The Whole bag of Chips

Monday Musings: What really matters

Honoring a special couple, the epitome of great role models.

This weekend was a great weekend for us. Not only was it Father’s Day yesterday, where we remember all the dads in our lives, past and present, but for our family it also included a really special event.

My parents, who share ownership of a sailboat with another couple, are members of a local yacht club. Although the words “yacht club” sound incredibly fancy, it’s really a very casual spot with picnic tables and piers, seagulls, and boats going by. Generally, when we visit there with my parents, everyone is seen in shorts, t-shirts, bathing suits and flip flops.

Once a year however, the yacht club is transformed for the annual “Commodore’s Ball,” which honors that year’s Commodore. The Commodore is sort of the equivalent of being the president, and to be Commodore (a one year stint) you must work your way up through all of the other jobs below it first, which takes several years.

This year, my dad is the Commodore. Through the years he’s done each of the jobs below this one, working through whatever that year entails, including some big hurricane damage and renovations at the club a couple of the years, and working with all of the members of the club and members of the board.

We’re incredibly proud of him and of my mom, who is truly is right hand “man” in all that he does.

In addition to this he’s also on the board of the association where they live, and has had to deal with a lot of things going on there. He’s been retired from his job for four years, but he was always a leader in his field when he was working as well.

I get a lot of my leadership and personality traits from my dad, and although I think I’ve always known that, I don’t think I truly realized just how much I’ve gained from him until this weekend, and really how much I’ve gained from the two of them together.

This weekend, I knew for sure that I’ve taken the best of the best from two of the best: my parents.

Friday night we were speaking to him about an issue taking place with the association where they live and how that was being dealt with. What stuck out to me was not only the leadership role he’d taken, and how others were looking to him for guidance, but mostly the fact that he mentioned that when he spoke to the group he spoke about treating others the way they wanted to be treated, and not stooping below that to meet anyone any lower.

What an important thing to remember when dealing with people: the Golden Rule; treating others how you expect to be treated.

Not everyone lives by that rule and you see it often in day to day dealings throughout life, and I know that I personally try to counter it by not stooping below the benchmark I’ve set for my own behavior, no matter what I’m dealing with.

On Saturday night, we attended the Commodore’s Ball in my parents’ honor. It was an amazing experience, the yacht club was transformed to an elegant setting, unmatched by anything I’d seen in all my years visiting them there. However, it wasn’t the elegance that will stick with me, it wasn’t the AMAZING dessert spread, (TOTALLY AMAZING) but rather it was the grace and humble manner exhibited by my parents that evening, particularly my dad, as the Commodore himself.

I was shocked when during dinner he asked for a pen and scrap of paper so that he could make some notes. He wanted to be sure not to forget anyone when he made a speech, thanking people for their presence and their hard work. His speech was unrehearsed and it was from the heart. He always says to me that he’s jealous of people’s ability to speak in front of others, but watching him the other night, you’d never know it.

And then, there were the guests.

We went table to table, meeting all the members of the club. We circulated during the appetizers. Time and time again, the exact same words were spoken to us:

“We love your parents.”

“Your parents are such good people.”

Traits like kindness and niceness, treating others with respect and treating others how you’d like to be treated trump all, and that was clear on Saturday night.

No one came up to us and spoke to us about the size or type of boat my parents share with their friends–which is nothing super fancy, or the type of car they drive (which is also nothing fancy) or the type of house they live in. None of that really matters.

The only thing anyone thought to share with us was how nice my parents are and how kind they are to everyone.

I know that my parents have always been my role models, but on Saturday night I truly knew that they’d taught me the best lessons of all throughout my life as they modeled for me, and continue to model for me, the traits that I want to be sure to carry on as a legacy to them as I journey through my dealings with people during the rest of my days.

Be kind, be nice, treat others with respect and how you’d like to be treated.

That’s what people will remember, that’s what your legacy will be.

Congratulations Dad, Congratulations Mom!

Love you both.

Tags: The Golden Rule, treat others with respect

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Categories Parenthood

Fun Friday: We made it!

19 Jun

Happy Friday to you all!

