A Celery, Cheese, Apple Snack

I came across this simple, delicious 4 ingredient snack/appetizer/light lunch idea while watching an episode of Lidia Bastianich's show. Original recipe here.

The recipe calls for gorgonzola cheese but we are not blue cheese fans. So I thought smoked gouda!

Anyway, I think any cheese one loves with fruit can substitute here.

I first cut up celery into snack sizes.

Then diced up half of a granny smith apple and equal parts of the gouda cheese. I simply eyeballed the amount to work with based on the amount of celery chopped up.

The other cheese is mascarpone which helps to hold it together. So this gets all mixed up.

Then put the filling in the celery!

Messy, but total yum! Next time I am going to try cheddar with cream cheese as the binder. I think that will be equally tasty, yet different.

I use organic celery which tends to be really small so it is hard to fill. Regular celery would work better but this is one of those high pesticide veggies in the U.S.! 

I hope you try this snack if you like celery, cheese and apples.  I don't think you will be disappointed. Thank you for stopping by.  ~Val

A Nut Butter Snack

Someone gave Jim this 3 ingredient nut butter recipe so I gave it a try.

It is a hit!

All you need is:

1 cup of nut butter (I used almond butter), peanut would be amazing!

1/2 cup honey

3 cups of oats (the recipe called for quick oats but I only have regular and that worked just fine)

Soften the nut butter and honey if needed in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Then combine all ingredients. I found this could only be done the down and dirty way, with bare hands! 

Line a 9 inch x 9 inch pan with parchment paper and firmly press the mixture into it. If you don't have parchment, line with aluminum foil and spray lightly.

Then chill until firm. Then it is easy to cut into delicious pieces! Yummy! 

With the honey, they are very sweet, perfect for satisfying a craving.

Thank you for stopping by! Let me know if you try this healthy (but high calorie) snack. ~Val

Life Lately

Dymo Label Writer

I got the Dymo LabelWriter 4xL! It is an amazing time saver that I wish I purchased sooner. This printer prints up the 4' x 6' shipping labels using thermal technology so no ink cartridges are needed! It will take some time to pay itself off but the time I will save using this is priceless.

Fruit and Nut Bars

The recipe for these fruit and nut bars is from Sweet Potato Soul. Since I have been very happy with recipes from this site, I knew they would be a hit.

The first time I made them, I did so to recipe. I did have trouble with them holding together in bars when cutting. The recipe states to add more fruit if they are not holding together.

So the second time I made them I also used sticky dried figs and a little extra coconut oil. They held together much better so I know I will eventually master this one! Jim LOVES them too. I also used cashews instead of almonds which worked great so substituting ingredients is ok! 

Custom Order

This was a request for a navy blue eyeglass chain. These beads are Czech glass with a gorgeous matte finish. So pretty!

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a great week ahead! ~Val

Gift Making Fun!

Snowflake Obsidian

These snowflake obsidian earrings are accented with sterling silver. Why have I never used my triangular pliers for ear wires before? I love the look! These are available in my Etsy shop.

Making Gifts
One of my favorite parts of making gifts is getting outside my comfort zone and creating things I don't normally make. These things are for my nieces. Hopefully I did ok with the teen pieces. I'm so not cool, but think I made some cool stuff.

I would love to make one of these chain necklaces for myself. The black chain is plated aluminum so it is really light to work with. The discs are actually recycled from an old pair of earrings.

An initial necklace.

I'm still working on my clay skills when I find time. Fortunately I have been super busy this holiday season so those windows of time have been rare!

I wasn't too keen on this gold clay at first because of the streaks of darkness that I can't get rid of. Now I see it as a marvelous effect!

I like the messy texture on the heart. It was not intended but it looks neat against the pretty crystals.

What little girl doesn't love some colorful sparkles?

I tried a new snack recipe from Pinterest. They are honey glazed walnuts. The only other ingredients besides walnuts and honey are cayenne pepper and salt. 

Quite delicious! Quick and easy to make too in the toaster oven too. The recipe recommends trying other nuts as well as other spices so I plan on playing around with ideas!

Thank you for stopping by! Wishing you all who celebrate, a very merry Christmas!!! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

New Clip On Findings

I recently added clip on earring findings to my shop in the pierced look style.

They immediately started selling well so I have also added clip-ons with a half ball that goes on the ear lobe. I did not realize there was still such a market for non-pierced ears! Available here.

Snack Bags

I was in need for new reusable snack bags which brought me to Preppy Owl Accessories on Etsy.

I purchased 4 sandwich sized bags which will give me a lot of flexibility since they are generous in size. The bottoms are gusseted too so they can stand upright! These are great for bringing my snacks to work without wasting plastic!!!

Garden Update

More irises have bloomed!

My first rosebud bloomed!

When uploading this bud on the computer, I immediately thought of Dr. Suess. I think it reminds me of the Grinch with the extra long greenness sticking out!

My weigela is doing well! I have 4 of these which I purchased through the mail a few years ago. So initially they were so tiny and they have been flourishing!

These are my geraniums which are in urns in front of the house.

New Kitchen Toys

I purchased English muffin rings, a baking mat and a tortilla press!

I have not tried the press yet but Jim helped me with my first batch of gluten free English muffins! They look more like biscuits than muffins but they are tasty.

I can individually wrap them and freeze them.

So whenever I crave bread I can just grab one of these from the freezer and toast it, make a sandwich or make little pizzas! Recipe here.

Thank you for stopping by! Have a wonderful week!!!  ~Val