Peach Cobbler...Fingers Crossed

I am normally a decent cook. I don't usually have a hard time with recipes and following directions. Until today. I found some gorgeous peaches at the local produce stand and when I remembered that I had some blueberries at home that I needed to use, I decided to make a cobbler. Too bad I've never made a cobbler before. I looked up several recipes. The first one I found while on the phone with my mom. By the time I got home, I couldn't remember what it said. Next stop, Google. I found a great recipe, modified the serving sizes and started to copy the recipe. Yes, copy, cause the printer refuses to obey me. While I was writing the recipe, my brother called. Between our conversation and my trying to write the ingredients, I made a slight error.

The recipe calls for 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of milk and 1/4 cup butter. I wrote down the ingredients correctly, but switched the measurements. You see where this is going. I didn't even second guess myself when I melted a whole cup of butter, plus 2 tablespoons and put it in the pan.

Then the recipe said to put the batter in first and then the fruit on top and not to stir it. I mixed that up as well and put my fruit in first. They were swimming in butter and my "batter" was more like dough. I decided to double check the recipe. Seeing my error, I did the second thing that came to mind. I drained off as much butter as I could and added extra milk to the now very lumpy batter. (My first thought was to throw it into the trash, pan and all.)

I could not do anything about putting the fruit in first instead of the batter, so now I wait, hoping for the best. I am hoping it becomes one of those accidental masterpieces. Something that wows me and the husband. A girl can hope, right?

My fingers are crossed. There is about 45 minutes left until it is done. I will be sure to update if it is awesome...and never admit if it is awful :)

What recipe blunders have you made? Dish! I need to know I am not the only one!

A picture is worth a thousand words

It is that time again...the end of the school year. Time to pack up all of the things in my classroom and box them and label them and sort them and do all sorts of other awesome things. That may sound a bit sarcastic, but I love to sort, and organize and label things. I have issues, remember. I like order. I love to find a place for everything and I love to see neatly packed and labeled boxes all standing in a row. I am almost sure that it is a sickness.

Today, I was packing up some things from my desk and bookshelf. I reached for my label maker and I immediately began to laugh at my own ridiculousness. See for yourself!

The Sandwich

At our house, we love a good grilled cheese sandwich. But we always put a twist on the sandwiches. Sometimes we add meat or tomatoes or jalapeños or anything else we can think of. Of all of the things that we have tried, one sticks out as our absolute favorite. We call it "The Sandwich". Creative, aren't we?

Here is what you will need:

mild cheddar cheese (2 slices per sandwich)
bacon
sliced chicken lunch meat
sliced tomatoes
dijon mustard
sourdough bread
minced garlic
Parmesan cheese
butter

To assemble, put cheese and meat on the bread and then add the mustard and tomatoes. Mix the garlic and Parmesan and butter in a small dish. Then spread the delicious buttery garlic and Parmesan spread on the bread and toast the yummy sandwiches on a griddle until they are golden brown. I usually serve these sandwiches with some homemade potato soup. It is a really hearty sandwich and it is always a hit. Too bad it doesn't have a catchier name:)

mmmmmmmmmmmm....sandwich....

Brain Dump

I have a thousand things on my plate right now. I love to blog and read blogs, but I am losing the battle with the clock these days. It's nearly 6 o'clock and I just got home. Not bad, but considering school ended at 3:05, that is pretty stinky. The end of the school year is brutal on teachers and even though there is an end in sight, it feels like an eternity before it will be here. Here are just a few of the things that have been happening (and a few ramblings that are filling my dome):