Each spring I feel like The Little Engine that Could, as we chug along through the end of the school year. I think I can, I think I can…

Guess what?

We did it!

We made it to the end of the school year. Today is our second full day of our summer break for three of us, third full day for one of us, and my poor husband has to keep on chugging along through next week until his school district finishes up.

Overall though, we’re in the clear.

As always, it was a tough spring. It always is as we maneuver through the five sets of school schedules, with all our usual stuff popping up on unusual days with concerts, recitals, shows, school exams and the like culminating their final activities all in a short span of time.

Even though this is designed for teachers, the owl on the right is a pretty accurate representation of how I feel by the end of the school year too.

Each spring, I question whether we’ll make it through, but we always do. There’s not a whole lot of choice in making it through or not, you just have to do the best you can and plow on through, knowing you’ll soon be on the other side of it. Being a parent of three in two schools, a school news reporter in two cities, and a school principal is pretty harrowing this time of year for all five of us, for sure. During the rest of the school year I use one notebook per month on average for my newspaper interviews and coverage. During this time of year I use one per week, sometimes two. It’s that busy, and that’s just me, just my job alone.

Every winter when I do my taxes and flip back through my calendar from the previous year, reviewing my mileage and expenses, I’m shocked that we made it at all, but we do. I equate it to tax season for accountants or the end of the quarter or fiscal year for others in the business world. Just super busy.

And so here it is, the end of the year for just about all of us here, and almost for one of us. We made it, we did it. Our kids are another year wiser from this year’s experiences, another year smarter from all that their teachers have imparted on them, and they’re ready for our own summer experiences.

I know I hinted at it before, but we have one heck of a summer planned out.

Two weeks of meal planning

1 Jun

Ready for another two weeks of dinners?

It’s June 1!
We’re in the home stretch for the end of the school year; a busy time for us adults with our work in the schools and as parents of school aged kids, but also a busy time for the kids at school and in all their after school activities.

We can do it though, we’re almost there.

For us school ends on June 17 and for my husband’s district, it ends an entire week later, but at least the bulk of our family will be done with a lot of our stress by June 17.

I have not had a ton of extra typing time to devote to my blog, which is typical for this time of year, but to make up for it I’m going to share with you two weeks of meal planning ideas, just in case you’re as stressed in May and June as we are.

I hope that it gives you some inspiration for what to have for dinner over the coming two weeks.

TWO WEEKS OF MEALS

Day 1: Eggplant Parm with pasta and salad

Day 2: BBQ Ribs and Chicken with cole slaw, baked beans, and rice pilaf

Day 3: Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

Day 4: Baked stuffed fish with red potatoes

Day 5: California Chicken sandwiches (grilled chicken with avocado and melted cheese)

Day 6: BBQ Pulled Pork in the crock pot

Day 7: Dinner out (Friday night)

Day 8: Baked Chicken Dinner with stuffing, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes

Day 9: Homemade Soup (we always offer sandwiches on the side, like grilled cheese, but it’s not often that anyone wants anything besides the soup.)

Day 10: Breakfast for Dinner: French Toast

Day 11: Pasta with Sauce

Day 12: Marinated steak tips

Day 13: Pork Chops with homemade apple sauce

Day 14: Quesadillas and Burritos

Tags: eating on a budget, meal planning

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Categories Dinner, Eating on a budget, Kids, Parenthood

Two great ideas!

18 May

The finished products: each one just a little bit different.

Imagine that? It’s a Monday, I’ve got a post up, and I’m passing along not one great idea for you, but two!

You must be wondering what my ideas are!

Well, here’s the first one, with a little walk down memory lane along with it.

Years and years ago, when my husband and I were first married, we moved out of state for our first teaching jobs. In addition to our classroom jobs, we also took second jobs with the before and after school program in our community, which included the “vacation camps” that took place over the school vacation weeks. We needed the second jobs in order to make ends meet on the starting teacher salaries, but we were a young couple who didn’t yet have our own kids, so we had the time and we loved the activities with the kids we were in charge of. Through our jobs, we took the vacation camp kids and our regular classrooms of kids on field trips to the movies, to Ellis Island, roller skating/blading, and to our most favorite trip of all: The Philadelphia Zoo. Back then, we would lead these large groups of students through the zoo, or to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, pointing out this or that, and I’d think in my head that one day we’d have kids of our own and be doing all of these fun things with them.

Jump ahead 20 years and three kids later, and my husband is one of the co-directors of our church’s Youth Group at St. David’s on the Hill. I am his behind-the-scenes Youth Group assistant. Our kids are in the Youth Group, and nowadays I often think back to that trip to the zoo or the movies, as we take the Youth Group kids, along with our own three, on a field trip or lead them in an activity, and I see that as far as we’ve come with marriage and family, we’re still doing what we love and sharing it with kids, just as we were when we were young(er). So much has changed, and yet not much has changed.

This past weekend, on Saturday night, we were lucky to have our artist friend Kristin, of R&M Studios, lead a “Paint and Pastry Night” at our church; an event and fundraiser sponsored by the Youth Group.

This leads me to the first great idea I’m sharing with you.

If your area is like ours, you’ve probably been seeing loads of opportunities for Paint and Vino events, where there’s wine and everyone paints a picture, guided by an artist. The events are lots of fun and the pictures are always beautiful, and people are often surprised at how relaxing it is to just sit and paint a picture for a couple of hours, especially when surrounded by your friends and/or family.

Being a Youth Group, we couldn’t host a paint and wine party because our event would have children in attendance, painting alongside the adults, but Don and Kristin came up with a “Paint and Pastry” theme instead. Everything would be the same as far as the socialization, fun and relaxation through art, but instead of wine, there would be coffee, lemonade and people could bring pastries to share.

I know what you’re thinking…what a fabulous idea!!!

Me too!

A Paint and Pastry Night…adults and kids together…a fun night out for all.

And it was really so much fun. We had about 40 people in attendance, ranging in age from our fourth-grade youth on up through the adults of the parish, all working side by side. There were two sizes of paintings to choose from, either 16×20 canvases or 9×12. The scene was a beautiful sunset scene over a pier, similar to what we see around these parts in the summertime, especially. Kristin led the artists through the steps of the painting process beautifully and it was amazing to see the blank, white canvases come alive, step by step, with each one just a little bit different in the end, than the ones on either side. Each person’s own touches, made their piece unique.

Seeing the adults and kids, side by side, and seeing the blank canvases come to life, was a wonderful way to spend our Saturday night together!

Imagine TWICE as many desserts as this!

There were *a ton* of desserts, and unfortunately I took my picture of the pastry table much too early in the evening, and it shows only HALF of what actually came in for desserts, but I am sure you can imagine the table twice as full as this!

And this leads me to my second great idea.

Last week, I shared with you the Nutella Crescents and I mentioned that I’d be making them for an upcoming event this past weekend.

Well this was the event!

As I considered what to make, I thought of cookies or brownies, and my husband suggested the Nutella Crescents because everyone loves them. My concern, however, was that each can of crescents only makes eight rolls. For everyone in a group that size to get one to try, I’d have to make many cans. I’d be spreading and rolling all day.

But then I had a great idea (my second for you today)….I cut each triangle in half to make smaller triangles, and filled them in just the same manner, just making smaller crescents. Using four cans of the crescent rolls, and two of my kids’ helping hands, they were able to bang out dozens of these delicious treats, and I have to say, everyone raved about them. They weren’t SO much smaller that they wouldn’t be enough. Rather, they were *just* enough that you could take one to enjoy and still have room on your plate for other treats.

In order to facilitate the prep of the crescents, I gave each of my two daughters a large cutting board and two cans of crescents. I put the large tub of Nutella in the middle, and gave them each the tools they needed: a serrated knife for cutting the crescents into smaller triangles, a spoon for scooping out the Nutella, and a butter knife for spreading it. As they completed them and put them onto their baking trays, I put a dab of butter onto each crescent and sprinkled the cinnamon and sugar on top.

Together we did them all in about an hour’s time and at the same time I was able to make a side dish for our dinner that night and muffins for breakfast the next morning, too. Had I been doing the job alone, I couldn’t have accomplished all of that at once.

