"Pears" Field Trip

"Pears" class went on a field trip the Grassy Hollow. It was a lot of fun! we went to the visitor center where they talked about the different wild life that lives in that area, like the black bear in the picture below!






We also went on a little hike that is part of the Pacific Crest trail. The Pacific Crest Trail is a long-distance mountain hiking and equestrian trail that runs in Washington, Oregon, and California between Mexico and Canada. The Pacific Crest Trail is 2,650 miles, if you try to do this hike it could take up to six months from start to finish!

"Apples" Planet Report

"Apple" had to give a report on a planet. She choose to do her's on Mars! We worked on it together she had to write it and give an oral presentation! She is in 3rd grade and I think she did a wonderful job! By the way she received an A on her whole project!


She had to make some type of model or poster on her planet Mars. We decided it would be fun to make a Mars cake! She helped make the cake and frost it. I thought it turned out pretty good!

Apples Field Trip

"Apples" class took a field trip to a small observatory at our local community college. I was lucky enough to go with her and enjoy the experience! She was getting ready to do a report on the planet Mars so it was really neat to go and learn about all the planets!

The college is right next to a State Park and the have a fish hatchery there. All the kids had a lot of fun feeding the fish and watching them jump out if the water!

Roast chicken and gravy

Not sure why I can't get this photo to load right,
so just tilt your head when you look at it! :)

I forgot to take a picture before we started eating it!
I just love how it came out all nice and brown!
It was very yummy! Two thumbs up!

Found the recipe here !

For the chicken:
1 3 lb whole chicken
4 garlic cloves, sliced lengthwise into thirds
1 sprig rosemary, leaves stripped off
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp Lawry's seasoning salt
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp kosher salt
A few grinds black pepper

For the gravy:
All pan drippings
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup flour

Set oven to 375 degrees.

Pat the chicken dry. Gently lift skin and loosed skin from the breast. Slip in garlic slices and rosemary leaves and distribute evenly over the breast.

With your hands, spread mayonnaise evenly over the entire chicken. With the breast side up, evenly sprinkle seasoning salt, poultry seasoning and salt. Add a few grinds of black pepper. Press toothpicks into the chicken where you loosened the skin to put the garlic and rosemary in. Place bird on the rack of a roasting pan. Cover loosely with foil. Roast for 2 1/2 hours, removing foil after one hour.

Remove roasting pan from the oven. With two fork, gently lift the chicken and set onto a cutting board to rest while making the gravy. For the gravy, pour and scrape all drippings from the roasting pan into a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken stock, poultry seasoning and red pepper flakes. In a small bowl, whisk together butter and flour. Once the chicken stock mixture is simmering, whisk in butter flour mixture. Gravy should thicken. Once thickened, simmer gravy for an additional 5 minutes. Taste and add salt if needed.

Once the gravy is finished and the chicken has rested, remove toothpicks, carve chicken and set on a platter. Serve chicken with gravy and rice or mashed potatoes.

Yields enough chicken and gravy for 5 servings.

Here is "Apple" enjoying a drum stick!

Everyone in the family loved this chicken!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I love chocolate chip cookies, but have always had the hardest time making them so they don’t go splat on the cookie sheet! So I was very excited when I found this recipe. I made them and they actually have body to them they didn’t go splat on my cookie sheet and the best part is they taste delicious too! This recipe makes about 6 dozen, so there is plenty for you to share! :)

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.