It is a cool, rainy Sunday in Aggieland and I cannot quit thanking God for this rain!! We needed it so badly...although when I discovered my umbrella refused to open and it was pouring when we got out of church, my thanks might have been somewhat subdued. But now that I'm inside in my pj's I am very, very thankful :)
I had one of the best Fridays ever this week.....only 5 kids! Then one left during nap time so I only had 4 little ones Friday afternoon. It sounds terrible, and of course I don't want any of my kids to miss school (most days....ha!), but it was just a very peaceful and calm day. Rather than spending the majority of my time making sure these little people don't kill one another, I got to sit on the floor and just play. We are in our "I Can Discover Autumn" unit, which in my opinion is a little early (but sometimes it seems that fall never gets here in Texas!) but still very fun. We made pumpkin pie before lunch time and let it chill in the fridge until our afternoon snack. Now, before you envision lovely thoughts of a homemade pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving - and let me tell you, my mom's side of the family completely reigns in pie. We are absolute pie fanatics and have incredibly high standards when it comes to the crust. Must be homemade. Must be flaky. Must be the perfect balance of saltiness and buttery wonder. So shake all those illusions from your mind and picture this.....one can of pumpkin, one package of instant vanilla pudding, one cup of milk, and cinnamon in a pre-made pie crust. Oh dear. While the kids had so much fun stirring and smelling all of the ingredients, I knew that very few would actually try it. One of my girls tried it without any convincing from me and loved it (I was calling it pumpkin pudding, which was a much more accurate description of the consistency). One of my girls licked a minuscule amount off of the very end of the spoon, only because I was holding it up to her mouth and pleading for her to try one little bite, and declared that she did not "yike" that at all. Both of my boys refused to try even one bite. I don't know what I'll do if our future kids take after their picky dad. I kept telling them, "You don't know if you like it unless you try it!" That was met with less than pleasant looks. One of my favorite things that has been happening alot recently is that the kids will accidentally call me "mom" instead of "Ms. Sawah". Just shows how much time I get to spend with this little people! OH, and the best quote of the week came from my sweet little man who informed me that "Ms. Sawah, I'm Iron Man.......but I took off my suit (pronounced goot)". Love him to death!
In C25K news, I finished week 7 (I can't believe it's been that long already!) and will start week 8 (hopefully) today. Clarisse had me running for 25 minutes solid, something I would have never, ever thought possible! That just goes to show that this program really does work! So if you have started it....keep going!!! It really does pay off. Take this from a definite, non-runner. This week I have gotten into "Big Cat Diary" while working out. Allow me to explain...when there is a small TV fixed directly in front of your face with very few options at 5:45 in the morning, you take whatever non-infomercial material you can find. Now I fill James in on the status of Bibi, the single lioness mom just trying to make it on the savannah, and her two cubs, along with Bella the cheetah and her brood. There's also Kike, another cheetah mama. One morning James and I were there at the same time and he came up behind me as I was watching this great Animal Planet find. A sweet, but sympathetic -almost pitying- smile and the slow shaking of his head. Hey those cubs are cute! I can't help but wonder, however, if the people who dedicate their lives to keeping tabs on these animals realize that animals have been surviving without the eyes of humans on them for centuries! And why do they all have some sort of accent?? Australian...British...I'm thinking it might be a requirement. But hey, kudos to you for doing what you love.
I tried a couple new recipes this week, followed by some tried-and-true ones. On Monday, I made Paula Deen's spinach stuffed zucchini. I saw her make these when I was laying on my near-death bed and oh man, did they look delish! So I thought, why not? I'll try them out with my I-don't-like-many-things-that-are-green man. He actually liked them! Well, the flavor at least. He said the texture was a little different but I was in creamy-dreamy heaven. I'm also a fan of spinach, spinach artichoke dip, and more. Another bonus....they are SO easy to make and look pretty impressive! I told James that if we ever have a dinner for people we need to impress, I'd definitely make these. Two words: Stuff yourself!
Spinach Stuffed Zucchini
5 large zucchini, or squash, halved lengthwise
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup onion, diced
**I also added some green onion, thinly sliced
1 cup chicken flavored stuffing mix
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Brush cut side of zucchini with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Place zucchini, cut side down, on a lined baking sheet.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, or until tender.
5. Scoop out pulp, keeping shells intact. Reduce heat to 350.
6. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until transparent.
7. Add stuffing mix, spinach, sour cream, cheddar, and zucchini pulp. Mix together and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 minutes.
8. Spoon mixture evenly into zucchini shells and place on baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through.
Oh spinach and zucchini, I never thought y'all could taste this good. I'm sorry you've made a bad name for yourselves at times, but this will surely change the heart of those anti-green people out there. (cough*James*cough).
It seems my husband and I have been out of town, either together or in two separate places, every weekend this semester. This weekend was the first in a while that we have both been home and had no major obligations. So I thought we were in need of a yummy Saturday morning breakfast to celebrate! I made a cinnamon coffee cake (who doesn't love eating cake for breakfast, and not feeling guilty about it because it was meant to be a breakfast food in the first place??) I believe I previously posted this recipe on here so just click on the link below and it will take you right to the recipe!
Saturday night we had some friends over to watch the Aggies beat Tech (and thankfully, for the sanity of my husband and therefore my own sanity, they did!) We kinda did a potluck where everyone brought over ingredients to grill out burgers, which made it super easy on us. I did make a beverage and a dessert that I just have to share with y'all! The beverage of choice: Mambo Margaritas. Anyone who has been to a get-together at my parents' lake house has more than likely sampled this tasty concoction. We owe this recipe to the sweet mama of one of my best friends from junior high. It is one you will make over and over for every occasion! I'm not a fan of beer at all but I like these because they are not super sweet and sugary like regular margs. The funniest thing is that every guy that has tried it has loved it! All of the guys last night just kept commenting, "Man, this is tasty!" Dang straight. Now get away from my pitcher.
Mambo Margaritas
1 bottle of Corona light beer
1 can of frozen limemade, thawed
1 can of Diet 7-Up
Tequila (do half the can of limemade per batch)
Fresh limes
Mix up and enjoy!
Apple Crisp
2 cans of apple pie filling
1 box of white cake mix
1 stick of butter, melted
Cinnamon
Sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Melt butter and mix with white cake mix.
3. Place apples in bottom of 9x13 baking dish.
4. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
4. Pour (or in my case, I kinda broke up the bigger pieces and crumbled it) cake/butter mix on top of apples.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly golden on top.
This is a must: Serve warm with vanilla ice cream! It's just not the same without! And I actually used one can of regular apple pie filling and one can of no sugar added/made with Splenda. Shhh...don't tell my husband! This saved about 70 calories per serving....7 servings in a can....I'd say that's a pretty significant calorie saving! And with the other can of regular, you couldn't tell a difference at all.
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