Vacation Photos Done

I started working on my vacation photos on Sept 10 and finished on the 18th. I think that is pretty good for 27 pages and about 128 photos. I planned out what I wanted to do with the with the photos shown in this post. I kept it super simple. I even used the back of the double sided paper which is something I have never done. I did it in steps. First I cut out the photos and mounted them on cardstock or directly onto the pattern paper. Then I added the embellishments and words cut out on the Cricut. Then I went back and added the journalling strips. I know they are not fancy pages but I am so happy to be done our vacation photos.

Recipe of the day a day late

{PEANUT AND SQUASH SOUP}

1 ½ tsp peanut oil
4 cups (1/2 inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
1 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground coriander
4 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
¾ cup reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp crushed red pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat peanut oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add squash and next 5 ingredients (through coriander) to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add chicken broth, peanut butter, tomato paste, and crushed red pepper, stirring well to combine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until the squash is tender. Sprinkle with cilantro. Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
CALORIES: 264; FAT 11.2 g: PROTEIN 11.3 g; CARB 34.6 g; FIBER 6.4 g; CHOL o mg; IRON 2.3 mg; SODIUM 621 mg; CALC 11mg
From: Cooking Light December 2007

Sorry I am late. The computer was occupied when I wanted to use it yesterday. Excuses excuses. I have made this soup a few times. It is very filling and very good. It is good with a dollop of sour cream on top. I steamed the squash first.

Recipe of the day

{CABBAGE CHICKEN SALAD}

1 head shredded cabbage (12 cups)
2 bunches chopped green onions
2 cups cooked chicken or turkey cubed
2 packages Chicken flavored Raman noodles-raw
1 cup slivered almonds
3 tbsp sesame seeds
Dressing:
4 packets artificial sweetener
¼ cup white vinegar (tarragon)
¼ cup salad oil
½ tsp pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 packets broth from noodles

Combine cabbage, onions and chicken in large bowl. Lightly toast almonds and sesame seeds in non-stick pan, sprayed with non-stick spray on med. High heat. Let cool. Add raw noodles to cabbage ix by breaking into small pieces. Add cooled toasted almonds and sesame seeds to salad mix. Mix dressing and add to salad. Chill.
Makes 10 servings-each 2 cup serving equals 5 points. I have always ½ the recipe because it makes a really big salad.
From: Kellie at Weight Watchers.

This recipe is from the Weight Watchers leader here in Pullman. I have made this many times. It is very good. I have never found the tarragon vinegar and just use white wine or regular vinegar.

Promises Promises

I like to pretend that I have a huge blog audience. Almost as big as Ali Edwards. I know how crazy I sound. So here are some pictures of my Project Life that I promised a while back. This one is done. I know I keep on saying how easy this is but it is because it is true. A 7 photo LO with journalling done.
For this one I cut out "friends" on the Cricut. I am keeping the theme the same. I use the real dial size on the Cricut the Plantin cartridge and try and keep the size at 1 1/4. I took a whole lotta photos of my daughter's gymnastic recital but I managed to get them all in on these two pages. Those pictures would have sat around forever before. 16 photos on the two pages and I did some journalling about the recital. I also did some labels that I pasted onto the photos. Another page done. In the Project Life kit she includes some double sided pattern paper. The bottom sections on the page dividers is some of the paper that I cut up. This page is the start of the process. I decide which photos I want to put on the page and then cut them up. Then I will decide which journalling cards and paper to put in the empty slots. On the photos on the bottom I will mount it on some of the pattern paper that comes with the kit. This page is almost done. I have a note in the top left pocket about a correction I want to make. So far I have journalled on every single day. It gets to be a lot of journalling but I liked that day in the life concept. Some of the journalling I paste on the back of a card or picture and put "journalling on the back". Here is another page in progress. Some pages have more jouralling and some have more pictures. It just depends on the photos I take. I don't plan it. I am very pleased with this project and would highly recommend it. I am sure if you have been reading you get that point already. Another in progress page. A completed page with some letters cut out on the Cricut. You can see the month dividers that come in the kit on the left side of the page-they are transparent. Another finished page. This one is a work in progress. I am going to cut something out on the cricut and you can see my journalling strips that I need to glue on. Finished. Finished.

Recipes

I haven't been very good about updating my blog. I have been scrapping. My envelope system has worked very well and I am close to being done all our vacation photos. I will post that soon. I know I said I would post my Project Life stuff soon too so I will add some of those today. I am trying to type out all my favorite recipes and so I thought since I am typing them out why not post them also that way I can post a recipe a day. This recipe is from Becky Higgins and it is so good. If you want to make it lower fat you can use fat free cream cheese and fat free crescent rolls and fat free mushroom soup. If you want to make it fat full then add feta and chopped up bacon to the mix that you wrap in the crescent rolls. So good. Either way these things are good. You should check out her blog for other great recipes. So far I have only made these from her blog but there are others I want to try.


{CHICKEN PILLOWS}

2-3 pieces of cooked chicken breasts, diced
(or 2 cans of chicken if you’re in a pinch for time)
8 oz. cream cheese
Salt & pepper
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
6 crescent rolls
stuffing mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. milk

Combine first 3 ingredients. Add a spoonful of mixture on crescent roll. Wrap around and pinch the edges. Dip in melted butter and then roll in stuffing mix. Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes. Serve with mushroom sauce (combine soup and milk in saucepan over low heat until smooth and creamy).
From: Becky Higgins’s blog

I think I have discovered an easier way

So this is what I am doing with my summer vacation photos. I have divided them into days and put each day in a separate envelope. Then using my sketch ebook from Ella I found sketches for all my photos. I wrote some on sticky notes and some right on the envelopes. How fast is that going to be?

I am going to put these vacation pages right in my Project Life book. Here is July 4th. I have 22 pictures from that day-4 easy layouts ready to go. I am trying to make this as easy as possible. I will put some pictures of my Project Life up her shortly. I have taken some pictures of that process also. Not counting my vacation photos I am caught up to July with my photos from this year. It is blowing my mind.

I wish I could have a full day of uninterupted scrapping

This paper is so detailed and pretty but it is a challenge for me. I feel like I can only work in the space were there are no flowers or swirls. But how can you not use this paper? Just look at it. I added my own special touch which is not that visible in the photos. Moving on.

The cards-which I usually struggle with. I just never feel like they are good enough. Get over yourself.