Just be love...

. Just be love .

This painting was inspired by something my roommate heard from the singer Jason Mraz.  She said in this interview of Mraz, he and a couple friends were getting a tattoo that said, "be love." 

(the picture of the tattoos are above)

His reason behind it, though I can't find the exact quote anywhere is that basically everyone is looking for love or wanting love or showing love....

Maybe we should all just BE LOVE.

I just thought that was such a beautiful concept.  If everyone just was love, it would cover all the bases and the world would be so much more..incredible.  

I also just watched the movie "seven years in tibet," and feel a bit foolish that I didn't know that any of that was going on. 

Thanks AP History.

The tibetians are such a loving culture, I loved the scene where the people are building a movie theater for the Dali Lama and they are pulling worms out of the dirt and blessing them and reburying them in a safer location.  They believe in not inflicting any pain on any living thing, because that could essentially be your mother, from another life.  I mean, it is worms.  

It's just such a beautiful concept to just love everything.  

Just exude love.  

Just be love.

Pizza Meatballs

Pizza Meatballs

2  lbs     Ground beef

2 cups    Seasoned breadcrumbs

1 cup     Milk

2 tsp      Garlic salt

1/4  tsp  Pepper

8    oz    Mozzarella cheese

2           28 oz jars pizza sauce

1/3  cup  All-purpose flour

1/4  cup  Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Parsley

Fresh Basil

Italian Seasoning

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Cut mozzarella into cubes, 1/2 in. each    

In a bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients just until mixed.

Shape into Small Meatballs

Push a cube into the center of each meatball, covering the cheese completely with meat.

Roll lightly in flour. 

In a large skillet, cook meatballs in oil until browned: drain. 

 

Remove the meatballs from the skillet and put in a baking pan. 

Cover the meatballs in the pizza sauce, sprinkle the parsley and Italian seasoning on top.

Bake for 30 minutes.

To keep warm, house in a crock pot.  Add extra sauce as needed.

Bon Appetit!

Peanut Butter Double Chocolate Chip cookies. Best Recipe Ever.

Peanut butter double chocolate chip cookies

yield about 5 dozen 

2 ¼ cups  flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3  cup milk

¾ tsp salt

1 egg

1 stick butter

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 tbsp of vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°.

Melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips over boiling water; cool slightly.

Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until light. Add the egg and mix until fluffy.   Add melted chips and mix until smooth

Blend the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together well. Add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the chocolate chips.

Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets.  (I HIGHLY suggest buying a little ice cream/cookie scoop.  Makes life a lot easier)

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Summer Salad

Summer Salad

Ingredients

My yield for this was around 60 people.  Most everything is equal parts based on what you like.

Romaine Lettuce

Oranges

Apples

Strawberries

Red Onions

Gorgonzola Cheese

Pecans

Thick sliced Ham (i like honey roasted)

Poppyseed dressing

STEP 1:

Slice up fruits and onions!  I made them all into medium sized chunks.  With the ham, slice into julienne style.  Add it all together in a bowl.  I serve the dressing on the side, because it is a sweet salad, so people can choose how much sweeter they want it.

Look how pretty all the colors are together :)  

Bon Apetite!

Believe in those you love...

This painting came from the idea to put an inspiration quote above my door so when I leave my room everyday or lay in bed, I can be inspired to do good.  Cheesey I know.  Well this is pretty self explanatory.  

Skeleton.  Slash drawing

Ameba looking flowers.

Roses are done.  Thinking of outlining them still.

My quote, the first part from a DOVE wrapper.  The second underneath was  ALL me :)

Triple chocolate, double mousse cake

Triple Chocolate Double Mousse Cake

Ingredients

For cake

2 boxes of Chocolate cake mix

Eggs

Canola oil

2 Chocolate pudding mix

Water

3 qt. casserole pan

For mousse

• 11 oz of bittersweet chocolate (i use the whole bag, cause who ever said too much chocolate was a bad thing?)
• 7 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 7 egg white
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 
  

For Icing

Just buy chocolate icing :)  I chose double chocolate with choc. chips

STEP 1:

Follow instructions for the cake on the box, only adding the box of pudding while in mix form.   Prepare second box of cake mix and combine the two mixes together.   Spray the pan down THOROUGHLY with a PAM type spray.  Remember to fill the pan up only 3/4 of the way!  Cakes rise!  You can use the excess batter in a couple cupcakes for yourself.  Pop the pan in the oven.  Timing will increase, usually for me about 50 minutes.  Have a quick check (open the oven door and stick a knife straight in and out) at about 40 minutes just in case.  

