Our First Day of School!

Some worthy notes of preparation

OK, so I have been getting ready for the upcoming week by preparing some foods that will make breakfast easier for my busy little family.

I have been researching making homemade granola bars. I read an article a couple of weeks ago that highlighted a few different healthy, nourishing bar recipes, but I couldn't find the page (nor could I remember the site!). I typed Granola Bars in the Windows Live search engine, and the second recipe caught my fancy. Click here to see it. They are in the cooling stage right now, but as far as I can tell, they are delicious! I didn't have sunflower seeds or peanuts, so substituted sliced almonds and flax seeds and sesame seeds. I also used dark muscovado sugar instead of brown sugar. The latest batch of local raw honey that I have is so delicious that I could drink it, so it was a nice touch. I forgot to add vanilla and salt, but I am OK with that because I enjoy the flavors of all the ingredients. For the dried fruit, I used dates.

Next on the to-do list: cook a pound of local, nitrite free bacon. The plan is to cook it and let it cool, place in a container in the fridge and heat and eat as needed. The only bummer is, we have a hen setting on a nest and there have been no eggs! (Note to self: add eggs to my grocery list).

Homemade yogurt is in the fridge. I don't make it too often, only when we don't drink our 3 gallons of raw milk in two weeks, or if some of it starts to sour. It makes the best yogurt and the girls love it. The girls and I also love oatmeal, so we can soak it over night and eat in the morning.

There is a problem. Danny Jr doesn't like bacon or yogurt or smoothies or oatmeal. He does like granola bars, but he needs another option. I am thinking, bean and cheese burritos. I can make the beans ahead of time, assemble the burritos, keep in freezer and place in the fridge the night before. Hmmm. I am brainstorming as I type. I can make some pancakes ahead of time, too. These re-heat well, and the kids can do it themselves.

Do any of you out there have any tips or hints concerning healthy food preparation for families on the go? I am new at this work thing, but I don't want to give up our healthy eating habits for it. Please comment on this post with your ideas!

It begins....

Tomorrow is the first day that students go to school! Last week was team building, meetings, and preparation for the school year.

The school year begins! My baby goes to kindergarten, and I go to work. The girls both got the teachers they wanted (no pulling strings on my part, either!). DJ's classroom is across the hall and two doors down from the classroom I'll be in. Hope I can go to the boo-hoo breakfast! I'll need it!

All this time in a school environment has encouraged me to start planning on going back to school to earn my degree. There are two options that I am considering, and will do some soul searching to decide which direction to take. Who knows, maybe in the end I'll do them both. But that won't be for years!

Have a nice week! I'll try to blog once in a while!

This is it!

Reality is setting in! Eleven years as a stay at home mom are officially over. Tomorrow morning, at 8 AM, I start my new job as a teacher's aide. It's a week full of team building, meetings, and preparation for the upcoming start of school. I am anxious, thrilled, nervous, and excited. Above all, though, I am extremely grateful.

I will keep you updated!

I *HEART* My Friends!

Need I say more?

A New Chapter in the life of...

In the last few months, I have been exploring several different "themes" to the next chapter of my life.I have made many different status plans ranging from ideas of starting my own business to a restaurant job in a highly acclaimed local restaurant, to my most recent and FINAL decision.

Last fall, I put in a resume at my children's school (KRE) to be a teacher's assistant. At the time, there was an opening in the bilingual program, which, ultimately I did not get because I am not fluent enough in Spanish. That turned out to be OK, as I embraced the opportunity to spend the last several months at home alone with my baby boy, before school let out and the girls came home for summer.

A couple of weeks ago, I heard about a job at the River House Tea Room in Gruene. I applied for it, and was hired! Even though I lack kitchen experience and formal chef training, the chef felt comfortable with me and decided to give me a chance. The first day to work was yesterday, Tuesday evening. We prepped and tested and developed recipes to introduce for the upcoming breakfast menu (she didn't serve b'fast before, only lunch 6 days and dinner on two days. This morning I went in and really proved myself to be an asset to the kitchen crew, working alongside two incredibly talented and experienced chefs. What an opportunity!

