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Gina DiMartino

~ finding beauty in pain

Gina DiMartino

Monthly Archives: December 2012

Michael Gungor’s book FREE!

19 Wednesday Dec 2012

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free book, Michael Gungor, The Crowd The Critic & The Muse

Michael Gungor’s new book, The Crowd, The Critic & The Muse is free for a limited time on iTunes. A few months ago I wrote a review for the book which you can read here. It’s a great book and its free, so why not try it out!

Just click the link below for your free download.

The Crowd, The Critic & The Muse

crafting

16 Sunday Dec 2012

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Ok, I am making SO many cute crafts for people’s Christmas gifts and it is absolutely killing me that I can’t blog about them because they are SO great! Stay tuned for lots of fun crafts after Christmas 🙂 Most of them are super easy too! I’m so excited about them!

Snickerdoodles

16 Sunday Dec 2012

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cookies, martha stewart, snickerdoodles

Christmas is upon us. Every day feels busier than the last and as the time flies past us I hope we are remembering what we are actually celebrating! Today Liz and I grabbed some amazing Intelligencia coffee and headed down to the Plaza to grab a few more gifts and some breakfast. Did I mention it was 60 degrees and sunny this morning?

I spent the entire afternoon cutting out…things…and sewing them. So much to create before I go home next week. Everyone’s gifts are homemade this year. I hope you don’t mind!

Sarah is home from school so our house is up to 4 girls and after a delicious dinner, people began to trickle in. My friend, Joanna, from work. Our friend Laura. Kids getting home from college ready for break… 20 people at least!

As our house got fuller, it also got louder. There was singing, talking, laughing, yelling. So fun. Well, we haven’t done any christmas-y baking at all yet so we really wanted to make cookies. Liz wanted cut-out cookies, but didn’t want to have to wait for them to sit in the fridge for 2 hours so we passed on that idea and decided snickerdoodles were a good second choice. I know, not very christmas-y. Oh well.

Since I didn’t have a recipe, I just searched for one. Obviously I grabbed Martha Stewart’s assuming it would be perfect like her (gag me). And it was. I whipped them up amongst the huddles of kids that were placed at random throughout the kitchen/dining room/living room. Moving this one to grab measuring cups, and that one to grab some flour. Needless to say this post will not have any pictures. I could barely get back and forth between my computer to read the recipe and my mixer!

But the cookies turned out so good and were quickly devoured. (Again, no pictures) I just had to share this recipe and give you a little glimpse of how my crazy life has been going.

Home in 6 days!!!

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients

    • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
    • 1/2 cup pure vegetable shortening
    • 1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed
    • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
    • 2 large eggs

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
  2. Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, shortening, and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.
  3. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small (1 1/4-ounce) ice-cream scoop to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after 5 minutes. (I baked them exactly 10 minutes and didn’t rotate the baking sheets and they all came out perfect) Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Fish Tacos

10 Monday Dec 2012

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fish tacos, gluten free, pioneer woman, ree

This past weekend I flew to Asheville to spend some time with my sister & bro-in-law. We worked on Christmas gifts and cooked a lot of food.

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One thing we made was fish Tacos. I have never even tried them, so I was excited to help her make them. We loosely based it on a recipe from The Pioneer Woman, or “Ree” as Colton likes to call her.

IMG_0222The recipe for Fried Chicken Tacos is from her second cookbook, Food From My Frontier.

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We cubed some tilapia and prepared a seasoning mix to give it lots of flavor. Chili powder, cumin, & salt.

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Diced some tomatoes.

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Place the fish in a large skillet with some diced green chiles over medium-high heat with 1T olive oil. Saute for 3-4 minutes, then sprinkle with the spice mixture and saute until it is completely cooked.

IMG_0229

Best looking Chef ever!

IMG_0231In a separate skillet heat 1 C canola oil over medium-high heat. Spoon fish into a tortilla and grasp it closed between tongs.

