May 22, 2015

Hello!  It has been quite a while since I've been able to sit down and write up a summary about our week and review a new recipe or two.  It feel wonderful to be sitting here, not only with another great week behind us, but three keepers to post!

I completed student teaching in early May, and now am job searching.  The school I was placed at for student teaching is down-sizing teachers, but a few districts around me are hiring so I am hoping that something works out sooner rather than later.  I'll keep you posted.  While student teaching this blog was actually a fantastic resource - I knew the recipes from here would be welcome on our dinner table and that we could enjoy dinner and conversation without wondering if all of us would be happy with the meal.  So while didn't try any new recipes while I student taught I relied on my recipe archive a lot!

This week we had a bit of a cold snap - here in late May we had 2 days that we didn't even get out of the 40s!  So I made slow cooker French onion soup; it was a keeper!!!  If you like onion soup I think you will really like this soup and because it is made in the slow cooker (just finished off under the broiler) it couldn't be easier!  However, maybe you should book-mark this for the fall?  Either way, it was delicious!

We had a few baking bananas on the counter (you know them - the kind that are too dark and spotty for anyone to enjoy unless added to a smoothie or baked goods).  I made a banana snack cake that you could eat either as "banana bread" in squares, or make it into a layer cake if you add cream cheese or vanilla frosting.  It was a keeper both ways!

We also tried a new way to cook our favorite stand-by, boneless skinless chicken breast.  Not only a new method but I also tried a sauce the pair with it!   I browned it on one side, and then when I flipped it to briwn the other side, I put it in the oven at 375 F for about 9 minutes.  Easy!  The chicken was still juicy and it was browned on both sides.  I am going to try this with pork chops next time we have those.  The sauce was definitely a keeper.

I'm back to cooking and experimenting with new recipes!  We'll see what happens this week!

Happy Cooking!

New Recipes
Slow Cooker French Onion Soup
Banana Snack Cake
Tomato-Garlic Cream Sauce