Looky looky, time to cooky

Look what Santa left under the tree for me :)

Oh yeah baby! I also will be getting the DVDs of all the shows as well. Those are on their way. This baby is actually a little overwhelming! There are so many recipes and tips and techniques. And I am finding more and more kitchen gadgets that I need to have. Considering how small my kitchen is, this may get a little tricky.

The first recipe I tried was Chicken Fried Steak. This is a southern dish you'd find at any diner or grease-pit. There is a place in San Antonio, Bud Jones, that serves chicken fried steak the size of your head. I didn't take any pictures of that meal because that is a messy recipe! It was great though. I liked the flavor of the coating. I think however, the steak needed a little more tenderizing.

The next thing I tried was the Skillet Baked Ziti.  This seemed like a really easy recipe and it was! Not only that, it was DELICIOUS. Usually skillet meals are kinda blah, but leave it to ATK to make it yummy.

I don't have a kitchen scale, so I think that since I used a whole box of ziti, the leftovers were a little lacking in flavor. It's weird, because a lot of times the leftovers taste better the next day. This time around, all I could taste was the pasta with the leftovers. I guess I need to get myself a kitchen scale.

Right now we're in the thick of packing up the upstairs room to make room for Fletch. We're moving him upstairs so we can keep the nursery downstairs. I wrote all about it on the family blog. I am losing my sewing nook upstairs, but I will be moving my sewing table downstairs to the corner in our bedroom. It's not ideal, but I have to have some type of space for sewing! I'll be sure to post some pictures once I have everything set back up. Then you can take pity on me for my lack of creative space.

It's been how long?

Yikes! Sorry guys, I didn't know I was going to take that long of a break from blogging. Then again, I didn't really know the stress levels of student teaching and working on a senior art project, all while pregnant would be! Yes, that's right, another little Shock baby is on the way :) We are having another little boy and I couldn't be more excited. So how did everything go you ask?

Student teaching was amazing. I was placed at an elementary school for my first seven weeks. My cooperating teacher was as sweet as can be and a very active member of the Virginia Art Educator Association, which I am a member. She convinced me to go to the annual conference being held in Roanoke, VA. I am so glad I did, what a fun experience being surrounded by art teachers! I got to get my hands dirty and play with supplies, and I even got some great freebies too. Teaching art to 600 elementary students can be a little exhausting. You have to have 5 different lessons ready since you teach 5 different grades and you only get 10 minutes or so between classes to get supplies ready for each class. Every day is an adventure! However those sweet little faces are easy to get attached to.

My second placement was at a middle school. I was totally freaked out about teaching middle schoolers. I have heard many teachers say that it takes a special kind of person to teach middle school. Then when I was walking through the halls and saw all the artwork that was just plain amazing, I was totally intimidated. Luckily I had the most amazing cooperating teacher. We both learned a lot from each other and I am totally hooked on middle school kids! I had the pleasure of teaching a lesson to the 7th graders and they were absolutely fabulous. They even made me a card and all the kids signed it with sweet comments. I totally felt the love! My supervisor, after observing me teach 3 middle school lessons, told me that he thinks I would be an excellent fit for a middle school. I can't disagree :)

My senior art project was complete misery. I chose a topic that I was not that into and I had absolutely no time to work on it. I had to write over 16 pages total for that project and I only ended up with 2 paintings instead of the 3 that I planned. I hated my work and I think it showed. I told the panel that I chose to focus my attention on my student teaching this semester, and it shows in my work, but I feel that I made the right choice. Ultimately I passed the class, so I survived, barely. Having to sit through 3 hours of criticism of my art and my peers, really made me feel like the art world can really be full of B.S. Art is very important, but the people who think they are in charge are really quite insane.

So that is it! I am done with school! I can hardly believe it. I don't get to walk the stage until next May since my school doesn't have a winter commencement. Ironically, my commencement date is 2 days after my due date. We may have a very climactic graduation ceremony! I still need to file my paperwork for getting my teaching licence, and once I get that I'm ready to teach. However, since baby boy is arriving in May, I'm not sure when my career is actually going to begin. I will probably be staying home with baby #2 just like I did with Fletch. Daycare prices around here is just plain bonkers, so I'd basically be working just to pay for daycare for 2 kids. No thanks. I will more than likely get my masters through an online program while I'm home with baby #2. We're still in sticker shock over my student loans, so we'll just have to wait and see about that!

