Author Archives: cathyboettner

Last year, I wrote about planting a bunch of forsythia bushes along the retaining wall between our lawn and our neighbor’s driveway. I had intended to put down river rock last year as a mulch, but it didn’t get done. In the fall, we planted 65 more forsythia bushes down the rest of the wall.Continue reading “Green Screen Update”

This is the time of year that you can find primroses at your local garden center or hardware store. I love these little flowers because like gerbera daisies, they come in fantastic bright and cheery colors. I found this silver plated decorative bowl about 5 years ago at an estate sale. I think I paidContinue reading “A Decorative Idea”

We had dear friends up for the day over the weekend and so to celebrate getting to spend time with them, I decorated the table. I really haven’t done much table decorating since the holidays, so this was a nice change. I used yellow Kalanchoe in verdigris pots, green glass and black metal lanterns, andContinue reading “First table of the Spring”

I started making these a few years ago and my husband LOVES them. Because they are a little bit of a pain, I usually make a ton of them. I am giving you my proportions, but you can easily divide and add more of some things and less of others to suit your tastes. 6Continue reading “Bacon Onion Beef Burgers”

King Cake 1/4 cup butter or margarine 16 oz sour cream 1/3 cup sugar 1 tsp salt 2 envelopes yeast 1 tbsp sugar 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees) 2 large eggs 6 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (Penzey’s Spices has the best around) 1/3 cupContinue reading “Mardi Grass–Laissez les bon temps rouler!”

I LOVE gyros and souvlaki sandwiches. We hadn’t had the gyro burgers in a while, so it was definitely time to put them back in the rotation. These are super easy to make and really flavorful. I used ground turkey, but you could use ground lamb, ground pork, or ground beef–or a combination of allContinue reading “Gyro Burgers”

Given the weather around the country today, this seems an appropriate recipe to share with you…. Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil 2 large onions, diced 3 carrots, peeled and sliced 8 cloves of garlic, minced 56 oz. canned tomatoes (I used some that I canned last summer) 1 cup chopped roasted red pepper 1 quartContinue reading “Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Bisque”

First let me address where I have been the past 5 weeks. On December 29th, Pippa (our puppy) jumped out of the back of my 4Runner and broke her tibia at the growth plate and had to have surgery (and three pins) to fix it. They didn’t put a cast on the leg which meansContinue reading “A Treat that Starts with a Sugar Cookie Mix”

We used my toy table decoration for most of the holiday season, but I changed it up for Christmas day to a white and silver display. I cut white poinsettia flowers and sealed the ends by holding the cut end over a flame until no more juice came out and I put them in silverContinue reading “A Sparkly Holiday Table”

My in-laws have requested that we not give them any gifts, but we feel like we should do something, so I have been making them holiday centerpieces. Last year it was greenery and roses. This year I took a footed glass bowl that I bought at the thrift store and did a mercury glass treatmentContinue reading “Easy and Inexpensive Holiday Centerpiece”