White Bean and Avocado Dip.......

My good friend Mary Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes came for lunch this week. It's not very often that we get to meet for lunch in the middle of the week, but its February school vacation and we both have the week off.  I served this yummy, creamy white bean and avocado dip with tortilla chips while we chatted and enjoyed the the warmth from the fireplace.
 

Here is the recipe.
Ingredients:

• 2 avocados
• 15 oz. can of Cannellini beans ( rinsed and drained)
• 2 large garlic clove, peeled
• Juice from 2 limes
• 3/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. taco seasoning
• salt & pepper to taste
• pinch pepper flakes

Put all the above ingredients in a food processor and pulse until blended and almost smooth. 

After snacking on the dip and chips it was off to the dining room for steaming bowls of chicken taco soup and Mary's delicious blueberry pie for dessert.

I was thrilled when Mary offered to bring a pie for our dessert.  As you can see from the bottom right photo,  I had all I could do from picking up the plate and licking it.  If you love blueberries as much as I do, you are going to love this pie.   Here is Mary's recipe for  Blue Ribbon Winner Blueberry Pie.  

Low Fat Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Chia Seeds

Read here why I try to sneak in a tablespoon of Chia seeds in almost everything I eat, including these delicious low fat pancakes.  I combined ingredients from three different recipes and came up with these.  Enjoy!
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour,
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 large egg
• 4 1/2 tbsp liquid egg whites
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp chia seeds

Directions:

1. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda in a medium bowl.  Next,  whisk in the ricotta, egg, liquid egg whites, vanilla, buttermilk, lemon zest and lemon juice in a large bowl until smooth. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.  Do not over mix.
2. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto a well oiled cast iron pan.  Cook until the edges are dry and bubbles begin to form, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes over and cook until golden brown, about 2 or 3 minutes more.

I served my pancakes with home made warm blueberry sauce and Grade A Dark Amber New Hampshire Maple Syrup.

Meet Lillian......Lily for short.

 
Do you remember my post about possibly getting Bella a friend?  Well, our daughter called and asked us if we would take care of Lily until May.  It seems a case of severe cat allergies from my daughter's roommate has brought Lily to our doorstep.  Bella is not pleased with the arrival of this new cat in her home.  This stealth cat has attacked Bella twice from hiding places in our home that I never even knew existed.  Lily also sits and stares at Bella for long periods of time, which makes my poor girl very uncomfortable. While Bella is relaxing on my bed, Lily will sit in the doorway just staring at her. I think the cat is doing this on purpose. There has to be some type of telepathic message this cat is transmitting to the dog.  While the cat is engaged in her intimidation tactics,  Bella immediately stares straight up at the ceiling.  So strange......I'll keep you posted.  

Update...The After Photo

You wouldn't know it was the same backyard would you?  You can still see the flower pot that was sitting on the stone wall yesterday.  I don't know the final snow accumulation, but my guess is probably over two feet.

 I couldn't believe the size of this snow drift on my car.   It doesn't look like I'll be going anywhere for awhile.

The snow on top of my car is as tall as the garage roof. There is a full dormer on the back of the house that is completely covered by the drifts on the garage roof.  My husband will use the roof rake after we clear the car off and move it closer to the end of the driveway.

We haven't had a chance to snow blow a path to the front door yet.  There is so much snow in the driveway and of course we had to snow blow a space in the yard for Bella to use.  It might not get done today.  The traveling ban that had been in place through out the blizzard will be lifted later this afternoon.  The good news it seems, is that most everyone has weathered the storm without incident.  Good news.

Wicked Storm Coming......

There is a snow storm heading toward the Northeast.  It is supposed to be a whopper of a blizzard with sustained winds of over 35 miles per hour and an expected 2 ft. or more of snow in isolated areas.  We are in the isolated area. The meteorologists are saying it could be a storm of historic portions.  We shall see........     
I'm posting a before the blizzard photo of the stone wall in my backyard taken 10 minutes ago at 12 noon.  Tomorrow if we have power, I'll post a during or after the blizzard photo. Right now I have a pot roast and all the fixings cooking and a batch of brownies in the oven. The house is toasty warm and the fireplace has a crackling fire roaring.  We are prepared.

Best Brownies from Pinterest...

A pin on Pinterest claims that these were the best brownies ever.  I would have to agree.  The recipe is from a blog called Saltbox House .   It seems her aunt was a lunch lady in a school cafeteria and this was their recipe for brownies.  Lucky kids!
Ingredients:.
1 cup of butter 

1/2 cup of cocoa ( I used double dutch dark cocoa from King Arthurs )
2 cups of flour
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs

4 teaspoons of vanilla

1 cup of chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:

Melt butter, add cocoa, mix until smooth

Add flour, and sugar. Beat together and then add eggs, vanilla, and nuts. Mix until combined. Do not over stir. Pour into greased, floured  9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

The Chocolate Icing Recipe:

1/4 cup of softened butter

1/4 cup of canned milk (regular milk is fine)

1/4 cup of cocoa

3 cups of powdered sugar

dash of salt

Mix all together and frost as desired.