Silhouette Pillows

For a prior Christmas I made my dachshund owning and loving Brother and Sister-in-law and Father and Step-Mother a set of these pillows. I saw them in a magazine and they were $95 for the set (plus tax and shipping!). I new I could make them way cheaper. I found a picture, enlarged it, and printed it out. I traced it onto fusible web and fused it onto the felt, cut it out and fused it onto pillows I made. I probably spent $15 for the set (mostly for the pillow forms). They were a BIG hit. I trying to come up with an idea for this Christmas that will be so well received.

Avocado Salsa

This yummy dish is one of my favorite snacks! I can eat it straight from the bowl - forget the chips. It's so easy to make.

2 ripened avocados
1 medium tomato
1/2 medium onion
1/2 lime
salt
cilantro - optional

Cut an avocado in half. An easy way to remove the pit is to whack it with a sharp knife. The pit will be stuck to the knife and just gently twist it out. Carefully push the pit off of the knife. Use a spoon and scrape the avocados into a medium bowl. Mash them with the back of a fork. I prefer mine a little chunky. Squeeze 1/2 lime juice over the mashed avocados. Dice your tomato and onion and add to the mix. Mix to combine and salt to taste. A tablespoon of fresh cilantro finely chopped completes the dish. Tastes great with chips, fresh vegetables or just by the spoonful!

Out of Touch

Hi all. I've been absent recently enjoying the last days of summer and getting my son ready to go off to college in Savannah, Georgia. I'll be back posting regularly Wednesday, September 15. I'll still have Cheap Thrills Thursday up. In the meantime why not browse through some of my older posts from when I just started my blog.

Wholesome Oat Muffins

 These tasty muffins are so much better than store-bought, you'll want to bake a supply regularly. Make a double batch and freeze half for later.

1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons rolled oats
1 1/4 cups whole-grain pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup granular brown sugar substitute
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 425F. Coat a 12 cup nonstick muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.

In a small bowl, combine buttermilk and 3/4 cup of the oats. Let soak for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in walnuts.

In a large bowl, stir together brown sugar substitute, oil, egg and vanilla until well blended. Stir in oat mixture. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.

Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons oats over muffins. Bake for 11 to 15 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins to the rack to cool completely.

Be who you are and say what you feel: 
because those who mind don't matter 
and those who matter don't mind. ~ Dr. Seuss

Felt Tissue Holder

I'm one of those women who cry at just about anything - happy, sad, sentimental, etc. I'm sensitive and feel things deeply. This is not a trait I'm really happy having. The sensitive thing yes - the crying no. I always carry a hanky but it doesn't stand up to my waterworks and is soon useless. So I carry a little package of tissues with me always. But they are boring looking, so I made this little holder for my purse.

I liked it so much I made a second one for my tote bag!

They are just some felt, pinking scissors, a sewing machine (although you could hand stitch it) and a little hot glue to hold the heart on. I think they look really cute! Oh it cost me $1.00 for two new packs of tissues, I had the felt and glue on hand.

Cocoa-Raspberry Shake

Yum! This delicious shake is allowed on my current phase of the South Beach Diet. It's been so hot that I haven't wanted to turn the stove on and cook. So we've been making do with simple stove top cooking (how I wish I had the space for a grill) and salads. I thought we deserved a cool treat!

Blend 1/2 cup fat-free milk, 1/2 cup artificially sweetened nonfat or low-fat raspberry yogurt, 1 packet sugar substitute, and 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder until frothy.

The review: I had to top mine with 1 teaspoon of fat-free frozen topping and a sprinkle of cocoa powder. Mine didn't froth, but I used a stick blender instead of a stand blender, so that might be the difference. Well, believe it or not I couldn't find artificially sweetened raspberry yogurt at the store, so I used cherry, but I like cherry better anyway. There is a hint of the artificial sweetener taste of the yogurt in the drink. Not bad, but noticeable. Next time I'll try a different brand of yogurt. I can only imagine how yummy this would be with sugar sweetened yogurt! (But that defeats the purpose of the South Beach diet). I didn't think 1 teaspoon of cocoa would give it enough of a chocolate taste, but I was wrong. It was nice rich and chocolatey. I also didn't have packets of sugar substitute so I used 1 tablespoon of Splenda. This is a smooth, creamy treat that doesn't taste like I should be eating it! I will definitely make this one again.