Just Call Me Martha Stewart

Mondays, I love them!  I know, most people don’t and I used to be one.  Then I got my job and this amazing schedule where I don’t work on Mondays or Fridays and suddenly Mondays are awesome.

It’s like I’m playing hooky, but I’m not.  It’s my day to catch up and regroup for the week.

So, today after spending a glorious fun filled weekend at the lake I spent Monday morning cleaning.  No, that’s not where the title comes in.  My level of cleaning probably doesn’t match hers.

Then Corbin and I tackled an “art/decorating” project.  We added a road scene to Corbin’s room using decorative wall stickers.

I had never used them before, but saw them at target.  They matched Corbin’s sheets, so for $13.00 I gave it a try.  I love them!  They were so easy to throw up and really add a cute touch to the his room in a nonpermanent way.

I think Martha would be semi proud of my “crafting”.

But, my true Stewart moment was….

the beautiful stuffed roasted red pepper. (The picture is my end result). It was delicious and looked fabulous.  I know Martha would be proud!  I have included the recipe below if you want to try.  I roasted my asparagus before I put it in the mixture.  I also did not add as much goat cheese as the recipe recommends.  In my opinion, goat cheese has a strong flavor and a little goes a long way.  I loved it in the dish though.

My husband and son had just the quinoa mixture.  I can not lure them to loving peppers.  Corbin did not like it, but whatever and Chris was ok with it.  Again, take that with a grain of salt…they are picky.

I loved it and thought this would make a perfect and impressive side dish.

quinoa stuffed peppers {with goat cheese}

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

This recipe makes a great light lunch or healthy side dish. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ingredients

• 4 red bell peppers (any color will do, or a mix)
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 pound fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1 5-ounce log goat cheese
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Slice bell peppers in half, remove stem, seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, cut side down, onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast peppers for 15-20 minutes until just starting to char and soften. Remove from oven, flip pepper halves over and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, place quinoa in a dry saucepan over medium heat. Toast quinoa, stirring or shaking pan often, about 8-10 minutes or until just turning a light brown. Add 2 cups water, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook quinoa for 10-15 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork.
4. Mix together garlic, lemon zest and juice, olive oil and black pepper, whisk until combined.
5. Place quinoa, cherry tomatoes and asparagus in a medium-sized bowl. Add dressing and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Fill pepper halves with quinoa mixture. Divide goat cheese into 8 portions and crumble over the top.
7. Place stuffed peppers back in oven for 5 minutes until asparagus is crisp-tender and tomatoes and goat cheese are softened.
8. Can serve immediately or at room temperature.

http://www.thewickednoodle.com/quinoa-stuffed-peppers/

I got to end my Monday at the pool and doing laundry.  All in all it was a great day.  Happy Monday!

1st Day Pre-K (4 yrs old)

Today was the first day of preschool for Corbin.  This year was SO much easier than last year.  Tears sums up how the beginning of last year went, from both me and Corbin.

But, this year, as soon as we walked into the room one of the kiddos, Ava, shouted out Corbin’s name, and he was all smiles. 

It was certainly nice returning to a school we already had been to with some kids he already knew.  So, although he’s in a new classroom with a new teacher, there were so many other things that weren’t new.

Both Corbin and I were tear free and smiling at this first day preschool drop off…yahoo!

Here’s to a super great year in 4 year old pre-k!

The Fall by Corbin

Corbin had a little incident this morning and he wanted to write a story about it.  He’s into making books lately.  So, here’s Corbin’s story.  Illustrated by him and written by me as he told it to me.  I might add my own commentary underneath the pictures

He insisted that this book have a title page.  Sure, why not have one for a 15 page book with no chapters or headings…makes sense, said no librarian ever!

Remember, I was writing what Corbin told me to write.  So, bear that in mind as you read some awkward word flow!

I do love the descriptive word sharp he said.  And if you will note Dad is on the right and the dots are Dad running to get to Corbin, love!

Corbin never really explains what got hurt, so I will.  He fell mouth first onto our wood floor and his teeth bit into his lip.  It was bloody and swollen.

Hilarious…Daddy left.  Just like that he left.  I tried to get him to reword that or explain a bit more, but he was adamant that this is what the page should say.

Ok, so where was I before this time? In the shower, getting ready for church.  I did hear the fall and I did hear the gut wrenching “hurt cry”.  But, I knew Daddy was out there and I knew that I might make the situation worse because I tend to freak out when people get hurt.  I also heard the water run so I knew there must have been blood…yuck!  So, I talked myself down from panic and knew that if it was really bad Chris would come get me, until then keep getting ready.

This is his back cover….blood spots.  What do I even say to that…love being a boy mom

Library–Superhero Style

School started today!  We had our first day with the kiddos.  But, for the last week I’ve been busy getting the library all ready for my students to show up.

This year I decked out the library in superhero style. 

Welcome to the hero headquarters where my super readers will spend their library time.

On some of my walls I put up large quotes related to superheroes. 

On my other walls I used “pow” signs with reading words written in them (connect, predict, infer, question…) along with some superhero kids flying around.

Big thanks to my awesome sister-in-law Kati, who wrote those signs and also drew the superhero kids.  She is amazingly talented and I feel so blessed that she gave her time and talent to help me create these for the library.

Chris helped me create these two super bulletin boards and the readbox stayed from last year.

That’s a look at my little home away from home.  I hope that my superhero library will inspire some super strength reading and learning to occur!