family day

putsy

this was a putsy recipe. their picture:

Italian Easter Bread (adapted from Taste of Home)
*The original recipe calls for raisins, but I used mixed dried fruit with cherries and blueberries*
2 pkgs active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
3 Tbsp warm water
1 1/3 cup warm milk
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
3 tsp anise extract
6 1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup raisins or dried mixed fruit
1 egg white, beaten
1 Tbsp water
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add milk, sugar, butter, and salt.  Mix well.  Let set for 5 minutes.
2. Add eggs, extract, and 2 cups of flour.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in remaining flour slowly to form a soft dough.
3. Use dough hook to knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.  Place in a greased bowl, turning the dough to also grease the top.  Cover with towel and let rise for 1 hour, until doubled. 
4. Punch down dough and turn on to a lightly floured surface.Sprinkle with raisins or dried fruit and knead in.  Divide dough in half to make 2 loaves.  Cut each loaf in to 3 pieces and roll in to 12-14 inch ropes.  Braid and seal edges.  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Cover and let rise 45 minutes.
5. Whisk egg white and water, brush over dough.  Bake at 325 for 45-60 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks.
Enjoy!

my picture: 

 

i 'll let you know how it turned out :)

safety first

while watching the wizard of oz for the first time this evening with the boys {first for all THREE boys}, luke announced that ms.gulch was not safe as she did not have a bike helmet on :) oh luke!

grad school stuff update

so many of you know that i graduated with my masters in special education administration december 2011..... well right after that happened, i found out that the state of mi changed my license! grrrr... only those who had been in sped admin position three years BEFORE were grandfathered in. which means there is a boat load of us who have to now take MORE classes.

i am in the process of finishing up five credits now..... home/school community 2 credit and director approval (3 credit)

this summer i will take a class on principalship

fall and spring i will take a year long internship for principalship

and when i am DONE.... i will have the following credentials:

--K-6 gen ed teacher
--K-12 sped teacher
--sped supervisor
--sped director
--elementary principal
--secondary principal

crazy huh!

menu for the week

sunday: pizza monkey bread and cookies :) (yup super healthy.......)

monday: 3 minute french dips (recipe below), salads, chips, green beans

tuesday: tacos, cilantro lime rice, guacomole

wednesday: kielbasa, rice, fruit (tb appt)

thursday:  ham (oven), mashed or baked potatoes, salad or broccoli

friday: burgers, fries, fruit

saturday: ???? :) out??

sunday: easter at farm (i am in charge of bread--see new recipe below)


italian easter bread
Italian Easter Bread (adapted from Taste of Home)
*The original recipe calls for raisins, but I used mixed dried fruit with cherries and blueberries*
2 pkgs active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
3 Tbsp warm water
1 1/3 cup warm milk
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
3 tsp anise extract
6 1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup raisins or dried mixed fruit
1 egg white, beaten
1 Tbsp water
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add milk, sugar, butter, and salt.  Mix well.  Let set for 5 minutes.
2. Add eggs, extract, and 2 cups of flour.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in remaining flour slowly to form a soft dough.
3. Use dough hook to knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.  Place in a greased bowl, turning the dough to also grease the top.  Cover with towel and let rise for 1 hour, until doubled. 
4. Punch down dough and turn on to a lightly floured surface.Sprinkle with raisins or dried fruit and knead in.  Divide dough in half to make 2 loaves.  Cut each loaf in to 3 pieces and roll in to 12-14 inch ropes.  Braid and seal edges.  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Cover and let rise 45 minutes.
5. Whisk egg white and water, brush over dough.  Bake at 325 for 45-60 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks.
Enjoy!

Easy French Dip Sandwiches

Rated: Submitted By: writergirl Photo By: DIZ♥ Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Ready In: 15 Minutes Servings: 4

"This sandwich made with sliced roast beef and provolone cheese is a crowd pleaser. The flavor is so rich, no one will know it only took 15 minutes to put together."

Ingredients:

1 (10.5 ounce) can beef consomme 1 cup water 1 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef

8 slices provolone cheese 4 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Open the hoagie rolls and lay out on a baking sheet.
2.	Heat beef consomme and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat to make a rich beef broth. Place the roast beef in the broth and warm for 3 minutes. Arrange the meat on the hoagie rolls and top each roll with 2 slices of provolone.
3.	Bake the sandwiches in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese just begins to melt. Serve the sandwiches with small bowls of the warm broth for dipping.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2013 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 3/24/2013

pizza bread!!!!

SERIOUSLY AWESOME!!!

Pepperoni and Mozzarella Pull Apart Bread!


