Chicken Popeyes

When the boys were itty bitty, they loved to eat chicken pot pie.  I think I fixed it at least once per week just so I could experience that warm, fuzzy feeling brought on by their cheers. "Yay! Chicken Popeyes, Mommy! We love chicken Popeyes!"

Time marched on, as it tends to do.  Two little boys transformed into two big boys, and they decided that chicken pot pies were not so yummy after all.  Perhaps, ahem, I fixed it a little too often....

Back during the "Chicken Popeyes" years, I also created a recipe which Michael and my parents LOVED.  Mom and Dad would request it every time they would come to my house for dinner.  I prepared a homemade loaf of Italian bread, only I did not bake it as loaf.  Instead, I rolled it out, spread a chicken-spinach mixture along the middle, and sliced and braided the edges before baking.  Yummy-rific!  For some odd reason, I stopped making it, too.

A few months ago, I decided to bring back the braid but I didn't have time to prepare from-scratch bread.  However, thinking about the spinach filling brought Popeye to mind which caused me to recall "chicken Popeyes" which made me think-- maybe, just maybe, I could get the boys to eat pot pie again AND eat spinach if I took the braid recipe and tweaked it a bit.

And that my friends is how I came up with this recipe:

Chicken Popeyes

8 oz precooked, shredded chicken (great way to use leftovers)

1 pack frozen spinach, thaw and squeeze out all the liquid

1/2 can chopped blacked olives

4 oz. shredded pepper jack or mozzarella cheese

2 packages of puff pastry shells 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to puff pastry package directions.
2. Place pastries on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
3. While the pastries bake, combine chicken, spinach, and olives.  Use a fork to separate the strands of spinach and chicken to get it mixed together well.
4. Remove pastries from oven and remove tops.  Fill each crevice with some of the chicken-spinach mixture.
5. Sprinkle a pinch of cheese shreds over the spinach, replace the pastry tops, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.  I highly recommend the pepper jack!
6. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.  Fruit salad makes a great side.

Bake the pastries.

Mix spinach, chicken & olives.

Fill the mostly-baked puffs.

Sprinkle with cheese, close, and bake for 5 more minutes.

Serve fresh from the oven!

You could also include mushrooms, chopped onions, or any thing you like with spinach!  If you want to make the braided version, roll your bread dough out to the length of a typical cookie sheet.  It should be about twice as wide as the baking sheet.  You will need about twice as much filling and cheese as in the Popeyes recipe.  Spread it along the center of the dough, leaving about an inch of uncovered dough at the top and bottom and 2-3 inches on each side.  Using a pizza cutter, slice the sides horizontally into half-3/4" strips that stop just before the filling.  Pull the top left strip over the filling and then the top right.  Continue to alternate sides until all the strips are "braided" over the filling.  Tuck in the top and bottom excess, brush with egg whites, and bake at 400 degrees F until golden brown. 

Happy Eating!
Dawn

Youth Birding Competition 2012

Orville and Wilbur teamed up with two of their best buds, K and C of the Counter-cultural School, to compete in the Georgia Youth Birding Competition on April 27th and 28th.  If you have been reading this blog since its inception, you may remember these little boys.

Left to right: K, Orville, C & Wilbur

They're not so little now and entered the middle school division this year!

Left to right: Orville, K, C & Wilbur

Their birding adventure started on Friday evening.  We were supposed to pick up the CC School guys at 3:30 to give us plenty of time for travel and prep.  They had not been able to practice as a team even once this year, and we thought a few minutes of warm-up would help keep their eyes peeled, ears tuned-in, and voices communicating well.  However, at noon, Clifford the Big Red Van broke down, and we were stuck at the car dealership until 4:45 p.m.!  At 5 p.m. the competition officially began.  We were en route to our first birding spot when the boys identified their first bird.  It was an American Crow sitting on the side of the road!

We finally arrived at the state park at 5:30 p.m., and the boys proved a warm-up was not necessary.  They worked together like seasoned professionals!  I was so pleased and thankful because Molly (Mom of K and C and CCSchool blogger) and I have worked so hard in past years to help such very little boys to focus and communicate effectively.  I could see how these guys are growing in grace and maturity, and I praise God for the work He is accomplishing in them.  We left the state park with a total of 34 birds identified (in 1.5 hours) and then drove to a variety of spots in our hometown.  At 10 p.m., we were done for the day, and they had brought their total to 43.

