Nature's Heart

Nature's Heart

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Easy Salmon Dinner

Sometimes it's hard to find the time to cook for yourself...so here's a pretty easy meal that is ready in under 30 Minutes!

For a single serving you will need:
1 Costco salmon patty
1 mini sweet red pepper
1-2 mini yellow peppers
2-3 cremini mushrooms or about a 1/2 cup already sliced
1 tomato
1-2 cups of baby spinach
1-2 Tbsp Bistro Blends Rosemary Roasted Garlic Cabernet

Chop your vegetables into 1/2 to 1/4th inch chunks (to save a little time you can buy pre-sliced mushrooms!).
I chopped and cooked all of my veggies as the salmon patty was baking to save time.

You can find this specific rosemary blend online or search their distributor locations...and check out the many other amazing products they have. I have quite a few varieties and love them!
When the salmon patty has about 10 minutes left in the oven, pre-heat a sauté pan and add the balsamic and sauté the vegetables stirring occasionally over med-med low heat. I like my vegetables to still have a little crunch to them and so that there is still a little bit of "life" to them.
Place the spinach on a dinner plate and place the salmon patty on top of the bed of spinach. The warm patty will lightly cook down the spinach a bit.

Once the patty comes out of the oven, your vegetables should be finished cooking and ready to be spooned over your spinach and patty and...

And voilà! So delicious, so colorful, so easy and so healthy! Enjoy!

Monday, November 18, 2013

Thanks

A Season of Thanks and Blessings
Thanks!
Danke! - German
Bedankt! - Dutch
Merci! - French
Cảm ơn - Vietnamese

Definition of thanksgiving (n)

Bing Dictionary
  • thanks·giv·ing
  • [ thàngks gívving ]
  1. prayer of thanks: a prayer that offers thanks to God
  2. giving of thanks: an expression or an act of giving thanks
  3. public acknowledgment of divine goodness: a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness

Some of those simple moments in life that I am grateful and thankful for:
  • Apples slices with cinnamon
  • A real piece of mail (snail mail)
  • Hand Quilting/working on my quilt that 3 generations have now worked on!!!
  • Hugs from the ones I love
  • Finishing a good book and beginning a new one
  • The color of Autumn leaves when they are at their brightest
  • The feeling after a hard workout...feeling recharged and exhausted at the same time
  • Spending quality time with friends and family
  • A hot cup of tea on a cold day
  • A home cooked meal, cooked for and shared with someone/people
  • A house with a spare room/art room that family and friends can stay in when they come to visit
  • Wonderful neighbors
  • Feeling God's presence...often in nature
  • Finding that "perfect" gift for someone
  • A good...good laugh
  • Road trips and travel adventures
  • Creating: Art, music, crafts, cooking, writing
  • Scriptures/The Word of God, becoming alive and telling me exactly what I need to hear when I need to hear it:
Psalm 100
"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."

  • An incredible man of God. A man of honor and integrity and a man who is able to surprise me by flying in for a short weekend...just because he missed me!!! A man that makes me feel special and beautiful often. A man that I can trust, depend upon and feel safe around. A man that makes me laugh and brings perspective as needed/when asked.
Well these are just a few of the many, many, many blessings and life moments that I am beyond thankful for.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Oh That Goodwill

Like I have mentioned before...sometimes you go to the Goodwill/Salvation Army or whatever your local thrift/secondhand store is and you find absolutely nothing...and then other days you find everything all at once!
A pattern in my size!!! I always love the vintage look and drawings on older patterns

I found a matching set of 8 (although I only bought 6 for lack of cupboard space) yellow rimmed bowls and some adorable sandwich plates that I couldn't resist picking up! Each bowl and plate ranged from $0.59-under a dollar each! I also picked up a few blue trimmed dinner plates since I only had two dinner plates to my name...when I put them away at home they were almost identical (only slightly larger but same color and depth)!

I found the perfect use for those little plates!!!
The Christmas Spirit has hit me earlier than usual this season and I found a beautiful, virtually pristine condition vinyl record of Julie Andrews singing Christmas carols!!!

 This adorable game, "Guess How Much I Love You"...not only is the name cute but it is all bunnified, and then a set of old ABC flashcards that I fell in love with! Love the look and drawings!
This fabulous windbreaker...yes this is a "selfie" shot...but what's a girl gonna do!
As Ben would say, "Jackpot!"

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

I know it's November but I can't help it! I am already in the mood for Christmas!!! I have fought the urge to put up all of my Christmas decorations ever since Halloween was over...Even on Halloween I met up with a friend that evening to work on Christmas tree ornaments!!!
Aren't they cute!!! We are going to meet up later to make more now that we know what we are doing!

It probably doesn't help that stores have been setting up for the Christmas season well before November and while normally this would annoy me, I actually find myself quite delited this season.

I am a do it yourself(er) and love to make gifts for people during the holidays. Here are a few new projects that I have my eye on to try!


Candy Cane Marshmellow Pops that can hang on the inside of the mug and let all of the candycane/chocolatey goodness slowly infuse your hot chocolate....Find the how to's here!


Jingle bells & candles as a centerpiece for Christmas. Hitting up the dollar store!

 Recipe for snowman cookies - ha
For the recipe check out melted snowmen cookies
 And this scrumptious recipe is one that I will likely try: Peppermint Popcorn Bark
Christmas Peppermint Popcorn (Pinner says: This stuff is like crack. I gave it as neighbor gifts and a few people even asked for more!)

I have also been looking at neat gift alternative ideas for people...here's the deal...I already have everything I need and then some...so this year I'm asking that if people want to get me something...I would rather that money be used to go towards someone who doesn't have as much as me...here are a few of my favorites this year:


Operation Shoe Box: Samaritans Purse

Help Care for Unsponsored Children
Sponsor a Child with Compassion International
Happy Holidays!!! (And only 23 more days until Thanksgiving!!!)