Benefits of Summer!

I love summer. Love the heat, love the sunshine, love the long days. Everything about summer is right up my alley.

One of the best parts of summer for me is the fresh produce! Garden fresh at that. Zucchini, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. Then you can top it off with a great side of fresh fruits. YAY.

Recently a sweet friend shared her over abundance with us. We were blessed with zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

So, tonight our ordinary chicken dinner was livened up with a beautiful stuffed zucchini! It was divine.

YUMMO! I made up a quick and easy recipe on the fly. You may have a favorite, time honored recipe and I would love it if you wanted to share it. But, this was an in the moment decision so this is what I did:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Cut Zucchini in half and cut out the middle of each section.

Take the Center meat of the Zucchini and cut into small cubes

In a large mixing bowl take the Zucchini and mix with the following:

1/2 tsp sweet basil

1/2 tsp of dill

1/2 clove of garlic minced

1/2 onion minced

1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

1/4 c sharp cheddar shredded cheese
1/4 c Italian blend shredded cheese
2 tbsp Greek Yogurt

Mix well and place back into the center of the Zucchini then garnish with sliced cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle the entire thing with salt & pepper and place in the oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until soft. This was a hit with everyone in our house.  Yes, I love summertime. 

A lesson in Koi

Hello out there! I've been so busy. Working on revamping a Koi pond. FUN. I will admit I was not thrilled when faced with the task of helping revamp and save a swampy haphazard koi pond. But, I looked at it, took a few pictures then did the research. It has been a work in progress and I have more to learn but it is coming along. Here are a few pics of the progress.

Is there a backyard project you are tackling that you weren't excited about? How is it turning out?

BEFORE

PROGRESS!

You couldn't really tell from the before picture but there was a medium sized Japanese Maple at the top, we removed it and transplanted it to a new spot in the yard. The Koi were then captured and put in a 5 gal bucket while we drained the pond and scrubbed and cleaned. Cleaned the Filter and put new filtering material in place. After that we rearranged the flagstone and rocks, added soil to the small planter spaces and added a Koi Fountain to the top of the water fall area. After 24 hours of running the filter it was time to reintroduce the Koi and add new plants. It's been 2 weeks and everything is going well. Next step is to introduce 2 new Koi and to add a larger filter. Don't you love to see progress.

Teresa Stephens Harvey loves Christmas...

Teresa Stephens Harvey is sharing some of the pretty's my two youngest and I have been putting together. We are conspiring on a few more. ;) I'll update as we finish with the fun. These were created for a client and were so fun to make!

In the weeks ahead I am focusing on making gifts for others. Starting with stockings for my daughters who are in their first home. Next week my kiddo's and I will be doing the "neighbor dash"! We will make simple Christmas door hangers filled with a few homemade candies and put them on each neighbors door. We have done something similar for years and it is a great way to think of others and boost that Christmas spirit.