Birding began before dawn on Saturday at a lake.  As the sun rose, the boys rapidly added to their list, identifying a green heron, bobolinks, killdeer, and a variety of warblers- just to name a few.

Why do we like birding so much? This picture says it all.

When we left the lake at 8 a.m. their total had risen to 62 birds- almost as many birds as they had identified in the entire 24-hour period in previous years!  We were pumped!  The boys had mentioned earlier in the week that they would like to break 100 this year.  I felt unsure about encouraging them in such a lofty goal.  Most teams who accomplish such a feat are in high school and begin their birding quest on Georgia's coast. 100 birds did not seem possible for a group of 10-12 year-olds who would be restricted to forests, lakes and reservoirs; however, with nine hours remaining and only 38 birds to go... MAYBE!

 
Our next stop would be a wetlands area, another lake, and a water-treatment facility- all in central Georgia.  They quickly hit 70... and then 80... and then 89!  As we were walking to our car to leave the wetlands area, they heard a brown-headed cowbird.  We left this area with 90 birds on the list!  They now refer to the cowbird as the number 90 bird.  :)

One of their favorite spots of the day was this Canada goose and goslings.  My boys had visited this spot over spring break with their grandparents and had seen the goose building her nest that day.  It was exciting to see the newly-hatched babies.

The boys identified these birds while at the water treatment facility.

At this point, it was getting hot and the birds were becoming scarce.  We moved on to another wildlife refuge in central Georgia in hopes of finding 10 more birdies.  We were running short on time though and needed to leave for the finish line just as they identified number 99, a Kentucky Warbler.

We took the above picture as we were prepping to leave the wildlife refuge.  Moments later, a red-cockaded woodpecker (a rare bird which can only be found in 2 locations in Georgia) sang.  The boys had bird number 100!  We were overjoyed!!   

Michael gives the boys a last-minute pep talk near the finish line!

We took off for the finish line, feeling the satisfaction of a job well-done.  However, we wanted to keep birding and get that total as high as possible!  Amazingly, while riding in the back seat with the window cracked open, K heard the faint song of a bird and asked me to pull over.  He thought it was a rose-breasted grosbeak- a bird reported to be at feeders in the area.  I pulled over, he played a sound recording of the grosbeak's song, we stepped out of the car, and sure enough...  it was the rose-breasted grosbeak.  I have learned over the years not to doubt any of these boys because they have all made amazing identifications.

Coach Michael says, "Everybody look to the left!"

 

Now Coach Michael says, "Everybody look to the right!"

At the finish line, they identified five more birds, bringing their final total to 105!  The last bird heard that day was a Blackburnian Warbler.  If you would like to see the full list of birds they identified, click here to be redirected to my birding blog.

"Now... everybody look silly!"

At the banquet, we waited with baited breath for the results.  Their total had blown our minds, and we thought they just might be contenders to win in their age division again.  We were I was a nervous wreck!  Thankfully, watching the birds of prey show helped us me to relax... a little.

The bald eagle was the highlight of the show.

The winners were finally announced!  The boys were blessed to experience a win in fundraising.  They earned more money than any other team in the competition.

C, Giff Beaton (birding record holder in GA), K, Orville, Tim Keyes (YBC Coordinator), & Wilbur awarding and receiving prizes for a record-setting fundraising total: $625!

Sadly, they faced the agony of defeat for bird totals in their age division.  The 3rd place team in the middle school division had found 110 birds!  The boys were a bit disappointed.  I felt sad for them.  However, it was our time to praise God in defeat, and He gave us the grace to do so.  What a good lesson and experience for our kids!  Real life is full of blessings and disappointments.  The mark of a mature Christian is living both abased and abound with thanksgiving and knowing that we can face all situations through Christ Jesus who is our strength.  We do not enter our kids in this competition just so they can learn about birds and win prizes.  Ultimately, it is one of many ways we strive to teach our children to run their races to win while rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks to God in all circumstances.  (Phil 4:12-13, 1 Cor 9:24 & 1 Thes 5:!6-18)

I am thankful for these guys!

God blessed them with an amazing weekend, an amazing total, and His amazing grace!  Could we ask for anything better?

