My Apologies...

It was never my intention to start this and drop off the face of the earth.  I apologize.  True confession time.... Winter is hard for me.  I hate the cold.  I miss the sun.  In all honesty, upstate NY is probably not the best place for me to live.  However, it is where the man of my dreams lives, so here I am.

That being said, I am ready to come back like the Lion of March! 

I have not been lazing around doing nothing. I am still a Pinaholic.  I have had a couple of recipe fails. White beans and ham.  If they look thin when you first mash the beans, wait. The beans will thicken. They DO NOT need you to add quinoa to the slow cooker.

This past weekend I made what my niece Charlotte affectionately called Milk Soup.  It was supposed to be potato corn chowder with chicken and ham. (I am sensing a pattern in my ham recipes) God Bless my husband and his brothers, they all ate it with out complaint.  I think mainly because my husband made Tastefully Simples AWESOME Beer Bread and they dipped it in the Milk Soup.

We have been gearing up for the South High Marathon Dance here in South Glens Falls.  It is such an amazing event and as I mentioned before it greatly changed our lives.  We will forever be part of the SHMD family and do anything we can to help future recipients.  You can watch live starting tomorrow night.  You can also donate online! Even the smallest amount makes a difference.

My Beauty loves ice hockey. We have been attending games the last couple of weekends.  We are planning to go again on Sunday. They offer a wonderful family 3 pack that includes hotdogs, drinks, popcorn and a program! Our seats last weekend were one row up from the ice. Super fun.

Finally, I have recommitted to my Twitter account.  You can follow me at  @MyTinyBaubles

Winter Fake

It is winter break here in the great northeast. I can't think of a worse week for the kids to be off.  It is too cold to send them out to play, most often the weather is wet or snowy.  I would rather get off a week early in the summer.

I was looking for a little fake sunshine here.  Why not provide it with food?  Since I can't be in Florida, how can I bring Florida to me... ORANGES!

Orange Marinated Chicken Thighs

4 chicken thighs skin on
2 cups orange juice
1 1/4 cups orange marmelade
2 tablespoons chopped roasted garlic
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
Seasoned salt to taste

In a gallon zip bag combine orange juice, 1 cup marmelade, garlic and mustard.  Add chicken and marinate over night in refrigerator.

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove chicken from marinade and season with Seasoned Salt to taste.  Place chicken in baking dish with about a 1/2 inch of marinade.  Brush the top of chicken thighs with 1/4 cup of reserved marmalade.  Bake for 45 minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees.

This was so yummy and delicious. It made the house smell wonderful and perfect for forgetting a snowy night.

Hockey for a Cause

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  Mine was great.  I got a homemade keychain from Keely and the scarf I wanted from my awesome husband.  It makes me feel very Steven Tyler-ish.

So excited to be going to see the Adirondack Phantoms hockey team tonight.  A portion of ticket sales are going to the South High Marathon Dance.  Marathon is a big thing around here.  I had no idea just how big until Keely was nominated to be a recipient 2 years ago.  Now it is something that I will never NOT be a part of.  Our high school students dance for 28 hours the first weekend in March.  They have to raise a minimum to dance but it is a big deal to be a top fund raiser. Some kids raise thousands of dollars.  Then there are donations from local businesses, restaurants, a silent auction and further fundraising including a 50/50 raffle that happen over the weekend.  The community is invited to go to watch the kids dance.  The public is not allowed on the dance floor but Keely being a former recipient is allowed to dance.  In just the last 2 years alone our students have raised almost $750,000!

The funds we received help send Keely to a special camp in Colorado for children who use talking devices.  It also allowed us to get the iPad and voice app she uses.  It was the biggest blessing.  The kids were amazing and even now we run into dancers who remember Keely.  I am sure you will here more about Marathon as the event gets closer.

Dinner tonight is already in the oven.  This way we can eat as soon as Matt gets home and make the 7:00 game.  Meatless of course because today is Friday.  It is one of those dishes that I don't seem to think about making until Lent and then I will make it at least twice.

