choclate covered strawberries

I love chocolate and I love strawberries.  Add the two together and BLISS.

Here's what you need:
1 quart strawberries washed, hulled and dried.  I can't emphasize this enough, if the berries aren't dry they will mess up the chocolate.
1 cup chocolate chips I use semi sweet, but use what you like
1T shortening I f you don't have shortening you can use butter or oil.  Don't use margarine, that water thing again.

Wax paper

Melt the chips and shortening in a microwave or over a double boiler.  I just use the glass cup I measure in.  Start with 1 minute, stir, then in 30 seconds bursts until melted.

Using a skewer or two forks dip the berries, then place on the paper to dry.  There is wax paper on the counter it just doesn't show.  You don't have to cover the whole berry.  Make a puddle with the remaining chocolate to sneak later.

Store in the frig if they aren't devoured first.

These are also great with white chocolate.

steak salad aka. leftovers from the grill salad

This is a very loose recipe.  Add what you like and have lurking around the frig.

steak 6-8oz
cucumber
vadalia onion
tomato
corn on the cob (or use a can or frozen, I won't tell)
vinegar
olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic powder

Chop the meat and vegies into about 1/2" pieces, cut corn off the cob,  toss in a bowl with the vinegar and oil and seasonings.  Don't worry about measuring this ,but I use about 2-4T of each the vinegar and oil, do the seasonings to taste.  Feel free to add or subtract any ingredients for what you like.  This is also great with chicken.  Add some warm bread and dinner is served.

The reason I call this leftovers from the grill salad is that's what I used the first time I made this, just a happy accident.  Now I cook extra on purpose.

decorating on the cheap

I've been wanting to redo our guest room for a while.  It sits in the center of the house just off the kitchen, you have to go through it to get to the main bathroom, so everyone who comes here sees it on their trip to the potty.  It has been bright yellow with large floral prints for several years now. 

This is a hard room to decorate around.  It has five doors and two eight foot tall windows and eleven foot ceilings.  All the woodwork is painted white, and needs a new coat.  The carpet is industrial blue-grey carpet squares and not old enough to be cool or to replace.  The room is also the pass through to my workroom/studio and the office.  Oh yeah there are also three large cabinets full of dishes and I need to keep toys for the grand kids stored in here.  It's 12x17 so a good size, but a lot has to happen.  And did I mention it needs to be done dirt cheap?

I want the room to have a cottage look,  simple and uncluttered in soft aqua, cream white and blue.  My sister gave me a gorgeous blue, aqua, olive and cream fabric.  A GS steal at $10 for about 7-8 yards. I think I'll pair it with lace curtains, a white bedspread and a few touches of burlap.

We used the fourth of July weekend to strip the wall paper on the one wall, paint all the trim and get the walls painted a pale aqua..  I did everything as high as I could reach without a ladder and AH finished the top part.  When you are vertically challenged and have a knee replacement, ladders are not your friend.  The hardest part so far has been getting all the stuff out of the way, so it's everywhere.  The kitchen, living room and office all have things piled in them, but we are making progress.  I can see the top of my kitchen table for the first time in a week.  I'll keep you updated as we go along.

Top picture wallpaper before, bottom AH striping the top of the paper I can't reach.  He's great about things like that.  My fuzzy little helper and the fabric I'm using.  The moire water marking just doesn't show up in the photo.

Almost instant centerpiece

No, I'm not reinventing the wheel with this one, just reminding you of  an idea for a simple and if you have blooms from your garden, free summer centerpiece.
Pretty bowl, add water  and float in a few flowers such as hollyhocks, roses or marigolds with the stems cut very short.  The flowers need to be wide across the top, spikey flowers don't work .  It would be beautiful to have a row of smaller bowls down the center of your table, on a runner, or not, for your next dinner party.

