Snowments to Treasure

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Take a moment and introduce yourself to these cute little snowppl cards. They are hand drawn by an Indiana artist, Steven Gilbert. No 2 are alike, each and every card is amazing. His work will presented in an upcoming book published in 2013 by Tate publishing. Each card is meticulously hand drawn with graphite on archival paper, hand signed and numbered~

The cards are great as greetings and also serve an artful purpose to be framed and hung to enjoy.

meet these little guys at the following link, and please take a moment to share these sweet, little joyful cards..

https://www.facebook.com/snowmentstotreasure

http://www.etsy.com/shop/snowmentstotreasure

click on me to view in a larger size..

Hamburger Soup~

Hamburger Soup

~

First off I know Hamburger Soup sounds a little funny. But this is a basic recipe my husbands grandma used to make. It's simple, and I like simple things. My husband loves it, so do my kids, and even my grown kids make it for their families. 

You will need the following:

2 lbs Ground Beef

Medium white or yellow onion, diced

1 tbsp olive oil

approx 8-12 potatoes, I used russet cut into quarters lengthwise

2-2 stalks of celery, chopped

3 carrots sliced into thick coins

4-5 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped

 1 tbsp or to taste Herbes de Provence

Salt and pepper to taste

Parsley Flakes

any other herbs and seasoning you like

Couple squirts of Worcestershire sauce

Beef Bouillon Cubes or Beef Broth or Beef Stock, enough for 10 cups.

Frying pan, 

Soup Pot

Take your frying pan and add the olive oil, let it heat then add the onion, let the onion just begin to cook then add ur ground beef, crumbling it or chopping it as it browns. Once its cooked all thru, drain nicely and set aside.

I like to cook my veges separate, the potato's always cook faster than the carrots and celery. Also keep in mind  you may want to add different veges so please keep in mind each vege may cook for different amounts of time. So I cook my potatoes until they are barely fork tender, do not over cook them because you want them to stay intact, if a few fall apart, no problem.. makes the soup heartier.

I cut my carrots and celery into consistent, thick coin slices and cook those together.

After I have cooked my veges, I drain them and set them in a large bowl.

Now take your Soup Pot and add your water, and beef bullion, (or stock if that's what you are using, then bypass the water) herbes de Provence, garlic, salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce and whatever herbs and seasoning you like, allow the water to heat thoroughly and the bouillon to dissolve, bring to boil and cook long enough to soften the chopped garlic.. then turn down to just keep it hot..

 Add your ground beef, and veges. Adjust the liquid level if needed by adding more beef stock or water and bouillon. 

At this point you may add a tablespoon of butter, then sprinkle ur parsley flakes in. 

Its important to remember: DO NOT LET THE GROUND BEEF BOIL. It will suck the flavor right out of your soup as will with any meat you add to a soup and then boil..Sooooo no boiling after the meat has been added. Trust me.

Let set for ahwile without simmering or boiling, just keeping it hot, to let the flavors meld.

This is also better if made the night before or as leftovers.

Now.. here are a couple of variations I have tried. 

Try adding a can of tomato paste in with the bouillon, this makes it rich and even more brothy. 

I have also added lima beans, peas, mushrooms, dash of tapatio, and anything else that grabbed my attention and suited my fancy. I added a handful of chopped cherry tomatoes this time, they cooked down pretty.

You can make your broth pretty and caramely by adding Kitchen Bouquet. 

You can basically do anything you like to this recipe. 

About Herbes de Provence.

If you don't have this in your spice cabinet... all I can say is WHAAAAAAAT?!?!??

Stop NOW and go to whatever grocery store you shop at and BUY IT!.

It's a lovely mix of Basil, Fennel, Marjoram, Parsley, Rosemary, Lavender, Tarragon and Thyme!

Once you have tried this little jar of love, you will have a lifelong affair with it, you will find yourself adding it to almost everything, you will problably find yourself walking by your spice cabinet and just visiting the little jar..

