Love My Job!

...I love my job.

There are VERY few people in this world that can say that!  Not only am I lucky to love the job I have, I'm luck to have "a" job! I feel very blessed for that.

So...this week in Occupational Therapy, my students are going to be cutting & following directions to assemble this
A-W-E-S-O-M-E creation!!! 


Last week at our town's Applefest, I bought a haunted house kit, from the local Council for the Arts.  Laurie, a local artist, had created this and was selling individual kits. "GREAT," I thought.  "Perfect for my students!!!!!"  I just now got around to checking this out.  I was WAY disappointed to find out Laurie had copyrighted the project.  Hmmph.  

Then I had a lightbulb moment!!  I remembered she has a website!  SO, I went on-line and found it...and on it was her phone number!  SO...
I called her right up. She was very pleased to find out I wanted to do this. She immediately allowed me to trace the pattern and make as many copies as I'd like, for my student's use.  

Tonight, my kids and I put together the kit I bought. It is such a cute house!  My kids loved helping with it and I'm sure my students will too!  They LOVE crafts!  So many parents these days don't have time to devote to crafting at home.  The kids THRIVE on it! 

So off to Michael's tomorrow before school to load up on Halloween stickers, and purple card stock!  

Happy Halloween! 

Thanks Robin!

Much thanks to Robin from All Things Heart & Home for this wonderful recipe!  I plan to use my mac & cheese recipe and just add the egg yolk and top with parm. to make these bad boys!  I think they should be renamed... Mac & Cheese Poppers!

(p.s.  After you read it, you can all fight over who wants to invite me over for a party and try 'em!!!)

Macaroni & Cheese Bites

by Robin on January 25, 2011

It’s just 2 weeks until Super Bowl Sunday! This means two huge things to me:
1- Super Bowl Commercials
2- Super Bowl Snacks!
Have you seen these cute little  Macaroni and Cheese Bites? Wouldn’t they be a great thing to have on Super Bowl Sunday? They’d be great with sliders or sandwiches or wings!

These are also GREAT for little people! They freeze well so you’ll always have something yummy to add to your little one’s lunch! (After thawing, reheat in the oven or even in the microwave) Add shredded chicken breast (bake breasts in Italian dressing in a cooking bag) and put into large muffin tins and you have a ‘one-tin-lunch’ for your  kiddo’s!

Macaroni & Cheese Bites

Makes 4 ~ (12 cup) Mini-Muffin Tins

* 1/2 Pound Elbow Macaroni

* 1  1/2 Tablespoons  butter (extra for muffin tins)

* 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

*2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

*3/4 cup milk or evaporated milk

*A few shakes of Tabasco sauce

*1  1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese sheredded

*1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese

* 1 large egg yolk

* 1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg

* 1/8 teaspoon Dry Mustard

Oven: 425*

Cook and drain pasta.

Spread mini muffin tins with softened butter then sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese. (shake off extra cheese)

In a big saucepan melt the 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and whisk in flour over med. heat. Whisking for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk and cook, continuing to whisk until boiling (about 5 minutes). Add the Cheddar and Monterey Jack Cheeses and whisk until melted. Take off the heat and whisk in the egg yolk, Nutmeg and Mustard.

Fold in the macaroni.

Spoon slightly rounded tablespoons of macaroni into prepared muffin cups. Pack them gently. Sprinkle more Parmesan on top.

Bake on top and middle third of the oven until browned. (About 10 minutes)

Let them cool a few minutes then use a spoon a carefully loosen the bite-size minis!

You’ll notice this mac and cheese is a little thicker than usual but it helps when you’re putting it into the tins.

Don’t forget to press the pasta before you bake!

The Parmesan Cheese sprinkled inside the muffing tins and on top gives them the best texture…almost crunchy.


You can just pick ‘em up and pop one into your mouth…yum.

tuck 'em tight!

Every time I watch the food channel (and I'm a junkie, so that occurs quite often!), I watch them...all of them...tuck their fingers in before they slice & dice their veggies.  They all do it.  They make it look so simple!!  Have you EVER tried that??  It's virtually impossible!  I end up practically cutting my knuckles! So, after trying it and trying it repeatedly... and having it take 15  minutes to chop 1 onion ... I thought, "Forget it. I'm just choppin' MY way!" 

My dear friend & neighbor (aka...nebber...aka...neb) simply cringes every time she watches me cut something.  She's like, "RACHEL!  TUCK YOUR FINGERS IN!!"  ~ like she's my mother or something!  I just laugh and continue chopping!

WELL.

I now know the reason of WHY you should tuck 'em tight!  Yes. A lesson learned the hard way. On Tuesday, I was wackin' a carrot into thick slices as fast as I could...as I wanted to be on time for a very important meeting.  Suddenly, I felt something warm.  Something wet.

I had done 'er good.  I chopped the tip of my poor little thumbkin. I didn't just knick it. I chopped it. My thumbprint will no longer be nice and round. When I make thumbprint people/creatures with my kids from now on, everyone will know which creature is mommy's...the one with the dip in his head. 

Let me tell ya...thumb's BLEED. for hours. and they won't stop. and when you bump it, it gushes. and the next day when you're packing lunches and trying to open the mayo jar, it'll bleed again. and when you're trying to button your britches it'll bleed again. and when you try and TEXT it really bleeds (and hurts like a you know what!) and when .... you get my point ~ I could rattle on forever! 

Well, lesson learned!  Tuck 'em tight!  And a "told ya" moment to my neb...

SEE!!! My knives ARE sharp!  So there!!!

...got skate?...

We live in such a beautiful little town...

 Nick was asking all summer to PLEASE skate downtown.  "Yes honey, we will. I promise."  I realized the other day, it's now October and we had never done it.  He doesn't ask for much, so when I realized I let him down, I felt like a really bad mommy.  So off we went! 

 We were all over the downtown area.  We had SUCH a wonderful time...just the two of us...that's really nice sometimes  ~  to be able to focus on just 1 kid.

 I mean really, how can you look at this face and not want to squish it and smooch it??  (he was trying his hardest to 'not squint'~haha)

This one is his favorite of course!!  He thinks he's the next Shaun White!

 ...a little help from the self-timer!  Gotta love that feature!...

                                              We had a rockin' good day...

Sava da Flava!

Oh me! Oh my!  I found a new yummy thing!  And before I go any further...in case you don't know me well...I must disclose that I. LOVE. FOOD.  So as you read this...how I go on and on about something you eat...well...I just can't help it!! 

"What is it?" ~you ask? 

OLIVE TAPENADE!!!

I found this deliciousness at Wal-Mart, of all places.  Seriously. Wal-mart has olive tapenade!  I had it all planned...get home and unload groceries...then sink my teeth into some yummy fresh slices of my just-purchased french baguette, topped with the deliciousness.   1 PROBLEM.  Forgot the baguette.  URGH!!

It sat on my kitchen table, unopened, for 30 hours.  The poor thing.  I think I heard it crying during the night....calling my name....Raaaaachhhhhelllllllll....

So today it happened.  I opened 'er up.  Forget the bread
!!  I got some white cheddar wheat thins out of the cupboard...and dipped.  And dipped.  And dipped.  Ah.  Soooo fantastically good!!  I loved it!  E. loved it too!!  "Mom, PaaaaaLEASE can I have more?"  With just one bite, there's so much flavor that absolutely dances around your mouth.  It's truly an experience!

Yep, this is a keeper for sure!!  Can't wait 'til tomorrow so I can justify another 'scoop!'

I