ITS ITALIAN TONIGHT........an easy delicious chicken dish

Welcome to you!!   The heat is on along with out tropical thunder/rain storms, this weather is very unpredictable. Today I would like to share a delicious Italian recipe that my great gram from Italy made for me as a child. One thing is that my Italian grams never measured anything it was always a pinch of this and a pinch of that. So that's just how were going to run this dish.


I call it Italiano Pollo. Which is Italian Chicken. This is super easy, company friendly your mother-in-law will be jealous . And the best part is you can use your fresh basil from your garden! So this is what you will need to make this dish:

Chicken legs or thighs
one or 2 cans of tomatoes sauce                           

      1 pkg of mushrooms
an onion
fresh basil, parsley
spices, Italian spice, garlic
Olive oil, very important
A good loaf of Italian Bread
A great bottle of red wine
A good big pan for sautéing
a box of bowtie pasta
about 1 1/2 cups of frozen peas , The peas and pasta are for your side dish.


So first wash your chicken well ,dry a bit with paper towel, heat the large pan with some olive oil add chicken slowly....season and brown on all sides.  When chicken is brown remove set aside and sauté half of the onion and mushrooms, I don't chop them I use them whole. Once the mushrooms and onion is browned add chicken back in the pan ........add a huge handful of basil, parsley , Italian spice, garlic sprinkle well . Then open the sauce and pour over put on medium low and simmer covered for about 30 minutes or so until chicken cooked through...time will be according to how big your chicken pieces are. Do Not use skinless or boneless white chicken breast because so much of the flavor comes from the skin... and back then they didn't count calories and we shouldn't  either for this dish.

 
Now that you have covered the chicken start on the side dish, boil a big pot of water, add bowties and peas cook until tender. 

Once the pasta and peas are done strain and return back to the hot pot. Add a nice splash of olive oil a generous sprinkle of garlic, grated cheese, kosher salt , pepper , parsley and toss. Time to serve! It smells wonderful in here don't you think?

Mangoes are in season here so fresh fruit for desert!  If you have never had a mango you must.

 

Bon   appetite!!!!

Lisa

A GREAT WAY TO SPEND A HOT SUMMER DAY THRIFTING!

A Saturday scanning for thrifted treasures. 

 Hi there, welcome ...schools out, summer is in full swing......it seems to be going by way to fast. I thought  Saturday a thrifting adventure would be fun!  So first I found this huge clock only4.99 Love the way it looks hanging in the seaside kitchen.

 I spied this copper shell and knew it was a must have at 1.99

I sure was not leaving without this  wooden rowboat, it paired well with a recent sign I crafted , "Seaside Boat Rentals".

 I tucked it in the wrought iron basket with some white lights for whimsy.

I also came across this shiny ceramic shell type bowl for .99

I cant think of a better way to have fun on a hot summer day! The best thing to do when you are thrifting is to set a budget for yourself stick to it to avoid overspending. I know things have a cheap ticket price but that can add up if you are not careful, then there's the unexpected thrift store find. I'm sure you can all relate to that , its when you find something you will not leave behind problem being it cost a fortune. For me when I found my vintage refridgerator I was not leaving the store without it! So after some sweet talking to my daughter who has a truck and Mr. STNSA  I explained to him what a good investment I did leave the store with it. The most important thing about thrifting is that you have fun!

                                                       Until next time,
                                                            Lisa

COME ON HOP IN BUCKLE UP ! READY FOR AN ADVENTURE?WE ARE GOING TO THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES!!

Hi there thank you for coming along! Sit back and enjoy . First I would like everyone to pray for the family that lost their 3 year old boy after he was snatched up by an alligator.  When visiting Florida you must always beware of alligators that can be in any bodies of water. We are headed for Everglades City to catch the sunset ....Why they call it a city I don't know, it has one school house, a few motels and eateries, but not too much of anything.

