"I will extol the Lord at all times, His praise will always be on my lips."

Psalm 34:1

Breakfast Ideas

One of the things I look forward to when company comes, is breakfast. I'm not sure why, but there's something exciting thinking up a yummy and beautiful breakfast spread. I have yet to accomplish this, but I'm still dreaming! :)

Above is a neat idea for "Breakfast in a Cup." (I actually don't know what grits are, but am hoping cream of wheat would suffice!)

One of our favorites was introduced to us when we were "company" at a friend's house: Blinis stuffed with sausage links. A Russian friend told us her favorite was to eat these was with fresh whipped cream and strawberries.

Sometime I'd like to try Bread Pudding, served with Maple Syrup and fresh fruit.

For other breakfast ideas, check here.

Or What's Cooking America has some great recipes and pictures too.

You could make a buffet style, help yourself type spread, and try these PB Granola balls with cubed fruit and cheese.

Or perhaps you'd like to try Oven Baked Pancakes...filled with fruit or chocolate!

And last, but not least, don't forget about the Make Ahead Breakfast recipes, which when visiting till late at night, are morning savers!

Bread!

I have successfully made Mom's homemade Bulgar Bread recipe! (Last time I tried it, it was really, really HEAVY)

It made 3 loaves, 2 of which are already gone! :) Yum!

Pumpkin Drama

(Sorry, I can't get the picture to turn)

I had this nice big pumpkin.

I was waiting for time to boil it down.

I put it in a "cool" place to keep.

I forgot one day when our "cool" place froze.

Our pumpkin first wept, then sighed, then deflated from neglect.

Now I know what happens when pumpkins freeze.

And I know what happens when pumpkin juice leaks all over my craft bin....

Re-Arrange

I took some time last week to re-arrange our knick-knacks....by color coding them. It was interesting while it lasted. When being snowed in last Saturday, I undid it. :)

I have been attempting some organization "catch up" at home. This was one of them, but I didn't like it anyway.

Now, on to bigger things....!

On keeping plants.....

I bought these beautiful Poinsettias around Christmas time on a great price.

They brought cheer to our dark wintry house for months.

Now the months are over, yet they still hang around, waiting for a touch from their owner.

I'm surprised they haven't died yet....since I forgot to water them for 2 weeks straight.

You see, I had this "brilliant" idea to keep them all winter (alive that is) and then plant them outside in the summer. I heard they would keep growing, and you could "harvest" them again in the fall.

While that seemed like a good idea at the time, as they face neglect and dis-interest from myself, I wonder why I thought I'd have the stamina to watch over them all winter!

I'm beginning to convince myself that it's better for me to just get new ones next Christmas. :)

Apple Tuna Salad

I can't get this picture to turn around....but it's Apple Tuna Salad in Pita bread.


Positives: Apples were good crunch, tuna was yummy, cheese was great

Negatives: Apples were TOO cold on my teeth (from being in the ice-box), Pita bread was thin, and I didn't add enough Mayonaise

Classic Salad

Well, I didn't make ceasar dressing after all. But I did try Besty's homemade croutons! Wow! So today, I had lettuce salad with croutons, boiled egg, and sunflower seeds with Ranch dressing.

I think I prefer my eggs on the side.

30 days of Salad

Tax season is upon me. It has gotten busy very fast. I no longer have little bits of free time to browse, read, take walks, or have energy to do much at home. I will soon, it just takes me a while to adjust! There are a few projects I have decided to take on as a result this January :)

1) Take time on my lunch break to get out and go for a walk downtown
2) Keep things organized and useful at home by
   a) planning my weekly meals in menu form again
   b) keeping my morning schedule a bit tighter
   c) simplifying as much as I feel the need

and perhaps the most interesting goal/experiment I have is

3) Eating a salad every day for lunch

Huh. Never thought I'd do it. I'm not much of a salad eater. But I've grown to like a few, and in this effort, I came up with a list of ideas to have some variety :) I hope to try:

• Homemade Ceasar Salad
• Taco salads
• Pasta salads
• fruit salads
• and various dressed lettuce salads

For my first salad, I kept it fairly straightforward. I just picked out some cukes, tomatoes, and sunflower seeds to at least make it palatable. With Ranch dressing, it was fine. But now, today is my third day of that (minus the cukes and tomatoes which are gone), and I'm ready for a change.

Tonight I hope to try making my own croutons and salad dressing....in the high hopes of having a Ceasar salad tomorrow. (so far, of lettuce salads, that's my favorite).

Meanwhile, I found these welcoming sites:

Reluctant Gourmet
Cook's.com dressing
What's cooking America recipe

The only appaling thing (because I am not a gourmet, I do not like this) is that the dressing uses a raw egg yolk and anchovies.

No thanks.

I will stick to white dressing flavored strongly with Parmesan cheese. :) That will be good enough for me!

Not that this matters....

This morning I made oatmeal for breakfast. I have become quite used to malt-o-meal/cream of wheat, so I see that this will take some getting used to.

Now I know, that my sister and brother-in-law eat oatmeal all the time.....and rave about it. And with all the healthy reviews, and good fiber-filling qualities, I thought I'd better give it a try.

I can tell you, it will need some work. It's not exactly dis-likeable, but it's not on the high end of my scale either.

Good things about it: it's warm, has texture, the rasines were a plus, and the maple flavoring made it smell good

Things that need work: it got cold fast, was a little too thick, need MORE raisens, and sugar, defineitely more sugar....must've scrimped on that part :)

I will be trying it again soon. My goal is to make it with the flavors I find delicious and palatable :)

So there you have it: My day with Oatmeal.

Not that it matters.... :)

Things I learned over the weekend...

I know, I know, it's now almost the middle of the week. This is late. But it was a good weekend. Here are some things I learned:

1. Rotton potatoes smell pukingly AWFUL. Do not let one rot in your kitchen.

2. Cold....I mean really cold....air is not good for potted plants. Let's say said potato smell is stinking up kitchen, so you feel the need to turn on the vents and open some winter windows. You do so. And in a quick and astonishing style, the potted plants you have in front of that said window, will wilt and fall over. Oops.

3. Hydrogen Perioxide takes out grape juice stains. This was my first successful stain-remover-job I have done on a sweater. And the juice even sat there for a day or two (that is mostly why I have been unsuccessful before). So now I am enamored with Hydrogen Perioxide. I suggest it to anyone wanting to feel useful.

4. These ingredients will make a fine supper: cauliflower, sliced mushrooms, curry powder, green chilies, chopped onion, garlic, chunked potato, salt, pepper, and a little water. Served with a chapati or bread, it is just fiiiinnne in a fix.