French Giveaway

Hello Friends and Welcome~ ~ ~

A few days ago I was contacted by the lovely Ashley at CSN. Would I be interested in CSN sponsoring a Giveaway on my blog she asked? Are you kidding! I was not familiar with CSN but have come to learn that they have many websites. Quite a few have to do with the things we love for our homes and entertaining. There is a website that sells all the name brands of Bar stools and Furniture that you all know and love. Then there is their cookware site that I just adore. There is a site where you will find the most amazing mail boxes I have ever seen. There is even a site that has pet supplys.

Ok, your saying. Then why all the pictures of delicious pies?

Well, remember I said that I loved their site filled with cookware?

These pies all look great, don't they?

The first picture is my favorite pie.

Banana Creme Pie with Pecan Crust

The next two are from Bon Appetit.

Well, wouldn't they look even better in a beautiful Pink ceramic Pie plate

made in France by Emile Henry?

Have you ever cooked in Emile Henry's ceramic pie plates and casseroles? I have been using Emile Henry baking dishes for many years. I began using them when Martha Stewart talked about how much she enjoyed using them. They are amazing at perfectly browning your crusts. You will love the results when you bake pies in them.

THE GIVEWAY

The picture above is the giveaway pie plate you will receive if you are the winner!

(not the glass pedistal)

Here is how you can enter to win.

FOR 1 CHANCE TO WIN

Just leave a comment on this post and tell me what kind

of pie you would bake in your new pink pie plate.

FOR YOUR 2ND. CHANCE TO WIN

Become a "Follower" on my site then leave another comment

and tell me you are Following me.

( If you already Follow just tell me so in your comment)

FOR YOUR 3RD. CHANCE TO WIN

visit http://www.cookware.com/ and take a look around.

Then come back here and tell me which product

you would love to own in your 3rd. comment.

FOR YOUR 4TH. CHANCE TO WIN

Mention this Giveaway on your blog with a link back here to this post

@ Joyously Living Life then come back here and

comment again and tell me that you did.

If you participated in all 4 ways to win you should have commented 4 times.

If you do not have a blog please be sure that you leave your

email so that I can contact you if you win.

The winner will need to email me her name and address

so that the good folks at CSN can ship her prize.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Should you decide you can't live without this beautiful PINK Pie Plate

Please know that Emile Henry will donate 10%

of the sale of each pink dish to

Breast Cancer Research.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I am joining in for the fun this week at

BetweenNapsOnThePorch for

TABLESCAPE THURSDAY

I can see this on a lovely table set for Valentines

or Easter Dinner.

Thanks to Susan our hostess.

and

DesignsByGollum for

FOODIE FRIDAY

Thanks to Michael Lee our hostess.

The winner will be announced on Monday February 1, 2010

Be sure to stop back to see if your the winner.

Thanks for joining in for the fun

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

Delicious Dinner With Friends

Hello Friends~ ~
This idea all started because of a trip to the "Olive Garden". I ordered the Shrimp Manicotti Formaggio from their special menu and thought it was delightful. Have you tried it?

We have wonderful neighbors who are always ready to come over for dinner for one of my experiments. It's fun to have friends you don't have to be to serious with. If the dinner turns out poorly we can call out for pizza. Well pizza was not necessary. This one is a keeper!

The centerpiece was still on the table from the holidays and I was feeling a little fancy so I added cute little Christmas Cards as placecards and got out the crystal, just in case the dinner failed at least the table looked lovely.

This is the silver I got for a steal at an little antique shop. It was almost black.

Polished up nicely didn't it?

This is my version of the Olive Garden dish. We all gave it a thumbs up.

Try it and let me know what you think? I'm happy to share it with all of you.

Rocotta Rolls with Shrimp & Brandy Sauce

Recipe by Ahrisha at http://joyouslylivinglife.blogspot.com

Serves 5

1 lb. Lasagna Noodles cooked and drained

* * * *

STUFFING FOR PASTA ROLLS

2 lb. Ricotta

1 T. Oregano

1 tsp. parsley

1/2 tsp. salt

20 grinds of pepper

1 1/4 C. grated Mozzarella

2 - 3 eggs depends on how soft your ricotta is
start with 2, if not soft enough to spread add another.

Mix all together. Lay 2 or 3 noodles on the counter at a time side by side. Using a rubber spatula spread a thick layer of filling on each noodle and roll each one up starting at a short end. Place the rolls in a single layer in a casserole dish coated with olive oil. I make 2 dishes and freeze one for later. You will get 14 - 16 rolls. If you will be using all the rolls at once you will need to double the sauce recipe.

Bake the rolls at 350* till hot. Keep warm. Do not crisp them. If your oven is to hot lower the temperature to just heat the rolls.

