Easy Apple Turnovers

Fall is my favorite season.

I love the cooler days, the turning leaves,

apple and pumpkin picking and baking.

I know, it's still summer, but once the calendar turns to September-

I'm ready for a change.

So, this morning I woke to rain and thought it was cooler out.

"That's it, I'm going to bake something today."

Well, it turned out today was 85 and humid,

but the air was on, so I stuck with my plan.

There were apples on the cupboard and pastry dough in the freezer,

so how about a few apple turnovers.

(Like I need a turnover-ok, I went to the gym this morning)

I've never made turnovers before, but figured they'd be easy-they were.

I found a recipe and made some changes,

cut down the sugar & butter, added cranberries and flour. Too much sugar knocks me out,

so when I can, I cut it down. Typically, I don't eat a lot of sweets-don't get me wrong-

I do love them.

Apple Turnovers

4 Macintosh apples-peeled, cored and sliced

1/4 cup dried cranberries (chopped)

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon flour (mix into brown sugar)

2 sheets puff pastry-I used Pepperidge Farms

1 egg white whisked with 1 tablespoon water

Sugar (to sprinkle)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt butter in pan, add apples, cranberries, brown sugar, flour and stir over medium heat. 

Cook about 10 minutes (stir consistently), when apples soften, take off heat and let cool down.

Cut 2 pastry sheets into 8 squares. Place on baking sheet, add a few spoons of apple mixture.

Fold on an angle to form a triangle, press edges with a fork. 

Brush each turnover with the water and egg white, sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for approx. 30 minutes.

Cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

-Lynn





Today I'm Joining:
Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson for Share Your Cup Thursday #24
What's Cooking Love? for Showcase Your Talent Thursday
Miz Helens Country Cottage for Full Plate Thursday
Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday

Sunday Finds

This morning I decided to run out to a local flea market

to see if I could find a few treasures.

I'm always on the lookout for a pretty pin, chain, pendant or key.

Today was my lucky day!

I'm always excited to find a few pretty items,

I feel like a kid in a candy store!

Now it's time to get to work...

it's always fun to see what creations will come from these pieces-

maybe a necklace, a bracelet, a brooch 

or

maybe something in a frame.

We'll see.

I'll post as soon as I've got something to show you.

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

-Lynn



I'm joining:
Homemaker On A Dime for Creative Bloggers Party
Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

Where Does The Time Go?!

Hi Everyone!

Seems like life is flying by these days, this year is busier than usual.

My son is finishing up high school and graduating on Saturday!

Now I'm going to cry...

My daughter is a Jr. and has been finishing test, upon test along with papers,

SAT, ACT, college searches, tours, etc! You know how it goes.

Proms, school photos, school trips, sports,

there's always something going on.

I don't know what I've been doing-but I'm way behind with my blogging these days!

I have been working in my garden a bit.

My daughter gave me some bulbs a few years ago, for Mother's Day.

Each year a few leaves would spring up, but no flowers.

Finally, this year one bulb produced a flower!

Very pretty, does anyone know what it's called?

This is Bud E., he's my little friend. He follows me throughout the house, from room to room.

He loves to lay in the grass while I garden.

When he was a puppy, he'd watch me garden, then proceed to dig up what I had planted.

Guess he thought he was helping.

So, hopefully I can get back to blogging a bit more!

I miss reading everyone's posts, 

although I do pop in here and there to try to keep up with what's going on. 

Graduation, vacation, trips to college towns, I should have something to blog about.

Oh yeah, I'm taking a few classes to brush up on skills I use to have, I feel like a rusty old engine!

Oh, and I bought the paint for my art room-I had posted about redoing that room last summer!!!

Sorry for the scattered post!

OK, now back to finishing the menu for the graduation party! And, cleaning the house,

my family is coming for a few days.

Have a great week!

-Lynn

May Garden

Welcome to my garden!

Each spring I try to grow veggies from seed, but they never seem to do well 

and I end up going to the local nursery for plants.

This year I thought I'd try again. 

I planted the seeds while it was still cool out, but brought the planters inside

when there were frost warnings.

Usually the seedlings get this far and then die off.

How disappointing!

I planted a few favorites, parsley, cilantro, lettuce and of course, basil.

So far, so good!

Everything seems to be coming along nicely.

Last night my daughter made salsa with the first sprigs of cilantro and parsley.

Delicious!

We also picked the first lettuce for tonight's salad.

The flower garden is doing well too.