Praising God, from whom all blessings flow,
Dawn

King Breadius III

Orville just finished his IEW unit on writing from pictures.  You can read the finished work, King Breadius III, over at The Write Brothers.  He is anxiously awaiting your comments!

Blessings,
Dawn

I thought my house was clean....

That is until my friend, Joy, came to my house to demonstrate the Rainbow Cleaning System.

In the hours before she came to my house 2 days ago, I gave it a thorough cleaning- meaning dusting, vacuuming, mopping, etc.  Here is what my Rainbow Cleaning System just picked up after vacuuming a few feet of my hardwoods for about 2 minutes.

Eeew... sorry.  It's gross I know.

 

 

 

And it gets worse.

Here is what it removed from an area rug.

I clean my house regularly, really!

This was clean, clear water 1 minute earlier.

BUT... the real reason we bought the Rainbow Cleaning System is because it is an air purification system powerful enough to clean the air in a Wal Mart store.  You would not believe the amount of dust and debris in the tank when we run it to clean the air.  This is something I really need since I suffer from allergies and asthma.  It will also kill 99% of airborne bacteria by adding a fresh-smelling liquid to the tank.  You can also use it to wet clean floor, shampoo carpet, vacuum upholstery, dust....  The thing is AMAZING!

To understand how good the Rainbow Cleaning System is, you really need to see it for yourself, though.

Would you please consider setting up a demo through me and the sales rep I purchased from, Joy?  You can email me at  homeschooldawn (at) gmail (dot) com, and Joy can set up a demo for you in your area, as long as you live in the contiguous United States.

You will receive a voucher for a free 3 days/2 nights stay at one of several resorts in exchange for your time, and you can earn free products like I am trying to do.

Disclosure:  I am earning points to receive a full rebate for my purchase price.  If you set up a demo through Joy by emailing me, I will receive points toward that rebate.  You would truly be helping a friend out. 

Thanks,

Dawn

A Royal Invitation

Hear ye!  Hear ye! 

Squire Orville of The Olive Plants Academy,

under the tutelage of Lady Homeschool Dawn

and the advisement of the royal Institute for Excellence in Writing,

hast run the gauntlet of the five-paragraph essay.

 His skill art hereby displayed for thy wonder

at the bloggy court of

The Write Brothers.

Thou art cordially invited to witness

his act of bravery and prowess.

Should Squire Orville be dubbed

Sir Orville

of the Knights of Rhetoric?

Leave thy proclamation hereafter.

Fare thee well!

Dawn

A Korean Birthday

One of my students turned 9 a few weeks ago.  His precious mother invited Michael, Orville, Wilbur, and me to the party.  On the way there, we grabbed some McDonald's because, being the Americans we are, A) we take any opportunity we can find to stop at McDonald's and B) we assumed the party would have cake and ice cream and maybe a few finger foods.  We thought it best to have a small lunch before arriving.

Um... we should have skipped Mickey D's.  My Korean friends are so hospitable and really know how to set a lovely table....

 

The table in foreground has dumplings, sushi (made with crab),
chicken wings, chicken tenders,
watermelon, and a second set of chicken wings.



Each of the two tables in the back were set for four people and each had three platters filled with a variety of meats and vegetables.  We dipped rice paper into bowls of hot water to soften them, filled them with the meats and veggies of our choosing, and then wrapped them up like a burrito.

It was SO good. 

The front left platter contains red, yellow, and orange bell peppers
as well as shredded cabbage and zucchini.
To its right are carrot shreds, red onions,
egg slices (these were the consistency of an omelet),
and shrimp.
The platter to the back right has chicken, ham and avocado.

The next time I go to Atlanta, I plan to stop at the Korean food market and buy some rice paper.  On a smaller scale, this would make an excellent lunch.  I haven't looked it up, but imagine the rice paper is very low calorie and carb.  They are papery-thin, just strong enough to hold a nice amount of fillings, but not thick and chewy like the other wraps I have eaten.  So healthy and so scrumptious!

However, the highlight of this party was not the food.  The company was wonderful.  There was lots of laughter and chatting.  Even though we could not understand most of what was being said, we felt very comfortable, as if we were at a family gathering. 

