Monday, March 30, 2015

fun. food. failure. {not necessarily in that order}

It really bothers me when I don't blog for 15 days! I get completely conflicted as to whether I should try to conjure up the beauty of the bygone days, or let them slither into the abyss of obsolete oblivion!? They were good days, even great days! Some filled with fun, some filled with food, and some filled with failure! 
Finding this donut float flooded my foodie heart with euphoria! Ever since spying it online, I had been fantasizing about owning it! And lo, and behold, when I was last at jcp, if they didn't have a stack of them perched over in the mens' sock department of all places! I would have placed them near the women's bathing suits, but nobody asked me! I was just thrilled that I had been shopping socks for Daniel so unselfishly! (ahem...I didn't buy him any socks! Only redeemed my $10 reward card for this beauty because it was just meant to be.) 

Wouldn't it be beyond amazing to own this entire collection?! But for now, the donut float just does it for me! I definitely hope to try it out this week sometime, somewhere!

Speaking of donuts....I made me one of these bad boys one evening past. No recipe needed. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. But I will give you 9 words. 
{Krispy Kreme Doughnut. Mocha Ice Cream. Melted semi-sweet chocolate.} There's nothing left to say.
Chocolate dipped glazed doughnut coffee ice cream sandwiches! I want these instead of cake for my birthday this year!! :)
I think I'm just a tiny bit obsessed with donuts lately.

Moving on to healthier matters, we had these shrimp for a light supper the other evening. A touch time-consuming to prepare, but delightful to the palate! 

Don't you just love the name? Skinny Popcorn Shrimp! You can't go wrong eating something with a moniker like this. I used 1 tsp. Old Bay and 1 tsp. Tony's. And I had to bake them quite a bit longer than 6 minutes. More like 12. Probably my shrimp were larger. 
Skinny Popcorn Shrimp Recipe | gimmesomeoven.com #appetizer

SKINNY POPCORN SHRIMP

This skinny popcorn shrimp recipe is full of great flavor, easy to make, and "lighter" too!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • 3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tsp. Old Bay or other Cajun seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 egg white, whisked
  • 1 lb. raw medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • cooking spray
  • lemon wedges and chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. In a medium bowl, whisk together Panko, parmesan, old bay, salt and pepper until combined. Set up your dipping station with bowls of (1) shrimp (2) egg whites and (3) breading. Working one at a time, dip a piece of shrimp in the egg whites until it is covered. Then transfer to the breadcrumb mixture and toss until combined. Gently place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining shrimp, then generously coat all of the shrimp with a layer of cooking spray. (This will help the breading turn golden.) Bake for 3 minutes, then flip shrimp and bake for another 3 minutes or until cooked through and no longer translucent. Serve warm with garnishes and cocktail or low-fat ranch sauce for dipping.
And finally the failure came in the form of this chicken. It was supposed to be exotic. Our NEW FAVORITE dish! And Daniel wasn't supposed to notice that two of the ingredients were ginger and cinnamon. But HE DID! RIGHT AWAY! And proclaimed that it tasted like potpurri. And so he abhored my supper that had simmered so hopefully in the crock pot all day, and ate a sandwich instead; it was that bad. I don't think Anthony and Katie gave it much better ratings either. But they kind and forgiving didn't ask for sandwiches. I kinda liked it...but I like all weird ethnic food. Here's the recipe if you want to give it a whirl! But you can't say I didn't warn you! The crazy thing was that the spice rub smelled absolutely amazing!!! I still can't figure out why it didn't taste as good as it smelled!  Danl and I now have an agreement that I cannot try a new recipe for supper unless he approves it! 
Crock Pot Indonesian Chicken

crock pot indonesian chicken

This unique chicken recipe is so easy and delicious, and makes a great weeknight dinner recipe idea. The coconut milk is a tasty, and healthy base for this dish and still keeping it diet friendy.

Ingredients

  • 8 medium sized chicken drumsticks, skin removed
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 15oz can light coconut milk
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • Juice from 2 limes
  • Zest from 1 lime
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine 1 tsp salt, pepper, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, garlic and lime zest. Rub over chicken thoroughly and use it all. If you have any of this spice mixture left, add it into the crock pot with the coconut milk in the later step.
  2. Place chicken in a crock pot, and cover with onions.
  3. Pour in coconut milk, lime juice, remaining salt.
  4. Cover and cook on low for about 5 hours.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 5 hour(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
Culinary tradition: USA (Nouveau)
Entire recipe makes 4 servings
Serving size is 2 drumsticks
Each serving = 6 Points +, plus 1/6th of the sauce
PER SERVING: 223 calories; 10g fat; 8g carbohydrates; 24g protein; 1g fiber
Okay, this is getting long enough and the hour is getting late enough. Tomorrow is already the second day of Spring/Easter Break and I want to tackle odious amounts of work mixed with sleep and a dash of sun before the day is done!

