Creamed Zucchini Soup

Hi there everyone....hope you are having a great day. Sorry I have been MIA again. For some reason August has been a tough month for JP and I. On the 27th we celebrated 45 years of marriage. I know that is a mile stone for lots of people and it should be. For us, just another day. I did buy a $5 blueberry cake and made roast beef sandwiches and potatoes in the pressure cooker. Nothing too special. No, we did not go out any place as JP is paranoid about thinking people can smell him....which no one can, he just thinks it.

So today I made this soup. Creamed Zucchini Soup. JP said it was a keeper and I should make this again. The recipe calls for just 5 ingredients...not counting the salt and pepper. Yep, that's it.

Here is the recipe:
1/2 small onion, quartered                      2 cloves garlic
3 medium zucchini, skin on and cut in large chunks
32 oz reduced sodium Swanson chicken broth or vegie
2 Tbsp reduced fat sour cream
kosher salt and black pepper to taste
fresh grated Parmesan cheese if desired for topping (opt.)

Directions:
1-Combine chicken broth, onion, garlic and zucchini in a large pot over medium heat and bring to a boil.
2-Lower heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
3-Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender, add the sour cream and puree again until smooth.
4- Taste for salt and pepper and adjust to taste. Serve hot, topping with Parmesan cheese.

1 1/2 cups of soup has 60 calories, 10 carbs, 500 sodium...that's a lot of sodium, but you can cut that down. I think this would be good for the Keto diet.

I have been struggling along with no stove/oven. Guess it is okay. I am not in a rush to get a new one. Was thinking of an apartment size oven. That would give me more room for a small used cabinet for storage. I bought a used hot plate and a small George Foreman grill at Goodwill. Told JP we were going to live on hot dogs and hamburgers for now. He said, no problem. I will still be on the hunt for a electric fry pan. I have my eye on one....but it's at Shopko. Guess I will wait till it is marked down and I have a coupon also.

I have been dealing with a bad back for the last couple of days, oh my gosh it really hurt. Hard to walk and get around. It dawned on me today, how I did it. Moving 35 water bottles from it's skid to the bottom of the cart....my back did not start hurting till Monday. I have rubbed DoTerra's "Deep Blue", also "Deep Blue oil" "Lavender oil". In about an hour I will be taking another "Naproxen" for inflammation. One, every 12 hours....guess that is helping. At least I can get up off the bed, chair and lazy-boy with a little less pain. I may take one more day off to recup….depends on how I am feeling. I have some errands to run before Friday.

JP has decided to work part-time, so we are entering a new phase of life. Should be interesting, to say the least, and quite the challenge financially. Hopefully we will be able to continue doing the things we do. I shall have to rearrange my shopping schedule and not shop so much....that's why I said in the paragraph about hamburgers and hot dogs....our menu is going to change quite a bit.

Well, time to close here....this blog is getting toooooo long. And if you made it this far, keep looking up and here's hoping better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

A Few Cards and Vegies From the Garden

Hi there everyone. How you all doing today??? Hope you are enjoying August. July was kind of a rough month for us....so I am taking August one day at a time and trying to get over the hurdles as they come. In between the hurdles, I found some time to make a few cards. Sorry about the lighting on a few of these pictures. I tried something different....guess I won't do this again. I thought the lighting from above and the side lamp would do the trick....but no, it didn't.

So anyways....these cards are from the stampin'up  Paper Pumpkin Kits. They are really neat cause all the supplies are in the box to put these cards together. I probably will donate these cards to Hospice, maybe keep one for a sample. The "hooray" is a wooden piece that really adds to the card. The circle is covered with washi tape. The card itself already had the watercolor mark on it and the I stamped the star bursts and saying "it's your day" on the card.

The American Flag card is a napkin glued on card stock. I just added the Thanks stamp. I have made quite a few of these cards for Hospice. They will be given to the War Veterans in October.

Another couple of cards from the Stampin'up Paper Pumpkin Kits. This was July's kit....Watermelon's. Again, all the supplies are in the box to create these cute cards.

From the same box, the stamp to make the watermelon and the inks too. I like the watermelon stamp. You could make a gift bag with the supplies or turn the bag into a card like the two cards on each side of the bag. The two cards at the bottom, used the left overs from the bag.

AND....vegies from the garden!!! I can't believe I FINALLY got a zucchini!!! I have tried so many times to grow these guys....to no avail. I planted this plant right on the side of the house. There happens to be a bee nest real close by....I guess they pollinated at least ONE zucchini!!! The tomato's are doing wonderful in the front of the yard....two bushes are producing more then I ever have seen I will take a picture of the tomato plants tomorrow. I have so many stakes trying to hold the tomatoes up with lots of old nylons.

