Dreaming of Nature

It has been a long time since I took to painting and this is the first painting that I have painted in just under a decade.  I recently met some inspiring souls that are so good at their "craft" that they made me want to be creative again!  Thank you!

Grandma's Flower

I painted this flower in 1999 for my grandma because she loved them.  I know she's still watching over me.

Michelle's Seven Layer Dip :: It's time to party!

After many hours of watching food network I have managed to perfect my foods that I like to make for larger gatherings.  This is one of my favorites for Tom's Annual Christmas Extravaganza!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 2 gloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• 16 oz can of re-fried black beans
• 8 oz package of light cream cheese
• 8 oz of light sour cream or 2% greek yogurt
• 16 oz of salsa
• 6 oz package of shredded mexican blend cheese
• handful of sliced jalapeño peppers
• baking dish or aluminum tray

Directions

1. Caramelize onions and garlic in olive oil.  Brown ground beef and cook through.
2. Add taco seasoning per instructions on the packet.
3. After the ground beef is cooked through and mixed with the taco seasoning, create your first layer in the aluminum tray.
4. Then layer on the re-fried back beans.
5. Mix cream cheese and sour cream together.  Layer the mixture over the re-fried black beans.
6. Add the layer of salsa.  You can add extra veggies to this layer if you want like diced green peppers, zucchini or even more tomatoes.
7. Sprinkle grated cheese  so it covers all of the salsa.
8. Finish off with 5-6 jalapeño peppers.
9. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes until cheese is melted and center is heated through.
10. Enjoy with blue corn tortilla chips!

Annie's Austrian Cocoa Cocconut Cake

While in Greece I had a cooking lesson from our Austrian neighbors.  Here's the recipe that I managed to translate from German...

Ingredients

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 package of vanilla sugar (in the US we can substitute with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
• 2 eggs
• 1 package of 2% greek yogurt - 7 oz or 200 grams
• 1/4 cup 2% milk
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup of shredded coconut

Directions

1. In a bowl mix the sugar, vanilla sugar and eggs.  
2. Add the greek yogurt, milk and oil and stir well.   
3. Sift together the cocoa powder, cinnamon, flour and baking powder and then combine with the wet ingredients.  Mix on slow speed for one minute.  
4. Then stir in the dry coconut and mix on high speed for two to three minutes.  
5. Pour batter into a bread pan that is buttered and floured or lined with parchment paper.  
6. Bake at 320 degrees fahrenheit for 60 minutes
7. Let the cake cool and then enjoy!

Note this was made using an electric hand mixer.  I am told that you can substitute coconut for nuts or any other item that you might like in a cake.  This is also supposed to make a good cupcake base.

Michelle's Guacamole

There are some things that I have perfected making over time. Guacamole is one of them...

Ingredients

• 2 avocados - halved, seeded and peeled 
• 1 roma tomato (or any other tomato you fancy) - diced
• 1/2 small red onion - diced
• 1/2 a jalapeno pepper - seeded and finely diced
• 2 cloves of garlic - finely diced
• 1 bunch of cilantro - chopped
• 1/2 lime - juiced 
• 1 tsp salt (or taste)
• 1 tsp pepper (or to taste)
• 2 tsp hot sauce

Directions
In a bowl place the scooped avocado and lime juice. Fold in the onions, jalapeno, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste.

Blueberry Flax Muffins (Bethany Mavis)

Ingredients

• 1½ cups whole-wheat flour
• ¾ cup ground flaxseed
• ¾ cup oat bran
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and grated
• 2 cups frozen blueberries
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 bananas
• ¾ cup almond milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour muffin pans or use cupcake liners. Place raisins in a small bowl. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and pour over the raisins. Let sit for 5 minutes, then drain. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine flour, flax, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Stir in grated apple, blueberries, drained raisins and walnuts. In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Add almond milk, eggs and vanilla; stir to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir just until all ingredients are moistened. Fill muffin cups ¾ full and bake 15–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Yields 18 muffins.

The Setai Fifth Avenue Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
• 1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar
• 1 lb Butter
• 4 Eggs
• 3 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Baking Soda
• 2 Cups Chocolate Chips

Directions

1. Combine both sugars and butter in bowl.  Cream together until light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, scrapping down the bowl after each addition.  Add the vanilla extract.
3. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda into a separate bowl and then add to sugar mixture, just to combine.  Mix in chocolate chips.
4. Place rounded tablespoons of dough onto a cookie sheet and back cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 to 7 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Remove tray from oven, allow cookies to cool for 2 minutes before removing them.
6. Eat and enjoy!