Baby, it's cold outside!

It's so windy and cold outside and I have a hankering for soup. I got this recipe for this Algerian vegan soup from a new cookbook I got called The Soup Peddler. The soup calls for two bunches of cilantro, my favorite! The most surprising thing about this soup is the gorgeous orange color and the lemon juice that just makes it sing. Serve with a baguette of crusty french bread for dipping.

Here is the recipe verbatim.

Bouktouf
Serves 6-8

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 onions, chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and diced (I used Idaho potatoes)
3 large zucchini, diced
1/4 cup tomato paste
Juice of 4 lemons, or to taste
2 bunches cilantro, coarsely chopped, stems included
Salt (I used 1 tsp kosher salt)

Heat the oil in the bottom (where else?) of your soup pot over medium-high heat. The oil should form a deep puddle. Add the onions and sauté them slowly, longingly, until they are limpid, about 15 minutes.

Add the potatoes, zucchini, and tomato paste. Just barely cover with water, turn the heat to high, and cover. Once brought to a strong simmer, turn the heat down to medium-low.

When the potatoes are very soft and the zucchini has given itself to the soup, about 20 minutes, turn off the heat. Add the lemon juice and cilantro, and season to taste with salt. Using an immersion blender, purée the soup to a smooth consistency; alternatively, working in batches, pureé in a regular blender until smooth. The soup should shimmer in the ambient light. Serve hot or cold.

Halloween Cards

It's that time of year again. The leaves are turning to beautiful pallettes of color, the weather is crisp and Halloween is just around the corner. These are some of the cards that I made for Halloween.

You Devil

My newest cards are Halloween cards and I wanted to share some of my favorites. The first one I plan to replicate and do my own version, but it's one of my favorites and I wanted to share it with you. The other one I did myself and I found the stamp for the devil's tucked away from last year. I never used it. I am bad that way. I buy stamps and let them sit pretty for decoration. The other day I was at A.C. Moore to buy yet another punch and stumbled across the inside for the card. I think they go perfectly together. It's almost like a fine wine that sits and you forget about until the right time. When you pull it out it's like Christmas with good cheer in the air.

Tree Pictures

I made these for my bathroom recently. I love trees.

Birthday Owl Cards

These were so much fun to make. I love the colors and the way they all pull together. I used leftover paper from Meredith's bday card and had so much fun. Did I mention these were fun to make???? Am I repeating myself?

More Cards

Look at this beautiful black embossed medallion card that one of the stampin up demonstrator's made. The medallion is my "go to" stamp. I can use it for everything and with my stampin pastels, I can make it any color I want it to be.

Strawberry Tart

Easy peasy! Prepared pie crust, 2 cups fresh berries, 1/4 cup of sugar, bake about 40 minutes until golden brown. Enough said!

Potato Salad with Corn, Cilantro and Poblano Peppers

Steven and I went to the Farmer's Market on Sunday and came back with lots of fresh veggies and fruits. I love this time of year, because there are so many wonderful choices out there. I saw our first red tomato the other day in our garden, so pretty soon I'll be posting tomato recipes and pictures of our abundance.

This is my favorite version of potato salad because it has fresh corn and cilantro in it. I also cut down the use of mayo and add a lite sour cream to pull it together. Serve this with roasted chicken, grilled scallions and fresh green beans. Meow!

Ingredients

2 pounds baby red or new potatoes, cut into 1/2 to 1-inch pieces
3 ears fresh corn, husks and silks removed
2 poblano chiles, charred, peeled, stemmed, seeded, and chopped (see Cook's Note)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Put the potatoes in a large pot and add salted water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until tender when pierced with a knife, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Add the corn to the grill and cook, turning occasionally, until evenly browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.

Put the potatoes in a large serving bowl. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the kernels off the cobs and add them to the bowl. Add the poblano chiles, scallions, sour cream, mayonnaise, and cilantro, and fold together. Season the potato salad, to taste, with salt and pepper and serve.

Give a Hoot!

I am the luckiest woman in the world because I am blessed to have a lovely group of creative friends that share their creativity with me. This is a card I did that is replicated from my from friend Linda's card. I love the fun in this card. Each little picture was colored and cut out individually. It was so much fun to do and took my mind off pressing issues. If I could be surrounded by paper, markers, stamps, ribbons and glue all day I would be the happiest woman in the world. Hope you enjoy.

Mother's Day Cards

These two cards are what I created for Mom's Day this year. My friend at work wanted a card for her mom, so I asked her what colors she liked and she said, candy apple red, brown and green. I thought it was going to be hard to pull all the colors together, but I think it came out nicely. The flowerpot card is for my mom and that was a lot of fun to make. If you want to make one for your mom here is a link to a tutorial on how to make the flowerpot card:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir-nDyJoGvE

Happy early Mother's Day!

