Showing posts with label Summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Summer. Show all posts

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Fantastic Fruit Salsa Recipe

Fantastic Fruit Salsa


If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a bit of an adventurous eater and I love trying new things. I'm also all about as Fresh as I can get, because well, Fresh just tastes better!

One of my favorite types of combinations is mixing sweet with savory or sweet with spicy. That's exactly what this recipe is! A delicious mix of both sweet and spicy and a little bit savory. :)

I could literally eat this salsa all by itself as a meal! It's also great with grilled chicken, fish, rice, with tortilla chips or as a salad topping or with anything else you can think to pair it with.

So without any further ado, here is the recipe for Fantastic Fruit Salsa!

Ingredients:
1 Peach or Mango (Or Both if you prefer)
1 Red Bell Pepper
12 Strawberries
3 Green Onions
1 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro (Chopped fine)
2 Tbsp Lime Juice
1/4 Tsp Sea Salt
1 Tsp Stevia in the Raw or Sugar
Garlic Salt to Taste (optional)

Dice all fruits and vegetables into bite sized pieces, chop cilantro leaves finely and add all fruits and vegetables to a medium sized bowl.

Add Lime Juice, Sea Salt & Stevia/Sugar to mixture of fruits and veggies. Mix thoroughly together and chill in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes prior to serving.

You can add a little garlic salt to the mixture if you want something a little more savory than sweet. :)

Serve with your favorite grilled chicken, fish, rice, or whatever you choose.

As always, if you try this recipe, I'd love to know how you liked it!

Enjoy!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by The Perfect Knot!

Michelle K
The Perfect Knot


Thursday, July 17, 2014

Raindrops on Roses ... or Look up, look down, look all around!

Raindrops on Roses

Last night it Rained! I absolutely love it when it rains in the summer and everything smells so clean! I love that it cools the temperature off and the Earth is refreshed!
The colors of the flowers, grass and leaves are so vibrant like someone painted them anew!

There's a word for that smell, it's called Petrichor and it's just a phenomenal smell like no other!

That smell is what woke me up this morning extremely early (before 6 am) and made me decide to get up and grab my camera to do a little photo exploration around our house.
I haven't done that in so long, but after today's adventure, I definitely need to do it some more. It's the best therapy I know of next to playing with my yarn and beads. ;)

So come with me on my little backyard adventure and I'll share with you some of the beautiful things I found on my little journey.

 As I started off on my adventure, I spotted the beautiful miniature roses that my neighbor has growing in her yard along the wall that is shared with our driveways.

They are so delicate and tiny and just perfectly shaped. The velvety petals made for an amazing canvas to cradle the raindrops on each of the flowers.
The flowers were very dry in parts of the bush, so I know they must have been very grateful for this little drink early in the morning.

 The colors of the flowers are so beautiful! The most delicate Antique Ivory, Peach and Soft White. And then there was my favorite in the vibrant Red and White of the miniature Peppermint Rose! I knew that one needed to have a special spotlight with it's two lovely about to open baby buds right next to it. :)


I could have stayed right there for hours and shot every single little tiny flower on each little bush. They were all so gorgeous!
















Roses are my second favorite flower next to Sunflowers and I love the variety of colors and scents they have! God truly knew how to make them just perfect enough. (Thorns and all.)


Next on my adventure, I had a few little birdie friends stop by to say hello!

First was this lovely little green Finch that decided to sit on the wire above my head and sing me a pretty tune.

He didn't stay very long though as he was in a hurry to catch his breakfast.







Next I met a little sleeping blue bird that was nestled between the seed pods of the pretty tree that lives in our front yard. I decided it best not to wake her up and let her get her beauty sleep as I continued on my way.









 I then met another blue bird who was quite the curious little fellow. He watched me for quite a while until he decided I wasn't going to bother him, but only wanted to take his picture.
 He stared me down for a couple of seconds while sizing me up. I can hear the thoughts running through his head "Are you a friend or a foe? What is that big black thing you're carrying? What are you going to do with it?" LOL

He decided I wasn't an enemy and that he would give me his best profile pose before snagging the little yellow leaf in front of him and taking off with it somewhere to parts unknown.
He was a friendly little fellow and I hope he found something good for his breakfast besides the leaf. ;)





My last little friend was a very LOUD squawking Jay Robber or Blue Jay as they are called out here.
He sat on the back fence next to the neighbor's shed and decided he would squawk me his story. He strutted around on the fence line and made himself known to everyone in the neighborhood.
He did decide to pose for me long enough to get his portrait though and for that I am grateful! Fun, noisy little guy!


After my conversation with the Jay Robber, I decided to go check out the black berry bushes that randomly grow in our yard. Seems like they can pop up just about anywhere!
I love the shape of their leaves and the wonderful sweet berries they produce.
The raindrops were so perfectly placed on these leaves it almost looked like someone took an eye dropper and just left perfect little wet spots on the leaves.

