More Real Life Learning -- Cooking With Mom

Another real-life learning experience that we try to incorporate on a regular basis around here is cooking. Each day, I have a "helper of the day" who gets to help with special chores, gets to choose activities, etc. This was borne out of necessity of course, to prevent arguing. But, I'm sure that never happens at your house, right?! Anyway, the helper of the day usually has the opportunity to help out in the kitchen, often helping me to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner. I am quite sure that, yes, it would be easier and quicker to do it without the little hands. But, the skills they learn and the time we spend together working at a common task (read: relationship building!)are well worth the increased time and effort! Today, the my son and I made this for breakfast:

French Toast Casserole
1 loaf of french bread
1/2 c of butter
2/3 c of brown sugar
cinnamon to taste
1 c of milk
1/2 t of salt
3 eggs

Melt butter in 9x9 pan. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over melted butter. Beat eggs, salt, and milk together in a bowl. Dip slices in egg mix. Place in pan and back at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (Turn each slice over at 15 minutes).

We love this recipe and the helper and I decided to top the french toast slices off with peaches. What a hit! I have found so many benefits to having the children helping out in the kitchen this way. I mentioned a few of them above, but I also find that being more independent, more willing to take risks, and eager to help are a few added benefits. And also the children are learning so much about cooking, math, etc. while helping out.

Just another little bit of real life learning in our homeschool!

Yummy Chicken Dish

I found this yummy recipe at Menus4Moms in May. Our family has really been enoying it here, since it is chicken and not beef based. Enjoy!

Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. bread crumbs
4-6 chicken breasts
3 T butter
1 T olive oil
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 c. heavy cream
1 4 oz jar pimentos (I can't find these here, so I don't use them)
1/2 c. grated parmesean
1/4 c fresh minced basil (or more!)
1 t. cornstarch (if necessary)
pasta

Preheat oven to 350. Put bread crumbs & milk in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in milk and then coat with crumbs. In skillet over meadium heat, brown chicken on both sides in butter and olive oil. Remove and place in oven to keep warm. Add broth to skillet. Bring to boil over medium heat and stir to loosen bits on bottom of pan. Stir in cream and pimentoes. Boil and stir one minute. Reduce heat. Stir in parmesean, basil, and pepper until heated through. If needed, add cornstarch to thicken. Pour over chicken and serve over cooked pasta.

Let me know if you decide to try this recipe out. I'd love to hear what you think of it. And stay tuned for London Lesson Number Three coming up tomorrow!

Wanna Know Something Interesting?

When you buy Bisquick in the UK and you look for the recipe that you always use for biscuts on the back of the box, the only recipe you find is for scones. Hmmmm. Somehow scones don't sound quite as tasty with fried chicken and mashed potateos. Do they?

Overwhelmed

Yep! Recently, due to my ridiculous inability to say "No", I have been completely overwhelmed by family responsibilities, homekeeping, homeschooling, and church responsibilities. Top that list with a pretty sick baby for three days and it appears that I've been in a constant state of "spiritual ADD", as my mentor calls it. My brain is on overload and my thoughts flit from one to another with no rhyme or reason.



So this morning, I tried something that I hadn't done for a while in my quiet time. I asked God what He'd have me to do today. Im pretty embarrassed that I have to admit not asking Him everyday, but that's the truth.



What always astounds me when I take the time to ask this question is this: His ideas for me are so much simpler than mine! His yoke is truly easy and light. Three things instantly came to mind as I thought about and asked the Lord about my day. Three things! My list has been at least a thousand things long lately, but this morning the three most important came to the top first.



The first thing was school. With a sick baby this week, anything school-related has been necessarily pushed to the back burner. Now keep in mind, I have preschoolers, so we are very laid back about our school time. But I really enjoyed getting to sit with them. We did Handwriting Without Tears. My DD1 worked on her name. DS1 worked on letters A through H. DD1 and I also worked on colors, while DS1 worked on math with the Learning Pallette I ordered from my friend, Cindy, who is an Usborne consultant. Both children also did Bible and journal time(see previous post) and various other crafty things.



The second thing on my to-do list for the day is a cheesecake that my husband has been asking for. It's his grandma's recipe and it's delicious. Surely, I can get this done for my wonderful man today. Here's the recipe in case you're interested:



Mamaw Noel's Fluffy Cheesecake

1 C hot water

1 small box lemon jello

3 ice cubes

2 C graham cracker crumbs

1 stick of butter

1 T powdered sugar

1 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened

1 C sugar

2 t vanilla

1 can chilled milnot



Mix together hot water and lemon jellow. Add 3 ice cubes. Put it in the fridge and let it set until syrupy.



Mix graham cracker crumbs, butter and powdered sugar. Press into 9x13 pan, saving a small amount for a sprinkled topping.



Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla well.



Cream milnot, like whipping cream, until peaks form. (You may need to chill your beaters first.)



Add jello mixture to creamed milnot and cream cheese mixture.



Pour over crust.



Top with remaining crumbs and refrigerate until cool.



Yummy! The reason my honey loves this recipe so much is that he used to request it from his grandma instead of birthday cake. In making this for him today, I hope to remind him of how important he is to me and how I thought of him throughout the busy day of school, housekeeping, etc. I want him to know is my top priority next to God. He is an "acts of service" guy, so hopefully, this will speak love to him.



The third thing I felt God asking me to spend some time on today was goal setting. I have set goals in January, but need to revisit them to see where I am. I am also interested in honing in on a few and adding a few more. I recently saw a post on Jennie von Eggers Creative Homeschooling blog at http://homeschoolblogger.com/CreativeHomeschooling/102939/ that I may try with my goals.



That said, I am going to try to go to God with that same question everyday. "Lord, what would You have me do today?" It's seeming to make all the difference.