Adorned From Above

Friday, February 14, 2014

Bronctail for Friday's Happy Hour

For Happy Hour today we have a Bronctail. We made these for the Super Bowl and boy were they good. I was looking for a fun Super Bowl Drink and this one hit the mark. If you read my posts at all, you know I like fruity girly drinks, and even though this is a drink for a football game, it was really girly. I found this drink at Denver Bar Cart.

Bronctail

Ingredients:

1 oz sprite and diet sprite

1 1/2 oz blood orange vodka

1 oz triple sec

1 oz orange juice

fresh or frozen blueberries (I didn't have any)

1 orange slice (I didn't add this either)

Directions:

Mix first four ingredients together and pour in a glass over ice.

Then add the blueberries and orange slice.

This way you have the orange and blue for the Bronco's.

This makes 1 drink.

I hope you like this new drink recipe. We really liked them a lot. Let me know what you think.

Have a great weekend.

Debi

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Thursday, February 13, 2014

Hot and Sour Soup

My wonderful hubby, David, made his famous Hot and Sour Soup for us on New Year's Day. It was a cold day, and this was a lovely treat. When he makes it, he makes a huge pot full, so that we can freeze some for leftovers. We also sent some home with Charly, since this is her favorite soup. We love this so much that we are always so excited when he makes it for us. It is delicious, and great for cold winter days.

Hot and Sour Soup

Ingredients

10 cups of water

11 beef bouillon cubes

5 oz soy sauce

2 lbs inexpensive cut of beef, cut into cubes and browned

1 lb diced mushrooms

1 TB garlic chili paste, or until you reach desired heat

6 oz red wine vinegar

2/3 cups bamboo shoots, julienned

2 lbs tofu block, cut into 1/4 inch dice

5 TB cornstarch and 5 Tb water

3 eggs, beaten

6 green onion stalks, diced including tops

1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil

Directions

1. Bring water to a boil and dissolve beef boullion cubes in the water

2. Add soy sauce, meat, mushrooms, and garlic red chili paste.

3. Simmer for 2 hours, until meat is tender.

4. Add red wine vinegar, bamboo shoots, and tofu.

5. Simmer for 10 minutes. Then bring back to a boil

6. Combine corn starch and water until smooth, and pour into soup.

7. Keep stirring corn starch in soup until soup has thickened, about 5 to 10 minutes.

8. Then turn back down to a simmer.

9. Pour beaten egg slowly into the soup in a fine stream, stirring as you pour.

10. Wait 30 seconds, then add the green onions and the sesame oil. You may add more sesame oil if you think it needs it.

11. Remove from heat and serve.

I really hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. This really makes a huge pan and we freeze what is left in foil pans that are about 4 servings each. I filled 5 foil pans with the cardboard lids, plus we also had this for lunch on New Years Day.

I always love hearing from you. Let me know if you like this recipe.

Enjoy!!!

Debi

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Wednesday's Adorned From Above Link Party 77

We want to thank everyone who shared with Wednesday's Adorned From Above Link Party 76. We love seeing all of your posts.

We decided to change the party up a bit, and are now starting it at 6:00PM on Tuesday's. We are also putting links in random order, so that all posts get a chance to be seen.

Welcome to Wednesday's Adorned From Above Link Party 77.

We will have the featured bloggers from Link Party 76 next week. Please check back then to see all of the features for both parties.

We are happy to have you at this week's party. We always love hearing from you, so leave your comments.

Have a great week.

Firming Eye Serum

I made this Firming Eye Serum and it really works. I found the instructions for it at Homebody Estraordinaire. Jenni Modisette, explains all about the ingredients and how they work with your skin. I will give a little bit of a rundown on the ingredients, but her post will explain a lot more.

This Eye Firming Serum has aloe vera gel, coffee, witch hazel, and cypress essential oil in it.

Aloe Vera - is has anti - inflammatory properties, so it will reduce the inflammation and puffiness around the eyes. It can also help improve skin elasticity, which can help improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Aloe is also loaded with antioxidants which will help firm and hydrate your skin.

Coffee - has caffeine which is a diuretic which will help reduce the puffiness around your eyes. Coffee is also full of antioxidants and which will reduce the redness and dark circles around your eyes. It will also help to tighten your skin

Witch Hazel - is a toner and will tighten skin around your eyes and help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Cypress Essential Oil - has astringent, diuretic, and vasoconstricting properties, which will help with tightening, puffiness, redness and dark circles.

Firming Eye Serum

Ingredients:

1 1/2 TB aloe vera gel

1 tsp witch hazel ( I used the Dr. Thayers with aloe vera)

1 tsp strongly brewed coffee ( I used 1 tsp of expresso)

2 drops cypress essential oil

1 1/2 oz bottle (I used 2 3/4 oz bottles}

Directions:

I sterilized everything with rubbing alcohol; bottles, measuring spoons, whisk, and ramekin.

I then mixed all of the ingredients in a ramekin with a whisk and then poured it into the bottles. I did two bottles, so that I can give one to Charly to try also.

Jenni's directions suggest using this in the morning, and do not put moisturizer over it. Once it has soaked in you can put on your makeup.

Bulk organic herbs, spices and essential oils. Sin

After the first use, I definitely noticed a diminished appearance of fine lines and wrinkles around my eyes. My skin felt firmer, and tighter. I don't normally have dark circles or puffiness, so I am waiting for Charly to give it a try, to let me know what she thinks.

If you decide to make this simple Firming Eye Serum, let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you.

