The Weekend

We are all gussied up for Memorial Day, around here!  

And I have been painting....

Have a wonderful weekend!

Birthday and Last Day of School

Today is my son's last day of school and his 14th birthday!

Such a good kid!  We are so fortunate to have him in our family.

A Perfect Room

I just love this room...

source

I probably pinned this room several times over the past few months.

Does it even count as a room?  

Have a great day!

Little Clouds of Happiness

Little Cloud of Happiness by Joy Elizabeth Ceramics on Etsy

Love those little clouds.  We all have small bits of happiness around us - we just sometimes have to look out from under our umbrellas to see them! 

We had High School Honor's Night last night - which was a big cloud of happiness.   (Parent pride - my child is on the far right).......

Have a great day!

Quiche on the Brain

Sometimes I just crave quiche.  This weekend was one of those times - so I bought my ingredients and finally got around to making the quiche this morning.  One thing I really like about baking a quiche is that it tastes great re-heated.  I am not a big left-over fan, but quiche never tastes like a leftover.

I tried to teach my 20 year old daughter how to cook when she was home last week. She somehow "missed" any instructions I gave her while she lived under my roof... while eating my cooking......and setting our table.  Not exactly sure how she avoided the cooking instruction, but she missed a lot.  A whole lot.  We tried baking chicken last week.  She half-listened and is over-confident.  I am awaiting the upcoming salmonella call from the hospital in Atlanta.  It won't be long. 

All that to say, I know quiche is a very basic and easy dish to make, but have realized lately that what is 'easy' to some, may not be so common-place to others.  So, here is how I make my quiche....

Spinach Quiche
One refrigerated pie crust -ready to roll out (from the fridge section of the grocery store)
Bacon 3-4 strips
Fresh Spinach
1/2 cup chopped Onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 to 1-1/2 cups milk
6 or 7 eggs
1 cup of shredded cheeses
1 tsp salt
cracked pepper
Cherry Tomatoes

Fry 3 or 4 or 5 strips of bacon in a pan, reserving grease to saute onions and peppers. (How could this not be good with bacon as the first ingredient?) Be sure and place the peppers and onions on a paper towel to soak up the extra grease.  Chop up the bacon into small bits. While frying the bacon, unroll the pie crust and place in a greased (with Pam) pie plate. Fill up the pie shell with fresh spinach - I typically use a couple of handfulls (maybe two cups?).  The spinach literally fills up the entire pie shell. (In my mind, the vitamins found in lots of spinach negate the unhealthiness of the bacon).  Pour the bacon, onion, and peppers evenly over the spinach.  In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, milk, cheeses, salt and pepper together. (With the cheeses- I like a mixture of mozzarella and extra-sharp cheddar, with a little feta thrown in.  Sometimes we have a bag of shredded pizza cheeses in the refrigerator, and I will add some of that. Just use what you have.  As you can see by the photo, above, we had mostly cheddar in our fridge this morning.)  Pour the egg/milk/cheese mixture over the spinach.  If the egg/milk/cheese mixture does not cover the spinach, I usually add more milk right on top.  You want the liquid to pretty much cover the dry ingredients.  I place the quiche in a 350 degree over for 30 minutes, then add chopped up cherry tomatoes on the top and bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer.  Use a knife inserted in the middle to determine if the quiche is baked through (the knife comes out clean when you stick it in the thickest portion of the quiche).


You can also throw in mushrooms or asparagus.  It is all delicious. Our nearby Aldi tends to sell colored peppers at a great price - three for a $1.  

Have a great day!

Rock Castle

This past week I was in Hendersonville, Tennessee.  I saw the signs to Historic Rock Castle and drove over to investigate.  (I am rarely disappointed when I follow 'historic' signs.)

This beautiful Federal/Georgian Style home was built between 1784 and 1791 by General Daniel Smith.  Daniel Smith was instrumental in Tennessee history, negotiating agreements with the Indians and serving as a US Senator.  He is also credited with naming the state.  The home and grounds are now a Tennessee State-Owned Historic Site. 

The waters of Old Hickory Lake are visible in this next photo, behind the home.  ("Old Hickory" (Andrew Jackson) was a friend of the family and lived nearby).  The lake was created in 1954. 

Gorgeous setting and a beautiful May day. The house is made of limestone, which is more visible in this photo....

I did not take the tour because I arrived at 1:30 and had to get to a meeting by 2:00.  

Miranda Lambert filmed a video here, a while back .....

Here is an interesting article about the house, for my fellow history buffs.

And here are some other historic homes I captured, recently. 
Along the Bayou Teche in Louisiana
Clarksville, Tennessee

Have a great weekend!

busy painting bee

And I finally finished the glass jar on this orange one.....

All are 12"x12" on deep (1-1/2") profile canvas. $55 each.
Leave me a comment or send me an email, if you are interested in one.
Enjoy your day!