New idea, do all of the above and add two very curious kitties who think this is a new play toy and supplementary water bowl.  Since the critters who live here rule, their human slave(that would be me) just keeps filling the bowl and picking up the flowers, which is a new fun game for them.  Often they will have the first flower out before I bend down and get the next one.

new toy

In the words of Elton John, "I'm so excited and I just can't hide it.  I'm about to loose control and I think I like it."
 I got a new toy this week.  It's something I've wanted for years, since they first came out.  No guesses?  It's a Cricut Expression.  Now I rarely but anything new except socks and undies, unless it's deeply on sale, so you know I really, really, really wanted this.  I did wait til it was on sale, and  now it's here.  I feel like a little kid at Christmas!  In case you aren't a crafter, a Cricut is a cutting machine.  It works with a cartridge that has a program of designs with hundreds of options.  You just pick what you want, select the size and tell the machine to cut.  I've already played with it, trying to learn how everything works. I'm not a scrapbooker, but I do a great deal of crafting with papers.  This machine is amazing.  My techno geek, AH thinks it's awesome.  If I have it out when he's around he's right there checking it out.  I tried to bid for several cartridges on EBay, but was not successful.  I did find great prices on Amazon with none of the bidding stuff that aggravates me when I loose at the last second.  Patience is not one of my virtues.  Most of the cartridges on Amazon ran $20-25.  Not bad when the list prices are $69-89.  I'll share some of my projects when I get finished.  Several ideas are already mulling around in my brain.


On a more somber note, please keep two of my teacher friends in your prayers.  One father's daughter had to have a heart transplant last week (she's doing well) and one mother's son has just been diagnosed with leukemia.  As a parent I can hardly imagine the stress these young families are under.  I can't think of anything worse than having your child sick, being helpless to change what is happening and wishing you could take their place.

Deconstructed Cobb salad

Here's what you need:

Salad greens forget iceberg I used romain and spinach
Salad goodies raddishes, carrots, green onions, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes,  whatever your favorites are
Hard boiled eggs 1 for every 3 eaters

Cooked and crumbled bacon 1 slice per person Cheese, blue is traditional and a little goes a long way, I also like cheddar about 1 tablespoon per person

Cooked shredded chicken breast

Salad dressing of choice, low fat is best if you're going healthy.

Boil eggs and cook chicken and bacon first and let cool  or use leftover roast chicken

Clean and chop salad greens and goodies

A regular Cobb salad is a beautiful presentation of all the ingredients nestled on a bed of greens in rows, with the dressing already on it.  Unfortunately if served this way the leftovers get soggy and limp.  I serve the greens  in a   bowl with small bowls and plates of the other ingredients in a circle around the larger bowl..   Add the dressing of your choice.  This works great if you have picky people in your house, everyone gets the toppings they want.  By limiting the cheese,  bacon and  choice of dressing this is a really healthy meal.  Even guys that don't think salad is a proper meal can fill up with this one.  Add a loaf of warm crusty bread and dinner is ready. Just shove the leftovers in small zip top bags for storage.  This makes a great lunch the next day.

 BTW the cool salad bowl is a Salvation Army store find.  I think it was $5.00,  it had a $45.00 price tag still on it.

trailer trash trifle

The name of this recipe is not intended to offend anyone.  The words just go together.

How ironic that someone who as a diabetic,and  trys to eat healthy most of the time would have something so nutritionally awful for my first recipe.  Sometimes ya just gotta be bad!

Here's what you need:

1 box Twinkies or Suzy Q's

1 8oz container Cool Whip

1 lg box instant vanilla or chocolate pudding

3 cups milk

1 can cherry pie filling  peach, blueberry, or raspberry would be great too.

1 Hershey bar grated OK get two and eat the other one,know you want to.

Make the pudding according to package directions set aside to thicken

Take snack cakes apart or if using Twinkies slice horizontally, line the bottom and sides of a trifle (does anyone really have one of these) or salad bowl cream side in, breaking pieces to fit in the gaps.

layer in 1/2 of pudding, pie filling and cool whip. 

Add another layer of cake and the second half of your  other ingredients, ending with the cool whip.

Garnish with the Hershey bar.  Alas, AH ate all of ours, so no garnish.

This is so bad for you, only make it if your having company and a really healthy dinner.  Make your friends take half of the leftovers home. 

In my own defense I did use low fat milk and sugar free pudding, pie filling and Cool Whip.  Not quite as decadent as the fully loaded version but still very yummy.  The picture does not do this justice.  The layers are very pretty together.