Sharing this recipe for dinner rolls...
Recipe courtesy of Tracy Mitchell.

Dinner rolls: 1c water,  2 tbsp butter (softened) , 1 egg, 3 1/4c bread flour, 1/4c sugar, 1 tsp salt, 3 tsp active dry yeast...  if using bread machine to mix/rise, use dough setting. Otherwise, mix wet ingred, add in dry. Mix/ knead.  Let rise about an hour or so, covered with damp towel. Punch down, knead again. Divide into 15 balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Brush tops with melted butter.  Let rise until doubled again - 30-40 min.  (Hint... turn oven light on and let second rise take place in oven .heat from light seems to make mine rise better/be fluffier) 350 deg. until done. approx 15 min.  Brush tops again with melted butter.

I may have gone mad...

     I have always said that I would NEVER homeschool my children.  I've always thought that children who were homeschooled were socially awkward and just plain weird.  I do, however, have several friends who are currently homeschooling their children.  And...I told them they were crazy.  

     Recently, God laid something on my heart that I am having serious complications about.  I am seriously considering the possibility of homeschool Whitt & Virginia next year.  Every waking second is consumed with thoughts of why this option would be a beneficial one for me and for my family.  Today's post is my attempt to write down all of the pros and cons of this decision.  It is a most difficult decision, and one that I am not taking lightly.  

Pros...

- Tripp is starting a new job and will be home every evening from now on.  

- Tripp will also be off every Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.

- We live Ina farm.  We do not have much time these days to take car of and enjoy the animals that we do have.  Therefore, I feel as if our "farm" is basically being wasted.  It could be such an important learning tool for W&V.  

- Homeschooling curriculum has come quite far in the past decade, and there are soooo many options including many Christian curriculums.

- We will still attend church on Wednesday evenings, Sunday mornings, and Sunday evenings, so W&V  will still have opportunities for socialization.

- Everyday life will be our classroom.  Opportunities for "lessons" will occur throughout the day, as opposed to having "specific" class time only.  

- With Tripp being home periodically, he will be able to be more involved with lessons, projects, and educational trips

- My dad lives in Virginia.  My mom lives in Santee. We cannot visit them as often as we should because the kids are in school throughout the week.  With a homeschool schedule, we would be able to do lessons anywhere.  We would also be able to use a visit with my dad, my mom, Wayne, or Teedie as an opportunity to learn knowledge that they could provide.  There will be a time when they will no longer be around. Would really love for them to be able to teach W&V some of what they have taught me.  

-I can

- W&V will be grown before we know it.  This will give us so much more opportunity to spend time with them.

- I will not and my children will not have to deal with the DRAMA that goes along with school. 

- I will be involved and be a part of everything that they will be learning.  

Cons...

- I just took a position at W&V's school teaching Art.  I really enjoy it, and I really do not want to have to give that up.   

- time away from the kids will be very limited

- I may go nuts

Blueberry Cheese Danish

I tried a cheese Danish at church last weekend, and it was absolutely amazing!!!
Here is my twist.

Ingredients

2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, diced
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons sour cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
Line bottom of baking pan with 1 can of crescent rolls. Pinch all seams together to seal.
In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, white sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract and sour cream. Spread filling on top of rolls. Place second can of rolls on top of filling.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar, milk and butter. After Danish has cooled, drizzle with icing.

I added a cup and a half of frozen blueberries to the cream cheese mixture. YUMMY!!!

Hash Brown Casserole

I have made is recipe twice within the last week and it seems to be a hit! Simple, yet soooo yummy! Ingredients: 1 bag frozen shredded hash brown potatoes 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 soup can full of water 1 8 oz container sour cream 1 package powdered ranch dressing mix 1 package real bacon bits 1 package shredded cheese 1 onion (grated or chopped) In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spread mixture in a greased baking dish. top with additional cheese if desired. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until bubbly and yummy looking!!! I like to garnish it with a little bit of chopped green onion on top.

Lemon Chicken with Green & White Bean Salad

Ingredients:
- chicken breasts
- lemon pepper
- flour
- butter
- lemons
- white wine
- egg noodles
- steam in bag green beans
- cannellini beans
- salt
- olive oil

Lemon Chicken:
1.  Cut chicken into thin cutlets
2.  Season flour with lemonm pepper in a bowl.  Dredge chicken cutlets in seasoned flour.
3.  Brown floured chicken in skillet over medium heat with a little oil and butter. 
4.  When chicken is desired color, add lemon juice (juice of 1-2 lemons) and white wine.  Simmer in skillet with chicken.  You may want to add a little extra flour to thicken the sauce and lemon pepper for seasoning.  (The sauce is the best part.  You can always add a little water, butter, & flour to make more sauce!) 
5.  Serve chicken over egg noodles. 

Green & White Bean Salad:
1.  Steam green beans according to directions.
2.  Drain & rinse cannellini beans. 
3.  Add a little olive oil, lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon), and salt to the bottom of a serving dish.  Add steamed green beans and cannellini beans.  Toss. 

I like the taste of lemon a lot.  Add as much or as little lemon flavor as you like.  I'm sure the dish would be delicious without the wine too.  Enjoy!

Blueberry-Oatmeal Muffins

 

PREP TIME

10 Min

TOTAL TIME

30 Min

SERVINGS

12

INGREDIENTS

1	cup Yoplait® 99% Fat Free plain or creamy vanilla yogurt (from 2-lb container)
1	cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats
1	egg or 2 egg whites, slightly beaten
1/4	cup canola oil
1/2	cup packed brown sugar
2/3	cup all-purpose flour
2/3	cup whole wheat flour
1	tsp baking soda
1	tsp ground cinnamon
1/4	tsp salt
1	cup fresh or frozen (do not thaw) blueberries

 

1. 1 Heat oven to 400°F. Place paper baking cups in 12 regular-size muffin cups, or grease bottoms only of muffin cups.
2. 2 In small bowl, mix yogurt and oats. In large bowl, mix egg, oil and brown sugar. Stir in flours, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and yogurt mixture (batter will be lumpy). Gently stir in blueberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
3. 3 Bake 18-20 min or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan.