Memorial Day Blog Hop May 28, 2011

A special thanks to all the military families that have given so much to protect my family and our freedom.

I sincerely thank you!

You should have hopped here from  http://scrappnbee.blogspot.com/

Now Hop on over to http://fibrejunky.blogspot.com/

Memorial Day started as an event to honor Union soldiers, who had died during the American Civil War. It was inspired by the way people in the Southern states honored their dead. After World War I, it was extended to include all men and women, who died in any war or military action.

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. The current name for this day did not come into use until after World War II. Decoration Day and then Memorial Day used to be held on May 30, regardless of the day of the week, on which it fell. In 1968, the Uniform Holidays Bill was passed as part of a move to use federal holidays to create three-day weekends. This meant that that, from 1971, Memorial Day holiday has been officially observed on the last Monday in May. However, it took a longer period for all American states to recognize the new date.

Desk Flowers! May 25, 2011

This week I went with Tulips!

Colorful Eating Challenge – Asparagus May 24, 2011

I have tried another Asparagus Dish that I wanted to share.  This one is really simple but looks elegant and taste amazing.

I cut the ends of the asparagus and chopped up some garlic.  The recipe didn’t call for garlic but I decided to add it.

I rolled out the puff pastry which is actually the most tricky part of this whole recipe.  Then I added a little EVOO.

I could not find Gruyere cheese that was shredded at Stop & Shop so I went with a block and put it in the cuisinart.

Uses for Guyere Cheese

Gruyère is generally known as one of the finest cheeses for baking, having a distinctive but not overpowering taste. In quiche, Gruyère adds savoriness without overshadowing the other ingredients. It is a good melting cheese,^[1] particularly suited for fondues, along with Vacherin and Emmental. It is also traditionally used in French onion soup, as well as in croque monsieur, a classic French toasted ham and cheese sandwich. Gruyère is also used in chicken and veal cordon bleu. It is a fine table cheese, and when grated, it is often used withsalads and pastas. It is used, grated, atop le tourin, a type of garlic soup from France which is served on dried bread. White wines, such as riesling, pair well with Gruyère. Sparkling apple cider and Bock beer are also beverage affinities.- Wikipedia

Then layer the puff pasty with some cheese and salt and pepper and then add the asparagus.  I only had a little Parmesan cheese left so I went with mostly Gruyere.

I put the heads of the asparagus going in opposite directions.

It came out after 20minutes perfectly brown and melted cheesey delicousness.

Asparagus, Gruyere and Parmesan Tart

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 piece of Puff Pastry (store bought is totally fine)
• 1/2 cup Gruyere, shredded
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 bundle skinny asparagus
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Sea salt
• Crushed Black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Thaw the puff pastry either by placing it in the fridge overnight or by laying it on the counter, on a piece of parchment paper, for about an hour.
3. Trim the ends of the Asparagus by 1 inch to get rid of the woody stalk
4. Once thawed unfold the flaps and slightly roll out the dough to get rid of the seems. Transfer the puff pastry dough while still on the parchment paper to a baking sheet. Sprinkle half the Gruyere and Parmesan on the puff pastry. Line the asparagus on top of the cheese. Scatter the rest of the cheese on top of the asparagus and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes until the pastry dough has puffed and the asparagus is roasted and cooked through.
5. Sprinkle with salt and cracked black pepper before serving.

Nemo 1st Birthday Card May 23, 2011

Here is the Nemo card I made for the Birthday Boy!

Blast from the Past Blog hop May 18, 2011

– May Hop Rules: Create a card featuring any Taylored Expressions Stamps released prior to March 2011! Click HERE to view our stamp sets by release date. The theme for our May hop is “Make it Masculine”. It’s time to celebrate the men in our lives by choosing masculine images and colors and leaving the glitter and glitz aside!

Attempt #1 – Set of Stamps “Chillax”

2nd Attempt same set:

Here are the entries from the Taylored Expressions Blast from the Past blog hop! Stay tuned for details on how you can sign up for the customer blog hop next month!

1.	Taylor VanBruggen	19.	Rebecca Ednie
2.	Sankari Wegman	20.	Monika Davis
3.	Nancy Jensen	21.	Karen Giron
4.	Pattie Goldman	22.	Kelly Collins
5.	Carole Rinear Chesser	23.	Nancy McKinney
6.	Niema Bryson	24.	Kelli Hull
7.	Tracy Clemente	25.	Margie Cortina
8.	Julia Aston	26.	Amber Hight
9.	Bonnie Ratzloff	27.	Crafty Math Chick
10.	Natalie Houston	28.	Wendy McGaffey
11.	Kathi Rerek	29.	Stephanie Kraft
12.	Lori Craig	30.	Cindy Coutts
13.	Michelle Single	31.	Candace Pierce
14.	Stacey Schafer	32.	Wanda Guess
15.	Lisa Hjulberg	33.	Jessica Willison
16.	Sharon Pence	34.	Geeta Suggs
17.	Dawn Barghorn	35.	Jodi Collins
18.	Jasmin Owsley	36.	Danielle Lounds

Chicken Parm Burgers~ yummmm May 15, 2011

I saw a recipe for Chicken Parm Burgers on Gina’s Website and took her idea and did a little tweeking to it with what I had in the house and came up with a very delicious dinner.

