Blog Archives
Cauliflower Crust Greek Pizza
Omg!! Sooo YUM!!
(Plus, it’s only 245 calories for HALF A PIZZA, versus 380 calories PER SLICE of a Dominoes Meatzza.) Basically, the cauliflower gets cooked up to three times for a GREAT crust!
Gather your crust ingredients
First, use a food processor to turn the cauliflower into bits that are about half the size of a piece of rice, spread it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 350*F for 20 minutes.
Let it cool a bit, then use a couple layers of cheese cloth (or a thin, clean dishtowel) to squeeze excess water out of the cauliflower. It’ll shrink A LOT.
Then, stir together a your cauliflower, an egg, 1/3 cup loose mozzarella cheese, and bit of dry Italian seasoning.
Press and shape into “crust.” Bake at 425*F for 20-25 minutes.
Add your Greek toppings. (I used a bit of spring lettuces, red onion, orange bell pepper, kalamata olives, and ArkansasGrown cherry tomatoes, feta, and a bit more mozzarella.)
Bake your pizza at 400*F until toppings are thoroughly warmed. (5-10 minutes)
Enjoy, Guilt Free + tons of vitamins!!
I used the recipe feature of MyFitnessPal app to calculate the nutrition info for you:
It is definitely my favorite new recipe! I’ve already made it twice this week! So YUM and waist friendly! Win, Win!
Your Friend,
~Amber Hamilton Henson
Best WILD RICE side dish, ever!
This is my favorite wild rice side dish!
It is a great companion to pork chops, baked chicken, or your holiday turkey!
Some side dishes are best served at room temp after flavors have chance to meld. Since I volunteered at Robinson Band Boosters’ Concession Stand at the high school basketball game last night, I made this ahead of time for my family to eat with baked chicken! It takes awhile to cook, then cool, but it is not fussy. It really doesn’t require your attention much during the process!
Basically, it’s wild rice cooked in vegetable broth. Add salt, raisins, and orange zest. Then, when it’s done cooking add the juice of the Orange, a cup of pecans, and fresh herbs: chives and mint (from my garden!) Its heavenly!! It’s a pretty versatile dish! I think it would be great to add a few hot red pepper flakes, if you like heat!
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4 cups of unsalted vegetable broth
1 Tablespoon salt
1.5 cups uncooked wild rice
Ground/grated peel of one fresh orange
Juice of one orange
1.5 cups golden raisins
1.5 cups pecan pieces
Fresh mint, coarsely chopped
Fresh chives, coarse my chopped
*Red pepper flakes, or my house pepper flakes
1) Bring veg broth to a boil. Add salt and rice. Boil for 10 minutes, covered. Reduce heat to simmer, add raisins, orange peel, and optional pepper flakes. Simmer, covered, for one hour.
2) Remove from heat. Squeeze juice from one orange into the pot and fold in pecans, mint, and chives. Allow it to it to cool about an hour, melding flavors, to room temperature before serving.
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I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Feel free to leave a comment if you try this one! You can find more of my recipes on my this site by clicking, here!
Your Friend,
~Amber Hamilton Henson
Family Updates!
Hey, y’all! What’s up? 🙂 🙂
Wow, I could write a bajillion updates (or at least 8 posts) at this point with all of the photos I’ve taken in the last month or two!
I will show you a few highlights, though; it’ll be a condensed overview of what could be 8 individual updates.
(I may double back at a later date to show you actual step by step tutorials on each of the 8 the projects and step by step recipe details, in individual posts.)
1) We made a fun, colorful “puff quilt,” by following this tutorial link: http://handmade-europe.com/2011/11/22/tutorials-quilts Remind me to tell you the backstory of these fabrics sometime!
2) Garden:
a)My garden, especially the pepper garden, has been flourishing!
b) I submitted one of photos of my peppers to P. Allen Smith’s #ArkansasGrown photo contest and was selected as one of the weekly winners. I received a great prize package in the mail shortly thereafter!
c) I sure enjoy late season rose blooms and playing around with photo editing apps!
