Returning to Normal

This past week Emily and I began to return to normal. As we put my mother's passing and the Christmas break behind us, we dove back into school and Cook Book Club. The theme for January was soup, so I made Bean and Bacon soup. Strangely enough as much as I cook, I had not made this type of soup before. I thought it turned out quite well and have decided to add it to my repertoire of often used recipes. Emily made striped delight which went over quite well. It is a dessert I used to  make quite often but hadn't made in a while, so it was a refreshing change. It is the perfect dessert for a party or get together. Here is the recipe in case you want to try it.

Striped Delight

1 cup flour                                                              ¼ cup sugar

1 cup ground nuts                                                    2 TBS milk

½ cup melted butter                                                 1 container whipped topping

1 pkg cream cheese softened                                    2 boxes chocolate pudding prepared

Combine flour, nuts, and butter until well mixed and press into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. When cool, mix cream cheese, sugar, milk, and whipped topping until smooth and layer on crust. Chill for at least thirty minutes. When chilled, prepare pudding according to box and pour over top of cream cheese layer.  Chill until pudding is set. Cut and serve.

Emily also made a birthday card for one of her friends. I know I'm probably partial, but I think her drawing abilities are quite good for an almost twelve year old.

 

And by coincidence, the book I chose to review this week, although not about returning to normal, is about returning. It is a follow up picture book to Tammi Sauer's, Your Alien. The first book was fabulous and this second book is equally wonderful. Your Alien Returns is the story of the alien taking his boy home for a play date. It is a story of working to fit in and not letting differences become hindrances to friendship. The illustrations are a bonus and add incredible dimension to the story as all good illustrations should.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by Literacy Musings Mondays for more great blogs as well as my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.