Food & Wine

Weekly Photo Challenge: Relaxing Snow Day!

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No better time to relax than when you get snowed in.  You can relax, take a nap or watch TV, read a book or just play on the computer.  You could also freak out and pace the floors knowing that you are trapped like a rat.

Great time to overeat or you could just work out.  Many years ago I would be working out.  Today I baked an almond tart for the first time.  I found some recipe online for a Lemon-Almond tart.  Did not sound like a great combo to me, though I love both by themselves.  Turned it into an Almond Tart recipe with only had 4 ingredients.  Pleasant flavor and quite dense but should be gluten-free with no flour.

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Almond Tart

4 eggs 1            C almond meal
1/3 C sugar               1/3 C almond flavored creamer

Mix eggs and sugar then add the almond meal/ground almonds then blend in the flavored creamer                                                                                    Butter and flour tart or tiara pan      Bake at 350° for 15 minutes    Dust with powdered sugar as desired.

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Relaxing with more comfort food.

Chicken and Dumplings!

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Cooked chicken thighs til tender and took off bone.
Boiled minced onion, carrots, a potato and peas.
Made a medium white sauce seasoned with
chicken seasoning to taste, added the other
previous ingredients, simmering, added the following
cornbread dumplings on top in teaspoons, covered
and simmered for additional 20 minutes til done.
Cornbread Dumplings
1 C flour 1/2 C cornmeal pinch salt
1 Tb baking powder 3 Tb oil 2/3 C milk

Weekly Photo Challenge: It’s Not This Time of Year Without

A lot of stuff really.

For someone who has always lived in the northern area of the country, it’s not this time of year without snow & icy roads so be careful if you share this part of the world.

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oil painting

For most of us, it’s the start of the holiday or Christmas season. I used to say happy holidays before it almost became illegal to say Merry Christmas. I found this cartoon a few years ago, so appropriate!i-said-christmas

Daily Prompt: Anticipation Worth the Wait

That word reminds me of Carly Simon’s song and the use in those Heinz Ketchup commercials many years ago.

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Thick, rich Heinz Ketchup (Catsup).  The taste that’s worth the wait!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae6ofz3fgD8

Weekly Photo Challenge: Quest to be the Best

Good Morning!

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My quest is to have the best blogs I can from this day forward. Now let’s see if I keep that promise. My goal had always been to provide needed information to others regarding many aspects of living in todays very confusing world, with a little entertainment and pretty pictures.

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I want to give others ideas and shortcuts to living in a world that will rob you blind spiritually as well as financially. It was supposed to give definite tips to save money, offer suggestions to solve various lifestyle issues such as cooking, cleaning, decorating, gardening and crafting. I have really fallen short in this area because as my mother used to say “obviously, it’s too much like work” now.

Even though I have experienced the joys of motherhood myself, it was so many years ago this is definitely not a “mommy blog.”

I plan to have more recipes, gardening tips and photo enhancement tips from Photoshop, which I seldom use, Microsoft Photodraw the first photographic software I purchased and still us even though support stopped many years ago to Ulead PhotoImpact which has awsome particle effects like lighting and fog.

Thank you all for your patience and I hope you will enjoy the new, improved Po’ Girl Shines. I owe my faith and hope to Jesus. God bless you all. Peace to you all.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Cherry On Top

At first I thought what an odd Theme for a weekly photo challenge until I remembered this picture taken at one of my friend’s wedding years ago.

As usual, I touched up the one photo for everyone else’s privacy, just something I do for certain pictures.

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Me with one of my old 35mm camera’s at a friend’s wedding. We had a blast!
My friend thought he was so cute when he took this unexpected snapshot of me with the cherry. I was eating everyone's desserts that night.
My friend thought he was so cute when he took this unexpected snapshot of me with the cherry. I was eating everyone’s desserts that night.

Breakfast Muffins

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Good morning!

This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it!

This recipe might just help you to do that.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

 

             Dry                                                            Wet

1     C whole wheat flour                               1/4 C sour cream

1     C flour                                                       1/4 C oil

2     tsp baking powder                                    1/4 C milk

1     pinch of salt                                           1/4 C vanilla flav. creamer

1/2 C sugar                                                      3    Tb lemon juice

1   C fresh or frozen blueberries                    2 eggs

Mix the dry together in large bowl and then all the wet together to add to the dry. If you don’t have flavored creamer just change milk to half cup and add 1 tsp vanilla.  You can also use whatever type flours you desire.  I use whole wheat for most of my recipes.

Incorporate all ingredients by hand except blueberries but do not over mix. Before folding in the blueberries, I mix them with a couple of Tbs. of sugar first but this is optional.

Fill all cups at least 3/4 full. Should make more than 12 regular size muffins.  Bake at 350° for approximately 30 minutes.

Mix the dry together in large bowl and then all the wet together to add to the dry. If you don’t have flavored creamer just change milk to half cup and add 1 tsp vanilla.  You can also use whatever type flours you desire.  I use whole wheat for most of my recipes.

Incorporate all ingredients by hand except blueberries but do not over mix. Before folding in the blueberries, I mix them with a couple of Tbs. of sugar first but this is optional.

Fill all cups at least 3/4 full. Should make more than 12 regular size muffins.  Bake at 350° for approximately 30 minutes.

(I apologize for the formatting problem on the recipe.  This is what happened using cut and paste.  Please place any question in the comment section.  Thank you!)

Daily Prompt: Sugar, ah Honey, Honey

My one and only vice at this time.  As a borderline diabetic, I’m ashamed of myself as any alcoholic would feel falling off the wagon every time I over indulge and know I do it with some risk.  I have always loved sweets, but mostly just chocolate and ice creams with some kind of fudge or chocolate in it or on it.  For years I kept my cravings under acceptable control.  A piece of chocolate here and there.  A small bowl (or two) of ice cream after dinner in the evening.  Now it’s over the moon due to once I start eating sweets, it’s hard for me to stop.  I started drinking coffee with International Delight French Vanilla which is so delicious on its own and it sets my palate for more sweets like maybe a donut or scone instead of oatmeal, toast or an egg.

Since I’m new in my small town, about two months now, I have already visited a couple local bakeries in the morning if I wake up and feel the need to get out because it’s just too quiet and they have a no noise thing before 8:00 am.  I’m po’ so a buck or two for something sweet is better than forking out four or five dollars for an omlette.

Enjoy the visions of sugar (not plums) dancing on my screen!


View this post at your own risk of drooling and spontaneous eating frenzies. For entertainment purposes only!