Whimsy Stamps: Hippo Fun in the Sun

When I saw an image on Whimsy Stamps' Hippo Fun in the Sun set, I had to have it. If you are of a certain age, you will probably be reminded of this Coppertone Ad:

Here is the stamp set and the first rendition of the hippo and puppy image:

I haven't decided how I will use the above image. It might go on a card or in a scrapbook. I colored over over the back of the bikini top in the above image and masked out the hairbow to make this a boy hippo in case I wanted to use this for my grandson.

Shortly after finishing this, a neighbor revealed that she cracked her tailbone. I used the image again in a Get Well card, but this time I masked out the dog and altered the bikini bottom to be a bandaid. I made the front of a card a window and placed the hippo inside the card.

The color is true in the first photo. The green background in the view above appears washed out but is a nice paper from Lawn Fawn's Dandy Day collection.

Unrelated to this, I made my second Hello Fresh meal, teriyaki pork chops (boneless) with roasted carrots and jasmine rice. I'm happy with this recipe also.

It looks like I threw the food on the plate a little carelessly, doesn't it? I wasn't just hungry, I was hangry! Those are sesame seeds on top of the pork and scallion greens on top of the rice. Some of the sesame seeds were browned in butter before adding the water, rice, and scallions whites which was a nice touch to the side dish.

Hello Fresh meal kits

I've been in a rut when it comes to making dinner. I can't blame it all on shopping, being alone, or other aspects of restrictions under COVID but all of that has made the rut deeper and longer. I've considered meal kits for months, did research to figure out which would best suit me, and talked to friends who have tried them. A neighbor has been happy with Hello Fresh so that is what I chose.

I made the first of three dinners last night. Each of their meal kits serves two people so three kits will make 6 dinners for me. I don't mind having leftovers so I will stagger the meals (cooking and then reheating leftovers) and see how this goes.

Last night's dinner was Creamy Dreamy Mushroom Cavatappi. The directions said it would take 30 minutes to prepare and that is exactly what it took. I supplied the utensils, water for cooking the pasta, butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Everything else was provided in the amount required. Here is the amount that I served myself in front of the recipe from the kit. My mushrooms seem to be hidden in the bowl but are visible in the pan. It appears I didn't evenly divide the amount because what remained looks like more than I consumed, but it truly was plenty and very good.

Here's to eating better and getting out of my rut!