School's Out and I Have Been in the Kitchen

Since I am in the three weeks that ultimately makes up my summer vacation, I have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen cooking. I have missed cooking. With both of us in school, cooking dinner and anything else was pretty much out of the question. Yesterday, after we got back from our camping trip I made a lot of yumminess. So, without further ado, my recipes from last night (and of course the changes I made to them).

Five-Cheese Skillet Burgers

Prep Time:

10 min

Total Time:

20 min

Makes:

4 servings, one burger each

What You Need

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 egg

2 Tbsp. ketchup

1 cup KRAFT Finely Shredded Italian* Five Cheese Blend, divided

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 pkt. SHAKE 'N BAKE Extra Crispy Seasoned Coating Mix

4 hamburger buns, split

Make It

MIX meat, egg, ketchup, 1/2 cup of the cheese, the Worcestershire sauce and coating mix. Shape into four 1/2-inch-thick patties.

PLACE patties in nonstick skillet on medium heat; cover. Cook 5 min. Turn burgers over; sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cook, uncovered, 5 min. or un

til burgers are cooked through (160°F).

SERVE in the buns.

Now, the first time I made these, I actually had everything on hand to m

ake them. Yesterday though, I didn't have any more Shake n' Bake (or the Kroger brand). What I did have was an old biscuit, so I put it in my tiny food processor and made bread crumbs. I added these to the hamburger mixture until the mixture wasn't sticky anymore. These burgers were definitely good and I have now made them twice. I think that they will become a regular at our house.

Now, on to the side dish. After we went camping, I had a whole bag of red potatoes that I needed to do something with. So here is what I came up with.

Crash Hot Potatoes

This is yet another Pioneer Woman recipe. You can find the recipe here.

I actually did follow this recipe nearly perfectly. I didn't have the herbs though, so I used some Italian seasoning. It would probably be just fine without anything but the salt and pepper. These potatoes are so yummy. They are soft and crunchy. They did take a long time to make. I'm not really sure how long it took my potatoes to cook in the boiling water, but they pro

bably should have cooked longer. I also don't have a potato masher (I guess I need to add that to my list of things I need for the kitchen), so I used a glass. It worked pretty well.

Now, on to dessert.

After sending Jason to the grocery store, I made yet another Pioneer Woman recipe. I have made these before, so I know they are good.

Oatmeal Crispies

You can find the recipe here.

In the recipe, it says to refrigerate or freeze the dough and then cut it into slices. I haven't done that any of the times I have made it. I just use my handy dandy cookie scoop and scoop out the dough onto my stoneware cookie sheets and bake them. Because I use stoneware to make my cookies, I have to cook them a little longer. The first batches probably cooked 15 minutes and the later batches cooked for 12 minutes (because the stoneware was already hot).

Here is what I am planning for tonight. I am going to use boneless chicken breasts though, because I am not in the mood to deal with bones.

Italian Chicken Simmer

Prep Time:

10 min

Total Time:

45 min

Makes:

4 servings

What You Need

1 Tbsp. olive oil

4 chicken leg quarters (1-1/2 lb.), skin removed

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1/3 cup tomato paste

2 small red peppers, chopped

1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/2 cup KRAFT Finely Shredded Italian* Five Cheese Blend

Make It

HEAT oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, cut apart chicken legs and thighs. Add to skillet; cook 10 min. or until lightly browned on both sides, turning occasionally.

ADD tomatoes and tomato paste; mix well. Stir in peppers; cover. Simmer on medium-low heat 20 min. or until chicken is done (165°F), stirring occasionally.

REMOVE from heat. Stir in Parmesan; sprinkle with shredded cheese. Let stand until cheese is melted.

