Dinner Time!

Cod Loins

I have a delicious recipe for Cod Loins for you. It is healthy, low in sodium, tasty and filling.

You need just a few things. We are a small family so I usually cook just what we need for one meal (when I cook fish).

What you will need:

• Cod Loins
• Fresh Tomatoes ( I will use fresh frozen in the winter)
• Olive Oil
• Sea Salt
• Minced Garlic
  
• Greek Seasonings (We have a lot of Greek Restaurants here in this area and I have found that I really like the seasonings they use)
• If you have some fresh herbs on hand that are good with fish you can use them as well
• A stoneware or glass dish to cook the fish in
  

Place the cod loins into the cooking dish. You can do this while they are still frozen. (This is great to prepare earlier in the day and place in the oven 20-30 minutes before time to serve.) Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle salt, seasonings and add your minced garlic.

Chop your tomatoes and place on top of the season cod. Preheat oven to 350 degrees f. Place in oven and cook 20-30 minutes. (Depends on how thawed out they are ;-) You can smell them when they are done.)

After removing from oven, serve on plate. Serve with a vegetable or salad and fruit or whole grain rice or potatoes.

My sweet husband made the salad and put the fish in the oven for me while I was off teaching a fitness class at a near by gym. If the meat is frozen, you can prepare it earlier in the day and just let it sit out and thaw until you are ready to cook it. 10 year olds like this too!

Sunday School Lake Party!!!!

I want to thank everyone for their kind remarks about my "Kelli's Friday Show and Share". Kelli, I agree with you and JewelGirl, Shadow box would be the best way to go for displaying the cotton combs. I really did not even think of that. I had other ideas, but when I tried them, it seemed like I would need to drill "Yikes!" to make it work. Did not want to do that. A shadow box will work perfect. In fact, when my aunts and I were cleaning out my moms house (down sizing her to move into a Sr. Apt facility.) we found a partially started top. No one could make heads or tails of it and my aunts handed to me, "You are the only one who will be able to make anything out of this." I think it will be the perfect back ground for the shadow box. Add some cotton to it... Wheels are going now! Thanks ladies!!!

Saturday our (DH and mine) adult Sunday School Class had a lake party. We had so much fun! Everyone had fun! There was so much food!!!It was good too!!! As you can see, there was not much left. ;-) You know, it was perfect. There was 2nd's, even 3rd's for everyone. But not a scrap left over. To me that is perfect! (That is the way God works. He knew just how much extra had to be brought for those teen age boys... LOL!)

There were boats to pull folks and kids around on tubes, skis and fun stuff until the kids (I mean parents) just staggered back up to the lake house in exhaustion.

DH just loves the water. Especially lake water. We used to go to the lake almost every Saturday from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

And DD, well she is even smilling for the camera! That should tell you something. ;-) {Really, I think she is part fish....I'm still looking for the gills on her body....}

Quilts and Cotton Combs

How is everyone today? I hope doing well. We are in for a 'cool spell' here. Low to mid 90's. :-D That is always welcomed this time of year.

I am participating in Kelli's of There's No Place Like Home Friday Show and Tell. {Click on this link to read more about it.}

And I have another family "heirloom" to share with you. I hope you enjoy it.

My maternal grandmother loved making quilts. I bet she made hundreds of them. Most, every stitch by hand. I have only a few that she made. But this one is very special. She made this Around the World top in 1958 for her 'first grandchild' (me) and entered it in the Madison County (Alabama) Fair. It took home the Blue Ribbon! She was so proud of that.

She gave up on me ever getting married, which was when she was planning on giving me the quilt, so some time in the early 80's she quilted it and gave it to me. When I was very young, I can remember when Grandma would sandwich a quilt, she would lay unbleached muslin (she was very simple country woman. The quilts these days would blow her mind. The green backing I picked for this quilt blew her mind....) on the floor. She would take clean cotton and her combs and began to comb them (that was before she discovered the quilting poly...) and she would comb those fibers, spreading them out on the muslin. When the muslin was sufficiently covered, she would place the top onto the cotton and pin it down.

I am sure that these cotton combs have seen many many quilts. Grandma died a few months before I got married. Praise the Lord, she did see me engaged to a wonderful man who she adored. So she quit worrying. I was the oldest of her 11 grands and almost the last to marry. That fretted her to no end. But I digress...

I have seen these combs used for wool, flax, any type of fiber that needs combing before spinning, processing, etc. The needles are very very fine and very strong. They scratch the skin easily. When my mom had to 'downsize' and we were cleaning out her house, I found them tucked away in a closet. Since I learned to quilt from grandma and helped her with her quilts a lot, Mama let me take them home.

I am working on a way to display them someway. I do not want to keep them hidden in a closet. I want to show them. I think, if I ever get that 'sewing studio/office' thing going, that will be a perfect place. :-)

Southern Hospitality's Favorite Find Party

Yeah! Now I get to join the party and not be embarrassed by showing the vibrating infant pumpkin seat!

Southern Hospitality: What's your VERY FAVORITE thrifty find??

After looking at all the posts on Mr. Linky on Rhoda's site I thought to myself, "I know I have something!" Then I remembered! In fact, how could I forget! B/c I have always been so proud of it!

My lovely silver plate butter dish. There is no stamp on the bottom. I have no idea who made it. It is lined with a removable glass dish. And I like that. I found it at On A Shoe String Antiques in Bluff Park. It was in the Caboose, where all the 'markdowns' go. Seems like I paid $5.00 for it. My MIL thought it quite a bargain. Especially after I cleaned it up with Wrights (needs it again. I just used a polishing cloth to photograph it for the blog...).