• My husband took me on a date last Saturday. We saw Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. It was set in 1930's India and had a Bollywood theme. Enough said. It was AWESOME. Song and dance and confetti! So fun. 
• I had a really emotional day on Sunday. It was horrible. I am not normally a crier, but I could not stop the waterworks. 
• I have a pile of grading the size of Mount Aconcagua! It is enormous! (can you tell we're studying South America?) I came home today to escape from a possible avalanche of papers. 
• My students are starting to go crazy! You know, the type of crazy where they don't want to do work and they have forgotten what an inside voice is? 
• We have had burgers, fries, and corn on the cob twice in the last 3 days. Not out of pure enjoyment, but due to the lack of groceries in my house. This afternoon I opened my lunch box to find yogurt, a piece of string cheese, some water, and some cookies. Lunch of champions! (side note: I stopped at the grocery on my way home)
• My in-laws are out of town, which means I get to check on Missy, their dog. She is deaf. I have to go search for her when I go to let her out. 
• There is a load of laundry in the washer and in the dryer. I am seriously contemplating putting all of them in the dryer and hoping for the best. It sure beats having to put them away. I did, however, put my entire outfit together from things in the dryer. The way I see it, is that that is just less to hang up! 
• I have an unnatural fear of the kitchen and the dark and the bathtub. Since the recent lizard invasion, I have been scared of finding another one. And for some reason, every time I go into the bathroom, I think, "I hope there isn't a snake in the bathtub." I have no reason for that fear, but it is something I worry about constantly. 
• My husband bought me an iPhone this week. He spoils me. It was something that I really wanted, but I am really cheap. Turns out, we could upgrade one of our phones relatively inexpensively. I LOVE IT!
• We played "Creationary" this weekend. It's Pictionary with Legos. Brilliant! I won. I WON!! 
• I am starting to coupon again. I have been slacking off with the busyness of the school year, but I love to save money, so it is back to clipping I go. 
• I want to cut my hair. Hubby says I can, so I had better get on it before I change my mind. I am thinking layers and a darker color:) 
• I have a gift certificate to get a pedicure. I am going to save it until I can go with my mother-in-law. She likes to go with me because I make her laugh. I am insanely ticklish. I laugh like a crazy woman while they scrub off my heel cheese. 
• We sent flowers to my mom for Mother's Day. They still haven't arrived. The delivery driver said he took them to the address that we verified and they said they didn't know a person by that name. UGH! Now I am in a quandary over what to do. Should I tell my mom? Should I call the delivery guy again and "discuss" things with him? 
• I need some new, quick recipes. I have not had much time to prepare meals lately. Maybe I should do some freeze-ahead meals for the next few weeks? 
• It's a million degrees here. Ok, so maybe only 95, but it still feels like a million. And it's only the first week of May. Sheesh! 
• I am still in shock of the tornado damage all around the state. I have never seen anything like it. It seems like some things in some places will never be the same. It makes me so thankful for God's provision and safety. If you haven't seen any of the footage, look here and then here.  
• I am incredibly homesick right now. I haven't been home since Thanksgiving, and I don't know when we will be able to make our next trip up. The school I taught at in Indy is having its first ever high school graduation and I want to go so badly, but again, the timing is not good. 
• I want a new dining room table. I wonder if anyone will trade me on Craigslist? We have a great set, but I want one that has a darker wood. 

Alright, it feels good to have let all of that out of my head! By the way, the countdown is on! Only 10 and a half days of school left! Wahooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! 

Herpetology

Did you know that the study of lizards is called Herpetology? Neither did I. Until today. There is a blog that I love to read. See it here. This poor woman has been dealing with snakes. She titled her blog "Herpetology 101" and when I looked up the word, lo and behold, it was the study of snakes AND lizards.

I hate, hate, HATE snakes. I can't even look at the pictures of them because it will give me nightmares. Well, in good ol' Alabama, there are snakes in abundance. Thankfully, I have not come into contact with any snakes while I have lived here, but I have run into their ugly cousin...the lizard. I Hate lizards.(notice the hate is not as strong as my HATE of snakes:)

Well, recently I have encountered 2 lizards of massive proportion. These are not my only lizard encounters, but definitely the biggest. Last year, we had a few small green lizards in our house and one larger black one, but none of those compare to the 2 most recent.

2 Saturdays ago, my husband was taking a shower and I was cleaning the house. While putting some dishes in the sink, something caught my eye. Right next to me on the dishwasher was this evil creature:

SICK!! 

Perhaps this is a good time to remind you that I am a city girl. I don't enjoy lizards, snakes, camping, etc. I yelled like a crazy person and my husband flew out of the shower (thankfully, he grabbed a towel on his way out) and rescued me. He caught the lizard and set it free.

Then, this past Saturday, we had gone to a farmer's market, and on our way in, my husband was unlocking the front door when he heard something scurrying around above his head. That is when we beheld the following creature:

This was as close as I would get to this one! 

This was WAY bigger than the other one. I contemplated not coming into the house until my husband reminded me that there may be others that were out there as well. Then I made a mad dash to the door.

I haven't been the same since these sightings! I am constantly on the lookout for lizards. I turn on lights and look around before entering rooms. I won't reach into any dark place. I am really jumpy. Even now, I find myself looking around the room for anything that could be lurking in here. I wonder if there is a name for this phobia...perhaps herpetophobia?