I will probably make some rice to go with this and if the salad that I bought last week is still okay, we will have that as well.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum......or Dallas

So, yesterday we took to motorcycle to Cartersville and met my parents for lunch. We had plans to go on a ride with them for about an hour or so. Yesterday evening, we ended our ride at my parents' house and had dinner. Around 7:00, we had to go, because we wanted to make it home before dark. So, off we went. About the time we got to White, the bottom drops out. There is thunder and lightning and torrential rain. We had pulled over at a closed gas station and decided to try to wait it out there. While huddling under the metal awning, a lady stops and asks us if we are okay. Of couse, we said yes, but I was not really enjoying being under a metal roof in a lightning storm. She told us to get in her car and she would take us to her brother's house around the corner. Now normally, I would not ever, ever do this, but when you are in the middle of nowhere stuck in a storm, you pretty much do whatever it takes to take care of yourself. So, Jason and I piled into the front seat of her mustang and went to her brother's house. We spent the next hour and a half waiting out the storm. They were so nice. She offered to drive us all the way home (about an hour's trip) so that we wouldn't have to ride in the rain. We didn't want her to do that, so we just sat around for a while and talked to some people we probably never would have had the opportunity to meet. Around 10:00, we finally made it on our way again and we finally made it home around 11:00. So, a trip that normally would take about an hour and a half took us 4 hours, but it was definitely interesting. We arrived home cold and wet, but not necessarily regreting the experience.

I passed!

So, my orals were today. Prior to today, I was pretty well freaked out by the whole process. I was supposed to go in front of a panel of three of my professors and basically tell them what I learned. This is not high on my list of fun things I would like to spend my time doing. So anyway, I went and talked to my profs for about an hour about various aspects of my schooling and my portfolio. After that, I left the room for them to decide my fate. After what seemed like an eternity, they opened the door and told me that I had passed. After that I filled out all of the paperwork so that my transcript and everything could be sent off to update my certificate. I won't actually get my diploma until December, but I will get my pay raise as soon as all of the paperwork is finished. Needless to say, I am quite excited and relieved. Now I just have to write a research paper, write my autobiography, complete some fact cards, do a presentation, finalize a notebook, write a final paper, and go to my last 4 class sessions. Easy, huh? One week left and it will all be over!

Shell Shock

I'm sitting here in a little bit of shock. I think I just finished my portfolio. "Why do I only think this?", you ask. Well, for one it is very hard to believe that I am finished two days before it is due. For another thing, it has so consumed me for so many weeks that I feel like something is missing from my life. I have poured so much of myself into finishing this degree and this project that I am having trouble coming to terms with the fact that it is almost over. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to continue taking classes or anything, but it is hard to realize that I may be coming to the end of a journey. I have plenty more work to do this semester, but I am just going to take a few moments to rest and reflect on the fact that this journey is almost over and another one is about to begin. What that new one is, I'm not sure. I have a guess, but only God knows for sure where He is taking me. I am just willing to follow Him right now.

Here is a quote I put in my portfolio. I think it sums up the process completely. I found it with a picture I used for my cover.

"It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end."
~ Ursula K. LeGuin

Some New Recipes

I have been getting the Kraft weekly emails with recipe suggestions for a few weeks now. Since I have been avoiding working on homework today, I decided to open the email up and see what I could find. Well, I found two recipes that I decided to make today.

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Prep Time:

5 min

Total Time:

25 min

Makes:

4 servings, one sandwich each

What You Need

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 onion, sliced

1/2 cup KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 French bread baguette, 16 to 20-inches long (about 10 oz.)

4 KRAFT Singles

Make It

COOK chicken and onions in skillet on medium-high heat 8 min., stirring occasionally.

ADD barbecue sauce, water and sugar; stir. Reduce heat to medium; cover. Cook an additional 7 min. or until chicken is cooked through (165ºF).

REMOVE chicken from skillet. Shred chicken with fork or chop into small pieces. Return to skillet; stir until evenly coated with sauce. Cut baguette crosswise into four pieces. Cut each piece lengthwise in half. Fill with chicken mixture and Singles.

* As always I didn't follow directions exactly. Apparently I have trouble with this. I also really like to use my crockpot. So, here is what I did. I put the chicken, water, some of the barbecue sauce and brown sugar into the crockpot. After letting it cook for a while, I shredded the chicken, added more barbecue sauce and some dried onion flakes (I didn't have an onion). I also didn't buy any French bread, so I used some hogie style rolls. I also used cheddar cheese because I like it better than Kraft singles.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mallow Bars

Prep Time:

20 min

Total Time:

38 min

Makes:

32 servings

What You Need!

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food cake mix

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

2/3 cup milk, divided

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 jar (7 oz.) JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme

1/2 cup PLANTERS Salted Peanuts

6 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped

Make It!

HEAT oven to 350°F. Mix dry cake mix, butter and 1/3 cup milk until blended; press 2/3 onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Bake 12 to 14 min. or until center is almost set; cool 3 min. Meanwhile, mix peanut butter and remaining milk.

SPREAD peanut butter mixture onto crust; top with small spoonfuls of the marshmallow creme and remaining cake mixture. Sprinkle with nuts and chocolate; press gently into cake mixture.

BAKE 18 min. or just until center is set. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

* I was watching "That Thing You Do" while making this, so I made a few mistakes. Luckily for me, this was a very forgiving recipe and still turned out great. One thing that is important to remember is to wait for the crust to cool before putting on the peanutbutter. I forgot and it made it really hard to spread the peanutbutter. This is a very rich dessert, so make sure you have milk (if that is what you like) or water on hand to wash it down.

Now, maybe I should actually get some more work done. Jason has diagnosed me with a severe case of graduate school senioritis. I believe it.

A New Journey

For the past 7 months or so, Jason has been doing sales for a local publication. It has been straight commission. That comes with pluses and minuses. There is virtually unlimited potential for making money. The problem most recently has been that the people that he has sold advertising for have not paid. This leaves us in a fairly sticky situation. Anyway, last week, Jason went to an interview at a company here locally. It is probably about 3 or 4 miles from our house. They were interviewing for a marketing assistant position. He went for a second interview yesterday. Well today, he got a call from the company. He didn't get the marketing position, but they decided to create a position for him working with the owner of the company. I am so excited for him. He should still be able to go to school, but he will not be working on commission any more which is excellent news for us.

I am almost finished with school myself. I have most of my portfolio completely done. There are still a few things that I need to work on, but it is more done than not. This is good, because in the next week I have two tests and a paper due besides my portfolio. I am so glad that I have been working on this for the last month or so. It has probably made it a little less stressful than if I had waited until the last few weeks. That would have been crazy.

Please keep praying for Jason's job. I know I am excited about the prospects.

Farmer's Market and French Bakery

This morning we woke up really early and went to the farmer's markets in Dallas and Marietta. The one in Dallas is really small and we only ended up buying some wildflower honey and some peach bread for Jason's breakfast. Then we went to the one on the square in Marietta. It is a lot larger which is good, but parking is always a problem. It was really crowded this morning too. I'm not sure if this is because we got there about thirty minutes after it opened or not. We got some tomatoes (my tomato plant only has marble sized tomatoes on it), two potatoes, some broccoli, and the best smelling cantaloupe ever. After the farmers market, we went to Douceur French Bakery. This is the second time I have been there and I really wish it was closer to my house. They have the prettiest cakes and pastries. We got an almond croissant, pain au chocolat, and a baguette. Last time we were there we got the yummiest fruit tart. Sometime we are going to go for breakfast or lunch. They have the best sounding food and I haven't had a croque monsieur in so long.

I am in my last semester of school. I am so ready to be done, but I think my professors are trying to see just how much I can handle in six weeks. In two weeks, I have to turn my portfolio in. I am a little nervous about this, but hopefully by then everything will be in excellent shape. So, since I am having to put nearly all of my focus on school right now, I doubt there will be any good recipes or anything from me for a while.