My mother used to make this for us, during Lent, when I was growing up.  I loved it then and I love it now.

Curried Tuna Casserole

3 cans chunk light tuna
2 cups shredded swiss cheese
1 box pasta of your choice (shells, rotini or ruffles work best for this recipe)
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 cup mayonaise
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dried onion flakes
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tbsp curry powder

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and combine with tuna, 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, mayonnaise, soup, garlic powder, onion flakes, seasoned salt, curry powder.  Transfer to casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle top with remaining cheese and bake for 5 more minutes until cheese is melted.

Ashes and Shrimp

Remember that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.  Genesis 3:19

Today is the first day of Lent.  Ash Wednesday.  For many Catholics, myself included it is a day of fasting, abstinence of meat and repentance.  From now until Easter, Fridays means no meat.  I have a pretty good arsenal of meatless/seafood dishes that I use during the Lenten season.  As I think of it some of them I have a tendency to only cook during Lent.

Another common practice among Catholics is to "give something up" for the 40 days of Lent.  I don't do that, instead for the last 9 years I try to do something "good" every day.  It can be making a donation to some sort of charitable organization, or as simple as letting someone in front of me while driving.  I promised God when Keely was born, if he helped my baby breathe that I would "do good".  He did and I do.

So, today being our first meatless meal of Lent I wanted to make something yummy.  I chose Shrimp and Grits.  Of course I cheated once again and took the semi-homemade route (thank you Sandra Lee for coining that phrase) cooking out of my pantry and freezer.

Cheater Shrimp and Grits

1 cup quick grits

4 cups water

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup Velveeta cheese cubed

1/2 tsp salt

1 package Campbell's Skillet Sauces Scampi

1 pound shrimp cleaned deveined

1 tbsp vegetable oil (I used coconut oil) 

In a medium sauce pan bring water, butter, salt and grits to boil.  Turn heat down to medium and cook until grits are tender and have thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in Velveeta cheese. 

In a skillet heat oil over medium high heat.  Add shrimp and cook until slightly pink but still translucent.  Add sauce and reduce heat to low.  Cook and stir until shrimp are cooked through.  Remove from heat. Perfectly cooked shrimp will look like a C.  An over cooked shrimp will curl tightly into an O. 

Dish grits into a bowl and spoon shrimp with scampi sauce over top. 

Hey Mister, Throw Me Some Beads!

I love Mardi Gras.  In fact my three favorite holidays are Halloween, Easter and Mardi Gras.  I love the whole spirit of Mardi Gras but not the boobie flashing spirit.  The tradition and historical spirit.  I love the cheap plastic beads. I love the colors, purple, gold and green.  I love the FOOD!  This year I decided to make my own King Cake since I could not get my family to send me a real one from New Orleans. (just kidding family, but not really) My husband who was home sick today (poor husband) asked me how did I know how to make a King Cake.  My answer - "I am Cajun!" 'nough said.

King cakes are a great tradition. They are usually served between January 6th (Epiphany) and Ash Wednesday.  They are delicious confections iced in Mardi Gras colors.  Purple for justice, gold for power and green for faith.  Often there is a little plastic baby hidden in them (although historically it was a bean, nut, or coin). Whoever finds the baby is King for the day and bound by tradition to buy the next King Cake or host the next party.

This is a quickie cheater cake because I had neither the yeast nor the inclination to make a true King Cake.  For this one I had everything I needed in my pantry.  (except the baby)

Quick and Easy King Cake

2 tubes Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1 egg
1/4 cup butter softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 package Great Value Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Cream Cheese spread (room temperature)
Purple, Yellow and Green decorating sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  While oven is heating open and unroll your crescent rolls leaving them connected as one sheet. Lay the two sheets side by side and then press all the seems together.  I like to pass a rolling pin over them thinning out the dough just a bit and firming up the seams.

