Merry Christmas 2014

 

Merry Christmas!  Mark and I spent a quiet Christmas at home...a perfect day!  Santa was very generous this year and brought me a new laptop!! 

 

This is the card I made for my mom...

 



 

This next card is a shaker card I made for my card making cyber twin, Amanda...

Lastly, I want to share what has become our annual Christmas dinner....Prime Rib.  As impressive as this steakhouse favorite is, it is an easy process to make at home...really! 

Recipe is from one of my all time faves, Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman.

PRIME RIB RECIPE

 

 

I asked the butcher at my local Tom Thumb grocery store for a prime rib roast....usually plan on 1 rib per serving.  Note that this is a mini version of the original recipe---I halved the rub recipe as ours was only a 2 lb prime rib roast! Because of this, I adjusted the cooking times a bit as well. To take dinner to the next level, broiled lobster tail was added to make our own version of surf and turf this year.  On a scale of 1-10, Mark gave it a 10!

Hoping you had a wonderful holiday with friends and family...

Thank you for sharing your minutes with me...

12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist Challenge 2014



Sponsored by Ellen Hutson

Though I have been paper crafting for almost 10 years now, I never participated in card challenges or blog hops prior to starting this blog.  You know what? I am finding them to be a lot of fun! LOL.

I was inspired by Day 7's Fashionista Tags by the uber talented Jill Foster!

Here is my tag....

 

The main image is a DeNami Designs stamp I have had forever and never inked!  She and her kitty cat (wearing his shades) are enjoying their ride over glittered snow!

A fun tag in sparkly girlie girl colors only befitting this fashionista!

Thank you for sharing your minutes with me....

Eileen

Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop Tag!

Well....I made a quick tag in an attempt to get Amy to her 300 blog hop posts goal! 

Don't look too closely because this is so fresh from my craft room that the glossy accents has not even dried completely LOL

The stamp is from Darcie's Cocoa Penguins set

See my first post in the blog (Marley Moose)....don't forget to comment and follow me for a chance to win some blog candy....a $15 Starbucks gift card!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your minutes with me...

Eileen

Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Happy Holidays!!!

Well....here I am....launching myself into the blogosphere.  I hope you like what you see!

First of all, a big thank you to our blog hop hostess with the mostest, Amy Tsuruta!  The blog hop starts with her!


Here is my card:

Inspired by the awesome Nichol Magouirk, this is my attempt at the shaker card!  The main image is Marley Moose from my friend Jen's stamp company, Reverse Confetti who, coincidentally, happens to be one of this blog hop's Super Sponsors!  The original image has Marley holding a present...I simply masked off that part of the stamp and treated Marley to a Venti Caramel Macchiato! 


Here is a detail shot:

The image is colored with Copics.  Background DP is from Carta Bella Bundled Up 6x6 paper pad. It is hard to see but his cup is paper pieced with silver mirrored cardstock as well as the green glitter sleeve.  My favorite part of any card is in the finishing details....LOVE me some Wink of Stella clear glitter pen, Glossy Accents, Signo white gel pen and those that know me know....my signature embellishment.... glitter!


Now for a little blog candy!  Become a FRIEND and follow me by clicking on the blue box above AND leave a comment below...be sure to include your email/contact info! Winner will be chosen by random drawing at the end of the hop on Sunday, December 14th.

$15 Starbucks gift card

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Lastly, here is a yummy recipe from insidebrucrewlife.com  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/58828338858392534/

Caramel and sea salt add a punch of flavor to a home brewed coffee

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Yield: 1 latte

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup milk 
• 2 TBSP caramel ice cream topping + extra
• 2 TBSP hot chocolate mix (Swiss Miss Dark Hot Chocolate) or substitute with chocolate syrup
• pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 cup strong coffee
• Cool Whip
• 1 tsp turbinado sugar
• 1 tsp sea salt

Mix together the turbinado sugar and sea salt. Set aside.

Heat the milk, 2 Tbsp. caramel, hot chocolate mix, and sea salt until it comes to a boil. Pour into a blender and pulse until frothy. Pour into a cup. Slowly pour the hot coffee into one side of the frothed milk. Top with Cool Whip. Drizzle with extra caramel topping. Sprinkle with the sugar/sea salt mixture. Makes 1 large YUMMY cup.

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Thank you for sharing your minutes with me....see you soon!

Eileen

Quickie Tortilla Soup

• 4 cans chicken broth
• 2 cubes of chicken with tomato bouillon (found in Hispanic food section of grocery store, I used the brand Knorr)
• 1 medium onion, cut in half
• 1 stalk of celery
• 2 carrots
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed

Place these ingredients in large pot, bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for about 15 min.  This step gives it that "has been simmering all day" yumminess.  Remove/strain the vegetables and add the following to the broth:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or 2 boneless chicken breasts), cut into chunks
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• Handful of cilantro leaves, rough chopped
• Jalapeno, cut in half and seeded  (optional/or may add more if you want more "heat")
• If you are a tortilla soup purist, your ingredient list stops here.  Otherwise, you can add your choice of vegetable(s):
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 zucchini, cubed
• 1/2-1 can hominy, drained
• Diced carrot
• 1/2-1 can black beans or pinto beans, drained

Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chicken/vegetables are done.

I like a soup with a lot of broth so I added corn and zucchini to mine...the more vegetables you add, the thicker your soup will be.


Now, don't skip the toppings...these are what take the soup to the next level!

• Avocado
• Tortilla strips (I cut up some stale corn tortillas and quickly fried them in olive oil until crisp)
• Cheese (I prefer mine without but shredded Monterey Jack or Queso fresco are good options)
• Fresh lime wedges

This recipe makes 4 generous servings. 

Hope you enjoy!

My first post....

This is a test.....

 

 

 

Homemade tortilla soup for dinner tonite!  Recipe to follow....