Etsy shop love...

Sweet Stella is a delightfully fun birdie who would love to perch around your neck. Shaped out of clay and painted with bright, beautiful colors, with silver legs and a branch to perch on. The pendant is just right at 1-1/4" tall. The silver background is about 3/4" wide, but Stella is 1-1/8" from beak to tail. She swings on a sterling 16" triple-rope chain. To view more of Stella’s friends click here…

Frances ;o)

GREEK PASTA SALAD WITH FETA AND CHICKEN

Try this refreshing salad any night of the week, and the leftovers make a great lunch!

Ingredients

12 ounces ditalini or other pasta
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and ground black pepper
2 cups cooked cubed chicken (about 1 pound)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions.
In a small bowl, whisk together broth, oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Add diced chicken, green pepper, and mint.
Drain pasta and add to bowl with dressing and chicken. Toss to combine. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve. Top with feta cheese just before serving.

For this and other Robin Miller recipes visit Food Network.

Frances ;o)

Etsy shop love...

Lemon Tree Studio, is the perfect place to find all sorts of tags stickers and tags that will add whimsy to all your gift packages. You can go to her shop here or check out her blog its full of great stuff http://mylilyeden.blogspot.com/.

Frances ;o)

Try these great drinks at you next party!

Strawberry White Wine Sangria

You can prepare this drink the night before a big party or special occasion so the flavors have plenty of time to marry. After you've poured the last drop of sangria, reserve the wine-soaked strawberries and serve them with fresh whipped cream for dessert. Two treats from one recipe! Serving: 8

Ingredients:
2 pints fresh strawberries, washed and stemmed

2 750 ml. bottles dry white wine, chilled

1/2 cup sugar

3 cups soda water, chilled

Directions

Combine strawberries, wine and sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate mixture overnight. When ready to serve, add soda water to strawberry mixture and pour into ice-filled glasses.

Frozen Cherry Tomato Bloody Mary’s

This ice-cold cocktail is always a winner -- until the ice melts and dilutes the drink. You can solve the problem by freezing cherry tomatoes and using them instead of ice cubes. The drink stays chilled, and the tomatoes intensify the zesty flavor. Serving: 4 to 6

Ingredients

· 3 pints cherry tomatoes
· 2 cups tomato juice
· 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
· 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
· 1 teaspoon celery seed
· 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (1 large lime)
· 2 tablespoons pickled jalapenos
· 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
· 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
· 1 cup chilled vodka (optional)

Garnish options

· 6 baby carrots, cleaned and trimmed
· 6 radishes, trimmed, with leafy parts intact
· 6 cherry tomatoes
· 6 celery stalks
· 6 asparagus stalks, blanched for 2 minutes
· 6 jumbo shrimp, boiled and peeled
· 6 lime wedges

Directions:

Stem the cherry tomatoes, rinse in cold water and return to the rigid plastic container or net sack they came in (if purchased from a market). Freeze for at least 3 hours and up to 4 days.

In a large container, combine 2 pints of the frozen tomatoes with the tomato juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, celery seed, lime juice, jalapenos, salt and pepper. In several batches, pulse in a blender, just until chunky. Divide the remaining frozen tomatoes among glass tumblers, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of vodka to each, if desired, and fill each with 1 cup of the Bloody Mary mixture; garnish with any of the assorted garnishes.

Frances ;o)

Rainy-day ideas...

Family Fun . com has some great rainy ideas check them out... For lots of fun filled hours with these rainy-day activities. Whether your kids are outside puddle-hopping or inside keeping warm and cozy, you'll find craft ideas they're sure to love.

Bean Mosaics

Chopstick Hair Ornaments

Custom Stickers

Dangly Doorway Decor

Funny Faces

Puddle Boat

Rain Painting

Stencil a Spring Umbrella

Water Painting

Frances ;0)

Etsy shop love...