Until May, I hope to be sewing more Etsy orders and other projects for Fletch and baby boy. We have a lot of re-arranging to do around here to make room for our new arrival. I'm hoping for a new cookbook to blog about for 2012 :) And I can't wait to pick my camera back up and get back to snapping! I hope everyone has a very happy holiday season and a very joyous new year! See you in 2012!

Please Stand By

You guys....I have two weeks left of summer. 2 WEEKS! I have two weeks until all hell breaks loose with the start of my last semester. I will be student teaching AND working on my senior art project. The rest of this year is going to rock and roll and I really just want to enjoy my last two weeks. That means I am not going to blog. I'm not really going to spend a whole lot of time on the interwebz in general. I am going to do some last minute sewing projects, take Fletch on some more adventures and relax. Fletch will be heading to Kindercare 5 days a week when I start in the fall, so I want to enjoy our time together.

Not sure when I'll be posting...but I'll keep everyone updated on my senior artwork and how student teaching is going too. Wish me luck! See you soon :)

Day 4 & 5 Photos

Day 4 was dedicated to clouds. It was actually cloudy all day, but not the kind of cloudy that makes for great pictures. It cleared up a little in the evening and I shot this from the balcony.

Not very spectacular, and all the electrical wires make my eyes see the bottom of the picture curved.

Today is day 5 and the subject is green! Green has made a comeback in my life. Especially bright greens.

I did not get out of the house today, except for the two daycare facilities I checked out for the fall. Woo! Exciting stuff :) So I relied on all the green around our house.  Like my water bottle!

I'm trying to remember to dring more water. Why is it so hard?

ATK Challenge: Roasted Barbecue Short Ribs

This is my, "I'm about to get serious with some huge chunks of meat" face.  The hubbster and I went to a local wine spot, that also has a restaurant, for his birthday in May. The wine was excellent and I had some short ribs that night. They were so tender and flavorful. I've never made short ribs, so I was excited to try them out.

That is some serious beef right there! The short ribs I had at the restaurant were braised, but this recipe cooks them medium to medium-rare. I think I prefer them braised. The meat just falls apart that way. These were good, but I think the longer cooking method makes them taste better; but that wouldn't be a quick and easy meal, would it?

RATINGS:

Flavor:    ★ ★ ★ ★
Easiness: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Time Spent: 25 minutes
Repeat Dish? It might be

Hubby's Comments: "DELISH!"

Also, yesterday was day 2: what you wore today. Here I am, meat handling, in my apron.

This apron used to belong to my mom. She was a special education teacher's assistant. When she had to go to cafeteria duty, she would wear this apron and carry things the kids would need in the pockets, like straws, napkins or utensils. She also painted the hot air balloon on the front :) I think I will use it for the same purpose when I start teaching. Being an art teacher, I will probably be wearing it in my classroom instead of the cafeteria. It is one of the ways I still get to be close to my mom.

So that means I need to get myself a new kitchen apron soon! I may make one, but there are so many cute ones available online. I really like Retro Revival's aprons. I'm a sucker for retro stuff. My favorite is the "Chocolates & Flowers" 1940s Retro Apron. I am a sucker for paisley and I love that style apron. I just added it to my wish list ;)

Food and Flicks

My cousin-in-law, the lovely Louise, is embarking on a 30-day photo challenge. I took one look at the list of daily prompts and I wanted to play along too!

Some of you may know about my failed attempt at a 365 project for myself. I did however complete one for Fletch. This 30-day challenge is much more along the lines of my current commitment level. Consider it my end of summer picture-spree. I start my last semester of college the last week of August!

Today was menu-planning and grocery shopping day. So I decided to use that opportunity for Day 1. Here I am going through my current go-to cookbook, picking out recipes for the next two weeks.

That's me...before a shower, no make-up and stressing over what to make for dinner for the next couple of weeks. My dear mother shook her head in exhaustion after every school photo because of those fly-aways you see. They are always there, unless I shellac those babies to my skull.

