Red, White and Blue -PART I

I spent some time this week putting up my 4th of July decorations! I had a few crafts to finish, so I had to get a bit crafty this season to get out the RED, WHITE and BLUE ... I cut a small flag off its' stick and framed it. I love this blue and white mug I've been using upstairs for pencils. It goes well with the flag and "fireworks".


To dress up simple red candles, I cut lengths of red and white striped ribbon, securing them to the candles using small brass brads. Then I painted some small wooden stars blue and used hot glue to attach. I love the simplicity.


This is an older decoration... a board painted white with vinyl lettering. I thought it was a bit plain though, so I painted the edges red.

Peach-Pecan Muffins

YUMMY! Another new recipe!

These muffins aren't too sweet. They are a perfect breakfast muffin, but I made them for snacking. I suppose if you wanted a sweeter muffin you could add some extra sugar to the thawed and diced peaches. Either way... they are great as is too!

Peach-Pecan Muffins

Pecan Streusel:
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts)
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Muffins:
1 + 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1 cup frozen sliced peaches, thawed and diced
12 paper baking cups
vegetable cooking spray (I use foil baking cups and don't need to use the spray)

1. Prepare Streusel: stir together pecans and next 4 ingredients until crumbly.

2. Prepare Muffins: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in the center of mixture. Stir together the butter, milk, and egg; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Gently stir in peaches.

3. Place paper baking cups in a 12-cup muffin pan, and coat with cooking spray; spoon batter into cups, filling two-thirds full. Sprinkle with pecan streusel.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes (check after 15) or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; remove from pan, and serve warm or at room temperature.

ENJOY!

Grilled Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas

I tried a new recipe tonight. It was a winner! I didn't just like it... it was SO VERY GOOD!! I wish I knew what magazine I clipped it from. Like most recipes I use, I made some minor adjustments. If you try it out let me know what you think!




Grilled Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas

1/2 c. chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp. ground cumin
4 10-inch flour tortillas (* I used 8)
1 large sweet potato (*I used a yam)
2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 ounces) (* or more)
1 1/2 cups tightly packed fresh baby spinach
1 cup salsa
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
guacamole (optional)
sour cream (optional)

1. Peel and chop the sweet potato into 1/2-inch pieces. Cover with water and boil until fork-tender.

2. In a large skillet, saute' onion and garlic in the olive oil until tender. Stir in black beans, corn, lime juice, oregano, and cumin; heat through. Add spinach and 2 Tbsp. water. Saute' another 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Butter one side of a tortilla and place on a grill or a grill pan. Sprinkle with cheese, place approximately 1/2 cup of the sweet potato mixture onto one half of the tortilla. When cheese begins to melt fold over the tortilla. Grill until the tortilla is a nice golden brown and crispy.

4. Cut into wedges and serve with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream.

My favorite cookie!

Peanut Butter Star Cookies

1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

Mix together. Then add:

1 egg
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Chill dough for an hour. Roll the dough into 1" balls. Roll the balls into sugar and then place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven. Place a chocolate star in the center of each cookie and return to the oven for one minute. Let sit for a few minutes before moving the cookies with a spatula to a cooling rack.

Made my day!

So, yesterday my English professor returned my second essay. I was anxious to hear how I did on it, after all it was my first article analysis. I'm beginning a research paper and looked forward to hear feedback that may help improve my writing.

When she placed my essay face down in front of me and whispered in my ear "please stay after class to talk with me", my heart sank. Did I really do that poorly? UGH! I turned my assignment over and found the typical rubric with the score 15++/15.

She went over the scoring in class and it slowly sank in that I had received an excellent grade. WOW!

After class, the professor told me it was one of the best student essays she had ever received and encouraged me to fix something on the citation page and then submit it to the Presidents Awards (which was due by 5pm that day). She told me I am a good contender for first place. Yes, me!

That's all I needed to hear! I mean, it doesn't even matter IF I win. It was only a month ago that I told Michelle, a friend on campus, that I have never thought of myself as a good writer. So, to hear that I have something a professor deems as "publish worthy" is just drop-jaw-amazingly-great NEWS! Of course, now I probably need to stop being careless on my blog... or you won't believe it!

