Savory Mini Cream Puffs

Ben needed to take something for a potluck at work and it seemed many colleague's were contributing sweets so I thought little chicken salad cream puffs would be a good addition.

Of course the photo-op consists of the finished puffs in Tupperware containers, they travel nicely that way!

Here is the puff with the soft inside removed...

And here is the puff with the soft dough waiting to be removed.

Puffs galore!!!

You can use your favorite recipe for cream puffs and just make them miniature.

Puffs:

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Heat water and butter in a saucepan to boiling, reduce heat and stir in the flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture leaves sides of pan and comes together in a ball. Remove from heat and beat in the four eggs.

Shape dough into desired shapes on a cookie sheet (parchment lined) and bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes (baking time will vary according to size of puffs).

I used a chicken filling and didn't use a recipe...
You can use canned chicken if you want to save time and add Hellman's to taste along with onion, diced sweet pickles, chopped nuts, herbs...whatever you like!
Ham salad is also a possibility as is tuna...be creative~

Miniature Daffodil's...and more!!!

Spring is such a time of re-birth...the daffodils appear before the real warmth arrives!

Here we have a lone little daffodil just aiming to please the eye!

The mint is eager for the sunshine and I am thrilled because I love to have fresh mint always at the ready!

Check out the bleeding heart...don't you just love spring?

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Spring Has Arrived!!!

No snow to report...just beautiful little crocus!!!

Don't they just make you smile? Personally, I am so grateful to enjoy a little color in the landscape.

The poppy is surely growing and that is always a spring-time treat to see those saucer shaped flowers!

This is a columbine just sprouting...isn't it exciting?

Have a wonderful day enjoying nature, warmer temperatures, and sunny skies!

Now on to the serious job of raking!!!

And...still waiting for spring!

By the time I grabbed the camera, turned on the outdoor light, and dashed outside to take a photo of the hail I determined it was difficult to get a picture in the dark with hail pelting down on your head.

Yes, hail came down for several minutes and on the positive side, it melted quite quickly~

Shortly thereafter the snow arrived and left its mark on the deck...granted not much snow fell but what we are really craving is some sunshine and warmth!!!

The weatherman is continuing to predict some warmer weather in a few days...can hardly wait for that!!!

Have an enjoyable day!

Oh Spring...Where are you?

As you can see the sunrise on Sunday morning was absolutely beautiful and we were hopeful the day would be spring-like...keyword: hopeful!

Shortly after taking the above photo, the sky became rather ominous, and our hopes were dashed!

Then came the huge snowflakes and we decided spring wasn't going to appear, at least not for Sunday, April 3, 2011.

It was pretty to look out the window...but April is just too late for this!

The trees were heavy with snow and then the thunder and lightning arrived...crazy, isn't it?
There is a saying in Michigan: wait five minutes and the weather will change...how true!

By evening the snow had pretty much melted away and we do need the moisture...Lake Michigan water levels are low...20" lower than normal according to the newspaper.

Early Morning Deer Sighting

Feeding the deer is no longer legal in our neck of the woods so we are not seeing as many deer as in years past.
We used to feed them corn in a large barrel during the winter months and had a tree near the feeding station that was illuminated with clear Christmas lights...it was so much fun to watch the herd gather in the evening and eat their fill and drain our pocketbooks in the process! A group of 15-30 deer per evening can consume a lot of corn!

When I spotted these deer and grabbed the camera it occurred to me that the pictures would not be great due to the early morning fog but I hope you can see them just the same.

There were actually five deer and if you look closely you will probably be able to see four of them...two are standing and between them there are two lying down. The fifth deer is just inside the woods directly behind the deer to the right.

Please look almost in the center of this picture and you can see one of the deer walking away from where I was standing!

Living in the woods never ceases to amaze me!!!

And by the way, this was taken two mornings ago and check the amount of snow...BUT, today it is melting and I have washed some windows and taken the Christmas lights off the ornamental cherry tree!!!

Frosty Morning

Ben gave me a heads up that I should take my camera (on my way to church) to snap a few ""frosty" pictures by the Bridge...so glad he did!

Thankfully this particular photo shoot didn't take long because it was really cold and the fingers were getting a little chilly to say the least.

The car thermometer read 8 degrees and that surely doesn't feel like spring...but according to our local weatherman the next few days will be up around the mid-forties!

The past several mornings have been quite frosty and I must say that it is beautiful near the Betsie River with the sun just rising.

You can detect the water in this photo that was taken in someone's driveway. The Betsie River dumps into Betsie Lake which then joins Lake Michigan...truly a beautiful area to call home!!!