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Lay it in the hot oil, holding down the top so that it remains closed. Cook until golden brown, 30-40 seconds, and flip over to fry on the other side.

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Viola! Aren’t the beauteous? We let them drain a bit then filled them with tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream & cheese. They were AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS! Thanks to my pretty sis for introducing me to a new recipe! Best part is, if you use corn tortillas, they are gluten-free! OH YEAH!

Pioneer Woman’s Fried Chicken Tacos

Ingredients

  • 16 whole Corn Tortillas (small Size)
  • 4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Pieces (We used Tilapia instead)
  • Salt, Cumin, Chili Powder To Taste (or Use Taco Seasoning)
  • 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
  • 2 cans (4 Ounce) Diced Green Chilies
  • 1-½ cup Finely Grated Cheese (cheddar Or Cheddar/jack Mix)
  • Sour Cream
  • Hot Sauce (Chulula Or Other Brand)
  • 2 cups Thinly Sliced Romaine Lettuce (or Any Lettuce)
  • 4 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
  • Canola Oil, For Frying Tacos

Preparation Instructions

*Be careful frying with hot oil!*

Season diced chicken liberally. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for a couple of minutes. Dump in the diced green chilies. Stir and cook until chicken is totally done inside. Turn off heat and set aside.

Have all other ingredients—grated cheese, sliced lettuce, diced tomato, sour cream, and hot sauce—ready.

Also have a plate ready, as well as a stack of five or six paper towels to hold in your hand.

TO FRY

To fry the tacos, heat a couple of inches of canola oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high. Place some chicken in the middle of a tortilla, then fold tortilla in half. Clamp the tortilla shut with a pair of heat-proof metal tongs, then carefully lay the taco—one side down—in the oil. As you lay it in the oil, use the tongs to hold the top side down for a few seconds to form it in place. Once it stays put, repeat with two other tacos. Turn tacos after 30 to 45 seconds, or when each side gets light golden brown (not too brown.)

One at a time, remove tacos from the pan with tongs, holding sideways as you remove them to allow oil to drip out of the sides. Place the taco in the stack of paper towels. Fold the sides and corners around the taco to tightly hold it, then give it three or four shakes to remove excess oil. Remove it from the paper towels and place on a plate. Repeat with other tacos in the pan.

As you continue frying the other tacos, have someone carefully place some grated cheese inside the tops of the tacos (gently pry them open just enough to place the cheese in). Then just let them sit until ready to serve—the cheese will melt as it sits in the warm taco.

To serve, garnish in this order: a smear of sour cream, dashes of hot sauce, shredded lettuce, diced tomato. You’ll need to slightly open up the tops of the tacos to get all the garnishes in there.

Tacos will be hot for a minute or two after frying, so don’t rush into eating! They’ll stay nice and warm for a little while after frying.

Philippians 4:4-7

07 Friday Dec 2012

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peace, Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

What if I lived these verses every day. Every moment. Just a short three verses out of the whole entire Bible. But how dramatically would my life change? What if I truly believed them? What if I came before God with EVERYTHING that comes before me? What would it feel like to have peace that transcends all understanding? I fully intend to find out.

healer

04 Tuesday Dec 2012

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I have been thinking a lot about Jesus as my Healer. For the past few weeks I have been so tired. Both physically and emotionally. My knees are having issues (I’m like 90 years old) And its making work really hard. I’ve seen an orthopedic surgeon and now have lots of exercises to do. Hopefully they will work! But anyway, this week I started thinking, why don’t I ever pray for healing?

I pray for others when they are sick. Just last week one of my good friends was told her cancer was gone after battling it for almost a year. I bawled my eyes out and praised Jesus because we have been praying so hard and so long for her healing.

I believe He is the Great Healer. I believe He can heal my knees and my heart. And its time I start acting on my belief! I am going to take my pain meds, and do my exercises, AND, I’m going to pray.

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