What's On the Tank? {The Core}

Since visiting the Classical Conversations community with B earlier this month, I have taken a real interest in learning more about classical education.  I knew from the first homeschool conference I attended that giving my children a classical education was the route I would choose for our home school environment.  I have not been disappointed thus far with our Memoria Press curriculum, and I am really looking forward to getting involved in the CC community next school year.

While at the CC Open House, one of the mom's shared with me that she had read The Core by Leigh Bortins the founder of CC.  I was able to get it pretty quickly through inter-library loan, and I'm almost finished with it.  I have learned so much about classical education that makes me love it even more!  And I have gotten some great ideas that I have already used in my school day with the kids.

 

This has been a very informative and enjoyable read.  If you are already homeschooling, are interested in homeschooling, or just want to know more about homeschooling, you should grab this book and read it.  It's a fast read, and I promise you will enjoy it!

Pinterest Recipe Thursday {Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Chicken and Sour Cream Mini Biscuits}

Let me just start by saying, both of these recipes will be staples at our house from now on.  They are ridiculously easy and delicious!!  I had pinned both of these recipes eons ago and finally got around to testing the chicken one last week.  The biscuits I had made several months ago and thought they would go well with this meal.

Sweet Baby Ray's Crock Pot Chicken

1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (I used original.)
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes (I only used about 1/4 tsp.)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
4-6 chicken breasts (frozen is fine!!)

Combine the first five ingredients in a bowl.  Place the chicken in the crock pot.  Pour the sauce over the chicken and cook on Low for 4-6 hours.  Enjoy!  Here is the link for the site I pinned.

I love a crock pot recipe where I can use the chicken still frozen because I am notorious for forgetting to thaw meat!  Next time I make this (and believe me, there will be a next time) I will probably completely omit the red pepper flakes.  To me, the BBQ sauce had enough kick on its own.  But if you love heat, go for it.  It was a bit too much for me and my kids.

I didn't get a good picture of the chicken after it was cook because we dug in, but here is one of it a couple of hours into the cooking process.  Yummo!

I served this chicken with The Lady's Mac and Cheese from Paula Deen's The Lady and Sons cookbook, green peas (although I wish I had had some limas on hand), and Sour Cream Mini Biscuits.  It was a home run meal as far as I am concerned.

Sour Cream Mini Biscuits

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 cups self-rising flour

Combine the ingredients in a mixer.  The dough may be a little dry, but it's ok.  Roll a rounded tablespoon of dough into a ball and drop it into the cup of a greased mini muffin tin.  Bake at 450 for 10-12 or until golden brown.  Here is the link to the original pin.

I love using my Pampered Chef small scoop for these.  It makes rolling them into balls easier.  You can get about 40 mini biscuits from this recipe.  It is such an easy way to add a bread to your meal--which is not something I do often, but it's nice every now and then.

I really wish I had snapped a picture of the whole meal because it was seriously yummy, but alas, I was so engrossed in eating the deliciousness that I completely forgot.  I hope you will give these a try.  Enjoy!

Pre-K Update 5

It has been several weeks since I did an update on how Pre-K is going with B.  He has made so much improvement, especially with his handwriting, since we started in September.  I just can't believe how far he has come!

He is learning lots of Scripture, and there are several that he can say if I just give him the Scripture reference.  The fact that he is able to write God's Word upon his heart at such an early age makes me so happy.  And C has learned several of these Scriptures as well, which is just as thrilling.  He can say the Pledge of the Allegiance to the Flag (as can C which is adorable), he knows his full address, can name the four seasons and the four cardinal directions, and he learned the five vowels and their sounds this week.

He can read about 60 sight words and can read them when I use them in sentences such as, "He can go and play.  Where can she help?  We can jump and run.  I see all the big and little pigs."  For the past 6 weeks, we worked on the letters W, R, U, E, K, and L.  We read several books and did some fun crafts.

We finished up a study of the six different animal groups (mammals, reptiles, fish, birds, amphibians, and insects) and make kites for the letter K.

We have four more weeks of school, and then we will be done for the summer.  B is registered to attend the Classical Conversations community in a nearby town, and I am super excited about adding this to our homeschool activities.

Happy Easter!

Our family enjoyed a lovely Easter.  We started the morning checking out what the Easter bunny had brought during the night.  They each got new pj's, a swim suit, a pair of shoes, a Play Pack (coloring books, crayons, and stickers), a Leap Frog dry erase letter practice pad, some candy, and a 'squishy Angry Bird.'  Then to share they got Frozen and the Frozen soundtrack.

