BBQ Chicken Braid & Dough Recipe

I think I'm more excited about the fact that I made a "bread braid" than anything else. It could be filled with nothing and I'd probably still be proud, ha! I'd been wanting to try one for awhile, and it's totally worth the effort to make! And bonus: if you're only serving two people, you get LEFTOVERS :)

There are so many "calzonish" recipes out there. My family loves calzones from Figaro's, and I've been missing them! Unfortunately, I only had a limited amount of ingredients, so the one I made is basically dough, chicken, cheese, and some Sweet Baby Ray's. Pretty simple. Next time I really want to make this chicken broccoli one! 

{I just might have to share it at school though so I don't eat it all!}

I'm including some of my step-by-step pictures, but I have to direct you to

 this website because it has a really good tutorial with pictures.

Here's the dough recipe. I've used it 3 times now with good luck!

2 1/2 to 3 cups flour (can use a combination of white and whole wheat if you prefer)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) yeast
3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 cup very warm water

Combine yeast, sugar, 1 cup of the flour, and salt in a large bowl. Add the warm water and oil and mix. Stir in remaining flour slowly until dough is soft but not sticky. Knead until smooth. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes before making the calzone.

check out that indo brand yeast! took me awhile to find

it's more fun to mix with a super hero spoon {stocking stuffer for Chris}

your hands will get messy

all ready for rising

pre-sliced {sorry it's kinda fuzzy}

baked

ready to eat!

UPDATE!!!

I just made this one tonight (April 23, 2012), and it is SO much better by just adding red onions and cilantro! Click on the picture - it'll take you straight to the specific recipe.

Happy Birthday to the BEST mom-in-law around!

From the proposal night. . .

to the wedding day. . .

and every day since then. . .

I can't begin to say how great Linda is! 

I'm sorry to those who have horror mother in law stories -- I just can't relate! The worst thing she's done to me is let me drink sour milk from the fridge! Okay, she didn't know it was sour, but she did laugh at me. . . at least I think she didn't know. . .  

If that's all she's got, I think I can handle it! ;)

But all joking aside, she is such a blessing in my life. Ever since Chris and I started dating, she's been a great friend. If I was having a rough day, she knew when to ask, or when to just give me a hug. She's always given great advice too. Not in the "I'm older so I know" kind of way, but more like the "I've been there, and here's what I learned" kind of way. There's a big difference and I know I can come to her about anything without feeling judged or silly for asking. We've laughed together, cried together, and spent many cold bundled days watching baseball together. I've learned a lot from her just by watching the way she loves and serves those around her. She's an inspiration to so many, and I'm lucky enough to be a part of her family and call her "mom" :)

 So -- thank you Linda, for the incredible role model, mentor, and friend that you are to me!

 I couldn't ask for more! Happy birthday to you!

it's the little things~ talking about heaven

Look at this little cutie! 

At the beginning of the year, I thought Seunggi was going to drive me up a wall [he still has his days] but I've grown to just love this little guy. He is so genuinely sweet and innocent [some of the older boys are starting to outgrow that sweet little kid stage and are more into trouble-making]. I want to share a short conversation I had with him earlier this week. It was one of those reaffirming teacher moments, when I was reminded how lucky I am to teach more than just academic subjects. What a blessing and opportunity.

Let me preface the conversation. 

I have been teaching about fairy tales for the past two weeks. Last week we were looking for the elements of a fairy tale in Cinderella. After talking about the "Bad Charaters" in Cinderalla, I felt like I needed to follow it up with a short discussion about how not all stepmothers are evil. It seems obvious, but not necessarily to a 6 year old's mind. Some of them have stepmoms so I wanted to cover all my bases. I figured I could relate to them best by telling them that I had a step mom, and about how nice she is {love ya Karen!}. This conversation led to them asking why I had a step mom. It felt like a teachable moment, so I went ahead and briefly shared with them about my mom, and how she passed away when I was younger.

Fast forward to this week [I think it was Monday].
Seunggi came up to my desk during a quiet work time as I was trying to get some papers graded. He looked pretty thoughtful, and then asked me a question which had nothing to do with the assignment. He asked me what my mom's name was. I asked him if he was talking about my step-mom or real mom, and he shyly replied, "the one that died", as his eyes dropped and he looked sad and sorry that he was asking. I told him my mom's name was Lynn. Then he asked me how she died. I didn't really go into detail the week before, so I told him that she had cancer. Then he asked what that was, why it makes you sick, etc. As you read this, I don't want you to think that he was asking in a nosey or silly way. He was very sincere and thoughtful with his questions. I could tell he had a lot on his mind. As I tried to answer his tough questions in the most 6 year-old friendly way, he hit me with a harder one:
"Why did God make that happen to your mom, Mrs. Katie?"

