Hall China Convention

I've been collecting Hall China for about 15 years now. Several years ago I found out about a collector's convention and have been attending ever since. This year I wasn't able to attend the entire weekend, but I did manage to make the Saturday Sale and pick up a 'few' new pieces for the collection :-) There wasn't any big piece I was interested in so I focused on smaller pieces.

Now, to find space on the shelves for the new additions........

Settling In

So, the last few weeks have been fun with having Chloe in the house. Yes, there have been some accidents, some barking, some hissing (from Zoe), and other adjustments. But it's all been worth having this adorable furbaby join the family!

New Furbaby :-)

After meeting Chloe and falling in love, the rescue brought her over for a home visit that went quite well. A few days after the home visit, Chloe came to live with me. We're currently doing a trial run before finalizing everything, but with the way the last few days have been, I don't think it will be anything less than permanent!

Cute, isn't she?????? :-)

My current furbaby, Zoe, is holding back judgement for now :-) Though, over the last few days, the hissing and barking has decreased and they're coming around each other more and more :-)

Expanding the Family

With a new furbaby....what did you think I meant??? ;-)

I got to meet Chloe, an adorable 14-month Japanese Chin a few days ago.

Such a cutie!

Now, we just have to see how Chloe gets along with Zoe (my current feline furbaby). Thankfully, based on her reaction to the clinic cats (where we met), she only seems curious about them. We'll see how Zoe feels in a few days!

Caturday :-)

This is Zoe. 

In theory, she's my furbaby.

In reality, I'm actually her human :-) 

Recipe - Quesadilla Waffle aka Pinterest....You're a Bad Enabler!

So who else spends A LOT of time finding all sorts of things on Pinterest??? I'm definitely guilty of that! Most of my pins seem to be recipes or crafts. I've been on a cooking kick recently so I've had several food posts to kick-off this blog.

I've pinned several ideas on using a waffle maker for non-waffle uses. On impulse one day at Wal-Mart I picked up a cheap waffle maker. I'm easily influenced I guess :-)

Before trying any ideas or recipes, I first skimmed through the owner's manual and promptly ignored the following warning:

I decided to try something simple first and thought a quesadilla would be a good start. I took two Carb Balance flour tortillas and spread a thin layer of Chipotle Mayo on both. Added about a serving of fiesta blend cheese to one and put that on the waffle maker. Added the second tortilla and closed the lid. After a few minutes I had a nice melty and crispy quesadilla. Plus, I had built-in lines on where to cut it into pieces. Success!

I served the cheese quesadilla with steamed veggies and Tex-Mex potatoes. The potatoes were another Pinterest find and the original recipe can be found here. I made a couple changes to the recipe. I used Mrs. Dash Taco Seasoning to cut down on the sodium content. I also used Light Ranch Dressing. Finally, I tossed about 4 green onions in prior to cooking and then sprinkled more at the end....I like green onions :-) This was an easy to prep, tasty recipe that I will make again.

Recipe - Buffalo Wild Wings Sauces aren't just for wings!

I eat at Buffalo Wild Wings (aka BW3s, BDubs) regularly. I'm there once a week with coworkers and some weeks more than that. I usually end up taking part of my meal with me and because of that, I end up with a collection of little sauce cups in my fridge.

It seems like a waste to not use them up, so I've been experimenting and trying them out in different ways. A couple recent keepers include Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower and Salt n Vinegar Potatoes.

For the Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower, I cut up a head of cauliflower into bite-size pieces and tossed it in a bag with some leftover Parmesan Garlic Sauce. After it had marinated a little bit, I dumped the bag onto a baking pan that had been greased with some canola oil. Then popped it into the oven to roast. I think I went with 350 degrees until golden brown. Turned out great....tasty way to get some veggies in!

The Salt n Vinegar Potatoes used one of BW3s dry rubs. I cubed a few potatoes, tossed them with some Salt n Vinegar rub, and roasted them at the same time as the cauliflower. I love salt n vinegar potato chips so this was like a hot version of them!

The potatoes went great with dinner...Sauteed cabbage with Kielbasa and steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

Morale of the post.....always ask for lids for leftover sauce when you're at your favorite wings place :-)