Fast forward to Fall!

Finally it's beginning to feel like fall. Last week I bought mums and pumpkins. The urns by the front door have burgundy mums and I have two hanging baskets of bronze mums in the back yard. I put six small bronze mums in the window boxes today, I'm not sure why I only bought six since I knew I would need twelve, go figure. Guess a trip to the nursery is on my agenda for tomorrow afternoon, after float prep time.  I hope the deer don't like mums as much as they did impatiens. They have eaten all my impatiens this summer. They must be very hungry this year,our English ivy looks like it got a haircut, my hanging baskets are nibbled to the nubs and one night one ( or more) brave deer ventured onto the patio to eat my sweet potato vine and broke the pot!  The deer and I may have a "come to Jesus meeting " soon if this doesn't stop!  I told Paul I wish he had a bow.. Hmmm. 

I have a few other decorating ideas in mind too. Maybe next week while I'm out for fall break. Did I mention we are out of school Monday and Tuesday, then Nov. has Veterans Day ( professional day), a week for Thanksgiving, then it'll be Christmas!  Let the fun begin! 

Fast Forward

Where has the time gone?  I really have meant to post more often but geez there are only so many hours in a day. Well the first nine weeks is over, I can't believe it. I have all my grades posted and I feel so much better. I have learned so much, I have never been an early riser but for some odd reason I now wake-up around 5:00-5:30 I wake up. No alarm, nothing. So strange. Ha!  

Anyway things are going right along. No real problems. We have started out M-Star pilot evaluations. I was so nervous about it but the last few days I had a calm come over me. I'll just do my best and let the cards play out. Coming up this week is preparations for homecoming.  Actually homecoming is the next week but we are out that Monday and Tuesday ( insert happy dance) so we only have 3 days for spirit week!  Floats are being constructed this week.  I'm helping with the sophomores. Sweet group of kids. I'll try to remember to post pictures. See you soon. 

School Days, School Days, Dear old golden rule days...

My life  is really going to change big time this week. I'm going from my office job back to the classroom.   I'll be teaching FCS at Warren Central. 

Even though I have really worked getting the room ready, i have had LOTS of help from my awesome husband. I could have never done all of this without his help.   Thank you, Paul!!!

  I also had help from a another person, my replacement at MDE. Thanks Nicki. 

See if you can tell the difference. 

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE 

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

And a few other pictures. 

I still have a few minor details i want to do but it looks so much better. 

I'll post more pictures later. 

Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had an awesome day yesterday. I know I did. I got home and Paul had a dozen red roses and a card. He was given instructions of No Candy! Ha!
The card contained a gift certificate for a massage. Oh I love a massage!!!!
I gave him 2 DVD's Taken 2 and Skyfall.
I also prepared a gourmet meal for us. At least as close to gourmet I can get.
Filet of beef tenderloin coated in finely ground coffee, cocoa and baked to a medium rare.
Soooo tender. I also served a salad of spring mix , fresh strawberries , pecans and shaved Parmesan cheese.
The sides were a farfelle pasta with artichoke quarters, and grated Parmesan and fresh asparagus, blanched and then shocked in ice water. Right before I served the plates I heated the asparagus in butter with a sprinkle of kosher salt and garlic.
Dessert was pecan pie on a plate drizzled with chocolate sauce and a fresh strawberry.

Great dinner

Hattiesburg Tornado

Paul's hometown was hit by a massive wedge tornado today. USM has extensive damage as well as Hattiesburg High and Oak Grove High. The pictures are so sad. Please pray for them.

Other Projects

You would think I had enough to do but I seem to keep finding more projects.
I also seem to be on a rooster theme. I found a lamp that belonged to my mother in law. I have had it for about 9 years and actually had someone " spruce " it up once but I never liked what she did so while I was painting the bathroom hardware I painted the lamp. Much better.
I also remembered I had a pair of roosters that Paul painted in cub scouts. They also needed a touch of paint. I am dangerous with a can of paint!! Ha!

