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Archives for September 2010

Comfort Food Carnival – Week #1

To think that I suggested we do a food carnival every Friday for the month of October is ridiculous.  What was I thinking?  I need to give you four very edible recipes and that’s just not easy.  I guess a confession is in order.  The meals I create are not always share-worthy.  It’s unfortunate, especially for my family.

I enjoy baking bread and making cakes or cupcakes, but beyond that, I stick to pretty simple meals.  I highly doubt you will ever get a fancy recipe from me.  You will get easy, filling, and quick.  That’s gotta be worth something.  No?

Here’s my recipe!

Chicken Pot Pie

– without the Pie, but with the Pot

Funny Pictures, Images and PhotosIngredients:  1 pk skinless boneless chicken thighs or breasts, 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables, 2 cans cream of chicken soup, frozen or canned biscuits, ground pepper

Directions:  In a crockpot, combine chicken, frozen veggies, and soup mix.  Sprinkle with pepper to taste.  Cook on low for the day.  Prepare biscuits according to package.  Serve.

I told you; it’s ridiculously simple, but I promise that it’s tasty.  You can even let your kids cook it.  The chicken will fall apart into the gravy and the veggies take on the taste of the chicken and soup, so they are perfect.  Even my kids love this meal.

Ok, your turn!

Simply click on the Mister Linky and add a link to your specific Comfort Food post.  If you have any questions, email me.

This post reminded me of when I chicken danced my way into the slow cooker.  Maybe I’m getting even by posting slow cooker chicken recipes…hmmm…something to think about.

Have a happy weekend and enjoy your meals!

Homeschooling – The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly – Part 2

Sorry, I would have written this post sooner, but life got in the way.  I do want you to know I am ignoring my sink full of dirty dishes for you.

That’s right.

Priorities people!

Ok, so you want to know about the bad of homeschooling.  I could mention the Math tears, or the times when I want to make my son march right on down to the elementary school and find himself a classroom, but I think these are just normal frustrations.  You can experience these feelings even if you are not homeschooling.  Ever consider boarding school for your kids?

Be honest.

I thought so.

Remember, I am no expert.  In fact, I am a novice; however, I believe there could be at least two real negative aspects of homeschooling.  It is possible to avoid these pitfalls, but I think it takes viewing yourself and your children without the mommy-love blinders on.

It is easy for homeschooling moms to tailor every little aspect of their child’s education to fit their little student’s personality and learning style.  Bad.  At least in my opinion.  Teaching your children to adapt and to be flexible is a valuable life skill.  I believe teaching your child to be adaptable is one of the greatest gifts you can give your little one.

At some point your child will enter a classroom or the workplace and they will be faced with tasks that challenge them.  Assignments that aren’t tailored to fit their interests, personalities, or learning capabilities.  They will be pushed out of their comfort zones and possibly beyond their ability.

I believe it is our job to not just teach our children reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also to teach them how to work through the most challenging tasks.  So it is my opinion that while we foster a love for learning in our children by allowing them to explore their interests, we must also require them to complete assignments that are outside their realm of interest.  We must challenge the way they learn and teach them to adapt to a variety of situations.

I am going to give some examples of what I mean.

If my child is distracted easily and can only work in silence, I will make him work in a room with noise or action for a certain amount of time each day.  I think it would be my job to help him learn to concentrate and pay attention even in difficult circumstances.  No I don’t think this is done overnight, but in small doses, my child can learn to adapt.  It would be the same if my child was an auditory learner.  For a certain time or subject, I would require him to complete a task visually.

Not all of life makes us comfortable.  We can easily over-baby our kids when we are homeschooling them.

The second “bad” of homeschooling is helping others understand that homeschooling is simply the best choice for my family at this time.  Do I think we are better or smarter?  Of course not.  Just spend some time with us and you’ll know we are not better or smarter.  Homeschooling is simply a choice.

