Choice Morsels

Today, Hubby cleared all the pine needles off the roof mostly to keep the gutters clear, in case we get any rain from this tropical storm brewing Southeast of us. He also polished off the mowing. We may not get any rain, but such storms are large and it's possible an outer-most band might drop a little rain our way. Best to be ready. Also we have our annual termite inspection tomorrow, so I was cleaning up around the edges of the house. Today's Garden Pic is a some Garden Art: It's actually an old wind-chime a neighbor gave me before they moved away several years ago. It was originally all rusted. I happened to have pink spray paint on hand, so that's what I painted with, then brushed it off a little. It used to hang on a tree branch, but that tree is gone, so I randomly set it here against the base of this pine until I decided what to do with it. Then I realized was perfect for this spot, since it blends in nicely with the red block walls on either side. Anyone

  This was a Pinterest recipe I found that looked good and sounded good that I tested for dinner tonight. The technique worked fine, seasoning was good, but it tasted a little dry --like it needed something to make it creamier and more gooey-savory on the inside! I think it needs at least a 1/2 cup of Sour Cream added to the chicken mix plus another 1/2 cup of Cheese!  Hubby said it needs to be served with rice for more substance and needs something to give the Chimichangas a tad of sweetness--perhaps a teaspoon of sugar or sweetner. So, here's the recipe with those *recommendations added in: Baked Chicken Chimichangas Ingredients: 2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded 1 cup of your favorite Salsa * plus 1 teaspoon Splenda or sugar stirred in 1 teaspoon ground Cumin 1/2 teaspoon Oregano  * 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or Mexican Cheese  * 1/2 cup Sour Cream (lite or reg) 1/4 cup diced green onion 6  (8 inch) flour Tortillas 2 Tablespoons butter,

The Mama Kat prompt for today is, "share a post inspired by your childhood neighborhood." I grew up in Indiana, way out in the country. This forest photo is what my back yard looked like. And across the road. And pretty much my whole neighborhood.  Our house sat off a State Road in a cleared top corner of 22 acres of heavily forested valley with a creek. That road ran past our house, down a moderately steep hill into a valley, across the bottom, then up the other side. If you kept going west, the land gradually flattened out into cornfields and cattle farms, but where we lived and east, was nothing but rolling hills. The area was sparsely settled with either people already retired or by families with Dad's willing to make the 88 mile round-trip commute to Indianapolis to work. Aside from a small corner grocery that had a cafe and a volunteer fire station, there just was very little around. For years and years, the only thing across the road from my hous

I was going to do some mowing today---but when I was ready to do so after lunch, it rained. Instead, I worked on some beading projects. I have several necklaces which have broken and needed repairing. (a total of 4)  I also made an entirely new necklace of in shades of teal, blue & lavender stones. Today's Garden Pics: First, my gorgeous Echeveria/Hen & Chicks Succulents in front my bed that are blooming right now. That big one on the side of the strawberry pot is at least 6 inches! It's funny how I came to have them. Many years ago, my neighbor next door decided to "dispose" of a couple of her rosettes by randomly tossing them over the fence into my yard and I found them on the ground. Needless to say, I planted them and here we are today. Weird, but true. Next:  A nice shot of my White Pampas Grass blooms captured in late day sun! This particular one against the neighbors fence in my back yard. All my Pampas has bloomed beautifully this ye

Home made Chocolate Lava Cake! What could better? And in a slow-cooker, too! I tried this recipe on Sunday. It's a Pinterest recipe that easy and yummy. The original link goes to a Buzzfeed Tasty video on how to make it here , if you'd like to watch it. The recipe is okay as is, but I think it could greatly benefit form some slight improvements:  I'd like a bit more juiciness in the chocolate "Lava," so I recommend adding a bit more milk to the instant pudding mix--1/4 cup at least, as a start. Maybe as much as 1/2 cup, but I'd try the lesser amount first. I say it needs a bit more saucy "Lava" because "baking" in a slow-cooker makes for a drier cake texture and it really needs plenty of chocolate lava sauce! Also, I think the over-all flavor of the chocolate cake could be greatly enriched by the addition of 1 teaspoon of instant coffee and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon added to the cake. Even if you don't want the coffee, Cinnamon e

The challenge today was to, "share a memorable dream. " The challenge with dreams is remembering them. They are like wisps of fairy feathers in fog that slip away in the light of morning.  Even so, I've had a couple memorable dreams this week that I recall well enough to share: In one I was responsible for getting 4 children costumed and prepared for some kind of stage presentation. I only had a couple hours to do it in. I drew out a rough sketch of the 4 kids as I pictured they should be costumed with what might be found at like a Goodwill store. Then I sent them off, with  parents I suppose, to acquire such clothing. Then when they came back I was going to give them pink index cards with whatever they were going to need to say written out. The kids were all boys I think. One was short & small, one was round & plump, one was tall & skinny and one average.  The funny thing is, it's not like that sort of situation has anything to do with my real life

Did you know you can make a lovely vased table arrangement just with pretty fresh  Basil stems? Yes! Basil has purple flowers, so it looks lovely in a vase! It also fills the house with it's spicy fragrance!  If you have several varieties growing in pots or garden, like I do, you can mix them. This vase has a mix of Purple, Thai & Cinnamon Basil plus an interesting Greek Oregano seed stalk!  Plus snipping the Basil helps promote more fresh growth! And if I need a few leaves, I just snip a few right from the vase! My table arrangement of fresh Basil I also today photographed a strikingly lovely Female Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly! She posed on a Day Lily leaf in my rain garden. She is not a mature size yet. Males are powder blue in color, so easy to tell apart. Dragonflies are garden-friends as they eat other insects, including mosquitoes & flies. That's it for today! Stop back to see what's up for Mama Kat tomorrow!

