A Little Birdie Told Me It Was Spring!

I told you the Spring Give-Away would be different.  And I wasn't joking.  Lacy and I put our heads together to make these wreaths to give away to two of you!

First up is a perky little rag wreath I put together with some of my favorite fabrics.  Bright, cheerful, and tied with my signature gingham, this one comes with a special little friend attached!  I can think of a dozen places I'd hang this...laundry room...powder room...or maybe even right on the back door.  I hope it will bring a smile to everyone who sees it.

Next up is this adorable crocheted flower wreath made by Lacy just for you! I was so pleased with the way this turned out.  The idea for the flowers came from Lucy's blog.  If you could use a little sunshine in your day, I suggest you stop by her blog for a look-see at Attic 24.

When I saw Lucy's little flowers the other day, I asked Lacy if she would mind stitching some into a wreath for me.  The words were barely out of my mouth before she was turning out these jaunty blooms.

So there you are!  A rainbow of Spring color for my sweet friends. To enter the drawing, tell me what you love about Spring!   I'll draw randomly next week sometime!

My favorite thing about Spring, if I have to chose just one, is hearing the whippoorwill in the evenings when we walk around the neighborhood. 

Tag!  You're it!

Love,

Homemade Gorditas (or... just change the name of the recipe to reflect the results)

So, Abby comes home from Mexico for a visit and brings me a handy-dandy tortilla press and pretty, red tortilla warmer.  "Here Mom!  I got red....for your blog!"

Itching to give them a try, I google "tortilla recipes" and come up with this post at Homesick Texan.  Just a quick spin around her site convinces me I will definitely want to bookmark this blog.

I've never made tortillas before, so I'm thinking, how difficult can this really be?  Well, according to Miss Texan, there is a learning curve involved in this, and she's finally perfected the recipe and technique.

Joy and rapture!  I'll gladly let her work out the kinks and pass on the consummate flour tortilla recipe to me....

Problem is, (I quickly discover) my tortilla press must be for making corn tortillas.  These flour ones don't want to squish out flat enough.  

Undaunted by this minor setback, I grab my rolling pin and finish them off to approximately circular, thin rounds of dough.

They really do cook up nicely on a dry iron skillet.  A minute or so on each side and they are cooked to perfection.  Fat and thick like gorditas, they no longer look like tortillas to me.  So, now we're going to call them tortilla/gorditas...

Works for me.

I pop them in the warmer as they come off the skillet.   Thanks, Abby.  The red is just beautiful!   Next, I prepare the chicken filling.

I start by sauteing garlic and onion in a little olive oil.

Throw in some shredded chicken, fresh basil, salt and pepper, and I'm in business.  And my children are now flocking to the kitchen, following the scent that is wafting up the stairs....

I pile shredded cheddar cheese on a tortilla/gordita and plop on a handful of the chicken mixture.

Top with another tortilla/gordita and fry on the other side for a minute.  I top these off with homemade sour cream.  They're awesome with salsa or pico de gallo as well if you have it on hand. 

I didn't.

If you're the least bit adventuresome in the kitchen, you ought to give these a try.  They are really easy to do, and you'll appreciate all the "mmmmm!"  "yum!" and "these are amazing!" comments that invariably follow the first bites.  Basically, you'll be a hero in your children's eyes.

And lest you think this has completely turned into a cooking blog, let me tell you now that I'm in the process of putting together my Spring Give-Away.  It's going to be different from anything I've given away before, and I know you're gonna love it.  So, be thinking what is your FAVORITE thing about Spring, 'cause that is what I'm going to have to know in order to enter your name!

Oh!  And I'm getting a new great-niece in the next few days.  So, there will be a frothy little pink frock showing up on this blog in the very near future.

Till then!!

Love,

Lemon Meringue Pie

I love to make pies.  They're fairly easy to prepare, and everyone around here likes them.  So, needing a little sunshine in our cold, rainy week, I thought a lemon meringue pie might be just the trick to bring a smile or two.

Or eight.

For this one, I started with a box of lemon pudding, the cook-on-the-stove variety.  Pretty simple, really.  You just add three egg yolks and some water and stir it while it comes to a full boil.

 After that cools, pour it into the pre-baked pie shell.

Next, whip up the egg whites with a little sugar to make the meringue. This part is really fun, I think.  They go from clear to foamy to thick, snow-white, frothy  peaks.

Pile the meringue on top of the pie filling, all the way to the edges.  

It bakes for about 10 minutes, until the little peaks turn brown.

Mmmmm.   Sweet and tart, with a crispy crust and fluffy top. 
This pie screams sunshine and happiness!

The weekend forecast for us is warmer weather with lots of sun!  

I plan to enjoy laughter and fun with the ones I love.  

And my hope is that you will do the same!

Love,