Peanut Butter Raisin Bran Cookies

"It must be nice" to be able to make cookies......because apparently I have nothing else to do.....SO, here is a great recipe, for when you have some time (sorry for being a smart ass, its that kind of day)

Peanut Butter Raisin Bran Cookies

1/2 cup butter (softened)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

4 cups of Raisin Bran cereal

Combine butter, peanut butter, egg and sugars. Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add to the wet ingredients, mix well, add cereal, mix again, plop by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet, bake at 350 for 11 minutes. 

Happy Monday.

K

have you filled a bucket today?

When I started work at Douglas Road Elementary School this year, I heard a lot of talk about "filling buckets" I was terribly confused, so I asked some of the kids about it....

Based on a book by Carol McCloud "Have You Filled a Bucket Today" A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids, everyone has a bucket, an invisible bucket, that was to be filled with praise and kindness, and emptied with putdowns and name calling....each teacher had their own adaptation to the program in their classroom, they also have a HUGE illustrated bucket in the front entrance of the school where school mates can add a water drop to the wall above the bucket with their name, who it was that filled their bucket, and what they did to fill their bucket. I thought this would be an interesting way to share kindness in our home....

We read the book together at home, talked about some things he thought would earn him a water drop, and things that would make mommy want to take them away...he seemed to be getting the gist, so I made it a project for us! I drew out some buckets, cut them out, let the kids colour them, put them on the wall. I cut out water drops from blue foam paper and have them in a container...Anabelle is learning quickly the things that earn her a water drop, neither of them are happy when their buckets are emptied, it has happened a few times. We do have moments when he only does nice things to get a water drop, but he is filling her bucket none the less, as well as his own for being kind, and becoming more aware of things that are great deeds like serving his sister pancakes in the morning...

How often does your bucket feel full? Do you feel that people dip into yours? I think we should all be a little more conscious of our invisible buckets, as well as others :-)

Get your copy of the book at Costco, $11.49!!

K

family dinner questions

I got this idea, and the templates from pinterest, it was on a lovely blog Beauty and Bedlam , I brought out the jar this morning at breakfast, it was a lot of fun asking Noah and Fredo questions! It would be great for any conversation starter!

There are 25 pages of questions that I printed and cut out, it also has templates for labels, however they did not work for my jar so I just designed and printed my own on a round Avery label (best labels I have ever bought!) #22807 with a downloadable template on the Avery website!

Tons of great questions, for family, kids, girlfriends....definitely something that will sit on my counter for meals and company!

Super easy to do, I used a jar I had from IKEA, an inexpensive way to have a blast, and keep the conversations going during the most important time, meal time :-)

K

not your grandmas glasses..

I have only had one compliment, thus far...however I am in love with my new accessory! I am sure I have been talked about behind my back, called a few names....I remember wanting this when I bought my most recent pair, but just didn't seem to find something that fit the bill....until....I visited H&M over the weekend....tada!!!

Never thought I would own an eyeglass chain, but man, let me tell you, the best thing ever!!! You can't go wrong with $4.95 either!! And, its just what I was looking for, a simple, gold spun chain!

I think I have become a bit more ballsy in my old age with my fashion choices...god knows what I will choose when I get to 30 ;-) Hey, I took a chance with that hideous pastel floral shift dress, and ended up seeing it on a fashion blog, SO, I must be doing something right!? That time anyway!

Be who you want to be!! I am slowly learning this....it feels good, really good. Speak your mind, let people know what hurts your feelings, what makes you smile...I just applied for a job in which a lot of the scenarios on the questionnaire were about self image, and how we looked amongst our peers, and how important that was too us....I think, its important to look good and feel good for yourself. In whatever it is you choose, even a gold spun eyeglass chain!! I remember never wearing sweat pants or frumpy clothes to high school, it wasn't for anyone else but myself, I knew I looked good, and that made me feel good! Absolutely nothing against those who did, it just didn't work for me, we are all different. Just like us moms, we all have 'kids' in common, but we are all different, not any two birth stories, or discipline tactics are the same, and there is nothing wrong with that!

