Roasted Tomato & Sausage Casserole

Being cooped up in the house has gotten me caught up on my candle & tart orders~~~yeah! I've also come up with a few new recipes that I've shared on my website's RECIPE page :)

Fire Roasted TOMATO & SAUSAGE Casserole

1lb Sweet Italian Sausage (remove casings)
28oz can Fire Roasted diced Tomatoes- organic
4 Potatoes- organic (diced)
1 medium Onion- organic
1 green Pepper- organic
4-5 mushrooms- organic
6 cloves chopped garlic- organic
Italian spices (oregano, thyme, fennel, basil) organic
salt & pepper
1 Buttermilk Biscuit container (found an all natural one at whole foods)

Cooking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350
On stove-top, start browning the sweet Italian sausage in olive oil
Add diced onion, pepper, mushrooms & garlic
Add 1/3 of the seasonings plus some salt & pepper
Stir and finish browning meat mixture
Layer the diced potato on top
Add 1/3 of the seasonings plus some salt & pepper
Layer the entire can of fire roasted tomatoes on top of the potatoes
Add remaining seasonings
Cover and place in oven for 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender

Remove from oven and layer the biscuits on top. Sprinkle with a little seasoning and return to oven uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until the biscuits are browned.

*I turn the broiler on in the last few minutes to get the biscuits golden brown- just make sure you watch them so they don't burn!

ENJOY~~~ We Did :)

New England Recreation

His job is to shovel 3 feet of snow off of the car barn....

My job is to call 911 if he falls off....

All Natural AMBER~

Been working all weekend on some Huge orders (thank-you) and there seems to be a "Pamper-Yourself" theme. Besides the typical candle orders, my bath salts, splashes & perfumes are Really popular lately! I think with all this cold & snowy weather, we're craving something that makes us feel good :)

Amber & Vanilla SPLASH

For me, that scent is Amber. I can remember being in a health food store with my mother when I was a kid and she let me pick out whatever perfume I wanted....I chose Amber and still LOVE it!

Amber Body Butter

Pure Amber Perfume

The reason I made my Amber bath salts, splashes & perfumes is because I have made them for myself for years and wanted to share.

Patchouli Amber Bath Salts

 Don't wait until Valentine's day to pamper yourself. 
You deserve it everyday :)

Buffalo Shepherd's Pie

I created a new recipe tonight that came out so Yummy I added it to my RECIPE page on the website!

Organic Buffalo Shepherd's Pie

1 lb ground Buffalo (or grass-fed Hamburg from a "happy cow")
1 chopped organic onion
1 chopped organic pepper (optional)
1 chopped organic carrot (optional)
5 chopped organic garlic cloves
1 eight oz. carton cream of mushroom soup-organic (or canned)
1 bag organic frozen corn (or 2 cans)
3-4 handfuls organic shredded cheddar cheese
5 small organic red potatoes-slice 1/4 inch (or fewer large ones)
organic spices: parsley, thyme, onion powder,pepper, sea salt (whatever you like)

In casserole dish, saute onion, pepper, carrot and garlic in olive oil until slightly tender. Add ground buffalo plus 1/2 of seasonings and saute everything together until buffalo is browned. Add cream of mushroom soup, stir. Layer the frozen corn on top of the meat & veggie mixture. Then layer the potatoes on top of the corn neatly so they cook evenly. Sprinkle the rest of the seasonings on top of the potatoes. Cover and cook for 1 hour or until the potatoes are done. Remove from oven, take off lid and put under the broiler for a few minutes to brown the top of the potatoes. When the potatoes are brown, sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top and let that broil until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned.

Serve with a fresh tossed salad......mmmmmmm


I like to feed my family buffalo instead of hamburg because the buffalo are free ranged and are able to live a healthier life...which must make them "happier" and I'd rather be part of happy farming :)

Flowers in the Dead of Winter~

I finally got around to posting my globe amaranth and celosia on my website. Guess I don't want to part with them :)

Sweet Annie, Celosia, Peonies, & Pink Globe Amaranth

My dried Zinnia's Peonies & Globe Amaranth

Here's some extra flower bunches that I use for my melting tarts & potpourri. Looking all "nice & neat" just waiting for me to get my grubby (beeswax & spice caked) fingers on them :)

Hearts & Potpourri

Been working on a big (fun) order all day and I thought these cottage garden hearts came out so pretty that I should take a picture of them~

In the summer I try to dry as many blossoms so that they can be enjoyed even in the DEAD of winter :)

Here we go Again!

More SNOW plus freezing rain....lovely.

I stuck my arm out of the house to get a shot of the wild turkey's flying in from the trees.
Poor things can't walk in the snow so they roost in the trees, fly down for some seed and then fly back up again.  It seems like so much wasted energy! 

Blizzard

Looking out our windows today, I've counted over 30 wild turkey's roosting in the trees, gobbling and waiting for their lunch. Every once and a while one flies down to the bird feeder but can't get to the seeds (there's over 20 inches of snow on the ground) they stand there dumb-founded and then fly back up. Hubby can't stand it anymore, he's off to the barn to get the tractor out and plow some trails for the bird seed. Even the wild turkey's are spoiled here :)

ps.  I never saw that many turkey's roosting in the trees before........pretty freaky!

Home Office Re-Do

It's been a wonderful year at the Crow's Nest Primitive Shoppe and I've had to make some changes to keep up with my Retail & Wholesale orders~ Yeah!

Besides doing paperwork in my teeny tiny home office, I've had to utilize this space to work on my candles, tarts, soaps, and everything else that I can make while I'm home~ Here's some pictures of my work space~

Cabinet Closed

Cabinet Open

Love my Jingle Bells

And my Fabric

Twine, Twine, Twine

Teeny Tiny doorway~

Notice the doorway is only 18 inches across.
What were they thinking in 1783 when this place was built :)

New Herbal BATH SALTS~

Aaaah made some new Bath Salts today.......of course I'll have to make more tomorrow because I'm keeping them All for myself :)     

Patchouli-Amber bath salts

Rosewood-Lavender bath salts

Eucalyptus-Mint bath salts

Tis the Basket Season~

I'm the dedicated "Basket-Maker" at the shop. Both the Herbarium and Crow's Nest shop. I've been making gift baskets for years & love it! Each one is unique and usually has its own challenges. Most of the time I'm in the back room, a frenzy of tissue, ribbon & blow dryer in hand, getting the basket just right while the customer is browsing the shop :)

I Love my Job :)

Refresher Oils

Refresher Oils are now available on all my Potpourri's

Vanilla Bee Potpourri

Forest Potpourri

Primitive Pear Potpourri

Noel Potpourri

Orange Pomander Potpourri

After requests from customers, I'm offering my blended oils in 5ml bottles on the potpourri pages of my website. Why didn't I think of this sooner :)

Bulbs Have Arrived!

Soooo excited to get my fall bulbs delivered!!
Most of these will be planted in the new cottage garden~  The tulips are in different shades of purple with reds, yellow & salmon blended in.  There's tons of purple & red alliums too.  Plus I'm going to do a mass planting of crocus's in the front lawn~  Whoohoo!

Can't wait until the "show" this Springtime :)

New Candle Lights~

I've come up with a few new designs for my Candle Lights~ One of my wholesale companies requested a variety....so here they are :)

Lavender CandleLight

Prim Holiday CandleLight

Spice Cupboard CandleLight

Plus a Primitive CandleLight, Sweet Annie CandleLight, Pumpkin CandleLight & Winter CandleLight are on my website~  Enjoy :)