What a boost! It just makes me wonder: What else can I do?!?!

I can't wait to find out!!

A day in the trenches

What a day! My tongue is still numb from the too hot herbal lemon "tea" I drank this morning. It was suppose to numb my sore throat, but my tongue got in the way. I'm drinking Vitamin Water Zero's like my tongue is actually on fire. Trying to drown the germs; I'm going to pretend it's working.

English class was a bit better than normal. The thing I hate about that class is that all the kids (my classmates) do not talk. They are as unsocial with one another as I have ever seen a class be. 30 kids (counting myself, haha) and silence. So, I'm sniffling and blowing my nose into wads of stiff cheap toilet paper, the type that public restrooms stock, and nobody in my group of 8 will read the Journal. We are discussing peer-reviewed articles and how scholarly journals are composed. The assignment is to pick one of the articles inside. My group hands the Journal "Criminology" to me. I cough into the inside of my elbow and blow my nose. "Really?" I asked in a croak. Silence. Yes, really. So, I flip open to the first article. In a congested nasal voice I read. Cough, read, sneeze, read, blow nose, read, and the kids look on as I read about a link found between the homicides of strangers and capitol punishment and media attention. I hope none of these kids are in my literature class next semester. SIGH.

I study all morning to re-take my math test. It's the first test I've had to re-take, I got a 77% the first time around. I am really good at forgetting the negative sign or copying the problem down wrong. It's very frustrating. So, I study and I feel ready. I'm going to get a hundred and that will put my overall class score back to 99%. Nope, I got an 84%. That is such a bummer! It's not a horrible score, I suppose, except to me. I'm still at a 92% overall, but that is just too close to a B (89%). I really need to learn to give myself an occasional break, you know? So, I'm working hard at holding my head up, which now feels like a bowling ball. My muscles ache, and I wish I could climb into a deep tub filled with hot water and bubbles. I need soothing music and some pretty smelling candles, even though I don't think my nose is working right now.

So, as soon as I do a research assignment, drop Scotty off at Jiu Jitsu, pick up Caitlin from volleyball practice, pick up Scotty from Jiu Jitsu, fix the family dinner, and study for my government quiz I'm going to treat myself to that tub soak. I hope I can stay awake long enough, LOL!

Worm Guts

So, I'm enjoying the fresh air the rain brings. It is invigorating, especially in the cool morning temperatures! I love how much good the rain brings. It brings freshness, bathes the earth, waters the grass, plants and beautiful flowers. It provides us with a very needed resource: water.

Of course there are some not so pleasant things about rain... the frizzy hair, the wetness, the big puddles, umbrellas, mud and... the worm guts all over the sidewalks here at BSU, from being trampled among thousands of feet. It felt a little bit like navigating through a mine field (with less consequences, of course, for the miss step). At some points I chose to carry my rolling bag, thankfully it is lighter today.

Thinking about these poor worms and the ugliness of the worm guts, I thought it was too bad rain brings them out to the surface. How like real life that is. Real life brings so much joy and good into life and... "worm guts" too. We have to navigate around them; sometimes we can't avoid them and cringe our way through every step.

We all have our share of "worm guts" don't we?

A nice lady opened the door for me here in the Liberal Arts Building. She and I got into what Caitlin would call an "inappropriate conversation with a stranger". (Caitlin is of the opinion that I talk to strangers too much. I enjoy striking up conversation with people I don't know and find it friendly; it embarrasses her.) Anyhow, we talked about the worm guts and she observed, "I walked through the park to get to campus this morning and the birds are having a great time!"

That made me smile. How very optimistic those birds are and what full tummies they must have! I think I need to concentrate on seeing the good in "worm guts." Although, that's not an announcement that I'm going to enjoy "eating them".

I'm sure if we look at the "worm guts" in our lives, those things we don't like and try to side step, we can find something good from the bad. It's not easy; "worm guts" are unsightly. But, carefully we can walk through life and avoid most of them and be sure to clean up the rest. The big key is smiling through every step!