I just melted with that question. His simple questions were leading to something bigger. I prayed that I could explain it right to him. Whatever I said, I didn't want him to come away from that conversation thinking that God made people sick, or that he didn't care. I explained to him that God didn't make my mom sick, and that He doesn't like to see people sick either. But what God does make possible, is for me to see her again in heaven. I told him that she told me about Jesus, and since we both believe that he died to save us, that I'll get to see her again in heaven someday. He smiled, lifted his little head up and said,
"So, if Jaymin's [his best friend in our class] grandma dies, then he will get to see her again too?" "Yes" I told him, "as long as she believes that Jesus saved her too".  He let a breath out, and his shoulders dropped as he smiled softly. "Thank you Mrs. Katie" he said, and then walked back to his desk.

What a sweet little guy he is. I had no idea he was headed that direction after his first question. He could  have asked about Jaymin's grandma right away and still gotten the same answer from me. But I was really touched by the way he so thoughtfully asked his questions.
He wanted to understand, not just get an answer.
I'm thankful that God led me to share about my mom last week too. I debated in my head whether to even discuss step-moms outside of fairy tales and Cinderella, but God knew where it would lead, even if Seunggi's the only kid in the class who even remembers I have a step-mom. 

Other "little things" from this week:

- When my grade 3/4 team of basketball boys actually make their lay-ins [it's a rare occasion]

- Chris and I dominated at futsal after 3 weeks off
[we combined for 12+ goals! And Chris had most of them!]

- Then, last night we owned the basketball court together. Not trying to brag, but we were quite the dynamic duo! I LOVE playing sports with my hubby.

- Thursday coffee/cream soda date with Chris

- Eating a good salad every day this week

- Friday field trip with my class:

 Getting ready to start the day!

 Feeding the geese

 I LOVE that they got to fish. This is a once in a lifetime experience for some of these kids.

Seunggi and Minki {living up to his "asian" stereotypes}

 Proud mom in the back! So glad they caught some -- even if they were less than 5 inches.

Chaney and I
{She'sa other grade 1 teacher who graduated from Corban a year ahead of me. She's helped me SO much this year and been a big blessing}

Linking up with Hello Hue again to share blessings from the week!
Take time to notice all the little things!

Thursdays

Since Christmas break, Chris and I have had the luxury of finishing up at school at the same time on Thursdays - unfortunately, it's the only day of the week, due to after school sports, but we'll take what we can get! We enjoy coaching, but 3:30 always sounds nicer than 4:30!

So, Thursdays have become our coffee date day! Chris is a trooper, because he's not even a coffee drinker, but he does it for me :)

Because for me, sitting in Starbucks puts me back at the classic Commercial Street or Safeway Starbucks in Salem. So many great memories made at those two places!

Chris will sit there and chat with me while drinking nothing. . . but honestly, I think it's more "fun" if both people have something to enjoy. I have to admit, sometimes I have a hard time letting him do things for me just because. I start worrying about him having a good time, which can do nothing but backfire. I know, it's silly of me. I'm trying to get better at it. To ease my mind though, I try to remember to bring him a special drink to enjoy too!

His and Hers drinks: aka, coffee and not coffee :)

Gotta love Virgil's Cream Soda!

Yay for Thursdays and "us" time. 

I'm a quality time person. 

Being away from our apartment allows me to be more relaxed and not think about all the other things that need to be done.

So, thank you Chris for enduring the overpowering coffee smell, taking time for me even when you have SO much work to do, and living with my coffee breath afterwards ;)

Oh, and I just have to add this picture. . .

it's from a different day, but starbucks is notorious for getting names oh so wrong! I promise I said Katie perfectly clear. And yet, the guy wrote this:

???????

The guy must have thought I said "Kanay" or something, because in Bahasa, the "e" makes that long "a" sound. That's my best attempt at making sense of it. At least they got the "Mrs" part right! :)

English Muffin Bread

I've really been missing English muffins! Without self control, I could eat an entire bag myself in a day. Maybe it's good I can't find them here. BUT I found this easy recipe for English muffin bread on Sunday morning, and knew I'd have to make it that afternoon :) 

It has supplied us with two great breakfasts, and egg/bacon/cheese mcmuffins [for dinner] -- watch out McDonalds! ;)

I think toasted with strawberry jam is my favorite. Except that we don't have a toaster. . . I'm not complaining though - we have an oven! I do miss having the convenience of a toaster though.

This recipe only has four ingredients, and no kneading! Pretty simple recipe. EXCPET for the fact that the original recipe makes 4 loaves, and I only have 1 loaf pan. So I had to do the math and divide the recipe by 4. . . that's way harder than 1st grade math! 

It turned out great though. Maybe I should have been a math major? (JOKE)

Here's the original recipe from "One Good Thing"

5 1/2 cups warm water

3 packages yeast

2 Tablespoons salt

3 Tablespoons sugar

11 cups flour (I used all-purpose and it worked fine)

Mix altogether, let rise in bowl until double in bulk, then spoon into 4 well greased loaf pans.  Let rise in pans until dough reaches the top of the pan, and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown. (My oven runs a little hot so I ended up cooking mine for a total of 35 minutes. Just keep an eye on it. You're looking for golden brown.)10 minutes before done, brush with melted butter. Makes 4 loaves. Bread will be moist at first. Allow to COOL COMPLETELY (hardest part!) before cutting. Makes terrific toast.

If you're like me and only have 1 loaf pan, or just don't want 4 loaves, then here's what I used for 1 loaf:

1 1/3 c warm water

1 3/4 t of yeast

1 1/2 t of salt

2 1/4 t of sugar

2 3/4 cups flour

I didn't do the math on this, but making 4 loaves of this is probably way cheaper than buying that many bags at the store! Try it out! :)

it's the little things~

Taking time to be thankful for the little things. . . like:

- trying new recipes

- smelling those recipes (that English Muffin bread above!) in the oven

- eating those recipes :)

- spending all Sunday with Chris

- candles that make the apartment smell good

- my nail polish still being in tact from Tuesday -- that is an accomplishment!

- finding new blogs to follow

- not having to cook dinner because we have leftovers!
- hearing the news that Corban's men's basketball team just beat the #1 team in the nation! AND the women's team placed 1st in the conference and are headed to Nationals! Go Emily Tsugawa! (ps. you better read this!)

What are some ways you've been blessed or things that have brought you joy this week?
You know. . . the little things! :)

I'm linking up with Lindsey from the blog Hello Hue to share them.

Saltine Cracker Toffee

Here it is. . . the SUPER easy (almost doesn't even need a blog post) toffee. Make it for any occasion, or just to snack on all by yourself :) Recipe originally from here.

40"ish" saltine crackers 

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips
 3/4 cup chopped pecans (wish I'd had these)

*You can either use salted butter or salted saltines but not both. I used unsalted crackers and salted butter in this one*

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet  with foil or parchment paper. Line saltine crackers in a single layer on the cookie sheet.  You might have to cut some like I did for a good fit.

2. In a small pot combine sugar and butter and bring to a boil. Once mixture is at a boil, continue boiling for 3 minutes. It should be a deep caramel color. Immediately pour over saltines and spread it to cover the crackers completely. 

3. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 to 6 minutes {how quick is that!?} It will get all bubbly. Take it out of the oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and let sit a couple of minutes to melt. *Note: Don't grab the pan after just one minute. . . it will still be hot. 

4. Spread the melted chocolate chips with the back of a spoon and top with chopped walnuts if you're lucky enough to have them in your kitchen. Let cool completely and break into pieces. I put the whole cookie sheet into the fridge. After I broke it into pieces, I put it back into a tupperware and into the fridge. It's too hot here to leave out on the counter. I like it best from the fridge anyways though - it's crispier and doesn't get stuck in your teeth as much :)

5. Then add any nuts or embellishments that you like :)

A heart for Valentine's Day!

Don't forget your computer (or your music device of choice) with itunes so you can groove and cook at the same time -- there's no other way to do it right?! ;)

Valentine's Day {part 2: married edition}

Chris and I had a great first {married} Valentine's Day. 

He found ways to make me feel special all day long -- even while I was teaching!

