Cleaning Out the Art Studio and Ringing in the New Year 2012!

Cleaning out the Art Studio today. That sounds so funny what makes it a studio?  It's a spare room that I turned into a work space to be creative, so that's what makes it a studio, he he.  I sent my husband to Home Depot today, to make me a table for my studio.

When he came home he was leaning in the back door in pain.  I said, what is wrong?  He said, "I am in so much pain, groan!"  I said, what happened?  He said, "I dropped a very thick and heavy piece of wood on my big toe while I was in Home Depot."  I said, "do you want to go to the hospital?" "No" he said, "not on New Year's Eve."  So what did he do? He took to Advil and had a Beer. I still think he needs to go to the hospital.  I think that is where I will be tomorrow.

My sister came over today and made the most wonderful Collard Greens, to ring in the New Year!  We also, had Black Eyed Peas, Jasmin Rice with lots of veggies cooked inside the rice, Corn Bread with bits of corn cooked inside, Grilled Barbeque Chicken and Pork.  The best part of this meal was the Collards. Being from the South this is what true Southerns have on New Years Eve and Day.  Happy New Year everyone, I hope it's a great one for all!

Breakfast is Gouda Cheese Omelet

Breakfast this morning is a Gouda Cheese Omelet covered in fresh Salsa..  Oh how this speaks to my soul.  I love flat thin omelets, don't even try to give me a big fluffy omelet! The way I made this is I used a stainless steel frying pan.  I know, it took me many years to master this small feat of cooking eggs in a stainless steel pan without them sticking to the pan.  I have had many deformed omelets in my life time.  It's all in the heat and amount of butter or oil you use.  I put no cream or milk in my eggs, I know some of you are saying what the heck?  But trust me you don't need it, that is if you like your omelet thin and skinny like your body., well not like my body.  Something has got to be skinny in my life, it might as well be my omelet.  Scramble two eggs until bubbles appear, then stop!  Turn your burner on medium to high heat, place pan on top of heat, make sure your pan gets good and hot but not smoking hot.  This is where the fine line comes in to getting your pan to the right temperature.  Now make sure your pan is a good size, so you give your omelet room to spread,.  You know how it is when people crowd you, well that is how your omelet feels, give us room people!  Once the the pan is heated add the butter swirl it all around in the pan to coat the whole inside of the pan, poor in your scrambled eggs.

Keep an eye on the temperature of  your pan, making sure that you are not over heating your pan and that omelet is not browning, turn it down if you think it is cooking to fast.  Don't touch the omelet until the bottom of the eggs are set.  Now this is where I use the flat edge to my spatula and scrap the raw egg in the middle to the edge of the omelet so that will cook too.  Once the edges are pretty much set I take a slice of Gouda Cheese and tear it into three pieces and place it on on side of the omelet. This Gouda Cheese comes in slices in the cheese section of the grocery store.  I then fold one half of the egg over the other half.  You can add more cheese if you are a cheesy kind of person.  You can also, fold your egg like the French do and fold  1/3 over one 1/3 and then again, I don't bother with this.  The omelet should just slide out of the pan, if you have mastered these steps.  Practice, practice, practice, don't give up!  I then put fresh salsa on top and dive right in, well right after I take a picture.  One of my favorite fresh pre-made salsa's if La Mexicana Medium Salsa, you can find it at Publix's or Ingles Grocery store in the produce section.  I have tried others and I did not like them as much as this brand, or you can make it from scratch.  Make sure you get the medium heat, it's mild enough yet you get a little kick to your day!  I hope I helped you make your next omelet, good luck!

Hot Coco to warm your soul

Nothing better than some of my Hot Coco to warm your soul.  I also, made some chocolate and vanilla cake pops to go along with some chocolate dipped spoons to stir in your coffee or chocolate.

My Homemade Christmas Cards for 2011

I made 42 of these homemade Christmas Cards.  I prayed that God would inspire me to create a card that I could bless others and him with. This was the design that unfolded and I started working on these in September and did not finish until the first week of December. Lot's of detail went into these cards, hand stamped, colored, glittered and lots of layers. I used clear rubber stamps, my Cricut Machine, Big Shot Machine, dollies, glitter, Martha Stewart Snow Flake Punch, Stamping Up paper and stamps, Martha Stewart Snow Flake Stamps, embellishments, scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby, ribbon from Micheal's Craft Store, Copic Markers and lots of love.  I'm not sure next years card will be so intricate.  I also decided to pick 4 of my high school friends from Facebook to give these cards to, that I normally don't interact with except on Facebook and I loved doing that and I will do this again. If you click on any one of my pictures you can see it up close. If I did not give you one I am sorry, I would not want to hurt you.  This also cost me a $1.71 to mail each card because of the weight of the card.  The furthest I mailed a card to was the Netherlands, to my crafty friend Corey.  Corey's cost more to mail of course.  I hope you like it as much as I do as you can see this cards  4 sections to it; first it lays flat, then you open the first page that say's Christ is Born and right across from that I wrote my notes to my friends; then you flip it again to that white plain paper and across from that is the little stamp that reads May the true spirit of Christmas fill your heart with peace and your home with love and finally that plain white part and the front of the card is tucked behind that last stamp I just mentioned and it stands up all on it's own.  Neat huh!

December 29, 2011 Breakfast On A Chilly Morning

I see some snowmen are checking out my breakfast, look they are talking about it, I've got to hurry with this breakfast before it gets out of hand.  Have I told you how much I love eggs?  Not just any eggs, but organic cage free eggs.  I am trying to convince my husband to build me a Chicken Coop and to purchase some hens, hopefully this spring this will happen.  Anyways, I am rambling again, I made these over easy eggs, just cooked enough where the whites are firm and defiantly not runny and the yokes are runny very runny so they seep onto my home fries.  I used my leftover baked potatoes from last nights dinner and cut them up and seasoned them with a steak seasoning, onion powder and Sea Salt and pan fried them until they turned this crispy brown on the outside.  I also toasted an English muffin to dip into that bright yellow yoke, oh so yummy!  My husband made me the most perfect cup of coffee this morning, now I am ready to face the day, bring it on!  Okay, I am going in, in my art studio that is and yes, a catch all room.  I might even be brave enough to show you a before and after picture, it's very scary!  This happens every year and every year I pull up my girly pants and get brave and dive right in.  I have to pull everything out, lay it out in another room and go through everything, it's not for the faint of heart, it's a big deal, a big job, well you know what I mean, it’s huge!  If you click on any of my pics you can see the pictures up close.

Chocolate Chip Cookies makes everything better.

All the relatives are gone so it is safe to bake these Chocolate Chip Cookies they are so warm and the milk is icy cold.  I made the cookie dough last week and kept it in the fridge for this most perfect moment.  All is well in the world, peace and goodwill to all and to all a goodnight.

December 28, 2011 and a very hot mug of homemade Coco

My house stays very cold inside, so I started a fire in the fireplace and enjoyed a cup of my homemade Hot Coco. I received some gift cards for Christmas so I went shopping at Kohl's and Micheal's today. I got most of my things for the treat bags that I make for my kids, for next Christmas. I also got some new earring's and a few other things at Kohl's. I am making Seasoned Cube Steak for dinner with bake potatoes and salad. I hope to have a picture for you a little bit later.