Artichoke and Spinach Dip Recipe

For Thanksgiving evening
I was supposed to go to my stepson's
but I've fallen asleep
(I do get up very early in the morning, around 4:00 am).

Anyway,
earlier I had fixed a dip J loved

both to eat as to prepare.

I'll share the recipe with you, tough it is not mine.

I have  had it on my recipe book for a long time,

but it was cut out from some magazine,
which I don't recall the name.

For the recipe's ingredients now.
You'll need:

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1 medium chopped onion (1 cup)

2 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 can of artichokes hearts, drained and chopped (14 oz)

1 pkg. cream cheese (8 oz)

1 pkg. sour cream (8 oz)

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp Tabasco pepper sauce

salt to taste

How to make it:

Over medium heat and in a big sauce pan melt butter.

Add chopped onion and let it cook till soft, about five minutes.

Stir in spinach, artichokes, cream cheese, sour cream, Monterey Jack and Parmesan cheeses, Tabasco pepper sauce and salt. Stir well in between additions and keep stirring till well blended and heated through.

Pour the mixture into the slow cooker (small cooker, 1 quart) and let it cook in low for a couple of hours.

This is how I fixed mine.

But if you don't have a slow cooker, pour the mixture into a oven proof casserole or other dish.

Sprinkle the top with a bit of the Monterey Jack and the Parmesan.

Bake in a 350F oven until the cheeses start to brown.

Go ahead, dip in! It's delicious!

I'll see you all later.

To all HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving today.

Years ago

I also would be busy in the kitchen by now

along with my husband and the super excited Spudman dog

following me everywhere.

Before J,

 Thanksgiving was not part of my European family traditions.

But even while still living in Europe with J

I've started to love the all concept of giving thanks.

J and me would prepare and cook a big family meal

both for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I miss terribly all the excitement

and happiness on J's face during those times.

For that,

and for my life with J

and for all the time we had together

I give thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Santas... and Dolls... and Xmas boots also.

As promised on my last post,

I'm going to show you all

what I had been working on during this past week.

Finished a small Santa wall hanging,

felted and applique on a small quilt.

Used some embellishments

and hand stitched the felted applique to the quilt.

Another finished project,
a Candy Cane Holder.

The friend I went with to the church bazaar a few weeks back

had some bigger ones, made out of fleece.

She was very nice and offered me one.

So, I designed a smaller one out of felt,

and embroidered some embellishments.

It came out a little too small for the regular candy canes,

 but will hold the smaller size, or maybe just some candy.

As you can see, inside there's a small glass jar.

On hers, because it's bigger, my friend used a big size plastic cup.

And for last but not least,

a doll mom & babies.

Some time ago
I had bought some pre stuffed dolls at a very good price
from the website I usually buy my sewing supplies from.
I bought the dolls because they come in three different sizes,
perfect for families or doll's dolls.

As you can see from the picture collage,

 they come without hair or clothes.

Well... someone

(shh!...it's a secret!)

is having a birthday really soon.

Soo...
... I finished them up, a mom and two babies.

 I'm sure someone is going to like them too!

And for crafting that was it for this past week.

Now I would like to show off

my kitten

that is not so kitten anymore...

Baby, also aka Pooh Bear or just Poo-Poo,

has been doing great and growing up very quickly.

She's is my buddy
and I have to confess
tough she is a little rascal,
I love her to death.

Lately she just enjoys to sit on my desk
and watch the computer

(as a matter of fact she is here right now
while I'm typing
and since in a while she gives it a try too...).

And that's it for today's post,
I'll see you all soon.

And just one last word/thought

for J:

Ear warmers aka headbands

I have been busy for the past few days

trying to finish some items
for my BearyNiceMade Artfire shop,

along with some other projects I'll tell you about later.

Today I finally listed the items,
and you can check them out at the shop.

They really have a Nordic look, don't they?

This is the same stitch I've used
a while ago to make an Afghan
and some trow pillows.

Well, that's it for today.
I'll see you all later.

 

A Pirate Treasure Chest

Today's post it's all about a little 10 year old

who I miss terribly but hope will soon be seeing... my grandson.

LOL... LOL...

... yeah, that's him, this last Halloween...LOL...

but this is what he looked like the last time I saw him,

a few years ago...

My son and his family live in Canada,

though they are planning soon to move to Portugal.

I know, we all are what you may call a international family,

me living in the United States, my son in Canada,

my daughter-in-law being American and my grandson Canadian...

Anyway, because they are planning to move,

my grandson is learning Portuguese,

and I did have a couple of books to initiate the language learning,

 so I'm shipping them along a few souvenirs

I brought from Washington DC for him.

And because he is so into superheroes and fantasy

(what a delightful age, isn't it?),

I decided to gather a small treasure and put everything in a pirate chest.

Thus I thought to share it with you all,

maybe as a Xmas stocking stuffer idea...

I found a little perfect chest box in a sale at Hobby Lobby,

some gold coins...

a magic spyglass...

a navigation compass...

seashells...

some precious black pearls...

the pirate hook of course...

and his eye patch...

...some ear rings...

... et voila!
A perfect pirate treasure chest!

I really think he's going to be thrilled

about his pirate treasure chest!

Hexagon table center

After Washington DC

have been fighting a nasty cold

and some tooth aches... taking antibiotic right now

and late next week will be a dentist appointment...ugh!

Anyway...

Today's post is about more hexagons

(I'm definitely in love with hexies!).

I've just finished a Christmassy table center,

and I like the primitive look of it.

The colors and the homespun fabric

kinda did give it the appearance I was looking for.

I'm keeping this one for myself

but I will soon have one for sale.

Also I've been experimenting some projects with empty jars

(I simply can't trow out a glass jar!),

and I made this kinda of Christmas landscape.

I think soon I'll write a whole post just about empty glass jars...

And for last but not least,

I would like to share with you all

a beautiful sunset yesterday...

... and I even caught "something" shooting up in the sky...lol...

...oh well!, it sure was pretty!

I'll see you all soon!