Tasty Dish Low Carb

Well,   this is absolutely the   simplest and sweetest  lunch or dinner item I have ever  made and  it  is so delicious, I had to  show and tell about it...    not only that   but my  biologist daugther will be very proud of me....
Ok,  I   hate to admit it, but  my  sugar  has   hit the limit and  Im no loner  pre-diabetic.....   on  a pill now and I   refuse to   be on it long!  So  I am   making a dramatic   change in my  life  and  eating patterns and habits
When I saw this  item on Facebook last night I thought  "umm, that looks much tastier  than the meal I was planning  for   today...and it   was  so much easier and hardly any clean-up!"

Slice the zucchini in half. Slice off the bottom to keep in stable. Brush with olive oil and top with garlic or garlic powder. Top with sliced tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Use mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese or mixed blend..   Take a slice of bacon  and   cut  only the lean  bit   out and   dot the bacon pieces  on each   strip.Bake 375 for 20 to 30 minutes until soft...  

Because I have had hardly a single carb today I splurged and counted out  12  of the very best   fritoes we had....   at  under 20 carbs  that  was  a pretty   tasty  side dish!  hahahaha

These    strips   were   delish.... the only comment  my hubby offered  besides,,    "do we have  extras?"...   was   "next time  add more  cheese!"....  Not a bad  suggestion!!!!
 Oh, ok,   progress report.   in  15 days, Ive lost   7 pounds....   That pleases me!
Simple and Sweet Fridays

Show and Tell Friday

Check

Now    it must be understood   that  the week  Lynn  retired    in 2011,  I    had   major surgery....  it wasnt  3 weeks later  that my mom fell  and   my parents went into assisted living and their home   became our major focus to  work on  in preparation for   selling....   going through everything, the estate sale and the   major overhaul of the  house...  Needless to say,   my honey do list for Lynn in retirement   went b y the wayside..

Until  just  the last  few weeks....

One of our   first  items  was to  carpet  the stairs....  originally we had   wanted to   have   Karastan wool carpet.. but  that would have been  great  if it  could have happend  years ago....   but we truly  dont know how much longer we will live here so  we  decided  on   just  some  nice carpeting.

The stairs   in their  gorgeous  refinished state  are  lovely,   but that  whole  area seemed dark...

 So Lynn  started the  several   coats of  painting.. looking better already.....

 This morning   the stairs were  completed   and  I  love  going up and down!

 One project down.....   I dont want to get depressed  thinking of how many are left!   

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Home and Garden Thursday

Home Sweet Home 

Simple and Sweet Fridays

Show and Tell Friday

Metamphosis Monday

Spring Imagined

Ok, so yesterday we were surprised with    a much colder day which  brought snow instead of the forecast rain.... 

  but today, the temps  are rising.. the snow is melting,  and  I, in my   spring wannabe mood,  am  devising   various and  sundry   plans for   a renewed  emphasis on   the  revitalization   that  comes this time of year... 

One's inspiration  can  come  from   anything in blogland, and  this morning  it is  my computer  tabletop...

 by the way, I  adore   sheep, and every kind of lambkin!

Especially,  since  my first  lambie of this collection was sent to me  from my dear friend in  the Highlands, Brora,  Sutherland, to be  exact,    which is   a  wee   village on the  North Sea  of  Scotland..

   

My friend, 

Stacy and her husband,  raise sheep,  and     I   always enjoyed  her stories  about her  favorite   lambkin,  Rosebud!

  So when she sent me   my own   lambie....  I named  it Rosebud as well....   

Rosebud,on the left,  has been joined  now  by  Fluff and  Dogwood.. yes,  lambkins are my weakness...  I  even have them around the house downstairs...  of  course,  the anglophile in  me   longs  for the   English countryside  dotted with     grazing  sheep!..

So  I create  my own  meadowlands around the house

I can  hear  their  sweet bleating now.. this is the lambing season, you know.... 

I imagine   craggy hillsides

and  so I place a few  sheep here and there...

Then sometimes I  imagine a flock

 and I realize that  I must  temper  my   imaginings...  or Id be overrun....   I'll save that for my  dream trip to the Highlands!

meanwhile,   the snow continues to melt.. and  aha....  a harbinger of spring  forces its way   forward.....  renewal is   coming at last....  I  can  put my imaginings away, and  really  focus on spring now!!!

