S'Mores by the campfire....

Seven of us just returned from spending 5 days in this lovely home in the Adirondacks:

We were thrilled to have the perfect fire pit to sit by each evening!

John cut up some wood with his hatchet and we also bought some.

We spent 5 nights hypnotized by the fire:

To make it even more exciting, I made a box of fixings to make S'mores:

What was in the box? 

Skewers

marshmallows 

chocolate filled marshmallows

graham crackers

fudge striped cookies

chocolate chip cookies

shortbread cookies

Hershey's Chocolate bars

Hershey's Gold bars

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Each night we took the box out to the fire and created some interesting combos!

If you haven't made a S'more with peanut butter cups, you have no idea what you are missing!

Caitlin made us all thermal cups, with our names on one side and the date on the other side:

It's funny how the simple things in life mean so much!

We played Trivia,  Heads Up, shared stories, sang songs and had great conversations around the campfire...

...and even lit sparklers!

Life is always better around the campfire!

Do It Over Designers....An Old Smoking Stand...

This is an old "Smoking Stand" I bought at the Regional Market in Syracuse:

I painted it white....

...then decided to add a little harlequin and stripes...

...then some fringe and a cute knob.

This sites in a funny corner of the hallway to the guest rooms with a battery operated candle that lights up the hallway at night:

It's a fun, little piece that I love!

Joining these clever designers for a blog hop ..... visit and see what they have refurbished:

Apple Street Cottage

Little Vintage Cottage

Purple Hues and Me

Exquisitely Remarkable

Our Hopeful Home

Modern on Monticello

Cloches and Lavender

Southern Sunflowers

An Updated Wooden Box....

Like many crafters, I save too many things with the thought that I will 'create something fabulous' with them.  I have had this wooden box for years, on a shelf in the basement and I decided to finally use it (or it was going in the trash)!

I bought 4 little candle cups to use as 'feet'.....

and I sprayed everything in my favorite shade of green:

I glued the legs on the bottom with hot glue and E6000 glue and I was ready to play with it!

I gathered some excelsior, a few fall odds and ends and 2 buffalo checked pumpkins....

and created a little box of autumn for the kitchen table!  I  played around with the arrangement a bit more until I was pleased with it....

I knew I would eventually use this box, it just took me a few years to get inspired!!!

Does this happen to you?

Baked Pears

We picked pears last week and kept them in a paper bag to ripen!  

I baked 2 of them for dessert while we were eating dinner the other night and I thought I would share the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2 large ripe pears
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 T Brown Sugar
• 2 T crushed pecans
•  4 T Pure Maple Syrup

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Cut the pears in half and place on a baking sheet (cut sliver off the bottom if they don't sit upright)
• Using a measuring spoon or melon baller, scoop out the seeds.

4.Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar, top with walnuts and drizzle 1/2 T of maple syrup over each one.

5.Bake in the oven 30 minutes. Remove.  Drizzle the remaining 2 T syrup over tops, let cool and enjoy!

Don't be afraid to add a little whipped cream:

ENJOY!

The same recipe can be prepared with apples, too!!

One Pot Stuffed Pepper Casserole....

I love one pot meals.  I love the idea of putting everything in one casserole dish or soup pot and how all the flavors blend together!

This is a recipe for Stuffed Pepper Casserole - all the flavors of Stuffed pepper with no mess!

Ingredients for 3 servings:

1T olive oil

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 onion, diced

1 clove garlic minced

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

2 oz green chiles

1/2 cup white minute rice

1/2 cup beef broth

1t chili powder

1/2 c cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 c Monterey Jack cheese, grated

In a skillet, fry ground beef, onion and garlic until beef is browned. Add peppers, cook until tender.  Stir in tomatoes, chiles, rice, beef broth,  chili powder, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, cover and drop heat to simmer until rice is cooked.  Remove from heat and top with cheeses, garnish with chopped chives and serve. 

I baked crescent rolls and we both enjoyed this new recipe!

Tomatoes.... How I make sauce and juice....

Every September I look forward to making tomato sauce for the winter....

....I blanch the tomatoes to peel them...

...and I cook them down and then purify with the immersion blender...

...then I add a bay leaf, lots of Italian seasonings, salt, sugar, pepper, oregano, garlic, hot sauce, tomato paste and crushed red pepper and let it simmer for a few hours

...and stir and taste for a few hours...

...and then pour it into jars (removed bay leaf!)!  I store it in the freezer for cold winter nights!!

It is delish!

I even made some spicy tomato juice for Bloody Marys:

The juice is easy to make.  I used 6 large tomatoes:

I blanched the tomatoes to remove the skins...

....and I chopped up a few veggies I had and added some salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, hot sauce and sugar (the sugar cuts the acidity)  It simmered it for an hour.

I used the immersion blender to purify it and then strained the tomatoes, keeping the pulp to add to the sauce I made.  It helps to thicken it!  This made about a quart of juice.

The juice is perfect for breakfast....

But even better for Bloody Marys!!