Have a great week.

Debi

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Friday, February 7, 2014

Charly's OJ and Sprite for Friday's Happy Hour

Today we have an alcohol free drink from Charly, called Charly's OJ and Sprite for Friday's Happy Hour. She got hooked on these during her pregnancy, and they are pretty good. She gets heartburn from everything, so she decided to dilute her orange juice with sprite to cut down on the acidity. She had me taste it on last Sunday and it was very good. My dad used to do something similar with his lemonade. I'll post that one in a couple of weeks.

Anyway here is a very simple drink, that everyone can drink.

Charly's OJ and Sprite

Ingredients:

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup sprite or any lemon lime soda

Directions:

Pour orange juice and sprite in a tall glass filled with ice.

Stir and serve.

Makes 1 drink

I always love hearing from you. What are your favorite alcohol free concoctions?

Have a great weekend.

Debi

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Thursday, February 6, 2014

Chocolate Mint Hearts

These Chocolate Mint Hearts can be made in about 15 to 20 minutes, and they look beautiful. I bought this new silicone heart mold at Michael's for Valentine's Day. The inside of the mold was so pretty, that I had to give it a try. It is a Wilton mold and had directions to make chocolates in it by just melting three Candy Melts in each heart. Well, I must tell you, we were all impressed when they were done. These hearts were made for Valentine's Day, and I made three dozen, and they are gone. I will need to make more for Valentine's Day, but they are so easy that is not a problem. (By the way, Vince and I ate a few, but my Hubby ate all of the rest.

Chocolate Mint Hearts

Ingredients:

1 bag Chocolate Mint Candy Melts

Wilton Silicone Mold

Directions:

1. Place 3 candy melts in each heart.

2. Place the mold in your microwave, and turn the microwave on at 40 percent power for 1 minute.

3. Pull the mold out of the microwave, and check to see how the chocolate is melting.

4. Place it back in the microwave and repeat step 2.

5. Pull the mold out of the microwave again, and check to see if the chocolate is melted. It may take one more time in the microwave. Repeat step 2 again.

6. Once the candy is melted, drop the mold on the counter several time to release the bubbles in the candy. You'll see them rise to the top and pop. I do this maybe 6 to 7 times.

7. You can then let the candy cool and harden on the counter, or I put it in the freezer for 7 minute to harden quicker.

8. Next, just pop the chocolate hearts out of the mold and the candy is ready to eat.

9. Repeat this process until you have the amount of chocolate hearts that you want.

I bag of Chocolate Mint Candy Melts will make approximately 3 dozen heart pieces.

Thanks so much for visiting today. We are so happy to have you here. We hope that you like these hearts as much as we do. We also made other flavors. We made Red Velvet and Chocolate Peanut Butter Hearts. The process is the same. You can use whatever flavor or color of Candy Melts that you like.

We always love hearing from you. What are your favorite candies for Valentine's Day?

Enjoy!!!

Debi

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Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Wednesday's Adorned From Above Link Party 76

We want to thank everyone who shared with Wednesday's Adorned From Above Link Party 75. We love seeing all of your posts.

We decided to change the party up a bit, and are now starting it at 6:00PM on Tuesday's.

Welcome to Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop 76.

Now for this weeks featured bloggers, and grab your featured button from our sidebar.

Featured Bloggers from Blog Hop 75

1. Chicken Tenders from This Silly Girl's Life

2. Vintage Earrings Bracelet in Blues from Just Grand

3. 10 Things All New Moms Need to Know from Carrie Elle

4. Laundry Room Decor from Kathe with an E

5. Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup from Your Charmed Life

6. Slip Cover from Shabby Gals

7. Toasty Hand Warmers from The Enchanting Rose

8. No Fuss Tiramisu from Keep it Simple Sweetie

We are happy to have you at this week's party. We always love hearing from you, so leave your comments.

Have a great week.

Coupons for the Week of 2/3/14

I'll post the recipe in the next few weeks.

Here are coupons for the Week of 2/3/14. I was so excited on Saturday, because I was able to save $108.00 on my grocery bill. Now, I still spent a lot of money at one time. I spent $420, but that was for approximately 2 weeks of food for 3 people.

I have a difficult time being able to buy really inexpensive things like noodles and cheeses for casseroles, because my sweet hubby is allergic to cheese, sour cream, and yogurt, and I can't eat grains or sugars. We pretty much have a grain free and sugar free diet. (though I buy bagels for my son, which were bogo at Safeway this week. I was also able to get cereal on sale and used coupons for them.) We don't eat much in the way of processed food.

We also have a lot of pets, so we go through 60 lbs of dry dog food, plus 30 cans of dog food and 30 cans of cat food a month. My cat is also on a special diet, because she only has 3 legs and dry food makes her sick. Weird, but we deal with it.

I am showing my menu here, but even though it is just for 10 days, it will really last 14, because some days, I just prefer to do leftovers as long as there are enough of them. Kind of like last night, after cooking for the Super Bowl, I wasn't cooking anything last night.

Let me know what you think. I always love hearing from you. What do your weekly menu's look like?

Have a great week.

Debi

Menu for Week of 2/2/14 through 2/13/14

Saturday

Dinner Lemon Spiced Grilled Shrimp, Salad, Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

Sunday

Brunch eggs, bacon, toast

Dinner Grape Jelly Meatballs, Chili, Sausage Pinwheels, Wings

Monday

Breakfast Eggs with cheese

Lunch Salad with almonds, sunflower seeds, avocado, blue cheese dressing