Joy Fold

No pun intended, but this card was a joy to make. Basically the card is two different sized cards put together. Very easy to make. The hardest part I found was combining colors together to make it flow. I wish my camera took better pictures to show the true colors, but you get the idea. The instructions are as follows:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/joy_fold_card/

Waterfall Cards

I am hoping when you look at these cards that you will catch the waterfall fever like I did. This form of card is so wonderful and fun and the combinations are endless. Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending one of Jeannette Swain's classes at Crops Plus that was held at the Holiday Inn in Chantilly. All I have to say is this woman's creations wowed me. The colors and designs are so colorful and fun. The class was a lot of fun and I was so surprised how easy making these cards really is! Here is a link for her upcoming classes, which I highly recommend.

http://www.stampsnwhatnot.com/my_weblog/april-may-2010-events.html

Butterfly Card

I made this card the other day for my coworker's bday. Over the weekend my friends and I got together with our punches and stamps and traded them off to use. I was obssessed by the butterfly punches in all different sizes, so I ended up with a whole bag of butterflies. I was inspired to make this card from the new 6x6 collection at Memory Box called Enchanted. The paper is so perfect to embellish with butterflies or birds. Two of my favorite things. I think overall it pulled together very nicely.

I haven't had much time for blogging or cardmaking or cooking either! I love my new job but work seems to take all of my energy and requires a lot of my time. And you know the story, if you aren't working then you are always trying to catch up on laundry and so on and so on. I am going to put aside some time this weekend to make cards and cook, so hopefully I'll have some more posts soon. On Sunday I am taking a class on "fun folds." I looked at the month of April and I only had 1 post so far. How embarassing!

Meredith's 13th Birthday Card

Love the paper for this card. Cute owls in different colors and cupcakes galore. Add some stickles and a bow and it's ready to go. Happy Birthday Mer!!

Vellum Windows

It's almost like an illuminary candle but it's a card. Perhaps a led light behind it would be fun? When I put this in front of the window it lit up. Pretty cool.

Here are a few pics of my new creations. Steven bought me a new camera but my pictures are not as crisp as the other blogsites I've visited. Last weekend a bunch of us got together and made cards together. I didn't realize when I started this that it would open up a whole new world for me. I've made so many great friends along the way who share the same passion I do. I recently started selling my cards and have a nice little client base. Also, I've been selling my cards in a store in Leesburg since February. Soon I will open an account with Esty and will start selling my cards there. If you see any cards on my website that you like and would like to purchase one, let me know. I can make a card with any theme, color, sentiment.

Tea Bag Cards

Here are a few cards I made for a friend of mine last week. Each one has a special message and inside a saying that says, you, me, tea? next to an attached tea bag. Fun to send to friends as an encouragement to close off the world for a few minutes sipping a soothing cup of tea.

Slow Cooked Pork Chops

Another easy recipe brought to you by Campbells soup. On Sundays I usually make a big pot of soup or something else that will double for snacks or meals during the week. This time around I decided to make smothered pork chops. The recipe is so easy and has only a few ingredients. Season however many pork chops you need with salt, garlic powder and pepper. Lightly brown in pan and set aside. In a small pot add a can of golden mushroom soup and a half cup of wine, heat until well blended. Put pork chops in a crock pot, pour soup over the pork chops and as they say in the infomercials, set it and forget it for about 6 hours. By the time these are cooked they are so tender they fall off the bone. Serve with mashed potatoes, corn and apple sauce.

So Easy Chicken and Dumplings

I almost feel guilty posting this recipe because I am a firm believer of cooking with fresh ingredients. Meaning homemade biscuits and homemade soups I make from scratch. I'm not really a big canned soup fan, so when this recipe called for Cream of Chicken soup, I didn't know what to do. Thank God Campbells makes a wonderful soup because this recipe is my new favorite "brag of the day." I called my mom after making this and invited them over so I'll have an excuse to make it again. It would be a sin for me not share this recipe with you. It's so easy and definitely will win you tons of accolades. Follow the recipe below and wow your loved ones.

Ingredients
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cans of chicken broth
1 onion, finely diced
6 carrots cut into 2 inch chunks
3 celery stalks, cut into 2 inch chunks
2 (10 ounce) packages
refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces

Directions
1.Place the chicken, butter, soup, onion, carrots and celery in a slow cooker, and fill with enough water to cover.
2.Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High. About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

Banana Cake with Caramel Frosting

The other day Steven and I went to the French Corner Bakery and he ordered a mini banana caramel bundt cake that was really good. I found this recipe the other day and it looks wonderful. I'll be making this this weekend.

Banana caramel cake

Cake:
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
1 ¼ cups (300ml) vegetable oil (or canola oil as in the original recipe)
1 ¾ cups (350g) sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (75g) coarsely chopped walnuts
85g (3oz) dark chocolate, broken into small pieces (size of chips)
3 ripe bananas, diced

Caramel:
½ cup (88g) firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Butter and flour a tube pan or a bundt pan that can hold 12 cups*; preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF.

Sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and baking soda.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, oil and sugar. With the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that the sugar has been incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds.
With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients a bit at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and then to ensure everything is incorporated.
Once the dry ingredients have been added, remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add the walnuts, chocolate and bananas. Gently fold them in with a spatula or a wooden spoon. Don’t over mix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes and then test the cake to see if it’s done by poking a toothpick or cake tester into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, bake the cake for another 5 to 10 minutes. In Ivonne’s oven, this cake took 55 minutes; in mine, 1 hour.

About 5 to 10 minutes before the cake is done, make the caramel by combining all the ingredients in a small pan. Bring to the boil and stir occasionally to ensure that it doesn’t burn. Let it boil for about 5 minutes and then turn off the heat.
Once the cake is out of the oven, poke holes all over the cake with a skewer. Immediately pour the caramel over the cake, stopping every now and then to let the caramel sink in. If the caramel pools in spots, poke more holes to allow it to sink in.
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack. Once it’s cool, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and then unmold it onto a plate.

* I halved the recipe and used a 19cm (6-cup capacity) ring pan

Serves 10-12

Kids Card Drive

I am really excited about the next kids card drive I am participating in. If you are interested in joining in, the details are below.

We are hoping to collect a ton of cards for NINE sick children and their families. Cards of encouragement, love, cheer and hope. We truly feel that cards can lift spirits. And, in these rough times, it is an inexpensive way to make a difference in someone's life.

A few details:
•This card drive will be ongoing. We have no end date set. However, this second round of prizes will be drawn from cards shipped by March 31st.
•Cards can be anything cheery, encouraging, supportive, etc. Anyone can send a card - even your children, scout troops, etc.
•Cards can be for the child or for their family members.
•All cards need to have a message in it for the child/family. Please also sign your name and where you are from. On the card envelope, write the name of who the card is for. Also, please don't seal the envelope, as the parents might want to preview cards before the kids see them.
•Please stick to just cards or lightweight things like stickers, etc. If you want to send anything heavier, please include a bit of money to cover the added cost.
•There is no need to send money with your cards. However, it is greatly appreciated as it helps with the cost of mailing the thousands of cards and many, many prizes. Very appreciated.
•All cards can be mailed to the following address:
Jennifer McGuire
Cards for Kids
PO Box 428612
Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
•In each package, PLEASE include a piece of paper with your name, address, email address and how many cards you sent and for which child/family they were for. This helps us greatly in keeping track for prizes! For each card you send, you will get a chance. So the more cards you send, the better your chances. (See below.)
•PRIZES! In April, I will pick NINE prizes to send out - based on the cards I receive by March 31. One prize will go to someone who sent in cards for Kate in that round. One will go to someone who sent a card for Gavin in that round, etc. So, if you really want a prize, it is best to send in cards for each child/family each round. We will keep track of how many you sent for each child.

I know i am missing some details, as there is so much to think about! I will add more as we go, so be sure to ask your questions.

And, once again, a HUGE shout out to Jana and Kristina for all they do for these card drives. I could never do it without them. And to Mary Kay and Heather, who have volunteered to help with shipping of cards. And... my dear dad who picks up cards every single day from my PO Box and gives them to me in huge bunches. THANK YOU. Love you all.

Thanks again for giving your time and talent for this.

Valentine's Day Dinner

My husband went all out this Valentine's Day for me and I wanted to do something special back, so I made his favorite dinner. This recipe is so easy, simple and delcious for salmon. All I do is mix 1 T of Montreal Steak Seasoning and 1 T brown sugar and coat the salmon by patting it on. I then bake the salmon at 400 degrees or put it on the grill and bake for 20 minutes. It is absolutely scrumdelicious! I usually present it on a bed of greens and serve it with mashed potatoes or rice. If ou want to wow someone this is the way to go.

Porthole Card

I made these cards to sell at my neighbor's store for Valentine's Day. The one in the middle is from the Wild Card cartridge and is the porthole card. I've completed all the cards I need for VDay and soon I'll start on the St. Patty's cards.

Valentine's Card for Cricut Cardz Challenge

I am really having fun making all of these cards. It's helping me to keep my mind busy, therefore I am eating much better. I wish I had a lot to report about all of these wonderful dishes I have been making, but honestly, I have been eating a lot of simple foods that don't require too much thought. Lean cuisines and making cardsare my friends right now. The more cards I make the less I eat! I've lost 4 lbs so far.

I sent out a package today that had 10 Valentine's Day cards for a card drive for Texas Children's Hospital. This is such a great project. I loved getting mail and still do when I was little. Hopefully this reach out will bless those in need and brightening their day.