Well, time to close, it's going on 2am and I am just finishing this post, (took me all night). JP is home and eating his dinner. Chicken soup, steak, potatoes, corn, cucumbers and a bagel. You all have a good night and keep looking up better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Some Cards and Some Blue Apron Food

Hi there everyone.....yeah, I am a bit behind in posting these cards again. Made these cards at Betty's a week ago Wednesday. Oh gosh, it has been sooooo hot, I just have not felt like doing ANYTHING!!!!!

Today has been nice...tolerable. The weather will be in the high 70's and low 80's for the next week or so.....I can handle that. Until at least I can get a new air conditioner in the kitchen window.

So here are some cards I made at Betty's last week. Doesn't this card look yummy and cool. Pop-cycles!!! Remember when the Good Humor Man came around in his little white truck, oh and then there was the ice cream man on his bike pushing a refrigerated box full of pop-cycles.....ah yes, the good old days!!!!

I love this old lady.....she was fun to color too. While working on her all I could think about was the stamp that says......"dance, as if know one is watching".

This was a fun card....lots of pre-made embossed and die cuts....easy, peasy to put together.

Now this card was really nice...Christmas in July....Betty borrowed my snow flake stamp and turned it into this lovely card. Betty usually has the background embossed and the die cuts made, all we do is put it together and add the gems on the snow flake. Pretty, pretty card, the light does not do it justice.

So these were my two Blue Apron meals. I think these will be my last ones for a few months....at least till the summer is over and the weather gets a bit cooler. It was much too hot to cook in my kitchen and I did not feel like putting on the oven. So no, only want to make easy-peasy things that don't take up a lot of energy and make things too warm in the kitchen.

The above meal, "Za'atar Chicken Burgers & Oven Fries with Feta-Labneh Spread & Garlic Chips" I think, what I like with each of these meals, is that I learn something new every time. I loved make the oven fries this way....just cutting them, oil, salt and pepper and back till they crisp. Garlic chips....slice the garlic and fry in oil till crisp and top the burger with the chips. I think the next time I make this I will use beef.....the only seasoning was lemon zest, parsley and the za'atar seasoning, salt and pepper. Then fry in oil. I guess the burger was supposed to have a Greek flavor to it. To tell you the truth, I was not impressed....guess that is why I will try beef next time.

This meal was "just okay". "Roasted Pork and Summer Salsa with Zucchini-Scallion Rice" I enjoyed the salsa, rice and zucchini more then the meat. It was a little tough. Plus......so hot in the kitchen, I did not roast in the oven. I sliced the pork and fried in a pan.

The salsa was a peach, cut up real fine added lime zest and a shallot-lime juice mixture, drizzled oil and tossed thoroughly and combined with salt and pepper. This was layered on the pork. (last night I mixed the rest of the salsa with some sour cream and mayo and put on some toasted naan bread with a sliced cucumber on it. very refreshing.)

We really liked the Zucchini...diced and cooked in oil till tender, add the minced garlic and scallions (bottom part) then the cooked rice added and cooked till heated.....oh, don't forget the salt and pepper. We really enjoyed that, then of course the peach salsa and onion  added a sweet touch. Yeah, I would do this again. BUT on a cooler evening.

So I shall monitor the next few months of meals on Blue Apron, to see if there is something I would like to make. I can always get their recipes off the site. So if there are some meals I want, I can get the recipe and buy the food myself. We shall see what transpires....in the mean time I have lots of great recipes and a few favorites I will try over and over again.

Well, time to go walk Kylie....oh my, it is after 6pm....I sure can get lost doing this post. Time to close. I got some new stamps today and I want to go downstairs and play with them.

You all have a great evening and keep looking up.....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Simple Rhubarb Crisp and a Quiche from Blue Apron

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good day....Friday and Sunday is coming!!!! And in between those two days is SATURDAY!!! Have to love those Saturdays. It's suppose to be in the 80's, a little bit warmer then today, but I enjoyed this day too, didn't have to put the fans on. JP finally brought up the window air conditioner....it just has to go into the window now. Maybe tomorrow.