While the cake batter in baking, begin mousse recipe.

MOUSSE

1:

Place chocolate in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until mostly melted, then remove from heat, and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

 2:

In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream to medium stiff peaks, but do not allow it to become grainy. Set aside.

3:

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with salt until soft peaks form. Sprinkle in the sugar, and continue whipping to medium stiff peaks. Fold in egg yolks.

 4:

Fold in the melted chocolate until completely incorporated, then fold in whipped cream until evenly blended.  Chill until firm, about 1 hour.

Once the cake is cooked and cooled, gently place a plate on top of the pan and flip it over.  The cake should easily fall out.  With a serrated knife, cut three separate layers in the cake.  In between each layer, generously spread mousse.   Replace each layer.  On the top of the cake, GENEROUSLY spread the chocolate icing.  

Bon Apetite!

Pesto Salmon

Pesto Salmon

Ingredients

1/2 pound of Salmon 

Pre-made Pesto

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Step 1

On a plate, pat down the Salmon with a clean paper towel and season the fish with salt and pepper.  Lightly drizzle and cover the salmon with olive oil.  Place the salmon on the preheated George Foreman WITH THE SKIN STILL ON!  Close the top of the GF and cook for about 5 minutes (or until light peach).

Step 2

Open the top of the grill and spread pesto on top of the salmon.  Let cook for a couple more minutes with the grill top up.

Step 3

The skin will most likely stick to the grill, so gently remove the fish so it stays intact.  

Best served warm, but makes for a great left over!

Bon Appetit!

Frosty Paws Recipe!

Found this on my vets email blast and think it is a cute, inexpensive idea for special treats in the summertime for our doggies!  Will post when I try it out!

Frosty Paws Treats

Ingredients:
1-32 oz. container of low-fat, plain yogurt
3 handfuls of fresh blueberries
1 banana
2 tbsp of peanut butter

Instructions:
Chop up banana into small pieces (or mash) and mix all ingredients together. Place the ingredients in ice cube trays and freeze for about 3 hours. 
Once frozen, run hot water over the underside of the trays, pop out the frosty paws and serve! For extra fun, use a bone shaped ice cube tray!

Chandeliers Craze Closure...

FINALLY FINISHED!!

What kept me from finishing was having to make the decision on how I wanted to place the "strings" connecting all the jewels on the chandelier. Basically, I didn't want to make any decisions. The joy of painting turned into a giant headache brought on by my Type A personality mixed with my perfectionist nature.

Just Breathe, Megan.

I am satisfied with the painting, after thinking about painting over it about 57 times.

Now where to hang it?

Over my bed would be a good solid wall, but my walls are basically a lighter shade of the turquoise color I used for the background of the picture, and it may be too much blue in my room.

Truffled Mac and Cheese

White Truffled Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Good olive oil

Kosher salt

1 pound pasta, such as cavatappi

3 ounces white truffle butter (I made my own)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 quart whole milk, scalded

12 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (4 cups)

8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 1/2 to 3 cups)

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (equal parts rosemary, thyme and basil)

1 1/2 cups Japanese bread crumbs (panko)

Truffled Butter is really easy to make. Buy some white truffle oil and a stick of non salted butter. Soften the butter and add oil (I poured for 4 seconds). Add salt to taste and stir...voila! Truffled Butter!

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Add the pasta and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until al dente. Drain well.

Meanwhile, melt the truffle butter in a large (4-quart) saucepan and whisk in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Slowly whisk in the hot milk and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the white sauce is thickened and creamy.

Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, the pepper, and nutmeg.

Combine the pasta and sauce in a large bowl and pour them into a 10 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish.

Place the garlic and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until they're minced. Add the bread crumbs and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the crumbs over the pasta and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the crumbs are golden brown.