Here is a close up of the edging detail. Isn't the rose detail pretty? I just love this dish. It adorns my table whenever I have a dinner party. :-) I bought this about 15-16 years ago.

This compote I bought at the same place, On a Shoe String Antiques. It goes with some glass my mother gave me some time ago. She had started a collection for herself with that particular glass and just had a few pieces. Since she stopped collecting it, she gave me the pieces and thought I would have fun adding to the collection from time to time. As I find a piece for a fair price (bargain) I will pick it up. I honestly cannot remember how much I paid for this, but I have never seen a compote in this glass pattern before and the price was very reasonable. So I got it. The base is plaster of paris with sterling hammered and formed over it. Pretty cool and sturdy. The compote lifts out for cleaning and sets back in.

First Day of School!!!

I had planned on getting a coming home photo, but it was pouring down rain. Soooo... yes, I was one of those mothers who drove 2 doors down and picked up her child from the bus stop!!!! It is still thundering and we had to run out with umbrellas to get our children. One sweet mom did have her camera out trying to get photos. Her boys were running off the bus so fast I do not think she was able to get anything... I will try again tomorrow. Now off to finish house work, get supper started, take photos for Kelli's Show and Share....
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Posted Earlier Today
And I am not ready for the Summer to be over! :-( I miss my baby. After teaching my class, I left the aerobic room and looked around the arcade area for my baby girl. I miss her. I miss my buddy. 3 hours and 8 minutes, I go get her at the bus stop. :D

Speaking of bus stops, here we are in the wee hours of the morning waiting for the bus. We walk. Being a fitness instructor, and the stop being only 2 houses away, I think it is ridiculous for parents to get in a car and drive.... (And we wonder why these kids are getting so fat!) I just walk down there with my morning coffee and enjoy it while I wait with her. In the afternoon, I walk to the stop to get her. Sometimes I take Her Majesty, The African Queen... ahem, Grey, Zoey with me.


ME is straining to get a smile out. She is hating having her photo taken. I had to tell her that a neighbors cat was behind her to get her to smile. ;-) Worked didn't it? Even if it is a fake smile. LOL!


Now this is an excited, genuine smile. ME loves Miss Sherry her bus driver and loves school. Our school is one of the top 10 elementary schools in the country. And she thrives in it. The main reason I do not homeschool her. We are very fortunate to be in this particular school district.

Because we get up so early in the morning, DD is not hungry. She loves to ride the bus (social hour I understand). Then there is the "Breakfast Club" according to the lunch room manager. DD is a big part of that "Breakfast Club". Apparently the school breakfasts are not like what mommy makes. "They are really good!" LOL!

We do make lunch together. PBJ on whole wheat, grape tomatoes, yogurt, gold fish, 2 petite scones (I'll post about in a later post) and fruit. Of course, everyone is encouraged to bring a water bottle to keep on their desk. It is hot here and hydration is a must.

Will post more after she gets home from school!

Protein Fruit Smoothie

I posted this smoothie recipe on my Health and Fitness Blog, but not sure if anyone who visits here ever goes there. Thought I would post it here as well. It is a very good smoothie. With the protein powder/yogurt it is a very healthy snack/meal.

Here is a list of the ingredients that you will need.

• Fresh Fruit in Season (You can also use frozen fruit if you do not have fresh fruit. Make sure the frozen fruit does not have any sugar added.)
• 1 Cup Plain Non Fat Yogurt
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Flavoring
• 4 Rounded Scoops of Whey Protein, Vanilla Flavored or Plain (if you can find it)
• Ice/water as needed
• A good blender or smoothie maker

Optional Ingredients: Almonds, almond flavoring any thing else that you like. I have found that sweetener is not necessary as long as you use a ripe banana. But if you do need a sweetener, artificial sweetener is fine and it tastes great with honey.

Make sure you have a speckled ripe banana to make it nice and tasty. As you can see in the photo there are several cups of chopped fruit in the smoothie maker. It needs to be about 1/2 - 3/4 full of fruit.

Add your protein, yogurt and vanilla flavoring. Add ice and water and blend until smooth.

Makes 4 large servings.

Enjoy!!!

Have a great day everyone. :-)

Please post and let me know how you like the smoothie recipe!

Wedding at The Hermitage

I want to thank everyone for your kind words toward my Friday 'Show and Share'. I look forward to Kelli's Show and Share every week and hope to always be able to participate.

We had a very exciting weekend. My one of my cousins got married. It was a very sweet service. Held on the front lawn of The Hermitage, the one time home of Andrew Jackson.

As always, I had my trusty, handy point and shoot camera in my purse. I was sure my cousin probably had a local Nashville photographer under contract. And I was coming from out of town. And I think she hates my, "just one more..." Well, I think everyone hates that from me. DD will not even look at me when I have a camera in my hands anymore. Sigh....

Oh well, all that to say... these photos are not bad for my little point and shoot camera that I keep in my purse!

The bride arrived with her attendants (her children, another cousin & my uncle) and father in a horse drawn carriage.

The bride was given away by her son and father.

The Great State of Alabama was well represented in more ways than one. Even though this man spoke little english (visiting from France), but he did understand "Roll Tide!"

Being hot and humid here in the 'Deep South' I was very thankful that we had a 'casual' wedding. Even though I had to force my DH to wear a golf shirt. He was glad that he did. He did decide that he would have been 'overdressed' in his coat and tie. And lightening did not strike him one single time!

The Bride and Groom repeating their vows.

Mr. & Mrs. Darren Jarnigen
or should I say
Ms. & Mr. Michelle Morse....

Two soul mates God has put together. Congratulations and Best Wishes!!!