New Year Eve's Sunrise 2010-2011

This morning I noticed an orange hue outside my closed window blinds. As I walked past my front door windows I saw this gorgeous sunrise. I want to wish you all a very happy, healthy, prosperous, and blessed New Year!

CLICK photo for full size!

my mini breakfast casserole.....

This is easy to make:

butter a small casserole dish and toss in about 9 or 10 tater tots

add in minced dried onion, chives, anything else you might want such as crumbled bacon bits, pieces of other meat or not meat, and some shredded cheese. Mix 2 eggs (I use only ONE yolk) and add about 1/2 to 2/3 cup milk...pour over mixture in casserole. Put in 350 to 370 degree oven till center comes out clean when stuck with knife. Let cool...serve. SO GOOD and easy to make!

Homemade cheese crackers.....

a great way to use your mini cookie cutters...or larger ones..or make cheese straws that look like French fries. I made a batch for the first time tonight and WOW...they are the BEST gourmet tasting cheese/spicy cracker I have ever had! I doubt I ever buy store bought crackers anymore! These are soooo good....the house smells so wonderful...and you could make so many varieties! I added cheddar cheese, American, Parmesan and dill seed to mine....AND pepper flakes. WOW!! Here is the recipe:

Here is the main recipe but feel free to change it up to suit your taste!

Cheese straw dough/cracker recipe:

•1 1/2 cups (about 4 ounces) grated cheddar cheese
...•4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces
•3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
•1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
•1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
•1 tablespoon half-and-half

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a food processor, combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt and red pepper and process in five 5-second pulses until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the half-and-half. Process until the dough forms a ball, about 10 seconds.

(I do not have a food processor but you could use a mixer and/or bread machine ....I just cut in the butter like you do for pastry using a fork)

3. On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into an 8-X-10-inch rectangle that is 1/8-inch thick. With a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into long, thin strips, 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide (dipping the knife in flour after every few inches ensures a clean cut). Gently transfer the strips to an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving 1/4 inch between them. The straws can be any length, from 2 to 10 inches.

4. Bake the straws on the middle rack for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the ends are barely browned. Remove from the oven, and set on a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature.
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OR USE your cookie cutters as below directions!!

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s 1/8-inch thick, and cut as many leaves as you can. Transfer the leaves to a baking sheet lined with Silpat®, and chill them in the fridge for three minutes. Then bake them at 350 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are barely browned.

When the crackers cool they’re intensely cheesy, buttery, spicy, crunchy, addictive, drool-inspiring, and yes, lovely.

OH MY ...I cannot describe how GOURMET these crackers taste and how quick and easy they were to make! I did not use half-n-half as I did not have any..I used 2% milk and I used regular cookie sheet with NO Silpat...they still turned out soooo yummy and did NOT stick to my cookie sheets.

anyone care to guess what THIS is????

cool PHOTO project being offered by Art House

CLICK ON PHOTO for direct link to take you to Art House for all the details.
Sign up to receive a disposable camera from Art House, choose a theme that inspires you, and share your interpretation with the world.

Use one of our cameras to capture 27 frames on a single theme and then send us the results. We'll collect your contributions into a traveling exhibition and send them on a journey from coast to coast.

Anyone - from anywhere in the world - can participate in the project.

A Million Little Pictures from Shane Zucker on Vimeo.

Rules
Project overview:

After you sign up for the project, we'll mail you a package containing a customized Brooklyn Art Library disposable camera, your selected theme, a return envelope for your prints, and detailed instructions.

Themes:

Participants select a theme of their choosing. One you pick a theme and finish the sign-up process, that theme cannot be changed. Please choose carefully! If you select the "random theme" option, we'll let you know what your theme is when you receive your camera. The themes are intended to be a jumping-off point, not a burden – so feel free to interpret it as you wish.

Exhibitions and the Permanent Collection:

At least one print from each participant will be included in the traveling exhibition. The project will be installed into Photomobile, our custom-built library on wheels. Photomobile will exhibit the collected photographs at galleries and events from coast to coast. We'll also be digitizing select photographs and producing an expanded Web site that will launch next year.

Although we will continue adding tour dates, please note that all dates and locations are subject to change.

Photographs:

Please note that due to the design of the exhibition, we cannot return contributions to this project. Please make duplicates for yourself before mailing your photos to Art House.
Participants must use the camera provided by Art House.
Photos must be exactly 4x6 with no border.
Photos should be printed on glossy paper.
Each participant is guaranteed AT LEAST one print in the traveling exhibition.
Mailing your work to us:

Please postmark your work by June 15, 2011.
Please do not send mail that requires a signature. We will do our best to receive all work in person, but we are not responsible for items returned to sender.
We try to check in all contributions as quickly as possible. However, it is a long process – especially as the deadline approaches. Please note: we will check in all work at least one week prior to the first exhibition date.
Unforeseen issues:

Art House does everything possible to keep your work in tip-top shape. However, stuff does sometimes happen. Unfortunately, we cannot replace work that is lost, stolen, damaged or eaten by bears. We will work hard to make any unforseen situation better, but we are not responsible for these occurances.

Copyright:

Your work is your work. We will never ever sell your work without your permission. We will, however, use contributions in promotional materials, web ads, print ads, and the like. We will also publish your work in a companion catalog for the project. We reserve all copyrights to the published materials.

Contact:

We will always do our best to respond to any questions or issues in a timely manner. To help us assist everyone quickly and efficiently, please read through our FAQs and the project rules before emailing us.

Updates:

Stay informed! Sign up for updates from Art House and check back with the AMLP Web site to stay in the know as the project develops.

Radio Flyer Car!

CLICK ON LINK HERE FOR ARTICLE!
RADIO FLYER CAR: Valley couple's Radio Flyer car turns heads - ktuu.com

Opie and his reflection

I thought this was a pretty cool photo ....of our cat looking through the back window...and his reflection was in the glass.

Melissa's macaroni and cheese.......

what's that? the great pumpkin?

I had some squirrels take seeds from pumpkins I set outside to decompose from my yard over to the neighbor's yard and bury them. Check it out....plants came up in her flower beds by her shed and pumpkins are coming on!!

My birthday cake.....

Dayton Dragons............

4th of July

Nothing says it better than grilling hotdogs and brats...and of course a red/white/and blue cake!

Sunsent in June ...2010

thinking back on the blizzard on this hot day in May

summertime has begun.........

summer is just around the corner

sunset on the railroad tracks.......

I tried to take a shot of one of the most gorgeous sunsets as the big sun came down and looked like it was sitting right on the tracks...but my camera, while capturing it, in color made it look all purple and pink, not the true reddish orange it was. It had a big glare...so I turned it into black and white. I think it looks better, but, it was so beautiful in color and I wish there was some way I could have captured it! BUT here is the BW version.....

Winter at Englewood Dam, Englewood, Ohio Feb 14, 2010

we have gotten a lot of snow......with more on the way tomorrow!

I love winter...I love snow....we have been getting a lot lately and more will be following soon! We were on a level 3 snow emergency until yesterday so even if we wanted to go anywhere we would not have been able to. Today we are down to a level 1...just in time to stock up on a few more supplies and run a few errands. Here is some pics of the snow we have now......after shoveling out.

wintertime, January 2010