January 25, 2014

Mirabilia's Titania~ Stitched by Our Daughter

Mirabilia's Titania~ Stitched by Our Daughter by Loves2Stitch2
Mirabilia's Titania~ Stitched by Our Daughter, a photo by Loves2Stitch2 on Flickr.

Our daughter stitched this several years ago. It's Mirabilia's Titania. Doesn't she look lovely? 

It was her first project ever stitched, stitched while she was in her early twenties. She gave her to our niece for a wedding gift. I love this piece!

I haven't had the chance to stitch since returning to work a few weeks ago. Soon I will have to once again get a needle and thread in my hand.

Thanks for stopping by today! 

January 6, 2014

A Bit More Progress on the Afghan

I finally stitched a tiny bit, and I finished the 18th square on the afghan.  This is the afghan I started in 1990. It seems impossible to believe it has been sitting around that long, unfinished--waiting for attention.

Here is the 18th square:

I should take a picture of the entire afghan at this point. That will happen soon, I suppose. 

Thanks for stopping by today. 

January 4, 2014

Minestrone Soup



One thing that's really appreciated in our home is good cooking.  We all love soup, so tonight I tried out a new minestrone recipe.  I really liked it, and wanted to share it here.  We ate this with french bread, and found it to be filling and delicious.

The photo above shows it with parmesan cheese sprinkled generously on top, before cooking, cooked on the stove and ready to be eaten, and in a bowl before the garnish of cheese.


Skinny Minestrone

1 lb. ground beef
18 ozs. tomato juice
2 cups of beef broth
1 - 16 oz package of frozen italian vegetables
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 zucchini, chopped (or another vegetable you like)
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tsps. italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Saute ground beef and drain off fat.  Heat tomato juice and broth in a large pot; add vegetables, garlic, and spices.  Cook until tender.  (about 20 minutes or so) Add meat and simmer 30 minutes more.  Top with grated parmesan cheese.  This yields six servings.

This recipe can be halved, doubled, or tripled.  This old recipe indicates that if you'd like, you can use any leftover meat.  If you use chicken, substitute chicken broth.

Enjoy!