So today I made this "Simple Rhubarb Crisp". It's kind of my recipe, mixed with another. I had a lot of frozen rhubarb in the freezer and pulled it all out....I guess I had about 9-10 cups of rhubarb. So I thought, why not make a crisp following the pie recipe I had. Here's the recipe:

Spray a 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 pan or glass dish. Mix together:
5-6 cups rhubarb, 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (one cup if you like real sweetness), 2 eggs, 1/2 cup flour, stir and pour into the sprayed pan or glass dish.

Mix together: 1/2 stick butter (softened), 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 to 3/4 cup flour, mix till crumbly and sprinkle over the rhubarb mix.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and bake 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 40 - 50 minutes, depends on your oven. Cool down a bit and slice, top with ice cream or whip cream...very yummy!!

My Blue Apron recipe. "Zucchini & Cherry Tomato Quiche with Tomato-Arugula Salad" Yep, this is a keeper too. The zucchini was diced, cherry tomatoes quartered. Make a paste out of the garlic by zesting it. Zest the lemon and quarter the lemon. Make a dressing with the lemon zest, 1/4 of the garlic paste and juice of all 4 lemon wedges. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the zucchini and season with salt and pepper, cook down till lightly browned and slightly softened. Add half the tomatoes and the remaining garlic paste and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

Make the filling, crack 2 eggs in a medium bowl, beat till smooth, add 1/2 cup ricotta cheese and whisk till combined. Add the cooked vegetables, whisk well and pour into small pie shells and top with Fontina cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 425 degrees for 18 - 20 minutes till the crusts are browned and the filling is set and cooked through. Serve with lettuce and the rest of the cherry tomatoes, pour over the garlic-lemon mixture with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Yep...I would make this dish again also.

Tonight is pizza night from Schwan's and left-overs.....so JP will be eating pretty well tonight after work. I hope he appreciates me and my cooking and making sure he eats well. My only problem is I enjoy my cooking also....so hard to lose weight in this house....so maintaining is all I can muster.

Well, you all have a great evening and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise.

PS Just a note....I was so sorry to hear of the attack on innocent people in Nice, France by a truck driver. It is so sad to think these terrorist think nothing of human life. Too bad, they have been deceived by the evil one and they think killing people (and themselves) will get them "73 virgins in Heaven"........I think they shall be shocked. As per Rush Limbaugh here is his link.

Their "Koran" was wrongly translated and the "73 virgins" they think they are getting is actually "73 raisins"....what a shock!!!

I pray their eyes will be opened and Jesus will give them visions of the REAL HOLY God of the Universe and many Muslims will be saved.

Blue Apron ~~ My New Order Came

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a beautiful day....it was gorgeous outside today, wasn't it???? I heard the sound of the locust today, I just love that sound, it reminds me of those lazy, hazy days of summer when I was a kid. All I had to do was enjoy the summer and play before school started the Day after Labor Day in September. Yeah....those were the days!!!

So, in my post yesterday I mentioned I was waiting for my next order from Blue Apron. It came about 7:00 pm in a refrigerated FedEx truck. Makes me wonder just how long my box from last week actually sat on that neighbors porch. Because the ice block was partially melted. The order that came today....nope, the ice had not even started to melt. So everything in the box was still cold.

Here is what the box looks like...... it felt like Christmas when it arrived.

I Pulled everything out of the box and laid it all on the table....looks pretty good huh?? So dinner tonight will be "Vadouvan-Spiced Lamb Burgers with Crispy Curried Zucchini Rounds" and fries and fruit. JP was VERY ok with the menu for tonight. Gosh, I love cooking!!!!

The 2nd meal in this box is "Chicken Milanese with Summer Corn, Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad" The 3rd meal is "Cod & Miso Soba Noodles with Multicolored Cherry Tomatoes & Eggplant" Can you see the beautiful eggplant and zucchini in the picture....yum!!! I like that there are different things in the box that I have not ever tried. Been in such a rut lately, I think this new experience will help me spread my wings a bit. I get so tired of cooking the same stuff week in and week out. This will put some pzazz into my cooking.....I think!!!

I was sitting on the porch this morning, getting some sun on my legs.....they are still very white!!! So for a half hour I sat on the steps and took a few pictures of the pretty sky and clouds. What do you see up there......I think that is a turtle......maybe a duck, maybe a kitten????

Gosh, can you believe today is the last day of July.....where in the world is this summer going??? Next week Wednesday I have my second cataract eye surgery at 8am or so. I have to be at the clinic by 6:50 am to sign in and change clothes, and get that WARM blanket put on me....that is such a comfortable feeling. The lady that sang on the phone to me "Pack up all your cares and woes, singing low, bye, bye black bird" will be there too. She said she would have a new song for me. Will be fun to match the voice on the phone with the real person.

