happy halloween...here have a turd.

yummy kitty litter cake.....enjoy a turd on me. happy halloween!

ps-yes it is really me and not a zombie. i am still alive and well, just been busy and with a lack of enthusiasm to blog. i will do a farmhouse update soon. i promise.

ricotta stuffed roma tomatoes

so yesterday was my first day back to work after having a seven year break! i wouldn't really call it a break since two children, hundreds of loads of laundry, hundreds of meals and so on were involved. anyway, i was pooped. i was also later than i thought, so i quickly made a pot of pasta, sauteed some chicken and made these little ruby gems. we are getting fresh roma tomatoes from the garden everyday, now, so what a delicious use of them. i had seen the original recipe on the pioneer woman long time ago, but this is my quickie version with what i had on hand.

beth's ricotta stuffed roma tomatoes

you need: roma tomatoes, ricotta cheese, salt, pepper, parsley, basil, garlic(fresh or dried), bread/cracker crumbs and olive oil

wash, split lengthwise the number of tomatoes you want. now clean the seeds out completely, i used a spoon. sprinkle a little kosher salt on the halves and lay cut side down on a paper towel to dry a bit. meanwhile heat your oven to 400F.

in a bowl, add approx one tablespoon of ricotta for every tomato half you have. to this add some kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. the following all ingredients would be even better if fresh: basil, italian parsley and garlic. i happened to have the parsley, so i chopped roughly a teaspoon fine, a hefty shake of both garlic powder and dried basil. if using fresh, i would say depending on the amount of filling, half to a whole garlic clove minced, but same amount of basil as to parsley. it really depends how much filling and tomatoes. taste it and decide what you need.

 now fill you halves, nice and packed. smooth off the tops.

now get some bread crumbs or in my case, ritz crackers. smash fine. dip each cheese packed side into the crumbs. place on a cookie sheet, hit with a smidge of olive oil and roast for 30 minutes.

yum, yum, yum.

oh, you could easily add some parmesan cheese to the filling or on top. yehaw.

enjoy.

caramelized onions

i love these things! they are so freaking easy to make and i could eat my weight in them. now, let me tell you, that would be a lot onions my friend. i made this batch for a specific recipe, but it just reminded how much i do adore them and how versatile they are. you need a little patience to make them, but they are well worth the effort. caramelized onions are divine on burgers, pizzas, soups, a hunk of bread, so many things. you just make a batch and keep them in the fridge, covered.

here is what ya do: beth's caramelized onions

heat a pan over medium with a couple of tablespoons of butter and a tablespoon of oil. it can be olive, canola, vegetable, your favorite. now evenly slice four medium to large onions, no more than four. you don't want to crowd the pan with too many onions or they will not caramelize properly. now sprinkle a tablespoon of dark brown sugar all over your sliced onions. here is where the patience comes, stir often over the next thirty minutes or so, making sure your heat is not too high and you are not burning them. they should become brown, but not black! turn the heat down. you might also have to go a bit longer than thirty minutes, but you can not rush those babies. once you feel they are done, sprinkle with some chunky salt and freshly ground pepper. cool or eat warm right from the pan! yum. enjoy.

cappuccino fudge

caroline loves fudge and i usually make a simple recipe using  a popular sweetened condensed milk, which is pretty much fool proof, but the other day i stumbled across annie's eats  and her recipe for cappuccino fudge.  i knew i had to give it a try. i am so glad i did. it is delicious. it is creamy, smooth with big coffee flavor. caroline gave it two thumbs up, well, as she was licking her fingers, they flew up in the air, so i counted them. go whip up a batch today. it makes a great breakfast treat, well, in my house anyway. enjoy.

my new favorite thing-trader joe's dark chocolate covered espresso beans

these are my new favorite thing, no obsession. they have become a lifesaver for me and my chocolate cravings. you only need two or three because they are potent and delicious. in order for me to not devour the entire container, i poured off half and mailed to tennessee to my girlfriend april. she is my fellow dark chocolate, coffee and weight loss buddy. gotta love the buddy system. i know she will. enjoy.

