Taco Braid......Yum!

Welcome to my kitchen, Glitterinas.

I want to thank you for taking time to 

open this post and spend some time with me 

today.

I want to share a quick, pretty and yummy 

dinner idea with you.

You don't see lots of dinners that are quick to make, 

 are pretty to serve and yummy to eat!

This Taco Braid is a nice dinner to serve 

to eaters of all ages.....littles, papaws,

school kids, moms and dads all can 

enjoy this meal.

Let's get started on that dinner!

Begin by browning a pound of hamburger 

and adding a packet of taco seasoning 

or

some chili powder, cumin and chili spice mix.

Let that cool a bit while you get the dough 

ready for the braid.

I am such a big fan of these dough sheets.

They are convenient and they taste good!

Place the dough on a parchment covered 

cookie sheet.

Work it with your fingers to get it 

spread out into a rectangle.

Next, you'll make the cuts for the parts of 

the dough that will be "braided".....

it's really more folded but calling the 

recipe a Taco Fold,

well, 

that sounds like I'm working with construction paper!

I used a pizza cutter for this step.

Just kind of angle those slices.....

....tah dah!

Now I'm ready to add the inside goodness.

First, the hamburger meat goes right down the middle.

Just scoop it on.....next, I add some halved 

tomatoes.

And lastly, some grated cheese.....yum!

Cheddar,  Mexi blend, Monterrey.....

what ever kind of cheese your crew likes best will work.

I don't think I'd use feta, but who knows it 

might be super delish!

Now I'm ready to begin the braiding magic!

Really it's the folding magic but 

whatever you want to call it.....it's so simple!

I start at the top and fold the first right strip 

over to the left side. 

Next, the top left strip folds over to the right side.

Continue down the dough.....over, 

over,

over,

over....

and before you can say

"Hey, look, it's a taco braid"

you are finished!

For Halloween this could be a cute, kinda scary 

mummy!

Not really scary, because I don't do that kind of 

Halloween!

Anyway, back to the braid.....

bake it for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Check for nice, slight

browning.....and remove it from the oven.

I sprinkle some more grated cheese on 

the top of the braid.

More cheese is always good, isn't it, 

Glitterinas?

I like to serve this taco braid with 

a nice, simple salad and a few additional 

toppings.

I arrange the salad greens and more 

halved tomatoes on a long, oval platter.

All ready for the braid!

Tweek the tomatoes on the ends so the 

braid will fit nicely!

I use two spatulas to carefully transfer

the braid to the serving platter.

Dinner is almost ready.....

......some corn and black beans,

some salsa,

a little cool sour cream,

and 

a bit more cheese

are add on options that I like to serve with 

the Taco Braid.

I also have salad dressing available.

My hungry eaters like to personalize 

their dinner with their 

favorite toppings.

Let's eat!

I hope you'll give this Taco Braid a try,

Glitterinas!

I bet your crew likes it as much as mine does.....

Happy day to you lovelies!

Thank you again for stopping in and 

letting me share a recipe with you!

Until next time, Glitterinas,

Tammy

The Last Days of Summer

The last days of summer vacation to be 

more accurate.

What are you doing these days in 

August, Glitterinas?

The grand~darlings and I are taking trips to the 

library to check out 

bags full of books to 

enjoy together.

Also, we took some time to 

play with a large, felt board Mr. Potato Head.

Before leaving

we went upstairs to check out 

the artwork that's 

on display.

Some interesting discussions ensued after 

viewing some of these pieces......

"Can people's brains really grow together?"

and

"Why don't they have shirts on, Gigi?"

"This is Mr. Grumpy Log Head."

"Gigi, did this one get the blue ribbon because the 

birds are about to kiss or because it's standing on a hub cap?"

"These pretty flowers and the red flower 

quilt make this the pretty part of 

the library!"

We also found a recipe for slime that we 

decided to try out!

I will share it with you,

Glitterians,

at the end of the post.

We mixed and stirred

and added glitter 

and stars 

and spiders.....

.....and kneaded

and kneaded

and kneaded.....

until the slime was finally ready to stretch

and play with!

You can tell by the look on Hudson's face 

that he is thinking his will break 

at any minute!

The slime gets quite cold when you stretch it out 

and then gather it up into 

a ball again.

This is some fun stuff!

It keeps well in a lidded, plastic container.

As we were gearing up for a shopping trip 

we had a fun snack of 

cantaloupe with jello.

There's always room for jello!

One afternoon, I was visited by a 

crime fighting ninja....

......Michelangelo cleared up all the 

bad guys lurking in the kitchen and when danger was 

averted there.....

.....he made sure the den was safe for 

Gigi!

My hero!

We even worked in a birthday before 

our summer was to end.....

