Another fantabulous weekend!

And YES, fantabulous is a word, I just said so, so it is :)

It was a crafty weekend for me.  I had a bunch of girlfriends over on Saturday for a day of scrapping.  What fun we all had!  Lots of laughs and lots of work done.  Lynn even spent the night instead of driving all the way home.  Now, she's the kind of gal that never comes empty handed, and let me tell you, she provided some of the BEST food ever!

Sunday was Club day, so another day of crafting for me...WINNER!

Here is what I was working on most of the time - cards for fundraising for my upcoming Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure Walk.  I am so determined to do this and made a bunch of handmade cards to send out.  I plan to get them in the mail soon.

 I even stamped the envelopes.

If you are so inclined, you can even click on the 3-Day link on the side of my blog to donate.  I would be ever so grateful :)

OK, I guess I teased you with the yummy food we had, so now I'll share some recipes.  Here is Lynn's recipe for Zuppa Toscano soup (ever had that Olive Garden?  It's as good or better!)

1 lb ground Italian sausage
1 1/2 tsp crushed red peppers
1 large diced onion
4 tbsp bacon pieces
2 tsp garlic puree
10 c water
5 chicken bouillon cubes
1 c heavy cream
1 lb sliced russet potatoes (about 3 large)
Bunch of Kale

Saute sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat. Refrigerate while preparing other ingredients.
In the same pan, saute bacon , onion and garlic over low -med heat (about 15 mins until soft).
Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
Add sliced potatoes and cook just until soft, about 30 mins
Add heavy cream, cook till thoroughly heated. Stir in sausage and kale and heat through.

Yields 6-8 servings

Then she also brought a Summer Cooler Punch for us.  Here is the recipe for that, too.

• 1 12-ounce can frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 6-ounce can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
• 4 cups cold water * 1 liter club soda, chilled
• Ice cubes
• Fresh strawberries (optional)
• Short (6-inch) wooden skewers
• Assorted fruits such as halved orange slices, halved lime slices, orange sections, raspberries, strawberries, sliced kiwifruit, and mint sprigs

Directions

In a large pitcher combine pineapple juice concentrate, limeade, and water. Chill for at least 30 minutes.  Before serving, add Club Soda.

The recipe had you skewer the fruit for each glass, but we just cut it up and added it to the pitcher and let it soak.  It worked great!

Another side note about this recipe...we all decided that the punch just didn't do it for us using Club Soda - we would make it next time using 7-Up or Fresca or some such soda instead.  However, since it was all mixed up, we did sample it adding some Malibu Rum...OMG!  That was yummy!  Since there was some Moscato wine opened up, we also tried it with that added.  Super yummy - our own Sangria :)  Do with it what you will, but let me know how you tried it.

Happy Scrappin'