The ingrediants were simple, ground Chicken, Tomatoes, Cheese, Onion Rolls and some  basil.

 I cut up some fresh basil

and tossed it in with the ground chicken and some salt and pepper

I made that into 4 chicken burgers, they weren’t cute.

Then I took some diced canned tommatoes and half a jar of left over pizza sauce and warmed it up on the stove over medium heat.

then I grilled off the chicken burgers on my Cuisinart griddler.

once they were almost done I topped with tomatoes and provolone cheese until the cheese melted.

I love the way provolone cheese melts so nice on sandwiches.  It also helps hold all the tomatoes on.

The onion buns really added to the flavor and they were nice and moist.  The burger was juicy and the fresh basil was a nice addition.

Chicken Parmigiana Burgers

Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes 
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 burger, fat-free bun, 1/4 cup sauce, 1 oz cheese
Sodium: 785 mg (without adding salt) • Old Points: 7 pt • Points+: 8 pt
Calories: 324.7 • Fat: 8.9 g • Protein: 31.1 g • Carb: 27.8 g • Fiber: 0.9 g • Sugar: 2 g

• 16 oz (500 g) lean chicken burgers
• 4 slices (3.24 oz) reduced fat mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup (250 ml) pomodoro sauce (jar sauce would work)
• 4 fat free artisan rolls or ciabatta rolls

Warm sauce on the stove or microwave. Heat a grill or skillet on medium high heat andcook burgers about 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until internal temp is 170°. (Chicken burgers cook quicker than beef but it’s to test with thermometer to be sure it’s cooked through)

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/05/chicken-parmigiana-burgers.html

Wedding Cake May 13, 2011

My Uncle GARY is getting married Memorial Day Weekend!  I am very happy for him and his new bride so I made them this cute “Clean and Simple” card!

I really like the Mr & Mrs embossed in silver, I tried to get a good photo of what I mean when I say “embossed” for you non- card making readers.  It is sort of raised off the paper and shinny

You brighten my day! May 12, 2011

The flowers that I got for the “Lemon Dinner” I brought in and put on my desk to brighten my office.  I loved having them there and they made me smile, so I decided I should keep an arraignment on my desk.  I thought I would share the love with you and show you the different bouquets that will be gracing my desk…….

This was the 1st one

and this is the next one that has four HUGE hydrangea!

If you want to make a donation to “You to Brighten My Day”  you can send me flowers to

29 Duncannon Ave

Worcester Ma 01604!

HAHAAA…..I am not picky, I will take any donations at any time!

A New Card Challenge for the Cricut May 11, 2011

CRICUT CARDZ CHALLENGE

A NEW CHALLENGE EVERY WEDNESDAY FOR THOSE THAT LOVE TO MAKE CARDS WITH THEIR CRICUT!

For this week’s challenge we’d like to see a card for a brand new baby. You can use any colors and any Cricut cartridge for this week’s challenge.

I used “New Arrival” cartridge in 3inches.  Do you think this is a unisex card? or is it more girly?

http://www.cricutcardzchallenge.blogspot.com/

Colorful Food Challenge- Alvacado May 10, 2011

~  Sorry  I have been missing in Blog action lately~  I will try and be better!

Can you believe that I have never actually made Guacamole?

For Cinco De Mayo  I thought I would make some for the very 1st time and see how it came out.  I got the recipe from Allrecipes.com  This one seemed the simplest and did not call for spicy chili’s which is good because I do not like a kick in my Guac.  (Ha hahaa, that sounds funny ~ I am going to kick you in your Guac!)

 

Ingredients

• 2 avocados

 

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

 

• 1 clove garlic, minced

 

• 1 ripe tomato, chopped

 

• 1 lime, juiced
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Peel and mash avocados in a medium serving bowl. Stir in onion, garlic, tomato, lime juice, salt and pepper. Season with remaining lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Chill for half an hour to blend flavors.

I found some cool Blue Corn chips at and thought they would be a nice contrast to the Guacy Green….

You can’t have a good Cinco De Mayo without a few MARGARITAS!  I made some POM POM ones!  Tart!

IT WAS SO GOOD I ATE THE WHOLE THING, and didn’t even save room for the shrimp quesidilla I had planned to make!  Ohh well I had a “Seis” de Mayo the next day.

I think  this might have been the best guacamole I have EVER had!