So there are my two ideas for you: The Paint and Pastry event for a wonderful combined youth/adult event that can be rated “PG” and still be tons of fun for any group, and the halving of the crescent rolls in order to double the deliciousness of my Nutella Crescents from last week’s blog post!

I hope you have a wonderful Monday and a lovely week!

Tags: Nutella Crescents, Paint and Pastry, Paint and Vino, R&M Studios, St. David's On the Hill, Youth Group Events

Comments 1 Comment
Categories After School Snacks, Cooking with Kids, dessert, Jennifer L. Cowart, Kids, Parenthood, Recipes

Fun Friday: Nutella Crescents

15 May

The most-requested after school snack!

TGIF!

Happy Friday!

This week seems to have flown by. The weather is nice and work, school and activities are keeping us busy. Summer will be here before we know it, with school getting out in about four weeks’ time.

Not that I’m counting down or anything.

Today I wanted to share a quick and easy snack, that has quickly become a frequent request. I started making it after seeing some video floating around on social media where someone was spreading Nutella on some sort of dough, rolling it and baking it for a delicious looking dessert. I never actually got to watch the whole video, but I kept seeing it pass by and it stuck with me.

One day I remembered to grab some lowfat crescent roll tubes at the store and I always have Nutella on hand, so when I had a chance, I decided to see what I could come up with for a different after school snack. I spread the crescents out, spread Nutella on the inside, and sprinkled some cinnamon and sugar inside. I rolled the crescents as usual, and I sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on top, adding a dab of butter (we use I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter) on top. I baked them until they were golden brown and served them.

A huge hit. I can’t even emphasize enough how much they all love these little snacks.

I’ve filled them the same way with just butter, cinnamon and sugar when I didn’t have enough Nutella for two cans of crescents, and they were a hit as well.

I mean really, what’s not to love?

These are such a simple snack. They can be made by the kids too. Anything that can be made by the kids is a plus in my book.

I’ve made these more times than I can count. I now buy the crescents on a regular basis and I’ve made them when the kids have had friends over, as well as for just us. I’m even planning to make them for an event this weekend.

If you’re looking for something quick and easy, and of course, delicious, give them a try!

Tags: after school snacks, Crescent Rolls, dessert, Nutella

Comments 2 Comments
Categories After School Snacks, Cooking with Kids, dessert, Kids

Monday check-in and a teaser

11 May

A favorite photo from our day yesterday. It’s a sculpture found at the beach where we walked.

Happy Monday afternoon!

It’s been quite some time since I’ve done a blog post, and I haven’t forgotten about my blog or about my loyal readers! This time of year is so crazy for us, and last week happened to just be one of those weeks where we were both working days and also both working nights, and shuffling kids from activity to activity, supervising homework, prepping meals and all the usual stuff, there was just no time for extra typing. I expect the coming weeks to be just like that, and then we’ll be on the other side of another school year, and getting to take a breather, thankfully.

But today, I’m checking in with you all and setting up a tiny bit of a teaser for you as well, a tip about some big things coming up. (And no, our family is *not* expanding in any way!)

Yesterday was Mother’s Day and it was such a lovely day. It was low-key and relaxing, church in the morning, spending time with family and doing lots of eating in the afternoon and evening–all of my favorite activities. We got to head down to the beach for the first time this season just for a walk, and it really made me feel great. I get excited when we head to the beach for the first time, as it gives me a glimpse into the upcoming season and reminds me how much we love where we live and how much we love our seasons. Each winter we experience gives us a renewed appreciation for spring, summer and fall, and if ever there was a winter to do just that, this was it!

I can’t wait for summer. Yesterday, I breathed the salt air in deeply as we walked, I let the sun shine on my face,and I could just feel it all rejuvenating my spirit. Summer will be here before we know it.

And that leads me to my next little piece for today….a teaser.

Although I haven’t had a ton of time to blog lately, my extra hours (when I have them) have been filled with some new experiences for our family, and we’re gearing up for a really *big* new experience taking place this summer. (And I repeat, no…it’s not what you’re wondering.)

I don’t want to give too much away just yet, but just know that all of the research, hard work, prepping and pre-writing that I’m doing now will be fun for you to follow along with this summer! All though you may be missing my regularly scheduled posts now, I promise that it will be well-worth it when we catch up with you this summer!

I hope you have a wonderful week, enjoy this beautiful weather!

Tags: Mother's Day, summer, teaser

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Jennifer L. Cowart, Motherhood, Parenthood, Summer

What’s for Dinner Wednesday: 30 Minute Spaghetti with Summer Vegetable Sauce

29 Apr

Another successful meal from Liz’s 30 Minute Meal cookbook!

About two weeks ago, for my previous What’s for Dinner Wednesday post, I showed a recipe that Elizabeth had found in a Cook’s Country Magazine for 30 Minute Meatloaf Burgers.

At the time that Liz chose that recipe, we were at the end of our two weeks of meals, which meant we’d be menu planning again soon afterwards for the next two weeks of meals.

Liz was on top of it. She and her dad poured through her selection of recipes hoping to find one that everyone would like at least one part of, if not all of. Pasta is a pretty easy choice. Everyone likes pasta, even if they don’t like what’s on it. Therefore, she chose a 30 minute meal called Spaghetti with Summer Vegetable Sauce.

It was so delicious, and seeing the veggies simmering on the stove while Liz and Don were cooking together really made me long for summer. This meal was wonderful and Liz did a great job choosing another quick and easy meal. I know she’s got at least one more on deck for a future week.

I’m getting a bit spoiled…

Here’s the recipe for you, just as it appears in the Cook’s Country Magazine.

It was hard to wait after seeing this simmering on top of the stove!

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons unsalted butter (We use I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.)

1 onion, chopped

1 large summer squash, halved lengthwise and sliced thin

1 large zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced thin

2 garlic cloves, minced

12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup dry white wine

Salt and pepper

1 pound spaghetti (We used linguine.)

6 tablespoons basil pesto (We made our own.)

DIRECTIONS

1.) Bring four quarts of water to a boil in large pot. Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in squash and zucchini and cook until softened, about five minutes. Stir in squash and zucchini and cook until softened, three to five minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, wine, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook until liquid is reduced by half, about two minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste; cover and keep warm.

2) Meanwhile, add pasta and one tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to pot. Toss vegetable mixture and pesto with pasta, adding reserved pasta water as needed. Serve.

Test kitchen note: Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Tags: 30 Minute Meals, Cook's Country Magazine, cooking with kids, spaghetti with summer vegetable sauce

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Categories Cooking with Kids, Dinner, Eating on a budget, low fat, Recipes, Summer

One Gorilla: Giveaway winner!!

27 Apr

A beautifully written and illustrated story, with an excellent message for children.

Happy Monday everyone!

We only have two months of school left and we’re counting down!
Since Mondays are a rough for most of us, and extra rough if like us, you’re starting back after a week long spring break, this is a nicer way to start off the week than usual: with a book giveaway announcement!

The winner of their very own copy of the One Gorilla book is…..

KERRY POMFRET!

CONGRATULATIONS KERRY!!! The book will be sent to you directly from author Joy Dey!

Enjoy your week!

Tags: anti-bullying, bullying, Joy Dey, Nikki Johnson, One Gorilla

Comments 1 Comment
Categories books, Giveaways

Book Giveaway: One Gorilla

20 Apr

A beautifully written and illustrated story, with an excellent message for children.

Exciting news on this Monday afternoon!

Joy Dey, author of “One Gorilla,” which I reviewed on my blog just last week, has offered a book to give away to one lucky Whole Bag of Chips reader!!

How great is that? So great!

Thanks to Joy, one lucky reader’s name will be drawn from all of those who post a comment here on this post telling me why they’d like to win their very own copy of the book.

I will run this giveaway from today until Sunday, April 26 and announce the winner next Monday, April 27.

Be sure to leave your comment in the comments section below in order to be eligible for the giveaway!

