On My Mind...

I am deeply saddened by the events that occurred yesterday at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio.  As a former administrator, the worst fear I had was something happening to the students placed in my care each and every day.  Schools are one of the safest places a child can be but life has a way of intruding into a school in a profound way.  Such was the case yesterday.  My thoughts and prayers go out to the students, their families, the educators and the community of Chardon, Ohio.

Drills and practice are an important part of a school community.  Knowing what to do in case of a fire provides a school with a plan that ensures safety for the school family.  The same goes for having lockdown drills and plans.  What an awesome job the students and staff of Chardon High School did yesterday in the face of such a horrendous time.  Due to the plan they had in place and numerous practices, that school community was spared additional tragedies.  If you are a parent, please become knowledgeable about the lockdown procedures at your child's school and make sure your child knows what to do!  If your child's school doesn't have a lockdown procedure....you need to make your voice heard to the local school board and have that remedied right away!!!

It's also important for students to realize the importance of informing an adult of any tweets, Facebook posts, conversations or texts that indicate someone is going to hurt another individual or bring a weapon to school.  Nothing should be taken lightly when that happens...in fact, due to students reporting such things recently, authorities at 5 different schools around the country were able to stop a tragedy from occurring!!!

Educators and school staff take the job of student safety seriously and I just want to say... Thank you to each of them for the job they do each and every day to make their schools a safe place for children!!  You do make a difference!!!

Love Me Some Mardi Gras!!!

I told you it's been party time around here this month!!!  Our HOG Chapter celebrated Mardi Gras...Fat Tuesday last week.  Doing theme activities is something I love and last week was no exception. Amazing what a little purple, green and yellow will do to brighten up a meeting...never mind sparkly masks and some strings of beads!!! Here's a peek!!!

Food Friday #15

Do you love bread????  Warm, delicious bread???  If so, here's a quick and easy way to make Garlic Knots!!  I made these (doubled the recipe) for Souper Sunday and they were, I think, a hit (does an empty tray indicate a hit??)!!!  LOL!   Give them a try...you won't be disappointed!!

Garlic and Herb Parmesan Knots

By Linda Larsen, About.com Guide

This super easy recipe is a good one for kids to make. All you have to do is tie the dough in knots, roll it in butter and herbs, sprinkle with cheese, and bake.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

·         1 can refrigerated soft breadstick dough

·         2 Tbsp. butter, melted

·         1/2 tsp. garlic powder

·         1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves

·         1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves

·         3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate dough into 8 rounds and gently unroll. Loosely tie a knot with each breadstick, then tuck ends under to make a knot. In a small bowl, combine butter, garlic powder, and herbs and mix well. Brush this mixture over top of rolls, using all of the mixture.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for 12-17 minutes until golden brown. Remove immediately from cookie sheet to wire rack; serve warm. 

Souper Sunday

Want to do a fun event with friends?  If so, then plan a "Souper Sunday" party!!!  Just ask your friends to bring their favorite soup to share or a favorite dessert.  It's that simple and a great way to have a fun get together for an afternoon or evening.


We attended Souper Sunday not too long ago and the soups were absolutely delicious.  We sampled Baked Potato Soup, Potato Soup, White Chicken Chili, Cajun 15 Bean Soup, 3 variations of Vegetable Soup, Italian Sausage Soup, Creamy Chicken N Veggie Soup and Clam Chowder.  Yep...it was a feast!!!  I made Neapolitan Cupcakes for the dessert table and they were yummy!!!!  Then top off your party with a game of East/West Hold Em!!! 


Dave shared his Italian Sausage Soup recipe with us and the next time we have a Souper Sunday I hope everyone will bring along copies of their recipes!!!!  It would be a great way to add to your soup recipe collection!!


Dave's Italian Sausage Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound ground Italian Sausage (hot or mild-your choice)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
1 can sliced carrots
1 can Italian green beans
1 can Northern Beans, undrained
1 small Zucchini, cubed
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 cup Spinach, chopped or torn
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Brown sausage with garlic, drain grease.
Put all ingredients in stockpot (except Spinach) and simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until zucchini is tender.
Remove from heat; add spinach; cover and let the heat of the soup cook the spinach.

What's Been Happening....Party Time!!!

