Healthy Stuffed Bell Peppers

If you are trying to change how you eat and work towards a more healthy lifestyle, then you know you have to change what you eat right?  But that doesn't mean you have to eat blan and non-tasty food.  Keep working on eating healthy and pretty soon, you will love the taste of fresh veggies!

Try stuffing some bell peppers for a quick and healthy meal.  Peppers are easy to find in the grocery store and are very good for you. Remember..you want to see colors on your plate!  

Line a pan with foil and then lightly grease with a little olive oil.  Cut off the tops of your peppers and clean out the inside. Saute onions, chopped mushrooms and some good sausage in a pan. We like things spicy over here so we use hot sausage a lot.  You can use hamburger if you want, or no meat too.  Whatever works for you.

On the side, boil 1 cup of quinoa with 2 cups of chicken broth and cook til ready.  Usually this takes about 15 minutes. Then mix the quinoa into the sausage mixture.

And stuff.

Pour some of your favorite spaghetti sauce on top and around the bottom of the pan so the peppers won't burn. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375 for 55 minutes.

Sprinkle with some good pecorino romano or parmesan cheese and serve with a side salad.  YUM!

Have a great week!

Paula

MacKenzie-Childs Look A Like Pumpkins

A friend of mine asked me to paint these for her.  I have to say that out of all the pumpkins I've been painting lately, these are my absolute favorites.  They just add a little bit of class to the regular ole pumpkin. And if you've priced the real ones....you will want to make your own.

I started by painting regular foam pumpkins (I got these at Michael's) that would have white in them - all white.  Then I added the black.

For the checked pumpkins, I started at the stem with a pencil and began marking my initial pattern. Nothing fancy as you can see. Make sure you use a pencil because you might need to adjust and erase like I did.

 I worked around the pumpkin from top to bottom with black squares.

Then I added hints of gold, mustard and a little bit of purple to bring out the details.

I finished these with a high gloss water based polyurethane.

What do you think?  I love them! (Secretly...I want to keep them for myself) :)

I hope you have a great day.

Thanks for stopping by!

Paula

Linking with
Dwelling In Happiness
Boogie Board Cottage
A Stroll Thru Life
Cedarhill Ranch
Ivy and Elephants
Cozy Little House
Savvy Southern Style
Domestically Speaking
Lou Lou Girls
Revisionary Life
Nancherrow
Redoux Interiors

Friday Features....I'm Obsessing Over

Great Kitchens...

Plaid Scarves and the color merlot....

Beautiful Peacock in Flight....

Statement Necklaces...

 Pink Porch Swing....

Bringing Change Forward

 

With fall, comes change.  

"Be the change you wish to see in the world".  

                                        ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Paula

White Washed Pumpkins

Yesterday I posted these white washed pumpkins and received several emails asking how I did them.

You paint them just like you would if you were chalk painting a piece of furniture.  Paint them and let them dry.  Here I used Paris Grey and French Linen.  Then create a wash.

 

Mix a small amount of white chalk paint and water together for your wash.  I used about 2 tsp of paint and then added 2 tsp of water.  You want this to be thin but also thick enough that it holds.  

Dip a wet rag into your wash and rub it over your painted pumpkin. With a clean rag wipe the wash off.  If there is too much wash, then wet another portion of your rag without the paint and rub it off.  If you want more wash, then dip it back into the paint and put more on.  You control how much wash stays on or comes off.  Let the wash get into the nooks and crannies of your pumpkin and leave it there.  That is what gives the pumpkin character.

 Let them dry and wax like normal.

White washed pumpkins are very pretty. The wash adds just a little different twist to your other pumpkins.  Let me know if you have more questions. 

Paula

What Is Your Intention Today?

Some friends and I were talking about the power of intention this weekend.  Dr. Wayne Dyer, sums it up by saying  “the law of attraction is this: You don’t attract what you want. You attract what you are.”

Most people’s mistake is that they try to apply this to “things” and that isn’t how this works.  It’s about “allowing”…  It’s about practicing the four cardinal virtues of the universe.

 

Reverence For All Life - this manifests in unconditional love and respect for others and all things.

