New Product - Childrens Art

We are very excited to be launching a new product line of children's art on Friday!

Introducing the first of our released children's art...

Cars

Celebrate the birth of your child with our personally, made just for you, birthday themed art.

Help your child learn their ABC's with this fun, eye-appealing car print that is sure to brighten any child's room.

Our cars themed art wouldn't be complete if we didn't offer a 1-2-3 Cars print.  Pair this with our ABC Cars print and hang them side by side and it will surely set a rooms theme or purchase all three prints to make the set complete!

The prints are in a 8 x 10 standard using a professional grade laser printer with Acid-Free 110 pound weight paper with Epson inks (frame/matting not included).

We are so excited to be releasing this new line we decided to offer our blog readers 50% of these prints.  When you check out simply place the words "ARD Blog" in the buyers notes and you will receive 50% off the prints (not including shipping) refunded back to your Paypal account or credit card.  This sale is good for any prints purchase on Friday, June 1st only.

** All photographs have an embedded watermark and copyrighted

Self

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Antipasto Salad

Now that we are entering into the summer months it's getting hotter and no one wants to turn on the oven.  In the summer I love to eat a fresh and light savory salad.  

When I lived in California my family loved to go to this Italian restaurant that served this salad and now that I live in Washington I have yet to find a restaurant that serves anything that comes close to it.  This salad is so tasty I don't even use dressing.

However, I have been able to recreate it and that makes me very, very happy! :) 

I like to make this salad in a large portion to have left overs for the next day, so this recipe makes a very large portion.

3 heads of Romain lettuce, washed, dried and cut into 1" pieces

 

1 can of Garbanzo Beans, drained

4-5 Roma Tomatoes, cut into 1/2"

1 Red Onion, sliced into 1/4" strips

1 cup Pepperoncinis, sliced

1 - 8 oz. can medium to large Black Olives, sliced

 1 to 1 1/2 pound of Mortadella

1 pound of Salami

1 pound of Mozzarella

Layer 1 slice of each of each om top each other: Mortadella, cheese and then salami slicing them into 1/2" strips and then cut the strips into 1" bites.

Start the salad by placing all the ingredients by layers:

Salad

Tomatoes

Olives

Garbanzo Beans

Red Onions

Pepperoncinis

Meats/Cheeses

Then start the layering all over again.

Using a Italian House Dressing is best on this salad or eat it just plain... it's just that good!

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Clear Water

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Mothers Day Brunch Smoothie

Are you celebrating Mothers Day with a brunch at home?

Why not add a smoothie bar to the mix?

A simple recipe with lots of flavor!

1 Cup of Apple Juice

1 Cup of frozen Strawberries

1/2 Cup of frozen Bananas

1 single serving of Strawberry/Banana or Strawberry Yogurt

Add the apple juice to the blender and then the remaining ingredients and blend under the smoothie or shake setting.

This recipe should make three to four 8 ounce glasses of smoothies.

Place a fresh strawberry or sprig of mint on the side of the glass for decoration.

You can trade out 1/4 ounce of the apple juice and add 1/4 ounce of orange juice.

Happy Mothers Day!

Photo credit: Formulax

Mothers Day

Our church is celebrating Mothers Day this weekend with a free concert with JJ Heller.  I thought you might enjoy listening to her.

God bless all the mothers, who work for the pure love of being the best mother they can be for their children.

Happy Mother's Day!

I do not own this video and share this link to the official video

Celebrating the Mayo

"What is Cinco de Mayo?"

Cinco de Mayo: The fifth day of May, commemorating the Mexican army's 1862 victory over the french at the battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War.

I am quite sure they weren't celebrating with a Seven Layer Dip, but when your husband calls and says they want a Seven Layer Dip for the party at work, who am I to say no? 

I am sure this recipe is no surprise to you, but I am going to post it anyway.

1 - 10 oz Can Refried Beans 

1 - 16 oz Sour Cream

1 Package Taco Seasoning Mix

8 oz of Cheddar Cheese, shredded

8 oz Guacamole

1 Cup Tomatoes, chopped

1/2 Cup Black Olives, sliced
1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped

This recipe is all about layering and being able to see the layers.

  

- Using a square 8 x 8 glass serving dish. 

"Use your judgement and what you think is going to look best.  Small and taller looks good too.  You can really see the dept of the colors in the food."

- Spread the refried beans across the bottom of the dish in an even fashion.

- Mix in half of the taco seasoning with the sour cream and taste it to see if it's to your liking.  Add more or less if you like it and when it's just right spread the mixture over the refried beans keeping the layer smooth.

"Some people like to use 8 oz sour cream mixed with 8 oz cream cheese." 

- Then layer the cup of cheese on top of the sour cream. 

"Are you beginning to see a theme here?"

-  Spread the guacamole on top of the cheese keeping it smooth.

"You can make your own guacamole or buy it premade, which ever works best for you, however I think fresh is always best.  There is so much taste going on in the dip I kept my guacamole  simple with the juice of one lime, 1/4 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of garlic powder."  

- Dice up your tomatoes, cut your olives in half, and chop your cilantro.  Layer all these in a nice decorative fashion.
"You can substitute the cilantro for chopped green onions.  I wish I had saved some of the cheese to sprinkle on top for a bolder look on the top.  Trust me on this."

- Serve it cold and with lots of tasty tortilla chips. 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Photo Credit: SMU Central University Libraries (Public Domain - No Copyright)