Well...since my last blog I've been getting things ready for three HOG Chapter events.  It's been a busy time...so I apologize for not keeping up with my posts on a regular basis!!!  Hopefully I'll get back in the groove this week!!!

So...the RED HOT H.O.G. Night was so much fun!!!  We had a delicious menu of baked ziti, salad, bread and desserts (Peanut Butter Cake, Mini Cheesecakes and Chocolate Sweetheart Cupcakes).  Then it was on to the games....Stacks, "Not So" Newlywed Game, Dirty Cupid and LCR.  Plus there were door prizes!!!  Lots of laughter and good times were had by all!!!

I'll post about our "Souper Sunday" event and our "Mardi Gras Night" later this week!!! Let's just say I am keeping Dollar Tree in business these days....but it has been so worth it!!! :)  Oh, I've made cupcakes twice (a total of 8 dozen) and let me tell you they were delicious but I don't want to see any cupcakes for a few weeks

It's Food Friday with a VDay Twist!!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner!  Need a sweet treat for your "special ones"??  Well check out this tasty Valentine treat from Six Sisters Stuff.

Valentine Neapolitan Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 (19.5 ounce) package brownie mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (you could also use canola oil)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package strawberry cake mix (or any flavor you want)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (you could also use canola oil)
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 3 egg whites

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 40-48 muffin cups with paper liners (I only got about 40 cupcakes, but you may get more).
2. Whisk together the brownie mix, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup canola oil, and 1/4 cup water in a bowl. Stir just until fully incorporated, about 50 strokes; set aside.
3. Mix the cake mix, 2 tablespoons canola oil, 1 1/3 cup water, and 3 egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
4. Spoon the brownie batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup 1/3 full. Spoon the cake batter over the brownie batter, until muffin cups are each 2/3 full.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes.

Buttercream Icing:

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 4 cups (1 lb) sifted confectioners sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Food coloring (if you want pink add 4 drops of red food coloring to the icing)

Cream butter and shortening with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at a medium speed until light and fluffy.

If you need to thin this icing, add a small amount of light corn syrup.

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. It can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Rewhip before using. Yields 3 cups.

Busy Week

Wow, I haven't done a post all week!!  Sorry about that but I've been busy shopping and preparing for our Salisbury H.O.G. Valentine's Party scheduled for this Saturday!!  We're having a catered dinner and then we are going to play some games!!!  Should be lots of fun. Hopefully, I'll be able to share a few photos of the event and fill you in on all the games!!!  For now it's a secret!!!

LCR for Teachers???

Yep, I found a classroom game based on the principles of LCR!!!  Can you believe it?? Teachers use it as a "skills word practice or sight word" practice. Kindergarten children could play this with numeral cards, alphabet cards, number words...the sky's the limit!!! So here it is...Swamp Monster Left-Center- Right courtesy of  Swamp Frog First Graders!!

Don't you love it?????????  I told you LCR was great for children too!!!  Interested in getting the game cards and directions?  Then go here and here !!!

Have You Played...?

Walmart

We're getting ready for our annual Valentine's Day Party with the H.O.G. Chapter and one of our favorite games is LCR (Left, Center, Right).  Have you played it?  If not, you should try it.  LCR is a fun game that everyone in the family can play and it is great for teaching young children the difference between left, right and center!!!

The rules are fairly simple: each person is given 3 chips (or you can substitute pennies, quarters or dollars which ups the ante)!  Each person then rolls the 3 dice and if you roll an "L" you give a chip to the person on your left; if you roll a "C" a chip goes to the center of the table; if you roll "R" you give a chip to the person on your right.  If you roll a dot..you keep a chip.  The game continues even if you give away all your chips because at some point the person to your left or right may have to give you a chip!!  If you have less than 3 chips, you roll the same number of dice as the chips you have, IE. 1 chip means you roll 1 die.  The winner is the last person left with chips (if you use money then the winner takes ownership of the pot that collected in the middle)!!

LCR gets pretty competitive especially when you use money!!  I love the fact you can carry this game with you anywhere...it comes in a tin or a tube and can be found at your local Walmart!!

So...next time you're with a group of friends...pull out LCR and let the fun begin!!!!  Teacher friends..stay tuned, I have a post coming about LCR in the classroom!!!!