Happy Easter!

 

 

 

 

 

Wishing you and yours a blessed Easter!

 

~peace~

Lisa

Coloring Eggs 2013

 

 Miss M dipping her egg!

 

 

H joining in the fun!

 

 

Miss M with the eggs before glitter...

 

 

...and the glittered eggs drying. 

 

 

We're also waiting for the paint to dry in the foyer and hallway...that why the walls are bare and there is blue tape on the trim. ;0)

 

~peace and blessings~

Lisa

Easter Treats

 

I made the Easter treats above for Miss M's class.  I put 2 peeps in a cello bag with a bit of grass and topped it off with a tag from Nothing but Country that read:  "Happy Easter to one of my favorite PEEPS!".  You can find the tags here.

 

 

I also wrapped up some eggs for Miss M's teacher with the Egg-celent teacher tag from SwellChel. You can find the tags here.

 

~peace and blessings~

Lisa

 

Cream Puffs

 

 

I made these cream puffs for Easter dinner.  They are a favorite of my husband and my father.  My Nana used to make them every year for Easter, as well as other times throughout the year as a special treat.  I will be filling them tomorrow with vanilla pudding.  Other fillings ideas are chocolate pudding, whipped cream, ice cream, sherbet, and fresh fruit.  I've also done mini ones and filled them with chicken salad. They are perfect for an afternoon tea. I've also drizzled melted chocolate over the tops for a wedding reception.  I used pink and green to coordinate with the wedding colors.   

 

 Here's the recipe I use:

 

Cream Puffs

 

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1 cup water

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs

 

Filling of you choice

Powdered Sugar

 

In a saucepan, combine butter, water and salt; bring to a boil.  Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously.  Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball that does not separate.  Remove from heat.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time,beating with a wooden spoon after each addition until smooth.  Drop batter by heaping tablespoons, 3 inches apart, onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or till golden.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.  Split puffs and remove any soft dough inside.  Fill with the pudding and replace tops.  Lightly sift powdered sugar over the tops.  Makes 12.  Enjoy!

 

~peace and blessings~

Lisa



Snow Day!

 Woke up to several inches of snow this morning and a SNOW DAY!  It's hard to believe that it is actually Spring and we have this much snow.  Snow should continue through this afternoon. 

 

You can see that the tracks from the truck are pretty filled in and J had just left about 30 minutes prior to make taking these photos.  Oh how I long for Spring weather....I'm over the snow!

 

~peace and blessings~
Lisa

First Holy Communion Banner

 Madison will be making her First Holy Communion in May.  The children are required to each  make a banner that will be sewn together with the other communicants' banners to create an altar cloth for the altar at church.  Madison is a very "blingy" girl, so I was quite surprised when she chose to make her banner very simplistic.  I have been putting this project off for weeks....so today when I went to JoAnn's for materials, I found out that they were closing the store and everything was on clearance.  Fabric was being sold by the bolt, so needless to say I didn't fair very well there.  The good news is that they are opening a brand new store next door next month.  I managed to get what I needed at Michael's and Walmart. 

 

 

I used iron on letters and the cross is also an applique.  I made the host and chalice from cotton fabric.  I used Heat n' Bond Ultra Hold fusible webbing to attach the cut-outs to the banner fabric. 

 

~peace and blessings~

Lisa

Playroom Updates

We built our home over 2 years ago.  The upstairs playroom/bonus room, has for the most part, been unfinished. The kids use it to watch TV and movies, play video games and just play.  It has evolved and the air hockey table is gone, the play kitchen, and plastic furniture are no longer part of the decor.  Above is the before photo, just as J started painting.  The walls are now a gray color from Sherwin-Williams.  I'm not sure of the name, but will check on it.  We also used a matte finish, which is so nice and it wipes clean easily.  Above shows the play area. 

 Our first purchase was the Ektorp love seat with chaise from IKEA.  We love it and I love the color!

(The boxes in the back corner are filled with photos, china, and memorabilia....dh is working on a cabinet to hide that clutter and finally get it unpacked...will share photos when it is done!)

 

 

A 9-cube organizer we had purchased when we first moved in was organized and moved against the back wall behind the couch.  The lamp and frame are new from Target. 

 

 

  

This is a closer view of the drapery fabric.   

 

Under the drapes is a white roman shade, which is hard to see with the light.  The kids really said the room feels much cozier now and they want to spend time there.  I'm still on the look out for pillows and a throw, along with a few other accessories.  As soon as I get some art on the walls, I will share photos of that.  I hope to get a flat screen TV sometime soon, too.

 

~peace and blessings~

Lisa

Snow Day

Make your own collage ~peace and blessings~ Lisa

Baked Pork Chops

photo from justapinch.com

 

 

I made these delicious chops for dinner last night.   I changed up the recipe a bit, using 99% fat free cream of mushroom soup, low fat milk, reduced fat/sodium chicken broth.  My family loved them....with our son eating two chops!  I noted at the end of the recipe that I used boneless chops and reduced the cooking time by 30 minutes.  Thin cut chops would also cook in less time. 

 

Baked Pork Chops

 

Ingredients:

6 pork chops

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon seasoning salt

2 egg, beaten

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 (10.75 ounce) can  fat free condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup low fat milk

1/3 cup white wine or reduced fat/sodium chicken broth

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

 

Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste. Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl. Dredge the pork chops lightly in flour, dip in the egg, and coat liberally with bread crumbs.

 

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side, or until the breading appears well browned. Transfer the chops to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and cover with foil.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. While baking, combine the cream of mushroom soup, milk and white wine in a medium bowl. After the pork chops have baked for an hour, cover them with the soup mixture. Replace foil, and bake for another 30 minutes.

 

I used boneless chops, so I baked them for an hour total...30 minutes with foil, then poured the sauce over, recovered and baked another 30 minutes.

 

 

Enjoy!

~peace and blessings~

Lisa



We Are the Champions!

 

 Today, H's team won the Playoff Championship Title for the PAHL.  The team is also the Season Championhip Title.  The boys really worked hard today, and every game, to get to this place.  This game was won after two periods of overtime and a 12 man shoot out. 

 

Go Warriors!

 

~peace and blessings~

Lisa