Just Breathe.

My stepmom gave me the link to this and I think it is something that everyone should see. Ryan Star was a contestant on Rockstar: Supernova, a reality show, a few years ago. He didn't win and now I'm kind of glad that he didn't. It seems like he was destined for better things :)

This was made for Breathe For Jobs and if you click on the link, it will take you to a page where you can see all the people that were in the music video. It is meant to grab the attention of employers and to help these individuals find jobs. If you could pass around this information, you would really be helping these people :)

Fruit Salsa & Cinnamon Chips

NOT my picture...although I do have that bowl ;)

(Photo credit)

I made these a couple times for my class and I keep forgetting to post the recipe for everyone! This is the perfect recipe for brunches, cook-outs, or grilling out as people call it in Indiana! I'm learning ;)

Fruit Salsa & Cinnamon Chips

Original recipe can be found at http://www.tasteofhome.com/

Ingrediants for Fruit Salsa

1 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries (super tiny pieces, think the size of ingrediants in a regular salsa)
1 medium orange, peeled and finely chopped
3 medium kiwi, peeled and finely chopped
1 can (8 oz) unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. sugar (add more to taste, I usually adjust this based on the ripeness of the fruit)

Ingrediants for Cinnamon Chips

10 flour tortillas (8 inch)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Fruit Salsa Directions

1. In small bowl, combine all six ingrediants.
2. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
3. See, I told you this was easy!

Cinnamon Chip Directions

1. Brush tortillas with melted butter and cut each into 8 wedges.
2. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over tortillas
*NOTE: I usually have to make 2 batches of the sugar/cinnamon combo in order to have enough for all 10 tortillas.
3. Place tortilla wedges on baking sheets
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes or just until crisp.
5. Allow chips to cool before eating (I learned this the hard way! lol)
6. ENJOY! :)

Christmas in...March??

In a desperate attempt to put off writing a paper for as long as possible...I am catching up on some recipes that I never posted :) Definitely not very productive...but it beats writing that paper! lol.

So I'm starting off with two treats from waaaaaaay back...Christmas :)

Treat #1
Peppermint Bark
I got this recipe from my mom's friend, Kelly, from high school. Gotta love the power of facebook!



Ingredients
1 to 1 1/2 cups of crushed candy canes (in about 1/4 inch chunks)
2 bags of white chocolate chips (12 oz per bag)
1 bag of milk or dark chocolate chips (12 oz bag) I used milk chocolate
1-2 capfuls of peppermint extract (I used 2)

Directions
1. Melt milk/dark chocolate in double broiler and pour onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet, spread evenly.
2. Chill in fridge for about 15 min.
3. Melt white chocolate in double broiler. Once melted, add candy cane chunks and peppermint extract and mix together.
4. Pour on top of milk/dark chocolate layer and spread evenly.
5. Chill in fridge for about 45 min. or until firm.
6. Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces, like peanut brittle.

I had never made peppermint bark before and I thought the whole process was going to be very hard. I was totally wrong! This was super easy, it makes a lot and its delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe Kelly!

Treat #2
Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe retrieved from: Good Things Catered

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

a little more than 1 1/2 cup oats

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup white chocolate chips

(I also added about 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon spice blend)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper

2. In bowl or stand mixer, combine butter and brown sugar and beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

3. In another large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine.

4. To butter and sugar, add eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla.

5. Stop mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and turn back on at the lowest setting.

6. Add oatmeal mixture, then cranberries and white chocolate chips, beating until barely combined. (I added the cinnamon spice blend at this point)

7. Pick up loose balls of dough about 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter and place onto baking sheets at least two inches apart.

8. If you have any leftover cranberries or white chocolate chips, top cookies with a couple of each.

9. Bake for exactly 10 min.

10. Remove from oven, cookies will be slightly golden around edges and middles will look a little underdone.

11. Let cool for 5 min. on cookie sheets and then place on wire racks to cool completely.

Result?? Christmas in a cookie! Seriously. The oats...the cinnamon...the cranberries! This is my favorite out of all the cookie recipes I have ever tried :)

Changes in Education

READ ME! ---> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100313/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_education

Finally some changes to the No Child Left Behind Act!

A few things that I am excited to see...

*I LOVE the fact that the new plan is proposing to move away from punishing schools that don't meet "benchmarks" and is instead focusing on rewarding for overall progress, especially with minority students. I think the best of intentions were there when they put the original plan into action, but unfortunately, schools that weren't meeting the benchmarks often couldn't afford the penalties posed by the NCLB act and many of them had to close....which caused even more problems :(

*The idea of allowing schools to use subjects other than reading and math to access their students ability to meet federal standards. This will hopefully put more value on subjects like history (YAY!), science, art, etc. In my opinion, with the current system, students are not prepared for college when their sole focus for 12 years has been on reading and math. Don't get me wrong, those subjects are extremely important, but these subjects are limiting students to certain careers. What about the science majors? Art majors? How are students getting a well-rounded education when they aren't exposed to these things in the classroom?

*Say "adios" to the name "No Child Left Behind!" I think this is a great idea! It may be just a minor detail in comparison to other changes, but the name has such a stigma attached to it and I think most educators would like to just completely erase it from meomory ;)

Something that I am still a little skeptical about and would like to research more...

