Books and Bakes

This past week I attended a library board meeting, helped Emily with her school work, attended Cook-book Club, and finished round one of my Cookiepalooza. As two of those things involve food, I think it would be safe to call myself a foodie as well as a literary person.

For Cook-book Club Emily prepared Oreo Truffles. Since she didn't decide what she was making until late the night before, she had to use vanilla flavored melting discs instead of chocolate because I just wasn't going to the store at that hour, and I had some leftover red discs.

I made Bacon Ranch Chicken Penne which turned out beautifully. I even made my own Alfredo sauce. If you want to try it for yourself, this is what you'll need.

Bacon Chicken Ranch Penne  🥓🐔🥘

6 slices of bacon
2 cups cooked chicken
Alfredo sauce
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 pound penne
2 cups fresh mozzarella grated

Alfredo Sauce

2 cups chicken broth
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2- 8 ounce containers whipped cream cheese
1 TBS minced garlic
2 cups grated Parmesan
Fresh cracked black pepper

In a large stock pot prepare sauce by adding broth, cream, garlic, and cream cheese and cook over medium heat whisking until smooth. When smooth, reduce heat to low/medium and add Parmesan. Whisk and allow to cook about five minutes. Remove from heat and add pepper to taste. Set sauce aside.

Next, cook bacon and set aside. In a large bowl, add penne, chicken which has been shredded, 4 cups of sauce, and ranch dressing. Let mixture set at least 15 to 20 minutes. The noodles will have absorbed most of the sauce, so before you put the mixture in a 9 x 13 pan, add an additional 2 cups of sauce. Reserve the rest of the sauce which can be used when reheating leftover casserole. Top dish crumbled bacon and mozzarella and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

I can't believe after all that effort I forgot to take a picture of my casserole, but there you have it. I did however, take several of the finished cookie tray that will be accompanying my husband, Bobby, to work.

But lest you think all I did attend meetings, home-school, and bake, never fear. I managed to read two picture books this week as well. There was Dear Girl which is an encouragement of love from a mother to her daughter letting her know it's acceptable to be herself whether that means being pink and sparkly or splattered with mud. It was also an encouragement for girls to appreciate who they are and what makes them unique something I try to teach my daughter.

And there was Douglas You're a Genius. Douglas  the Dog and his faithful companion Nancy loose a ball through a hole in the fence. When the ball rolls back to their side, they wonder just who sent it back. To find out, they try all kinds of crazy ideas thought of by Nancy, Unfortunately, none of Nancy's ideas work. Finally Douglas convinces Nancy to give his idea a try and they ultimately find out who's on the other side. Full of fun and surprises, this book is sure to please almost as much as that casserole I made!

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by 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 if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

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New Things

This week since I didn't have all the farmers' market baking to do, I tried some new recipes out on my family. I made homemade garlic cheese bread sticks and apple cider pulled pork. Both were delicious, but the bread was extra good! I also found several new cookie recipes on Pinterest that I want to try this Christmas.

In addition, I finished canning pears, peeled, sliced and froze apples for fried apples this winter, and I am probably cooking apple butter as you read this. I certainly do love fall harvest!

And finally, I found an autographed book at the bottom of one of my piles that I had not read yet. It is titled The Little Ships and is a historical fiction picture book that I received when I attended Nerd Camp this summer. But don't let the words historical fiction fool you any, this book is based on the real life heroic rescue at Dunkirk.

I don't know about you, but I love autographed books, and although I wouldn't probably have gravitated to this book on my own, I'm glad it's now part of my growing collection. The Little Ships is a story of a boy in a fishing town fifty miles from Dunkirk England during WWII. His father and he, along with many other fishermen in their small ships, set sail for Dunkirk to ferry thousands of sailors to the navy ships waiting nearby. In all, 338,226 soldiers both French and English were rescued by the little ships. This amazing feat is brought to life by Louise Borden in a believable manner and the story is given depth with the muted water colors of illustrator Michael Foreman.

So my suggestion for all you history buffs, WWII enthusiasts, or just plain curious persons is to find a copy for yourself either from your library or at your favorite book store and get to reading!

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.

