Inspiration

"A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation." ~ Mark Twain



     My husband and I recently celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary.  I have been begging to go to Yellowstone again and my husband finally gave in.  It was a nice weekend.  We saw some beautiful scenery and I was thrilled to finally be able to see what is known as the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  We got snowed on a little.  We saw lots of wildlife.  We saw Old Faithful erupt twice.

 

 

     I have a habit of stopping at quilt shops along the way as we travel.  We stopped at a cute shop in Idaho Falls called Daydream.  Check it out.

     We stopped at a quilt shop in West Yellowstone called Send It Home.

 

I loved this quilt called Total Eclipse.

Look at these cute tree ornaments!

     I don't often make desserts anymore but I found this recipe on pinterest and made it for my husband for our anniversary.

 

 

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Delight

From togetherasafamily.com

Crust

2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs

¼ cup sugar

½ cup butter, melted

Cheesecake filling

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 (8oz.) block cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

Raspberry topping

1 (21 oz.) can raspberry pie filling

Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13” baking dish with cooking spray.

To make the crust: Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter in a mixing bowl and combine.  Pour into the prepared baking dish and press evenly into the pan.  Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool completely.

To make the filling: Pour heavy whipping cream into a mixing bowl.  Using an electric hand mixer, or bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream until stiff peaks form and it’s thick.

In another bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar.  Fold in the whipped cream.  Pour it onto the graham cracker crust and gently spread out evenly over the crust.

Top the cheesecake layer with the can of raspberry pie filling.  Spread out evenly.

Cover with plastic wrap and let refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

You can whip a little extra cream to put a dollup on each serving.  You can also crush a few extra graham cracker crumbs to sprinkle over the top for a garnish.

 

     This is the book that made me want to go to Yellowstone when I read it.  It talked about the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and besides it was a sweet little love story during the time when Yellowstone was first made a national park.  Did you know that Yellowstone was once referred to as Wonderland?

Room on the Table

"We read to know that we are not alone." ~ C.S. Lewis




     Since I have a new sewing room downstairs, I no longer need to spread out my sewing projects on the kitchen table   It was time to make a table runner for the kitchen.  My kitchen is blue and white so this is the quick and easy runner that I came up with.  It was fun to use up some of my small scraps!

     My brother's garden is in full swing.  It has been so nice to go and get all the tomatoes, squash and cucumbers that I want and he's so good to share with me.  I have been eating at least one tomato sandwich each day.  I am also including a delish recipe that my friend, Alexis gave me for fresh salsa.

 

Salsa

1 (28oz.) can tomatoes with juice

2 (10 oz.) cans Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies)

¼ cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 whole jalapeno, quartered and sliced thin

¼ tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. ground cumin

½ cup cilantro (or more to taste)

the juice of half a lime

Note: This is a very large batch. Recommend using a 12 cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large bowl.

Combine tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice and cilantro in a blender or food processor.  Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses.  Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour.  Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

I enjoyed reading this Proper Romance book by Nancy Campbell Allen.