Happy New Year!

Wow, just with the blink of an eye 2011 is over, and January is nearly half over! Exciting things will be happening around here! Hubby and I are going to Macworld, then next month our youngest daughter will be having her first baby- a Boy! That will make THREE Grandkids! Yee Haw!!!  Can't wait to hold that little darlin' in my arms...

Fun things with the nail design going on too...Another fabulous design by my Nail Guy! He used OPI nail colors... Yodel me on my cell, That's Berry Darling, and Purple with a Purpose. Also white and black paint, and silver glitter striping stuff, and some clear jewels. Thanks, Nail Guy!

Christmas Nails 2011

Pretty, aren't they? My oldest daughter has a set of discs from "Bundle Monster". Nail Art Stamping is becoming the rage. This was the first time she stamped on someone elses nails. I've received several comments on how great they look!

What? STILL no snow???

What is wrong with this picture?  OK so there is no picture, but you know what I mean. We have NO SNOW.  It's just not Christmas without a blanket of snow on the ground! This is one of the weirdest Christmas's in years!  Oh believe me, it's sure cold enough outside, but HEY, we NEED some snow around here. PRONTO!

Brunch anyone?

I posted a picture of this dish on my 365 Blog. Here's the recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

Easy Breakfast Bake

Prep time 20 min                     Serves 6
Cook time 45 min

Ingredients:

1 lb  Bob Evans Zesty Hot Roll Sausage
1 20 oz package Bob Evans Hash Brown Potatoes
1C diced Bob Evans Ham Steaks
1/3 C. diced onions
1C shredded Cheddar cheese
1C shredded swiss cheese
1 yellow pepper, diced
4 oz sliced mushrooms
6 eggs
1/3 C. milk
salt and pepper to taste

In med. skillet over med. eat crumble and cook sausage till browned.  Add onions and cook till softened. Set aside. In a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, place 1/2 the potatoes. Top with sausage mixture, ham, cheeses, yellow pepper and mushrooms. Place remaining potatoes on top. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper until well combined. Pour over potatoes. At this point, dish can be refrigerated overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Bake uncovered 45-50 minutes, or until eggs are set.

This dish is a hit!  I baked it for our Christmas brunch at school and it was gone very fast!

Christmas Nails

Merry Christmas!  My Nail Guy, once again, did an awesome job!  I even found the perfect stemware to match!  White nail color, with red stripes. Glitter top coat. Simple. Festive. AWESOME!

Minestrone Soup

Well...I think Winter is very close! We had our first blanket of snow today! Ahhh, that means it's soup weather!  I made this really wonderful soup for dinner tonight, and I thought I'd share it with you.

Minestrone Soup

1 lb Italian Sweet or Hot Sausage meat (NO Casing)

1 lb dry pasta, any kind you like (cooked and drained)

1 bag frozen chopped spinach

1 medium yellow onion, diced or chopped, depending on how large you like the pieces

2 Tablespoons (yes, TABLE spoons!) garlic

Olive oil for cooking sausage

1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can (I used a 28 oz can) diced tomatoes (juice too!)

2 cartons NO MSG Chicken Broth

Salt, pepper, basil, parsley to taste (may not need to add salt)

Brown sausage in olive oil, add onions and garlic and saute for about 5 min. Add  beans, tomatoes, broth, and spinach, set heat to medium/low and cook about 30 min, till broth is hot.  Add cooked pasta, season to taste and serve.

I think this will rival any restaurant minestrone!

Holiday FUN!

I just signed up for a Handmade Gift Exchange through Craftaholics Anonymous! Oh what FUN that will be!  If you'd like to do the same, you should be able to get to her blog from mine, as I'm a follower of that blog!

I'm so anxious to get to know the person I'm making a gift for! Neat way to make a new crafting friend!