Well, I guess it is time to go walk Kylie around the block, the sun is going down, so it won't be too bright on my eyes. You all have a great evening and see you in August!! Cheers ~ Louise

Mmmmm Strawberries

Hi there everyone. How are you doing today? All is well here....my strawberry plants are producing...oh my, I am in love. They are not the biggest in town....but they are good to the very last berry.

Yesterday, I saw a Robin enjoying him/herself....I wondered who the culprit was that was eating a few berries. Sitting on my porch, I found out who it was. Gosh, I had no idea that Robins ate anything other then worms!!!! Now I know.

You like my blue bowls? I picked then up at a garage sale...they also have covers. I can use them in the microwave for steaming vegetables and heating food....I shall have to try that soon. For now, they are good for my strawberries.

Nothing too much is going on today. I finally straightened out the garage yesterday, now it is an organized mess. LOL! Today I need to plant my Rose Moss, cucumbers and more zucchini in the front of the house. I will then have cucumbers and zucchini planted in 3 different places. One of those 3 places has GOT to produce some fruit for me this year. I have quite a bit of shade trees around my house, so it makes for some tough growing. I lost my apple trees....they did not get enough sun.

So, we shall see how things go this year. The plants in the front of the house will get sun pretty much all day....that's where the strawberries are. So if the strawberries are thriving....maybe the cucumbers and zucchini will too.

Well time to go do a few things around the house. You all have a great day and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Grilled Zucchini

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a wonderful day, it sure was a beautiful day. I got a few more plants for my back yard.....cucumber plant, zucchini plant, a tomato plant and geranium plant. And WALAH!!! I got them all planted tonight.

Yesterday, after church, I did some grilling. Hamburger, potatoes and grilled zucchinis. Oh gosh, they were so yummy, I made another helping and grilled them while we were eating.

So here is what I did:
2 zucchinis sliced in half, then cut in 1/4 inches.
2 tablespoon olive oil poured over zucchini
Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste
Seasoning of your choice. I used a rosemary and garlic seasoning.

Set on grill and cook, turn and cook till browned on all sides.

I could not stop eating these as they cooked on the grill, I guess that is why I had to make a second batch.

I think I will get a larger grill basket at Shopko. This basket is small....a larger one would be good for adding maybe carrots, peppers and onions, broccoli, mushrooms, yum! Roasted vegies on the grill!

Time to close here....can you believe it is JUNE 1st???? My how time does fly!!! Have a great evening and keep looking up!
Cheers ~ Louise

Christmas and an Etsy Sale 2!!!!

Hi there everyone...hope your Christmas festivities are going well and you are getting all you want done. I just have a few more things to accomplish and then I can sit back and enjoy. As you see in my title I also had an Etsy Sale....wow that was neat surprise (does anyone still use that word?)

The lady wanted the cards for framing and Christmas giving....so it was important to get the cards out in a timely manner (gosh, the lines were long at the Post Office.) As it is, she will receive them on Monday....just in time for framing, I hope.

Here is Kylie....she is none too happy with me....I found the deer antlers in one of the Christmas boxes and put them on her....she sat there looking at me....like..."Please take this strange thing off me...Please!!!" Finally she shook them off and was happy again.

So here is my Christmas Village and Manger Scene. Didn't put the manger scene up last year, JP took over the space that the manger scene went....so with no place to go, it did not get put up last year. As you can see, this year I got the bright idea to put it under the Village....why did I not think of that space before????? 

"Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas tree." I had this tree already trimmed and lighted....but the top strand of lights burned out.....so I stripped it and bought some new lights and redecorated it.

Here it tis....all decorated....cute huh? Bought some new ornaments and the stringed beads were hidden downstairs for a couple of years....found them and strung them on the tree. See my little elf in the tree....he stays there most of the time.....I have heard of some elves getting themselves into a little bit of mischief during the Christmas season....this one has been good....so far.

I am done with all my food and gift buying. Don't have many to buy for. Sent Pops his gift of Chex Mix and a big candy bar. Also made a devils food cake and mixed pudding with it....gosh was that good. Gave a little muffin cake to the Schwan's man tonight...he was thrilled, said when he gets home that will be the first thing he eats. Another little muffin cake will go to the Pastor, plus it's his birthday too.