We took turns talking to each of the moms in English, and God blessed our conversation.  One of the ladies wanted to tell us immediately that "I know God, too." and we exchanged testimonies of our salvation experiences and shared how God is working in each of our lives currently. What a blessing it was to talk about the Lord with believers from the other side of the world.  We may have some cultural differences, but the unity we have in Jesus Christ was apparent.  It was such a beautiful thing to experience that it brought me to tears.

How good and pleasant it is

when God's people live together in unity!

Psalm 133:1

And, in case you're wondering, there was a birthday cake, too.  We sang Happy Birthday (in English, phew!), but with Korean flair. 

Daume bayo!
(See you next time!)

Dawn

Back to the U of M

So, you've read about it on this blog at least a million times...

The BSU at MSU
which is now the
BCM at U of M!

One of our first stops on our tour of Memphis was the place where Michael and I met. 

And where, 20 YEARS AGO TODAY, he gave me 2 roses, one symbolizing friendship and the other symbolizing love.  We had been best friends for 6 months, and from that friendship, true love had blossomed.

Aw...

Ain't that sweet?

The building was closed and locked tight when we arrived that day, so we had to settle for giving the boys a tour by peeking through windows.  We pointed out the spot where their dad gave me the aforementioned flowers and the board where we pinned daily notes for each other.  The ping pong table, where we did much of our courting, was gone, and the "pit" where we had Bible study every Monday night was mostly floored in.  Ah, progress... it did not seem like the same place, yet, it was as if no time had passed at all.  In my mind's eye, I could see images of Michael and me and the whole BSU crew sitting around talking, praying, eating, studying (yes, we actually did that), and playing spades (yep, we did a little too much of that).

After we relived our glory days, we visited my dorm.  Mynders Hall was one of four dorms where I lived, and it was my favorite.  It was an old, but well-cared-for, building, replete with Victorian charm.  Living there made me feel more ladylike, I suppose.  I had a beautiful, second-floor room, which overlooked the courtyard.  I had a private bath, too.  Really nice.



This is the WORST picture ever taken of me.
Please ignore the washed-out lady,
who's having a bad hair day,
standing behind the sign.



Then we headed for the University Center.  We wanted to shop at the bookstore, which was located in the UC basement when we were students.  Not now!  We looked in horror at the place where steps used to take us down to it.  The steps were concreted over!  Buried!  Our steps were gone!  How were we to get to the bookstore and adjoining snack shop where we bought Jolt Cola?!?  We had promised our kids some Memphis gear and a sip of Jolt so we had to get to the bottom of this problem and that building.  We went inside, hoping to find an elevator, or at least some other steps.

Stepping through the sliding glass doors into the remodeled UC felt like stepping into a futuristic movie.  It had the whole metal-and-glass motif- all very sleek and modern.  And there were coffee shops and cafes and Dunkin' Donuts stores throughout the place. We were like, "Dude, where are the 1970's sofas and Frogger arcade game machine?  And how does one get DOWNSTAIRS to the Jolt Cola and Memphis gear?"

We were completely rattled and must have looked like a couple of old fogies wandering about aimlessly- especially after a gaggle of high school seniors filed into the lobby for their prospective-students campus tour.  We thought about claiming that Orville is a Doogie Howser kid so we could join that tour and hopefully find some Jolt Cola in that newfangled place.  We decided that would be wrong, though, so we kept at the wandering around strategy.  At some point, all those young eyes started rolling at us.  We finally gave up the search because we were feeling tired and...

... AWKWARD!

To escape all those eyes, we high-tailed it to the back doors, and when we stepped out, we saw a new building.  Or at least a new-to-us building.  It was, in fact, the new, non-basement, above-ground bookstore, which just happened to be named in honor of the man who served as University President while we were students.  This place was making us feel older and older with each step we took.

We each took a guess as to how many coffee shops and Dunkin' Donuts stores this building would house as we stepped inside the first set of sliding doors.  The second set of doors, to the actual bookstore, were locked.  At last!  Memphis gear- straight ahead!  And maybe, just maybe, Jolt Cola!!  But we would not be able to access it for another 30 minutes. 

We stood with our faces against the glass doors, dreaming of Jolt, until we noticed the people working inside.  Realizing that they were pointing at us and rolling their eyes, we walked over to a map of the campus to plot our next move.  Michael slipped his glasses down to the tip of his nose and moved in as close to that map as humanly possible.  While he squinted at the tiny words and symbols, I said things like, "Oh honey, look.  They put in a parking a garage." 

