The End of the Beginning

Happy, Blessed Easter

Fabulous Tomato Soup

Tomato soup is tomato soup, right? Wrong!  I was invited over to a friends house for lunch and the husband made some tomato soup that was awesome!  I will never eat canned tomato soup again!  He was kind enough to share his recipe.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Tomato Basil Soup

1 large onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-1 1/2 Tbs dried basil
1 49 oz. chicken broth
2 lg cans diced or whole tomatoes cut up
1 c. heavy cream
1 c. half & half
3 Tbs butter
salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in a soup pot.  Saute onions until soft, about 5 min.  Saute garlic until fragrant, about 1 min.  Add basil and stir in.  Pour in tomatoes and chicken broth.  Cook on a soft simmer for 20-30 min.  Puree soup in a blender* or with a stir stick.  (If using a blender be EXTREMELY careful of the hot liquid!)  Place soup back in pot and add heavy cream and half & half.  Stir to blend.  Heat soup and serve.

Add toppings if desired - parmesan cheese, sour cream, chives, croutons

*Please be extremely careful with hot liquid, I found out the hard way.  No matter how tightly you think you can hold the lid on the blender, hot liquids will spray!  Let mixture cool off before blending!

Is this what He meant?

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philipians 4:13 Does this apply to the new shower curtain I put up? This project is one that I have been putting off and finally did today. My bathroom has a tub/shower enclosure that had a sliding glass door. When I shower my elbow kept hitting the door, and I couldn't sit on the side of the tub to shave my legs, and it was difficult to bath my grandson. So I finally took the doors down and put up one of those rods that arches out. It makes the bathroom look a little smaller but it makes the shower area much more roomy!
Philipians may not have been referring to something as trivial as this, but I believe anything I do in my life is owed to Him. For my health in being able to do it, the intelligence to follow directions, and the creativity to change things. These and so much more, I am thankful to God! Next time you have a project your not sure you can tackle, keep Him in mind!

A Cinderella story

My daughter was recently asked to prom. She is 20 yr's old and graduated a couple years ago, but she and her girl friend have 2 BFF's that they are good friends with that are graduating this year. I suppose that was an oxymoron - BFF and good friends - I can't really say because I am not completly sure of the meaning of BFF. These young gentlemen (I say that because they are very nice boys) asked my daughter and her friend to prom, which was special for my daughter because she never got to go to her prom. She wore a beautiful light blue satin dress that she borrowed from her friends sister and her friend wore one of my daughters past formal gowns that was brown and pink. Their dates wore matching blue and pink ties. They looked very nice. Their 3rd friend went with her boyfriend and she wore a camo gown and he, a matching tie. They all made very nice couples.
Before the dance they went to Lonestar for dinner. As they were walking into the resturant a little girl saw my daughter and got all excited and started yelling "Ella!, Ella!" and pointing at her. Her mom said, "Yes honey, she does look like Cinderella" My daughter was a princess for a night.

Long time no see!

My, my, my, it's been a while. Hope anyone that is still around is doing well. I really can't blame those that have abandoned me. Cold coffee is not enjoyable. Well, let's see if we can heat it up! I have a recipe that I want to share. I made this for a girls luncheon I was invited to, and everybody loved it! It's quick, easy and oh so yummy! Hope you get a chance to try it, you won't be disappointed.

Hot Apple Pie Dip

1 pkg 8 oz. PHILIDELPHIA cream cheese*
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 apple, chopped small, divided
¼ c. KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese*
1 Tbsp. finely chopped Pecan pieces
Wheat Thin Original crackers

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix cream cheese, sugar and spice in medium bowl until well blended.
Stir in half of the apples.
Spread into pie plate or small casserole dish.
Top with remaining apples, Cheddar cheese and nuts.
Bake 10-12 min or until heated through.
Serve with crackers.
Enjoy!!

*Recipe calls for 1/3 less fat cream cheese and 2% milk cheddar cheese but I used regular.

Thought for today

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances."

Martha Washington

I am a victim!

I confess - I have become prey to the quick weight loss, infomercial mentality. I couldn't help myself. My daughter and I went to our neighbors house to visit yesterday and there, in the middle of her floor, was the "Ab C*rcle Pro". Now, I have seen this advertised but honestly had no desire to purchase it. My daughter and I both tried it out and soon decided we HAD to have one. After only a few rotations you could feel the workout in your abs and hips. They sell for about $200.oo at your local retailers, but I'm a big fan of craigs list, so when I got home I checked in our area and found someone selling it for much less. It was hardly used and he is being shipped overseas and his fiance is moving so they were trying to get rid of it. As fate would have it he had only posted it 5 minutes before my call. I was destined to be the owner of this miracle machine! He was available that very night so we met and I brought my new 'get skinny' machine to it's new home. I have vowed not to let this become another dust collector. I used it for the first time last night and then for a bit this morning. I need to develop some kind of a routine, which is going to be hard with my work schedule, but we'll see how it goes. If all goes as planned and I follow the short routine a few days a week as the manual says, I should have a fitness model figure! They wouldn't lie would they?

Accidental Thinker

Yes, I have been absent for a while and come and go much less frequently than in the past, but I still have some of my favorite blogs to visit. One of those is Accidental Thinker. Monique is a very gifted writer and her topics range from humorous and witty to spiritual to thoughtful and inspiring. She has recently published a book with a collection of her posts that I have recently ordered and look forward to receiving. Her most recent post is one I wanted to share, simply because it speaks volumes and truth. You can find it here. She also has some of her favorite posts listed in her side bar. One of my favorites is titled "Where everybody knows your name". Please visit her if you have a few moments. I don't think you'll be disappointed.