Tags: bullying, Joy Dey, Nikki Johnson, One Gorilla, Reading Week

Comments 4 Comments
Categories books, Kids

What’s for Dinner Wednesday: 30 Minute Meatloaf Burgers

15 Apr

Liz’s 30 minute meal was just what we needed on a busy night. Having her make it for us was even better.

A year or so ago, my mom passed along to us a stack of Cook’s Country cooking magazines that my aunt had passed along to her first. I looked through them all, and saw some great recipes throughout, but overall, I did not do much with them at the time.

Our daughter Elizabeth however, was totally obsessed with them. She loved the recipes, the product reviews and the section of 30 Minute Meal recipe cards. She poured through them often, and was always coming out to show us what she was reading or finding at the time, and what recipes she thought we’d like and ought to try.

This past weekend, she was at it again with the 30 Minute Meals recipes.

“Can we make this one? Do we have the stuff for that one? Do you think we’d like this one,” she’d ask.

I hate to say no when they’re enthused about something, especially when it means I’m off the hook for cooking and planning a meal, but each recipe seemed to call for something we didn’t have. Finally, I spotted one for Meatloaf Burgers. I quickly scanned it and realized we had everything it called for.

“We can make that one tomorrow night. We have all the ingredients,” I told her.

Her eyes lit up. She was thrilled. She continued to pour through the magazines and began pulling out all the sections of recipe cards so she’d have all the 30 minute meals together in a pile.

A new binder of recipes all ready to go. I even gave her a shopping list pad to stick inside the front pocket so she could choose her meals and tell us the ingredients needed, insuring that we’d have them on hand.

I’m a huge fan of binders. If it’s important, I binderize it. I create a cute cover and spine for it. I take a picture of it. I love binders. I inherited a huge box of binders from my brother and sister in law from all her grad school classes, so I have my own supply at my fingertips whenever I need one. I saw a binderizing opportunity here, and when Liz went to bed, I brought up a binder, printed out a cover sheet and she now had a place to store all her recipe card pages for her 30 minute meals. The next morning we punched the holes and she set up her cookbook for the evening.

At 4:30 I told her to be ready for 5:00 to start her meal, and she was ready! The recipe was meant to be quick and easy, and it was. She could do the whole thing herself for the most part, other than cooking the burgers. I had her form them and place them on a baking sheet so they could be cooked.

When they were done, she had one smaller one that she’d made with the final portion of meatloaf mixture, and she cut it into five sample pieces, put them on little cocktail forks and let everyone try a bite before we ate, to make sure everyone liked them.

Cute little tasting samples were a great way to determine if anyone didn’t like the burgers without wasting one.

Everyone did! That’s so rare. We almost never have a meal that all five people like. She was thrilled. We dug in.

There were just two burgers leftover at the end of the night. They both made delicious lunches the next day.

This recipe was deemed “a keeper” and Liz will definitely be making it again. This weekend we do our “big shopping,” and she’ll be handing us her shopping list, I’m sure, with some 30 minute meals on the menu for the next two weeks.

Liz was so proud of herself for choosing and making such a great, meal and I’m glad I was able to say yes this time around. It’s a great life skill for kids to be able to research a meal, plan it and make it, but it’s even better when everyone loves it.

Here is the recipe Liz used from the Cook’s Country magazine 30 Minute Meals.

Grilled Meatloaf Burgers from Cook’s Country

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds meatloaf mix (we used 2 one-pound packages of ground turkey)

1 large egg

(we sprinkled in some bread crumbs as an extra ingredient)

2 teaspoons of Worcestershire Sauce

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme (we used 1/4 tsp. dry thyme)

salt and pepper

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

hamburger buns

DIRECTIONS

1) Combine meatloaf mix, egg, Worcestershire Sauce, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Shape mixture into four 3/4 inch thick patties. Whisk ketchup, sugar, and vinegar together until combined. Reserve 5 tablespoons glaze for serving.

2) Grill burgers of medium-hot fire until well-browned on first side, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip burgers and brush with remaining glaze. Cook until meat registers 160 degrees, about 7 minutes. Transfer burgers to plate and tent loosely with aluminum foil; let rest for 5 minutes. Serve burgers on buns with reserved glaze.