That's one BIG pot

These are the tools we bought quite a few years ago and they are awesome! $9.99 in Target.

FINISHED PRODUCT!!!

Jane Eyre...one of my very favorites!

There are many versions of the movie Jane Eyre, of course non so good as the reading the book! However, the best version I have found, and I have seen them all, is the 1996 version with William Hurt and Charlotte Gainsbourg. They are amazing, I can watch it over and over! 

My favorite quote, among many is: 

Low calorie comfort food!!

I heard the tail end of this recipe on a cooking show this morning and decided to try to just wing it since I only got to hear the last 5 minutes of the show. The end result was delicious and satisfying. My husband and I both loved it.

I cubed about one cup of each of the following veggies and cooked them in 3 cups of chicken stock until tender. 

Rutabaga

Parsnips

Carrots

Sweet potato

Redskin potato

Acorn squash

3 cloves of garlic

Separately I cooked up a pound of ground chicken then added it to the veggies along with a cup of frozen peas. 

I then made a slurry with 1/2 cup of water and about 2 tbsp of cornstarch and added this to the pot to create a creamy rich gravy with less calories. 

Then I placed it all in a 13x9 pan and cover it with 5 layers of phyllo dough brushing each later with a bit of olive oil. 

I then baked it at 425 for 30 minutes, until it was bubbling and the phyllo was brown and crispy. 

I let it cool for about 6-8 minutes...I was hungry so that was as long as I could wait! ;) Divided into 6 serving each serving was 294 calories and low in fat!  Make it the way you like it by adding whatever veggies you enjoy. then  just calculate the calories to stay within the 300 per servings range. Then, if you are planning a 500 calorie dinner you can add a yummy salad! 

This meal tasted rich, creamy, and delicious!!! A great comfort food and when you consider that it is low calorie and low fat, you can feel really good about it!