My Handmade Merrimack Pearl Earrings

 I love love love making handmade jewelry especially when I use pieces of old jewelry that needs recycled into new pieces. That is where these beading came from. I used new findings and made earrings for the dance instructors and director of the Merrimack in Huntsville Alabama. Then I took a couple of the extra sets and gave them to the ladies that fix my mother's hair. I really enjoy working with pearls. The thought of newness and pureness of pearls bringing freshness and beauty to a moment just compliments any outfit a woman wears. They make you feel beautiful and thus, you radiate happiness and confidence.

A closer look...

As 2013 approaches...

Let's bring her in with happiness and joy...

Radiate the pleasure of purity of being others focused and love...

Hugs, Rita

Crochet Snow White Glittery Scarf and samplings

I have said it a million times...crochet is my respite...it relaxes me completely! I think about nothing and everything. Ah ((sighing)) it is great to create and focus on something like this then give as a gift or use. The photograph above is a sampling of one of the scarf's I introduced to you a while back. I bought the fiber but wasn't happy with how it came together as a poncho. The colors looked prettier on the skein, but then I tried it as a scarf and WOW! Fabulous...

Then I brought the same granny square stitch into being using a green glitter fiber and it too was beautiful and delicious. I loved the colors that Caron brought with the string of sparkling glitter in this line of fiber.

 Then there is the white glittery snow white fiber that also made a rockin' awesome scarf as well. I loved the sweetness of this stitch using this color as well.

I have made this in black as well...

Starting two others in "manly" colors that will make a great gift of the guys on my list...

This stitch is easy and quick...

This makes me very happy, doesn't it you?

Introducing the black fiber...

Bold and Beautiful...

Loving crocheting and playing with fiber...

Did I mention I got a Krook for Christmas?! 

Giving it a try...we shall see =)...

Hugs, Rita

Soy Chicken and Rice Recipe using the TupperWave Stack Cooker!! Loving it!!

 As I have shared before, I heard in a Weight Watcher's meeting about how fabulous the Tupperware Microsteamer was for not only preparing fresh or canned vegetables, but also hamburger, chicken and sauteing onions, pepper and mushrooms. So, I called Sherri Beck and begged her to come over. She did. She cooked.I ordered the one thing she cooked with the most that has totally made me organized and made me actually enjoy cooking!! The TupperWave Stack Cooker Set.

I was so very pleased with all that the kit came with...

...including the cookbook...

which has some fabulous recipes...

The spice mixes are wonderful...we will use the one of the left in this recipe...

It is totally fun!! Promise!! You will love the experience...Now, let's cook...

You will need boneless chicken breasts, thawed.

Place 4 in the bottom dish, sprinkle with the spice mix...

Place the steamer on top and add 4 more chicken breasts,

sprinkle them with the spice mix...Cover...

Cook for 8 minutes in the microwave on high...

Done...do not drain the drippings...

Using a fork, pull the chicken to shreds or slice into thin pieces...

Prepare wild rice according to package recommendations...

This is Birds Eye Microwave $1.99 at Publix, Buy 1/Get 1 Free

and with coupons, it is free...=)...prepare 3 bags for 8 chicken breasts.

Add 3 Tablespoons of soy sauce, 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.

Stir all this together in the bowl with drippings and...

Done...

Totally delicious!!!

Add green beans, drained and topped with fat-free Italian dressing,

a large green spinach garden salad with fat-free ranch dressing,

and garlic bread and you have a fabulous meal...

omit the drippings and bread then the meal is totally healthy!!!

The TupperWave Stack Cooker Complete System #1195

and The Tupperware Microsteamer #1172

are the two items I mentioned in the beginning...

amazing items!!!

Hugs and Happy Tuesday!!!

Love,

Rita

Stocking Stuffers and Celebrating Christmas...

As I was looking over my holiday list, I thought back to a conversation with a friend I had  on Friday night about how we would be celebrating Christmas in the coming years. Then I looked at my list for this year and wanted to bring it to an end hopefully this week. I thought about Christmas stocking stuffers and how I could make them useful to each person. Some ideas for our boys, now men and then my mother, made consider what could I add they would really enjoy. Here are some ideas...with a super easy way to do all your shopping at the end...so here we go...

handmade items

lip balm or lip gloss

bag of cotton balls and qtips

makeup sponges (I use these in art)

makeup brushes and beauty tools

nail clippers and nail file

umbrella or even two

$5 gift cards to Starbucks, Taco Bell, Subway or any $1 menu restaurant

nail polish and nail polish remover

body wash and scrubby (saw one in camouflage design lol)

socks

hand lotion and cotton gloves

slipper socks and feet lotion

gloves and scarf

$2 alarm clock

coloring book and box of colors

chalk and mini chalk board paint

bubble bath and salts

roll of quarters

playing cards

dice

golf balls

fishing hooks

batteries

CDs

DVDs

Hot Wheel/Matchbox Cars

Bic Pens

Sharpe Markers

magic markers (washable)

 Stickers

tea bags

hot chocolate mix

coffees

straws

disposable camera

digital camera

headphones or earbuds

travel mug

coffee mug

stationary and holiday cards

stamps

post it notes

favorite magazine

magazine subscription

hand sanitizer

book light or flash light

pencil and small drawing tablet

paint brush and water color paints

water crayons and paper

school supplies

craft supplies or gift certificate to classes

personalized ornament

watch

itunes gift card

holiday music CD

harmonica

ball and jacks

wallet

change purse

picture frame

charms

key chain

earrings

bracelet

necklace

thumb drive

comic books

flower seeds

small cookbooks

book of poems

hand written note

set of handmade cards

hand mirror or compact

contact or glasses case

movie or concert tickets

shoe laces

bobby pins and pony tail holders

hair bows and hair clips

brush and comb

shampoo and conditioner

stay-in spray conditioner

gel and hairspray

handmade bar of soap and container

beginning felt needle and a small bag of fiber

cross stitch kit for beginners

package of microwave popcorn

eye mask

shower cap

rain cap (the old fashion kind)

crochet doily

small birdhouse or bird feeder

birdseed

homemade doggy biscuit

catnip

baking spices

measuring cups and measuring spoons

festive kitchen timers and salt/pepper shakers

thimbles from locals

45lps of music from the year they were born

cake pop kit

favorite themed books

water bottle

toothbrush and toothpaste

soup mug and can of soup

lunch bag and lunch kit

jewelry cleaning

glasses repair kit

glasses cleaning cloths 

donate in honor of or in memory of

...and the list goes on...

Happy stocking stuffing...

Remember, there are many who won't have a lot

for the holidays. Consider giving a collection of these items

to children in a school near your home. It will change their

life and yours...

Hugs, Rita

Chicken Pot Pie with Thanksgiving Leftovers...

 Well, ok, maybe it has been a few days since Thanksgiving BUT I did make this on Monday after Thanksgiving using a good bit of the leftovers from the food I fixed on Friday of the Thanksgiving weekend. You can pick from a long list of vegetables and meats as well to make this, but I used what was in the fridge so nothing went to waste. Then the next day, the remaining...hit the soup pot. Done. So...here we go...

I  used to pre-made crusts. Then I took 2 cups chopped cooked carrots, sweet potatoes, and red onion. Then I added 1 cup each of kernel corn, chopped roasted mushrooms, acorn squash, wild rice, plus whatever else I saw I wanted to throw in. I added 3 shredded chicken breasts to the mix along with 1 can of cream of chicken soup which was low fat, low in sodium. Then I added 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, 1 tablespoon each of parsley, minced garlic, cilantro and 1/8 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. Finally, add 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce for chicken. Mix everything together well and pour into pie shell. Cover with second pie shell and bake at 400 degrees for one hour. Remove from oven, spray top with fat-free spray butter, place back in the oven on broil for 5 minutes, watching so it won't burn, and then remove and serve.

Yummy...

I make this using a large can of mixed vegetables

and chicken then all the spices and wet ingredients...

Delicious anytime! My family loves it...

Hugs, Rita

Today is our third son's birthday. He has been in Heaven even before birth.

We celebrate the moments of pregnancy, knowing that the short time we had

were treasured moments...play well, play sweet, play forever.

The purple glittery crochet poncho...

 As I have said before...and I will continue to say again and again...I love love love making ponchos!! This one is a deep purple with silver fiber woven within the yarn. It is fabulous and so soft! I loved working with it.

You can faintly see the glitter...

The photographs don't do it justice...

I trimmed it with my favorite shell stitch...

A much closer look ((@@)) =)

N Hook...easy on the hands TOO...

Yarns that I also got at 40% off using coupons and

multiple trips to the store as I was passing by...

This will be a Christmas gift...

The pattern is within my blog.

You can place a search to see more samples and

soon I will post another color combo that I think you 

will like too...

Hugs, Rita

Thanksgiving-Iron Bowl Food for the Weekend...

After spending a couple of days planning what I would fix for Thanksgiving weekend, I thought I had an excellent menu. It was healthy, all but one dish, and it was perfect for the Iron Bowl football game, Alabama vs Auburn. From spinach salad to pumpkin pie, glazed carrots to herb dressing...perfect and easy...just the way I love to cook most foods AND most of it was cooked in the crockpots. Even better. First, Thursday night, Jerry helped me prepare a few of the items, one being the bread for the dressing...gluten free too. 

