Spinach Lentil Stew

I saw this recipe on Bella’s blog, Bella Casa, and copied it to try, which I did recently and it was a hit. Very good flavors, filling, with good ingredients and low-fat too. I’ve been trying to incorporate more lentils into our diet and this is a good way to do that and it’s perfect for these Winter months.

Spinach Lentil Stew

This stew is hearty, healthy, flavorful, and easy to make. There's nothing better than a 1-point meal that fills you up!!

Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves minced
1 med onion (about 1/2 cup), chopped
1 Tb oil (I used canola)
1 cup dry lentils (I used a whole bag of dried lentils & soaked them first)
4 cups chicken broth (or 4 cups water + 4 tsp or cubes of chicken bouillon) I used 3 cans of chicken broth
10 oz frozen spinach
7.5 oz can chopped/diced tomatoes (I used a whole 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes)
1 bay leaf (didn’t use)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed (didn’t have)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tb. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tb. balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 medium carrots, chopped (about 1 cup) (I used baby carrots sliced)

Directions:
Mince garlic cloves and chop onion. Heat oil in large saucepan or dutch oven. Heat onion and garlic in oil until soft but not brown. Add lentils, broth, tomatoes, salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaf, and fennel seeds. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Add frozen spinach and carrots. Bring to a boil again. Break apart frozen spinach with a fork as needed. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer another 10-15 minutes until lentils and carrots are tender. Remove bay leaf. (i did not use the bay leaf or fennel seeds)

Serve hot!
Yields Approx. 7 (1-cup) servings
Nutritional Info: 100 calories, 2 g. fat, 7 g. fiber (1 point per 1-cup serving)
Source: Better Homes and Gardens Vegetarian Cookbook, 1993

Thanks Bella, for a winner of a soup recipe! I think you’ll all love it too.

If you still want to know what that sign in Stray Cats said...go back and read my last comment on that post! Not what it looked like, although still a strange saying.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe

Of course, you all remember that movie, Fried Green Tomatoes?! Until I moved to Birmingham, I had no idea that the original Whistlestop Cafe was right here in this city and is now called the Irondale Cafe. My friend, Sandi, at Whistlestop Cafe Cooking filled me in on that when I met her in blogland and we became friends and I found out her hubby’s family were one the original owners of the Whistlestop and owned it when Fannie Flagg wrote the book, which then became the movie that so many of us enjoyed. Click here for the story of the original Whistlestop and how Sandi’s inlaws came to own it. It’s fascinating! Being from Georgia, I thought that the Whistlestop originated down in Juliette, GA since that town gained fame after the movie came out and that is in fact where the movie was filmed, but the truth is, this cafe is the one and only original version. So, on a recent Friday, my friend, Debbie and I stopped by on our way to The Lovelady Center (which is not far away) and had lunch at the Irondale Cafe. I had heard about the place ever since I moved here and it was a lot of fun to experience it in person. I have a feeling it hasn’t changed a whole lot over the years and you can imagine the movie taking place right here in this little quaint area of Birmingham, called Irondale.

Complete with it’s own train stop right beside the railroad tracks, it’s a throw back to simpler times. Kind of like Mayberry.

So I sat on the bench for a photo op.

And we thoroughly enjoyed our meal at the cafe, where the wall of photos greets you coming in the front door.

Movie posters are everywhere.

Framed and placed in a prominent spot.

And you go through the line cafeteria style ordering up meat, fresh veggies and dessert. This is a typical meat and 3 and the food is very tasty, just like yo’ Mama would make.

Love the green walls in here, it’s a cute place.

And here’s what Debbie and I had that day, fried catfish for me, smothered steak for her and we split dessert and fried green tomatoes. Hard to keep that girlish figure eating like this, but it sure is good. I figure that’s one of the reasons I go to the gym.

Then, while you’re still in Irondale, you must check out this home decor store called Stray Cats. They use old salvaged wood to build things with and they have some very unique home items.

They make a lot of these vintage beadboard hook boards that I think are just adorable. I’m trying to figure out where I can put one of these.

Lots of old salvage pieces, doors, iron things, mirrors.

You can see here a large bookcase made out of old shutters and wood molding.

And this is a long piece that someone had them custom build for a flat screen TV to sit on. I thought this one was really pretty.

More vintage beadboard lines the back of this large bookcase storage piece. If you get a chance, go by and take a look. They are on Hwy. 78 right in Irondale in a small shopping center. The guy that runs the place is really nice too. Check it out and if you go by tell him you read it on my blog. I told him I’d love to get the word out for him since it’s such a unique shop.