I typically serve this with crusty french bread or dinner rolls and a salad.. one of my fave things to do is make garlic butter..

 here's the recipe for that..

Garlic Butter

1Cup butter, softened, not melted

1/4 cup parm cheese

1/2 tbsp-1tbsp granulated garlic

1 tbsp minced fresh garlic

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 Tsp herbes de provence or italian seasoning

a dash or 2 of ground paprika

In a small bowl combine minced garlic, Parmesan cheese, butter

mix thoroughly

then season with remaining ingredients, mixing until smooth. 

YUUM!

 enjoy!!

 Next week I will be posting a tutorial on hand made rag flowers.. sooooo cute~

Please come back!

p.s. sorry for the typos.. contact me for questions or clarity.. hahahaa.. 

Simple Potato Salad

This is simply the best and easiest potato salad you will ever eat. Simple, fresh and scuh-ruuumptious~

Start with 2 pounds of small red potatos halved or quartered

 Place in a pot and cover with cold water and plenty of sea salt.. let simmer for about 10- 15 minz..

almost fork tender.. important that you do NOT over cook these little darlings.

In a bowl mix together ( use a bowl big enough to hold the potatos)

1/2- 2/3rds cup of mayo

pepper to taste

the juice of 1/2 lemon or more to taste.

1/4 cup pickled relish

2 tblspoons FRESH chives

1 small red onion minced

2 stalks of celery finely diced

2 tblspoons FRESH parsley

mix this together and set aside

When the potato's are done drain, then return to pan and pour 1/4 cup white vinegar over them tossing carefully to coat each potato.

Then dump the potatos into your mayo mixture.. stir carefully so as not to break them up.. 

  Do a taste test.. it's great warm.. hahaha..

But you should attempt to chill it for at least 30 minz if not more.. then...

ENJOY!

There you have Simple Easy Potato Salad..

Suggestions...

 If you are a mustard lover.. you can omit the lemon and add mustard to your taste.. 

 if you want your potato salad warm, add a bit more lemon and them crumble babcon bits over the top..

Rustic Chips & Salsa~

Easy to make and even easier to eat, these rustic little seasoned triangles of joy will become your new addiction!
  If you are like me and think that Chips & Salsa should be listed on the meal part of menus and not just the appetizer list then you are going to LOVE this recipe. If you can call it a recipe.

   Here's how ya do it..

You need small corn tortillas

or

Small flour tortillas

or both if you prefer

Olive oil

Salt

Chili Powder

Garlic seasoning

a small non stick saute or frying pan

a pizza cutter

tongs

Salsa

Lots of something to drink

On medium heat, let your olive oil get hot..

toss in a tortilla and swirl it in the oil and quickly turn it over. 

Then sprinkle your chili powder, garlic seasoning and salt. Easy on all 3 seasonings, these really don't need much  and you can easily over do it. On the corn tortillas I skip the salt.

Let the tortilla cook on both sides browning and crisping, then remove from heat to a cutting board. You will need to cut the CORN tortillas immediately into triangles. The flour tortillas may cool for awhile before you cut them. 

Every 3 or 4 tortillas you will want to wipe out your pan, The salt and chili powder accumulate and need to be removed from the bottom of your pan, it's easy.. grab a wad of paper towels and wipe and set aside for repeat.

 You may also need to add oil as you go, just don't over do it.

 The chips aren't like your crispy store bought kind, these will remain bendable ( the better to scoop with.. oh My!)

 And I am betting your faves will be the flour chips, They are lightly crispy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. They are more filling than the corn chips and tastier. I always like to add a few of the corn tortilla chips tho.. Try them warm . 

