Massive Update!

Oh my goodness!  It's been a while...to say the least.  I am, in fact, still alive.  :)  I've been SO busy LIVING that I have seriously neglected this little blog.  Since the last time I posted, we got a new puppy!  Her name is Stella Faye, and she is the cutest little thing.  Loralei was really jealous at first, but now they are besties in every sense of the word.  That makes my heart swell with happiness!  

Just look at my sweet little golden babies!  :)  

 

In other news, Mr. Wonderful's fraternity brother got hitched in Chicago, so we went on a little weekend trip. :)  It was so nice to see familiar faces and get away for a bit!  I just LOVE Chi-Town... and being married to my best friend.  There's nothing like it!

I presented a workshop on the Author's Craft for our county Literacy In-service Day.  I LOVED it, and I had so much fun getting attending other sessions with other teachers from around my area!

Mr. Wonderful and I rented a boat for a day, and we brought my parents (and the pups)  along for some lake fun!  It was gorgeous!  Stella obviously didn't get the memo that she is a golden retriever, and therefore she is a water dog.  She was not a big fan of swimming... yet.  I hope that changes as she gets a little bigger, because Loralei is obsessed with it, we have so much fun with her in the water.

    

Other than that, I've been busy working on projects for school next year.  You can always check out my teaching blog on the top tab to see what I've been up to there.  Who says teachers have their summers off anyway?!  

   

Before I run off to work on a Writer's Workshop resource, I wanted to leave you with one of the easiest, most delicious summer meals!  I just had it for breakfast/brunch today, and it totally hit the spot!  All you need is an egg, an avocado, cottage cheese, one Roma tomato, and a slice of Ezekiel bread.  {I bought my bread at Trader Joe's, but you may check your local grocery store and find it.  If you have any health food stores, I might even start there.  It's sprouted whole grain wheat grain bread... and it is heavenly... which is fitting since the package has Ezekiel 4:9 right on it. Ha!}  Now, seriously, all you do is spread the avocado onto the bread like it's a thick butter, and you fry the egg however you like.  Then add salt, pepper, and maybe some garlic powder if you like that kind of thing.  I do... :)  I cut up the unused portion of the avocado, diced the tomato, added some cottage cheese, and that was it!!!  I told you it was easy... and friends... it is delicious!  YUMMO! If you're feeling really lazy like I was, you can eat off of a paper plate, and then you have relatively little clean up as well.  Does it get any better than that!?  Ha!  Have a good one!!!!

  

 

A Solid Dose of Real Life

Oh my goodness!  I made it!  I wrapped up my seventh year of teaching! I suppose you could say I have been taking a much needed break from my teaching blog.  It wasn't intentional.  It just sort of happened when I got super busy with end-of-the-year-shenanigans.  Well, Friday was my last teacher work day, so I will be back to creating and blogging consistently over the next several months.  I can't wait to let my creative juices flow in between workshops and SLO writing and enjoying my summer (of course)!  Presently though, I am curled up in a recliner with a cozy blanket.  I'm going to take a moment or two to savor my time off before I dive right back in to school work! 

So, what have I been up to?!  I went to a Tim McGraw concert with some of my fab work friends!  Aside from the torrential downpour throughout at least 85% of the concert, I'd say it was a SOLID  bonding experience.  :)

I've been decorating our basement as we finish a project that has taken us a year and a half.  Good grief!  I MIGHT be obsessed with our chalkboard.  Thank you, Craigslist.

Lastly, I got a new haircut that I am totally digging.  I have been trying to grow out my hair for a while, but the platinum stunt I pulled last fall has been a bit of a set-back for me.  I lost another inch and a half today as a result of what I like to call Sahara tips.  :)  Ha!  I LOVE IT THOUGH! 

Happy Weekend!  Get out there and enjoy the sunshine... or dance in the rain! 

Smoky Sweet Potato Burgers, Corn Cakes, & Avocado Salsa!