Monogrammed Napkins

My niece, Lauren, is a lawyer by day, but I think secretly she’d rather be doing some crafty, like monogramming. Litigation, oh that’s all well and good, but she also has a creative side that she recently decided to pursue by buying a honkin’ sewing/monogram machine off Ebay (a Viking Husqvarna Designer SE) and she has been monogramming up a storm ever since. Which is fine by me, cause I get nifty items like monogrammed napkins for my dining room.

When I was home at Christmas, I witnessed the magic of the monogram machine and saw it in action. She also had bought up some items that she found deals on with thoughts of using them for personalized gifts. I spotted these pretty beige linen napkins with black borders in her stash and asked begged her to do them for my dining room for Christmas and she agreed.

She was backlogged with a few other things, so they just arrived in the mail this week and I was overjoyed with how they came out. Aren’t they pretty?

Thank you, Lauren dear, I just love them. They really go perfectly in my dining room. They are so pretty, I almost hate to use them.

Speaking of my dining room, I think this year will be the year for a few changes in there. I’m planning to add some molding below my chair rail and I have officially decided to lighten up in there and paint over the red! I know, it’s a pretty color, but I feel the need for a brighter dining room and I think I’ll enjoy the change. So that’s another DIY project on my list, one I haven’t done before, but I keep seeing so many girls in blogland doing moldings, I figure I can do it too. Not sure yet on the paint color, but it will probably be a creamy beige color. I tossed around the idea of light blue last year, but I got my blue fix in my downstairs guestroom, so the dining room will be a good spot for neutral. I really think my dark wood table, china cabinet, and sideboard will really show off much better against lighter walls. The toile drapes will stay, as will the seagrass rug. Changes, changes!

Look what’s blooming in my window! One of my neighbors gave me a small amaryllis plant from her big one last summer and I’ve faithfully watered it and now it’s bursting with 2 blooms. How fun to have blooms in the winter. I will move this one outside during the summer months and back in for Winter.

It has been a few years since I did that framed mirror in my old house, so I had to refresh myself again on the best process for it. You will get to learn from MY mistakes! They are both up, so I'll share those next week. I ran into a few problems with the first and I'll tell you all about what NOT to do with yours. So, if you think my projects always go perfect, I can tell you they don't. When you're doing a project, you have to allow for snags that happen along the way, but I think I've fine-tuned the process now. And I'll just tell you, I've changed my method of hanging them. Forget the Liquid Nails. Too messy and slow to dry. It seems that the hot glue gun is the best way after all! Stay tuned for details on Monday.

A Zebra Bulletin Board

You’ve all seen my office nook a bunch of times and can I just say, I just love my little space. All 6 x 9' of it. When we moved in here, I knew this would be the perfect spot for me to create my own little office, just for me. I’ve enjoyed it so much. So, last year I updated the focal wall in lime green paint outlined with the rope trim border.

And now it’s time to update my bulletin board, which I made about 2 years ago. The frame is huge and was a yardsale find for $10. I knew immediately I would put it to good use as a bulletin board in my office space. Since I already had this red bunny fabric in my kitchen and had plenty leftover, I kept it frugal at the time and just used what I had. But, you know that can’t last forever, right?

Off came the red fabric, down to the foamcore board covered with batting that I started with. By the way, making a board like this is so easy. I bought foamcore board at Hobby Lobby (using my 40% coupons) that would fit my big frame, cut it to fit, and just added batting on top to soften the fabric. If you have a staple gun, that really helps speed things up, but you could probably use hot glue or something else to adhere the fabric.

And you can see I used more of the Hobby Lobby zebra fabric on here, since it goes so well with my black/white/green thing I have in the office nook. It only took one yard of fabric (40% off), so at $9.00 it was an inexpensive update.

Just pull the fabric taut all around, stapling the fabric to the board. Work your way all around the board, pulling & stapling. Fold in the corners and staple.

And your board will look like this from the back.

Add some ribbon trim on the front with tacks. This is not a precise measurement, I pretty much just eyeball it on how to layout the ribbon. Pull that around the back and secure it all. Then, simple pop it back into the frame and shoot some staples all around into the wood frame to hold it all in place.

And there you have it, a new and improved look with some funky zebra fabric. Luckily, my original green striped ribbon still works great with it.

LOVE it! If you have any old frame laying around, give it a try. It’s great to hold all those calendar items and things you don’t want to lose. Mine will be full again in no time at all.

I also did something with this space that I vowed I wouldn't do. I posted pics on Rate My Space when I found out they now have a home office category. I've heard of a lot of nastiness going on there and vowed that I wouldn't get involved over there, but on a whim I decided to post my office after I finished this bulletin board and since I love my little space so much. So, if you are so inclined and like to vote for things, pop on over there and give my space a nice rating, please! I figured an office space couldn't elicit too much negativity. :)

Attn: Birmingham bloggers! Would you be interested in a get-together for antiquing/lunch in the near future? I've heard about the Birmingham Flea Market at the fairgrounds which happens once a month, so I'm thinking about planning something for Saturday, March 7th. Let me know if you'd be interested in joining up for this fun event. It would be a blast to get a bunch of us together for a day of fun and looking forward to Spring!

