Sierra National Forest

I recently traveled to Auberry and Prather that is on the border of the Sierra National Forest in the county of Fresno. It is gorgeous there to say the least. The mountains, trees, wildlife, rocks, natural waterfalls, with even a fairly secluded Redinger lake. The town likes to be free of outsiders, but this has just allowed the small town to keep it's small town feel and the landscape to remain breathtaking. The Mono Indians have a reservation with a Mono Wind Casino. The restaurant within the casino is fabulous. They even make their own fresh potato chips. When you order a basket they are still warm from cooking. There is also a small restaurant, cafe called Java Time. They make to die for french toast that is make out of cinnamon rolls. Shaver lake is about 30-45 minutes away and there is a ski slope up there. The city of Fresno is about 45 minutes away the other direction. Yosemite National Park is about an hour and a half away. These small towns are a little hide out in the middle of nature.

manzanita wreath

Supplies

wire wreath frame (I made my own with wire and wire cutters)
twine
manzanita branches with leaves and blooms


Directions

1. secure twine to wire wreath frame
2. add a branch, pay attention to the direction of the branch. All other branches will be going the same direction. wrap the twine around it a couple of times to secure.
3. Add another branch going the same direction, place end of branch in with the secure twine and branch and wrap around with twine to secure a couple of times. Try not to cover up too many of the leaves and blossoms. Continue until all the way around.
4. When finished tie twine to frame and add a loop to allow the wreath to hang.

I saw something similar to the way I made this on Martha Stewart during the holidays, but because I live in a concrete jungle it was a little hard to get the leaves that she used. I was very excited when I thought of the idea while staying at my parents house out in the country for the weekend. I used manzanita branches and leafs. They are very meaningful to us. My dear Grandpa Bruce died at a nursing home trying to recover from surgery called Manzanita Nursing Home. My parents property has many of these trees. Below is a picture of some of the Manzanita trees on my moms property.

Orange Fish with Cabbage

Ingredients

1 tsp grated orange peel
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tbspn low sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tspn minced fresh gingerroot
1 tspn cornstarch
2 tspn sesame oil
4- 4 oz. fish fillets (I used tilapia)
2 oz. chopped cabbage

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together orange peel, orange juice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch; set aside.
2. In large skillet, heat sesame oil over medium-high heat
3. add fish and cook until edges turn white. Turn and continue cooking until lightly golden.
4. Add reserved sauce to the skillet right before the fish is done.
5. divide cabbage evenly among dinner plates; top with fish and sauce.

Nutritional Information: Kcal 144, fat 4g., Protein 21g., Carbs 5 g., dietary fiber 1b, cholesterol 49 mg, sodium 365 mg.

This is a new recipe. Overall I liked it a lot. I didn't grate the orange peel, but I think you should. I chopped the peel into small strips and they were still too big. I also added a pinch of Paula Deen's House Seasoning (See below) when cooking the fish, but I don't really think it needed it. The recipe recommended to be paired with green beans and red potatoes. I think rice would be a better combination. But overall it was all really yummy. I retrieved this recipe from Saving Dinner and modified it slightly.


Paula Deen's House Seasoning

• 1 cup salt
  
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic powder
• 1/4 cup onion powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Olympics

If you don't watch or pay attention to the Olympics you will be looked at as an alien in this household. But in case you don't have a ton of time to watch it on TV I found this cool website or this one. So now you have no excuse.

Personally, I want one of these flashlights. But I don't think I would pay an arm and a leg for them on ebay later.

whale of a day

The annual Whale of the day celebration is coming up Saturday, March 6th. It is 10 am to 4 pm at Point Vicente Interpretive Center at 31501 Palos Verdes Drive West. It is a festival celebrating the migration of the Pacific Gray Whale from its summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chuchki Seas in Alaska to the winter breeding and calving grounds in Baja California. The activities for children include face painting, children's crafts, chalk drawing, story telling, small children's games ~ all at no charge. There are also exhibits, craft and food vendors and a raffle drawing.

