a Lentan Friday family supper...

Always on the lookout for new recipes (especially during the meatless Fridays of Lent) I came across this
recipe with a twist on your Mama's traditional tuna casserole.

The Family Kitchen is where I found this recipe for Caribbean Tuna Casserole.
I find it extra appealing with all the added yummy veggies that are added!

                                    Enjoy!


Caribbean Tuna Casserole
Ingredients

3 – 6 oz cans tuna in water, drained and flaked

1 – 14 oz box shell pasta (I used whole wheat)

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/2 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 lb frozen chopped spinach

a large handful cilantro, chopped

the juice of 2 limes

1 cup light sour cream

1 cup finely shredded mild cheddar cheese

1 small jar pimentos, with juice

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 cup panko bread crumbs



Method



1. Preheat broiler. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Preheat a large skillet. Drizzle with olive oil. Add bell peppers, onions and garlic. Add spinach and saute until spinach is thawed and onions and bell peppers are tender crisp. Add sour cream and stir to combine.



2. Add vegetables and sour cream to a large bowl. Add cooked pasta. Add pimentos and juice, cheese, lime juice, cilantro and tuna. Mix well and pour into a large casserole dish.



3. Top with panko breadcrumbs and place under broiler for a few minutes to lightly brown.

me and my shadow...

I still hear you humming, Mama. The color of your song calls me home.

The color of your words saying, "Let her be.

She got a right to be different.

She gonna stumble on herself one of these days.

 Just let the child be."

 And I be, Mama.

~Sonia Sanchez

I had the great joy of spending the entire afternoon, yesterday, with just my oldest daughter.

 Just me and her - her and me.

 A rather rare treat - by why?

Why don't we do this more often - I thought, as the beautiful-sunny-February afternoon swept us away. We need to!

We are!

You see, my daughter is growing up. Her wings are starting to spread.

The time we spend together is important - vital!

I love her so much.

 ...my beautiful daughter of mine.

home-made REAL fruit roll-ups

I don't know about yours, but my kids LOVE fruit roll-ups and fruit snacks!
Scanning the labels of store-bought fruit snacks is very disappointing, though.
High fructose corn syrup. Ick this and Ugh that!
So I was very pleased when I came across this recipe for home-made fruit roll-ups,
from Our Best Bites.


Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups
 From ourbestbites.com



Ingredients

2 1/2 – 3 cups ripe or slightly over-ripe diced fruit

sweetener to taste: honey, sugar, agave, etc.

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

optional: seasonings, spices, extracts to taste



Instructions

Preheat oven to lowest temperature. 140° or higher. Puree all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Pour onto a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap, or a silicone baking mat (don’t use foil, parchment, or waxed paper), and spread to 1/8″ thick. Place in oven and bake for 6-8 hours, until center is not tacky anymore. Remove from oven and peel off of baking sheet. Cut into strips and roll in parchment or plastic. Store in airtight container or freeze.



Tips:

-All fruits will produce slightly different results. Strawberries and Raspberries are two of my favorites, that consistently produce good flavor and texture. You might have to experiment to find what works well. If you’re going to make a giant batch, you may want to test one first to make sure it works well.

- The addition of sugar or honey enhances the texture and makes the fruit roll ups a little more chewy than if you leave it out.

- If using plastic wrap, it will shrink a little as the fruit dries, so do leave a little extra around the edges. A silicone baking mat works the absolute best in my opinion.

meow meow...



Woody: "Look Jessie, I know you hate me for leaving,

but I have to go back.

I'm still Andy's toy.

Well, if you knew him,

you'd understand. See, Andy's..."

Jessie: "Let me guess.

Andy's a real special kid, and to him,

 you're his buddy,

his best friend,

and when Andy plays with you it's like...

even though you're not moving,

you feel like you're alive,

 because that's how he sees you." ~ Toy Story 2

          
              ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Every time I hear those lines from Toy Story 2, they remind me of my kids and their special toys. Each of my three kids have had (or still do have) their special stuffed toy lovey. But, as they are getting older, their once most-important-thing-in-this-world is not-so-much that, anymore....well except for Meow Meow, that is!


Meow Meow....where do I even start with you?!

 I was walking past the stairway this morning and found my youngest daughters "lovey" perched between the stair rails. Just sitting there; almost like she was just waiting for her mama to come back home from school.  Meow Meow has been a part of my daughters life from almost the time she was born. Almost! Rumor has it that she used to belong to oldest daughter, once upon a time, and was snatched up by youngest daughter! Now, I don't recall this, nor does it really matter at this point in time. All I know is that she has become a constant part of this family and I don't see that changing anytime in the near future.

I can fondly remember my own special lovey, from when I was a girl. I had a Holly Hobby doll that lived, breathed, cried, and slept with me....always! This doll had originally came with beautiful yellow yarn hair and a floral outfit, with matching bonnet.

I can also fondly remember one of our family dogs using Holly as a chew toy from time to time! Her pretty fabric face had been chewed on and her yellow yarn hair completely digested. Towards the end of Holly's life, her pint-sized body (arms and legs -with torso in between) were the only original parts that survived the canine torture days. Her dress and bonnet were a thing of the past- along with her brown tear-soiled face. It was sad, really, looking back now. I have no idea what Holly's final demise was. She is no longer with me: I have no idea how my Mom put her out of her misery. She was loved, though. Loved as much as any little girl could possibly love a piece of stuffed fabric, that somehow came magically alive in my imagination.

So, back to Meow Meow.

I have no idea how long "the magic" of a little girls imagination will continue.. (well, according to my daughter, Meow Meow will be real forever!) And, you know what; why shouldn't she be?  These are the things that true innocence are made of. The love she gives that toy is real! And, whatever comfort she receives back is priceless...

an ARTsy Sunday...

Yesterday was a real nice, lazy, family Sunday. After church we headed out to a "celebration" lunch for youngest daughter...to celebrate her wonderful job in her school play, this past weekend. She had her choice of places to eat and she decided that Culvers would be the best. It was a glorious sunny Sunday here, in a  usually gloomy late-February. Perfect!

After our indulgence in burgers and fries we headed to our next destination, the Box Factory for the Arts, in St. Joseph Michigan. An art show was in full-swing; an art show featuring local elementary schools and students in the area. Two of our daughters had some of their art work featured. It is always fun to check out all the local talent of the children in our community.

The Box Factory is a multi-use arts center that includes artist studios, galleries, a performance stage, classrooms, Art Shoppe, meeting space, and more. Two floors of the 55,000-sq-ft building have been devoted to the arts since 1995 when members of the Berrien Artist Guild, Inc., a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, purchased the historic (c. 1903) Williams Brothers Paper Box Factory.

Free and open to the public: 10am to 4pm Mon-Sat, and 1 to 4 pm on Sun.

                                   The giraffe mask (upper left) done by oldest daughter.

Youngest daughter posing with one of her works of art: fish in a bowl. SO proud of my littlest artist!

                                       Oldest daughters "bird on a fence" painting.

                                            Youngest daughters "swirly figure" picture.

The Box Factory features a whole slew of in-house studio artists of all kinds- from ceramics to writing, an EVERYTHING in between. It was a lot of fun meandering the twists-and-turns of the hallways leading to the artists shops. Most of the artists were not "in", for it being a Sunday. I really need to go back another day!

 Here is the studio of Lynne Tan. She does all sorts of cool ceramic
 designs.

  The Pewter Shop was really fun! All sorts of fun hooks, wall art, etc. The artist, Rebecca Hungerford is sure a true talent!

Every child is an artist.

The problem is

how to remain an artist

once we grow up.

~Pablo Picasso