Sunday, March 31, 2019

Chicken Fajita Crescent Braid....



Every time we travel to Ohio to visit our grandsons, I bring my magazines, reread them, tear out favorite recipes, and then pass the mags onto someone else at the rest stops!

I end up with about 6-7 recipes each time, and when I get home I put them in my recipe files.

And then, FORGET about them!!

Twice a year I try to go through the files and weed them out, often asking myself "what was I thinking"?.

BUT  this time I decided to try a few and I hung them on the fridge!

We both liked this quick and easy dinner:


This recipe was very quick to make with leftover chicken, even though the original recipe begins with raw chicken breast.  It's made with a pkg of Crescent Roll...



...and came out a nice golden brown....


...and was delish, served with Chili Fritos and homemade bread and butter pickles...


Here is the recipe from the Pillsbury cookbook:



Try it, you'll like it!

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

The Maple Fest at Critz Farm.....



In spite of being sick for a few days with a lousy head cold I needed to get out of the house on Sunday, so we drove to Cazenovia to see how the maple trees are "tapped" and how maple syrup is made.


We took a "hay ride" pass the tree farm and into the woods:


The last time I saw maple trees being tapped for sap they used a tin pail.  This was much more sophisticated with plastic tubing draining the sap.  

Did you know that 40 gallons of sap yields one gallon of syrup? 


The shop and tasting room had syrup for tasting and purchase, maple popcorn and beers and hard ciders.


It was a cold, chilly day, but felt good to be outside in the fresh air!


We had lunch in town and then when we got home I fell asleep for 2 hours on the couch!!  I think I am finally on the mend to feeling better!

Monday, March 25, 2019

Short and Sweet #2 ~ Pussy Willows

Benita, at Chasing Quaintness is again hosting "Short and Sweet",  a simple short post with a party hop.  



Be sure to visit the bloggers posted below to read their brief posts:  
Botanic Bleu                    
French Ethereal               

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Spinach, Tomato and Garlic Pasta

I am always looking for new ways to prepare pasta, so while blog-hopping I found this recipe at Cakes Cottage.  It was easy and quick to prepare!



Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 oz. cream cheese
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • ½ lb. penne pasta (I used rigatoni)
  • 9 ounces fresh spinach (I used frozen)
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 15 oz. diced tomatoes
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp dried basil
  • pinch red pepper flakes
  • fresh ground pepper, to taste
  • ½ tsp salt
  1. Fill your pasta pot with water, add salt and let it reach a boil.
  2. Add pasta, cook and stir occasionally until tender (7 to 10 minutes). Drain pasta.
  3. Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
  4. While pasta is cooking, place a large sauce pan over medium heat with olive oil.
  5. When hot, add onions and garlic to sauce pan.
  6. Stir occasionally and cook for about 5 minutes.
  7. Add the diced tomatoes (with juices), oregano, red pepper flakes, basil, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper to the skillet with the onions and garlic. Stir to combine.
  8. Add tomato paste and a ½ cup pf water and stir again until the tomato paste is dissolved into the sauce.
  9. Reduce to medium-low heat.
  10. Add cream cheese and stir until evenly combined.
  11. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until melted.
  12. Add the fresh spinach and gently stir it into the sauce until it has wilted (3-5 minutes).
  13. Add pasta and stir well.
  14. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
  15. Serve warm.

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Pizza night in front of the TV...

I found a recipe online for pizza...


...and sadly I can't remember where I found it....but it looked so easy to make...


...that I decided to try it for dinner...


...I was intrigued that the dough was not made with yeast and I had everything in the cupboard/fridge to prepare it...


...so I set the "coffee table" in front of out TV for a "Pizza and Salad" dinner.


I used paper placemats and napkin rings, "pizza plates" (that I have had for over 25 years) and MacKenzie Childs cups for salad.


This is the recipe I used:


The "NO yeast" dough is so easy to stir together...


...and you just pour it into a pan....


 I followed the directions to a "T"....


...and was pleasantly surprised!  I prefer a thin crust pizza!


I will be making this again, rather than buying a frozen pizza!


Wednesday, March 13, 2019

A tray well loved....

I am clearing out .... it has nothing to do with Marie Kondo, but rather it's time to start purging items I rarely use anymore!


This tray was made years ago....


....by applying a Mackenzie-Childs paper napkin under the acrylic shield.


I have used the tray for many occasions....


...it is sturdy, versatile and easy to store....


...however I have too, too many trays and it's time to part with this one.


I am purging dishware, clothes, craft supplies and it feels....


...so good to clear out items rarely used!


I would call this "Spring Cleaning" however we are still covered in snow!!

Back to purging....

Thanks for stopping by, 

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Ten on the Tenth....BBQ RUB

Our Ten on the Tenth challenge this month was to Think Spring for under $10.



With "Barbecue Season" right around the corner, I thought I would share my recipe for a "BBQ RUB".  This is perfect on all grilled meats, especially hamburgers.


All of these spices were in my cupboard!

I usually make up a few batches of this so I have it on hand.   When I am invited to a BBQ at a friend's house it is perfect for a little hostess gift,  especially when wrapped like this:


I printed the recipe onto card stock paper and rolled it into a tube (You can also use a toilet paper tube):



I wrapped the 1 cup of the BBQ Rub in a small zip bag... 


...and placed inside of the paper tube  and then stitched it on each end, opposite ways:



I can be tucked it into a bouquet of flowers for the hostess:



The rub costs only a few dollars to make a cup (with plenty of spices left over)  and the packaging is basically free!

For other seasoning recipes and packaging, go HERE , HERE and HERE

Please visit these other bloggers to see how they spent their $10 to welcome spring:


Barb at French Ethereal

Benita at Chasing Quaintness

Carol at BlueskyatHome

Cindy at CountyRoad407

Eilis at My Heart Lives Here 



Laura at Decor to Adore 

Susan at Homeroad 

Tammy at Patina and Paint 

Patti at Pandora’s Box  You are Here!

Also visit us on Instagram:  #tenonthe10th



Thanks for stopping by!