Speaking of brightening their day, I have volunteered to teach a class on card making at our local senior citizen assisted living facility. I am so excited about this project. Every other Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. I will teaching and helping the residents make cards. Plus I will be building some relationships with some very special. I pray that God will make me a light and His love will shine through me.

This card is for the challenge for the Cricut Cardz Challenge. The challenge this week is to use black, white, lavender and green It's an S fold card with hearts cutout from Plantin Schoolbook and stamping with embossing. Hope you like it.

I've been pondering on this scripture today: The Lord has promised that there will be more than enough. 2 Kings 4:43

Valentine's Cards for St. Jude

These are pictures of some of the cards I am sending for the St. Jude's Valentine Day cards drive.

Thinking of You Card

Here is another one of my creations. A S fold card with embossing. I wish I had a better camera so you could get the true effect of the colors, but that will have to come later.

Recipe for Mulligatawny Stew

Mulligatawny is the word for pepper broth. This "stew" has peppers, curry powder, red pepper flakes and hot chutney in the ingredients and is wonderful on a cold winter day. Because my daughter and husband can't handle spicy, I will have to tone it down a bit. But will add sirachi at the table. Serve with a small salad and on top of rice and it's a complete meal.

Mulligatawny Stew

1 teaspoon
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
4 cups chicken stock
1 can garbanzo beans
salt and pepper to taste
2 T flour

1 Tablespoon curry powder
1 t ginger

1/4 cup tomato paste
1/3 cup chutney

1-2 cups cooked rice (preferably basmati)
1/2-1 cup shredded cubed chicken (you can cook raw chicken in the stock at the start if you don't have leftover chicken lying around)

1/2 cup tart raw apple, chopped fine

Saute the celery, carrots, onion, and pepper in the oil at a low heat until the onion is translucent. Stir in the curry powder, flour and ginger to blend and cook for a minute. Pour in the stock, chutney, tomato paste and chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes until thick.

Serve over cooked rice.

Calories: 236 per 1 1/4 cup serving

4.5 grams of fat

My Renewed Hobby

My newest hobby is making cards. I am finding that if I keep my mind off food, I don't eat as much. I did this card for the Cricut Cards Challenge and I need to post it on my website to enter it. I will be posting a few random posts here and there. Hope you enjoy my creations.

Cheese, Glorious Cheese

Over the holidays I found a wonderful list highlighting different cheese tray combinations. Hopefully this will be as helpful to you as it was to me.

French Cheese Platter
Gruyere de Comte, Boucheron, Roquefort, Fromage d'affinois. Camembert, Comte, Brie, and Brillat Saverin to name a few. Serve with sun-dried cranberries or cherries, pears, saucisson (naturally dried pork sausage), pâté de foie gras or country pate, cornichon, and french baguette.
English Cheese Platter
Cotswald, Farm House Cheddar, Morangie Brie, Blue Shropshire, Lincolnshire Poacher, Winterdale Shaw, and English Blue Stilton. Serve with pears, dried cranberries, warm hazelnuts, English butter crackers, cornichons, and lavender honey.

Spanish Cheese Platter
Manchego, Drunken Goat, Valdeon, Campo de Montalban, Mahon, Nevat, Roncal and Mirableu. Nevat:Serve with quince paste (pairs perfectly with the manchego), figs, royal Medjool dates, Marcona Almonds, Jamon Serrano, and Catalan Olives.

American Cheese Platter
Smoked Gouda, Monterey Jack, Carmody, Buttermilk Blue, and Cheddar. Pair your platter with grapes, sliced apples or pears, walnuts, and sliced sausage, smoked ham, or Proscuitto.

Italian Cheese Platter
Taleggio, Fresh Mozzarella di Buffala, Grana Pardano, Sharp Provolone, Asagio, fresh Parmigianno-Regianno, Gorgonzola. Pair well with olives, Proscuitto de Parma, caramelized pecans, roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomatoes and pignoli notes.

Recipe for Tortilla Soup

The days of candy canes dancing in my head are over. All those wondeful gooey, cheesy appetizers must be put to rest. The cookies, cakes, pies and other sweets can no longer be allowed. It's time for the kick off of the total revamp of our food choices in the Ross household. Time for healthier meals and trying new foods that will strengthen us rather than bring us down.

On tonight's menu we are having roasted chicken from Sam's Club. It's so juicy and without the skin it's very healthy. We are also having my low fat tortilla soup. Everyone loves this soup and it is so simple to make. It is a perfect day for it too, cause baby, it's cold outside!!

Tortilla Soup

Serves 4

1 container red bell pepper soup

1 cup crushed doritos

1 T chili powder

1 can corn

1 can black beans

Blend together red bell pepper soup, chili powder and doritos in a blender. Pour into a 4 quart pot. Turn on medium heat. Add drained corn and drained black beans. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with low fat cheese and sour cream.