Flour Tortilla

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Corn Tortilla

~

How gorgeous is THAT??   Ready to be devoured!

click the link below for the salsa recipe ~

 http://www.kadywalks.blogspot.com/2012/03/salsa-party.html

 ~E N J O Y~

   

backyard suburbia~

I love my back yard. Love my front yard too, but it's not as fun as my back yard. This is where I plant  and love almost whatever will grow. I usually replant many of my containers with simple petunias or millionbells.. They grow fast, have bright colors and last thru out the summer and fall.. But mixed in are plenty of other perennials that have somehow managed to survive my *gardening skillz*. Nature is so forgiving.. and here are a few of my backyard darlings~

I hope you enjoy.

~~~~~

Below is a small peek at one of my favorite places in my front yard.. more pics to come.. 

 Have a faaaantastic day~

Lemon filled White Cake with Strawberry-Kiwi Salsa

I love simple cakes, not to sweet, not too heavy, simple light cakes with a lovely fruit~

 Here is my lovely Lemon filled White Cake with Strawberry-Kiwi Salsa.

 Again, because the foods I make are simple.. you can change up the fruit to make whatever kind of fruit salsa you want.As a matter of fact, I am going to make a variation of this for Mothers Day with a Lemon filled Lemon Cake with raspberry-strawberry salsa. 

 To start with you will need a 2 baked layers of white cake, cooled and the humps sliced off.. you want this cake to be nice and flat..

 You will need your lemon filling, cooled. See recipe below.

 Fruit salsa

and heavy whipping cream, sweetened to taste and whipped til its stands up and pays attention!

Start by dicing your fruit

I used probably 8 or 10 nice, ripe Strawberries 

and 2 Kiwis

 Now you have Fruit Salsa

At this stage, mix it together in a small bowl with a touch of splenda blend sugar and let it rest. After about 15 mins, I drain the most, but not all of the juice so my cake doesn't get soggy.

~

Next you take your first layer

You can see where I have  sliced the top off leaving  a nice flat surface. if you wanted you can actually slice a very shallow well for the filling and salsa to fit into a little better if you like more fruit in yours. otherwise if you stack too much fruit and filling your top layer may decide to travel.

~

This now has a spread of the lemon filling, you can kind of see the yellow peel sprinkled in.

~

Now you can see the Salsa layered on the top. I also added a thin layer of whipped cream before layering the fruit salsa, but I forgot to take a picture.. oops.. It doesn't matter when you add the layer of whipped topping so long as you add it after the lemon filling.

~

Place your second layer on the fist layer bottom up.

~

Spread a thin layer of lemon filling on the top of this layer, then frost the cake with your whipped topping and garnish as you like.

 Place the cake in your refridge to vacation for an hour or 2 letting everything chill nicely, serve with additional whipped topping and lemon filling if desired. Or whatever else you want~

Enjoy~

 Happy Mothers Day~

Lemon Filling

3/4 Cup Sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup water

1 Tablespoon margarine or Butter

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1/4 c freshly squeezed lemon juice

Mix together sugar, cornstarch and salt in a med saucepan. Slowly stir in water. Cook over medium heat , stirring constantly, until mixture thickens up and boils. Boil for 1 minute then remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice.

cover and chill in your fridge for a couple of hours.

~~~~

 and few tips about the whipping cream.

Chill the bowl you plan on whipping your cream in. Also if you want to flavor your whipping cream I sometimes use kool aid mix straight from the packet... you will want to add your sweetner to your whipping cream first, add a little of the kool aid powder to taste and maybe go back and forth taste testing to get it where you want it... then whip it like there is no tomorrow~

. Its an easy way to add flavor to your whipped cream.. 

Easy Kickin' Pasta~

~ Easy  Kickin’ Southwestern Pasta~

The slow heat in this pasta sauce is delicious and smooth.. just enough warmth to make you put away couple of glasses of ice tea while you are eating it, but not so hot that your tongue is numb. The balance between the Southwestern flavors and typical Italian seasonings is wonderful and simple.

