food. finally.

it has been forever since i've posted about food.
but we have, in fact, still been eating over here.
and i have been finding and creating new recipes.
enjoy!


homemade ravioli:
i posted about it earlier.
but a great way to cook it:
egg white wash. bread crumbs.
bake that trash with a little bit of olive oil on the outside.


dip in tomato sauce.
it's like heaven.


lime chicken tacos:
taken from here
but edited: white wine vinegar instead of red.
it's DELICIOUS.


balsamic-glazed chicken breasts:
glaze: 1/3 c balsamic vinegar, 1/3 c brown sugar, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary.
let chicken marinade in it.
then, brush it on while cooking on top of the stove.
we made it with baked potatoes.
YUM.


no-bake raspberry lemon bars:
a summer treat! we made them last week and devoured them.
plus they're not super fatty.
here is the recipe.


and a new one for this week!
get it here.
sweet BBQ chicken kabobs.
i'll let you know how it is.

also: news of the century.

i'm getting good at couponing.

this week? 

meijer: spent 70, saved 40 

cvs: spent 9, saved 13

i'm loving it!

okay. that's it. and i'm back in blogging action now... no more school to hold me back!

other things.

since i haven't been around lately, i have much to share.


first, a book.
susan told me about it.
and it changed my world. (she told me it would. smart girl.)

you should read it.
it has completely changed my perspective on things, and i've started making a list of things i'm thankful for--blessing the Lord has given me in my life.


a select few of my list (working my way to 1000):

16. Toothless smiles.

44. Watching my students attack Matt.

56. Bowls of crunchy cereal.

72. Getting into a warm car when I’m cold.

74. Cheap furniture that looks more expensive than it really is.

80. How cute Bailey is curled on a pillow.

i mean, seriously. she's crazy cute.

in honor of 74, matt and i went shopping to do some upgrades in our apartment... (plus one big splurge).

you guessed it.

we splurged on the lamp.

just kidding. it cost $12.

but we did splurge and got a new TV. we've been talking about it for ages and we just went for it.

so, that's that. big changes up in here.

oh, and in case you wondered...

school just ended.

and yes, i bawled like a baby.

and i don't even care.

i love those children.

st. louiaaaay.

well.

it's been 20 years since i've posted.

but man, have i been busy!

end of the school year.

plus, a trip to st. louis!

this post is dedicated to the greatness of that trip.

check it out.

 dinner in st. louis.

 the cute baby i spent my time with. baby taylor.

family reunion. they had cotton candy and snow cones! i was in heaven.

 am i going to feed it to taylor? (is amanda going to let me?)

 not a chance.

and there he is. in all his glory.

thank you, st. louis. for a great trip!

quick thoughts.

here are a few quick thoughts from my recently very busy lifestyle:


-bridesmaids. hilarious. see it. you won't regret it.

-never attempt to make a running partner out of a very hyper puggle. it doesn't work out. even with the best of intentions.

-don't get chicks when they are bigger than a few days old. as they get older, they get freaky. i'm terrified of one we have. pictures to come.

-end of the school year = intensely crazy lifestyle. lots of dinners with families, meetings with parents, scheduling summer, and attempting to get everything done in the few days left.

man alive. summer, come soon!

homemade ravioli.

i have always wanted to do this.

so i just decided to make it happen.

homemade ravioli.

i saw a recipe that used wonton wrappers.

so, i made my own filling: ground beef, ricotta, mozzarella, spinach, parmesan... and i made it happen! check it out.

delicious!

fooooood.

back in the US.
where i can cook to my heart's content.


stop 1:
grilled pineapple pork chops.
SO tasty and easy.
mix 8 oz. crushed pineapple, about a cup of bbq sauce, and a pinch of cinnamon.  grill (i broiled) pork chops a little, then scoop some of the sauce on and keep cooking until done.


grill pineapple rings (we didn't have the grill out, so i george foreman-ed those suckers. worked like a charm. ish.


SO tasty. we loved them!

stop 2: mother's day creation.
i've recently gotten obsessed with the show cupcake wars.
so, i wanted to create a recipe from sprinkles cupcake bakery.
i decided on sprinkles strawberry cupcakes.


problem instantly encountered: it calls for a food processor to get the appropriate consistency of fresh strawberries.
solution: cuisinart food chopper. i mean why not.

here is the finished product!

so much fun!

side note: my class just put on a puppet show.

it was crazy cute.

i had to add a picture.

 that is all. enjoy your weekend!

no seat belts and open windows.

well, it's about time to play catch up.
i went to another country for 10 days.

guatemala.

absolutely beautiful.

so, when we got there, we drove up a mountain to a small village called Pinalito.
for the drive up, we were told,
"keep your seatbelts off and windows open, in case we roll down the cliff and you need to jump out."
excellent.
just what i wanted, a death drive.


but we didn't die, and spent the bulk of our time in Pinalito.  i spent a lot of time in the school (i remembered my spanish, hallelujah!).

then, we spent the last day or so in Antigua. it used to be the capital of all of Central America... it's gorgeous.

so, there you have it! i have a trillion stories... but it'd be difficult to put into words on here. all in all, it was a great trip!


i wasn't able to sneak a baby back in my luggage though. sad. but i did get a machete back... :)