I found another little sprig of the bush growing out from between the rocks near our fence line. This one even has a few berries on it! In a few days, maybe I can pick a few when they are ripe and have myself a great little fresh snack. :)

Where we live there are mountains and trees everywhere! (And not much else. LOL)
I decided I would admire the storm clouds rolling in over the trees on the mountain side.
They were so dark and I wondered when the next bit of rain would come. Would it bring thunder and lightning as well, or just a few sprinkles? Only time would tell.


Ahhhhh, yes, there's always an out-take when it comes to a photo story isn't there? LOL
In my case, I had to take the shot of the storm clouds more than once because one of my little feathered friends decided he needed to photo-bomb me!
And not just once, TWICE! The little stinker! LOL









Anyway, after being photo-bombed by the bird...

I did manage to spot a little patch of blue sky trying to peek through the clouds, so there was some hope that it might still clear up.
Aren't those trees all just the most perfect shades of green? Like I said, they all look freshly painted. So beautiful and clean!



 As I continued my adventure around the yard, I spotted a vacated spider's web that had been soaked from the rain.
The raindrops were held in this amazing silken hammock that the spider had made for his home. (Not to worry, I'm sure he can make another one some place drier. ;) )
As I ended my journey in the backyard because it was starting to rain and thunder again, I found one more vacated spider's canopy that had held suspended little bits of our cedar tree as well as hundreds of little raindrops all trapped between the ground an the side of our house.

It looked like little diamonds trapped within the water droplets. I thought it was such an interesting place for all of them to come to rest. So beautiful!

So that last picture concludes my little photo exploration around my yard because as I mentioned it was starting to storm again and I did not want to risk soaking me or my camera. It was a fun little trip and I'll have to make another one very soon! Maybe next time I will walk around my neighborhood or find another little place to see what is about. :)

I enjoyed the sights, sounds and smells on my little adventure this morning! Thank you for coming with me and seeing my world through my little cock-eyed view.

Thanks for stopping by The Perfect Knot Crochet and More!

Have a great day!

Michelle K.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Summer Fun Sale on Ravelry!


 Announcing the Summer Fun Sale going on Now in my Ravelry Shop until 7-31-13! No Coupon Code required, Discount applied in cart!

I'm excited about the newest patterns I've added to my shop & I hope you will all stop on by & check them out!

Here's some samples of the newest pretties now available!

Piggy Lovey


Fancy Schmancy Cuffs
Campfire The Mini Marshmallow (PSSST! He's a Freebie!)
















Enigma Solved Thread Bracelet


























Summer Delight Thread Bracelet


















Thanks for stopping by The Perfect Knot Crochet and More!

Enjoy all the new pretties!

Michelle K
The Perfect Knot

Friday, May 31, 2013

Pan-seared Chicken Spinach Salad... YUMMY!

 
Pan-seared Chicken Spinach Salad

I love to cook! Even more importantly I LOVE to eat too! LOL

I love it when the weather gets warmer and all of the fresh fruits & veggies are available, and a summer time salad is one of my absolute favorites! Either getting the vegetables fresh from the garden or the local farmer's market just makes it feel like Summer to me. :)

Anyway, today I thought I would share one of my favorite fast easy lunches (or dinners) with you all.


This one is a really simple salad recipe that is fast, healthy and delicious!


Pan-Seared Chicken Spinach Salad

Ingredients: (I did it for one person but you can modify it for more.)

1 Cup Fresh Baby Spinach Leaves (Washed)
1 4oz Thin Sliced Chicken Breast
1 Celery Stalk
1 Roma Tomato
1 Tsp Olive Oil
Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Pepper
McCormick's CA Garlic Salt
Spice Depot Jojo Potato Seasoning (I can usually find this at our local Big Lots.)
Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad dressing

Wash Spinach leaves & place in a bowl. Set aside for later.

Add olive oil to pan & heat oil on medium-high heat.

Once the pan is hot, add salt & pepper to Chicken breast & pan sear on one side for about 2 minutes or until you see the chicken starting to brown slightly in color.

Flip chicken over in pan & sear on other side. Sprinkle Garlic Salt & Jojo Seasoning over chicken & turn over, repeat for other side after cooking a couple minutes.

When chicken is cooked remove from pan & let rest 5-10 minutes so the juices all settle back into the chicken.

Dice your tomato & celery & add to your spinach leaves.

Once your chicken breast has rested, dice chicken into bite-sized pieces & add to the spinach mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top of salad & add a drizzle of Balsamic Vinaigrette to finish off.

Tada! That's it! A quick, healthy & delicious salad that is perfect any time of year!

Enjoy!

Michelle K
The Perfect Knot