*Aggressivly punishing the 5% lowest performing schools...define "aggressivly" please! And while your at it...define "lowest performing"... Are we talking lowest test scores? Lowest attendance rates? I have seen some high academically performing schools recieve low ratings just because they didn't meet the required attendance rate. I would like some clarification on this one :)

Overall, I am excited to see what these changes will bring! NCLB has been a problem for a while now and a part of me is giving a sigh of relief over the possibility that I won't have to deal with it in all of it's crazy-ness when I graduate ;)

Note: President Obama plans to send the rewrite to Congress next week.

Somewhere Between "Fresh Milk" and "Blank Paper"

I can remember being 11 or 12 and laying outside for HOURS without sunscreen trying to get a tan. Horrible, I know, but I just couldn't accept the fact that my sisters and friends could tan at the drop of a hat and I only had two colors to my skin...white...and red lol. One sister in particular...you know who you are Miss Katie B!...she has always had GORGEOUS glowing skin, no matter the time of year. Colorado could have been covered in snow without a glimpse of the sun for a whole week and she would still look like she just came back from a month vacation in Cabo. NOT. FAIR!



Over the past couple of years, I have really embraced my "porcelain skin." I have always idolized celebs from the 40's and 50's and it probably has to do with the fact that they wouldn't have been caught dead outside without a hat to shade their fair skin. Nowadays, I wear sunscreen 24/7 because I love the way my skin looks :) Now don't get me wrong, I think people with healthy tans are beautiful too, I just think that us "whities" (lol) need to realize that our skin color isn't unhealthy or ugly.



Being a huge history buff, I could go on and on about how fair skin was a sign of beauty and wealth in the past, but I have a feeling if I start talking about the 18th century, most of you will become bored and stop reading this post lol. So, instead...I will show you why I got so excited while watching the Academy Awards last night!

Words used to describe these lovely ladies included...elegant, classy, classic and gorgeous. I never once heard anyone say that they needed "some sun" or that they "looked sick." I have to say the little pale girl inside of me was jumping for joy last night!

And even though she is not as fair skinned as some of the other ladies, I still need to give Sandra Bullock a HUGE round of applause for her win for "Best Actress in a Leading Role." She too looked absolutely stunning (and not too tan! lol) and really deserved the Oscar :)

Will this be the new trend for Hollywood? While I am very hopeful, summer is just around the corner...so we will just have to wait and see!

Regardless of whether or not it is "on trend" with Hollywood, everyone should embrace the skin color, skin tone, body, hair etc, that they were given. You don't have to fit into the model of what society thinks is sexy. If you feel beautiful and confident, that is all that really matters. Confidence is sexy, not the constant desire to fit into the Hollywood mold.

And on that note...PALE CHICKS UNITE! Somewhere with shade and sunglasses ;)

Turtle Cookies

I also made these for Thanksgiving and they were a HUGE hit! They take some time to make, but are definitely worth it!

Turtle Cookies

Makes 3 dozen

http://elizabethsedibleexperience.blogspot.com/2009/11/cookie-question.html

Ingredients

1 egg

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Nestle)

1/4 tsp. salt

16 chewy caramels (I used Werthers)

3 Tbsp. whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups finely chopped pecans

1/2 cup or 3 oz semisweet chocolate pieces

1 tsp. shortening

Directions

Separate the egg, place the yolk and the white in separate bowls. Cover and chill egg white, you will use it later.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 sec. Add sugar, beat well. Beat in egg yolk, vanilla and milk.

In another bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat well until combined. Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or until its easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a saucepan, heat and stir caramels, vanilla and whipping cream over low heat until the entire mixture is smooth, then set aside.

Slightly beat the reserved egg white. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls. Roll them in egg white and then into pecans to coat. Place cookies 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.

Using the back of a 1/2 tsp round measuring spoon (or just use your thumb) make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are firm. Cookie centers will probably puff during baking, if this happens, just repress the indentation. Spoon melted caramel into the centers of each cookie. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool.

In a saucepan, heat and stir chocolate pieces and shortening over low heat until chocolate is melted. Let cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate over the tops of the cookies by gathering some with a fork and making a back and forth motion over top the cookies while the chocolate drips. Let stand until the chocolate has set.

Pecan Pie Cookies

I made these for Thanksgiving but am just getting around to posting the recipe lol.

Pecan pie is awesome to begin with, but turn it into little cookies and its even better! I say that eating just one cookie is better than having a whole slice of pie, but once you have one of these...you will probably end up eating the equivalent of a piece of pie ;)

Pecan Pie Cookies

Makes 3 dozen

http://www.beantownbaker.com/2009/10/pecan-pie-cookies.html

Cookie Ingredients

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Filling Ingredients

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all cookie ingredients, except flour and baking powder. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low, add flour and baking powder. Beat until well mixed.

Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place two inches apart on cookie sheets. Make indentation in center of each cookie with thumb.

Combine all filling ingredients. Fill each cookie with 1 tsp filling. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for one minute then remove from cookie sheets.