Super Easy Lunch or Dinner

I seem to be in a cooking mode lately.

Nothing too fancy, but shrimp fried rice is such a favorite!

I happened to have both peas and shrimp in the freezer so that makes it even easier!

Here are my ingredients, ready to go.

Rice -check

Shrimp- check

peas - check

green onions - check

diced ham - check

egg- check

hoisin sauce - check

soy sauce - check

I start by making a sort of flat omelet and then rolling it and slicing it. 

I know some people mix the beaten egg in with the rice, but we like the pieces of egg instead of the scrambled rice effect.

Then I heat some peanut oil in my wok and start cooking the rice.

I add some soy sauce and some Hoisin sauce and keep stirring and cooking to let the rice soak up the sauces.

Then I add the diced ham.  Okay in this case it was cut up Canadian Bacon but I didn't want to create an international incident.  shhhh

Then in goes the frozen peas and shrimp...

cook and stir until they are thawed and warmed and starting to soak up the sauce.

mmmmm

smells good!

When it's getting nice and hot and almost ready the green onions go in so they just get cooked a wee little bitty bit.  We want the fresh greeny taste to hang in there.

Then the egg pieces go in last so they don't get too smashed up and lose all their integrity.

Because really, I ask you, is there anything worse than an egg with no integrity?

Then Viola!  Shrimp fried rice!

and if you don't have shrimp, or ham (or Canadian bacon) then dice up whatever leftover meat you have laying around in the fridge and pretend you totally intended to make chicken fried rice, or roast beef fried rice, or pork fried rice.  Heck, regular old American style bacon works!

It's like Chinese flavored throw-together.

SoME yOunG tALenT

I just want to introduce Miss V's blogs.  She has started crocheting and we may have created a crochet monster!  She also has a blog for showing off her handmade cards.  They are so fun and soooo her.
Click here  to visit her........... tell her mom said hi!



What's in your pantry?

We like antiques and vintage things at the Green-house

I thought perhaps I'd show you a bit of what is on my pantry shelves.

I use the term pantry pretty loosely here, in point of fact these are my kitchen cupboards.

Below are the big guys vintage collection of Snit glasses.  A snit for those non beer connoisseurs, is a small glass usually between 4-6 ounces for a taste of a beer.  Or as a "sidecar" for a Bloody Mary.

We use his "Snits" for juice.  They are the perfect size!

Here we have the lovely Miss V's collection of McDonald's glasses.

She loves the characters and uses these every day!

I think I may have gotten her started on this set when I spotted a Grimace glass and told her about getting one when I was a teenager.  I can still close my eyes and see the icy coke in that glass.  That was back when if you bought the glass they really did fill it with your beverage. 

Clabber Girl.

Seriously who wouldn't use this brand? 

Here are some of my Pyrex bowls cuddling up to my flour canister.

Anyone recognize it?  Yup, it's a very very old coffee can.  My mother used it for flour when I was growing up and somehow I couldn't get rid of it when we cleaned out her house.  I am getting in desperate need of a new lid for it though.  I know mother went through quite a few lids also.  I buy my coffee as beans so I don't know where I'll find a cover!

Pretty plate.

Really pretty plate that I found at Goodwill.

when I was Goodwill Hunting.

and succeeding.

I am in love with the soft colors on this one and I put it on the bottom of the plate stack so that I usually get to use it. 

Look at this other sweet plate!

Oak leaves and acorns, and it's pink!  I think that is so strange, but I love it!

I found these 2 nifty oval plates at Goodwill also.

They are in pretty good shape, it's actually the gorgeous sunlight coming through my spiffy kitchen window that is making it look like the green bands on them are not all there.  There is a black dot on this one, it's underneath the glaze, but I don't mind.  I think freckles like that add to the charm of my treasures.

This is one of about 6 of these plates that I have picked up at various thrift shops.

I think they look like something a granny would have had in her pantry.  I love that! 

I think granny is a totally under used term of affection. 

These are my granny plates, and I want to make myself a matching granny apron too!

YuM!! yUM! Really! YUM!

At Christmas, yes a MONTH ago I bought a big bag of these pretty little sweet peppers. 

Since I am ONE of the 3 people in this house, and the ONLY one who eats them they have lasted quite some time............ 

So this past weekend I decided to see what I could do with them.  They were in great shape even though they were a month old! 