Brush the entire surface with softened butter using a pastry brush. Mix cinnamon and granulated sugar together and sprinkle over the entire sheet covering the whole surface. (you may have some of the cinnamon sugar left over)  Spread the cream cheese mixture about 1/4 inch from the bottom edge of the dough and across the entire length.  The cream cheese stripe should be about 2 inches in width.

Starting with the edge closest to you roll the dough horizontally into a cylinder.  (FYI: I find it easiest to do the entire process on a sheet of parchment paper and then bake it directly on the paper after sliding a cookie sheet underneath) Join the two ends creating a circle and press the seams closed.

Brush the roll with beaten egg for a nice golden color and sheen.  Bake for 25 minutes.

While baking mix together 1 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk for a simple icing.

Once the cake has cooled pour on the icing and sprinkle with colored sugar alternating purple gold and green.

I happened to find my cream cheese mixture already made in wal-mart but if you can't find one it is easy enough to do from scratch... Just combine 8 ounces of cream cheese with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 cup of brown sugar.

Enjoy!  
Happy Mardi Gras y'all! 

What a Week

This has been the craziest fastest moving week I have experienced a quite some time.  Monday would have been my Daddy's birthday.  It has been 4 years since he passed and major holidays, birthdays and that anniversary are still hard for me.  But life marches on and so do I, admittedly in a little bit of a funk for a couple of days.

Tuesday errands in abundance. My favorite was picking up my Leo from the groomer. He is so cute with his puppy cut! That night was my Girl Scouts Leaders meeting.  I love being involved with the Girl Scouts. I love my girls.  I love the organization and what it stands for.  I LOVE my service unit leader. She is this amazing ball of energy.  I want to be her when I grow up.

Wednesday was a bit of a blur... more errands, house cleaning, and prepping for my Girl Scout meeting on Thursday.  My poor family, dinner has been leftovers every night.  They are wonderful and have not complained one bit. The benefit of that is no grocery shopping this week.

Thursday: getting the house ready for the Girl Scout invasion.  Thrilled that I have 2 new girls joining my troop!  Printed out all our facts about Russia for World Thinking Day for our trifold display.  Prepped all the supplies for the girls to make our Swaps.  I found the cutest little foam eggs at the Dollar Tree for Easter that we are calling Faberge Eggs!  Also, now I am watching the weather very closely.  I am making Beef Stroganoff for 200 people to taste.  If our event is cancelled on Saturday my family will be eating beef stroganoff for a week! I have a wonderful meeting with my Girl Scouts.  I think the 2 new girls are going to fit in well with my troop.

Friday (today) Snow Day!  They cancelled school in expectation of all the snow we will be getting.  I have all 5 girls here today.  Keely and Elise stayed in their pajamas all day! Joy was a riot and my other two girls were kept busy helping me finish with World Thinking day projects.  Beef Stroganoff goes into the crock pot (no quickie recipe for this event).  More errands run to be run.  There is not very much snow and at 2:00 the roads are actually clear and no snow is falling.  I use coupons to get free product to donate to the Wait House to be collected at World Thinking Day.

And in all of this craziness we are in our final push for Girl Scout cookie sales. My Beauty decided this year she wanted to collect 100 boxes to be donated to our local food pantry.  So proud of her and her sense of philanthropy.  God bless my friends and family who ordered cookies for themselves and to be donated.  She actually surpassed her goal for donations and overall sales!

I Know Who My Father Was...

I know who my father was – Who he was?

I heard his life beneath me: His pounding heart,

His very breath.

Imagine, I beseech thee,

A daughter’s head on a father’s chest;

A giant hand his crown, O sweet rise and fall; A love to which to drown.

It mattered not what he did,

What glories he achieved,

The day he held me as a child

Is everything I need.

He was my sun, my warmth, my light,

The thing that gave me life.

I love him now and I loved him then,

Come sunset as a knife.

And so I sought a memory

Before I let you rest.

I chose today and took my head

And laid it on your chest.

- Unknown

I love you and miss you everyday. 

Happy Birthday Daddy

2/4/44 - 10/11/08