3) One of my favorite herbs this year is Pineapple Sage! I bought it as a little starter Bonnie plant, and it has grown to 3′-4′. I’ve especially liked using it in “Brown Butter Sage Chicken!” I cook it until the Sage gets crispy! Yummm! I follow this recipe link: http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dinner/5-minute-brown-butter-chicken-and-crispy-sage.html
4) In house decor news, I’ve purchased a new pair of long sofas for the living room and a new coffee table. I posted our old sectional sofa on Craigslist and Facebook to sell, and it sold the first day. However, it’ll be 6-8 weeks until the new LaZBoy sofas arrive! Oops! Haha! The coffee table has arrived, though:
5) We also decided to paint the ceilings in the foyer, living room, and office a dark green! It doesn’t darken the room, but it does make the 10′ ceilings seem even higher! The Living Room has windows that are almost floor to ceiling spanning one wall, lights in the ceiling fan, and a pair of wall sconces, so it is sufficiently bright! Here it is:
6) Our 3 girls are all flourishing! We received their benchmark standardized test scores from Spring testing; Caroline and Abigail have “Wow’d” me again! They both scored hundreds of points above state averages in Literacy. They also BOTH scored in the upper 90-99th percentile in every subject, nationally. Amazing, just amazing little girls they are! Caroline, 7th grade, has been invited to participate in Duke University’s talent identification program (TIP!) YaY!! Veronica, 3, stays busy playing with building blocks, puzzles, and her Nabi tablet, patiently waiting to be old enough to take standardized tests, too! Love:
7) What else? Oh, yeah! We reupholstered another chair! I asked Baby Veronica to me find something green in Hancock Fabric Store, and she picked this green butterfly upholstery fabric, so we went with green butterfly fabric for the chair that sits in the foyer. It’s kind of an entry way into the library. We also covered the desk shroud! See:
8) This morning, Mitch got up early to make Cinnamon Sticky Buns from scratch for us girls! Lucky, lucky girls we are!! I sure love him! He used the recipe from this link: http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/21461/ooey-gooey-cinnamon-buns
So, that’s what’s been going on around here!
I hope autumn is going well for you and yours, too!
Your Friend,
~Amber Hamilton Henson
Blueberry Pretzel Salad!
Happy Sunday, y’all! How was your weekend? Ours was awesome! Yesterday, I went to an estate sale, had lunch at Purple Cow diner and then spent the afternoon with Mitch, our girls, my dad, Tammy, and a few nephews. Today, I visited another estate sale this morning and bought a cute little hand painted bowl, grocery shopped, have had a parade of my daughters’ friends stopping by to see Abigail’s newly redecorated room, and am now making this yummy, yummy treat!
This year, we grew enough blueberries to eat a few fresh, shared some with the birds (not by choice), and we froze the rest. Today, we decided to put some to use in a BLUEBERRY PRETZEL SALAD! It’s great as a snack or dessert!
Using whatever fruit is seasonal, make a delicious Jell-O dessert that is sweet, savory, creamy and crunchy by adapting this easy recipe:
Ingredients:
3 cups crushed pretzels
1 cup melted butter
4 tablespoons sugar, plus 3/4 cup sugar
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 (8 oz) container whipped topping
1 (6 oz) packages Berry Blue Jell-O gelatin dessert mix
2 cups boiling water + 2 cups cool water
1 pound of frozen blueberries (mine are from my garden, frozen)
Easy Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Make Jell-O with water per package instructions.
Take off burner and stir in blueberries. Set aside to cool.
For the crust, mix the pretzels, butter, and the 4 tablespoons of sugar.
Press pretzel mixture into a 9 by 13-inch pan and bake for 7 minutes.
Set aside on wire rack to cool.
In a mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar
Fold whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture.
Once crust and Jell-O is cool you are ready to put your salad together!
On pretzel crust, spread cream cheese mixture evenly then pour Jello with strawberries on top
Refrigerate for 3-4 hours until well set.
Notes:
Please be sure to spread cream cheese mixture evenly and up against the edges of the pan…this will ensure that the Jell-O will not seep to the bottom under the pretzel crust. Also, kids LOVE helping with several steps of this recipe! Enjoy!
(For the strawberry version from which this was adapted, visit Strawberry Pretzel Salad at Women Living Well.)
Your Friend,
~Amber Hamilton Henson
PS
This post will link with some great blog hops this week!
Pop into the parties at these links:
ArkansasWomenBloggers ~ Sunday Link Up
my1929charmer ~ Sunday’s Best Par-Tay #64
Rattlebridge Farm ~ Foodie Friday
Jewels Behind the Scenes become the Scene!
My poor, lucky husband is so outnumbered cohabitating with me and our three daughters. He’s such a good sport about it, especially considering that I have the audacity to leave a path of personal accessories in my wake throughout the house intermittently throughout the day.
I wear jewelry everyday. Sometimes, when I remove it, I’m not near my jewelry chests in our master bedroom, so I’ve taken to adorning miscellaneous places to suit my fancy of the moment as I remove it, lately. For example, if one were to feel heated after wearing a heavy stone necklace outdoors to water the garden, it makes sense to remove it when returning indoors. If said stone necklace looks fab adorning a cross atop the fireplace mantle in the dining room, then it is only logical it should reside there. Right? Right!!
And, Earrings dangling from a bowl above a new book that just arrived in mail because I took the earrings off while using the phone look great on the bowl . . .
. . . Furthermore, a black shell floral necklace and an oversized gold floral bracelet hanging from leaf plates on the dining room sideboard because I took them off while clearing the table after dinner should stay on display.
The plan: I have multiple jewelry jewelry chests with jewelry organized by color and theme for each drawer that is only seen by me, unless worn. While it stays protected, it sure is a shame that the beauty of the pieces is largely unseen, thus unappreciated, by my daughters and me while tucked away. So, for at least the next few weeks, I’m wearing a new piece or two from the chests each day and adorning a new spot in the house!
I have a big chandelier in the foyer hanging snugly to our 10′ ceilings that sure looks like it for awhile it may need vintage colored pearls and rhinestone brooches on ribbons and . . . 🙂 What do YOU think? Should I just GO for it? I think I shall!!
Oh! Oh! Oh! Speaking of jewelry adorning things, I almost forgot to show you a little jewel I purchased for a few dollars at an estate/moving sale recently: it’s a heavily lacquered painting on wood that is inlaid with mother-of-pearl/abalone shell! It features three young ladies in an orchard, so I immediately connected it to represent our three daughters in our backyard with their big
walnut, little apple, and 3 peach trees! Love it, love it, love it, I do!
🙂 Looking forward to hearing from YOU!
Your Friend that wore a Batman tshirt with a shiva shell/fossil coral/smokey topaz silver necklace today,
~Amber Hamilton Henson
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Table For Two! It’s my Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Me!
I’m 36, today!
My husband is making my favorite lamb dinner for me, tonight!
Knowing this, as a surprise for me, my middle daughter, Abigail, age 9, set a “fancy” table for two featuring “lovebirds” while my oldest, Caroline, 12, watched after my youngest, 3, so I could shower and dress uninterrupted by 3 year old Veronica.
I am in awe of the beautiful table and display she’s put together for me! So, I’ve snapped a few pics and editted on my iPhone pretty quickly to share with YOU!
She promises not to go into the china cabinets again without permission, but assures me she knows how special these things are to me and handled them all carefully, one at a time, because it’s my Birthday!
I LOVE my girls, so much!
More Later!
🙂
~Amber
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BANANA PEPPER POPPERS!
Q: what should I do with a bumper crop of Banana Peppers from my little garden?
A: I should stuff them and bake them!
Q: what should I stuff them with?
A: a mix of softened cream cheese, crumbled bacon, & fresh chives!
Q: should I top them with anything?
A: grated sharp cheddar cheese, of course!
Q: how long should I bake them?
A: a 375*F for about 10 minutes, then with broiler for a couple more!
🙂
Your Friend,
~Amber Hamilton Henson
More questions?
Just ask!
I’m here!
Feel free to pin, fb, tweet it, etc!
PS
This post will link with blog hops!:
Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesdays
IvyAndElephants ~ What’s It Wednesdays #127
MigonisHome ~ Everyday Enchanting #6
FromMyFrontPorchToYours ~ Treasure Hunt Thursday #164
MizHelensCountryCottage ~ Full Plate Thursday
SweetBellaRoos ~ Pin It Thursday
FiveLittleChefs ~ Fantastic Thursdays
RattlebridgeFarm ~ Foodie Friday
These Summer Days
I’m okay with going to bed at 8 pm. Really. I deserve it. I earn it. I’m late right now. It’ll be 9, tonight.
My days start early, are busy, and include at least one long stint of being out in hot (90*+ F) afternoon sun everyday this week.
I start by watering the veggies and roses at 5:30. Shower, start waking the 3 girls, making breakfast, fixing hair, etc.
Then, I deliver my oldest to Rock Band Camp about 45 minutes away from our house. She’s learning to play her electric guitar. Loving it!
We lunch.
Then, my middle daughter has swim and dive practice about 25 minutes away from the house. Really, y’all, I’m a taxi/shuttle service all day, all over town. She’s thriving. She’s worth the commute.
We dinner.