Make your own ice cream sundae, 

and decorate a sugar cookie....

then sing a rousing chorus of 

Happy Birthday!

This frozen dessert is so good.

It's creamy, cold, sweet and pink!

It's also quite simple to make......

I'll share this recipe, too, at the end of the post!

Last but not least, in these final days 

of summer vacation, 

a litter of piggies were born!

This litter of Chester piggies is the 

first of many litters we'll be having 

here at Five Gables Farm.

They are so busy, squealing, soft, and 

cute.....I try not to get too 

attached to them because 

they will be sold in the sale 

my husband has in the fall.

We've had some fun this summer....

......and wrapped up the final days staying busy 

with crafts, food, reading, laughing and 

some craziness!

I hope you are enjoying 

these days of August too,

Glitterinas.

If you are going back to the classroom as a student,

I wish you a wonderful year.

If you are going back to the classroom as a teacher,

I wish you a super, drama free, enjoyable year.

Please know I pray for you every day!

Thanks for stopping by 

Glitterinas,

I appreciate you taking time to open this post 

and spending time with me!

Until next time,

Tammy

Recipe for slime-

ingredients:

1- 5 oz. bottle Elmer's Clear glue

1/2 cup liquid starch

glitter (optional)

confetti (optional)

parchment paper

directions:

Pout entire bottle of glue into a plastic bowl.

(I used a medium sized mixing bowl 

with plenty of room to stir.)

Add glitter and/or confetti next 

and stir well.

Add some of the liquid starch and stir.

The mixture will begin to stiffen up.

Keep slowly adding the starch and stirring.

When the mixture is too hard to stir,

place it on parchment paper and 

knead it.

Knead it.

Knead it.

Continue to add starch as you knead

until all the starch is added in.

One batch of our slime did not have as much glitter 

as the grand wanted so we did add more after it was kneaded.

The glitter incorporated fine.

Enjoy!

Frozen Cherry Delish!

ingredients:

1 can cherry pie filling

(any fruit pie filling will work)

1 can Eagle Brand milk

1 medium carton Cool Whip

Mix all the ingredients together.

Pour into a glass loaf pan.

Swirl and even out the top 

with a spatula. 

Cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Freeze for 5 hours or over night.

Take loaf pan out of the freezer 

and remove the plastic wrap

about 20-30 minutes before serving.

Slice, serve, and 

stand back and smile 

at all the compliments you receive!

Have a copy of the recipe 

ready to give out.....

People are going to ask you for it!

Enjoy, Glitterinas!

A Busy Week for Me!

Hello Glitterinas!

I hope you are staying cool and 

are having a good summer.

We have been busier than usual 

around here.....

well, I have been busier.

Husband is always busy and I just joined him 

for a trip he took to one of 

his professional organization's 

regional meetings.

This year Texas was the host,

so we didn't have to travel very far.

The seven state organization has members 

from....

and...

The three day conference was filled with visits to 

lots of interesting, mostly agricultural sites.

Monday started with a visit to 

Producers Co-operative.

They make all kinds of products to feed 

animals and things to plant.

When we were headed toward

 these crazy, tall structures, 

I told the person I was walking with

"Wow, I hope we get to go up there!"

That was followed by loud laughter....

I can't go up much higher than the 

second rung on a ladder!

This robotic arm was inside the plant.....

.....it was working very hard 

slinging fifty pound feed sacks onto 

pallets.

Next, we visited Messina Hof winery.

We ended up this tour with a stroll through 

their shoppe.

This gorgeous chandy was hanging by 

their front door.

After lunch, the tour continued on to 

the Vet Medicine College of 

Texas A&M......and then the 

College of Agriculture's new 

building out on the West Campus.

Tuesday found us on our way to 

The George Bush Presidential Library.

This was the part of the tour 

I was most excited about.

Our youngest daughter works at the 

Bush School at Texas A&M.

She is an academic advisor for the 

Master Degree Programs.

Here she is now....

She spoke to our groups and gave a small group of us 

a tour of her office and 

introduced us to

some of the people 

she works with each day.

Thanks, Ashley!

After lunch, we went 

                                                                  way 

way

                       way

down the road 

to

 Royalty Pecan Farm.

My goodness, this was a pretty place.

I stood in the shade of this behemoth during part of the tour....

.....so beautiful!

On Wednesday, the conference wrapped up with 

the final business session 

and everyone headed home!

I had a good time, met some lovely people 

from different states, saw some very 

interesting places and got to hang out a bit 

with one of my 

very favorite girlies!

Our week was not over, though.....

more on that next time, Glitterinas!

Thanks so much for letting me 

share with you.

I'm so glad you stopped by!

What are you up to this summer?

Hugs and glitter,

Tammy