Serve hot.

Bon Appetit!

Mothers day painting

So I decided since I have no money and an extra canvas I would paint my mother some art. After thinking long and hard about what EXACTLY to paint her, i decided to go with a painting that incorporated a lot of things that had grave importance to her...so renaissance of me (it is one of my absolute passions to learn about art and what the artist ment when putting something in a piece..brillant!). So I decided to go with a piece of art I saw in Key West by my most FAVORITE modern artist Michael Gorban who is absolutely incredible and is known for having a little marble in every thing he paints (i just thought that was cool).

Anyways....

So there was a particular painting of his I used as an inspiration (i stress USED AS AN INSPIRATION) in figuring out how to incorporate all these symbolic elements without it looking like clutter...I stress my painting was just inspired and looked nothing like his...i wish it had...

A window.

A perfect way to show all my symbols, considering they are all outside items.

Before I get ahead of myself, these are the items i decided to use

Cardinal ~ my great grandmother. She told my mom, "whenever you see a cardinal, know that is me watching you)
Roses ~ my grandmother. She loved flowers, especially roses and spent all of her free time tending to her rose garden in clearwater.
Gardenia ~ my mother. We always have had a gardenia plant at our houses and she would pick one or two when they bloomed and put them in our house.
A waterford vase ~ She had one which broke and I remember thinking how regal we were when the sun hit it and it sparkled. She loved it.
SeaShells ~ She is from Clearwater Beach and all of our happiest memories with my grandmother were there. When she is cremated she wants to be sprinkled there.

Jasmine ~ me. They are one of my favorite flowers.

I also wanted there to be a sunset, because we always watched the sunset at clearwater beach...something that spoiled us west coast floridians. Still trying to figure out how to make it

work properly...

Anyways the gist of it is all of this is my great grandma, grandma and me always watching in on my mother and being apart of nature and her never having to feel alone. The seashells are supposed to be a "home" symbol that where ever you live, you can easily make it your home. There is also silver on the clouds, to always look for the silver lining in life...

.

Ok please dont judge too harshly. I love most of it when I drew it out and the painting part didnt come out as expected. I love the gardenias in the vase.

I'm a true artist now...

In true artist form I have abandoned my Chandelier painting, but only temporarily, to paint a picture for my mother for mothers day. This will be my first piece that employs real symbolism and a deco-page of items...I can not say what the items are, but a hint is that I will be painting flowers for the first time...wish me luck!

Apparently I am a Pisces...

Sign compatibility depends what zodiac sign Venus was in when you were born.... therefore I am a Pisces. This is quite funny because everyone always thinks I'm a Pisces, based on how much I love water and fish. Anyways, this is what the Find your Venus Sign website said about me...I took the time to bold the right-on points.

When your Venus is in Pisces, you love tenderly and compassionately. You are a peace-maker at heart, and your sensors are so strong that you pick up as much as possible, and perhaps more, from your partner. You have a sense of humor in love, although you have your shares of ups and downs, as you are a very sensitive person. Harshness bothers you. Wistfulness is almost as natural to you as breathing when it comes to love. No matter how you approach other areas of your life, there is a romantic side of you. You crave making a connection with a person—many would call it a deep connection, but spiritual is a better word, as your ideal love rises above rather than plunges below the mundane world.

You can be devastatingly attractive to some people, and your charm is of a tender and soft quality. Others sense your warmth, but also some elusiveness. As much as you want to connect and share with another person, you also resist being pinned down. You prefer to enjoy a certain amount of freedom to act on your feelings, rather than through schedules or impositions. Sometimes you attach yourself to people because you have a hard time saying "no". However, you also have a hard time pretending for any length of time. Your exit from a relationship may not always be direct and quick. You are not always comfortable with being direct, simply because you don't like hurting people's feelings.

You can sometimes seem like a chameleon in your relationships. People who share time with you, if they were to exchange notes about you, would likely have a very different impression of you. You can seem like a completely different person with different people--not because you have a weak character. Because you are an emotional sponge, you pick up the needs of those around you. Your adaptability comes from a lack of personal boundaries in matters of the heart. Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, and it carries with it each and every sign. This explains, to a degree, your ability to slip into anyone's shoes without so much as a blink. So, with Venus, the planet of love and relationship, in Pisces, it is easy for you to pick up the needs of your partner and even adopt those needs as your own. Where do your needs start and end? It can be hard for you to distinguish what it is that you want because you very spontaneously and naturally soak in the needs and wants of a partner.

