Lady Ford's Blog About Everything!

Plastic wrap keeps air out!  In addition to fresh lime juice keeping guacamole from turning this little trick helps a ton, too. Place a layer or two of plastic wrap over dip and push all air out, along sides and top layer. Plastic will keep air out, which turns the dip brown. Cover with lid container for best results.

Simple and delicious!  Low carb, too. This is a modified version of the classic Italian dish my grandma made, adapted for my carnivorous, low-carb loving husband! Ingredients: - 2 English Cucumbers extremely thinly sliced in halves - Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half - 1/4 - 1/3 cup thinly sliced yellow onion - 1/3 cup white vinegar - 3- 4 T Olive Oil - 2 T sugar - Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste Flavors will blend as they sit. Season to your preference with more or less vinegar / olive oil. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Best Bloody Mary hands down! I've never liked a bloody Mary until my husband made this awesome batch. I am sold. Ingredients: - 24 oz Low Sodium V-8 - 5 oz vodka - 1 T horseradish - 1/2 lime, juiced - 2 T A-1 Steak Sauce - 1 1/2  T Worcestershire Sauce - 1/2 T Franks's Red Hot Sauce - 1/2 Chipotle Cholula Sauce - 1/2 T onion powder - 1/2 T garlic powder - salt and pepper to taste Stir to combine, serve over ice with garnishes of choice & enjoy.

Here are some before and after pictures of my sewing table. The table had been used at my parents house as our kitchen table for 25 years. The wear and tear and sun fading made the sanding part not too bad at all. Loving how it turned out!! The color I used is Laguna Green by Valspar. After - Table with leaf and two chairs Table Top - Before, without leaf Base - Before Chair - Before Chair - Before detail  Side View -After   Base detail - After Chair - After  Chair Detail - After

This is my all time favorite soup! I've been testing out different recipes and finally created the perfect mix. To me, the key ingredient in the soup is some type of wine. Many recipes call for red wine, Sauvignon Blanc, Sherry or Port wine. I've experimented with both Port and a combo of Cabernet Sauvignon and a Sweet White. There was a very subtle difference between using Port vs. my red/white combo. Use what you have on hand or your personal preference.  It takes so much time to do this recipe right, I like to take advantage and prepare enough for leftovers and to freeze. Ingredients: 8 yellow onions, halved & sliced 2 sticks of butter 5 T olive oil 10 oz. Cabernet Sauvignon 4 oz. sweet white wine 4 quarts stock (2 qts beef broth & 2 qts vegetable broth) 1 tsp dried garlic or 2 fresh garlic cloves, chopped 4 dried bay leaves 2 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 tsp dried thyme salt pepper 1 baguette, sliced Gruyere or Swiss Cheese Cooking spray Cook Time: ...

This dish turned out great and it was just something I threw together pretty quick, honestly. Making notes of my recipe for the future! Ingredients: - 2 - 4 chicken breasts, sliced into 1'' wide strips - 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed - 1 large zucchini, sliced (1/2'') & quartered - 10 oz. Raspberry piquillo pepper sauce *** - 1/2 of a large bunch of cilantro, chopped - 4 gloves garlic, chopped - 1 Tablespoon cumin - 1 Teaspoon salt (on chicken) - 1 full Tablespoon sliced, pickled jalapenos - 1 fresh avocado - dollop of low fat sour cream Mix ingredients well in Crock Pot. Cook on low 4 hours.  When ready to serve, spoon mixture onto plate and top with fresh sliced avocado and a dollop of sour cream. The avocado made it! * Notes: I only had 2 chicken breasts on hand, but next time I will use 4. My husband LOVED this dish so much! He additionally added more jalapeno's and a bit of salsa for more heat. This dish was "warm" and ...

Sangria This is my go-to, crowd pleaser, always delicious, favorite drink! It is easy to prepare, and best of all, is prepared ahead of time, and gets better as it "brews". You don't need to spend a lot of money on the wine for this recipe, a simple table wine is best. The following recipe is for a large batch, which would make about 24 8oz. servings. If you'd like to make a smaller or larger batch, simply reduce or increase as desired. I've done it many ways and it always turns out great! I always eyeball my liquor quantities, so the below measures are approximate. Ingredients: - 4L Red wine, such as Chianti or Burgundy. I generally use  Carlo Rossi Chianti - 12 - 16 oz.  Triple Sec - 12 - 16 oz. Brandy - 2 liter of Sprite, Sprite Zero, 7Up, etc. Use about 1/2 to 3/4 bottle depending on strong you'd like it. - 1 apple, cored, and chopped into bite sized pieces - 1 orange, peeled, sliced into bite sized pieces - 1 8oz. jar Maraschino cherries, ...