Clearly and honestly communicating your reasons for homeschooling and your goals for your children can go a long way in helping others understand your choice.  I also think it’s important for us homeschoolers to keep our attitudes in check.  Some are homeschooling due to a negative public school experience, but sometimes we just need to let some things go.  Many, MANY children have great public school experiences.  Again, homeschooling is a choice, and it’s not the best choice for everyone.

Enough said.

So in my vast four weeks worth of experience, those are my observations.  Lots of you have been homeschooling forever, so feel free to add your two cents.  Maybe my opinions will change as I go through the year.  Who can tell?  It all depends on if I ate my M&M’s or not.

I can tell you this one thing for sure.  I’ve always had a great respect for teachers, but everyday I spend schooling my children, my respect grows.  So do something nice for your child’s teacher.  They deserve a Thank You!

PS This Friday is the first Friday of October.  Can you believe it?  Every Friday in October I will be putting up a linky and a Comfort Food recipe.  I’d love for you to post your favorite recipe and link.

See you Friday!

Homeschooling – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly – Part 1

Maybe you contemplate the pro’s and con’s of a decision, but I focus on the good, the bad, and the ugly.  There’s always the ugly, don’t ever forget that.

While standing online in McDonald’s, a wise stranger once told me, “Everyplace has their pretty, my dear.”  Truer words have rarely been spoken, especially in McDonald’s, and I left with more than one nugget that day; however, where there’s pretty, there’s ugly.  Sometimes it’s a like a mirrored reflection.  If someplace has some real good pretty, the ugly is pretty darn ugly.

Know what I mean?

We have completed four full weeks of homeschooling and I’ve taken note of the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Since everyone in my neighborhood, including the librarian, is curious to see the outcome of this homeschooling decision, I figured you guys may also be curious.  I know I’ve received a few emails from women who are on the fence about homeschooling their own children.  These homeschool updates are going to be snippets of reality.  I don’t want to romanticize teaching your kids their multiplication tables.  It’s not all fun and games.  Sometimes I they whine a lot.

Today will be the good, tomorrow the bad, and the ugly…well, that’s me in the morning when we get started.  I still have coffee in my hand, socks and flip-flops on my feet, and crust in my eyes.  If you pop in before lunch, try your best to ignore my appearance.  The good news is you don’t need to dress-up to visit.

Yes, I do really wear socks and flip-flops, but only in the house.  And on the porch.  And rarely on the sidewalk directly in front of my house, but nowhere else.  You have my word.

What?

Morning are chilly now.  Go ahead, turn me in to the fashion police.  Stacy and Clinton, bring it on!

Back to the good…

Filling my children’s heads with useless information has become my full-time job.  I’m suddenly consumed with the importance of knowing that a mammal’s jaw cannot only move up and down, but it also moves side-to-side, unlike non-mammals.  I am second guessing everything I learned in math, and one morning I woke up thinking that making paper mache ancient Egyptian cat gods would be a grand idea.

I’ve lost my ever-loving mind!

I’ve also made my son regret the day he complained that school was too easy.  While working word problems, I’ve seen the proverbial light bulb come on in my daughter’s head.  As much as my son complains about science, he is constantly spouting off new facts about cells, bones, and DNA.  My daughter has done well on her history tests, although I am convinced she does not pay one lick of attention when I am talking.  Both children have experienced the joy of the prize box, rewards for 100’s, but they have also realized the disappointment of thinking they already know it all and don’t really need to study.

The good is academic.  When a mother and two kids set their minds to learning, much can be accomplished in a day.  The good is flexibility.  Nobody misses a lesson because of a doctor’s appointment.  The good is seeing your children learn and grow, introducing them to new concepts, philosophies, and ways of thinking.  The good is the bond I don’t think you can help but build with your children.

It’s only been four weeks, but already, I’ve seen the good homeschooling has been to our family.  Tomorrow will be the bad, and well, you already know the ugly. 😉

Oh, and if you need a recipe for edible cells, let me know!

jello, skittles, a jelly bean, cooking spray…

13 Things About Love

Today is my thirteenth wedding anniversary, and I guess I’m glad it’s not Friday.  Friday the 13th for 13 years…Wow!  I can’t imagine the jokes that would surround us.