So you wanna see what's on the menu? Here goes:

Roasted Barbecue Short Ribs (p. 120)
London Broil with Steakhouse Beans (p. 119)
Soy-Glazed Tuna with Napa Cabbage Slaw (p. 174)
Broiled Salmon with Potato Chip Crust (p. 178)
Southwest Salmon Cakes (a repeat dish - p. 181)
Garlic Shrimp with Basil (p. 191)
Skillet Sausage and Peppers (p. 158)
Sauteed Pork Chops w/ Pears and Blue Cheese (a do-over - p. 141)
Naan Pizzas (my own recipe)
BLT Salad (repeat dish)
Quick Turkey Enchiladas (skeptical - p. 97)
Chicken, Black Bean and Goat Cheese Tostadas (p. 91)
Crispy Cajun Chicken with Bell Pepper Slaw (p. 81)
Sauteed Chicken with Mustard and Dill Sauce (p. 71)

And now I'm hungry. So what do you have going on the last month of summer?

ATK Challenge: Pork Fried Rice w/ Pineapple

Last one for today...promise!

I've never made fried rice before, but this was pretty dang easy. I have to say I still prefer a good take-out fried rice to this one, but this recipe was good in a different way.

The rice was that Uncle Ben's ready rice that comes in a packet. I don't like the stuff on it's own, but when you're mixing it with other ingredients it isn't bad at all. I used the same stuff for the cajun stuffed peppers. It cuts down on time and mess too.

I decided to make it in my wok to get the full asian effect ;) I need to use it more often! The flavors of this were great. There is soy sauce, sesame oil and chili-garlic sauce to give it all the flavor. It was a meal in itself since it had good size chunks of pork.

RATINGS:

Flavor:    ★★★★
Easiness: ★★★★★
Time Spent: about 25 minutes
Repeat Dish? yeah-yeah

Hubby's Comments: "This is pretty good."

ATK Challenge: Garlic Rosemary Pork Chops

I finally cooked my giant zucchini to go with this recipe. I just sauteed the zucchini slices with some butter and garlic (salt and pepper to taste). It was yummy!

This was a really easy recipe. I basically cooked the pork for about 5 minutes per side then put them aside. The sauce was just garlic, chicken broth, fresh rosemary, red wine vinegar and butter. It was a light and thin sauce, but packed with flavor. The leftovers the next day were even better after sitting in the sauce to absorb all that flavor. It was a great way to bring flavor to a simple pork loin chop, and all the ingredients are typically on hand around here.

RATINGS:

Flavor:    ★★★★★
Easiness: ★★★★★
Time Spent: 25 minutes
Repeat Dish? Ya!

I didn't take a picture, but I made a peach cobbler to use up all the peaches we picked at the farm. I called my sister Donna for my mom's peach cobbler recipe, but she had just made one a few days prior that was so simple she remembered all the ingredients off the top of her head. I gave it a try and it turned out delicious! The hubby was so impressed he asked me to try making one but with blueberries.

Here is the cobbler recipe:

Melt 6 tbsp of butter in 2 qt casserole dish and set aside.

In another bowl, combine 2 cups of fruit (I used a bit more) and 1c sugar (I added cinnamon for the peach) and set aside

In another bowl mix: 3/4 cups of flour, 1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup milk, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and whisk together.

Pour the batter on top of the butter in the casserole dish, but don't mix! Then spoon the fruit on top of that. Bake at 350º for about 45 minutes. 

SO EASY!

It was so good, the hubby declared the remainder of July as cobbler experimentation month. What else can you make into a cobbler? I think I've heard of apple and cherry, but anything more interesting?

ATK Challenge: Quick Indian Turkey Curry w/ Potatoes

I knew when picking this recipe, Atom would not be very excited. He does not like Indian food, however I am a fan. I figured that since I don't really like BBQ chicken pizza, and have made it twice since I know he loves it, it was only fair. Too bad this recipe was a serious disappointment :(

Everything went according to the recipe and it smelled great. However, the potatoes lacked any kind of flavor. The blandness of the potatoes brought down the flavor of the rest of the dish. At least we had yummy garlic naan to go with it. The recipe makes quite a bit, so I decided to save it and see if the flavor developed over night. It actually did have more flavor the next day. However, that defeats the purpose of a quick and easy dinner when you have to wait till the next day for it to taste good.

RATINGS:

Flavor:    ★★
Easiness: ★★★ (peeling potatoes)
Time Spent: 45 minutes
Repeat Dish? Nope

Hubby's Comments: "What are these potatoes supposed to taste like? They have no flavor. This sucked."