I'm not kidding.

That's when the bookstore doors opened, and a very young co-ed approached us.  She asked if she could help us, to which I replied, "Oh, we're alumni.  We're just taking in all the changes." 

With raised eyebrows and a very slow nod of her head, she responded through a forced smile, "Yes, I could tell." 

I wanted to give her a lecture about how one day she would return to campus, trying to find the Dunkin' Donuts store where she and her husband had enjoyed their first creme filled together, only to find it knocked down and replaced with some techno-cafe.

But I asked about Jolt Cola instead.

Evidently, that is a thing of the past, too.  It was like Marty McFly asking for a Tab.  And then a Pepsi Free.

*crickets chirping*

AWKWARD!

So, we moved on.  We wandered around campus, pointing out how this was different and how that was the same while snapping pictures like tourists.  That really helped us look like we belonged.      

I have to admit that I really did like the addition of tiger statues, each painted in a different motif, around campus.  We asked the boys to pick a favorite and we took each boy's picture in front of his selected tiger.  Orville chose one truly representative of Tiger Spirit!

Orville with a Memphis blue tiger!
Go, Tigers, GO!

Wilbur, however, chose a tiger in his favorite color.
Our apologies as we did not see the
DO NOT TOUCH THE TIGERS
signs until after snapping this picture.

As much as I didn't like all the fancy buildings, floored in BSU pit, concreted-over Jolt Cola-selling bookstore, and Dunkin' Donuts shops at every turn, it was good to be back at a place where people cheer for the CORRECT TIGERS!

And I won't put down anyone's team, but if you live where I do, you know what tigers I'm talking about.  Tigers who are also eagles?!?

That just confuses me.

Ahem.

Sorry about that.

An if it's not them, then it's those Cajun Tigers with their faux French words.

Oh, oops.

There I go again.  :)

But, you got me.

I really did like the 47 Dunkin' Donuts shops.  It was just so frustrating because  NONE OF THEM WERE OPEN. 

I bet they didn't sell Jolt Cola, either.

We ended our time on campus by walking through the foreign languages building, where Michael took most of his classes; the education building, where I took most of my classes; and the admin building, where I worked in the registration office.  I didn't take pictures of these buildings but I did capture the beauty of the nearby fountains....

Well, I took a picture of part of one of the important buildings.
The admin building is in the background.
If I had turned just a little more to the left,
you could see the window of the office where I worked.



I sat on the nearby benches clicking away for quite some time.
Evidently, taking pictures of water makes me feel less conspicuous.



And more at ease with change.

It took my mind off the Jolt Cola situation, too.

Eventually, we made our way back to the finally-open bookstore and bought the boys some Memphis pencils.  They didn't want a shirt or hoodie or pants or decal or pennant or anything else... except for a HUGE Memphis Tiger plush toy that cost close to a gazillion dollars.

The pencils were a good compromise, I think.

After that, we made our way back to our car, pencils in hand, but sans Jolt Cola.  Our campus adventure had finally come to its end.

It isn't exactly the campus I remember,
but it is a beautiful place.

Go (not Geaux) Tigers!
Dawn

How to Get a Semi-Decent Picture of Your Adolescent Sons

Goofy

Serious

Goofy

Goofy

Serious

Goofy

Serious

Back to Our Roots

Before traveling to Memphis, we placed a hotel bid online.  Where was our offer accepted?

At the hotel next door to the hospital where Orville and Wilbur were born. We took these pictures from our hotel room window.

Pretty cool, eh?

Downtown Memphis

Once we got on a trolley that stayed on course, we reoriented ourselves to the layout of downtown Memphis and a good time was had by all.  Here are some highlights of our tour de Frontstreet and Main.

Hernando de Soto Bridge, the Mighty Mississippi,
and Mud Island

Union Court Square
The Memphis leg of the Food Truck Race
on the Food Network
began at this Memphis landmark.



Orville is declaring the start of the truck race-
a race that is occurring in his very active imagination. 
From whom did he get that trait, I wonder...
*sigh*



Stuck on the trolley!



We opted to occupy our trolley at this stop.



The Pyramid and I-40



The Peabody Ducks



The Memphis (turned Georgia) Boys