Wow....what a week!!

I don't even know where to begin about how this week has gone. It has been one to remember.....that is for sure!!! Let's begin with a laugh...because at this point I think that is about all I can do about it.

On Tuesday I took my kids on a field trip to Discovery Gateway. It was fabulous, but exhausting!! I love taking them places to experience new things, but they take a wear me right out. Mostly because of the stress of being responsible for 20+ 5 and 6 year olds. Well, we had a lot of fun.....and only 2 issues with some naughty kids! I think had the morning field trip gone any differently, the events of the afternoon would have been less amusing! Shortly after lunch, one of my students (we will refer to her as "K") had a little accident. My aid took her to get some dry clothes from the clothes closet, and took her the change in the bathroom in the hall since mine was occupied by another student. Well, another student in the mean time decides she needs to use the bathroom.....and RIGHT NOW (we will refer to her as "J")!! So, I let J also go use the hall bathroom, where K was changing out of her wet clothes. Well, I assumed K would return first since she was the first one to go to the bathroom.....I was wrong. J returned pretty quickly.....which is out of the ordinary for her. I have K a few more minutes to come back, and when she still hadn't I decided to go see why she was still gone. Well, I saw quite a picture when I walked into that bathroom......there was K standing in front of the mirror trying to button up her pants (that were WAY too small). She would suck in her stomach.....button her pants..... then breath out, and her button would bust open. It was pretty funny! I told her we'd go and get her some clothes that fit, and to pick up her wet clothes, put them in the plastic bag I gave her, and come back to class. "Mrs. Romero, my clothes aren't here anymore" was her response. I responded with "What do you mean the aren't here anymore?". "J took them," she said. I could not figure out what was going on.....so I looked around the bathroom for them just to make sure she hadn't missed them by mistake, and did not find her wet clothes. So, I went right back to my classroom, after checking the garbage cans in the hall, to ask J what she had done with K's clothes. "I don't remember where I put them" was J's response to the missing clothes. Seriously!??!?! First of all, why on earth would anyone want to touch someone's pee pants! Second, how do you forget in a matter of minutes where you put those pee clothes?!?!? So, I had to go on a pee pants hunt around the school to figure out where J put K's pants. As I was walking out of my classroom, J comes running up to me and says "I remember when I put K's clothes!". "I threw them outside!", was her response. Outside.....are you kidding me?!?! So, I grabbed K, because there was no way I was going to pick up her pee pants, and took her outside to look for them. Well, low and behold.....J was right! She had thrown them (underwear included) out the back door on to the playground!!! Well, to bring this story to a close....I was not quite sure how to deal with this issues, so I was glad as soon as I got back to talk to J, the office called to have me send her J down because she was being checked out of school early. Wow....what a way to start a week!!

At lunch Tuesday.......the same day as the beloved pee pants story, I got a text message from Cameron that said "Are you ready to have your mind blown?". Ummm, ok. So I said yes.......and this is the picture message that soon followed.......

Yep, that is a placenta that he is holding! I about fell off my chair!! I was not expecting to get a picture of my husband holding a placenta!! I don't think I would have a smile on my face if I were holding a placenta! Well, Cameron is liking school this semester....which is a great thing!! I was worried with him having 3 clinicals this semester he was going to burn out really fast! But, to my surprise, he has done amazing, and is already finished with his clinical at Primary Children's! He has had some amazing experiences caring for patients, and I love hearing about what he does. I love that he is happy about going to school.....even if he doesn't show it when he is getting up at 6:00 in the morning to go to the hospital.

Along with his placenta experience this week.....if you know Cam, you know how excited he was to for Apple's event on Wednesday. We all know that Cameron is a self proclaimed Apple addict....so was obviously so excited about the unveiling of the iPad. After the unveil, Cameron actually made a to scale and weight model of the iPad to show me exactly what I would be getting in April....yes, we are already planning on getting 2 the day that we can. If you don't know what the iPad is, click here to read all about it.....it is pretty amazing! I am excited to the iBook feature.....you know how I love my books!!


On a high note, last night we did out taxes and are getting a pretty nice return....for once!! Last year we had to pay, so we were a little nervous about what this year had in store for us. I guess since both of us are students we are getting a little break. So, I say "Thank you Uncle Sam for providing us a fabulous tax return so we can buy our iPads!"


Now, on to my recipe recaps......first up:

Portobello Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups.


Recipe from Food Network host Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:
12 whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 3/4 pound)
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 ounces portobello mushrooms, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups marinara sauce (I used Newman's Own Mushroom Marinara)
1 (15-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
3 ounces grated part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 2/3 cup)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cook the noodles al dente according to the directions on the package. Drain them well and spread them out onto aluminum foil or waxed paper to prevent them from sticking.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce and simmer for 2 minutes. In a medium bowl combine the ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, a few turns of pepper, and nutmeg.

Spread 1 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture onto a lasagna noodle. Top with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mushroom mixture, roll the noodle and place it into the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles. Spread the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sauce over the lasagna rolls. Top with grated cheeses, cover loosely with foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.

Yield: 6 servings

Review:

I really like this, but thought it needed more sauce (I realized after I made it I didn't buy a big enough jar of marinara)., and more seasoning in the filling. Cameron on the other hand didn't love it. He didn't like the whole wheat pasta, and he has a hard time with recipes that have no meat. Vegetarian dishes aren't his thing. So, I guess next time I make this I need to add some kind of meat for him, use enough sauce, and season the cheese filling more liberally. I didn't add very much mostly because I salted the pasta water a lot, and didn't know how much salt they would absorb.

Next up on recap.......

Chicken with Wild Mushroom and Balsamic Cream Sauce

(I know I said I was making Chicken with a Tarragon Cream sauce......but Cameron requested I make this for him again.....he LOVES this recipe!!!)



(This is a Rachael Ray recipe.....again, I love her!!)

Ingredients

Salt
1/2 pound orzo pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 6 ounces
Pepper
2 tablespoons butter
12 cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
12 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
12 white mushrooms, sliced
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, a couple of sprigs, chopped
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, eyeball it (I used more like 2 TBS.....I thought it needed more, but I LOVE balsamic vinegar!)
3 tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half, a couple turns of the pan (I just used the skim milk I already had, and it turned out great, and saved a lot of calories!)
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a generous handful

Directions

Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add orzo pasta. Cook to al dente (I don't like al dente pasta, so I cooked it all the way through).

Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper and add to the hot skillet. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.

Return the skillet to the heat, turn heat back a bit, and add the butter. Once the butter melts add the mushrooms and brown stirring occasionally for about 4 to 5 minutes. Once the mushrooms are brown season with salt and pepper then add the garlic, thyme and shallots. Cook stirring occasionally for about 2 minutes or until the shallots are wilted. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Whisk in the stock, balsamic vinegar and the cream. Turn the heat up to high and simmer for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice the chicken on an angle. Add the parsley and the chicken back to the skillet to heat up, about 1 minute.

To serve, pile orzo on dinner plates and top with the sliced chicken and sauce.

Review:

AMAZING!! This is something I will make, and make often.....it is than good!! You know if Cameron asks for it, that it is good! Try it, you won't be disappointed!!

I haven't decided what I will be cooking this week.....so you will just have to be surprised when I post my latest creations!! Happy cooking!!