Jim
made me some nachos! I LOVE eating nachos but restaurant ones bother my stomach
since I am sensitive to onions and garlic.
These were delicious without those
additions.
He layered tortilla chips, shredded cheddar, black beads, corn and diced green
pepper.
After baking them we added diced tomato and avocado on top! I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. I must have been too excited to dig in!!!
I love when my man cooks for me! This weeked we are attempting a harvest style stuffed butternut squash. The weather is perfect for it!
Anniversary
Our
anniversary was perfect as intended!
We have a pizza making system. I makes the
gluten free crust and Jim does the toppings. This delicious beauty has
artichokes, mushroom, red bell pepper and zucchini!
Jim gave a gorgeous dozen
of red roses and a totally sweet card. J
It is a fantasy, romantic comedy and
drama all rolled up in one! If you love a fun foreign film and have Comcast On
Demand, this is where we found it (free too).
Thank you for stopping by! Have a great weekend and week ahead! :) ~Val
When
I was a little girl I had a mineral collection. One of my favorite pieces was a
chunk of pyrite. I love its brassy grey color!
The barrel shaped pyrite beads
are accented with black onyx.A perfect
bracelet for fall and winter! Available at Miss Val’s Creations.
Portsmouth,
NH Part III
Part
III is very floral! There were more amazing flowers in Portsmouth this time
than any other time we have visited here! So of course I had to take many, many
photos!
There
is a huge garden area near the water with a brilliant selection of flowers. So
many different types and colors!
Each
flower is labeled so if you want to take notes for your own garden you know
what to ask for at the garden center!
There are beautiful flowers throughout the city too. This sweet hibiscus was in a doorstep pot. I have never seen one that was multi colored before!
This
pretty pink one was in a beautifully landscaped bank parking lot.
This
black plant is real! It is in the window of a wine bar titled The Black Trumpet.
The plant choice must have something to do with their theme. You can see fresh
baked bread cooling in the window. Oh how I wish I could eat regular bread
again! Jim and I have not been inside this place yet…maybe next year!
At Prescott Park there is a pretty fenced in garden area with brick walkways and
benches.
There
are many magnificent window and door photos on Pinterest so I started a new board this week. I added this photo since it has charm. I love the window barely showing behind
the sunflowers and ivy.
Ending
the post with a little street art! This one seems appropriate with all the
shark sightings, close calls and one shark attack we had off the coast of
Massachusetts this summer!
The guy who got attacked is fine. He had the bright
idea of swimming out really far (with his son) to a sand bar knowing of all the
shark sightings. Maybe he wanted 10 minutes of fame which he got! People are
nuts.
I
hope you enjoyed all these floral delights! Thank you for stopping by and have
a great week ahead! ~Val
Black onyx eyeglass chains
and lanyards have always been a staple in my shop. However I have only made
these using silver accents!
So I whipped up a gold eyeglass chain and will be
doing the same with a lanyard. Onyx is such an affordable classic for every
woman’s wardrobe! Available at Miss Val's Creations.
She’s So Creative
4 of my girlfriends
celebrate May birthdays. This year I did my card shopping through She’s SoCreative on Etsy!
This one has salad dressing
on the outside and reads “It’s Your Birthday! Just Vegetate.” Inside.
This one reads “Edna’s
therapist tries a new approach to curing her fear of sharks.” on the outside
and reads “Forget all our worries and have a happy birthday” on the inside.
This one reads “The Origin
of Turkey Bacon” on the outside and “And that’s why they don’t have happy hour
on farms anymore.” on the inside.
This one reads “The Dog
Walk” on the outside and reads “Woof, woof! Happy birthday” on the inside.
Besides birthday cards, this
shop has a great selection of other cards for various occasions. She also
offers art prints, notepads, napkins, aprons and more! Stop by She’s So Creative
for some fun shopping! I love her play on words!!! See her interpretation of pasta bowl or french chicks. Like her on Facebook.
Brunch Fun
The May birthday girls came
over for brunch. One of them and her daughter brought me a beautiful, vibrant
bouquet!
A week later, the flowers
still look fabulous. I decided to give the big orange one its own vase which
Emmett thought was really cool.