Last year we had a giant oak fall on the hill and wipe out a huge 

portion of the garden. 

Luckily, many perennials were spared and came back this spring.

Hopefully the bare spots will fill in with pachysandra and creeping myrtle.

Of course, there's the climbing 4th of July Rose on the garden gate.

So pretty with it's red and white blooms each year.

I was surprised to see it blooming already!

We have had some hot days and much needed rain, 

so it seems like the garden got a jump start this year.

I'm happy, because one of my favorite places is my garden.

Hope you enjoyed the little tour.

Thanks for stopping by and happy gardening!

-Lynn


I'm Joining:
An Oregon Cottage for Tuesday Garden Party
Have A Daily Cup From Mrs. Olson for Share Your Cup Thursday
Fishtail Cottage for Garden Party Tuesday

One who plants a garden, plants happiness.

...Chinese proverb

Sunday was a beautiful day! My daughter and I grabbed our cameras 

and headed to the Italian Gardens at the Vanderbilt.

The spring flowers are so pretty!

Hope you're having a wonderful week!

-Lynn



I'm Joining:
Have A Daily Cup From Mrs. Olson for Share Your Cup Thursday
Katherine's Corner for Favorite Things Blog Hop
And then she snapped for Show Off Your Shot

Black Bean and Mango Salad

I love trying new recipes and giving them my own twist.

Mango salsa seems to be popular to serve over chicken or fish. 

Dishes using black beans, garbanzo or cannellini beans are a favorite in my house,

so I thought I'd combine the flavors!

Yum!

Black Bean and Mango Salad:

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed well

2 medium mangos, diced

2 mini cucumbers, washed and diced

3 roasted peppers, cut into strips and diced (this time I used jarred peppers, but I like to make my own on the grill too)

1 small red onion, chopped 

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, washed and chopped (or add to taste)

1 small can hot jalapeno peppers

1 tablespoon cumin (I like a lot, but you can add what you'd like)

Juice from 1 orange or 1/2 cup juice from carton 

1/2 lime, squeeze over salad

Kosher salt to taste

Give a gentle stir, chill in fridge.

I'm using this as a side to chicken tacos tonight. I think this would be good tossed with chicken breast  and served as an entree. What do you think?

I'm getting hungry! Time to get the rest of dinner going. 

Have a great evening!

-Lynn

I'm Linking to:

Miz Helen's Country Cottage for Full Plate Thursday
Simple Living for Foodie Friday

At The Farm

My daughter and I decided to take a trip to a local farm this weekend.

We use to visit this farm when the kids were little.

They had open barn, so we thought we'd go and take a few photos.

My daughter likes to take photos as much as I do. 

It's a nice activity we can do together.

I remember when the kids came here and fed the animals little springs of hay.

They were so happy when a cow would nibble from their hand! Awww!

Checking out the camera!

There were still some daffodils blooming on the grounds.

Some buds ready to blossom.

This friendly goose thought we had a little snack. Sorry!

We just want a few photos!

Now to find a block of time to sit and do a little drawing.

Maybe tomorrow. 

Things have been a bit crazy around here the last few weeks!

All good, but crazy. That's life!

Hope you're having a good week!

-Lynn




I'm Joining:
Have A Daily Cup From Mrs. Olson for Share Your Cup Thursday

Cow

In my New Years Day post, 

I said I would try to do something new each day

 or complete a project to keep things moving forward. 

Something that I haven't done in a while is draw. 

As a kid it was one of my favorite activities.

So, I was flipping through a recent National Geographic, 

my favorite magazine,

and found a photo of a cow.

I thought she was so pretty, I had to try my hand at drawing again.

I know it's not perfect, but I enjoyed working on her.

Isn't she cute?

Now that the weather is warming up,

I'd like to take some of my own photos of farm animals to draw from.

Maybe I'll take a trip with some friends to a local dairy or horse farm next week.
Sounds like fun, doesn't it?
I don't know where my activities will take me, but I'm going to enjoy the journey!
Hope you're having a great week!
-Lynn

I'm Linking to:
At The Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday

Pretty Pink Blossoms

Today I'm joining My Little Home and Garden for Sunlit Sunday and
And Then She Snapped for Show Off Your Shot.

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

-Lynn

Daisy

Purity, innocence, loyal love,

beauty, patience and simplicity.

Enjoy your weekend!

-Lynn

Today I'm joining:
Have A Daily Cup From Mrs. Olson for Springin Outdoors
How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday