~Reciplease: Casa Favorites~

I have a few recipes that I like to fix regularly. This is one I have fixed since Moe was 4. He loves it and I think it may be his favorite thing I make. Since it is relatively simple and really versatile I thought I would share.

                                                   

                             ~Chicken Spinach Mushroom Pasta~

Serves 4 adults

Ingredients: 

* four boneless skinless chicken breast thin cutlets( I use the Kroger brand for this recipe but I've also used Walmart..but they are thicker, take longer to cook and aren't usually as tender)

* half a box of pasta( I like angel hair best but I use whatever I have in the cupboard)

* an entire bag of spinach

*a whole container of mushrooms:your choice

* a Tablespoon of Olive Oil

* 1/3 a stick of unsalted butter          

* seasoning: Mrs. Dash, garlic powder, salt, pepper

Liberally season your chicken then put in oven @380 for 30-45 minutes

Boil your pasta.

Gently wash your mushrooms

Coarsely chop

add salt, pepper and olive oil then cook on low to medium heat 

Cook until golden brown. Dont let them get mushy. They should be a lil juicy but still firm.

Add your spinach to the wok.
This all cooks down to barely anything so just keep going....

lightly toss the spinach until its half wilted

At this point you should drain your pasta, and cut up your chicken in large chunks. Then add them to the mushrooms and spinach. The chicken may not be cooked through yet and that's fine. The heat from the hot pasta will finish wilting the spinach, and help cook the chicken. Add your butter and continue to cook everything together in the wok. Add more seasoning and toss. I usually do this around another 10 minutes or so. You can add other veggies, switch pastas or seasonings. The main thing that makes this dish awesome is how simple it is. Not many ingredients, relatively cheap, and it's somewhat healthy. You can use frozen or canned spinach and canned mushrooms for when the produce is more expensive if you prefer. Also, I have cooked it without any butter but it does taste better with it.  Enjoy! 

                            

         

~Sounds of Silence~

It's a quiet and sad Saturday. The kind of day for really good big hugs and music. Here is a September play list from my friend Krystin. Love and Big Hugs~ Margo


 

September Music Mix from SappyApple on 8tracks Radio.

~ Isle of La Belle Riviere ~

Isle of La Belle Riviere

Bride of the swart Ohio;

Nude, yet fair to look upon,

Clothed only with the leaf,

As was innocent Eve of Eden.

The son of grim old Alleghany,

And white-breasted Monongahela

Is wedded to thee, and it is well.

 ~Walt Whitman~

Walt Whitman wrote this poem while he stayed on Blennerhassett Island as a young man in the house pictured above. He visited in September 1849. He wrote two more while he stayed there that I know of.. maybe I will post them soon.  Today we celebrated our first year of marriage.. "and it is well" 

~ Literally ~

I have always had a strong love of reading. I think it goes in hand with writing and all things literary. I don't always use proper punctuation and/or capitalization on the blog. That doesnt mean I dont notice it or use it professionally. I like to keep this like a casual conversation. You may find extreme run on sentences, fragments, fractures or pieces of thought. Get over it. The reason I picked the color gray for my type color has a few reasons... one of them is my thoughts arent black or white. I want people to read in between my lines. I want people to find their own thoughts. Things are gray... foggy..hazy...wavelike..progressing and digressing.

With that out of the way.... Id love to share some suggestions for getting your kids to read or write, challenge themselves, find a love of something, grasp their thirst for knowledge or lead them to the water even though they might not be thirsty.....

Penpals ~ young age: learn to write, appropriately socialize, learn geography, learn culture, other social studies, compassion for other demographics, get them out of that self evolved "me" thought process
                         ~middle age: similar to young age with more language arts skills, possible second language, great for kids with some socially backward problems, autism, learning disablities, etc. Finding other kids that have the same issues as them could be a life changing realization...

                         ~teen: again very similar to the other groups, developing and discussing ideas, politics, religion, plans for their future, passions, relationships, etc. I signed my 15 year old son up for this today and I'm really excited to see how it goes....


This isn't just a social media kick like facebook. Find a school based penpal curriculum that best suites what your child is interested in and needs. Here is a link and here too. Find a country both of you dont know much about. God forbid you learn something too:)

Games~ not video games folks....~ board games. card games. get them looking at words, numbers, symbols, teach them strategy with connect four, checkers, or chess. let them get excited about something that doesnt light up when they touch it!



~ Explore a Library- let them pick out whatever books they want. even if its pictures...its the art of turning the page and seeing something they havent before. go to story hour, have them pick a bed time story, let them work the puzzles, get a book on tape, find a creepy book about spiders, aliens, boogers or poop. Its ALL there for them to take in! Set an example and pick out some books for YOURSELF.

~Set an Example- see above..if you are sitting on your duff playing video games, watching tv, or just spending your free time doing inexplicably nothing... dont go to your childs teacher complaining "my son/daughter HATES reading!!". Duh. they dont HATE it. most of the time they just dont see good positive examples of it. they would rather be doing what you are doing. they want to feel included. if you are watching tv in the other room while they are stuck at the kitchen table by themselves.... expect a holy riot. sit at the table with them and read your books/do a crossword/write a friend a letter/pay a bill while they do homework or read. once its a regular habit move to the living room and turn off your tv. its a nonsensical distraction for quality time anyway.


   I was feeling very frustrated with my job today... I sulked in the negativity for a short bit but turned it around for the best. I truly love doing what I do. Working with kids lets me relive my childhood daily, I revel in the exploration and discoveries with them. Its full blown nostalgia from the time I wake until the time I go to bed. I want to find new things to introduce to these kids everyday(solar flares, magnets, fish gills, weather, the human body, philosophy, etc.) I hope that this post gets someone excited about the wonder of being a parent and all the fun it can offer. Especially...when it comes to teaching your kids!

~Thank you Sunday~

This Labor Day weekend is proving to be quite nice. Yesterday,we went to a friends cookout on their river lot... Good grub, great friends and some amazing fireworks. Today, a nice family hike, MYO tacos, and a movie. Tomorrow, we are having some family and friends over and I'm making a cake with ganache icing. And...you should probably know while we were hiking it was very obvious Fall is starting folks. We are feeling very Thankful for our little happy moments.