being grateful....

a few more zentangles I forgot to post before...

a BEAR from a GLOVE!

Something for Valentine's...Valentine Chex mix!

‎9 cups Rice Chex® cereal (gluten free) OR NOT..you do not have to use gluten free
1 cup white vanilla baking chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup powdered sugar
... 1/2 cup red, white and pink candy-coated chocolate candies
1/4 cup red or pink jimmies sprinkles

In large bowl, place cereal. In small microwavable bowl, microwave baking chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

Place 1/2 of the cereal mixture in 1-gallon food-storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir candies and sprinkles into remaining cereal mixture. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool, about 15 minutes.

In serving bowl, mix both cereal mixtures. Store in airtight container

great idea for Christmastime...snowmen donuts! lol

these are soooo cute!

No Carb Pizza...want to try this!

No Carb Pizza

Ingredients:

For the crust:
■1 (8 oz.) package of full fat cream cheese (room temp.)
■2 eggs
■Freshly ground black pepper
■Garlic powder
■1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

FOR THE PIZZA:
■1/2 cup jarred marinara sauce*
■A pinch of cayenne pepper
■1/2 teaspoon oregano
■1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
■Sauteed pepperoni
■Garlic powder



*Finding a sauce that doesn’t contain added sugar is not easy, but I did find a “no sugar added” by Ragu that with a few added seasonings tastes fantastic on the pizza. You could always make your own too but I’m not THAT brave yet.

Directions:

■Preheat oven to 350.
■Butter a 9×13 baking dish
■Blend cream cheese and eggs and season with pepper & garlic powder
■Add parmesan cheese and stir until combined
■Pour into buttered baking dish
■Bake for 17 minutes or until golden brown
■Let crust cool for 10 minutes before adding toppings

■After crust is cooked, raise oven to 400 degrees
■Mix together marinara sauce, garlic powder, cayenne pepper & oregano
■Top crust with marinara and spread evenly
■Top with mozzarella cheese
■Add toppings
■Bake for 8 minutes or until cheese is bubbly

The crust is not crisp like traditional pizza. Make sure you cook it til the top is golden brown and let it cool the full 10 minutes before adding the toppings and that will help. You still may end up with a fork, but good, soft pizza is better than no pizza!

Homemade Snickers Bars!

Homemade Snickers Bars

[recipe from Nikki, who lightly adapted it from and old Taste of Home recipe]

makes one 9×13 pan

bottom chocolate layer

1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup peanut butter

Thoroughly grease you baking pan. Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour into the baking dish and spread until even. Let cool and harden completely.

nougat layer

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cup salted peanuts chopped, roughly chopped

1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in sugar and milk, stirring until dissolved and bring to a boil. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in fluff, peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Turn off heat and fold in peanuts, then pour over bottom chocolate layer. Let cool completely.

caramel layer

1 14-ounce bag of caramels

1/4 cup whipping cream

Combine ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Let melt, stirring occasionally, until smooth – this took about 10 minutes for me. Pour over nougat layer and let cool completely.

Top chocolate layer

1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup peanut butter

Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour over caramel and spread until even. Let cool and harden completely.

Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving, then cut as desired. These can stay at room temperature, but they do get gooey. I like them refrigerated best!

Note: for best results, buy one of the half-sheet aluminum cake pans at the grocery store. That way, you can pop the entire square out and cut from there!

Carmelitas...wow...fantastic!

350 degree oven....8 x 8 pan

32 caramels unwrapped and melted down with about 1/2 cup milk or heavy cream (I did NOT have caramels but DID have 3 small containers of that caramel apple dip...so I spooned that out in a bowl and mixed with 1/2 cup 2% milk NOT cream(cause I did not have that either)..and microwaved it a small bit..it was fine!) SET THIS ASIDE.

Melt 3/4 cup butter...add 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon soda, and 1 cup rolled oats ( I DID NOT have rolled oats but DID have packets of instant oatmeal..I put in 2 packets - 1 banana and 1 maple brown sugar) and it worked GREAT! Mix all this together and pat 1/2 of this mixture in bottom of 8 x 8 pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven..top with 6 ounces (more or less) of chocolate chips...pour caramel mixture over top of this....and top off with the remaining crumb mixture from above. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.

It may look like it will be too soft...but wow..let it completely cool.....and I had forgotten I had made these...fell asleep..woke up at 2:00 a.m. and remembered they were in the kitchen. Tasted one..and WOW....delicious! Quick and easy to make too. I would imagine it would be good too if you added nuts with the chocolate chips if you like nuts....but I was out of nuts. This was sooo yummy!

crackers...

these are really good and easy to make..however..I would reduce the oil myself ...and use UNsalted saltines as I felt it was a little salty..but the recipe is:

1 box or 4 sleeves of saltine crackers

1 to 1-/2 cups oil (vegetable, olive or cannola) (personally I think 3/4 is PLENTY and then even too much!)

1 packet dry powder ranch dressing mix

2 Tablespoons pepper flakes

Mix oil, ranch dressing powder and pepper flakes together. Add crackers and mix well...(I only did 2 sleeves at a time...halving the recipe each time to do each half...and I mixed it in a big 9 x 13 pan or roasting pan...)

