Lentil Soup with Ham Bone

Is there anything more yummy on a cold winter day than a big bowl of steamy lentil soup?  Nope!  And here's my favorite recipe.

1 lb lentils, washed and drained
1 celery rib, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped fine or grated
1/2 C chopped onion
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp dried thyme
7-8 C water
1 ham bone, thinly sliced kielbasa, or hot smoked sausage
1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

1.Combine all ingredients except for salt and pepper in slow cooker.
2. Cover.  Cook on low 8-9 hours.  Remove bay leaf and ham bone.  Dice meat from bone and return to cooker.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Serve alone, or over rice with grated cheese on top.

** My own side note:  When I cook my ham, there is generally lots of yummy juice (okay, fat) in the bottom of the pan.  I save this, and use it to replace some of the water.  I pour the juice into the measure cup, and then round out the rest of the 8 cups with water.  It gives the soup a really lovely flavor.  And who worries about calories if you've just been shoveling snow.

Crockpot Beef Stew

This incredibly yummy recipe was given to me by my mom,one of the best cooks I know.  This recipe is GREAT for a cold winter day, and freezes really well.  (We actually have bunch in our freezer as we speak, just waiting for the first snow.)  It's great with biscuits on the side. 

I actually replace some of the water with red wine.  It gives it a really lovely taste. 

2 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into  1 ½ pieces.

Dust with flour and brown in oil

Put in pot and add:

1 bay leaf

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 onion chopped

1 C. beef bouillon

¼ t. pepper

1 t. salt

1 t. sugar

6 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 C. celery

4 potatoes, peeled and cut into eights

1 onion sliced

 Then add:

4 C. water  (I use 2 C red wine or 3 C, depending on my mood, and then round out the rest of the 4 C with water)

Cook 8 to 10 hours.  Thicken with a little flour mixed with water  .  cover and cook on high 10 or 15 minutes until slightly thickened.

ArtFire Group Deal is a STEAL!!!!!

ArtFire, a fabulous place to sell handcrafted or vintage goods, or supplies to make handcrafted goods is running a most WONDERFUL deal right now!

Here's the deal:  If ArtFire can get 20,000 shops to sign up for this deal, then we all get the deal.  Have a basic shop you want to upgrade?  Sign up and when we reach 20,000, you'll go PRO!  Have a Pro shop that you're paying a higher rate on?  Sign up, because that counts too!!! 

ArtFire is wonderful, fun selling venue that reaches all over the world! 

You can set up a Facebook kiosk on your Facebook pages, and everything that you list can go directly to Google base for added advertising.  One of the most recent, really cool things they've added is being able to add your favorite goodies to an Amazon wishlist!!!

And the tools available in Pro shops are AMAZING:  set up coupon codes, create gift certificates, join artisan guilds, sort your shop so that it looks exactly how you want it to,  add promo labels to your pictures, the convenience of ONE PAGE for adding pieces, personalize your shop in the colors of your business...

I could go on, but the list really is endless. 

The link for cashing in on WONDERFUL deal is:  http://www.artfire.com/groupdeal

Take a look, sign up.... You will NOT be disappointed!!!!

The Compost Pile and other random thoughts

Well, the masses have voted.

Okay, 43 people voted.

And the winning name for my new destash shop on ArtFire will be (drum roll, please.....):

(sigh).....

The Compost Pile

This poll leads me to believe certain things about my friends:
1) They are odd, but in a good way.
2) They have FABULOUS senses of humor.

And I'm thinking they all think I won't do this.  But I will.  It won, hands down. 

Actually, what I will probably wind up naming it is: TBB's Compost Pile. Hopefully, I'll have the new shop set up by the end of the weekend.  We shall see.  And giggle. A lot. 

In honor my boys starting preschool, I'm having a 10% off sale! TheBeadedBranch Artisan Studio http://www.artfire.com/users/TheBeadedBranch

A New Shop Needing a Name

After much thought and consideration, The Beaded Branch is going to be expanding out a little bit.  I've come to realize several things:

1. I have waaaaay too many crafting supplies.
2. I would really like to have the new "Certified Handmade" badge to proudly display in my ArtFire Studio.
3. I have waaaaay too many crafting supplies.
4. A little extra cash would be nice.
5. I have waaaaay too many crafting supplies.

Here is what I'm planning on doing.  I'm opening up a de-stash and supply studio on ArtFire.  By doing this I will be able to still sell my tutorial on ArtFire (just not in my main shop) and I will be able to clear out some of the crafting supplies I never use. 
Here's the catch:  I have NO idea what to call this new venture.  In my sleep-deprived brain, the best name I could come up with was "The Compost Pile".  Catchy, but I don't think too many people would want to shop there.  The idea is good, taking what is old, and turning it into something new, but the connotations of a compost heap are just not pleasant.  The smell for one thing...
At any rate,  I've gotten a plethora of suggestions from my friends on Plurk, and with those great suggestions, I'm going to set up a poll, so people can vote. 

Here are the names that have been suggested:

• Beadless Branch
• Beaded Branch Destash
• Beyond the Branch
• From the Branch
• De-Beading the Branch
• The Apple Never Falls Far
• The Beady Apple
• Branching Out
• TBBDestash
• Beads from the Branch
• Branch of Opportunity

I'll set up the poll soon.  Vote now.  Vote often.  Otherwise I'll be stuck with a shop name like "The Compost Pile"

There Are Just Some Days...

Some days, when you have kids, when you have to let the work go by the wayside and have a little fun. This was one of those days. As I gathered up paints, paint brushes, paper, and a LARGE sheet of plastic, my kids kept asking "Mommy, what are you doing???"

I laid the plastic down on the dining room floor, got out a styrofoam tray, and had a great time with my kids. We explored a couple of different painting techniques, mixing colors, and basically getting down and dirty with a lot of paint, and having a wonderful time. Clean up was kind of a chore, but so well worth it in the end. We have some fabulous works of art now, to liven up our rather bare walls.