I haven't had a lot of free time for blogging, so I've been staying in touch through Instragram.  :)  There's just something about the end of the school-year that zaps my energy and eats up all of my spare time.  (Something like benchmarks, testing, grading, report cards, and end of the year shenanigans.)   Plus, I'm TRYING my hardest to carve out enough time to work on an upcoming workshop.  So, it's been a challenge not to fall into a boxed meal kind of pattern lately.  Although Hamburger Helper is quick and easy... nothing beats homemade meals.  Since I AM pretty busy right now with my paper mountain, I am trying to keep my hubby well-fed so he knows I still love him!  :)  These are two meals that have recently piqued the interest of several of my Instagram followers, so I wanted to quickly share them.

The first meal is a Smoky Sweet Potato Burger with Roasted Garlic Cream and Avocado.  Friends, this was sensational.  It's several of my favorite foods combined into one glorious dream... on a bun.  Mr. Wonderful loved it too.  I served it with Roasted Corn with a Basil-shallot Vinaigrette. 

I made the second Instragrammed meal last night:  Cheesy Corn Cakes {minus the spicy salsa}.  We love spicy food, but I had been chomping at the bits to try another avocado salsa recipe.  It was heavenly.  Just heavenly.  

Do you want to know what makes me excited?!  I'm starting to find healthier recipes that taste like flavor bombs.  :)  Plus, they are perfect summer meals wrapped in a pretty little package!  

More Than Salad: Lazy Teacher's Edition!

As a teacher, I bring home a lot of extra work at the end of each day, but that doesn't mean that I live on bread alone.  I LOVE to cook!  I try to schedule at least one "official" big girl meal a week while I'm working, and I cook multi-step meals on the weekend too.  Most nights, I try to keep it simple with one dish meals or meals that take about 30 minutes from start to finish.  Tonight, I made a more complex meal, and although I am exhausted from a long day, I am so glad that I did!  It's a recipe from Kayotic Kitchen that's called "More Than Salad", and that's exactly what it is!  It is a complete meal... and completely full of calories to boot! Ha!  {If you're looking for a healthy salad, this is not it!  However, if you love a meal with layers of complex flavors, this may be just what you're looking for!} 

Let's take a little peek at our cast of characters.  Don't be scared!  It looks like a lot, but it's totally manageable!  I pinky promise!!!!

More Than Salad 

 via Kayotic Kitchen

What You'll Need:

Salad:  

Chopped Romaine

3 oz. bacon

1/2 red onion {I used a Vidalia since my red onion went south, and I already had it on hand!}

2 avocados

12 cherry tomatoes

1 ball mozzarella

Croutons:

1 Ciabatta {preferably stale}

2 garlic cloves

3 sun-dried tomatoes {on oil}

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

4 Tbsp. EVOO

Dressing:

4 Tbsp.  Hellmann's {cannot be substituted}

2 Tbsp. sour cream  {I LOVE Daisy's!}

1/2 garlic clove

freshly cracked black pepper

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

Fresh chives

Parmesan cheese

The Lazy Teacher's Approach to Cooking:  

Line a cookie sheet with foil, then place bacon onto the sheet.  Slide the bacon into a cold oven, and heat to 400 degrees.  Cook for approximately 20 minutes.  I cooked mine a little longer to get that perfect color and texture!  :)  If you hate frying bacon as much as I do, then you will love baking your bacon as much as I do!  I was really worried about splatter, but it was just fine!  :)  I just turned the bacon half-way through.  {The original recipe source recommends using a grill grate over the cookie sheet, but I still consider myself kind-of-a-newlywed after nearly three years, so I don't have one yet!  Confession time!  Luckily, this worked out just swell!}

While the bacon is cooking, combine the oil, garlic, Cayenne pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, black pepper,  basil and salt in a food processor.  Pulse until you have a reddish pesto.  :)  Are you salivating yet?!  

Then, cube the ciabatta, and set it aside in a large bowl.  

Pour the flavored oil over the bread and mix well!  Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty!  You want to evenly coat the bread!  