This Pinterest recipe for Caprese Garlic Bread is what I'm going to try for lunch tomorrow! However, I'll only be making for one. Just one slice of bread. Probably not in the oven. I personally would rather have the tomatoes heated with the cheese and I'm not going to do a reduction on the vinegar. I may just use a tiny drizzle straight. *** I actually took this recipe to the next level when I tried it: I turned it into a Caprese Garlic Bread Bacon Sandwich!   I mixed butter & minced garlic, slathered two slices of Artisan bread, layered on a slice of fresh mozzarella, a slice of tomato, 3 half-slices of cooked bacon, snipped fresh basil over the top, drizzled a teaspoon of Balsamic Vinegar over it, topped it with the other slice of bread and microwaved it for a minute to heat everything and melt the cheese. Oh. My. Gosh. It was sooooo good!   The Balsamic vinegar actually  gives it a nice touch! So, here's the original recipe for open-face Caprese Garlic Bread,

The Mama Kat prompt for today is, "9 Things I'd Rather Be Doing." A spring view of my back rain garden from a couple years ago--though water hasn't pooled in it this week. It's been raining off and on fairly steady these past 4 days and I've been stuck in the house when I have a million things to do outside! Well, at least 9. #1)  Mowing. The grass is going wild. #2)  Hedging. The Gardenia's out front & Japanese privets on north side of the house still need trimming up. #3)  Clean up along house foundation. It's termite inspection month & I like to clean up the pine-needles & leaves away from the foundation before hand. #4)  Start flower & pepper seeds indoors for fall planting. (The rain isn't stopping me from doing that!) #5)  Tie up the Climbing Rose. It's long arms are dangling out every which way. It's thorny, so not my fav task, which is why I've put it off so long. #6)  Trim up aroun

It's been raining moderately off and on most of this week. The grass is going wild. I was able to work outside late in the afternoon on Monday and got some maintenance work on the back rain garden done. The Chocolate Elephant Ears needed dividing and spreading. I edged up the grass on the outside with a shovel and added pea gravel along that outer edge and inside the rain garden where I'd moved those Elephant Ears. I plan on reorganizing it a bit in the fall by moving my Louisiana Iris into the middle and ordering more Rain Lily  bulbs in Nov. for spring planting. I'd like to see the rain garden burst into bloom all across the front after every good rain! Today's Garden Pic is a nice shot of a pink volunteer Zinnia that randomly sprang up from self-seeding!   It's the lovely deeply layered style I like: Stop back tomorrow to see what I do for Thursday!

Ever buy those little recipe booklets at the grocery store? Sometimes they're recipes for quick meals or cakes or that sort of thing. That's where today's recipe comes from. One of those little recipe booklets from the grocery store: a collection of Slow Cooker recipes by Betty Crocker. Of the recipes I've tried from it, this one is, by far, the BEST! It makes a large quantity of Mexican-flavored, cheesy-goodness! I'll give you the base recipe, but you can make yours more spicy by choosing hotter Salsa or Taco seasoning or add minced onions & chopped green peppers to the meat when browning it and so on. The photo is a batch of Tex Mex Lasagna in my own slow cooker I made this past Sunday. (I had 2 odd lasagna noodles left over I just plopped on top, I think working them into the layers would be better.) Tex Mex Lasagna Ingredients 1 lb lean (at least 80% ) ground beef (or ground turkey or chicken) 1 can (15oz) Pinto beans, drained & rinsed 1 p

Today's Mama Kat challenge was to write a blog post in exactly 8 lines, so I did a free-style sort of poem about coffee plus this hilarious Pinterest photo: The coffee pot  burbles, then beeps it's done I pour, add sweet and creamer then take a sip...ahhh. What would you write about in 8 lines? Thanks for Visiting!

Two great outdoor type things today: * I finally got to use the new Black & Decker hedge-trimmer on my various Azalea shrubs in the back yard! Up to now, I've just hand sheers, but 11 Azaleas & 3 Gardenias is just too much hedging to keep up with by hand in this heat. Hubby came home to find me cutting away on the Azaleas. He laughed because he said I looked so happy and excited,  my eyes were sparkling. I felt like Tim the Tool Man with a new Power Tool! *The other great thing is I have Black Swallowtail Caterpillars on my Rue! I'm so excited! (Rue is a blue-green herb shrub that certain Swallowtail butterflies enjoy.) I was hoping a Giant Swallowtail would grace it with their young--that's why I planted it. They're supposed to love it. But, hey, I love any butterfly caterpillar! Today's Garden Pic is a Pink Rain Lily! These are a fun flower for any spot where water might stand after a rain! They're a little like a very small magic lily.

It's August! Lots of dog days of heat left for us here in Florida! My Good Eating blog posts serve as kind of a "recipe box" for me. I often use them as references for all my favorites! So, the other day when I decided to make Broccoli Raisin Salad I was surprised to discover I've never posted it! Nor do I remember where I wrote it down. I had to make it from memory, though my memory is pretty good. If you're tired of the "usual lettuce" salad, Broccoli Raisin Salad makes a great change of pace! It's fantastic for pitch-in meals and a great way to use all that broccoli growing in your garden! It just calls for fresh broccoli, raisins, bacon bits, chopped walnuts & mandarin oranges! Though I don't usually care for uncooked Broccoli, this salad is the one way I'll eat it by the bowlful! The photo is just a general one from Pinterest to give you an idea what it looks like. Broccoli Raisin Salad Ingredients 4 cups fresh Broccol