RED, ripe, Tomato Pie!

Would you look at all these beautiful RED tomatoes!

So what do you do when you have a bumper crop of tomatoes? Well, if you live in the South, you make Tomato Pie! Add a pie shell, some cheese, mayo and Basil and you have all the Ingredients for a wonderful, light summer meal.

Tomato pie is a very old Southern dish, going back many generations. The Ingredients were items that most cooks would have on hand and it is quick and easy to prepare. Serve it up with a salad, some garlic toast and a tall glass of sweet tea and as they say in the South... that's some good eatin!
So here is my recipe for Tomato Pie, I hope you will give it a try and let me know what you think!

Tomato Pie
Ingredients:
1- 9 inch deep dish pie shell
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
3-4 ripe, firm tomatoes
1/4 Cup fresh, sliced basil
2 Cups grated cheese (cheddar or Monterey Jack)
3/4 Cups Mayo
1 Tsp (or more) Franks Hot Sauce
Salt & Black Pepper
and MY secret Ingredient: 5 - 6 slices cooked, chopped bacon


Preheat oven to 350º, place pie shell in oven and bake for 8 -10 minutes until lightly browned.
Cut the tomatoes in half and gently squeeze to remove excess juice then roughly chop and spread on paper towels to absorb any additional juice. I can not stress how important these two steps are! If you skip these steps, the pie shell will be soggy and your pie filling will be runny!
Next, in a large mixing bowl, put the chopped tomatoes, sliced basil, chopped bacon, onions and salt & pepper and lightly toss to mix. Spread evenly in the bottom of the pie shell.
In a separate bowl mix the cheese, Mayo and Hot Sauce. The mixture should be very soft & gooey. Spread the mixture over the tomatoes and using a spatula, spread to the edges of the pie shell. Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes. Let cool 10 - 15 minutes and slice.
Ahhh, looks like the perfect place to sit and enjoy a slice of Tomato Pie and sip my tea!

I'm linking this post to:

REDnesday at It's a Very Cherry World

Vintage Thingie Thursday at Colorado Lady

and Alphabe Thursday for the letter I for Ingredients at Jenny Matlock's

Happy PINK Saturday!

Happy PINK Saturday everyone!

AND...

Happy 4th Birthday to PINK Saturday!

Congratulations to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting PINK Saturday every week and bringing us all the PINKness we can stand. 

Today I want to show you what I created and what I received in a recent swap. The criteria of the swap was to create a 12"x12" canvas containing nine squares, 2"x2". After contacting my swap partner, Susie at South City Hues, I found out her tastes were very similar to mine! 

I started out by washing the canvas with a soft shade of PINK acrylic paint. Once it was dry, I brushed on a pale shade of cream but this time I went back over with a dry brush and "lifted" some of the paint off of the canvas. Then the canvas sat there for two weeks because I couldn't decide what to do next. I started thumbing through my vintage images and a clear theme started to emerge, vintage Bluebirds! Here is a shot of the finished board. 

 Here is a close up of the sweet fairy tale girl with her bluebird friends.

And here is a close up of a couple of the squares. 

This is the fabulous canvas Susie sent to me!

She visited my website and borrowed some of the pics to use on my canvas, how clever was that?!

That little munchkin with the party hat on, ready for Beverly's PINK birthday party, is yours truly! 

And this sweet baby is my very own mom!

She even included a picture of my Midge doll!

And it didn't stop there! Susie tucked in all kinds of extra goodies like a sweet vintage book and hankie. 

Thank you for being such a great swap partner Susie!

Have a wonderful weekend and a safe memorial day!  

 And don't forget to stop by Beverly's and wish PINK Saturday a Happy Birthday! xxoo Nan

America: RED. White and Blue!

With Memorial Day just the blink of an eye away and the Fourth of July just around the corner, I wanted to share some vintage patriotic pictures. I don't remember where I originally saw these but I have had them for a long, long time. So long in fact, I had to go to the external hard drive on my old desktop to find them. I would like to give credit where credit is due, so if any of you know where I might have gotten these, please let me know! 

 I have always loved Paper dolls and I think these are just about the sweetest ones I have ever seen! 

 Can't you just see a little girl in the 40's, sitting on the floor playing with these paper dolls while her family gathered around the radio, listening to the latest news from the war front! 

 I know these are scary times we live in now but imagine waiting and waiting and waiting to receive any news, before there were instant pictures and news coming across your TV screen or computer. 

 Imagine how scary it must have been as the news of Pearl Harbor reached the mainland. As families every where across America held their breath and listened as President Roosevelt gave his now famous Pearl Harbor speech. 

 I wasn't alive during World War II but it was probably the last war that our Country was united. I don't think I have EVER heard anyone say "we never should have gotten involved in WWII". 

 Regardless of your feelings about more recent conflicts, I hope that all of us take a few minutes this weekend to remember those who sacrificed everything so that we might enjoy the freedoms so many take for granted and to thank those who have served this great nation! God Bless America!

I'm linking this post to:

REDnesday at It's a Very Cherry World

Vintage Thingie Thursday at Colorado Lady

and Alphabe Thursday for the Letter A at Jenny Matlocks

Happy PINK Saturday & Happy Mothers Day!

Happy PINK Saturday
and Happy Mothers Day!
Please stop by How Sweet the Sound where our host Ms Beverly, has some wonderful PINK posts waiting for you!
Today I have a two sweet Mothers Day images and poems just for you! Both of the images are by one of my Fav artist, Mabel Rollins Harris.

