Hello Fellow Stampers -
Happy Saturday!! How is everyone's weekend ?? Mine has been extraordinarily busy, as today was my Birthday Bash Stamp-a-Stack class, and I had a busy table full of stamping ladies!! :-) We had a lot of fun, and they left with 15 completed cards all set and ready to send for all those birthdays coming up this year ;-) Now, if you missed out on this event, and you live in Denver and want to participate in one of my classes, check out my Class Schedule tab above, and contact me!!
Let's take a quick look at these two cards included in the designs the ladies made today.
This fun card is made using the brand new Big On You stamp set. I really love these big sentiments. This card also uses the fabulous balloons from the Age Awareness stamp set. The colors combined here are Night of Navy, Wisteria Wonder, and Silver - the sentiment is embossed with Silver embossing powder. The stars are punched with the Star punch from the Itty Bitty Accents punch pack from Silver Glimmer paper.
(this picture turned out a little out of focus -- my apologies) This fun card is made with Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo - terrific cheerful birthday colors! The cardbase is cut from Daffodil Delight, with a mat background cut from Melon Mambo and a piece of Sweet Taffy DSP. The fun Balloon is from the brand new Celebrate Today stamp set. I'm really in love with this stamp set; and even more terrific -- it has a coordinating set of framelits to cut out all those fun pieces :-)
We'll have more fun Birthday cards in the days ahead -- but it's about time to turn our attention to fun items for Valentine's Day. We'll start exploring some fun designs for the Holiday of Love pretty soon! Stay tuned ;-)
Stamp-a-Stack day is always a long day with lots of crafting, stamping and chatting. When you put in such long hours of fun, you must have sustenance :-) LOL I served a new recipe at lunch today for my ladies, and everyone just loved it!! I was asked repeatedly for the recipe as the ladies left, so I thought I'd share it with everyone. You must try this simple recipe -- it really is delicious!!
This recipe is from RealSimple, which has some fabulous recipes. Definitely check them out!! They have a great magazine, and are also online. I tend to take recipes and revise them for my use. So this recipe is "adjusted" by me into what I consider a more workable recipe that works well in a crock pot :
Chicken Stew with Couscous, Spinach,and Parmesan
Ingredients:
3 tbs. Olive Oil
1 large onion
1/2 c. pearl couscous (also called Israeli couscous) Note: Israeli couscous is similar to Orzo
4 cloves garlic, chopped [I used minced garlic and roasted granulated garlic in place of fresh garlic]
1 tsp rosemary
4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 bunch spinach, stems discarded and roughly chopped
Grated Parmesan for serving
Directions:
Heat the oil in a skillet and add the onion and couscous/orzo. Cook, stirring occasionally,until the onion is soft and the couscous is lightly browned - 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and rosemary. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, several more minutes.
In the meantime, set up your crockpot, adding the 4 cups chicken broth (add water to make an "overfull" 4 cups). Cut your chicken into small pieces and add to the chicken broth and begin heating through in the crock pot.
Add the skillet mixture once it is complete, along with salt and pepper to taste. Let cook for several hours on high setting (approximately 3 hours). If low setting, extend cooking time. Stir and check occasionally.
Approximately 10 minutes before serving, add the fresh spinach and stir into the stew/soup mixture.
When you are ready to serve, top each bowl with grated parmesan.
Delicious! :-)
Enjoy everyone! As always - if you ever have any questions, or need anything, just drop me an email :-) Have a fabulous weekend everyone!!!
Until Next Time . . .