Framed

This is my old bathroom in Georgia. We put in the furniture piece complete with sink and marble tiles and it really turned out pretty. I loved this vanity, the feet, hardware and everything about it. That was back when wallpaper and borders were really in (hello 90's), but I don’t miss either, however, and it was time to move on to Alabama and a new house.

This was a classic dining room buffet in a former life, but worked out well for a new vanity in the bathroom. And yes, that is indeed a cat’s tail you see in the pic. My sweet kitty that I used to have loved drinking water out of the sink.

Now, here’s the part I really wanted to show you. This mirror was framed out using square blocks and fluted moldings and glued on with Liquid Nails. These were painted and glued on the mirror by me. And just to clarify, YES...they are glued directly on top of the mirror, not the wall. So, you don't need extra space on either side of your mirror at all. No more crackle finish this time around, but I’ve got big plans for these……

And 2 naked bathroom mirrors just crying out for some bling. You’ve probably seen this done before, but it’s a great way to frame out a plain bath mirror without taking it down and starting over. You’ll see soon enough and I'll show off both of them! I'm working on the first one now.

Simply Supper-Not your ordinary Cheese Toast

Here’s a great little recipe for a quick and easy meal that we just loved. It’s from Better Homes and Gardens & this pic is from the magazine (hence the bad quality of the scan). It’s basically a hearty Tuscan style bread slathered in goat cheese (YUM!) and covered in sauteed vegetables. This was whipped up in no time and my hubby, Peter, loved it too. So this one gets an honored place in the recipe book:

Skillet Vegetables on Cheese Toast

8 slices crusty wheat bread

1/2 an 8-oz. pkg. peeled baby carrots (I used the bagged variety & sliced lengthwise)

1 – 8 oz. pkg. mushrooms, halved (I used baby portobellas already sliced)

2-3 cloves garlic chopped or minced

1 small red onion (I used a sweet onion) cut in thin wedges

2 TBS olive oil

4 oz. soft goat cheese

Fresh basil

Preheat broiler. Place bread on baking sheet, set aside. In large skillet cook carrots, mushrooms, garlic & onion in hot olive oil over med.-high heat 2 to 3 minutes, until vegetables just begin to brown. Add 2 TBL water, cover and cook over med.-high heat 5 minutes, or until veggies are crisp-tender, stirring once. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. (I didn’t add the water, just let the veggies simmer, I like them sorta carmelized).

Meanwhile, for cheese toast, lightly toast bread under broiler, both sides 1 to 2 minutes. Spread goat cheese on one side of each slice. Broil 3 inches from heat 1 to 2 minutes, until cheese is softened.

On plates, top cheese toast with vegetables. Drizzle with additional olive oil, sprinkle with fresh basil. I didn't do this last step, but the fresh basil would be great. I did use dried basil while sauteeing.Serves 4.

Dig in! It’s a really yummy dish, but you may want to save this one for yourself and hubby to enjoy on a special evening or fix the kids some mac and cheese!

I have some other really exciting news. This was an absolute shock, but I won a giveaway! And not just any giveaway. It's a custom rug from Darlene at Our Creative Life. Click here to see the rugs she had up for grabs in her 100th giveaway post. I get to choose what I want and I picked a black 4' round rug with a zebra initial in the middle, a big M. Won't that be pretty? I'll have to wait a little while for it, but when it gets here, you'll be the first to see it. I think it's going in my foyer to greet guests right inside the front door. Thanks again, Darlene! I'm flat tickled pink.

Target Home Design event

I’ve been reading on several blogs lately about the Home Design event going on at Target, so I decided to check it out for myself and see what all the fuss was about. Me and my camera popped into our local Target and took lots of pics to share with you. If you’re in need of some fun decor items, it might be a good idea for you to check it out yourself. It’s all 30% off right now too and may even be marked down more by the time you read this.

Cute tables

These lamps were oh, so pretty.

Need a little black side table or plant stand?

Pottery pieces for the kitchen.

Loved this shot of red coral sculpture against the blue background.

Small aqua bottles

Zebra towels

And these are look-alike Ballards prints (framed in mirror) that I’ve eyed in the Ballards catalog. I bought 2 of them, not sure if I’ll keep them or not, but at $29 each, they were a great deal.

Black mirror

A few furniture items, this chair was a nice contemporary choice.

Bar height table and chairs.

Blue linens

Loved this green and brown pillow.

As well as all of these cotton rugs, which were a real steal. I think regular price was only $29, so 30% off is great.

If you’re in the market for anything like this, get to Target fast!