Crazy Good

This past week was crazy good, and by that, I mean it was busy with some crazy and some good days. The crazy involved me at an eye screening appointment and the receptionist telling me my husband's insurance was canceled at the end of March. You can probably imagine my dismay! It turned out to be a company wide glitch which canceled everyone's eye insurance. The HR department failed to let anyone know of the problem or that they were working to correct the situation. The situation is now resolved, but I spent an hour at the optometrist and ended up leaving without my eye screening. I guess I will reschedule when I get back from the Southern Kentucky Book Festival taking place this next weekend.

The good days included attending Cookbook Club with Emily. The theme was salads, so she made a delicious orange fluff jello salad while I made an eight layer salad. Both recipes were a combination of parts of recipes I had found but wasn't quite happy with. The orange fluff tasted divine and might just be our new family get together go-to dessert. In case you want to try it for yourself, just grab:

1 box orange jello
1 box instant vanilla pudding
1 container non dairy whipped topping
1 can crushed pineapple (undrained)
2 small or 1 large can mandarin oranges (drained)
2 cups mini marshmellows

Simply mix all ingredients together well, chill, and serve!

The good days also included the wheather warming up enough for me to grill ribs which we ate outside. We ended that day with a mini bonfire on the patio. And, I rounded out the good days by attending a SCBWI Ohio North Critique Meet Up. Lisa Amstutz, author of science books like Robins (Backyard Birds), was a wonderful moderator, and she helped me figure out just how to polish up a few of my manuscripts for submission.

All in all the good outweighed the crazy as often it does, and that left me with time to head over to the SCBWI and vote for the Krystal Kite nominee of my choice in the Midwest division. I looked all the selections over carefully, admired many if not all of them, and finally chose to vote for Uh-Oh by Shutta Crum and illustrated by Patricia Barton. It is a delightful book with adorable illustrations and shows one family's trip to the beach. The Uh-Ohs in the book are the crazy unexpected moments the children experience at the beach much like my crazy no insurance moment I experienced. And much like me, the children quickly moved past the crazy and embraced the good. This book is perfect for parents and children from two to six.

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 and join the Literacy Musings Monday Blog Hop where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website, Fun With Aileen, where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own early grade Fern Valley chapter book series and my Quack and Daisy picture book series. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Grandparents, Easter, and A Recipe...

This past week was a whirl of activity as we prepared for Grandparents Day. One of the things I love about homeschooling through our former private school's Independent Studies group is the special events we still are able to participate in. And this year, I was asked if I would be willing to host a hospitality table with coffee and treats for the grands attending. For those of you who know me well, you know that I adore baking (more then eating), throwing a party of any kind, crafting, and sharing it all with others. So, this was a perfect opportunity to do just that.

Emily helped me make some flower filled vase table center pieces. We used leftover Easter grass to cover the stems of the faux flowers.

I also made some candle centerpieces from thirty cent plates and goblets I purchased at the thrift store and glued together with my handy dandy E6000 craft glue. That, along with a little left over ivy from a previous project, a little curling ribbon, some Dollar Tree candles, and some clearance netting from Wal-mart rounded out the project. Wouldn't these be adorable for a wedding?

 And of course there were the treats. Iced oatmeal cookies, brownies, scotchies, and iced sugar cookies. Not to mention my homemade chalkboard sign. Chalkboard paint works beautifully on the glass in picture frames.

 

 

After all the schooling, crafting, and baking of the week, it was nice to relax over the weekend. Well, after the grocery shopping and laundry. And since this week we are on spring break, I just might get some writing in before starting on my preparations for Easter.

And speaking of Easter, what would a book review at this time of year be without some great Easter book recommendations? One of my all time favorite Easter books is the Parabel of the Lily. Young Maggie loves getting gifts. but when her father gives her a flower bulb, she is very disappointed. That all changes when she goes outside on Easter Day and finds a beautiful Lily. The story of the true meaning of Easter shines through in this beautifully illustrated tale.

Another great Easter book is The Story of Easter by Patricia A. Pingry. This book  is the Biblical story of Easter written for small children to understand and is as wonderful as all her other books such as The Story of Christmas which Emily read aloud every Christmas for several years.

Finally, I am fond of The Jelly Beans and The Big Dance. At first I thought it would be a book about Easter with jelly beans being so prominent in the title, but it was actually a lovely book about friendship. To be more precise, it was a book about totally different individuals who felt that they will be unlikely to be friends until they discovered something they had in common. You guessed it, they all loved jelly beans.