Sunday, March 15, 2015

make me to hear joy & gladness....& my alarm clock!

Last Saturday March 7, as I sat out on the porch in the gorgeous weather of this year's Spring {we only get a few days of real Spring} reading Psalm 51, I did not realize how much I would need to lean upon the sustaining songs of David's Psalms as the coming week progressed. Verse 8 especially spoke to me - "Make me to hear joy and gladness: that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice."  Make me to hear joy and gladness. That sentence made me wonder if joy and gladness are always there, but sometimes I just do not CHOOSE to hear them? I decided to make a greater effort to hear God's music - to really listen to His joy and gladness every day. The sonorous chirping of the birds, the lilting laughter of the children at school {even when I wish they would sober up and get to work}, the sound of Daniel's voice as we visit in the evenings while the dogs are snoring...
The new week began extra early Sunday morning, as we lost a precious hour of morning sleep due to Daylight Savings! I hadn't bothered with my alarm since I had told Daniel to wake me up. I spent part of the day laboriously changing the time on most of our non-atomic clocks, but didn't get to the one in our bedroom. Monday morning, the sound blaring from my atomic alarm at 5:52 was not a sound of joy and gladness to me! But I dragged myself out of bed and proceeded to slug through my routine so as to be at school by 7:25. At what I thought was 6:42, Daniel asked me, "Why are you running so late?!" I replied, "I'm not! It's only 6:42!" Then he showed me the time on his phone, and I realized with a sinking heart that my alarm had NOT changed automatically like it was supposed to, and I had NOT realized it since I had also forgotten to change the other bedroom clock, AND my cell had died since I had left my charger in my schoolbag. MAJOR FAIL in every area! So I let my comrades in the teaching department know of my predicament and they held down my fort while I proceeded to slog through my schedule arriving at school an hour late! The whole day felt off, and I was so glad for Tuesday and the chance to get it right again! Before bed, I checked my alarm - 5:52 am. Yes! Then I reset the alarm. Proper time? Yes! With faith, I happily crawled into bed, ready to forget the embarrassment of the morning! {So un-FlyLadyish!}
Suddenly, I jolted awake and my eyes immediately flew to the red digital time display above me, and I saw with utter DISBELIEF that the time was 7:52!!! WHAT?! I stormed over to the atomic clock only to find that the alarm was not even set! A reset always annihilates the alarm settings! Like a dimwit, I had forgotten that small detail which now loomed largely! HOW do you explain being even later the very next day after being horrifyingly late?! I quickly pounded out a text on the WHCS faculty GroupMe and begged them to come to my rescue once again! {Oh how I love my long-suffering cos!} I flew around, showered, dressed, grabbed some grub, and headed down the road, only to remember as I was passing Orval Peters's house that I had forgotten the dairy milk that we needed to make fresh cheese for Central America Social Studies at home. So, back I went, making myself even later! When I finally arrived at school at 9:05,
my wonderful kids who all deserve medals, were quietly working on their math papers seemingly not even needing a teacher in the least! By this time, I really felt like just going back home, curling up in the fetal position, and letting them continue to teach themselves! But I was a big girl, and didn't. This day felt off too. At its end, I set my alarm, rechecked my alarm, dug out an old-fashioned alarm, set it, set my cell phone alarm, and finally, crawled into bed and slept fitfully. When the cacophony of jingling and jangling and bleeping and blaring awoke me Wednesday morning at the proper 5:52, believe me, it was the most beautiful sound in the world!
I think the Psalmist would approve of this version of his verse!
Make me to hear joy & gladness, 
that the sound from my alarm which now ringeth may cause me always to rejoice.

Image result for oregon scientific atomic alarm clock

The rest of the week from Wednesday on went much better! It even included these sugar babies! The sound of the new specialty donuts at Krispy Kreme plunking down into my box also sounded like joy & gladness! :)


Friday, March 6, 2015

this & that & shanghai sugar donuts!

