Baking Mess-Ups...That Turned Out Better

Earlier this week, when I made pizza dough in the breadmaker, I didn't have enough bread flour.  The recipe called for 2 1/4 cups bread flour, and I only had 1 cup.  So I substituted 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour instead.  The result?  The family (including myself) actually like the pizza dough better!  It wasn't as thick, which was fine with us, and it was softer.  Everyone agreed that I should continue to "mess up" the pizza dough recipe from now on.

The other baking mess-up I made was last night.  I have made S'mores Cookie Bars several times before, which our family devours in less than two days.  Yesterday when I made them, I didn't have enough butter.  The recipe called for 8 tablespoons, but I only had 6 tablespoons.  I substituted 2 tablespoons of shortening (fat is fat, and I wasn't altering the recipe that much).  Guess what?  The cookie bars were totally delish.  When I have made them correctly, the bars are a little tough.  Substituting a little bit of shortening for the butter made the bars softer.....which make them a little easier to eat - the marshmallow fluff doesn't squish out all over the place. 

Two baking mess-ups that actually turned out better.  That's a switch for me!

Evelyn's School's Art Show

Evelyn's school hosted an art show this afternoon and evening.  All students in the school (grades 3-6) had one piece of work displayed; the students chose their favorite piece from everything they have made so far this year.  Evelyn chose "Night Time Birch Trees," which she is pointing out in the picture below.  Both girls really enjoyed walking through the hundreds of art pieces, looking at the various projects.  Congrats on this year's art show, Little Peanut!

Kindergarten Pet

Julia's Kindergarten class has a stuffed pet dog, Bruin, who goes home with a different student each weekend.  Julia was over-the-moon excited that this was her weekend to host the class pet!  Bruin the dog went to soccer on Friday afternoon . . . 

 . . . tried to snitch cheese while Troy made dinner Friday evening . . .

 . . . and she even went to Julia's Girl Scout meeting Friday evening.

 On Saturday, Bruin ate breakfast with all the other animals in the house . . .

 . . . and helped Julia lead the family on a walk on the trail behind our house . . .

 . . . that leads to Mirror Lake.

 Julia let Bruin sleep in her bed all three nights.

 On Sunday, Bruin hung out with Evelyn and Julia, helping play with the Legos and American Girl dolls.  For dinner, we went out out eat at Chili's, and Bruin tagged along.

 Sunday evening, Julia chose her favorite pictures (which we printed at home), and then Julia dictated to me what she wanted me to write in the class journal.

 Julia was sad that this morning was the last morning with Bruin, but she hopes the little dog has fun next weekend with another friend.

"Backyard" Hike

It was around 50 degrees this afternoon, so we just had to do something outside.  We donned our snow boots (I don't know when this snow will ever melt...) and went for a hike just beyond our backyard.  Julia is hosting her class's stuffed dog this weekend, so he came along, too (more on that in another post).

 We hiked from our house to Mirror Lake, which is about a third of a mile each way.  Naturally, the girls wanted to go out on the lake.  Uh, no.  Not a chance.

 The hiking was slow going and a bit treacherous because of the hard-packed, slippery snow.  But it was a fun outing on an unseasonably warm(er) day.

Girl Scout Chocolatier

This morning, Julia attended a chocolate-making event for her Girl Scout troop.  After watching a video about where chocolate comes from, the girls tucked their hair into hair nets and headed into the kitchen.  

 Julia helped dip a chocolate truffle AND a marshmallow.  She also chose the decorations for her truffle and chocolate-covered marshmallow.  (Can you tell she's a tad-bit excited?)

 The last thing the girls did was decorate molded chocolate shapes.  Julia chose a heart lollipop, and then she chose three colors of tinted white chocolate to "paint" with.  She had a plan for her tri-colored heart:  Evelyn could eat the orange section, Troy and I could share the red section, and she would eat the purple section (in addition to her other two treats).

 An added bonus to a morning of fun - Julia earned a badge to put on her Daisy uniform.  Not a bad way to start the weekend!

Coloring Contest Winner!

Julia and Evelyn love going to our local grocery store.  The store offers a kid's area where the girls can play while I do my shopping.  Unbeknownst to Julia, there is also a monthly coloring contest.  Julia just likes to color, and she likes to leave pictures for the kids' area workers.  

So, imagine her surprise when she showed up this afternoon and was told she had won the February coloring contest!  She got two amazing prizes - a stationery set and an art kit.  She was over the moon, telling the lady who works there, "It feels like Christmas!"

Desperate Deer

We thought these deer were cute.....until they started eating my bird seed.  The only feeder they can reach is the squirrel-proof one (it's spring-loaded, so when a heavy bird or a squirrel gets on it, the perch and outer cage go down, covering up the feeding tray).  Unfortunately it's not deer-proof.  Hmpf.