New Years Eve Party menu

Been searching pinterest for my new years eve party menu contributions!  Here is what I came up with:



Cowboy Sushi = I love all things pickley so i am sure this will be a hit!
http://goodwifeinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2008/09/cowboy-sushi.html

Feta Dip= made this for last years new years eve party and it was fantabulous!
http://www.memoriesoncloverlane.com/2010/11/recipe-that-will-make-your-life-easier.html

Strawberry Punchbowl Cake= Made this Memorial day weekend and my uncle has been begging for it again ever since!  He will be very happy!
http://www.southernplate.com/2008/09/strawberry-punch-bowl-cake.html

I hope that you have a wonderful and safe evening ringing in the new year! 

Happy New Year!

Pan Seared Chicken with Balsamic Cream

Tried another delicious pinterest recipe tonight!  I changed up a couple of things. I cooked the onions with the chicken.  I also used coconut oil in place of butter because it is a healthier alternative.  Have been using coconut oil in all my cooking and wow we love it!

You can find the Pan Seared Chicken with Balsamic Cream recipe here.

Have a busy weekend ahead with our potential new youth pastor. 

I have been spending time in my new classroom at my new school.  Starting to get back into the school groove!  Things are coming right along and my room is almost ready for the kiddos!

Pinterest Recipes

What did I do before Pinterest?  I can't even begin to tell you how inspired I get on that website!  It has quickly become one of my favorite places to discover and then store recipes among many other things!

This weeks to try recipes:

Quinoa Patties- adding tuna as per one of the comments under the recipe because I think it will be easier to covince the family to try it that way...they love tuna!

Naturally Flavored Water

Zuchinni Coconut Bread

Overnight, No Cook, Refrigerator Oatmeal- really excited to try this one. Looks very filling and just what I need once school gets started.  Found my Chia seeds at Mother Earth.

Oven Fried Green Tomatoes- becaue I have a ton of green tomatoes on my vines right now

Pan Roasted Chicken and Veggies

I am looking through my new Don't Panic Freezer Dinners book to plan for my first freezer cooking day with my sister.  We are going to attempt to prepare as many meals to freeze as possible.  Hoping this will make back to school season a little smoother for my family!

Beach Menu and Grocery List

We will be heading to the beach soon!  My menu and shopping list for beach week!

Friday (arrival day)- Dinner out

Saturday- Crockpot BBQ Chicken, green beans, corn
adapted from here

6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (can put in frozen)
1 bottle BBQ sauce
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder

Sunday- Dr Pepper Slow Cooker Roast, carrots, red potatoes

from here

Ingredients

• 1 3-5 pound beef roast
• 1 can Dr Pepper
• 2 cups water
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper
• 3 cloves garlic

Instructions

1. Place beef roast in slow cooker.
2. Add in all other ingredients.
3. Cook for 7 hours on low or 3 1/2 hours on high.
4. Drain off juice and serve warm.

Monday-  Bowtie Pasta and garlic bread

1 dash cooking wine

1 lb uncooked bowtie pasta

1 1/2 lbs cherry tomatoes

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil (5 tsp dried)

1/4 cup capers, drained

1/3 cup olive oil

1 Lg garlic clove (minced)

15 pitted black olives, sliced

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

crushed red pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Cook the pasta according to package directions.

2.  Slice the tomatoes in half and place them in a large skillet.  Add the basil, capers, oil, garlic, and olives.  Set aside while pasta cooks.

3.  Drain pasta.  Place the tomatoe mixture over med-high heat and cook until heated through. Stir in the pasta.  Sprinkle on the parmesan cheese.  Add a few shakes of crushed red pepper.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with Garlic bread.

Tuesday-  Dinner Out

Wednesday- Breakfast for dinner

Eggs

Bacon

Toast

Sliced tomatoes

Thursday- Stauffers frozen Lasagna and Garlic Bread with garden salad

Friday- Dinner Out

For lunches we will eat leftovers, spaghetti o's, sandwiches, mac and cheese, and Chicken salad (adapted from the Food Nanny).

Chicken Salad

2 cup uncooked Medium shell pasta

1 cup bottled coleslaw dressing

1 cup mayo

4 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 20 oz can pineapple, drained

1 8 oz can sliced water chestnuts drained and diced

1 large red skinned apple, diced

1 cup green seedless grapes

4 celery ribs, diced

1 tbsp grated onion

1 cup whole cashews

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

2. Mix coleslaw dressing and mayonaise in a small bowl.  Add to the pasta, tossing gently to combine.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

3.  Meanwhile, mix the chicken, pineapple, water chestnuts, apple, grapes, celery, and onion in a medium bowl. Refrigerate.

4.  Just before serving, add the chicken mixture and cashews to pasta, tossing gently until al the ingredients are combined.  Season to taste.

5.  Spoon into large lettuce leaves to serve.

Desserts:

Cherry Upside Down Cake

2 cans cherry pie filling
1 yellow cake mix
1 c. butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread cherries in 9 x 12 inch cake pan. Sprinkle with dry cake mix. Drizzle melted butter over top. Bake approximately 1 hour until brown. Cool.

Orange Push-Up Smoothie (Vegan, Gluten Free)
from here
1 can orange juice concentrate, slightly thawed
1 cup milk (half and half, cream, nut milk, soy milk)
1/2 cup sugar, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups ice, or to taste
Combine all ingredients, except ice, in a large blender or Vita-Mix and blend until smooth and creamy, taking care the sugar has dissolved and is well incorporated. If desired, add a splash more water or more milk. Add the ice and blend until smooth.
Makes approximately three eight-ounce portions.