You have an amazing capacity to understand people and to forgive. Just as you resist being pinned down to an absolute, a schedule, or a concrete definition, you also have a hard time drawing boundaries. In the process, however, you open yourself up to challenging situations and relationships. It is difficult for you to pass judgment on anyone in an absolute sense, as you have compassion for human failings, but sometimes it is the only way to close yourself off from a bad situation. Don't let others take advantage of your hospitality and empathy. Anyone who sees these traits as signs of weakness is likely preying on them! The right lover for you will recognize your kindness and your willingness to slip into someone's shoes as signs of strength! When that special someone has touched your heart, they are rewarded with a funny, sometimes kooky, and always tender-hearted lover. The right person for you will find you absolutely delightful, intriguingly changeable, and a treasure indeed.

Ok so i wanted to highlight pretty much the whole damn thing. It is scary how completely right this description is for me. It is also weird that I have always felt my Capricorn reading is not accurate for me...

Anyways, I went to see my grandfather today because he has every so graciously offered to foot the bill for my PRIVATE PILOTS LICENSE! Yes, I could be Megan, the pilot, soon! I sat in the 2 different planes today, a high winged and a low winged (oh i sound soooo like a pilot already) and it was explained to me that IF I could not see over the dash, the have cushions to sit on. The guy wanted to say "when," I just know it! My grandfather was intrigued that I started painting, because my grandmother was an amazing artist. I tried to thoroughly explain I was NOT an artist, just a hobbiest, but I'm sure he will still tell everyone that I am an artist now.

Balls.

If I do decide to go pilot, it will be a 143.8 mile commute to and from the school. Whoa.

On the long journey home today, I will admit I was in a piss poor I'm-a-girl-and-it's-that-time-of-the-month-so-i-can-have-an-attitude-and-road-rage type mood in the torrential downpour rain and was contemplating whether my mood was mimicking the weather or was the weather mimicking my mood. I am starting to really get in tuned with the universe (I am NOT a wicken) and realizing that the more positive I am, the more positive happens and the same with being negative and negative things happening. I don't think I am being "atheist" by saying that because I'm sure God (whoever she is) is just rewarding positivity with positive things. Isn't that what we try to teach our children these days? Positive reinforcement for doing well...

The universe, I think, is also beginning to send me DIRECT signs also. I listen to a chakra aligning CD in the car (don't judge, it calms me down) and all of a sudden felt a wave of

"I need to just go to my therapist and spill everything. God I wish I had more money so I could go all the time," thought followed by tears. When I looked at the track number, it was on the "communication chakra" track.

Ok universe.

Then as I sat in my apartment bitching about anything I could (did I mention my roommate is somewhat of an angel) I raced out and tried to get a soda, which just this morning I was thinking "never again will I drink a soda, I really don't need it. Rots your teeth," and when I put my dollar into the machine, low and behold all the soda was sold out, and the machine wouldn't give me my change back so my only option was bottled water.

I listening universe...

Was too tired to "create" anything tonight except for this blog. And yes, I am still in a crappy mood. Did I mention there was just a thunderstorm like 3 minutes ago?

Bruschetta

Bruschetta

Step 1

Ingredients:

Sour dough bread

Goat cheese-8oz

Cream cheese-4 oz

Chives

Balsamic Glaze

Bruschetta mix (this one is pre made from Target)

Slice up the bread and lightly toast them in the oven. I have it on 350 degrees for about 5 minutes.

While it is toasting, combine the goat cheese and cream cheese into a container. Get the chives out on a cutting board and chop them up. About 1/4 of a cup. Add the chives to the cheese mix and mix it all up to make a spread.

Take the bread out of the oven and spread a little bit of the cheese on them.

Put about a spoon full of the bruschetta mix top of the bread.

With the balsamic glaze, drizzle a little bit on top of each piece of bread.

Bon Appetit!