Chipotle Cream Cheese & Spinach Tortilla Appetizers

The other night I had a Stansbury Art & Literary Society Open House. We had been gone all weekend, so after work I had to scramble to find something to create an appetizer with. This is while I was trying to finish projects for the open house as I had a commission piece to finish. I poked around the fridge, and spied some orange marmalade and Dijon mustard. Hmmm I thought, that would be a good combo in something, but what? Easy is what I needed, and something quick. I ran to the store and picked up tortillas and cream cheese. Back home I found a couple of cooked slices of bacon from breakfast, so I had my sweet, salty, savory bases covered, which is my favorite combo for just about any food. These were a big hit with everyone. The topper was that I got another commission for a sunflower painting!

Chipotle Cream Cheese & Spinach Tortilla Appetizers 

1  package green spinach and herb appetizers
1  8 oz. brick cream cheese, softened
3 heaping tablespoons orange marmalade (peach or apricot would work nicely as well)
1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 green onions, minced finely
1/4 t. Chipotle chili powder
2-3 slices bacon, cooked til crisp, crumbled

In a mixing bowl whip all ingredients except tortillas together. Divide mixture between 3 tortillas, spread to the edges. Roll up each rather tightly, and cut into 1/2 inch slices. You should get about 8 to 10 slices, with end pieces to snack on. Yield 24 - 30 appetizers

ENJOY!

Autumn In Wallowa County

It was hard to leave, but we will be back!

Chasing Rainbows ... a Fun Photo Shoot

 We went to a ward picnic the other day. Rain had been drizzling or pelting down most of the morning and when we got back from Costco there were rivers of water rushing down our street. Hubby and the bishop said a prayer that things would clear for the party and sure enough, we had sunshine over the area behind this chapel until the party was over. I took my mother-in-law home early as she was cold and is a tiny frail thing, but not before I chased some rainbow shots. The above one was taken as we were leaving the parking lot.

 We ventured down a country road. Do you see a pot of gold out there in the field?

 A little closer view.

 The mountains that watch over our valley on the east side.....

somewhere in this glorious shot are the mountains to the west. This is God stuff.... I hope you enjoy!

Maple Apple Spinach Salad

This is a spectacular salad for dinner or potlucks.

I've taken it many times, and each time I get multiple requests for the recipe. It has all the flavors of Autumn, crisp juicy apples, sweet maple syrup, pecans or walnuts and savory bacon.

Not to take full credit for this, I found a version of this recipe on a tag on a bottle of Maple syrup. I changed the amount of syrup from 1 cup to 1/3, which is much more to everyone's liking. The dressing has just enough sweet, sour, salty to make the salad a real winner.

Maple Glazed Apple Salad        Serves 6

1/3 c. pure maple syrup
4 small apples cored and chunked
8 c. washed spinach or mix with some romaine
3 T. Cider vinegar
1 T. Dijon or hot and sweet mustard
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 c. olive oil
2 T bacon grease
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 c. cubed sharp cheddar cheese
½ c. chopped pecans or walnuts
½ t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Broil or fry bacon until crisp. Whisk vinegar, remaining syrup, mustard, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Combine greens, nuts and cheese in large bowl. Add apple slices and then pour over salad . Toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Acorns and Maple Leaves

I don't know about you, but I am so ready for the cooler weather! I've had Fall colors and clothing on my mind, anticipating pulling out my favorite Autumn tops and sweaters. I've been stealing time between work and church duties to create some Autumn themed folk art and jewelry. I've created a  pair of lovely earrings and a one of a kind necklace, all designed to dress up your Autumn wardrobe. You can find more pieces like these in my Simply Sheryl's etsy shop

Autumn Leaves and Owl Pendant Necklace

I am getting excited for Autumn! I love the glass leaves I found, they are a perfect match for this owl pendant. Will be listing this soon.

Bathroom Remodel- Mixing the Old With the New For a Refreshing Update

 Not sure what is going on with blogger this morning, but after almost an hour I've gotten the photos up, whew! So, this is what our bathroom looked like initially, although there was trim around the window and the bath cabinet had a door. You can see we had no shower, just a hand held. Believe it or not, the tub is a claw foot, minus the feet, that someone surrounded with plywood. Gross looking, I know.

 

Here is the rest of the bathroom, minus the corner cabinet. Tiny, with a small vanity and no real storage space. 

 Here is the bathroom partly stripped. No sheet rock, it originally had Masonite paneling.

 

Here is the new bathroom, my view from the living room. 

 I didn't really plan the bird theme over the toilet, it just happened.... lol. Our new toilet has a much smaller tank than the old one, but it has great flush power and is a true water saver. The towel rack is a vintage glass rod one with chrome brackets that I painted metallic bronze.

 A vintage Avon bird dish is perfect for matches, and the White Shoulders powder box is a q-tip holder.

 

 Due to lack of towel rack space I put vintage style hooks on the back of the door.

 Okay, I wondered where this photo went. This is a painting I did, seemed to fit, and completes the bird theme. Swans are perfect for a bathroom. Reminds me of the pink and white swan tile grandma had in her bathroom.

 Another view of the corner. The plate I've had for years. It turned out to be a nice compliment to the gold towels and bronze fixtures.

 I am loving the bronze faucet with the two lever handles! Much easier to manipulate than the twist on style, or the pull out style. The color is perfect, and we don't have to worry about water spots. See my pedestal soap dish? One of my re-dos that works great for keeping the soap mess off the counter top. So nice to have a counter top to get messy if I want to. ;-)

 The blue and white tin is my makeup holder, and the vintage light globe is my cotton ball dispenser.

 Cottonwood harvested in Imnaha, gorgeous canyon country here in Wallowa County. I was one of the lucky ones that my contractor shared this gorgeous wood with.

 A nice deep tub, with a pretty and functional fiberglass surround replaced the old claw foot. As much as I wanted to use the old tub, I have to admit, this is very nice! Anyone want to buy an old cast iron tub?  You can't really see it, but we got a very nice shower head that has a pull out center for spraying those hard to reach places. I'm so loving that! It will also be a life saver as we get older.

That little cabinet door is a toilet paper/magazine cubby. Works for me as we don't have much elbow room and it makes great storage. Here and there you may have caught a glimpse of the Hickory wood flooring. Gorgeous!

I wondered where the light photo went, sheesh blogger is giving me fits today! My vanity light with milk glass covers, it matches all the vintage pieces so wonderfully! I think I have the only one left in the state.... lol. All in all we are so thrilled with the way this remodel turned out. It's better than I had envisioned, thanks to the touches that my contractor added, such as the nice crown molding, and the Cottonwood on the vanity and storage cubby. Not bad for my first bath design, if I do say so myself.