Grocery list:

Shells and Cheese

Lunch meat

PB & J

Bread

Spaghetti O's

9 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 bottle BBQ sauce 

5 pound beef roast

1 can Dr Pepper

1 lb  bowtie pasta

1 1/2 lbs cherry tomatoes

 capers

 pitted black olives, sliced

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Eggs

Bacon

tomato

apples
 Medium shell pasta

 bottled coleslaw dressing

1 cup mayo

20 oz can pineapple

8 oz can sliced water chestnuts 

green seedless grapes

4 celery ribs

Onions

cashews

green beans

carrots

corn

Ice Cream

orange juice concentrate

milk

cereal

yogurt

frozen waffles

toaster strudels

2 cans cherry pie filling
1 yellow cake mix

stick butter

Travel Snacks:

Strawberries

Sliced apples

pringles

cheese sticks

pepperoni rolls

candy

crackers

Cream soda

Root Beer

Ginger Ale

Lemonaid

Bottled Water

Take from home:

vinegar
 red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
garlic powder

Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper

Minced Garlic

cooking wine

basil

olive oil

mustard

cheese

Decaf tea

Sugar

vanilla extract

Crock Pot

Pairing knife

Canning Spaghetti Sauce

My sister and I have been canning the past two days.  Here is the recipe we are using for our spaghetti sauce.  We have used it the past couple of years.  Yes, we do include carrot!  A great way to hide some veggies in your spaghetti!

1 1/2 large onion
36 cups cleaned, cut up tomatoes (we do not remove skins because they get pureed later)
1 1/2 tbsp salt
4 tbsp brown sugar packed
1 red pepper, finely cut up
2 green peppers, finely cut up
1/2 tsp pepper
2 large carrots

Simmer for one hour, then puree. 

To puree add:
6 cloves garlic
3 tbsp fresh oregano
3 tbsp fresh thyme
3/4 cup parsley, chopped (12 tsp dried)
3 tbsp fresh basil
3 bay leaves

(if you do not have fresh herbs you can use dried. The conversion is 1 tsp dried per 1 Tbsp fresh)

Put back into pot and simmer until desired thickness.  Stir often to prevent scorching.

Pour into clean jars. Wipe jar rims and place lids and rims.

Process in hot water bath for 15 minutes. (water covering tops of lids by at least 1 inch)

June Meal Plan

My first year in first grade is over and we just returned back from our family cruise vacation.  The cruise spoiled me with all the awesome meals! I am having a very hard time getting meals planned and motivating myself to get to the grocery store! I spent some time on pintrest sorting through recipes and decided to add a little excitement to my meal plan by trying all new recipes! The meal plan for the rest of the week and next week.

  Tuesday- Breakfast of Champions Turned out quite yummy! We will do this again, although I can't imagine it as breakfast really with the beans in it!

Wednesday- Cowboy Meatloaf & Potato Casserole (from Lawanda because she is an awesome friend!)

  Thursday- Parmesian Crusted Chicken

Friday- Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls

Saturday- Pizza Quesadillas

Sunday- White Enchilada chicken Slow cooker Casserole

Monday- Bifteki with Tzaki Sauce=make extra sauce for gyros tomorrow!

Tuesday- Chicken Souvlaki Gyro

Wednesday- Ham and Mac and Cheese (sace some ham for tomorrow)

Thursday- Ham, Sauerkraut and Apple Rolls on Cheese Potatoes

Friday- Tacos Saturday- Leftovers

Catching up...It has been a year!

Wow I can't believe it has been a whole year since I have blogged! This past year has been so crazy busy but God saw me through and finally things are starting to get back into a normal routine!

With a leap of faith, I quit my teaching job at Mount Pleasant Preschool to go back to school full time to get my Reading Specialist Masters. I was hired at the start of 2011 school year to start a full time position in Wood County Public Schools for the 2012 school year. God couldn't have made himself more clear that I had made the right decision to quit at the preschool and persue my masters. Nobody ever gets hired at the beginning of one school year to start the following year! I guess God knew that I would be stressing about it so as the Good book says, he didn't give me more than I could handle.

Well I did question that giving me more than I could handle thing a few times during the course of working on my masters! The Reading Specialist masters isn't really set up as a one year degree! I had to bunch up classes in order to pull it off. One semester I had 18 credit hours. The recommended credit hours for a masters degree is 9. I said many prayers and had many sleepless nights doing homework and studying!

I ended up on the transfer list for my new job that I hadn't even started yet. It was a blessing in disguise though because I landed a first grade job!

To finish off my masters degree I was required to do a practicum in Charleston, which is a little over an hour away from home. With high gas prices and a complete lack of travel time with the homework load I was carrying, we made the decision for me to stay in Charleston. I ended up finding a dorm apartment at WV State. I will spare you the agony of hearing that story and just say...third floor, no elevator, air conditioner that didnt work, toilet, sink and bathtub that didn't backed up and only a bed for furniture. Probably the worst summer of my life living in that joint! Let me tell you though, it really makes you appreciate what you have when you have to spend a few months living like that!

I finished my practicum in the beginning of August and the next day headed to the Outer Banks for a MUCH NEEDED vacation! We had a fabulous vacation with the most memorable jeep ride on the beach to see the wild horses!

Came home from the beach and started getting my first grade classroom ready! The next thing you know, school starts! I really only ended up having a week to get moved in and situated. It was CRAZY! I really didn't feel prepared at all because instead of working all summer like most teachers do, I had been working at a school in Charleston finishing up my masters! So the first several months of school I felt like I was playing catch up. It is now only 40 some days of school left for the year and I finally feel like I am in the groove and can get out of there by 4ish!

It has been an awesome year and I love my first graders. However, I was on the transfer list again...it happens when you are low on the totem pole! I am currently set to be teaching special education at a school about 3 minutes form my house. I have put in for a reading job that just posted last week and I am really praying that I will get it...farther from home but reading is where my heart is! We shall see...God is in control!