A Hard Lesson

Dinner is in the oven; children are quietly playing and the chickens are put away for the night.

Today’s lesson was a hard one learned by my son. His sister received a gift card for her birthday and we went after school to Target to spend it. Since it was her gift card, I said she could spend it on anything she wanted. Well first my son wanted to go home “because he had a “headache”. I didn’t buy that; I just think he didn’t want to go shopping because, like all boys that I know, he hates shopping. Unless it is for a video game, then you can’t drag him out of the store.

So we proceeded to Target and on the way there he kept asking his sister if she would buy him an Icee. Well she said no, which is what I figured. My son go really upset, telling her that he bought her an Icee with his own money and that he is really thirsty, etc. She held firm and said no. She stated that he could wait until he gets home and drink water. He was beside himself and asked me to intervene, I said it was her money and she was able to do with it what she wants. I wasn’t going to make her buy him anything, only if she wanted to.

Well he was upset and on the way out of Target, he kept calling her names (not bad names; that I won’t tolerate). Nonetheless, I told him to stop. He kept stating he was mad at her and didn’t like her and that he bought her an Icee, etc. I told him that this was a hard lesson to learn. Some people don’t like to share and just because you do something nice for someone, it doesn’t mean they will do the same, even if they are your sister. And that if the only reason to do something nice for someone is to have them reciprocate, then that is not a selfless reason. I also stated that his sister hasn’t learned the art of sharing yet, but she will.

I know that didn’t make him feel better, but I am hoping that the lesson he learned is that the art of giving is a wonderful feeling and you should give without any strings attached. Or maybe he learned to never give anything to his sister.

Turning Eleven

An Eleventh birthday is not a milestone, but it is in the eyes of an eleven year old. She gave me the list of who she wanted to invite to her party, the list went on and on. I told her that it was just going to be a family birthday and that she already had a “big” party when she turned 10. So….she whittled down the list to just grandparents and cousins. That was okay, but I told her it was just for cake. I mean it is not that I am against presents; who don’t love presents, but her birthday was the next day and my plan was to give the presents in the morning of her birthday when she woke up.

I asked her what type of cake she wanted, and then I showed her a picture of an ice cream cake that I found in Taste of Home (where else) that looked good. She said yes. I am glad, because it was 80º on that day. It wasn’t too hard to make either, in fact it was quite easy.

Taste of Home Recipe, Oct./Nov. 2006 issue

1 pkg. (18 oz.) cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed and divided
¼ c. butter, melted
½ gallon vanilla ice cream, softened (the new smaller ice cream containers work just as well)
1 jar (16 oz.) hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed
1 carton (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed

In a bowl, combine 3 ¾ c. cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 dish. Spread with ice cream; cover and freeze until set.

Drizzle warmed fudge topping over ice cream cover and freeze until set. Spread with whipped topping; sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs. Cover and freeze for 2 hours or until firm. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving.

YIELD: 12 Servings.

Homework

Homework is the hardest thing for my daughter to do. Even studying for a test, she will say, "I know Mom, I know." This past week she has been doing homework until almost 8 p.m. I am there for the most part, but at the same time I am busy making dinner, so it can even be daunting for me to help. She is in the 4th grade and yes she has a focus problem, yes it doesn't always sink in, and yes she gets frustrated. But not as much as when she was younger.

When she was younger she was in a private school and they didn't quite have the teaching ability that I wish they had. So I had to pull her out and put her into a public school. She is now getting the help she needs, but it is still hard for her. My daughter has ADHD and at school she is in a 504 program - I believe that is what they call it. She gets pulled out of her regular class to go to the learning specialist twice a day for 30 minutes each time. We are lucky in that she is one-on-one with the teacher for one 30 minute session and the second one she only has one other child with her.

She has come a long way, but she still has a long way to go. I worry about the junior high school years, what will happen there. There is so much more reading and writing for her to do, will she be able to handle it? Those are tough years even for a child who doesn't have ADHD. I look at my son, who is in junior high, and worry about him too.

Free Milk

Today I am getting free milk. I just watched Good Morning America and they were having the free milk give-a-way. They said to go onto their website (www.abcnews.go.com/GMA) and click on the link “Free Milk for a Year” and it will take you to the website. You do have to fill out info, such as your name, address, birthday, e-mail address. That was fine with me. Now I wasn’t an instant “Free Milk for a Year”, but they did give a coupon for a free half-gallon chocolate milk with the purchase of a gallon of milk. I thought that was a pretty good deal. I normally don’t buy chocolate milk; I make it myself, but since I do buy a gallon of milk a week, why not get some chocolate milk for the kids for free? This promotion is good through February 9, 2011, so you are able to submit an entry every day for the give-away. Hopefully I will remember every day to register.

Last night I made scalloped potatoes with regular Idaho potatoes and some I added some sweet potatoes for a different flavor. It was okay, I mean it wasn’t yucky and we ate it all, but it didn’t have any “yum” factor. I might try to cut them into pieces, sauté them with olive oil and finish cooking them in the oven, maybe with some oregano, salt and pepper and see how that tastes.

Bread Pudding

Bread pudding was not a popular choice of dessert for me when I was younger. I would have chosen cake, pastry, ice cream, or chocolate instead of bread pudding. But as I have grown older, I have acquired a taste for it. It is especially delicious hot out of the oven with some vanilla ice cream next to it. Or cooled down and some fresh whipped cream put on top.

I had some leftover bread the other day and I didn’t want it to go to waste. So out came the recipe and away I went. Bread pudding is very easy to make, it only calls for 5 ingredients and everyone has these five ingredients in their house all the time. I will sometimes add to the recipe just for a change. I have added chocolate chips; the children especially like that. This last time I added orange rind and orange juice to the recipe, very tasty with a hint of orange.

Bread pudding Ingredients

2 large eggs, room temperature
2 ¼ c. whole milk (I use 2% - it still comes out fine)
½ c. sugar
1 ½ t. cinnamon (Watkins)
5 c. cubed or torn stale white bread (or use whatever bread on hand) I prefer to tear the bread – it will give the pudding a more rustic look.

Heat oven to 350º. In large bowl, thoroughly mix eggs, milk, sugar and cinnamon. Add the bread and stir gently until fully covered with egg mixture. Pour into greased 8x8 Pyrex. Bake for 45 minutes or until knife comes out clean and pudding is lightly browned and puffed on edges. Serves 6.

I have made the bread pudding the night before and cooked in the morning for a breakfast treat. Have it with some coffee or tea and enjoy.

Bread Crumbs

There are a lot of recipes that call for bread crumbs. My question is why purchase bread crumbs when you can make them yourself. Whey you buy sliced bread there is always the end pieces that go to waste and end up being thrown away. I always take those end pieces and put them into the food processor and whirl away. The longer they are blended, the finer the crumbs become. Then I will end up using them in a recipe or put them into a plastic bag and put into the freezer for a later use.

I have used bread crumbs for hamburger patties. When I make the patties, besides the egg to bind the hamburger together, I add some bread crumbs (usually about ¼ cup, salt and pepper, some onions and if there is any barbeque sauce I add that also.) Then I put them on the grill and fire away.

I will also use the bread crumbs as a topping for macaroni & cheese or broccoli casserole. I don’t notice a difference if the bread crumbs are from white or wheat bread. I sometimes add seasonings to the bread crumbs.

Bread crumbs have also been used for breaded chicken, etc. Use your imagination and go wild.