Portabello Pizza

Yummy Pizza without the Crust!             This is a great recipe using a mushroom cap for your personal pizza crust.  We like to prep the ingredients together and make enough for several of these "individual" serving snacks. We each put our favorite toppings on and enjoy for a family meal.

 Heat up a Tbsp of olive oil and saute 1/2 tsp. chopped garlic, 1/4 c. bell pepper, 1 small tomato or 4-5 grape tomatoes, 1/2 tsp. basil, 1/4 c. onion and 1/4 tsp. onion powder.

Add 1 1/2 cups raw spinach and continue to saute.

Squeeze a little lemon juice over sauteed veggies.

Stuff a large potabello cap with the mixture and top with 1 Tbsp shredded fat free cheese.  Broil to melt cheese.

Recipe

1  cap Portabella mushroom 1 Tbsp olive oil 1/4 cup bell pepper 1/4 cup chopped onion 4-5 grape tomatoes 1/2 tsp. chopped garlic 1/4 tsp. onion powder 1/4 tsp. basil 1 1/2 cup spinach 1 tsp. lemon juice 1 Tbsp shredded fat-free cheddar cheese Wash mushroom cap and pat dry.  Set aside.  Heat olive oil in skillet and sauté pepper, onion, tomatoes, garlic onion powder and basil until onions are transparent.  Add spinach and continue to sauté until spinach is cooked. Squeeze 1 tsp. lemon juice over mixture.  Place sautéed vegetables into portabello cap and press down. Top with cheese and broil for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Nutrition Facts Serving Size 699 g Amount Per Serving Calories  292 Calories from Fat  158 % Daily Value* Total Fat  17.6g 27% Saturated Fat  3.5g 18% Cholesterol  7mg 2% Sodium  110mg 5% Total Carbohydrates  30.2g 10% Dietary Fiber  9.4g 38% Sugars  16.9g Protein  10.3g Vitamin A 102% • Vitamin C 249% Calcium 11% • Iron 55% Nutrition Grade A * Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis Good points ·         Low in cholesterol ·         Low in sodium ·         High in dietary fiber ·         High in iron ·         High in manganese ·         High in niacin ·         High in phosphorus ·         High in potassium ·         High in riboflavin ·         Very high in vitamin A ·         Very high in vitamin B6 ·         Very high in vitamin C Bad points ·         High in sugar

Kale Chips

A healthy and tasty snack!

These easy chips are healthy and delicious.  They are vegan and gluton free!

Garlic Sesame Kale Chips    6 cups Kale 2 TBSP olive oil 2 tsp garlic 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp sesame seed

Cheesy Kale Chips 6 cups Kale 2 TBSP olive oil ½ tsp salt ¼ c Nutritional yeast

Wash and remove stems from kale.  Toss with olive oil to coat. Place on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Spread out evenly.Preheat oven to 425.  Sprinkle kale with other ingredients.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning halfway through.  Kale is ready when it is dry and crispy.  Don't overbake.  Let cool and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts Serving Size 74 g Amount Per Serving Calories  78 Calories from Fat  49 % Daily Value* Total Fat  5.4g 8% Saturated Fat  0.8g 4% Cholesterol  0mg 0% Sodium  223mg 9% Total Carbohydrates  7.1g 2% Dietary Fiber  1.4g 6% Protein  2.4g Vitamin A 206% • Vitamin C 134% Calcium 10% • Iron 7% Nutrition Grade A- * Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis  Good points ·         No cholesterol ·         Very low in sugar ·         High in calcium ·         Very high in manganese ·         High in potassium ·         Very high in vitamin A ·         High in vitamin B6 ·         Very high in vitamin C Bad points ·         High in sodium

Making an original Prom Dress

Being an original is important to my daughter and I wanted to make a special prom dress that showed her uniqueness...

We selected fabric and a vintage pattern from Vogue that she liked.

She loved the back of the dress, but wanted a sweetheart neckline instead of the pattern's round neckline.  I cut a bodice out of muslin to experiment with the neckline and to assure a good fit.

I put the bodice together and then used our purchased beaded trim to determine the best place to cut the neckline.

Using the muslin pattern, I cut and sewed the bodice and lining.

Buttonholes for the back lacing

Boning was added to give support to the bodice.

Next, I used lining fabric and sewed together the skirt  pieces.

I machine gathered the top edge of the skirt.

Next I cut a skirt of the tulle to go over the lining skirt.  I alternated teal and plum tulle as I assembled them and then made a second layer in which the teal was layered over the plum and plum over tulle.  This gave it a sort of irredescent look.

To gather the tulle skirt, I used fishing line and sewed over it with a giant zig-zag stitch.

I used double-wide quilt binding and stitched the tulle to it.  Then I removed the fishing line and sewed the lining and tulle to the bodice.

The dress is finished, but we decided the bodice front was too plain.

I drew out a pattern for beadwork on a piece of paper the used graph paper to make it proportional.  I transferred the pattern to tissue paper.  I put the tissue paper and a piece of black organza together held with an embroidery hoop. Using a needle and nylon thread, I beaded the design onto the organza.

When the pattern was completed, I cut away the organza and began to sew it onto the dress bodice.  as I attached the pattern, I cut away the organza that was holding it together.

THe finished dress...

Starting a blog

Summer's almost over for teachers and I promised myself that I would start a blog this summer.      

So here it goes:

     Who am I?  I am a child of God, the wife of Mike, the mother of Zachary and Elizabeth and a lover of life! I'm also a sister, a step-mother, a mother-in-law, an aunt, a neice, a cousin, a sister-in-law, and a friend.  I love to learn new things and share them. I like teaching people.  I teach PE to elementary students. I teach crafts and help out with high school youth at church. I have a license to teach cosmetology that I haven't used, but I did do hair for many years and always tried to teach my clients how to make their hair look when they leave the salon.  I've taught Sunday school, led Girl Scouts, coached soccer, and taught pre-school. 
     I've been sewing and crafting as long as I can remember and I'm hoping that through my blog I can share some helpful tips for others who enjoy fabric arts.  I also am striving to become a healthier person and want to share the recipes, activities, and home products that I'm learning about, creating, and using.  
     I've learned much from what other folks have blogged and really appreciate their time and efforts.  After all, shouldn't we share the good things that we know and help make the world a better place?  I think so.  I named the blog "Far more than diamonds..." from Proverbs 31:10 which describes finding a good wife.  I believe the strongest calling I have had in my life is to be a good wife and mother and maybe someone can use what I've learned to also pursue this high calling or whatever calling they hear.  God bless!