Then we headed to church to spend the morning worshiping our risen Savior.  Doesn't get much better than that.  Then we went to my brother's house for a big family lunch.  I didn't get a single picture of the food, but trust me, it was delish!  My brother's wife Aunt A had Easter baskets for the kids which they were thrilled about and got to open right before we ate.

We managed to get a family picture before lunch which is an Easter tradition for us.

Happy Easter to all!

Pinterest Recipe Thursday {Smothered Chicken}

Once again, this is not actually a recipe that I found of Pinterest, but it is worth sharing.  It is the crowd-pleasing and super easy Smothered Chicken recipe that I promised you last week.  I got this from a lady at our church who grew up Mennonite which basically means that you would eat and love every.  single.  thing.  she cooks.  Once of the things that I love about this is there is no measuring or complicated ingredients.  Just put however much you want.  So here goes:

Smothered Chicken

chicken tenders (however many you need to feed your crowd)
Italian dressing (I use fat free.)
Bacon--cooked until crispy and crumbled or chopped
Shredded cheddar cheese

Marinate the chicken in the dressing.  Grill chicken on outdoor grill or grill pan.  Once cooked, topped with bacon pieces and then cheese.  Put in 350 degree oven until cheese is melted.  Enjoy.

It does not get much easier than that, and this is a very family friendly meal.  The Hubs and the kids love this and eat it without the dreaded "How many bites to I have to eat?" questioning.  haha  I have eaten this with rice and peas as seen above, pasta with Alfredo sauce, hash brown casserole and beans, pretty much anything.  Give it a try--you won't be disappointed.

2014 Youth Missions Egg-Stravaganza

This past Saturday, our church hosted its second annual 5K/Fun Run Egg-Stravaganza to raise money for youth short term missions.  The Hubs and I are in charge of this, and while it is a bit stressful putting together an event like this, we enjoy it.  And it always feels good to raise money for furthering the gospel of Christ and investing in the youth of our church that we love so much!

The one mile Fun Run started at 8:30, and the 5K started at 9:00.  We didn't have many runners, but we didn't advertise it like we should have.  I have big plans for next year, but I digress . . .

One of our church members owns a small business renting out those fabulous inflatable slides and jumping castles that are all the rage with the kiddos these days.  Last year and this year, he graciously donated them for the day, and the kids love them.

We ended the morning with egg hunts for kids nursery age to 12.  We had tons and tons of candy-filled eggs and my kids each got a basket full!

 Pop and JuJu being silly!

Overall, the event was a success, and the kids had a wonderful morning playing and hunting eggs!  And my brain is already brainstorming for next year!!

Pinterest Recipe Thursday {The Easiest Brown Rice}

Ok, I confess.  I did not find this recipe on Pinterest.  I actually found it in the old cookbook that my elementary school sold as a fund raiser when I was growing up.  There are approximately a bazillion different ways to make this, but I will share the way I make it.

I will start with the ingredients.  They are all items that you either already have on hand or can easily add to your pantry on a regular basis.  And there's only four:  a can of beef consume, a can of french onion soup, butter, and rice.

The Easiest Brown Rice

1 can beef consume
1 can french onion soup
1/2 stick butter
1 cup rice

 Ok, I have another confession.  When I made this and took the pictures, I misremembered the recipe and actually used a whole stick of butter instead of half a stick.  But I think this just shows the versatility of this recipe.  It's hard to mess it up.  So, if you go to make it, your casserole may look a little different from mine if you follow the recipe.  Personally, I didn't notice a difference taste-wise, so I plan to use just half a stick of butter when I make this in the future.  Why add the extra fat and calories for no taste improvement?

So anyway, I just drop the half stick of butter in the 9 x 9 pyrex dish and put it in the oven to melt while the oven is preheating.  I removed the pan of melted butter, pour in the rice, and stir it up some to coat the rice in the butter.

Then I poured in the cans of consumme and soup and stir it up again.  The rice sinks to the bottom, but it soaks up all the yumminess while it cooking, so the rice doesn't stay on the bottom.  (This was when I noticed that maybe I had put too much butter.  You can see the oil floating here.  It usually looks darker than this after adding the canned items.)

Bake it at 350 for about 45 minutes or until the rice has soaked up the liquid and is done.  I usually dig a fork into the middle and just taste it.  If the rice is no longer hard, it is ready to serve.  You can see where I had sampled some in the picture below.

