{quinoa black bean salad}

seriously, i could eat this stuff for the rest.of.the.summer!!

hope you enjoy it as much as me...er, i mean, as much as i do!

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*1 C prepared quinoa
(if you haven't yet tried this stuff...DO!!
It rocks!! I got mine @ costco...surprise, surprise!)
*1 can black beans - drained and rinsed
*2-3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
*salt and pepper to taste
*onions of any sort
-i chose 3 stalks of green and 1/4 finely chopped red
*2 stalks celery
*1 red pepper
*1/3- 1/2 C cilantro
*couple hands full of frozen corn kernels
*1 firm tomato
-----------------------------------
DRESSING:
*1/4 c olive oil
*1-2 cloves garlic
*rind and juice of one lime
*salt and pepper to taste
(the recipe called for cumin, but i forgot to use it
...throw some in if you feel like it!)

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get the quinoa cooking...I used 1 c quinoa to 2 c chicken stock...a drizzle of EVOO and some salt
...bring to a boil and then turn to low, cover and simmer for 14 mins! easy-peasy!


then, get the black beans drained and rinsed and mix them with the red wine vinegar and S&P to taste...start combining the rest of the salad on top of this mixture

get all your veggies together and start the chopping party...i love finely.chopped.veggies...but do whatever floats your boat! add it to the black beans...cool the quinoa by spreading it thinly on a dinner plate and placing it in the fridge...mix it in with everything else.

then, move onto the dressing...nothing difficult here, i do it all in this glass measuring cup! ...grate the lime rind and the garlic...i use a micro-grater for both...drizzle in the oil and squeeze the lime...shake in some salt and grind some peppercorns...VOILA!
(don't forget to add the cumin here if you're choosing to)

Pour this yummy goodness over the salad and chill for an hour at least...PRESTO!!

oh, oh, oh...I ALMOST forgot...when it's time to serve, give the salad a final toss, put some on your plate and top it with crumbled feta and some extra freshly ground pepper!!!
YUMMM!

...simple!! enjoy...

::purdy pillowcase dress::

wanna know how to make THIS???
(okay, not the cute little girl, we've already had THAT discussion, i was referring to her cute apparel)

seriously, i made two of these today - they took me an hour each!
(not including making the pattern)
this dress is easy as pie!!

actually...i beg to differ!
i have yet to find making pie actually easy...
so i'd say making this dress is as easy as crumble!!
...simple!!

::1 - find a piece of paper large enough to fit your "pattern" (i put the word in quotations because you'll be making one of your own!!) here, i put together two piece of the girls' easel art paper...

::2 - measure the targeted "wear-er" of your handi-work. the MAIN measurements that you need to take are:
*upper chest...like right below their collar bone.
*lower chest...like armpit to armpit.
*length...like where you want it to fall on their leg.

take those measurements and plot them on the paper, starting with the lower chest measurement.

**from my experiment today...i'd venture to guess (because most of what i do...sewing/baking is a lot of guesstimation!) you add 5 inches to your lower chest measurement to get the bottom hem measurement...and minus 5 inches from your lower chest measurement to get your top measurement. Does this make sense??

see, here (if you click on the pic to enlagre) i have ~ for a size 5 dress ~ 10 inches @ the top...curving down (for the arm holes) to the 15 inch mark @ the lower chest...


and 20 inches for the bottom hem...with the length measurement along the side!!

::3 - once you've done that...lay the pattern on your material of choice a cut it out!

I didn't have enough of my chosen material to reach the length i wanted...so i added a band of white to compliment AND make up length!

::4 - (IF you're choosing to add a colour band along the bottom, the next 2 steps describe what to do...if you're NOT doing a colour band...SKIP DOWN TO #6...) Place right sides together like this...and sew them together length-wise...

::5 - iron/press the band down flat and (i like to) sew a top-stitch...like this

::6 - now, you want to zig-zag OR serge the top chest and armpit curves of each piece - back and front - so, 2 tops and 4 armpit curves...like this:

(you do this to prevent fraying when washing)

::7 - place both pieces right sides together, and sew them together, length-wise, along both sides. it should look like this...on both sides:)

::8 - now turn down the armpit curves...and sew a hem...like this:

::9 - now, all that's left if to make the bottom hem and the front and back top hem (big enough for your ribbon to slide through)

fold your bottom hem up about this much (or however big you want your hem) ;) Press and sew...

I like to do a double stitch, just for a cleaner look...(sorry it's so dark)

::10 - Choose the ribbon you'd like to use to help you gauge how wide to make your top hem.

::11 - fold down your top hem, sufficient to house the ribbon...press and sew - only along the bottom (and the very top if you wish) keeping the sides open.

::12 - cut two strips of ribbon, long enough to pull through the front and back top hem AND tie into a nice bow...

this is a simple trick i use to help the ribbon slide through VERY swiftly - poke a safety pin through one end of the ribbon and slide it through the hem.

::12 - tie the ribbon in a bow...press the wrinkles out and the seams down...
and there ya have it...

~VOILA!!~
wear often and enjoy

...simple!

this is the other one i made...

and the cutie wearing it...

**feel free to message me if you have any questions/need clarification... keeping in mind how simple i work...i won't ever put something on here that causes me to blow a gasket and claim it's simplicity!**

{folding fitted sheets...simply}

thanks to my muma...and her years in a convent (save that story for a different time/place!) i learned, at an early age, how to fold fitted sheets so they neatly and discreetly take residence in your linen closet without causing mass explosion.

wanna know how to turn this...

into this.....?

*********here's how:**********

first, begin by turning your sheet inside out...and find the corners.

insert your hands, pointed, into opposing corners...like this
(with the wrong sides still facing out)

next, bring two wrong-sided corners together and fold them into one another....like so

{this will make the right side face out}

*repeat with the remaining two corners...inserting your hands with wrong sides facing out and folding one corner into the other.

now, you should only have 2 corners to deal with. insert your hands into these remaining corners and fold them into one another also...it should make it look like this:

now...no more corners...only a rectangle to fold in half...like this:

fold both ends into the center...like this:

and then, fold it in half and....VOILA!!

...simple!

the only issue that will occur in your linen closet now will be telling apart the flat sheet from the fitted sheet!

~blessings...

{where to start?}

how about with an appy...like all good meals!

Garlic Cheese Bread

1 french loaf
1/3-1/2 c of butter (nothin but the real deal in this house!)
1/4-1/3 c Parmesan cheese
3-5 freshly grated cloves of garlic
2 tsp basil
1-1 1/2 c grated cheddar and/or mozzarella cheese

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1. preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. cut loaf in half
3. soften butter and mix in next 3 ingredients
   
4. spread generously onto the loaf
5. sprinkle cheese over spread
6. place in oven and switch to broil for 8-10 mins or until bubbly and brown
7. ENJOY!!

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as you can see, i've given a rather loose set of ingredients. this is because it is all depending on how you like your garlic bread...less butter if you don't like too much...more garlic if you enjoy a stronger taste...a mix of cheeses if you prefer...and you may want it piled high with cheese of just a thin layer...follow the ingredients as you see fit.

as for the instructions...i set my oven on 'bake' so it is heated by the bottom element...once the bread is ready to put in, i then switch the oven to 'broil' so the bottom is getting toasted, while the top is browning...seems to work well that way.

and one last secret into this delicious appy...once pulled from the oven i let it cool for but a moment before slicing into it with....a pizza cutter!!

~so simple...enjoy!