I made a really delicious soup last night....Zucchini Sausage Soup.
Here is the recipe with a few of my changes of course.
Start to finish - 30 minutes and makes 11 servings.
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage or pork sausage (add Italian seasonings)
2/3 cup chopped onion
5 cups of water
1 medium zucchini, spiralled or chopped
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 jar (14 oz.) pizza sauce (yes, pizza sauce....very good)
3/4 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 envelope au jus gravy mix (did not use)
1 Tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoon dried oregano
In a Dutch oven, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until the meat is not longer pink; drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pasta is tender. Dish up a bowl and top with mozzarella cheese.

Well time to close...hope you are having a good night and a great  Saturday!!! Hooray for Saturdays. Keep looking up!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

What's on the Agenda This Week????

Hi there everyone, hope you enjoyed your day. Today was a little chilly, in the 50's and cloudy with a little drizzle....the leaves are falling quickly. Burrrrr it's feeling like cold weather is upon us today. I'm thinking I should start bringing in my ceramic animals soon, so they don't freeze their petunias. Hahahaha!!

Roasting some vegies in the oven right now. This is an old picture, but you get my drift. On the cookie sheet tonight are green peppers, garlic, carrots, zucchini, broccoli and a few tomatoes seasonings are olive oil, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. I will roast the vegies till done, pour them into a pot of canned tomatoes and cook till tender and soft.

Next step will be to blend with my immersible blender. I might add a little wine to the pot and the rest of the spinach I have in the frig. The finished product will look like this below picture. I will be cooking up some ravioli for JP tonight, along with a salad and garlic bread. If there is any sauce left, I might freeze some and then use some for a pizza.  I noticed on www.mybizzykitchen.com she entered a contest, 1st place is $10,000. "Pizza My Way" Pizza contest by Sebastiani Vineyards.....all you do is make the sauce and crust, take a picture of the pizza and yourself, tell how you made the pizza and enter....Humm...may just try it...."one may never know unless that one tries"

Well, I just tested some roasted vegies and sprinkled a little Parmesan cheese on the vegies. Not bad, not bad at all.

The end of this week.....I think Chinese Dumplings or Potstickers will be on the agenda (hope I can get some in the freezer). I already have the napa cabbage in the fridge....hopefully the cabbage will last that long. If not...there is always some other dish I can make, like cabbage and tomatoes, that's always good.

Festival Foods has a sale on Chicken breasts and Beef Burgundy roasts this week. I found a really easy recipe, called "2-Ingredient Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken" for the crock pot. Chicken breast and BBQ sauce (homemade or bought) cook for 4 hours. The chicken will pull apart....okay I am in for that...anything easy. The beef burgundy roast sounds good too, using this same technique.

For a change in bread, I might try making Pita Bread. Never made Pita bread, but I suspect it will go well with the BBQ Chicken and roast beef.

What else is on the agenda for this week? Make a few cards of course. I found a really neat technique using alcohol inks and glossy cardstock. Should be fun to try it. I have a month to put together 50-75 cards for Hospice....so that should be on my agenda for the month of October.

Ordered some new stamps from Stampin-up. So I will be looking forward to receiving them in the mail. Also ordered a kit to make my own stamp....have been wanting to do something like that, so yes, I will be looking forward to receiving that in the mail also.

Time to close this blog...golly...only one more day left in September.....where oh where is 2014 going too??? Have a great day and keep looking up!!!! Cheers - Louise

A Doggie Doodle Day

A Doggie Doodle Day?????? What's that??? I don't know, just the first thing that popped into my mind for a title....probably not a very catchy theme but works pretty good with this picture though. Cute puppy huh?

Well, it is going to be in the 80-90's the next few days, uge, kind'a warm for me, my ankles swell up in this heat and are very uncomfortable. That's why I like it in the 60's and 70's there is not so much humidity. Guess I could not live in the southern states.......tooooooo warm!!

JP had a filling fall out this week. We have no Dental Insurance so JP was able to go to Tri-County Community Dental and got two fillings filled, x-rays taken and a sharp tooth filled down all for $20 co-pay. Now that was a blessing in disguise!!!

This is going to be a short blog today.........JP wants to go guitar shopping, so I have to get ready to go. Did alot of work outside yesterday, so now I am recuperating from all that work. Moved my front porch furniture around and dusted and sweep the floor. Cut my peonies and roses down and fertilized. Planted my zucchini plants........not sure I will have zucchinis this year, but I will try. We need lots of bees to pollinate and the bees have been sparse the last couple of years cause I have had NO large harvest of zucchinis.

Well I need to go get ready for our little excursion today, so you all take care and keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh.
Cheers to all - Louise