Now I want you all to go out and get yourself an eyeglass chain!! It works really well for sunglasses too!!

K

K

moment of weakness........

Just this morning I yelled so loud I was sure Noah shit his pants.......the kids had taken all the pillows of the couch and were jumping.....I hate it when they do that, it makes my blood boil, and for the all the times I have asked them not to do it, it made me even more mad that they had done it again! I was in an awful mood to begin with, hadn't eaten breakfast, and was feeling super sad and stressed for numerous reasons......my skin has not reacted well to this stress, I have not had this many pimples in a very long time...this evening, Noah noticed me crying...he quietly came to me and hugged my leg. Gosh that felt good....I was feeling deflated, confused, unsure....after dinner he asked me if I could help them build a fort. We started our project, I myself, pulled the pillows off to make walls and barricades...instantly my furniture became a trampoline...this time it did not bother me...in fact I asked to take a picture, saying "jump, jump again" in order to catch a decent shot....this is what I got....

I had a moment of weakness....they are still jumping...maybe I need a jump myself, to take the edge off...or a nice big glass of wine....

K

Miso Honey Halibut

This recipe was delicious!! Originally from the March issue of Chatelaine...I decided to try is seeing as halibut is now fresh not frozen, thank you to a little birdie that told me! Fricking expensive, but delicious! I would suggest not using all the sauce...I found it was a bit over powering. In the recipe it says to generously spread over the fish, in the future I will do a thin layer. I didn't realize that miso paste would be tricky to find. I ended up finding it at local Asian grocer, but I can imagine that Fujiya would have it for sure!

Miso Honey Halibut

4 200g halibut fillets about 3/4" thick

3 tbsp white miso paste

4 tsp honey

1 tsp olive oil

Position rack in the upper third of the oven. Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, pat fish dry, and put on lined baking sheet (I just put mine in a casserole dish rubbed with a titch of olive oil).

Combine miso with honey and olive oil in a small bowl.

Generously spread over fish (or not, maybe just a thin layer)

Broil until the tip of a knife inserted in the thickest part of the fish and held for 10 seconds feels warm, about 1o minutes.

I served mine with mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and parmesan asparagus....

Roasted Carrots

8 carrots (I just washed mine really well, or peel them, whatever you prefer)

Cut off the top and end....cut carrot in half, then again in lengths.

Place in a long baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, shake of salt, some pepper, two crushed cloves of garlic and 4 dollops of butter on top. Bake at 400 for around 45 minutes, with a few pokes and turns in between.

Parmesan Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus (washed with trimmed ends)

lay in a single layer on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, with your hands, rub the spears so they are well coated, rearrange in a single layer, sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 (or 400 if you are doing the carrots as well) for 10 minutes.

I am stuffed! That was a great meal!

K

Orecchiette Bolognese

I first got this recipe from Pinterest, then after making it once, I realized it was a lot like the sauce I make all the time from scratch...I love the orecchiette pasta! Best if you can let it simmer for a while, so try to make on a day you have some time. Double the recipe if you want to freeze some extra sauce.

Orecchiette Bolognese

3 tbsp olive oil

1 cup finely minced onion

1 cup finely minced carrot

1 cup finely minced celery

3 cloves of chopped garlic

1 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork ( if you don't like pork just get 1.5 lbs of beef)

1 cup milk

1 can whole peeled tomatoes

1 jar of strained tomatoes

a few pinches of kosher salt (course salt)

pepper to taste

500g of Orecchiette Pasta

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium to high heat. Add onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Saute until softened but not browned. Add meat and 1/2 tsp of salt. Use a wooden spoon to crumble the meat and break into small pieces. Cook until no longer pink. Add the milk, and let it evaporate, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices and bring to a boil. Place heat on a very low simmer for 2- 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Toss with cooked orecchiette, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

It tasted extra fine with some hot chili flakes sprinkled on and a glass of wine. The burn of the chili's really cleared my nasal passages! I can't seem to shake this cold/flu......

K