Thankful for all we have.

I love the change of seasons and what it brings us.

Italian Pasta and Sausage Soup

I have made this soup a couple times this winter and it has been a big hit especially served with some crusty bread.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon chopped basil
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat leave parsley
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, drained
• 2 small zucchini, cubed
• 2 cups spinach – packed, rinsed and torn
• 1/2 cup of small  pasta
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a stockpot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Stir in beans, basil, parsley, pasta and zucchini. Cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini and pasta is tender.
3. Remove from heat, and add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes.  Top soup with grated Parmesan cheese.

Outdoor Enthusiast

Going, Going, Gone

Don’t have time to make cookies, give this simple recipe a try.

Chocolate Chip Pie

• 2 eggs                                             
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 (9 inch) pie shell

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

1. In large mixing bowl, beat eggs until light and foamy. Add sugar, brown sugar and flour and beat until well blended. Blend in melted butter. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Pour into pie shell.
2. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Serve warm with whipped topping or ice cream

Boomer Sportin’ her BLING

Boomer Sportin’ her BLING, originally uploaded by Islandtop.

Happy Birthday Craig!!

Signs of Spring

Dollars for Dogs – Cash for Canines

A lot of you follow my blog and me on Facebook and realize that my pets are a big part of my life. I can’t ever remember not having animals and pets in our home. I say animals because when growing up my Mother took in pets that other people could no longer keep or want. We had dogs, cats, a racoon, monkey, many birds both tropical and wild that she would hand feed until they could fend for themselves.  This past year my husband and I  rescued two dogs that now live the good life here on the island. I would love to help more, so I have decided to donate one dollar for each sale I have in my IslandTop Gems Etsy Store.  So  Twitter, Facebook, tell a friend, tell everyone   So far I have sold 42 tags, and will donate 42.00 to the American Bullmastiff Association Rescue this month.

 

 

 

This is a custom tag I made for a dog named Milkshake.

 

 

 

 

 

Pixie being a

real Divia

 

Thanks to Pixie and Sox’s Mom for getting them a little BLING.

 

 

Sox having fun

at the beach.

Colors of Fall

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Here Kitty, Kitty

New Kitty Listings at my Esty Shop