Bacon, Mushroom & Caramelized Onion Crostini Recipe

Hi friends! In my last post I shared my recipe for Easy Fresh Tomato Basil Crostini and promised another version to follow. Here it is!

These are just amazing! These yummy crostini feature caramelized onions sauteed with mushrooms and thick cut bacon, and they are soooo yummy!

These lunch-sized crostini are meals within themselves. Just imagine the variations you could create! Think about asparagus, spinach, olives, different types of cheese; Swiss, goat cheese or bleu cheese... The combinations really are endless! 

You will need:

Thick sliced bacon

Sweet onion or Vidalia onion
Fresh mushrooms
1 Tablespoon olive oil or butter
About 1/2 teaspoon of sugar

Baugette or long loaf crusty French bread

Flavored cream cheese spread (such as chive or vegetable flavor)

Mozzarella cheese

Baking sheet 

Directions:

Wash and slice the mushrooms. Slice the onion - I like to slice it on the thin side. In a saucepan over medium heat, sautee the mushrooms and onion in 1 T of olive oil or butter.

Sautee until mushrooms become soft and onions start to become translucent. Stir in a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to help the onion become caramelized. Continue to cook until onions become golden brown, then remove from heat and set aside.

Fry bacon in a frypan until cooked through, then drain on paper towels.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice your baguette in half lengthwise, and then cut each half into 6" sections with a diagonal cut. 

Spread each baguette section with a good coating of the flavored cream cheese spread and then place each on your baking sheet. My rule of thumb is not too thin and not too thick - but just right!

Now sprinkle each section with mozzarella cheese, as you would when making a pizza.

Next top each with a couple of spoonfuls of the onion & mushroom mixture and then with bacon. 

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for about 10 minutes, just until mozzarella cheese melts.

Cool for 5-10 minutes. Refrigerate leftovers. I think they taste best at room temperature!

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Also check out: Fresh Tomato Basil Crostini

Have a great week!
love,

 Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs!

Learn how to solder and make unique jewelry!

article copyright ©Laura Beth Love 2017 all rights reserved

Easy Fresh Tomato Basil Crostini Recipe

I think it's undeniable that one of the best parts of summer is availability of super-fresh produce. For me, it's one of the most enjoyable things in life. 

No matter whether you grow your own or buy locally from your neighborhood farmer's market, what's important is that you take advantage of summer's bounty of amazing vegetables. This crostini recipe has many variations, and I will be sharing two of my favorites with you. Here is the first! 

These lunch-sized crostini call for a few simple ingredients and are relatively quick and easy to make. 

You will need:

Garden fresh tomatoes

Fresh basil (can use another herb if you prefer)

Baugette or long loaf crusty French bread

Flavored cream cheese spread (such as chive or vegetable flavor)

Mozzarella cheese

Baking sheet and oven

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice your baguette in half lengthwise, and then cut each half into 6" sections with a diagonal cut. 

Wash and section your tomatoes and wash your herbs.

Spread each baguette section with a good coating of the flavored cream cheese spread and then place each on your baking sheet. My rule of thumb is not too thin and not too thick - but just right!

Now sprinkle each section with mozzarella cheese, as you would when making a pizza.

Top each with tomato slices...the photo above shows the basil too, but after baking these I found that if you put the basil on too soon it burns...so bake these with only the tomato, and then add the basil about half way through baking.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes, until mozzarella cheese melts.

Cool for 5-10 minutes. I think they taste best at room temperature!

Fresh Tomato Basil Crostini

Stay tuned...

Next up: Bacon, Mushroom & Carlmalized Onion Crostini

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What do you think?



Have a great week!
love,

 Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs!

Learn how to solder and make unique jewelry!

article copyright ©Laura Beth Love 2017 all rights reserved

New China Patterns In My Etsy Shop! New Broken China Jewelry

Hi friends! It's hard to believe that August is right around the corner. I hope you are all having a great summer and that you get a chance to relax and reflect! I've been busy with lots of projects but am looking forward to a little bit of vacationing through the rest of the summer as I head to NYC for a few nights of fun and then later to the Eastern shore for some much needed sun and sand! 

As always, here's what's new in my Etsy shop so far this week. I've added a few "new" antique china patterns! More on the way!

If you've purchased from me and want to show off your jewelry please send me a photo of you wearing it and I would LOVE to feature it on my blog and/or my Dishfunctional Designs Facebook page! 

Feel free to send me photos through Facebook or email them to me at sales@dishfunctionaldesigns.com or even through an Etsy message. I LOVE seeing folks enjoying what I make so send me those photos! 

All items shown above are available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Have a great week!
love,

 Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs!

Learn how to solder and make unique jewelry!

article, images, and designs copyright ©Laura Beth Love 2017 all rights reserved

A Peek At My New Designs & A Few Process Photos

Hi friends! I've been falling behind with my blogging so I figured I would do a few updates to share what I've been up to. I have a habit of getting interested in a project and then throwing myself into it, and when I do that, everything else sort of disappears. I know that it's great to have intense focus, but sometimes I have to make myself stop and make sure everything else is still up and running! 

I've been in full creative mode since spring and if you've seen my other recent posts you already know that I've been hard at work turning out new broken china jewelry for my Etsy shop. I used to sell my jewelry directly from my website (dishfunctionaldesigns.com) but stopped when I moved into my 2nd house just because it was easier to list things on Etsy, but lately I've been thinking about doing that again...but it's still just a thought. 

I've been splitting my time between jewelry and the gym and after a back injury last year that took me AGES to recover from, it feels SO great to be able to move and run and now I can't stop hehe. So between the jewelry and gym and creating designs for my Society6 shop there is never an idle moment here. 

Here's a peek at what I've been working on.

Celestial Swirling Sun... I really like they way this illustration turned out. It's simple. I could have kept going and added lots more detail and really filled up the page, but instead I added a border to the design and then stopped. Sometimes things are best left simple. Not everything has to be busy and complex. Simplicity can be very beautiful and I knew that just adding maybe two colors to the design would be enough. 

I decided to create this design in three color schemes: yellow on white, black, and blue... which do  you like best?

I've really been in the mood for watercolor painting. I created my own take on the talisman for evil eye protection with the painting below, and then turned it into a pattern. It's now featured on Society6! 

Once I finished the design I created it on three different backgrounds: white, light blue, and black. I can't decide which I like the most!

Beach towel, blue background

Throw pillow, white background

Biker tank, black background

Relax Mandala Tapestry - medium size shown

New - Breathe Art Nouveau Mandala

This, turned into this:

Floor pillow

Imagine the color possibilities! Like this one:

 Pillow shams (set of two) - comforter and duvet covers also available 

Sometimes a quick concept sketch turns out to be the entire design, as with this design below! I kind of knew I wanted a rising sun with the text "begin again" so I quickly pencil sketched out three possibilities as a starting point... 

I liked the way the center sun sketch turned out so much that I just went ahead and inked it directly on the sketch and then scanned it and added the color digitally. I LOVE the way it turned out! Here is the design on a wall tapestry...

What do you think?

I have many other designs to share but I just don't have the time to put them all here right now, so be sure to check them out in my Society6 shop!

I hope you like them! Let me know what you think by leaving me a comment below.
 Which design is your favorite?

Have a great week!

 Laura

All items shown above are available for purchase at https://society6.com/laurabethlove

article, images, and designs copyright ©Laura Beth Love 2018 all rights reserved