And lest I forget, the recipe here is the recipe for my iced oatmeal cookies which are a delicious addition to any cookie repertoire.

Iced Oatmeal Cookies:

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not quick cook)
2 cups unbleached flour
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup salted butter softened
1 cup brown sugar packed
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar
3 TBS milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Put oats in food processor and pulse until coarse. Mix oats, flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars until smooth. Add eggs one at a time and finally vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Roll dough into two tablespoon size balls and place about two inches apart. This will be about six on a tray. Bake one tray at a time for ten minutes. Cool for five minutes before removing to a cooling rack. When completely cool, mix glaze and place a spoonful on the cookie. Spread with your finger and place back on rack to dry for at least two hours before placing in an airtight container.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musings Monday Blog Hop that I joined as well where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website, Fun With Aileen, where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own early grade Fern Valley chapter book series and my Quack and Daisy picture book series. I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Children's Book Week and Diversity

Normally my children's book reviews show up every Monday, but in honor of children's book week, I thought I would squeeze in an extra review. Since the only book that I haven't yet read at my house is Henry & The Incredible Incorrigible, Inconveniently Intelligent Smart Human by Lynn Messina, a trip to the library was mandatory. But don't worry, the review for that title will be forthcoming in a few weeks.

While at the library browsing, I noticed a book with a great cover that immediately made me think of the book diversity conversations that have been going on in social media lately. So I scouted around a bit  more and found some other books that looked diverse and decided that's what I would post about today.

The book whose cover caught my eye, Our Community Garden, provoked a conversation between the children's librarian and I. She informed me that our town, Shelby, Ohio has it's very own community garden. I wasn't aware of this and as soon as it stops raining, I think I will go down and have a look see.

Meanwhile, I really enjoyed reading Our Community Garden which takes place in San Francisco. Several school aged children live next door to a community garden where they each plant something different. Tom`as grows tomatillos for his famous salsa, Cassandra grows carrots, Allison Chin grows asparagus beans, and Audrey grows skinny, purple, eggplant. When harvest time roles around, everyone makes a special dish out of the vegetables they grew and they all have a community feast.

Not only does this book show a diverse group of children, it also promotes community which seems to be lacking quite a bit in this day and age. I heartily recommend this book!

As I continued to wander the aisles looking for any books that might catch my eye, I saw two additional books by an author I had previously read. A while back, I read Everybody Bakes Bread, by Norah Dooley, which I enjoyed immensely. So when I saw Everybody  Brings Noodles and Everybody Cooks Rice, I knew they were must reads for my diversity post.

In Everybody Brings Noodles, Carrie helps arrange a neighborhood block party. Everyone is making something special to eat, and each dish turns out to be a noodle dish. This thrills Carrie to pieces since noodles are her favorite food and she has a blast trying noodles dishes from all around the world.

In Everybody Cooks Rice, Carrie's mother sends her off to fetch her brother for dinner. As  Carrie visits each neighbor where she thinks her brother might be, they are all cooking rice dishes from different countries around the world. Each family offers Carrie a small helping, and by the time she returns home,  she is too full to eat the rice dish her mother has made.

What I love about these books are the glimpses into a community of diverse families and the different ethnic recipes they are preparing. And a beautiful bonus to each book is the inclusion of recipes at the end. Not only do these books entice me with their interesting stories, but they appeal to the cook in me as well.  And speaking of rice, if you want to add a new recipe as well as new reads to your diet, here is a rice recipe that is a favorite at our house.

Yellow Chicken Curry (Indian)

1 pound skinless boneless chicken diced
1 TBS Red Curry Paste
2 TBS Sugar
1 TBS Yellow curry powder
1 can coconut milk
1 can cooked sliced carrots
1 can sliced white potatoes
2 cups instant brown rice cooked

In large skillet cook chicken and set aside. In now empty skillet add curry paste, sugar, curry powder, and coconut milk. Mix thoroughly and simmer on medium heat. Next, add carrots and potatoes which have been drained. Last, add chicken and stir well. Simmer for about ten minutes so the flavors can blend. Serve over prepared rice.

Well, that about wraps it up for today. Join me next week for another exciting episode on my normal Monday. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, and my soon to be released sequel, Return To Fern Valley, coming summer of 2014! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.