I rubbed olive oil on them, sprinkled them with cracked black pepper and coarse sea salt, then I added some thickly sliced red onion (that was also hanging around for a few weeks) and did the same with the onion.

then I stuck them in the oven at 325 for an hour or so.....

When they looked like this on both sides I turned off the oven and let them rest until they were cool enough to handle.

I pulled out the stems and got as many of the seeds out as was reasonable.  Then I cut up the onion slices. 

I added some pasta and some pitted kalamata olives.

It didn't need any extra dressing because there was olive oil and "juice" from the roasting process

This was a fabulous salad!  I will definitely be making this again.

It's wonderful at room temperature so it's perfect for me to take to work.

And like all really great food it looks pretty too!

We eat with our eyes as well as our mouths.

Play time!! Finally a Play time for Mare!!!

Ever since I finished my final last semester I've been hoping for a bit of play time in my room of creation and happiness.  Christmas vacation (ha ha ha) was supposed to provide me with a wealth of time for this endeavor.

uh huh.

I had this project all ready for when I had a few hours to play.

Today I decided it was only going to happen if I let it happen.  So I (re)gathered all my supplies to make a happy little Pocket Bot a la Jodie of Ric-Rac blog here...

 is her great post that got me wanting to make one of these cuties.

My pocket bot pattern all cut out....

there is my pocket...

hers is WAAAAAY better.  I'm not sure why my pocket seems too big, I used the pattern. 

Here is the body............

ready for stuffing

Here she is finished up and waiting for something to go in her pocket

I stuck a fortune from a cookie in there for now.

My favorite part is her little antenna.

It's made from a purse foot.  Brilliant!!!

Winter neutrals in my nest

Once the Christmas lovelies are packed away, or as packed as they will get with the Christmas closet in an uproar (a post on THAT when I get up the courage) I like to use my blue and white china and milk glass collections.

Winter in Wisconsin just feels like blue and white to me.

My latest finds in the clearance aisle at Hobby Lobby.

I love that store.

I hope to use these in the back hall when that gets finished too, for hanging knobs.

Meanwhile I kind of like them in my white cup.

The fabulous Eiffel tower knob was in amongst the other clearance ones, and even though I told the checkout person that I thought it was there by accident since there were others like it in the regular priced section, she gave it to me for a clearance price.

Have I mentioned I love Hobby Lobby?



Most of my collection of vintage mother of pearl buttons.

in a glass jar from...........

yes, Hobby Lobby. 

I love that store.............

My mother had a real "thing" for mother of pearl buttons.

She always thought that Pearl Button would be a good name for a woman.

I think she was a bit disappointed I didn't marry someone whose last name was button.

They are rather lovely.

I'm BACK! and I have a blank wall

My blog was disabled for several days!  poo!  But it's back now thank goodness!!

And see below........... the chickens are gone gone gone!!!  or the last of them will be by Wednesday!  YAY!  I was hoping to start playing with my bottles again, but Miss V asked to use it for her WIP and being the good momma that I am.............

Look at who has been visiting my bird feeders.  He is just lovely but very camera shy!  As soon as he catches the least glimpse of me through the window he is off and running for the trees. 

Excuse me? Can I get something to eat around here?

The lovely Miss V and what she wore the other day.



I'll do this like the adorable fashionistas on some other blogs:

Sweater, thrifted.

pin, etsy

earrings, etsy

jeans, Kohls.

slippers,the Honey Pot gift shop.





Isn't that pin just adorable?  I got a whole collection of them on etsy.  They are vintage Avon ones with compartments for solid perfume.  The perfumes smell a bit like old lady, but they are easily washed out. 

Radish earrings.

yes, radish.

No I do not know why.  She likes them.  We had them custom made by a fabulous artist on etsy. 

And that's all the fun for today!

chicken lovers?

Chickens.

Eggs.

Which came first?

The chicken lap quilt or my

 chicken lap quilt guilt?

I'm offering this half sewn chicken lap quilt plus some adorable chicken backing to anyone who wants to play with it.

I give up.

I meant to make it. 

I have no idea why except that I ended up with loads and tons of chicken fabric and after making several projects I realized I'm done with chickens.

So if anyone out there wants it, drop me a note and it's all yours! 

Even the cat is tired of it.

See him sleeping in the book basket?



See him completely pissed off at me for taking his picture and waking him up?

.......................................

It's okay, he's forgotten all about it now and is snoring away again.