Ingredients
1/3 cup favorite flavored dipping oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 (16 ounce) pkgs pre-made pizza dough or homemade pizza dough
1 (7 oz) pkg sliced pepperoni
1 (8 oz) pkg shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Separate pizza dough into small bite sized pieces.
3. In a bowl add your favorite flavored dipping oil. Toss dough pieces in dipping oil to lightly coat.
4. Layer dough pieces in bottom of bundt or fluted tube pan, next layer sliced pepperoni, shredded cheese and sprinkle with garlic powder. Repeat  all three layers again in the same order, and then end with final layer of dough pieces.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until the bread is browned and cooked through in the center, 30-40 min
6. Remove from oven, and invert the pan on a cutting board; the bread will fall out of the pan in one piece.

just keep swimming

just keep swimming, just keep swimming.... just keep going...just keep your head up

we are into another round of sickness. jack played an awesome soccer game this morning, came home looking bedraggled and had a fever of 101. seriously!!! luke just had this last weekend!

come on spring!

where did it go????

luke has lost his first tooth........ FOR REAL :) as we drove in the van afterschool today, luke pipes up--"hey mom, is my tooth gone?" i look back and sure enough, he is missing a tooth on the bottom....... and it is NO WHERE to be found :) we looked and looked and looked. but alas, no tooth! he wrote a super cute note to the t-fairy..... dear tooth fairy, i lost my tooth and....... i can't find it! love, luke. i sure hope s/he comes tonight :)

just what i needed?

i found a blog through a friend today....and read for a while. i stumbled upon this post.
perhaps it's what a i needed to hear.

Jesus or Zoloft?

I'm depressed.

There. I said it.

Happy freaking New Year.

2012 really kicked my ass. And now those six or seven major life events and that international move seem to be catching up to me. I've found, coming off a nine month adrenaline high, that I don't really want to get out of bed.

I got my kids off to school on Monday morning and then I curled up on the couch with a blanket over my head and slept until noon. When I finally got up, it was only because my cat was sitting on my face. What?! That's how he tells me he's hungry. Anyway. Here's a newsflash - If you sleep more than your cat, that may be a clue that you've come down with a smidge of the depression.

Yesterday, I got dressed at, like, 3 o'clock and it felt like a major victory. (Over-celebrating simple daily tasks? Yeah, that's clue #2.)

This morning I shuffled around my house looking for some unknown thing, circled the internet in search of nothing at all, and told myself repeatedly to “get it together”. When none of that got me anywhere, I prayed, telling God repeatedly to “get it together”. I need to write, I said. I need to cook. I need to buy toilet paper. This grimy, stupefied, agoraphobe thing isn't really working for me. I don't have time for mental illness, I told him. You're gonna have to make it go away.

And then I remembered the one thing some Christians will never admit out loud, which is that sometimes Jesus isn't all you need. Sometimes you need Zoloft.

I've fought with anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember (seriously, like since I was a small child) and I know the things I need to do to escape this ditch. For me it requires healthy food, sunshine, exercise, safe friends, and, yes, Faith in my Healer and Counselor.

But, sometimes, it also means addressing the chemical needs of my body.

Sometimes it means popping a little blue pill. 

And guess what? It helps!

Guess what else? Depression is not a sin.

It's true that our brokenness can enhance those feeling of lostness, loneliness, and hopelessness; our transgressions, screw ups, and failures can work to further deepen a nasty depression (and vice versa!). And it's true, I believe, that we need Jesus to be whole.

But, I'll say it again, Jesus is not all you need.

Sometimes you need a Doctor. Sometimes you need medication. There's really no crime in that.

The real crime would be to live your God-given life with your head under a blanket, or your face under your cat's butt... ooorrr, y'know, whatever... when, instead, you could get help and come back to life. 

Do I need Jesus, or Zoloft? For today, I think I need need both. Maybe you do, too. 

….         …..           ….

Ever been depressed?

Are you a pill popper or a prayer apologist? Or both?  

http://www.theveryworstmissionary.com/2013/01/jesus-or-zoloft.html#disqus_thread

ear update

Josh took both boys to the ENT today. Luke got both tubes out!! So far so good with his ears....and 2nd set of tubes! Jack's holes from his {uber 6 year-had to be surgically removed set of} tubes are still in both ears but there was no goop or infection. He goes back in 6 months to evaluate if surgery is needed or not. at that time, doctor k might decide we need to surgically fix the holes in his ears with a skin graft or he might decide to wait another 6 months to make a decision. the factor we are watching is the number of ear infections jack continues to have.... 

praying for healing ears and fewer ear infections! 

math and science night at lh

it was math and science night tonight at lincoln heights--the boys are too young to have a science experiment displayed but they sure had fun looking at them! i hope they get inspired for the future! :) we also got to do all kinds of math activities while we were there, eat pizza and have family time.

thankful thursday

 

thankful for literacy

wacky wednesday

oh still laughing..... darn you autocorrect.......