Three different times throughout the teaching day, I was greeted by an entire class bringing me a Valentine message, one red heart at a time! His classes thought it was the best thing ever to be part of the delivery process, and I loved the surprises! My favorite part was receiving them from his high school class. The girls couldn't help but giggle and "ooh" and "ahh" the entire time! What a creative and fun way to show his love  to me at school :)

After school, we each had basketball coaching to do. 15 minutes before practice was supposed to be over, he snagged me from my end of the court [he made sure the last 15 minutes were covered] and said it was time to go! Off we went, still in coaching attire, to a pre-schedule mani/pedi appointment for me! What a treat! I won't go into details, but my feet enjoyed/needed that extra attention, and I had been talking about going ever since we've been here! I had both my fingers and toes done at the same time - felt great! Chris was such a stud and waited in the waiting room for an hour -- while grading papers so the rest of the night could be school free! 

{Sportin' my freshly painted nails with my morning oatmeal at school}

After getting my nails done, we walked to a great pizza place - Pizza Marzano. It's the most authentic Italian pizza we've found here. I get the same pizza every time. . . it's that good! Grilled chicken, mozzarella, peppers, and more. And yet again, I was too excited to eat so I downed most of it before taking the picture. . .

Leftovers made for a great lunch today! :)

We finished at the restaurant and then went outside to catch a taxi. We came to the conclusion that it was "don't pick up the bules" night or something, because at least five taxis drove by us and waved us off even though there was no one in them. pshhh. 

We finally made it home, and had some dessert while watching Lie to Me 

{told you we're addicted}.

I'm so thankful for Chris, and the ways he shows me love. He knows that I don't need a fancy dinner or a big bouquet of roses to be happy. I love both of those things, but I'm lucky enough to get spoiled with those things on other days of the year! I had the perfect Valentine's Day in my old soccer t-shirt and shorts, straight from basketball practice. The spa and restaurant had to except us as we were :) Happy, and loving the time spent together!

Here's a quick picture of the Saltine Cracker Toffee I made. Recipe to come! It only has four ingredients and took barely any time to make. The almond heart was just for fun <3

I forgot to mention previously that we BOTH set our alarms early to make each other breakfast. That's not how it's supposed to happen! I knew that he had "something" planned for the evening, so breakfast was my chance! I told him to go back to bed (which I'm pretty sure were his favorite words all day). When he woke up, we shared good old chocolate chip pancakes before heading off to school. 

I made Chris these two valentine's to appeal to his obsession love for all things Angry Birds. I wish I had a picture of the ones I actually made, but these ones were my inspiration. 

I'm so thankful for Chris and his special love for me. I'm also thankful for my Heavenly Father who loves me unconditionally, and uses Chris to show me that as well. 

He's the creator of love and the ultimate demonstrator of love. I can't forget the biggest sacrifice of love that He made to save me. 

That's true love. 

We love because He first loved us.

John 14:9

Valentine's Day {part 1: Grade 1}

This Valentines (or should I say "Balentimes" as my kids kept saying) post is all about celebrating in my classroom. I'll talk about my "husband Valentine's Day" in the next blog post.

Valentines Day at school is on a similar level as Christmas when it comes to passing out and receiving Valentine cards and candy! My kids went absolutely NUTS because they were so excited about everything. It took all of my energy to keep their sugar high, as LOW as possible! 

In this culture, I've noticed the desire that moms have to out-do each other. Not that you don't see that in America, but things get so much more extravagant here! I felt bad because I had to say no to many parents asking if they could bring in treats. Candy is one thing, but can you imagine half of the class brining in cupcakes that look like this?!

It was delicious, but the kids [and myslelf!] can only take so much. 

Other treats/favors included:

- individual cotton candy

- chocolate dessert pizza

- heart balloons

- doughnuts

- cookies

Even more than eating all the candy, the kid's favorite part was definitely passing out and then reading all their valentines. I think we can all remember when we were that age. Oh the pressures!  Picking just the right ones to hand out. . . then making sure you gave your best friends your favorite/cutest ones, the annoying boys the "not so cute" ones, and then with all the other boys you had to make sure you didn't give them any that "hinted" at anything. . . come on, I know you can all relate! Haha. The good old days!

Oh, and all the kids and I had a great excuse not to wear uniforms. Our class was a sea of pink and red! 

Overall, a fun day in grade 1. . . however today (15th) was a tough one. I'm pretty sure the kids were still amped from yesterday and still had sugar frolicking in their blood stream. I'm praying for a more peaceful and attentive classroom tomorrow!