Shrimp orzo skillet

This recipe is from a Pampered Chef cookbook that I slightly modified

Ingredients

1 lb. large uncooked shrimp (21-25 lb)
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
10 oz. orzo pasta
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 cups water
2 bouillon cubes
1 cup clam juice
1 lemon for 1 tbsp. lemon zest and 1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. mint sliced with chiffonade (shif-uh-NAHD) technique
1 cup 2 inch cut asparagus
1 tbsp. butter

Instructions

1. Peel, devein, and remove tails of shrimp. Add oil to 10 inch skillet heat oil over medium-high heat for 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. As skillet heats, combine salt, black pepper, and sugar in small bowl. Add shrimp to bowl and coat shrimp with mixture.
2. Arrange shrimp in a single layer on skillet and cook until shrimp is cooked. Remove shrimp from skillet and set aside.
3. In same skillet (don't wash it), combine water and chicken bouillon cubes until chicken broth is made. Then add orzo, pressed garlic, and clam juice. Bring to boil. Add asparagus then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 10-12 minutes or until orzo is cooked through.
4. Remove skillet from heat and add butter and lemon juice. Arrange shrimp over orzo and cover the let stand 3-5 minutes. Before serving sprinkle with lemon zest and mint.

Linny's famous baked beans

This recipe is my mother in laws (Lindsey's) baked beans. I made it recently for the super bowl.

Ingredients

3 lbs Can of Campbell's Pork and Beans
1 lb. bacon
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 chopped onion
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 small ketchup bottle


Instructions

1. Cook Bacon until crispy and chop up
2. with bacon grease add onions and bell peppers, cook until tender then add cooked bacon.
3. Add beans slightly drained
4. Add brown sugar and ketchup. Bring to boil
5. Let sit for 6 hours then reheat and serve.

bookmark love

Supplies

white cardstock
fabric
ribbon or string or embroidery floss
craft knife
straight paper cutter
edger rounder
spray mount adhesive


Instructions

1. cut white cardstock 2 1/2 inches by 6 inches and round edges
2. with craft knife cut out a heart shaped hole in one of the bookmarks made
3. cut out fabric slightly smaller then the bookmarks
4. apply spray mount adhesive to fabric then place fabric down on plain bookmark
5. apply spray mount adhesive to bookmark with heart cutout and place down on bookmark with fabric
6. cut small heart shaped hole at top for ribbon or string and tie string to it
7. Write love inscription "but the greatest of these is love.. I Cor 13:13"

The Lion King

The Broadway show 'The Lion King' is coming to Costa Mesa. They are performing at the Orange County Performing Arts Center from May 26th to June 13th. You can click here to buy tickets they start at $25.95 per person.

sweet flowers

Supplies

colored paper to make hearts for the petals
colored paper to make the inner part of the flower
green colored paper for the leaf
lolly pops
scissors
scotch tape



Directions

1. cut 3 hearts out of paper
2. cut one flower like shaped out of paper
3. cut one leaf like shaped out of paper
4. either with a hole puncher or by folding each item in half make a small hole to put the lolly pop stick through
5. put lolly pop through to stack like the picture
6. add scotch tape to the lolly pop stick. Right where the flower paper ends. This way the flower part doesn't fall off.



I made some of these for Valentine Day. I got the craft from Family fun. I got the paper from Target in the dollar section, the suckers from Target, and I had the green construction paper.

Roasted Italian Sausages with Tomatoes and White Beans

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs. sweet Italian sausage links
2 pints of cherry tomatoes
1 medium onion, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
4 garlic cloves, pressed
3 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 tsp. dried bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
3 - 16 oz cans white beans (i.e. cannellini) drained with 1/2 cup of liquid from the beans reserved

Directions

1. adjust oven rack to lowest position and, 5 minutes before you are ready to put the food in, turn the oven on to 425 degrees
2. mix everything but the beans and their reserved liquid in a 13x9 pan.
3. roast until sausages are brown and tomatoes have reduced to a thick sauce, about 45 minutes.
4. remove from oven, stir in beans and reserved liquid, and continue cooking until casserole has heated through, about 10 minutes longer.

serves 8

Nutritional info

with pork sausage: 695 kcal, 38g carbs, 32g protein, 51g fat (17 sat), 108mg cholesterol, 11g fiber, 1,667mg sodium

with turkey sausage: 425 kcal, 38g protein, 18g fat (4g sat), 1,471mg sodium

I got this recipe from USA Weekend magazine and slightly modified it with time. And to cut on cost I assume you could use 2 cans of crushed tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes and drain some of the juices before adding.

starting another one

I decided to start another blog to put random stuff that I always think about posting but never do. My other blog is more about my family and life. This blog will be about a few favorite things that I love. Stuff like cooking, reading, crafts, art, music, traveling and of course Jesus. All that kinda stuff. It'll be random information that I can just put out there. I'm sure my interests will change as I change and that might be the most exciting thing of all.