SAUCE:

2 T. Butter

2 T. olive oil

1/3 C. onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. Red Pepper flakes

1 tsp. flour

1/4 C. Brandy

2 C. heavy cream

1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese

30 cooked shrimp (6 for each serving, more if you like)

28 Oz. can Diced Tomatoes, Very Well drained in a strainer.

Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over med. high heat. Saute onion till translucent. Add garlic, red pepper and flour, stir and cook at least 2 minutes to fully cook flour. Adjust heat to lower if necessary. Add brandy and cook till reduced by half. Slowly add cream stirring till thickened. Add Parmesan while stirring, add shrimp and HALF the tomatoes cooking to heat. Stirring gently so you don't break up the tomatoes.

TO PLATE:

Place a pool of sauce on each plate and put 2 rolls on top. Top with more sauce and 6 shrimp to each plate. Garnish with additional diced tomatoes. I heated mine in the microwave. Serve with bread to sop up the sauce.

I could use a little computer help here. I had this recipe in my file in Word and thought I could just copy and paste it to my blog post but No Way! I had to retype the recipe. Does anyone know how I can paste copy into a Blogger post?

I'm linking this post to Susan at "Between Naps On The Porch" for Tablescape Thursday.

And Michael Lee at "Designs By Gollum" For Foodie Friday.

Please stop by at these friends to find the links to others who are joining us this week.

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

Good Morning

Will you get away with that camera.

I'm trying to sleep here!

But Babaje, It's time to get up. The sun is up.

The horses in the field next door are awake.



The woodpecker is here having his breakfast.

The cardinal and the sparrow are here too,

So are the Bluejays. Can't you hear them?

I'm having trouble waking up too.

All this cold and snow makes me want to hibernate.

The little bit of sun we have today is getting higher in the sky.

Same view this summer.

I miss having the girls for breakfast.

In the winter they stay in the barn.

Have a wonderful weekend.

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

Crafting A Paper Wreath

Hello Friends~ ~

I have been folding paper and glueing and glittering and just having fun. Do you want to help?
Below is the wreath about half way finished. You use an old book and tear the pages out, ouch! Hope that didn't hurt anyone. I used one I had around the house purchased many years ago at a second hand book store. I wanted a book with old yellow pages.


A word of caution here, when you dirty the edges of the book before you begin make it really dirty so that it shows up on each page if you want a grungy look. I used my old coffee filter from breakfast and rubbed the edges of the book with the damp filter with the coffee wrapped inside. I also used some cinnamon like Eileen did over at Stars Fault. I wish I had made my edges darker but all in all it looks pretty good.

Here you can see that I used black & gold glitter on the edges of the paper.
What do you think? It seems like lots of gals are making these wreaths. You might want to give it a try. Lindsay did a tutorial on making the wreath and you can access her blog from a link on Eileen's blog. Be sure to look at both blogs before you begin. Each gal made hers a little different and you can decide how you will do yours.

Here is the wreath hanging on a door into the kitchen from the office.

I also want to share another craft I did last summer. Can you spot it hanging on my shelf?

It's the little can with a hanger. I'll give you the how tos later.

My Beloved made this shelf for me last summer and I'm finally getting the finishing touches on it. I looked and looked for the perfect hooks for the shelf and just couldn't find the right thing till I spotted these at a local shop.

Have you ever seen such sweet hooks? See the little bird pirched on each one?

I love them. They were dark iron so I had to paint them white. Now I need to put

a little white paint on each nail head to finish them off.

I bought the vintage lace at a flea market last summer and it fits just right.

The shelf hangs above the desk in my office to create a sweet little space to do my work.

A close up of the little birdies.

This rooster is one of a set of bookends holding my Essential oil books on the shelf.

Love roosters. .and chickens.

Beside the books is a basket filled with yarn. I'm waiting for it to speak to me and tell me what it wants to be!

This little bottle of flowers is just waiting for spring and so am I.

This is a close up of the can. I thought it had a cute vintage label and I wanted to keep it around. I carefully cut off the lid leaving 2 small round tabs on each side of the can. I used a tin snipper to trim the tabs and round the edges. Then with a leather punch I poked a whole in the center of the tab. Run a pretty piece of ribbon through the tabs to make a handle and fill with flowers.

Have fun with these and be sure to let me know when I can come for a visit and see your results.

Happy Crafting

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

Just What I Need, How About You?

Hello Friends~ ~ ~

Yes, It's January 1, 2010 Happy New Year to you.

What I am really longing for is to get my hands in the dirt

and grow some beautiful flowers.

Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we?

All of these lovely blooms are from my gardens.


For all of you who live where it's warm all year. I'm so jealous.
I have one peony bush and it this red stunner.
I love it when you can see the yellow centers, don't you?

Isn't this Honey Dijon rose amazing?

Wishing you the Best this year.

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~