Dinner for one... and 1/2

Boy, it is late and I am tired. I often put off going to bed, just for the quiet time that I get all by myself. Dallin took a nap from 1pm to 5pm, I couldn't stand to wake him up. It was a great afternoon for me. One of those nap times where nothing got done but vegging. And oh, how I love to veg after a mentally exhausting morning full of toddler. The long and late nap resulted in a late bed time. After three attempts of putting a screaming little boy into bed and then pulling him out of bed, he finally got to bed at 9:30. I am a big fan of the 7 o'clock bed time, but tonight, we snuggled together on the couch watching Arthur and American Idol late into the night. There is nothing better than a snuggle. I have been jonesin' for some fresh garden produce lately. That's not happening, however, so I opened up a can of diced tomatoes and made dinner for one and a half. The half comes from Dallin sitting on my lap, poking and prodding my bruschetta and nibbling every piece of bread on the plate. Here is my "lazy woman's a little of this, a little of that" version of bruschetta:

One can of diced, peeled tomatoes
A little salt and ground pepper
A little dried parsley
A little dried oregano
A lot more dried basil
A little garlic powder
A shot of balsamic vinegar
About a tablespoon of dried onions

Combine and chill long enough for flavors to meld and for dried ingredients to rehydrate (this makes me feel REALLY lazy, but it works) then return to room temperature to eat. I sprinkled a bit of parmesan cheese on top as well.

For the bread I drizzled extra virgin olive oil on the slices of yummy multigrain mini french bread and put it under the broiler until toasty. I then rubbed the bread with a clove of garlic. Then top the bread with the tomatoes and eat it all up, soooo yummy!

Leftovers tonight??

I have been trying to figure out what to do with all my leftover scraps of fabric and yarn. They just sit around, gathering dust and feeling lonely. In order to use these extras up, I have put myself on a buying freeze (except the $6 cash that I found in my pocket the other day, which, by the way is hard to find in any pocket these days and the Lowes gift card that has $5 on it). Here is what I came up with. I designed this purse that I am going to call "Grass". I only spent $2 on the handles and the rest is made out of scrap yarn. I have a lining pinned in it, but I am not feeling the love from it, so I might have to make a trip to the fabric store. I found this tubing in the plumbing department. It is amazing what kind of ideas you can get by scouring the aisles of a home improvement store.

Cuz' I'm Dreamin'

I have a very talented and crafty friend (she is a super seamstress) who has the coolest blog. I love to look at it and the fun things that she makes. Her most recent entry shows some cute button flowers that she just bought. The other night, after reading her blog, I had a dream. In this dream I was making those same button flowers, except they were a bit different. I was sticking spice drops onto wire and putting them in a big ceramic vase. So, after waking up and laughing at myself and my odd dreams, I had to make them. Here is what I came up with. I like the "hope of Spring" that they bring. I AM ready for Spring! Thanks for the inspirational dream, Sara!

Flower Power

Paul gave me some beautiful tulips for Valentines Day. I am going to try to replant the bulbs in our front yard. Hopefully my black thumb will turn green this year!! I am so proud of this flower that I crocheted because I made it from reading a pattern, something that does not come easy for me. I made the flower into a pin for the end of a scarf that I made a friend of mine.
Here is a pretty pink one.

Balls? Blocks? What should I call them?

I had a few pieces of fleece left over from the blanket that I just finished and this is what I did with them. I made blocks, or balls. They are filled with polywhatever fiberfill, or pillow stuffing and measure about 6x6x6 in. They are so fun and squishy, I love them. But I am not sure what to call them. I am welcoming any suggestions. The winner of the "NAME THOSE THINGIES" contest will receive a much appreciated pat on the back (if your within a reasonable geographical range).

"New England Ham Omelet"

I found this recipe online somewhere, can't remember where. It is another "different combination" recipe, but very good. Filling recipe:
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup unpeeled, diced cooking apple
1/4 cup diced ham (lower fat ham can be used, also)
2 tablespoons maple syrup (sugar free works, too)

Saute in a sprayed skillet until browned. Use this filling in you omelet, scrambled eggs, or egg substitute equivalent. I sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese on this omelet.

Ladybug Blanket

I finished this blanket last night. This pattern always turns out so cute, but, boy is it time consuming. I had fun with this one and I am finishing off some matching blocks to go with it. This blanket is all fleece and all hand tied.

Healthy pizza?

We love to make pizza often in my home. I always try to make it different, something you wouldn't expect on a pizza. Last night, I made a "Ceaser, broccoli, onion, and chicken" pizza. It turned out SO good. I even made it lower fat. I was even able to sneak the broccoli into my sons mouth. Here's how I made it:

I took a Philsbury Refrigerator French Bread dough (low fat) and unrolled the dough onto a sprayed cookie sheet. I then spread light Ceaser salad dressing on the dough, then sprinkled garlic powder on that. Then came the mozzarella cheese, red onions, broccoli, and cooked chicken. A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, red chili flakes, dried oregano and dried basil finished it all off. I then baked it at 400 degrees until it the crust was golden brown. It is yummy plain, or my family likes to dip it in homemade pizza or spaghetti sauce. Super easy and super yummy!!!

Doh-yo-yo's

Here is a baby blanket that is my main focus as of late. I am crocheting each square and then I will stitch all the squares together. The green squares are a double crochet stitch and the blue is a single stitch were I have turned the piece and pulled the yarn through the back loop to create a zig-zag affect (not sure of the technical terms). Here are the yo-yo's that I discovered how to make today (thanks for the link, Sara) . My son calls them "doh-yo-yo's". I decided to make patterns for a bunch of different sizes so that when I want to make something out of them, I can see what size I want to make. They were quick and easy to make. The great yo-yo!