Lilacs

If there are any flowers I like nearly as much as roses, they would have to be lilacs.  In our yard there is just one lilac bush, and it struggles to provide us with these beautiful and aromatic blooms.  Probably it doesn't receive enough sunlight, or fertilizer, or something, because we're doing good to get a couple little bunches of tiny flowers. 

Their scent is just heavenly.  Too bad this isn't a scratch and sniff screen so you could enjoy them with me!  Glory!  A few days, and they'll be gone.  It's probably just a tad warm for lilacs here in sunny, South Carolina.

See that yellow powder on the leaves?   No exaggeration, here.  EVERY thing in our yard is fairly covered in fine yellow pine pollen.  NO thing....plant, animal or man, escapes wearing this yellow blanket of dust every spring.  Thankfully it only lasts about a week.  And a good spring rain, which we are expecting this evening, should wash it all away for another 51 weeks, or so.

Oh!  The dainty smocked baby dress is coming along nicely.  I thought I'd give you a sneak peek since I keep mentioning it.  I snapped this picture right after I finished pleating it.  I've made a lot of progress since this was taken.  Another few rows of smocking, a neckband, placket, and hem are all this lacks now.  I'd been working on this outside in the sunshine, until the heavy pollen drove me inside to finish.  Don't want this covered in yellow powder.

So, what are you doing on these warm, Spring days?

Love,

Worthy Is The Lamb

The anthem of the ages: Worthy Is The Lamb!

And The Winners Are...

I drew for the wreath winners this afternoon.

The winners are.....

Melissa Ouzts-- You won the rag wreath with birdie!

and Kathryn Tucker.  You won the crocheted flower wreath.

Thanks to everyone who played along with my little game.

I hope you are ALL enjoying this incredibly beautiful springtime weather!  I sure am!

Well, my little grand-niece was born the other night.  Welcome to Lacey Ann!  (I've decided it's very odd that we skip "grand" and go straight to "great" when it comes to aunties.  And the rebel in me doesn't feel old enough to be a "great" anything to anyone yet.  So I'm officially declaring myself a "grand aunt.")  I'm finishing up Lacey's little smocked dress and I'll post pics of that in the next few days.

Have a glorious Easter weekend, worshiping our Risen Savior!

Love,

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,

The Yellow Bows of Texas

I'm sorta stuck on Tex-Mex dishes these days.  Garlic, onions, salsa, black beans, chili powder, and cumin are sounding really good to me right now.  Throw in a some bowties, ground turkey, sour cream, and cheddar cheese and I'm thinking, "Most definitely!" A 'chili over pasta' concept.  Different!  Oh, and this also has carrots in it!  Interesting.... Chili with carrots is a new idea for me, but I admit it is a good one.

I honestly have no idea how this recipe with the catchy name showed up in my kitchen, photocopied from a Taste of Home magazine.   It originated from a cookbook with an equally catchy name: Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry.  A sweet friend must have thought we'd like it, and now I can't even thank her for thinking of us.  The fact is, we did enjoy this.  Like, 12 thumbs up....

I made a few change to the recipe.  The original recipe calls for whole wheat pasta.  As much as a dig health food, I just can't do the whole wheat pasta thing.  I mean I can, I just don't.  I've tried it, but have never found whole wheat pasta that tasted right to me.  So for this I substituted good old white bowties.  Also, this recipe was full of "light" dairy products and "no salt added" tomato products.  Hmmm,  no thanks.  Going for the real McCoy here.  Suit yourself, though, and make this as low-fat, low-sodium as your tastes prefer! 

I'll be preparing this tasty dish again soon.  Why don't you give it a try?

You start by browning the ground turkey with garlic then toss in the onions, bell peppers, and diced carrots.  Following this you add the salsa, tomato sauce, black beans, and spices.

Next, boil a big pot of water and cook the bowtie pasta. 

To serve, place the bowties on each plate and smother them with the bean and meat mixture, 

topping it all off with cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream.  

The Yellow Bows of Texas

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 cup each chopped onions, chopped green bell peppers, and diced carrots
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups salsa (your choice of mild, medium, or hot)
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans drained
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 12 oz uncooked bow tie pasta
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions

Cook turkey and garlic in a large deep, non-stick skillet over med-high heat until turkey is no longer pink.  Break up any large chunks.  Add onions, green pepper, and carrots.  Cook and stir for 4-5 minutes, until vegetables have softened.  Stir in tomato sauce, salsa, beans, chili podwer, cumin, and oregano.  Bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to package directions.  Drain.  Divide pasta among 6 shallow serving bowls.  Ladle chili over pasta.  Sprinkle with cheese and place a dollop of sour cream in the center.  Sprinkle with green onions.

Love,