Two days ago (Monday) I received a call from the secretary at Klein Rd, inquiring for the principal if I was still interested in applying for a teacher's aide position! Imagine the nerves I was experiencing! I interviewed yesterday, on my way in to my first day at the other job, leaving there with the promise of an answer today.

I got my answer! I was offered the job as an aide in the PPCD program, special ed in the Pre-K classroom. Next week, I attend Paraprofessional Course in San Antonio from Tuesday through Friday, and I start work the following week! I get to be with my children, at their school, with their schedule. WOW! How blessed I feel right now.

I am so looking forward to being able to bring a smile into the PPCD children's lives, to spend days with them, loving on them and helping them to be independent and to learn life skills.

In case you are wondering, I called the chef and explained to her what happened, and she was so beautifully gracious, and ensured me that I could still have a job there if the school job doesn't work out. WOW.

I thank you all for your patience, support, and encouragement. HUGS!!!

As promised

Last Thursday was my last time to do the CSA veggie delivery. So sad. The weather has been excruciatingly hot around here, leaving our local farms with parched lands, not enough water to feed their crops hydrated, and no veggies that want to grow in this heat! Even the hot weather loving crops are slowing down.

In my last CSA bag were 3 big sweet onions, 3 purple onions, an eggplant, and 3 or 4 beautiful zucchinis. Each week I try to do something different with the squash and zucchini, and today was something new and original.

Here is the recipe for Baked Stuffed Zucchini Boats:

2 long zucchini, or 3 -4 smaller ones
1 lb ground beef
1 c uncooked brown rice, prepared according to package directions (about 3 c cooked)
1 small onion, chopped
1 t garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 c chicken broth, water, or water plus 2 t bouillon powder or cubes
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2-1 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out soft center and set pulp aside. Place zucchini, cut side down on a microwave safe plate, add 2 T water and cook in microwave for 4-6 minutes, depending on size. You may have to do this in two batches. Place in a 9X13 baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

Brown beef in skillet along with chopped onions, garlic, garlic powder, and Cajun seasoning. Drain. Add to cooked brown rice, stir till combined. Beat egg in a separate bowl - add a scoop of the mixture to the beaten egg, stir (this is to temper the egg) and add back to meat/rice mixture. Spoon mixture into the hollowed out zucchini, heaping all the extra mixture on top and in between boats.

In a blender, combine 1 14.5 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes and 1 c water or broth. Blend till thoroughly combined and smooth. Pour over the zucchini boats. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy! We had a salad on the side, which was a nice accompaniment.

The entire family devoured this! There are no leftovers. Even my dear brother in law, who HATES zucchini, loved this!

Bringing Back the Meal Plan

I fell away from doing the weekly menu planning around the beginning of the year sometime. Guess I got busy, or distracted, or something! Since school is (gasp!) three weeks away, and I am about to be gainfully employed (starting Tuesday) I am going to make a huge effort to get my life more organized. This will start, of course, with my menu plan.

For the week of August 2 - August 8, my menu plan (excluding breakfast for now, till school starts) is:

Sunday - salad and baked potato
Monday - baked stuffed zucchini boats, salad
Tuesday - pot roast, potatoes and carrots
Wednesday - posole (my favorite!)
Thursday - grilled chicken and vegetables with wild rice pilaf
Friday - My birthday! I'm not cooking!!!!
Saturday - going to see Julie and Julia followed by dinner at La Madelaine!

Tuesday is a crock pot meal because it is my first day at the new job, starting at 5 PM (followed by 6 AM Wednesday)! The kids, Grandma and Dad will be able to eat dinner and have an easy time of cleaning up.

I will try to remember to take a photo and post the recipe for the baked stuffed zucchini boats tomorrow as I work on it. Think - same kinda filling as in stuffed cabbage or peppers.

My new place to post the menu plans here at home is on my little upright freezer in the kitchen. It is centrally located and highly visible. I write on it with dry erase markers, which easily wash off.

Have a wonderful week! I will post Wednesday to let you know how my first day went!