Sarah’s Cooking Night

Sarah decided last week that she wanted to cook one of the meals for dinner this week. She had seen a recipe for chicken fingers on a Bisquick box and this inspired her to want to cook a whole meal, something that she had never done before. She has made a number of desserts for the family over the past few years, but never anything as ambitious as a complete meal. So, on Tuesday, I made sure we had all of the ingredients she needed and joined her in the kitchen to supervise, teach a bit, and help her out. The menu she planned consisted of ~

Ultimate Chicken Fingers
Homemade Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies

Here are some pictures of her time in the kitchen ~

She started by making dessert – Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies. She has made these before, so she didn’t really need my help with this part. She gave the younger kids a spoonful of dough before she baked them.

Next she began work on her mashed potatoes. She used this recipe and learned how to wash, peel, cut and cook the potatoes. Her arms were a bit tired after scrubbing and peeling 5 lbs. of potatoes by herself!

While the potatoes cooked, she started her chicken fingers. As I mentioned before, this recipe was on the back of the Bisquick box. She had to triple the recipe for our family, so she got a little practical Math practice along the way. It was her first time to handle raw chicken, but she decided that it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. I gave her lessons on why it’s important to wash it well, and then she trimmed it up and sliced it for fingers.

Her potatoes were ready to mash before she got her chicken breaded, so she put the chicken on hold and finished up the potatoes – I told her that timing was one of the hardest parts of cooking.

With the potatoes all mashed and covered to keep warm, she went back to the chicken, which she found to be messy job!

While the chicken cooked, Sarah heated up the green beans (canned) on the stove. Finally, everything was ready, and we sat down to a delicious meal!

This chicken was so wonderful – it had parmesan cheese and garlic salt in the coating, which gave it a scrumptious flavor. I will post the recipe as soon as possible (if you can’t wait, go out and buy a box of Bisquick – it should be right there on the back of the box) -

Homemade Mashed Potatoes - she did an excellent job on these – they were smooth and creamy -

A great dinner -

and a delicious dessert to finish it up -

See you again soon!

Blessings,
Nancy

The Simple Woman’s Daybook ~ March 8

Here is my Daybook entry for today ~

Outside my window. . .gray skies with a bit of drizzle now and then – neighborhood fruit trees are starting to flower all around.
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I am thinking. . .about spring cleaning projects.
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From the learning room. . .we are all about ready for a break – next week we’ll take off for spring break – this week it’s muscular system, geography, art, and planting some flower seeds to go along with our “Miss Rumphius” unit.
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I am thankful for. . .my children – each so special in their own God-given ways.
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From the kitchen. . .Sarah is cooking the meal tonight (with a little help) – Ultimate Chicken Fingers, homemade mashed potatoes, green beans, and chocolate chip pan cookies for dinner.
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I am wearing. . .dark blue shirt and blue jeans.
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I am creating. . .a new journal for my daily to-do lists – I finished up my last one, and haven’t taken the time to put together a new one yet.
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I am going. . .to run by the quilt store soon to pick up this month’s Block of the month kits.
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I am reading. . .the Sarah Plain and Tall trilogy – currently on “Skylark” – we’ve been watching the movies and I realized that I’d never read the books, so I pulled them off the shelf and started reading them.
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I am hoping. . .to get some sewing done this week.
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I am hearing. . .the boys talking about Pokemon while doing their schoolwork, pages turning, Anna singing.
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Around the house. . .pretty pink azaleas on my dresser, wildflowers picked by Anna on the kitchen windowsill, a pile of Goodwill items on the table waiting to be taken to the car, toys laying around.
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One of my favorite things. . .watching Anna’s ballet lesson each week.
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A few plans for the rest of the week. . .library, ice skating, ballet, cleaning out projects, and sewing.
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing. . .

Adorable fabric for a new quilt for David.

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Thanks to Peggy at The Simple Woman’s Daybook for this wonderful meme. Visit Peggy to find the March list of participants in The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Have a lovely day!

Blessings,
Nancy

Our little furry visitor

We played peek-a-boo the other day with this squirrel. He was on the roof above the window and we were inside looking out. He kept poking his head down and then would go back up on the roof. A few seconds later he would peek back down at us. Finally he got brave and started slowly creeping down the bush, and we got a better look at him ~

Oh, and the children weren’t the only ones watching out the window with me ~ to no surprise ~

Have a nice day!

Blessings,
Nancy

The Coming of Spring

(photo courtesy of Corbis)

“How do I know that spring is here?
Because the world is full of cheer.
The crocuses and daffodils
Peep out from all the window sills;

The grass is getting soft and green;
The garden makes a pretty scene –
Forsythia bushes all unfold
And show their blooms of fairy gold;

The tulips of my garden wall
Are getting beautiful and tall;
The birds are coming back to stay
And serenade us every day.

The world is full of joy and cheer!
That’s how I know that spring is here!”

~ Carmen Lagos Signes

I hope you will be enjoying some spring in your neck of the woods this weekend!

Blessings,
Nancy

The Simple Woman’s Daybook ~ March 1

Welcome March! Here is my Daybook entry for today ~

Outside my window. . .Sunshine and a cool, gentle breeze, birds are enjoying the weather with lots of pretty songs.
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I am thinking. . .about a Spurgeon devotion I read today – for the believer, our brief stay on earth is like the battlefield in a war with our ultimate destination being at the victory celebration with the Lord and an end to our struggles.
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From the learning room. . .“Miss Rumphius” with the littles for Five in a Row – studying seeds, art, and geography – and labeling skeletons, studying the Shang Dynasty of China, and Moses with the olders.
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I am thankful for. . .my new contacts that have me seeing clearer.
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From the kitchen. . .either leftover King Ranch Casserole or Quiche with Blueberry Muffins for dinner tonight.
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I am wearing. . .purple shirt with blue jeans.
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I am creating. . .I’ve been working a little bit on my Star Medallion quilt, and finishing up my March mini quilt – daffodils!
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I am going. . .to be doing lots of laundry today trying to catch up.
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I am reading. . .my James study guide for Bible Study.
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I am hoping. . .to get the craft/toy room cleaned up this week.
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I am hearing. . .children talking, birds singing, someone fixing lunch in the kitchen.
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Around the house. . .cats in windows, laundry piled up, dishes washed, another day of schooling almost finished.
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One of my favorite things. . .visiting the quilt store to check out new fabric lines.
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A few plans for the rest of the week. . .ballet, Bible study, Basketball/Cheerleading closing program, ice skating, and celebrating Tommy’s 14th birthday!
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing. . .

Peekaboo Edward!
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Thanks to Peggy at The Simple Woman’s Daybook for this wonderful meme. Visit Peggy to find the March list of participants in The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Have a lovely day!

Blessings,
Nancy