I was craving one of my
favorite things which I had to make….a corn salsa dip! Simply combine the following in a bowl:
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 avocados, chopped
1 can black beans,
rinsed
1 can corn, drained
8 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, if
desired
1/2 cup Italian dressing
(I actually only use 1/4 cup of light)
It is ridiculously
delicious as is or with tortilla chips. Luckily this has no effect on my gluten
free diet!!!!
Rhododendron
I have a huge rhododendron
that has amazing blooms. Here is the evolution of this bloom!
New Hairstyle
Every 6 months or so I feel
a need to change my hair style (in the side bar). This is the latest. I
actually had a different cut for the last 5 weeks which I did not care for.
This is a modification of the last style combined with my former style.
Thank you for stopping by! Have a great weekend and week!!! ~Val
New Bracelets I just posted a new green aventurine and a new black onyx bracelet! Available at Miss Val’s Creations.
Quinoa Lasagna Casserole This was delicious. I came across the idea of quinoa lasagna when reading recipes. The quinoa is layered in place of pasta for a much healthier dish. It tastes very close to regular lasagna but its texture is much different, like a casserole!
We cooked the quinoa first. Then added a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan, followed by a layer of quinoa. Next we added a layer of vegetables that included chopped mushrooms, diced red pepper and chopped zuchinni. Then we topped that with ricotta and shredded mozzarella. We repeated these layers until the 13” x 9” pan was full. Then we baked this at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until the veggies were cooked through. Mmmm! Where Jim likes to call our cooking making love in the kitchen, he felt this was wild sex in the kitchen (I agree). It is probably because neither of us had eaten lasagna in a long time!
Leftover Quinoa Idea There was some leftover quinoa in the fridge to for dinner one night I scrambled a couple of eggs and added them to the heated quinoa with a little margarine and black pepper. Delicious!
Homemade Cheesecake We had another couple over for dinner last weekend and I planned on checking out a bakery next to our favorite wine store. However when I looked online I read terrible reviews that it is way overpriced and lacking in quality! I looked at their website and they charge $4.75 for 1 cupcake! Is that nuts or normal? Anyway I cannot justify that since I am not wealthy!
So I then decided to attempt cheesecake for the first time! I have a promotional cookbook from Philadelphia Cream Cheese and thought who better to write the perfect recipe! This one was great since it did not require a springform pan which I do not own since I am not much of a baker!
This is a great beginner recipe if anyone would like to whip up this tasty treat! 6 honey graham crackers crushed (about 1 cup) 3 tablespoons of sugar 3 tablespoons of butter or margarine, melted 5 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened 1 cup sugar 3 tablespoons flour 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 cup sour cream 4 eggs 1 can (21 oz) of pie filling of your choice
Heat oven to 325 degrees
Line 13" x 9” pan with foil, with ends extending over sides (I had to use a 9" x 9" pan since the big one was needed for eggplant parmesan)! Mix graham cracker crumbs, 3 tbsp sugar and butter. Press onto bottom for pan and bake 10 minutes.
Meanwhile beat the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, flour and vanilla until blended. Add sour cream, mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time until blended. Pour over crust. Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely and refrigerate 4 hours. Use foil handles to lift cheesecake out of pan before serving. Top with filling.
I laughed when writing this because I realized I screwed up badly when preparing the filling. I only used 1 package of cream cheese versus 5!!!! What was funny is that it tasted great and the texture was perfect. So I know that making the recipe accurately will be phenomenal. So I will definitely be trying this again when cheesecake seems appropriate!
Alice My girl Alice is pretty much afraid of her own shadow. I do not know if she had been abused or was born on the streets, but something prior to my adoption made her this way. I was so proud of her because she came out from hiding and was letting my friend pet her! She is making great strides to be a braver girl!
Saved Dolphins If you did not see this video from March 5 yet and are in need of something uplifting, this is worth the 4 minute viewing!
Approximately 30 dolphins began to beech themselves on a coast in Brazil. Luckily there were plenty of bystanders willing to give them a hand. All appeared to be saved and unharmed. It brought a happy tear to my eye!
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