Try It Tuesday #6

Hot Hot Hot day today.

 I planned this meal knowing it was going to be hot and also knowing that I was talking Kelsi back to UVU to retest her English score.

 It was 102 at UVU and I was reading in the parking lot drinking a Diet Mt Dew. It was so hot driving back and forth with no air conditioning, I almost lost my breath. The good news she passed with a score of 95. She is on the waiting lists of several English classes and the funny thing is they are all on the same time slot. 

This week's Try It Tuesday was a salad

 I got the recipe from the cookbook "What's for Dinner"

 It was so good I will definitely make it again. 

 I know you seasoned cooks don't need a recipe for Chef Salad. 

 I did! And as a side note, no eggs!! 

Jake said this was the best thing I have made and he has requested it again.. 

 Dad look at all my pepper on my plate!!

Have you tried the frozen biscuits??? Delicious!!!

Chef Salad

1 head lettuce

1 cucumber, sliced

3 green onions, sliced

1 cup chopped celery

2 tomatoes, quartered

1/4 inch Swiss cheese (I used white Jack)

1/4 inch thick turkey slice

1/4 inch thick ham slice

1/4 inch cheddar cheese

croutons

Tear lettuce into large bowl.  Add cucumber, onions, and celery.  Toss.  Cut cheeses and meats into 2 inch cubes.  Arrange cheeses, meats, tomatoes on top.  Serve with dressing and croutons.  

I layered mine in a pretty dish.  I used my favorite homemade Ranch.

 I purchased the meat at the deli counter asking them to cut me a thick slice. 

4 Aprons Finished

I finally got ahead of the rush of giving away aprons and got 4 done. 
 I love them all
 but especially love the one with 
the brown dots and the cupcake trim.

A view of them all 4.

New Quilt, Old Quilt Abandoned

This summer I wanted a new hobby. I had several ideas and have tried several things.

 One thing I wanted to do was to make a quilt. I have made a strip one but I wanted to try something harder. Faith and I went to the fabric store with the idea in my mind to make a quilt out of creams and whites. Somehow after selecting a cart full of fabric we changed our mind and set the pile of bolts on a shelf down low in the store and proceeded to start new with other fabrics.

 We cheerfully bought our fabric and the next day I started cutting it. 

 Then the day after that I started sewing it. 

I hated it.  I walked around my house and wondered where I would put this quilt.

  It did not match anything in my house.  I went in for something and came out with something else.

  I quietly kept this to myself.  Then a text came from my sister, "Honestly, do you like this quilt?" 

 I replied no.  We decided before we dumped anymore money into this project we would abandon it. 

 I put the quilt squares "as is" on Facebook and it was snatched up in minutes.  Faith let me put her fabric on my Facebook and it too was gone quickly.  Her fabric went to a teacher who teaches sewing at the Jr. High.  It will become a class project and then be donated to a shelter.  

That afternoon we headed back to the fabric store.

  As we got in there and started looking around Faith said I wish the fabric we had chosen was still all together and we did not have to find it again. 

We laughed because it had been a week since we were there.  We slowly walked over the the area we had stacked the bolts and look, there they are!

  Of course we found this very funny. 

 It made it easier. We put some back and picked some more and headed to the cutting table. 

Here is the new fabric.  Much better choices. 

A completed square.  And as the project continues I fall more and more in love with this fabric, stay tuned for the completed project.  I learned a valuable lesson - to go with what you know to be true. 

Try It Tuesday #5

This was almost a try it Tuesday that wasn't. Look at the time and the temperature. It was so hot. It was so late. I had spent the better part of the day at UVU with Kelsi. She was inside the testing center and I was outside reading under the shade of a tree. In Orem that day I felt 100 degrees for the first time this summer.
I had talked myself out of baking anything.  Then Logan's cute voice asked me too.  How could I resist.  I was glad I made them after I was done.  They were absolutely delicious  

Today's Try It Tuesday was named
Lunch Lady Peanut Bars. 
 I found the recipe in the cookbook, Six Sisters Stuff. 

 I tried them from this cute description in the recipe book.

 I quote the book.

"I don't know about you, but at my elementary school they served amazing desserts.  Sometimes I find myself craving the lunch ladies' chocolate cake or homemade cinnamon rolls.  Elyse gave me this recipe from Mom's old recipe box, and it is seriously spot-on to what the lunch ladies served.!"

I personally don't have any memories of any lunches served to my at any time during my school years.  Perhaps that is because I never had to buy a school lunch and I had delicious food made for me by my sweet mother.  I could not wait to get out of school to see what she had made that day. 

I can't imagine these bars being made now at a school. 
 One, because of all the new standards of the kids lunches and 
two because of the peanut allergy risk.  

Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tea vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups peanut butter, divided
2 cups oats (not quick-cooking)
2 cups flour
1 tea baking soda
1 tea salt
Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
1 tea vanilla
3 Table cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven 350.  Grease 9 x 13 pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together sugars and butter. 
3.  Add vanilla, eggs and 1 cup peanut butter, and mix well. 
4.  Stir in oats, flour, baking soda and salt. 
5. Spread dough on prepared pan and bake 15 minutes.
6. While hot, spread remaining 1 1/2 cups peanut butter on top.  
7. Cool so that the peanut butter solidifies again.  (Use the fridge)
8. Beat all ingredients for frosting with electric mixer.  
9. Spread frosting over bars and cut into bars.  

My notes - - - Cook longer 3 - 4 minutes, Let cool 10 minutes before spreading peanut butter over the top.  My frosting needed more powdered sugar and a bit more milk.  

Kim gave them a 2 thumbs up.  He said he ate one everyday!!

THANKS

Many of you don't know that I received Employee of the Year at Westlake on the last day of school.

 Many of you don't know that I applied for a different job at Westlake and did not get it and I was sad.

  Many of you know that my hours were cut last year and I was reduced to only 29 hours and was given a helper to process my freight.  

Many of you don't know how hard it was to share my room and my job and my space.The good part of it was that I met a great person in this process who I will always be friends with.  

As I anticipated starting my 4th year at this job, I really was not that excited.  I was praying for a change.  

Yesterday and today I got an answer to my prayers. My principal called and asked if I could come in for an appointment on Thursday morning.  I went and he offered me more hours this year.  I was given until Monday or Tuesday to decide.  He said he thought of me first but if I did not want them, he needed to know to give them to another employee.  As I was driving home I was thinking about if I could make it work again.  I came home and weighed the pros and cons and thought and thought.  

I emailed him this morning with the acceptance. I feel so blessed both to have more hours, and to be doing what I love again this year, because of this I feel like I have value there.   

An Over the Top 4th of July

Look Close!!!! Yes, indeed that is Logan and Michelle way up there in the Ferris Wheel taking a picture of Kim and Kelsi down there on the ground.  

We had a fun filled 4th of July that was over the top!

Heading out dressed in red white and blue. 

Firehouse Subs.  So very good. 

 They have a new set of sandwiches on the menu under 500 calories.

 The one I chose was delicious. 

A favorite cookie store of Kelsi's is right in this same business park.  

They all walked over and picked out a cookie from a place that went along with our day, "Over the Top Cookies."

Accessories were the name of the game today.  

Every where we went we saw everyone in red, white and blue. 

 Hair ribbons, hats, shirts, necklaces.  It made me feel good to see it all.

Especially the cute families with little kids.

Logan and I went on the Ferris Wheel.  It was a bit scary as we were so high up there and then it started rocking.  Look closely at one of these pictures and you can see little us sitting in a seat waving at you!

 Foods of Dinner

Kyle provided the Brats made at Harmons.  They were absolutely delicious.  He sweated onions for them and we put mustard, relish, ketchup and J-Dawg sauce.  He brought regular, chicken and jalapeno.  Faith and I cut 2 kinds in half and laid one of each in our buns.  That way we got to try some of both.  It's fun to share that way.

Pink salad, watermelon, pasta salad and dessert. 

Did you notice the dessert was red, white and blue?

Try It Tuesday #4

Slow Cooker Garlic and Brown Sugar Chicken

 First of all this should be named Brown Sugar and Garlic Chicken! The words brown sugar should come first. It had so much in it. While it tasted good, I would not make this again unless I reduced the amount of sugar in it. It was too sweet and had too many Weight Watchers points.

 We served it with rice and the kids loved it. It cooked all day and was easy.

 Make the sauce when it is done on the stove and pour it over and serve.

Here is the recipe:

4 to 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup vinegar

1/4 cup lemon lime soda

2 to 3 Table minced garlic

2 Table soy sauce

1 tea black pepper

2 Table cornstarch

2 Table water

4 cups cooked rice or noodles

1. Spray slow cooker with Pam. 
2.  Place chicken in slow cooker.  
3. Mix together all but the cornstarch and the water.  
4. Pour over the chicken. 
5.  Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. 
6.  Take chicken out of sauce and put sauce in pan on stove.  
7. Mix cornstarch and water and add to sauce stirring until it comes to a boil.  
8. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until it thickens and becomes a glaze. 
9.  Remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.  
10. Meanwhile shred chicken and place in dish and pour glaze over it. 

 

Kim's Birthday

A huge shout out to Colby and Alida for planning a buddy party for Kim and his little friends. Alida and Kelsi made the treat bags and provided the cake!

Kim went and got squirt guns and made the fun. We could not believe how much fun these kids had

.

This was the best birthday we have ever shared with Kim. All these cute kids who love him so much. Look at his face in these pictures. He is just so happy.