This rice is a hit everywhere I take it, and my family enjoys it when I make it with dinner.  On this particular night, I served it with smothered chicken and green peas.  Yummy!

I will share the recipe for Smothered Chicken next Thursday.  It is also very easy and always at hit with my family.

Update:  You can read about that delicious Smothered Chicken here.

Pinterest Recipe Thursday {Baked Shrimp and Grits}

I recently had a friend post on Facebook that she had resolved to try one of the recipes she has pinned on Pinterest at least once a week.  I thought that was a GREAT idea, so I have also resolved to try more new recipes.  This week I made Baked Shrimp and Grits from oystersandpearls.net, and it was a true success.

Baked Shrimp and Grits:

6 cups of water
1.5 cups of dry quick cooking grits
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 pound block of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tsp Lawry's Seasoning Salt
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce (I leave this out.)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
3 eggs beaten
Shrimp (frozen or fresh)

Bring the 6 cups of water to a boil and add the grits.  Cook 5-7 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat and add the butter and cheese.  Stir until melted.  Add the Lawry's, salt, garlic powder, and hot sauce (if using) and stir to combine.  Once it has cooled a bit, slowly fold in the beaten eggs.  Pour this mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Lay the shrimp on top of the grits and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes or until browned on top and the middle has set.

I used frozen shrimp and they cooked up perfectly.  I just wish I had had more, but then again, to me you can't have too many shrimp!  Here is how it looked going into the oven.

And here is how it looked coming out.  About half way through the cooking process, I used a fork to push the shrimp down in the grits to keep them from getting too done.  I wish I had dome this before putting it in the oven.  I think it would have helped the grits kind of rise up around the shrimp.  And I am pretty sure I cooked mine for about an hour and 15 minutes.  Don't let that "45 minute" thing fool you--it will take much longer!

I served mine with a salad topped with my homemade Olive Garden copycat dressing, and it was a really delicious dinner.  Ok, so my kids weren't wild about it, but the Hubs and I enjoyed it.

And I will also say that the left overs and delish as well.  One of the many great things about his recipe is that it is good any time of day.  It makes a really satisfying breakfast, as well as lunch and dinner.

Enjoy!

First Tee-ball Game 2014

B could not have been more excited about his first tee-ball game last night.  He woke up bright and early ready to put on his uniform and head to the ball field.  I am so glad he enjoys playing ball!  Since the Hubs had a golf match that afternoon, I was on my on getting the kids and all their gear together for the game--which really is nothing new.  But with trying to remember to get snacks for the kids, the bat bag, and all of C's stuff together, I completely forgot my camera!  So here is the one picture I managed to get of B in his new Dodger uniform.

He got two solid hits and made it home both times he got on base.  He had lots of fun and can't wait for his next game on Friday!  I am so proud of this boy!

Homeschool Co-op Visit

B and I had the pleasure of attending an Open House at the Classical Conversations community in a nearby town today.  It was so much fun, and the paperwork has already been done to get B registered for next year.  He had a blast, and it was wonderful to meet other homeschooling moms.

If you are not familiar with the Classical Conversations curriculum or their model, you can read more about it on their website www.classicalconversations.com.  We started the day in the whole group meeting where the kids said the pledge to the flag and the Bible, and then worked on their Bible memory passage and their Timeline memorization.  This is also normally where they do family presentations, but all of the families had done theirs for this semester.  B volunteered to hold the flag for the pledge.  It was so cute, and I was so proud of him.

After whole group, the kids broke into two smaller groups.  We went with the group of kids aged 4-6.  They worked with their tutor on the memory work for history, geography, Latin, math, English grammar and timeline.  After small group time, all of the kids went to orchestra with Mr. A who is also the minister of music at the church where they meet.  He did a great job with the kids, and I was so impressed at what they were learning.

After orchestra they went back to the classroom for science experiments.  Their experiment for the day was to use popsicle sticks, rubberbands, and napkins to make a cage to protect an egg if it were dropped.  I will admit that it was pretty difficult for this age group, but I think the older group really liked it.  I wound up doing most of the work, but B sat and observed for at least a little while before getting up to play with the other kids.

My friend E (who was also visiting with her son) and I met out of the playground with the director while our boys played.  We got to ask her some questions and get to know her better.  After letting the boys play a bit, B and I headed off to the nearby Chick-Fil-A--I know you are shocked by this!  When we got home, we tested our egg cage--and it worked!!  Here is a picture of B with the surviving egg.

It was a really fun day, and while I don't want to wish away the summer, I am really looking forward to starting the new year in the CC community.