Sauce

~

1/2 pound Ground Beef

1/2 pound ground Pork Sausage

1/2 med onion, finely chopped

1-2 cloves Garlic to taste, Minced

1 (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste

1 teaspoon Dried Parsley

1 teaspoon Dried Basil

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon olive oil ( or to taste )

1- 10 oz can of southwestern style diced tomatoes with green chili’s

1- 20’ish oz jar of prepared spaghetti sauce

3/4 c water * optional

~

In a very large pan, fry up your ground beef, ground pork and onion. Drain the fat.

 In the same pan stir in olive oil, the canned diced tomatoes, the garlic, tomato paste, dried parsley, dried basil, and salt.

This is where you may choose to add water so this mix can simmer for about 5 minz… just long enough to get the flavors sharing.

 Then dump in the entire jar of prepared spaghetti sauce, I used Classico brand Italian Sausage. I love that brand because it’s simple like me, and I love the mason jar it comes in, adds to my hillbilly wine glass collection.. hahaha..

 So anyway, back to the sauce… let your sauce softly simmer while you are making your pasta; It’s a heavier sauce so I chose a rigatoni. Generously spoon this over your cooked pasta,  

   and serve~

 I love how the sauce gets all up inside the pasta. Serve it up with your fave bread and plenty of whatever you drink and call it dinner!

 YUUUM!!

 This is a very simple sauce recipe that is easily tailored to your taste. You may choose to add more or less of an ingredient to make this your own!

  

Easy Roses~

You can have beautiful roses for next to nothing by growing your own bushes from cuttings. 

here is how you do it~

Scope out established rose bushes.. your neighbors yard, old houses and even better are older cemeteries where a long forgotten rose bush from another era could be hiding out, and find the rose you want to propagate ~

Make sure when you take your cuttings you have a jar of water in which to place them to keep them from wilting, once wilted your cutting will not root.

 For repeat flowering bushes you can take the cuttings from a young, firm stem that has a few leaves on it..the blooms can be fading. It's important to try to get a few leaves left on the stem as this will promote rooting. I started with about an 8 inch stem then cut it down to fit in my *greenhouses* leaving about 6- inches..I eyeballed it..

  here are the materials you need..

I selected 2 different roses, one is a pretty pink and the other is a bright orange with a yellow center.

~

Here I have my biodegradable pots,

growth hormone, 

and my self made individual green houses which are the two 2 liter bottle tops. 

Not showing this pic is a sharp rose clipper.. you need to have a sharp cutter so you don't crush the stems when you clip..and  potting soil. I used Miracle grow potting soil.

~

 Place dirt in your little pots and move on to the next step

Next take your stem and *wound* it. Roses can form roots at any point on the stem but most people usually choose to wound theirs at the base of the cutting. I cut in at a diagonal about a half an inch then I slice vertically into the bark or skin removing it with your clipper blade.

~

  

You can see the wounded part of the stem has been dipped in water then into the powdered rooting hormone. 

~

Now place your stem in your little pot of dirt. Using the Bottle tops of 2 liter bottle place them over the cutting to form a very easy and handy *greenhouse*. You want high humidity for your roses. 

~

.

See how quickly the humidity formed?

Keep in mind that you want to maintain humidity and moisture for your rooting to be successful.
Your rooting will love light but in the heat of the mid day sun place your little baby in the shade so the greenhouse effect doesn't cook them.~

little greenhouse rose nursery. cute!

More info
Most cuttings are rooted best in early spring and summer when the temperatures are still friendly..

You can expect your stem to root anywhere from 2 - 8 weeks depending on the variety and mood of the stem.

In order to tell if your cutting has rooted it may have new leaves growing on it.. or you can also give it a slight tug and if you have resistance it probably has roots.

Once your cuttings have established strong roots , remove them from their rooting area, also removing the greenhouse, and place them in a cool shady spot for a few days to acclimate it. Placing it immediately in the direct sun could kill your new plant so Please allow it to harden off before planting. You can then place your baby in the ground or a container, keeping a close eye on it until it's settled in and comfy~

I hope I've included all the directions.. but if you have questions let me know..

Enjoy creating your own little nursery~

LUVZ~