They settle down with books, computers, etc. I photograph my garden or update my blog or …
Btw, I haven’t forgotten to post the changes I’m making to my little sidekick’s room. Baby V. Lil’ Miss Veronica Lily, now 3.5 years old, is my constant companion. Maybe next week I’ll have time to finish sewing her bunting that we’re hanging on the ceiling with twinkle lights in her room.
Oh, and a quilt. Between activities, my oldest daughters and I are sewing a quilt. We started it last summer. It’s a lot of work. A lot of sewing. We hope to finish it THIS summer.
So, anyway, here are a few photos from this week: (yes, our girls all sure look alike! But, these are photos of three different girls, not a time lapse photo series.)
And, on Sunday we got to hang out with my Dad and Tammy, aka Pop and Grammy. Here they are pictured with our oldest two girls at Mellow Mushroom, a pizza joint near here. Aren’t they the best looking grandparents EVER? Love them! 🙂
More blog later!
How are you spending your summer days this year?
Your Friend,
~Amber Hamilton Henson
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A Story of Roses in Whiskey Barrels
We have exactly 5 rose bushes, all of which are growing in retired whiskey barrel halves.
My Great, Great Aunt Ruby had the sweetest smelling climbing miniature roses growing beside her carport. It’s been 30 years since I remember seeing them, and they’re probably long gone, but when I close my eyes and think back, I can still smell them, like a faint vanilla with a lot of sweet apricot. Whenever I went with my Gram to visit her, they would sit in the house and talk, and I would check out the roses. My Great, Great Aunt Ruby passed away when I was elementary aged, but I remember three things well about her: her spectacular miniature roses, her long, brightly painted fingernails, and trying a piece of rum cake at her house that I was far too young to appreciate. “Yuck, rum?!” Fond memories of mine are these, even the rum cake. Love.
My mother in law, Betty, loved her roses and grew several varieties. Sort of. She didn’t follow any sort of those rose pruning rules, feeding or watering schedule, or any such thing. She just planted a rose bush from time to time throughout the years, and if any of them grew a flower, my father in law would cut them and put them in a cup of water on the kitchen table. Upon entering the house during summer months, she never missed a beat, consistently saying two things to every guest, “Do you want a glass of tea? I have Cokes, too! … and … Did you see the roses Bobby picked for me? Aren’t they pretty! Come see!” She passed away a few years ago, and Bobby moved away soon after, so one cold Spring morning a few years ago, Mitch dug up 4 of his mother’s rose bushes and moved them here to our house. Unfortunately, with our house being on top of a hill, sitting in the shadow of Shinall Mountain, our yard is steep, and all rock below the layer of zoysia grass, we couldn’t plant them directly in the ground very well. Needing a solution for how to plant them, we bought retired Jack Daniel brand Whiskey barrel halves at Home Depot to use as planters for the roses!
The roses had been thriving in their whiskey barrel pots, except for one. It had beautiful foliage for the last three years, but never bloomed. Then, this year… WOW! It suddenly decided to put on quite a show! See the roses from Betty are a miniature pink one that reminds me of Great, Great Aunt Ruby’s, a yellow one, a carnival one that changes from yellow to an orangish-pink, and the fourth was a mystery. Well, mystery solved. It’s a gorgeous deep dark pink that borders on being red. It’s magnificent!
We have four rose bushes that were Betty’s and a fifth one, a pretty pink florabunda, that Abigail asked to buy at Home Depot, all growing in these beautiful, strong whiskey barrel halves. Abigail loves roses as much or more than I do. Her middle name is Rose. (All three of my girls have flower middle names. Caroline Daisy, named Caroline in honor of my Gram, Abigail Rose, and Veronica Lily.)
Usually, we just let them live their bloom cycle in the yard and try to take the time to remove spent blooms occasionally. Today, is a new day, though. I think I’m going to start cutting the roses and enjoying the blooms indoors more frequently. Perhaps we’ll let them dry and make pretty rose garlands! We’ll see. Regardless, I can hardly wait for my husband Mitch to come home and see them sitting on the table, again. Love.
Do you grow roses? Do you have any special rose memories or rose stories? Are there rose books you recommend for us? Please, share in comments!
Your Friend,
~Amber Hamilton Henson
PS
Love Linking! Check out the blog parties:
HowSweetTheSound ~ Pink Saturday
ArkansasWomenBloggers ~ Sunday Link Up
AnOregonCottage ~ Tuesday Garden Party
ElizabethAndCo ~ July Garden Party
what AMBER loves 