Magpiedesignz makes great mommy jewelry, inspirational necklaces that you can stamp with your favorite phrase or word. There jewelry is custom and personalized to fit any style! They individually hand stamp each letter, which makes each piece unique and give the pieces distinction and charm. If you want a complete custom, unique and personal gift for yourself or anyone else, this is the jewelry for you. To check out more click here and go to magpiedesignz’s shop.

Frances ;o)

Come visit us at the Florida Super Con

June 5-7

The Doubletree Miami Mart Airport Convention Center

For more info click here

M&L

PASTA WITH TOMATO AND PEAS

Supper yummy Pasta w/ Tomato and Peas

This would make a great fast & light Dinner any night of the week. click here to go to Food network and get more recipes from Giada De Laurentiis.

Ingredients
1 pound linguine
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup grated Romano

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 2 cups of the pasta water.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, carrots, salt, and pepper. Cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water. Stir to melt the tomato paste and create a sauce, adding more pasta water if necessary. Stir in the oregano, thyme, and parsley. Gently fold in the cooked pasta, peas, and the cheeses, adding more reserved pasta water if necessary. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately.



Frances ;o)

Etsy shop love...

Send your Mom (or Dad) some handmade love. Glademade’s card has an adorable baby octopus is loving it's mother(or father) in the bright water, and says "I love U" inside on a white thought bubble. The cut paper design was stitched on red cardstock. Its supper cute! To check it out or more like it you can go here to her shop.

Frances ;o)

Mothers Day tips and Ideas...

Make Mom feel special on Mother's Day; show her you think she's the best! For some great recipes and crafts you can do with the kiddies go here to family fun.com. they even have some printable cards!

You can get Mother's Day Brunches ideas fit for a Queen like:

Cinnamon-Apple Pancake

Deviled Egg Boats

Egg in a Nest

Egg Pinwheels

French Toast Waffles

Royal Ham and Eggs

Frances ;o)

SUPER NACHOS

Celebrate Cinco de mayo by making theses yummy Nachos!

Here is the entire recipe or you can visit food network and get the recipe from Rachel Ray and check out more Cinco de Mayo Favorites!

Ingredients

2 bags of corn tortilla chips in 2 colors or different flavors, such as blue corn, red corn, yellow corn, lime flavored, chili flavored or black bean chips -- pick 2 favorites

Pico de Gallo Salsa:

4 vine ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped, for medium to hot heat level
1 small white onion, chopped
1/4 cup, 2 handfuls, cilantro leaves, finely chopped -- substitute parsley if cilantro is not to your liking
Salt

Beef and Beans Topping:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground sirloin
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dark chili powder
1 1/2 ground cumin, half a palmful
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper sauce, giving you medium to hot heat level
1 can black beans, 15 ounces, drained

Cheese Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
3/4 pound pepper jack cheese, shredded, about 2 1/2 cups

Additional toppings to choose from, optional:

Sour cream
Chopped scallions
Chopped black olives
Diced pimento
Sliced avocado, dressed with lemon juice
Hot pepper sauces

Directions

Arrange a mixture of 2 varieties of corn chips on a very large platter or use your broiler pan as a platter.
Combine salsa ingredients in a bowl and set aside for flavors to marry. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, onion and peppers to the pan and saute 2 minutes, then add meat and crumble with wooden spoon. Season meat with salt, chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper sauce. Cook meat 5 minutes, then stir in beans and reduce heat to low. In a medium sauce pot, melt butter and add flour to it. Cook flour and butter 1 to 2 minutes over moderate heat, then whisk in milk. When milk comes to a bubble, stir in cheese with a wooden spoon. Remove cheese sauce from the heat.
Pour cheese sauce evenly over the massive spread of chips and top evenly with beef and beans and the pico de gallo. SUPER NACHOS! Serve immediately as is or, garnish with your choice of extra toppings from the toppings list.


Frances ;o)

Happy 5 de Mayo!!!

Rember to drink responsibly!

M&L ;o)