Thirteen is a lot of years.  Not compared to some of you, not compared to the years my grandparents shared, but still a lot.  I remember seeing couples that were married ten or eleven years, and thinking what a long time that would be to be married to someone.  Now I’m glad I still have a lifetime of marriage ahead of me.  Thirteen years raced by bringing changes, trials, growth, tears and many laughs.  I cannot imagine what the next thirteen years will bring and in some ways I’d rather not know right now.

Today it’s all about the 13 things I love about FringeMan and our marriage.  For the record, my love exceeds the number 13, but I doubt you want me to go on and on.

1. FringeMan knows how to fix things.

2. Although we’ve rubbed off on each other, thirteen years into marriage, we are still uniquely us.

3. We’ve endured trial and emerged stronger, united.

4. FringeMan isn’t afraid of challenge.

5. FringeMan has carpel tunnel from rubbing my back so often.

6.  We can disagree and still be in love.

7. FringeMan stocks chocolate bars and M&M’s in the freezer for my rough times.

8. He’s learned to fall asleep with the light on so I can stay up and read just a little longer.

9. He eats anything I cook.  Well, except for that one time I made a fishstick casserole…

10. He has a sexy phone voice.

11, He’s not afraid to say I’m sorry.

12. He lets me paint things wretchedly tacky colors and then tells me they look nice.

13. FringeMan is still my best friend.

Happy Anniversary FringeMan and thanks for the new pillows!

I’ll love you forever,

So what do you love about your husband/wife, marriage, boyfriend/girlfriend?

Chicken & Gravy, a Recipe

One-Two-three Chicken & Gravy: Easiest and Most Versatile Recipe, One pot cooking

Ok, peoples.  This lovely lady needed some new dinner ideas.  Don’t we all?!  My best idea was takeout, but the hubby’s don’t like that too often and neither do our wallets.  I took this picture like three months ago in hopes that it would one day become a bonafide (notice I like that word) post.

This recipe is SO easy, it is impossible to mess up.  If it could have been done, I would have done it.  Trust me or just come eat dinner at my house any random night of the week.

You can make this recipe…

in the oven – at 300 degrees for about 1 1/2 – 2 hours

in a crockpot on low all day

or on the stovetop in a large skillet with a lid.

Aren’t I accommodating?

You will need:  Chicken (enough for your appetites) – boneless breasts, thighs, even legs without the skin; 1-2 cans of cream of mushroom soup; 1-2 cans French Onion Soup; pepper; grated parmesan cheese or ‘shaker’ cheese as we like to call it.  The amount of soup depends on how much chicken you use and how much gravy you want.  If you have 7 kids, a husband (hopefully only one), and the dog to feed, add extra cans of soup.

Throw the chicken in the pot.  If you are doing this on the stovetop and want to get fancy, you can sear the chicken in a little olive oil.  If not, throw the chicken in the pot.  Pepper it according to taste.  I obviously like pepper.  In a bowl, whisk together the cans of soup.  Pour over the chicken, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and cook.

That simple!

Serve over egg noodles (as pictured in photo), rice, or mashed potatoes.  It’s all good.  You can also make this recipe with pork chops.  Just as good.

Hope you enjoy your dinner tonight!

By the way, I’ve been inspired by all the great ideas for fall blog carnivals, so I thought that every Friday in the month of October, I could host a Comfort Food carnival.  Comfort food is something different to all of us, so feel free to include whatever types of recipes you’d like.  I do hope you’ll participate.  Let me know if you’re interested!  I think we could all use some new recipes.

In The Mood For Fall

Today I thought I would share this photo to help get you in the mood for fall, and we all know nothing says fall like orange pumpkin cheeks!

Go visit week #3 of the Fall Festival over at This Blessed Nest for more great fall posts.

I also want to say thank you to all those who shared my post, Parenting 2010 Style.  I had no idea yesterday’s post would resonate with so many of you.  I enjoyed reading all your comments.  Thank you for your support.

And now for a great yummy and sweet fall recipe…

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Enjoy!