MIX well...like 15 minutes or so...then spread crackers out onto cookie sheet...bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

They are delish!

my peacock zentangle in progress

some artwork of mine I worked on recently....

homemade banana bread...

this is my grandma's recipe and the BEST banana bread recipe I have ever used! I like to smash up bananas and FREEZE them ahead of time...then thaw them out the day I make the bread...and I add not only the bananas..but all that wonderful JUICE too. I also add MORE than just 2 bananas...usually 3 or even 4...and it is just superb!I decided to bake mine in a bundt pan this time round....here is the recipe:

1/2 cup shortening (I used butter Crisco)
1 1/3 cups sugar

Beat those 2 together to cream well.

ADD:
2 or 4 bananas smashed up and juice if you froze them ahead of time and thawed out
2 Tablespoons milk

Mix in 2 eggs

Finally stir in:

1-3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon soda
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

NUTS if you like...

Bake at 350 degree oven for 30 minutes...then turn oven down to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes!

ENJOY!

my little red heart lights at night...

homemade GIANT cloverleaf hot rolls! YUM!

January 2012 Full Moon Dreamboard - The Full Wolf Moon

I think you can say I am tired of pussy-footing around and am ready to grab it for all its worth! Time to take a big bite out of that pie in the sky....what have I been waiting for anyway?


I did this the night before the full moon sitting at my table using an old piece of cardboard. When I heard it was the full wolf moon this month this was the image that kept coming to mind. SO I decided to sketch it out fast before I fogot it. Not supposed to look real or anything...just what I saw in my head. I do notice sometimes I tend to "attack" my dreamboards...not sure why because usually then I have NO energy to actually CARRY out the things ON my board. lol

BUT...here it is anyway. I just have not had time to upload it till tonight.

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Somebody I Used to Know..Walk Off the Earth

LOVE this and how they did it too! awesome!

Project Life

So...another New YEAR is upon us...and it has me thinking about a lot of things. Another year has gone by and I still have not put my photos into actual scrapbooking albums or even a plain photo album..although I could probably open my own scrapbook supply store with all the supplies I have purchased over time. I was thinking about that last night...wondering what you would do in an emergency..as photos are definitely things you would want to preserve..and I was trying to figure out how I would ever grab any actual PHOTOS in time of an emergency to remove from my home in physical form. I mean most photos now are digital and you only get them printed off if you want to...and I still think DIGITAL keepsaking is the wave of the future and is something we really should all undertake...and definitely STORE all our memories and photos in a digital manner...BUT...I still love the feel of real books in my hands and viewing memories turning an actual page. I was reading blogs today to catch up on my last official day off from work from a vacation and I discovered Becky Higgins' Project Life. If you have a lot of photos and want to get them into a scrapbook of some sort/album but have less time to really devote to it..this may be a great tool for you. I am going to be purchasing myself a kit or two or more...and start going BACK IN TIME putting all my memories into albums. I am also still investigating DIGITAL resources as well..although thinking about going back to SCAN all the old regular photos is extremely time consuming and daunting a task to me. It would become more than a full time job unless you had a new quick scanner system likfe "tryneat.com"....so anyway...if you want to actually produce a quick yet great physical photo scrapbook/album give this system a look. You may be interested too!

Premiere of Ron Howard's final Project Imagin8tion film

only available until Monday, December 19, 2011

December 2011 Full Moon Dreamboard - the Full Cold Moon

December 2011 Full Moon Dreamboard - the Full Cold Moon by postthelove

I am going through a period of sorting, sifting, holding on to the most treasured items I own and letting go of many others that are currently just taking up more space and not really being used. I am also working a lot on my art journals and learning/developing new techniques ....I think the green represents growth and the rest is pretty self explanatory...at least to me. I think this is a magical time for me in my life as I truly and finally begin this process of transforming my life....my environment is the start...my living space and creative space..choosing what I wish to surround myself with...and removing things that stagnate me. This I feel will ultimately lead to personal growth and transformation in myself...(hence the magic and waving overhead). It has taken me such a long time to even take the first BITE in this long project but I have accomplished a lot so far which is providing fuel for me to continue! AND this is all very freeing...hence the butterflies at the top flying free.

For more full moon dreamboards check out the link to Jamie Ridler Studios on my sidebar!

November 2011 - Full Moon Dreamboard - The Full Frost Moon

November Full Moon Dreamboard - The Full Frost Moon by postthelove featuring sparkle jewelry


Jamie over at Jamie Ridler Studios prompted us this month on our moon dreamboards as follows:

"Under the Full Frost Moon it is time to deepen our dreams, to grow powerful roots of support as we move into the colder months. Allow that fresh chill in the air to wake you up to your dreams. Let’s choose to give our energy to the things that nourish our hearts and our lives, while releasing what no longer serves us. Let’s fill not only our dreamboards but also our calendars and lists with what we dream of.

This moon’s question: “What dreams would I like to grow roots for?”
What are you dreaming under this Full Frost Moon?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am not so much dreaming this month...but actually watching things begin to unfold in front of me....I see changes up ahead...BIG CHANGES! I very much feel like this girl on the raft....going somewhere....not exactly sure where I will end up...feeling a little scared...but somehow knowing it will all turn out for the best in the end! My experience with these types of changes in my life in the past has proven that to be the case at least 99% of the time at least...but they are still scary to go through. I can feel it....sense it.....see snippets of it beginning to happen...and my stomach is filled with butterflies of anticipation.

I am talking about BIG CHANGES...SHAKE UP MY SNOWGLOBE type of changes...where my world will be filled with tornadic flying debris like this snow here in this snowglobe....all swirling around me until eventually it falls and settles all around me to soft, quietness once again....

To check out more moon dreamboards please click on the link to Jamie Ridler Studios on my sidebar!