 The dressing...I love a lot of celery in my dressing...

2 cups of chopped celery

2 Tablespoons minced garlic

2 chopped sweet onions

2 chopped red gala apples

1 cup of golden raisins (reserve a few to sprinkle on top)

1 Tablespoons of finely chopped thyme

1 Tablespoon of finely chopped Cilantro

1 teaspoon of sea salt

1 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups of fat free vegetable broth

6 cups of bread crumbs (I used a gluten free handmade recipe)

Mix all the ingredients together before adding the bread crumbs.

Stir well...it will be rather moist...

Layer in a 6-8 qt crockpot,

Stuffing, chopped chicken breast meat, low sodium/low fat

 cream of chicken soup (small can). There should be at least two

layers of this process in the crockpot.

Cook on low for 6 hours.

I have made this many ways...using less of the cream of chicken soup each time...if you want the dressing more moist, then use more broth or more soup. The higher you turn your crockpot, the chances of burning your dressing becomes.

This year I made a turkey breast,

cooked on warm in the crockpot all night

with Ken's Lemon Herb Marinate poured over it.

An hour before I took it out, I turned it upside down in the crockpot

so that it would gain more moister.

Juicy and fabulous...

The ham was spiral and pre-cooked.

However, I popped it in the crockpot and poured local honey

and 1/4 cup of Splenda brown sugar on top and allowed it to

simmer on warm for the day.

Tender and delicious.

I added Sweet Potatoes with fresh rosemary and red onions

in vegetable broth to another crockpot

Preparing the Acorn Squash to go with the 

Mushroom Rice dish.

Slightly cut off the bottom so that the acorn squash will sit flat.

Place on a paper towel and then on a glass plate, cover in plastic.

Cook on full power for 5 minutes. The inside will easily pull away from the skin.

I also punched some slits into..,forgot to mention that...before cooking...

I sauteed 1 cup each of leek, bella mushrooms, shallots, sweet onions

to go in the wild rice.

I used a fork to pull the squash and then formed it in a circle.

I mixed the sauteed vegetables, prepared wild rice,

1 Tablespoon of Cilantro, 1/2 ground cinnamon together

and placed in the center of the acorn squash. 

The Apple Pie mixture was a recipe shared at my

Weight Watchers Meeting. I twicked it a bit until I got it

a fewer less calories.

1 six ounce can frozen unsweetened apple juice

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 Tablespoon of fat free spray butter (YES INDEED)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon real vanilla

6 red gala apples, peeled, cored, sliced and cooked

(I cooked mine in water, lemon juice all night in the crockpot)

cooking spray

I did use a purchased pastry because I did the points calculator,

it was the same amount of points with the margarine and 

handmade pastry so I called it even lol.

I made a tart out of the two pastries...

because guess what!!! With my kitchen bulldozed down and

not having a kitchen...I have no idea where my pie plates are!!!

Too funny...Mother and I laughed about this...=P

Regardless, points equaled 4 for 1/8th of a slice.

Need a close up view...now that is fat free whip topping =).

I also made a Pineapple Upside Down Cake

which I did in the Crockpot. It was fabulous as well!

I recommend the one in the Microwave but this one was delicious too...

Weight Watchers friendly of course...

AND a Tupperware Recipe Using the Amazing Steamer!!!

(I can so come and make these recipes for you...I love them!!!)

1 box of Yellow Cake Mix

1/4 cup of Splenda Brown Sugar (my new best friend)

1 teaspoon of real vanilla

1 can diet lemon lime soda

1 regular can pineapple chunks

Spray the crockpot with cooking spray. Mix all the ingredients together and pour in the crockpot. Cook for 4 hours on low. Top with fat free whip topping. Without the topping the cake is 3 points for 1/8th of a piece.

Fresh pumpkin pie...totally with ALL the points AND calories!!!

Done...

Declared...Delicious by my Chef Ethan...=)

Pretty thick for not finding my pie plates lol,...

Steaming carrots...

to Sweet Glazed Carrots also cooked in the crockpot...

These were prepped all night...along with

green beans drained and topped with fat free Italian Dressing,

and kernel corn.

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Shallots and Sweet Onions...

We also had fresh turnip greens, Moscato Wine with Nuun and Cinnamon.

Chocolate even enjoyed his plate 

while his brother Beau got the ham bone and drippings...

Happy hearts, happy lives, happy home and happy tummies

for the whole blumming weekend!

Yes!

Happy Hugs,

Rita