Life just has a way of moving right along, like it or not! 
Perry was on the ball with handing out WHCS teaching contracts already last month....But Daniel and I had been discussing, deliberating, pondering, and praying over the matter of whether or not I would sign {if asked!} for the past several months. I flat out LOVE to teach! It is the only job I've ever had that doesn't feel like WORK! Of course I don't always feel like grading papers, but being with the children every day makes up for that! That being said, teaching full time does make life very full! Projects, programs, bulletins, lesson plans and the like have a way of looming even on the weekends. But dear old FlyLady has helped tremendously with keeping my head above water! Our ox still lives in the well, but we do occasionally bring him up for pasture instead of just throwing down hay like we used to do! Nevertheless, Schneider Farm Fence had a secretarial position open, and it seemed like an open door for me to take the opportunity to work in the family business. Last night after board meeting, I handed my unsigned contract back to Perry with mixed feelings. 
Beginning June 1, I will be found at the fence office four days a week.
 I know I will miss being an educator... {and being an educatee! My children teach me almost as much as I teach them, I think!}...my kindred spirit co-teachers...supportive school board & parents...the list could go on and on, but I am excited to move along with this lovely thing called LIFE! And maybe if the office gets a bit dull, I can get Dad enthused about doing an art or science project! {We have been known to experiment with oobleck! :)}
Did I mention how fast time is flying?! We only have a little over a quarter left of this school year! And I still have so many things I want to do with my bunch! Today we made these Chinese Sugar Donuts for our cultural focus city food. We viewed the Shanghai Slideshow yesterday, so I need to switch our city decor to Paris over the weekend. Then we will do Dubai, and we are done! Back to the donuts, we thought they were pretty good! I want to try using canned biscuit dough next time to see how that is. I actually wonder if the texture wouldn't be more like the ones you get on the Chinese buffets. I know these donuts aren't very ethnic, but I could NOT get the kids enthused about having dumplings or noodles! So we just went with the sugar donuts. Click here for the recipe. 



Homemade Chinese Doughnuts (like the ones from the buffet!) in less than 1 hour!!

SIDE NOTE: On the auction post, I did not realize until later, that William from northescambia.com had first posted old 2012 pics with the 2015 auction story. Now he has current pics with the article. Once I realized that the pics were old, I actually thought it WAS Uncle Kale in the bottom pic I had posted and told some of you so! But that is NOT correct, he was at that auction in 2012, but is in this picture directly below. The gentleman I referenced previously just has the privilege of resembling him. 
So I am sorry for any confusion I caused! 

Ruritan-Sale-022.jpg

Ruritan-Sale-020.jpg


Tuesday, March 3, 2015

cookie dough greek yogurt & cajun chicken legs


I tried this for a snack on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was! I added a small sprinkle of Sweet 'n Low because I love things sweet! 

sweet tooth, healthy desserts, greek yogurt dessert, healthy living, clean eating dessert

We tried this chicken for supper. It was so easy! And it was good. Nothing out-of-this-world, but we liked it. Quote Daniel, "I'm not complaining or anything, but it was just baked chicken. Really good baked chicken though!" 
I used Tony's for the Cajun seasoning.
Easy Cajun Chicken (Low Carb & Gluten Free)
Yield: Approximately 6 - 8 servings
Serving Size: 2 legs or thighs
An easy, delicious low carb recipe for Cajun chicken that the whole family will love!
Ingredients
  • 5 lbs chicken parts (legs or thighs are best)
  • 2 Tbl olive oil
  • 1/4 cup Cajun seasoning (store-bought or homemade)
  • Ranch dressing for serving (optional)
  • For the Cajun Seasoning Blend (if making)
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 Tbl garlic powder
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
Instructions
  • Rub the chicken with olive oil. Add Cajun seasoning and toss until chicken is fully coated. Spread the chicken out on cookie sheets with at least an inch between pieces. Bake in the center of a preheated 400 degree (F) oven for about 50 minutes (40 minutes for wings). The skin should be golden and crispy, and the juices should run clear.
Notes
Approx nutrition info per serving (2pcs.): 495 calories, 26g fat, 0 net carbs, 60g protein
Delicious alone, these are made even more delectable by dipping them into ranch dressing!
low carb cajun chicken

Monday, March 2, 2015

searching for this

Yesterday, while browsing through my church journal, 
I came across this piece I had written on a different Sunday - August 14, 2014. 
Usually, I write sermon notes, 
but sometimes I just let my pen follow my mind, wherever it takes me!

....As I sit here, I am filled with awe...
here I am, surrounded by God's spirit, true friends, real talent, humility, & glorious a cappella music that speaks to the soul! Would I find this rare peace walking along the crowded streets of NYC in Jimmy Choos & fashionable clothes on my way to a Broadway play?! Why do I take my beautiful, ordinary, magical life for granted?! 
"God, thank you for this day, this moment, my ordinary. 
If I were elsewhere, 
I would be searching for this."