Swapping around

Occasionally I get a wild idea to make changes around the house. Usually these are met with some reluctance from Paul. So when I mentioned that I would like to swap one of the downstairs bedrooms with the upstairs "bonus" room I was surprised he quickly agreed. Maybe it was because involved cleaning out. So I cleaned out 3 closets over the holidays which resulted in 7 large full trash bags!!!!
The upstairs room was intended to be a bedroom. It is a huge room with a full bath and a very big closet. in the past it has been the "boys" play room, weight room, and then my craft & sewing room. For the past few years it had really become a "JUNK" room. Soooo on MLK weekend I painted the upstairs room, first one side, where the bed would be set up. Once that side was ready we moved the bed upstairs, then the chest of drawers, and then the dresser. Please note this is 1980's heavy oak furniture! Once that was done we moved a small table and four chairs that had belonged to my grandparents down to the now empty bedroom. A small chest of drawers known in the family as the devil because the handles will not stay in the drawers, came downstairs also. Ugh! It will be refinished at a later date. Also many many boxes of craft and sewing "stuff". I then finished painting the upstairs room, including moving the world's heaviest entertainment center a mere 3 feet but it felt like a mile! Ha!
The next weekend I planned to paint the bathroom but the paint store was out of their most popular paint! Really? Yes! But I changed gears and decided to buy a storage cabinet for the new craft room so EVERYTHING would be put away nice and neatly. Once again I bought a very heavy cabinet that had to be assembled. Last weekend was the bathroom painting and cleaning. It's all set up now except for a few items that need to come downstairs.
I love the new setup. Kinda wonder why I never did this before. Here are a few pics of the bedroom and bathroom. I still need to "decorate".

Christmas Cookies

It's time for Christmas cookies.  This is the best recipe I have ever found for butter(sugar) cookies.  I searched high and low for a good firm cookie recipe for years and finally found this one.  I have two great memories of butter cookies, the first was from my childhood.  There was a little bakery right off the MSCW campus in Columbus and Daddy would stop and let me got a few cookies.  I always got the butter cookies because they had a circle of icing in the middle and they changed the color of the icing for the current holiday.  

Fast forward to 2003 and the Warren Central baseball state championship ring ceremony.  I signed up to bring 2 dozen cookies, no big deal except it was the end of the school year and I was SUPER busy.  So I ordered them from a local bakery.  I didn't ask how much (first mistake) so when I went to pick them up they were super cute, I ordered 3 dozen because I knew my guys would want some to sample before the ceremony and I picked up a half dozen crescent  cookies too.  When the saleslady said $36. I nearly hit the floor.  But I had no choice so I paid the bill and left with my "high dollar cookies".  After that I searched high and low for a recipe so I would never make that mistake again.  A few years later a gourmet shop in Jackson had a cookie workshop and I went and low and behold I found this recipe.

Now the hardest part of this recipe is that it requires 1 Cup of vanilla sugar.  Not hard to do but it must be done ahead of time.  So now I keep at least 2 Cups of vanilla sugar on hand all the time.

How to make Vanilla sugar. 

Use a "good" quality whole vanilla bean.  I got these at Penzey's Spices in Memphis and this is my last one. 

 Just fill a canning jar about halfway with sugar, add the whole vanilla bean, then fill the remaining way to the top with sugar.  Put the lid on and allow to sit in the cabinet a few weeks for the sugar to absorb the vanilla flavor.
Now for the recipe.
1 cup vanilla sugar

     

1 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened.

Softened butter will leave a finger print when pressed lightly.  Too soft and it won't mix with the sugar correctly.  Too firm and it will make a huge racket in your mixing bowl.  

 Now let's measure the 2 Cups of all purpose flour.  Unlike sugar, you don't just dip the measuring cup into the flour canister.  You use a scoop and pour that into the measuring cup.

 Then use a flat sided spatula, level off the top of the flour.  If you use a dinner knife it will dip into the cup and you will not have a full cup of flour.

 Pour flour into a bowl and then add 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.  Use the leveling edge of the can to level off the teaspoon.

  Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, level this also.

 Using a wire whisk, mix the 3 ingredients together.

 Measure 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

 Crack one egg.  Always crack your egg(s) into a bowl first before adding to your recipe.  Saves time trying to locate a small piece of the shell.
 Now all the ingredients are ready to add.  Saves so much time and you don't leave anything out.

 Now let's get started, place butter in mixing bowl

 Mix just slightly.

                                      

 Add the 1 cup of vanilla sugar.

 Cream on low and then increase speed.  The sugar granules will "cut" the butter into tiny particles and make the cookie moist.  This usually takes about 3 minutes to get the mixture pale and fluffy.

 Add one egg, you make break the yolk up slightly, if you wish.

 Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.  Be sure you use a good brand.

 For the next step I put the splatter guard on my mixer and reduce the speed to low. Add the 2 cups of flour.

 Mix just until combined.

 Another great tip is to run a sink full of hot soapy water to put your used bowl, spoons etc in while you are assembling the cookie dough.

 This speeds up clean up time.

 Scrap the dough from the bowl and place on parchment paper.  Then cut in half.  I used a bench scraper.

 Roll into a ball and place in a zip top bag.  Flatten into a 6 inch disc.

 Do the same with the remaining ball of dough.

Seal bag, pressing as much air out of the bag as possible.  

Place bags in refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 5 days. 

If you want to make up and freeze, just chill then wrap well in plastic wrap and put back in zip top bag.  Freeze for up to one month.  Thaw in refrigerator.  

Now while that chills I will clean up the kitchen, then I am off to watch the Christmas parade.  

I'll bake the cookies tomorrow afternoon. 

I love to Cook!!

I love to cook, always have.  I like tried and true recipes and I like trying new recipes.  I read cookbooks like most people read a novel. Lately I have been trying more new recipes. Fortunately I have a very willing taste tester.  Paul is great and he enjoys my new adventures.  Although he does question why I photograph each step of a recipe. I guess it's because I also love to take pictures. So I am going to try to combine the two loves and see what happens. 

Okay here is my latest new recipe.

Chicken Piccata

Select 2 chicken breasts, I use the skinless, boneless flash frozen version.  Place both thawed breasts in a zip top bag and pound until thin and even thickness.

 Season and lightly dredge in flour, shake excess flour off.

Set  chicken aside

Gather the remaining ingredients.

Place 2 Tablespoons butter and 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or EVOO in a large skillet.

Heat oil and butter until melted.  Remember butter has a low smoke/burn point so watch this closely.

Once the butter is melted, mix the two oils together.

Carefully add each floured chicken breast into the oil/butter mixture.

Cook over medium heat until brown on both sides

When the chicken is nicely browned remove from pan and set aside.

Add 1/3 cup chilled white wine, to deglaze the pan that the chicken was cooked in and reduce.

  Stir to loosen the fronds or brown bits stuck to the pan.

Add one cup chicken stock and 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice.  Stir.

Add 2 Tablespoons of chopped sun dried tomatoes.  (not the oil packed variety)

Add 2 Tablespoons capers.  

Bring to a boil and reduce the sauce by half.  Turn heat down and simmer

While this simmers, now is the time to cook the pasta.

One of the reasons I selected this dish is that I bought some homemade pasta at our local farmer's market and wanted to use it.  This is Tomato, Basil, Garlic Fettuccine.

Bring your water to a full rolling boil with a teaspoon of olive oil and dash of salt.

Cook pasta until al denta, which means to the tooth, or still has a little chew to it.  

Pasta will continue to cook once removed from the water, so don't over cook it.

Now chop 1 Tablespoon of Italian parsley.  Rough cut, not too fine.

Once the sauce has reduced add 1/2 to 1 cup heavy cream and 2 Tablespoons cold butter.

Mix cream and butter into the sauce

Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Add the cooked chicken breasts back to the pan.

Add the cooked and drained pasta.

Lightly toss to coat the fettuccine.

Garnish with the chopped parsley.

Serve with a glass of white wine and enjoy.