Etsy Pick of the Week - Week of 3/7/10

I seem to be slipping on my blogging duties! Well, Spring is in the air here in Central Texas. The grass is green and soon the beautiful Texas wildflowers will be in full bloom. Enjoy this week's Etsy pick. Beautiful pastel pink glass flower earrings. Start thinking about SPRING!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39252486

Etsy Pick of the Week - Week of 3/1/10

I know.. this one is a little late but here you go! I really love handmade pottery and the colors on this pitcher just jump out at me. It's beautiful!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41547114

Crockpot Pulled Pork and Amazing BBQ Sauce Recipe

I had been having this crazing for a great pulled pork sandwich. Being from Texas, you're more likely to get a chopped brisket sandwich! Anyway, I did some googling and found this great recipe...it makes the most tender and delicious pulled pork. OMG it's good!! and did I mention EASY???

Enjoy!!

Sauce/Marinade

1/2 Cup Ketchup
1/3 Cup Worcestershire **
1/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Ground Mustard
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Paprika
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Liquid Smoke
Dash Red Chili Pepper Flakes
Pinch Salt and Pepper

Mix all ingredients together in the crockpot. Take a 3 lb trimmed pork shoulder (Boston Butt) roast and place in crockpot with sauce. Coat both sides thoroughly with sauce. Slice 1 medium sweet yellow onion and layer it on top and around the sides of the roast. Cook on low for 8- 10 hours. When the pork is done, take it out of the crock pot and place in large bowl. Use two forks to shred into small pieces. Serve on a toasted seasame bun.

I always make an extra batch of the sauce/marinade and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. I use this in place of a store bought sauce. I love the sharp vinegar flavor!

**This is the original recipe, I actually prefer to reduce the amount of Worcestershire to about 2 tbsp and I also add about 1 tbsp of Spicy Brown Mustard.

By the way, I'm very sorry that I didn't take a picture of the finished product. It's disappeared VERY QUICKLY!! lol

Etsy Pick of the Week - Week of 2/22/10

Reusable sandwich and snack bags!! Why didn't I think of that? lol These are super cute, economical AND good for the enviroment. What's not to love!?! I found TONS of these when I was searching on ETSY but the bags from Eco Green Bags are irrestible! They have tons of different colors and patterns to choose from.

Check 'em out!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/EcoGreenBags

Etsy Pick of the Week - Week of 2/15/10

Blue Water Crochet Necklace - beautiful!

I just got back from the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo. Yee-haw! I just love all of the western decor, clothes and jewelry. Makes me want a new pair of boots!

Anyway, I decided to go with a theme that seems to encompass every aspect of western decor and jewelry - turquoise. This week's pick comes from Sparkling Fantasy Beads.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40807280

Domino Pendants

Here is a preview of the new domino pendants I'm selling in my new shop!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PurpleHorseBoutique

Polyvore.com - Fun!!

I ran across this site when I was reading another blog. I had a lot of fun creating this set of Texas inspired items. Hope you enjoy!!

Texas Star by mossyrockcrafts featuring Vivienne Westwood Anglomania dresses

Items in this set:
Giant Fold-33 Turquoise Dress, 285 GBP
Cowboy Boots Tee, $13
Back at the Ranch Custom Cowboy Boots-Liberty, $2,200
Tan Leather Tooled Satchel Style Handbag - Vintage clothing from Rokit...
Lonestar 18-karat gold earrings, $6,400

Etsy Pick of the Week - Week of 2/7/10

Well, Valentine's Day is sneaking up on us again. It seems to do that, doesn't it? Most people haven't finished playing with their Christmas gadgets at this point. I know there is still lots of Wii playing going on at my house. By the way, don't you just love Wii bowling??

Anyway, I wanted to feature an item this week that encompasses what Valentine's Day should be. So, here it is, the Key to My Heart Bracelet by shimmercandy.

Hope you enjoy!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40329656

Cool Layouts

When I was intially signing up and designing this blog I was really disappointed by how boring the templates were. Well, today, I was skimming through some other etsy.com members blogs and came across several that had some really awesome backgrounds. I thought, ah-ha!, you can make your blog look cool! Bye-bye boring blog, hello fun blog! I've picked a fun background that incorporates one of my favorite color combinations - chocolate and blue.

Check out the creator of these really cool layouts:
http://alliebrownslayouts.blogspot.com/

They're very user friendly and it'll make your blog look fabulous!

Etsy Pick of the Week - Week of 1/31/10

RetiredRecords
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RetiredRecords

Repurposed Vinyls! This shop takes old and unloved vinyl records and turns them into functional items for the home, jewelry, handbags and more!

This is my favorite item out of their store:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39566971

Tortellini Soup

I was really craving some soup today. It's been cold and raining, perfect weather for a nice warm bowl of soup. I thought about making one of my favorites - Chicken Tortilla Soup. I'll share that recipe with you someday soon. It's fantastic and super easy.

Anyway, about 5 years ago when I first started teaching, a co-worker brought in a delicious tortellini soup for a potluck lunch. He gave me the recipe and I made it a few times. I've since misplaced the recipe and fell out of contact with the owner.

I got to thinking at work today that what I really wanted wasn't my Ol' Faithful Tortilla Soup but some awesome tortellini soup instead. Even though I didn't have the recipe, I think I did a pretty darn good job of replicating it.

Here you go, enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic - put through garlic press or finely chop
1 small white onion - diced
1 lb. Italian sausage - mild or spicey
2 -3 tbsp Italian seasoning or 1 tbsp each of dried basil, oregano, thyme
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional - I enjoy the spice)
2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes - oregano, basil and garlic (Italian flavored)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash - thinly sliced
6 - 8 cups chicken stock (I use chicken base and add it to hot water)
1 19 oz bag of frozen 3 cheese tortellini or you can use fresh tortellini. This is about 3 cups. salt/pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat oil in bottom of large stock pot. Saute garlic and onion for 3 - 5 minutes.
Add Italian sausage and cook until browned, break into smaller pieces with the back of a spoon. Drain excess fat.
Add Italian seasonings and red pepper flakes.
Add tomatoes (undrained), tomato sauce, zucchini and yellow squash.
Add chicken stock - I use about 8 cups because I like a lot of broth, could be reduced to 6.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are fully cooked - about 25 to 30 minutes.
Add tortellini and cook until tender, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve with grated parmesan cheese and fresh french bread!

Variations - try using ravioli or macaroni noodles, add kidney beans or thinly sliced red potatoes