Dig deep, find your integrity and get to work. We do what is right not barbecue someone else tells us to but because it is right. My quote for you, "Do what is right, even when no one is looking--FOR YOU"


NOT BARBEQUE..... because, because because :) 

menu

sunday: unfried chicken, grapes and roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes

monday: get your own/breakfast

tuesday: out (appts)

wednesday: roast?

thursday: pizza night at boys' school







NEW recipe for me: Art Smith's Southern Oven UNFRIED chicken
need: 1 cup buttermilk
1 T hot sauce
4 skinless bonless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cup panko
3 T parm cheese
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tps garlic powder
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
olive oil spray

DO:
preheat oven to 400
combine buttermilk and hot sauce
add chicken and marinade 1 hour  in fridge
combine all rest except spray in a gallon size bag

remove chicken from milk, add one piece at a time to bag and shake, lay on lightly oiled sheet and chicken 30 minutes uncovered

lightly spray with oil

bake 15-20 minutes, turn and bake 15-20 minutes until done

rare

luke has something he really really really wants and it is rare. he knows this because a tv commercial told him! :D

i am not quite sure what it is but i know it is related to a "pillow pet" and a "dream lite". i also know it has to be a penguin. how am i to figure out this rate item? :)

i also know he wants a dream lite.......... oh luke!

curtsy

Started this Thursday morning with a robust conversation about types of government with Jack and Luke...... all started when Luke told me princesses curtsy and from there we talked about monarchs, representative democracies, direct democracies...... us Boyers, we are so fun ;)

thankful thursday

the boys had a rough day on the bus today....and yesterday and the day before and so on and so forth. not just on the bus, but in general they have been poking at each other and just bugging. so tonight, after we said our traditional Catholic prayer, we went around and said something we were sorry for and something we are thankful for.

so much to be thankful for:
roof over our heads
sunshine on a gorgeous march day
our boys
food to eat
love to give and receive
a bed and blanket for bedtime
toys to play with
mud to splash in
parents who love each other
role models
awesome neighbors
amazing family
i could go on and on. what are you thankful for today?

wordless wednesday

i can't remember...

i can't remember if i posted this recipe but it was soooooo good i will post again :)

• 1 small loaf day-old French bread (or about 1/2 of a large loaf)
  
• 5 eggs
  
• 3 TB. sugar
  
• 1 tsp. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
  
• 21/2 Cups whole milk
  
• 1/4 Cup flour
  
• 6 TB. packed brown sugar
  
• 1/2 tsp. PENZEYS CINNAMON
  
• 1/4 Cup (1/2 stick) butter
  
• 1 Cup blueberries
  
• 1 Cup strawberries, sliced
  

Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. Cut the bread in 3/4-inch slices. Layer in the pan, fitting snugly. In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs, sugar and VANILLA. Stir in the milk. Pour over bread; turn bread slices over. Cover and refrigerate overnight*. In the morning, pre-heat the oven to 375°. In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and CINNAMON. Cut the butter in bits, add to the mix and rub together to make a crumb topping. Remove the pan from the fridge, carefully turn the bread pieces over and scatter mixed berries evenly over the bread. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes, until puffy and golden.

*Overnight soaking of the bread is what causes the dish to puff up and be very creamy when baked. If you don't have overnight, at least let it soak a few hours.

Prep. time: 15 minutes plus overnight in the fridge
Cooking time: 35-40 minutes
Serves: 6-8

Nutritional Information:
Servings 8; Serving Size 1 slice (149g); Calories 230; Calories from fat 80; Total fat 9g; Cholesterol 105mg; Sodium 240mg; Carbohydrate 30g; Dietary Fiber 1g; Sugars 14g; Protein 8g.

new reading level

bragging alert!!!

jack's new reading level is 4.7-7.8

holy high reading level batman!

soccer gals

left to right
erin, hollie, me, nicole, lisa, blair, kelly, dawn and renne
missing: kristen, sara, carrie

and the results

pretty and yummy!

trying these today

dough raising as i type..... i hope they are yummy!

soft pretzles!

Carol DeNise Oakley Here it is Soft pretzels
Prep time: >2 hours
Bake time: >10 minutes
Yield: 12 large soft pretzels

Ingredients:
4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. white sugar
1 and 1/4 cups warm water
5 cups all purpose flour
(do not sift the flour)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
1 TBSP. vegetable oil

Also needed:
1/4 cup baking soda
2 cups hot water
1/8 cup coarse kosher salt

Directions:
1. in a small bowl, dissolve yeast & 1 tsp. sugar in the warm water. Let stand until creamy/foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In large bowl, mix together flour, the 1/2 cup sugar & salt. Make a well in the center, add the liquid yeast mixture. Mix & form into a dough. If mixture is too dry, add water 1 TBSP at a time. Knead dough until smooth, takes 7-8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl & turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.

3. Preheat oven to 450 F

4. Dissolve baking soda in hot water.

5. When risen, turn dough out onto lightly floured surface & divide evenly into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope 12-14 inches long and twist into pretzel shape. Once all the dough is shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place 6 pieces evenly on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse kosher salt.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes until browned.