Airboat rides that will take you thru the marshes will put you up and center to nature. Fishing is also phenomenal and a good camera is in order on this adventure. Lots to see may have to take pictures thru the SUV window but that is kind of hard seeing that Mr. STNSA turns into mr. Speedy Gonzolas.

Lets take a peek.......

 This is where they dwell in this brakish water. This is a long road monitored by FWC. This should all be view from the car window

 Saftey first , the road we will be traveling is chuck filled with gators and if you choose to throw a bite of your lunch to wally gator plan on going to the slammer. They are all about enforcing rules. These signs are up everywhere in the Glades.

They hide in the mangroves, that's ok cause I hide in the car. This was an unusual still day.

There is a huge boardwalk here for a safe way to view gators and all other wildlife.

 

 This bad boy was sitting under the walking bridge

The mangroves are thick with gators, fla birds and many snakes, I always have a snake kit ready just in case.

 

This is the famous Rod and Gun Club a restaurant/hotel. The décor is very rustic and beautiful. Ever seen the movie" Gone Fishing" with Danny Glover and Joe Pesci? It was made here, some at this very Rod An Gun Club and other areas here. If you did not see it you should its a great movie!

 The skies here can turn dark and grey quick......a storm can brew within seconds and just because it rains in one area it can be dry less than a mile away.

 There are many airboat places here. They are really loud but they do take you out in the swaps that you would never get to in a typical boat.

Can you spot the gator? all the way on the right side just treading slowly through the canal.

 This is a huge  Florida Panther made from plaster I believe and he is here..................................

 OK so this is the Skunk Ape Headquarters and its even more than that. There is a wonderful hands on zoo inside with a gift shop that sells some unique items and also some unique things to snack on, here they are famous for their boiled peanuts you can eat the shell and all and they make them all different such as hot and spicy, Cajun etc.....Also they take the Skunk ape very serious in these parts The local little dinner sells the Ape skunk burger and many other items bases on the famous Skunk Ape. If you visit here you must talk to a local and they will tell you the true story of the Skunk Ape. There is also a campground her as well but I would be cautious this is in the heart of the glades and is filled with bears, cougars, panthers, huge snakes, alligators and allot more.

 This is the Everglade's Town hall bldg. so rustic and cute!

 

 

 

 

This is a unique lighthouse building....so if you venture to the Florida Everglades  you must do this.......bring a great camera, fish the waters, bring mosquito spray with deet, only watch the gators from your vehicle or from a FWC assigned area, Beware of the huge roadside cameras in the evening, I guess they have sensors that can detect an animal is close by to cross the road and they will flash brightly so drive slowly, go to the Rod And Gun Club for a wonderful meal ,ask for stone crabs  the local crab that is caught here and only here  DELICIOUS!, stop at the skunk Ape headquarters for some real fun.........

The end of a perfect day here in the Everglades! So happy you could come along!

Till next

Lisa

Lets go back to the month of October 2005...Hurricane Wilma Hit us hard, my first hand recollection of this Catagory 3 Hurricane

 It was a calm day.....not a breeze in sight, not an iota of movement appeared. The animals were scattering about displaying an odd and peculiar nature. The town became a race track everyone scanning the stores for canned foods, loafs of bread, ice cubes etc. The big box home stores had lines from in the store all the way through the parking lot with worried families wanting to purchase last minute supplies such as candles, oil lamps, plywood, flashlights, tapes, generators, ropes and anything to aide in safety . The wait in line was about 4 hours so we went  out of town real quick for supplies. I bought a combination tv/radio that ran with batteries, lots of candles, foods , flashlights, pet foods and water.

At this time I had many animals such as ducks, cats , dogs, rabbits to care for. We quickly barrowed time and boarded all the windows securely ,all out door furniture put in the garage along with the ducks......yes I said ducks crazy me!  Meanwhile as late afternoon approached only a couple hours till Wilma made land fall everything became quiet no one outdoors. A police car came through announcing that a mandatory evacuation had been put in order and no one was to stay in their home everyone must evacuate to the towns shelters. So that's what my family did......not me I wasn't going to leave my animals behind . The family was very cross with me because I would not go.