Home Sweet @ The Charm of Home

Be Inspired@ Common Ground

Simple and Sweet Fridays @ Rooted in Thyme

Merry Christmas from our Home to Your's

  I'm  joining the   party  at   Rooted in Thyme   to share  about   our Christmas..

 On the night before Christmas all was a lit

and  all was   merry  as   Lynn  chanced to sit

   at the table,  bright

finishing the gifts for

one and all!

The morning of Christmas dawned  dark  but cheer

as  I hurried downstairs to   set about  my chores..

I could barely wait until I heard  feet  coming down the

stairs

 Our Christmas brunch  menu  was a waiting   the cooks....

Amanda,    our cranberry scone baker ,  hadnt arisen from her sleep...

 So I hurriedly  worked on the brandied fruit  so the flavors would have time to steep.

 It was  grand  when at last  the children  were up

 Time to  get the quiche in the pan

set the table  with    English Crackers and punch

 A festive morning in store for our wonderful  bunch!!!

 The English crackers revealed crowns for each one

 My crown was gold, lovely to behold..

 Queen Mother  wore her's the whole day long,

while dad donned his Santa''s cap  to  entertain our throng!

 Princess Amanda  played a set of carols as  we sang in our hearts the  tunes of the season

Prince Joshua  reclined in his repose, an article in hand  as his reason.. 

while  gifts awaited to be opened...  

 but that is  personal   let's just say  with  delight,, 

 everyone  was  very  happy that night!!!

Butternut Squash Soup

  IM  joining the   party  at   Rooted in Thyme   and   sharing something  that   was  amazingly simple and  simply divine as well!
   I  was  captivated  by the most lovely  butternut squash this week at the  market   so I   thought I'd   try my hand at   some butternut squash soup...

 Peeling and     cubing  it  weren't exactly   that  simple   but  was   short  shrift  with my new Cutco  knives  Lynn got for my  birthday!!! 

Recipe - Ingredients!

6 tablespoons chopped onion
4 tablespoons butter
6 c peeled cubed butternut squash3 cups of water
4 cubes chicken bouillon
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayene pepper1- 6oz tub of cream cheese

Directions
In a large saucepan, saute onions in
butter until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, , black
pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20
minutes or until squash is tender. I dipped the veggies
out of the pan into the blender with a large spoon
with a bit of the liquid but not all.
Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food
processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan,
and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

More Blue Mood Realized

                                                            

Kathy at the Delightsome Life  hosts this special theme each w eek...  this week  the  topic is  home decor but   I  must deviate just a bit because since this is my birthday month,  I have treated myself  just a little..  I  couldnt pass up stopping in at the consignment shop and yayayaya I did a bit of thrifting... which is  unusual for me and I cant wait til  another week to share about it!!

I  have been in a blue mood lately....  I'll blame it on the  hot  stormy weather! I have heretofore  been able to pass right by  blue transferware, but today it was    grabbing me!

At first it was just these 2 cereal bowls, by Royal Stafford...

  
but at 3 dollars each, they were such a steal... I thought, |"well, they would look  super  mixed in with my red  transferware... just for fun!
Then right around the corner...   there  they were!!

Six plates for $12.00....  I was hooked now on  blue's!!!
  My mind was  swirling where am I going to put these....   but  who could turn them down,...  I looked up online and  saw     1 plate for $26.00....
  Then I remembered  Amanda will be  here next week...   and how sweet to have a whole new look  just for her  first breakfast with us!!!!  YES!!! I was convinced!
Then I  found  these!

Not  any  pattern in particular    made in China  but for  5 dollars  they   look pretty  nice with  this  find  that I  also  love!!!

Johnson Brothers  Thanksgiving  Frozen Up  pattern.. so  to present a bit of  home decor   I  have  a new  montage on my plate hanger  which is setting  a mood for my  new blue     mood  I am creating! HAHA!

Last but not least  I  visited my friends  booth,  Buttons and Bows, and  found  these  wonderful  items!!!

  I  was sold on them when I read the label...

Real English Ironstone Wm. Adams and Sons  England

13 pieces for 42 dollars....   Id say,   that  was  nice   shopping trip!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

  And now I get to play with them!
You'll be the first to see what I come up with!

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