Natural Sincerity – this manifests as honesty, simplicity and faithfulness.

Gentleness – this manifests as kindness, consideration for others and sensitivity to spiritual truth.

Supportiveness – this manifests as service to others without expectation of reward.

Giving, allowing, offering and serving.  When we are these things, the universe creates and brings forth what our heart desires.  

What is your intention today?  

Hope you have a great Monday!

Paula

Friday Features.....

Here is what I'm obsessing about this week....         

Oversized beautiful sweaters.

Booties

       Chocolate, vanilla and hot fudge.               

Leopard...still.

Pink Pumpkins

How about you?  What are you obsessing over?

Have a great weekend.


Paula

Pretty Pink Pumpkins

I saw some pink pumpkins on Pinterest last week and I couldn't wait to make my own.  Just looking at these makes me happy!  I'm all for doing things these days that brings joy to my soul. Even if is something as simple as painting my pumpkins pink. :)

These are simple foam pumpkins with different acrylic craft paints and annie sloan chalk paint.  Use whatever paints you have on hand.

If you get the high gloss acrylics you don't have to put a glaze or mod podge on them.  I used a spray adhesive and added glitter for extra sparkle.

Play around with colors and mix them up. Who wants orange pumpkins when you can have pink?

Hope you have a great day.

Thanks for stopping by.

Paula

Linking with:
Mod Vintage Life
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
Boogie Board Cottage
The Dedicated House
Domestically Speaking
A Stroll Thru Life
Cedar-hill Ranch
Savvy Southern Style
The Style Sisters
Ivy and Elephants
Green Willow Pond
Dwelling In Happiness
Katherine's Corner
Nancherrow
From My Front Porch To Yours
Coconut Head Survival Guide

Thoughts For Today..

More powerful than you could ever imagine.....

Paula

Paint Your Pumpkins Turquoise

Yesterday I showed you how to chalk paint your pumpkins.  Today I want to share pumpkins done in simple acrylic craft paints.  Why have drab pumpkins when you can paint them any color you want? Here are my pumpkins in turquoise!

These were painted with a simple acrylic craft paint.  And.....if you get them in a "high gloss" you don't have to seal them or put any kind of Modge Podge on them.  Paint them and they are ready to go!

 I used turquoise,green and a soft gold metallic Craft Smart paint (high gloss) from Michaels.

 The gold pear (it's really a squash but it looks like a pear :) was sprayed with a simple spray adhesive and then dusted with gold glitter.

Aren't they pretty?

If you don't have chalk paint at home, go get some craft paint and create your own beautiful colored pumpkins.

Happy Tuesday!

Paula

Chalk Painted Pumpkins

It is that time of year....  Time to bring out the fall decorations and go get your pumpkins. This year, I decided that I wanted pretty pumpkins.

I'm not really a huge fan of orange and I wanted pumpkins that were colorful and decorated.  So I went and bought some foam pumpkins and pulled out the Annie Sloan Chalk paint. Nothing fancy here...these came from Walmart. 

I pulled out my favorite chalk paint colors and gave them a quick double coat.  Chalk paint dries very quickly so this was a breeze.   

Then I did a quick wax.

You wax them just like you would your furniture.  Put the clear wax on and rub it in.  I added about 1/4tsp of mineral spirits to the wax so it would spread easier.  Then on a few pumpkins I added some dark wax too.  

 I used a spray adhesive and added a few sparkles to some and a little bit of gold paint to others.  

 I love my pretty pumpkins!

The great thing about these pumpkins is that they will last forever.  I can store them when fall is over and use them again next year.

Happy Monday!

Paula

Linking with
Nifty Thrifty Things
Mod Vintage Life
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
Boogie Board Cottage
The Dedicated House
Domestically Speaking
Coastal Charm
A Stroll Thru Life
The Style Sisters
Savvy Southern Style
Ivy and Elephants

Friday Features....

Loving all of these as we head into fall...

Mackenzie Childs Pumpkins

Whoopie Pies

Short hair

Romance

Beautiful Colors

Have a fabulous weekend.

Paula