After everyone had packed and left the house I lit all the lamps and prepped my weather tv. As nightfall approached it began to rain and after a bit the wind started to howl and no sooner the lights went out completely even the street lights. My windows were boarded so  I couldn't really see what was going on outside but my front door had a semi circle glass paned window so I put a step ladder up to it so I could take a look but all I saw was darkness but I could here loud clanks as if someone was throwing large metals items around. According to the weather radio the wind would reach 185mph. My home was made of cement lucky for me. I walked about and reassured all the frightened pets carefully trying not to display my worry. The rain was coming down full force along with the wind but I somehow knew that we would be ok. I sat and listened to all the racket and fell asleep from exhaustion, no sooner did I close my eyes I woke to a bit of light shining thru the front door window. When I stepped up to look out I was devastated...there were actual walls and pieces of garages ,houses  roofs covering the whole lawn and streets it was a sheer vision of demolition. I took a deep breath of worry.

The wind seemed to come to a still stay and it looked like everything was just still in an artificial way so I pulled the ladder away from the door and carefully opened it up, every inch of yard ,street, sidewalk was covered with debris. I could here cry's of sadness from a distance. So I slowly stepped out and was told to go back inside quickly from a neighbor who also disobeyed the evacuation order, "this is the eye of the hurricane so get inside now", no sooner did he tell me that the wind picked up once again so bad that I had to hold the door handle tight to get back in to the house. So I propped the step ladder back up to the door to see and the wind was once again whipping, rain began to fall debris was blowing by as if I was in the movie Wizard of oz when they all went into the cellar and Dorthy hit her head. I kept thinking perhaps I would be flooded out because I had lived so close to Marco Island. All at once I heard a wind breathing sound coming from the from window that had an air condition in it and then heard pop and the glass shattered and the carpet soon became wet with rain. This went on until about noon time until it was over.

Neighbors had all returned to view their damages. One neighbors house had completely been leveled, many lost siding, roofs, garages and many trees. Our water had been shut down  as well. We cleaned up for 2 weeks and went with no electric etc. The red Cross came through once a day with prepared hot meals bless there hearts. The military supplied bottled water and ice as they set station at our local elementary school.

It was a good month before we got everything back to almost normal but we survived...washing clothes out doors, cooking on grills using other forms of entertainment besides electronics. Neighbors were helping each other and everyone pulled together to insure that everyone was fed, and taken care of. My animals were a bit skittish for a while but eventually went back to normal. We now have generators , oil amps, gas foods just in case. They are predicting hurricanes for this season so we want to be ready. One experience that I will remember for the rest of the years to come.

Add a little color ........it's summer for goodness sake!

Hi there........come on in, its been raining here so I think our tropical rainy season is here to stay , for a while anyway. That means many hours to craft ,sew and cook.

You know when you have a piece of décor and its just looking dull and old and you just want to retire it to the storage shelf....well that's what happened here. I have this old wooden type frame with a chicken wire back , you've seen it before various places and you may recognize it. So I gave it a lick of a color dry wash and crafted a pretty rag wreath to hang on the front of it

 This coloring is on my favorite list!  How about you, what color are you brushing on these days?

 You gotta love the .50 sample s at home Depot

 To make the wreath just cur the round hoop from a plastic container This one is from ice cream.

 Just tear something up this happened to be a retired bathrobe and T shirt, so now you will tie the strips of material onto the plastic hoop.

 And there you have it a new look for an old friend and a wreath that did not cost any money!

I will be using this piece in my hallway after I paint it. So go and scan your treasures and take them out of hiding and repurpose and redo. 

                                                           Thanks so much for visiting!
                                                                      Lisa