Monday, February 28, 2011

Back to Reality...

Here are a few photos from our Caribbean cruise last week:
SUNRISE:
Playa Del Carmen, Mexico:
Tulum, Mexico:
Grand Cayman:
Labadee, Haiti:
Falmouth, Jamaica:
It was a wonderful cruise...more photos later...

Friday, February 18, 2011

A Little Fun in the Sun

It's school vacation and I am off to cruise the Western Caribbean:
(Royal Caribbean.com)
And have lots of these:
(Google)
and plenty of this:
(Google)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Anxious for Spring

I just love my vintage Lefton Miss Dainty Girl tea set:

It reminds me of spring, and believe me when I say, we desperately need signs of spring around here!
I am anxious for sunshine, flowers and cheery colors.
And candy buttons, too!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Quick and Tasty Sandwiches

Here are 2 quick and easy recipes for baked sandwiches. I served them today for the "guys" as they watched the Syracuse University game.

The first is a recipe I found at Plates and Places (leigh from Tales From Bloggeritaville) and the second was adapted from an old recipe I had:


Mini Baked Ham Sandwiches
* 1 (12 pack) of King's Hawaiian Original Rolls
* 1 lb. deli ham, shaved
* 1 lb. Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
* 1 1/2 sticks butter
* 1 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
* 1 1/2 tsp. Worchester sauce
* 1 1/2 tsp. minced onion (dried)

Preparation
1. Melt butter and mix in mustard, sauce and onion.
2. Cut the entire pack of rolls in half, horizontally (keeping all top and bottom halves separately in tact).
3. In a 9x13 pan, place bottom half of rolls and cover with ham and cheese.
4. Cover ham and cheese stacks with top half of rolls.
5. Drizzle butter mixture over top of rolls, making sure onion is evenly distributed.
6. Refrigerate over night.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes and, once finished, separate for serving.

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches
1/2 c finely chopped walnuts - toast for a few minutes
2 (9.25 oz) pkg dinner rolls
2/3 c peach preserves
1/2 c mayo/mustard blend
3/4 lb roast beef
1/2 lb havarti cheese sliced
salt and pepper

Preparation:
1. Cut the entire pack of rolls in half, horizontally (keeping all top and bottom halves separately in tact).
2. Spread preserves on TOP pieces and sprinkle nuts.
3. Spread mayo mix on bottom, top with beef and cheese, salt and pepper
4. Cover top onto bottom and cover lightly with foil.
5. Bake 325' til cheese is melted - 15-20 minutes

The "guys" loved them, so these recipes are filed away, under "for a crowd" in my recipe box!

Monday, February 7, 2011

The color of Syracuse ,NY

This is typically the color of winter in Syracuse. I live near Oneida Lake and it is a winter playground for fishermen and snowmobilers:
I tend to enjoy it more in the summer, with the sun shining and glistening off the water!
But for now, and probably another 2 months, this will be the color I'll see:

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Wooden Hearts

One last Valentine decoration:
Wooden, hand painted ornaments hanging from my candlesticks on the coffee table:

Joining Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Garlic Chicken

I love GARLIC! This is one of my favorite dishes to make - quick, easy and garlicky!
I melt a stick of butter in a fry pan with 6 LARGE cloves of garlic and lots of spicy seasonings. I fry up some chicken strips (when cooked, put into a baking dish). Add a few T flour to pan and then add 1 1/2 c chicken stock. Simmer to thicken and pour over chicken in baking dish - bake at 350' for 1/2 hour. I serve it with noodles and broccoli:
Try it if you love garlic!!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

My friend, Andrea from Needle Notes, sent this sweet gift to me the other day:
She is a fabulous knitter, a skill I can't master....so if you knit, go visit her blog to see what beautiful items she has created from yarn and get inspired!
And this was the card enclosed:
How SWEET!
Don't forget to weat RED on Friday!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

SNOW DAY! and a hot bowl of soup...

We had a snow day off from school today. I get just as excited as the kids when the school cancelations include our district!
Yesterday I received the new issue of Taste Of Home and the soup pictured on the cover caught my immediate attention:

It was soooo good, especially on an icy, snowy day, like today:
Here's the recipe:
Off to enjoy another serving!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Polar Bear Plunge

On Saturday, in Baldwinsville, NY, a fundraiser event held a Polar Bear Plunge on the Seneca River. This is the first year they had to clear away ice:
They had heated "changing rooms":
and lifeguards (he is sitting on the ice):
and even the mayors of 2 towns joined in on the plunge:
The temperature was 30' but the windchill dropped it to 20'. These 2 babes certainly caught a few eyes:
And off they ran - just as quickly as they ran in, they ran out:
It was all for a good cause (Ronald McDonald House). There was also a chili cook-off a few feet away, snowshoe races and lots of cocoa and coffee!!
Crazy people!!