my new favorite thing

my new coin wristlet by joyce pleasant from her etsy shop, jp's accessories. i was introduced to joyce's handy work by my friend lauri. she owns several of jp's handbags. they are gorgeous and i was jealous. when lauri's birthday rolled around, i remembered those purses and looked up joyce's shop to see what else she offered. that birthday lauri got this wonderful little cosmetic bag. isn't it cute?
the next birthday she got this custom made wristlet. isn't even cuter?


then there is julie and her birthday. she dropped an ever so subtle hint that she would like a case for her ipod touch. hmmm, let's ask joyce, sure enough she came through making a quality case with ear bud storage. i mean, does it get any cuter than this?


yes, yes it does. now, it is my turn. i was wanting something to carry with me when walking. i originally thought of a custom fanny pack, but my fanny is so large and jiggly, that i didn't think it needed any more attention. all though i knew joyce would do a fab job i opted for a wristlet similar to lauri's. i convo'd(etsy talk for emailed) joyce, picked a material and got this in the mail a week later.
i love it!
i love the fabric, the color, and the size. joyce's love and care shines through in her craftsmanship. all pieces are heartily stitched and fully lined. you can tell she takes great pride in her work.


now the best part, i just ordered a purse! let me clarify something here. i am cheap. i own three purses that all over five years old and cost less than ten dollars each. this purse will be the most money i have ever spent on a pocketbook and still isn't that much. it is top quality and will be worth every penny. i am so excited. i found the fabric of my choice online, linked her, got a return email saying not a problem give her a week or so. how simple is that? i hope you will visit jp's accessories and browse her store. i think you will agree that her work is amazing.

gosh, the next week is going to drag by. i am so excited, again. below is my fabric. can you guess which one?


ps-it's called the funky chicken. i am also really digging the egg beater fabric that compliments it, too. hmmm........

elvis may be alive, but not my camera

i am going to have to buy a new camera. i wanted to share a pic of my new favorite thing, celestial seasonings madagscar vanilla red roobios tea, but my camera is dead. i mean dead as a door nail dead. there is a more probability of elvis being alive than my kodak. i guess i will pull the money out of my buttocks somehow and go camera shopping tomorrow.

anywho, let me tell you about this lovely, lovely tea. me and the kiddos attended a fantastic bird themed tea party yesterday hosted by one of my life long friends, miss lauri. she gives the most delightful teas, full of good food and fun. we were given a large selection of teas to choose from and this one just jumped off the tea menu because of my love of vanilla. wow, was it ever so good. it is a herbal tea just full of vanilla fragrance and flavor. it's like dessert in a cup. now miss lauri is quite the tea connoisseur, so i was figuring it must have come directly from madagscar, so imagine my delight when i found out i could buy it at the local market. i rushed right out today and picked up a box. i am enjoying a cup right now with a packet of splenda and a splash of 2% milk in my elvis mug. i think it pairs lovely with my peanut butter and banana sandwich, just kidding. it is a cucumber sandwich, although i bet a pb&b would be tasty. thank you, thank you very much. enjoy!

this little piggie

i wanted to share with you another favorite thing of mine, my salt pig. a salt pig is simply a variation of a salt cellar, a container to store salt. why call it a pig? usually, it has a large wide opening that looks like the snout of a pig. my salt pig, a gift, has a large oval shaped opening resembling a big ole mouth. i have often wondered if there was a underlying message there.

if you are a food network fan, you often see alton brown reaching for this salt server , but I think this one is way cuter. soooo-iee!

favorite thangs

do you have a favorite thang or thangs? i am sure you do. i have a few that make me happy, so i thought i would share with you folks. now, don't get too excited, the first is pretty simple, but it gets the job done. i have used it a great deal lately, just a few minutes ago in fact, which inspired this post. i have seen its fancy electric cousin on tv, but i like my hand powered one just fine. the barefoot contessa uses her fancy new fangled version all the time(actually, jeffrey's wife is a favorite thang of mine, too). also, my old buddy was used by one of the greatest cooks i ever knew, my grandma viola. that woman could use bacon grease in more ways than you could ever imagine. plus, she was the only person i know who would open the carton and slice her icecream. you would have to punch the center of the slice of "all three kinds" with your spoon to make it fit in the bowl or just let it straddle the rim and go for it. anyway, say hello to my little friend........... my glass fruit juicer. i heart you.