Once you finish this step, the bacon should be done!  Remove the bacon, and set it aside on paper plates with paper towels to soak up the extra grease.  Meanwhile, use the rest of the drippings to coat the bread cubes!  {Are you beginning to see why this is salad should come with a warning label?!}  Cook at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until sufficiently crispy!  I sprinkled mine with sea salt before baking, and friends, let me tell you.  I may never buy bagged croutons ever again!  I DIE!!!!

Now, while the croutons are baking, mix up your dressing!  Try to resist swiping the bowl with your fingers after mixing... I dare you!  I may have eaten a spoonful, and that may be counterproductive to my spring fitness plan.  Seriously, the setback was worth it!!!  Totally worth it!

Mix the Hellman's with the sour cream.  {I personally love Daisy's, and it's the only sour cream I buy.  I guess you can say I'm picky about my sour creams!}  Grate the garlic, or use garlic from a jar if you're like me and value your time!  It is just as good, in my opinion!  I LOVE garlic, so I used just a tad less than one Tablespoon! { Heck to the yes!}  Add the cracked pepper... no salt!  Mix in some rice vinegar and onion powder, and stir to combine!  Add parmesan to taste!  I added about 1/4 cup.  As the finishing touch, throw in some chives.  I used freeze dried chives because I am cheap, and I already had them in my cabinet!  

At this point, the croutons should be sufficiently crispy!  Check on them to see if they need any additional time!  Begin to chop the tomatoes, onion, and avocados!  Then, wash and dry your lettuce!  {Yes, I use bagged lettuce!  I know... I am taking a pretty gourmet meal... and I am making it a little bit sad!  I am all about efficiency, people!  I couldn't find butter lettuce, and I have never heard of Lollo Rosso before in my entire life!  I may need a tutorial from my brother-in-law!  He's an amazing chef!  I always feel like a wannabe around him!  Ha!}  

Now, are you ready for this?!  This is the part where you combine all of the ingredients for a glorious, calorie-laden, full-flavor symphony on your tongue!  This meal will definitely be making another appearance at the homestead... but maybe not too often.  Otherwise, I might have to go shopping for a whole new wardrobe!  #noselfcontrol  #icouldeatthiseveryday

As my good friend Toby Keith would say, "Mmmmm, gotta getcha some, gotta getcha some, gotta getcha some.  Mmmm, gotta getcha some... salad! Bon apetite!  

Oh, Hewwo!

Well, here we go!  My name is Amanda, and I have been an edu-blogger for about three years over at One Extra Degree!  :)  I am a third grade teacher, and I am truly passionate about my career and my kiddos, but I have other hobbies and interests too.  I am excited to share lots of posts with you about  home decor, recipes, fashion, life, school, and faith.   Hopefully this will help my existing followers see that I do, in fact, have a full life outside of teaching!  Pinky swear!

So, let's just go ahead and talk about the elephant in the room, shall we?   Let's just go ahead and discuss the name of my blog.  "Oh, Hewwo!"  I have a confession to make:  my hubs and I have a distinct voice for our dog Loralei. We talk to her, and yes, she "talks" back to us on occasion.  Yes, we are THOSE people.  She sounds a little bit like Elmer Fudd, but it's a little squeakier and "her voice"  has more of a nasal resonance to it. Ha!  Can you hear it?!  Bahahaha!  Mr. Wonderful and I have a rockin' good time together.  On the regular.  Life is WAY too short to be serious all of the time.  Right?!? Why NOT give your adorable pooch an entertaining voice?! That's what I always say!

So, now that I've already established we are whack-a-doodles, allow me to formally introduce the rest of the the family.  This is a picture of me, Amanda, on the happiest day of my life!

This is the LOVE of my LIFE.  :)  I am SO BLESSED to be married to my absolute best friend!

As I already mentioned, I am SO excited to share a variety of different posts with you over time!  Here's  a sampling of what you can look forward to!

YAY!!!  I am getting excited already!  Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg!  Be prepared for a whole lot of randomness!  :)   Until next time...