Dreamer Inspiration

I found a great digital scrapbooking kit on the Wacom Pen Scrapping site. It inspired me to try a couple of layouts that give the feel of dreaming or imagination. It was so fun to put the layouts together.

Cola Shredded beef tacos

Here is a great recipe that I found in the October 2009 Sunset Magazine:

2 lbs chuck roast, 1 bay leaf, 1 1/2 Cups Coca-Cola (not diet)   The recipe actually calls for Mexican Coca-Cola (cane-sugar sweetened)  I found this at Cost-co.

Sauce ingredients: 3 medium dried ancho chiles, 2 large dried guajillo chiles, 2 tbsp canola oil, 2 garlic cloves minced, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 Cup canned diced tomatoes, 1 tsp dried oregano.  Stem and see chiles then tear into pieces. Heat 1 tbsp oil in saucepan over medium heat.  Saute onion and garlic about 1 minute.  Add chiles and cook, stirring about 2 minutes.  Add 1 1/2 Cups water, cumin tomatoes, oregano and 1 tsp salt.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered about 10 minutes.

Put sauce into slow cooker and add bay leaf, cola.  Add meat.  Add a little water, if needed, to barely cover the meat.  Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.

With a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a plate.  Let cool slightly, then tear into shreds, discarding any fat or gristle.  Boil sauce over medium heat until slightly thickened and reduced to about 3 cups (10 to 30 minutes).  Stir in beef and heat a few minutes until hot.  Remove the bay leaf.

Make tacos and Enjoy!!

Magnifico!

 

Halloween is Coming

It takes me most of October to get any excitement for Halloween. So here it is the 25th and I am beginning to think about decorating and having some fun with my grand-daughters.  I bought the cutest little animated dog that sings “I told the witch doctor”.  The girls jump up and down and dance.  So to get more in the mood, here is a photo of a jack-a-lantern that I shot last year. I found a great article on “How to Shine at pumpkin carving” in the October 2009 Sunset magazine.  I am going to give it a try.

Fall Colors

I was riding my ATV in the Manti La Sal Mountains this weekend and I found some beautiful colors. So, I took a few photos.
Here are some tips that helped me:
1. Set your camera to landscape mode. If the automatic flash triggers, it will wash out all the beautiful color. Set your camera on a tripod if the shutter speed needs to be lower.
2. Morning or evening will provide the best possible light, especially if there are people in your photo. Bright daylight tends to cast heavy shadows across faces. Overcast days are also great!
3. Use the colors as a background – use a tangled old tree, a wooden fence or wandering stream as your main subject and let the fall colors be a beautiful backdrop.
4. Get close to the leaves – instead of trying to capture the entire landscape, find one vibrantly colored tree and photograph the leaves up close.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

My garden is overflowing with vegetables this time of year.  I had just picked a bag full of red and green bell peppers and I was wondering what I was going to do with them. Then I was reading the October 2009 Sunset Magazine and found a recipe for Roasted red pepper soup.  It looked interesting so I decided to try it.  The magazine article said, ” Yes, you can make these in an hour or less”. It took me 45 minutes to make this yummy soup!  I added a small mild chile pepper and it gave the soup a little bite.   Here is the recipe:

Broil or grill 3 or 4 large Red Bell Peppers, turning as needed until charred. Put the peppers in a paper bag to steam and cool. Remove stems, seeds and skin, then coarsely chop.

Peel and chop 3 medium potatoes.

In a soup pot, saute 1 large, chopped onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil until lightly browned.  Add potatoes, peppers and 4 Cups vegetable or chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer about 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced.

Puree soup in a blender in small batches.  Return the pureed soup to the pot and reheat. If the soup is too thick, thin with more broth.  Season to taste with salt.  Serve with a drizzle of olive oil.  Serves 4 – 6.

Rule of Thirds

Today’s photo tip: Rule of thirds. Separate your photo into nine equal parts by drawing a Tic Tac Toe grid. Place your subject at one of the intersecting points. Why? Because studies show that people’s eyes go to an intersecting point instead o…f the center of an image. Rule of thirds works with this natural way of viewing. (Shutterfly tip)

Canning Peaches

We planted two peach trees about 3 years ago. This year both trees produced lots of big (I am talking softball size big!) juicy peaches.  We have been picking and eating, picking and freezing and now I am slicing the peaches, putting them in pint jars, adding the syrup and processing. It really doesn’t take that long and there is something very satisfying to see a self full of the fruit that I canned.  If you haven’t tried home canning…I suggest you give it a whirl.

Dragonflies, continued

Look at the red coloring on this dragonfly. So unusual. Also, I love the detail on the wings.

Dragonflies, Day 2

So, tonight I head to the backyard searching for the dragonflies. At first there were none to be seen. Then, there is one, then two and more!  However there not anywhere near as many as were flying in yesterday’s dusk air.  I was able to snatch a photo of one on the fence. I love the colors and the way the light shines on the delicate lace wings.