I bought a Pioneer Woman butter dish at the Walmart because I just loved the color of it and it was a reasonable price. But the salt and pepper shakers that went with it were not on the shelf. Plus the set on line on the Walmart website which had to be bought with the butter dish was out of stock and could not be ordered. So I went on Ebay to try and find the salt and pepper shakers. The whole set with the butter-dish was like $28.00 and at the Walmart it was $14.00 for the whole set on the web page.
So I decided I was not ever going to get the salt and pepper shakers. And then like magic, when I was at the Walmart to pick up some photos that I made on line, there were the salt and pepper shakers on the shelf for $2.99 each. I could not believe my lucky stars. I love them.
Another magical surprise was a Christmas Cactus that I bought last year and just kept in a window all of a sudden came out with some beautiful flowers all at once. I was watering my plants and did a double take when I saw it.
There are buds everywhere on the Christmas Cactus. What a nice surprise. ❤
Another nice surprise was I tried a new recipe for Crockpot Turkey Meatballs. I made them for the first time and was just hoping that they would come out good. The recipe called for a beaten egg, panko bread crumbs, shredded parmesan and Italian seasoning all mixed in to the ground turkey. Then the meatballs were seared in a skillet for a minute or so. Then just a sliced onion on the bottom of the crockpot and a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes over them. After searing 7 or 8 meatballs at a time, putting them in the crockpot. Then another 28 oz can over them and cook on low for 6 hours. My daughter-in-law and grandkids said that they loved them. They were really good with pasta.
I got some ideas for a cheese board for special occasions on my facebook this morning from the Cabot Cheese people. It even included the following recipe:
Ingredients
- 3 bars of Cabot Sharp Cheddar plus assorted flavors of Cabot Cheddar*
- Fresh and dried fruit
- Crunchy nuts
- Olives
- Honey
- Tapanades
- Strongly flavored chutneys
Directions
- Start with three to five different cheeses, ranging from mild to bold. For larger groups it is nice to precut the cheeses. Bring the cheeses to room temperature and place them on the cheese board. Don’t be afraid to pile the cheese high!
- Surround with piles of contrasting flavors and textures. Fresh and dried fruit, crunchy nuts, olives, honey and strongly flavored chutneys or tapenades. I like to nestle everything together for a bountiful look.
- Then surround with an assortment of bread and crackers. Finally add labels for the cheeses.
I also like roasted root vegetables. They get sweet with roasting them and are delicious for Fall. I pinned several recipes on my Veggie board on my Pinterest for roasted root vegetables. 
A Year of Vermont 