 Have a wonderful weekend, filled with Bubbles of JOY! xoxo Nan

W is for Whoopie ... Pies that is!

W is for Whoopie... Pies that is!
Was there ever an episode of The Newlywed Game where Bob Eubanks did not ask the contestants "Where is the last place you made Whoopie"? Well, I can honestly say IN THE KITCHEN! 

No, not THAT kind of Whoopie! This kind of Whoopie ... Whoopie Pies! 

While playing on Pinterest, I noticed I kept seeing recipes for Whoopie Pies and decided I better start a new  PIN board just for Whoopie Pies because I knew sooner or later, I would want to try my hand at making them.  Now I've eaten Whoopie Pies before, they are a very popular item at Amish bakeries but I have never made them myself. Well, the opportunity came sooner than I would know as I decided to take them to a neighborhood meeting/dinner. For my first attempt, I wanted to try an easy recipe, possibly one that started with a cake mix, sure enough, I found THIS recipe. I made two batches, I used a devils food cake mix for one batch and red velvet for the second batch. 

 Look at the pretty red color!

The recipe says to drop the batter on to parchment lined cookie sheets but I made it even easier and bought 2 Whoopie Pie pans at Target! I used a cookie dough scoop to fill the cavities. I filled the scoop  to the top but in hindsight, it was probably a little too much. 

 Here's a shot of the pans filled. 

And here's a shot of the finished Whoopie pies, cooling. 

 By the time I made all of these and put the filling in between, I was really running behind schedule and completely forgot to take a picture before I left for the meeting. You just have to take my word for it, they looked and tasted WONDERFUL! Make sure you check out the other Whoopie Pie recipes on my Pinterest board and don't forget to stop by Jenny Matlocks for more inspiring W posts at Alphabe Thursday! xoxo Nan

Big pots of PINK!

Happy PINK Saturday everyone! 
Please stop by How Sweet The Sound where Beverly has lots of pretty PINK posts waiting for you. 
This past weekend I planted the two large pots that sit on either side of my front door. Last year I went with a bright, hot color scheme of  PINK and orange but decided to change it up this year and went with a more subtle color scheme of white, purple and PINK. 

 In the back of the pot is a Dwarf Banana Tree. I love using these in pots and this variety with it's burgundy splotches is quite dramatic.  Just to the side of it, I planted a Persian Shield. I love the iridescent, purple leaves of this plant. Just in front of this, I planted a Soprano White Osteospermum. The dark purple centers pick up the same shades of purple in the Persian Shield. 

 On the opposite side of the pot I planted a Gingerland Caladium. I love the big white leaves with the splotches of PINK and Burgundy. The next layer in front contains a hot PINK Geranium and a Leather Leaf Sedge. This little flashy grass is a new one for me and I really like the way the wispy silver blades stand out against the showier big leaved plants in the pot.

  Finally in the front of the pot I placed a Phlox Intensia PINK on one side. 

 On the other side I placed a Petunia Pretty Much Picasso. I have looked for this plant for two years now and finally scored two at Lowes! The outside edges of the flower are lime green, then turning to hot PINK and finally dark purple in the throat. I had a hard time getting a good shot of it so the pic is a little blurry. 

 Then this morning I had this litghtbulb moment, I took all the little markers that came in the pots and put them in a ziplock bag marked with the year and where the plants were planted. DUH! Why haven't I ever done this before?  

 I usually place the pots at the front edge of  the porch, right at the top of the steps but last year I had a deer walk right up the steps and onto the porch so he could have a yummy breakfast consisting of the Hibiscus and other flowers I had planted in these big pots. This year I've moved the pots all the way back, right up to the door in hopes it will deter the deer from devouring what I have planted, I'll keep y'all posted!
I have one last picture to share with you. I found this on Pinterest and since many of us are going to have a rainy weekend, I thought it appropriate! Have a wonderful weekend, filled with Bubbles of JOY, xxoo Nan

(source:http://www.flickriver.com/photos/tags/lukejerram/interesting/)

Pink Saturday Easter Decor

Happy PINK Saturday everyone!

 I feel so honored that Beverly has chosen Moi, to be the featured blog this week for 
PINK Saturday. Please stop by How Sweet the Sound and say HI to Beverly and check out all the other PINK Chicks! 
This week I thought I would share a few more of my PINK Easter Decorations. First, this PINK fuzzy wreath greets you at my front door. 

 I made it last year and it was super easy. I took a straw wreath form, wrapped in PINK feather boas, then added some white polka dotted PINK grosgrain ribbon, then hot glued on lots of little chenille  chicks and  glittery eggs. 

Next, this little vignette greets you just inside the door.

 I've had the PINK tree for several years now and it gets decorated with different themes for Christmas, Valentines Day and Easter.  And this sweet little bunny ornament was made by Cyndi Lachance of Holiday Sparkle.

 If you've never stopped by Cyndi's blog, you must do yourself a favor and pay Cyndi a visit, you won't be disappointed! The little bunny family I've had for about ten years, I love their soft little clothes and sweet faces. 

 And finally, my mantle with strings of Jelly beans, PINK feather boas, more bunnies and some trees that have color changing lights.

  I tried something different this year and I'm not really thrilled with it. I wanted to make a cute vintage looking banner and just didn't find the time. Oh well, maybe next year. 

That's it for my PINK Easter decor this year. Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful Easter! Hugs and Blessings, Nan