Mickey Mouse Chimichangas

There's a little Mission tortilla factory at Disney's California Adventure park. It's one of our favorite attractions. Not only do you get to learn all about how tortillas changed the world and see them being made, you get to taste one hot, right off the line! It's truly like a little piece of heaven.

They also have a demo kitchen with recipes to take home and try. The photo looked yummy, so we picked up the "Chicken Chimichangas" card. I crossed my fingers and prepared it for our weekly "The Office" party with friends. YUM! I think we have a winner.

Chicken Chimichangas (from Mission but modified by me... you know I can't just follow a recipe)

Ingredients:
Soft taco size flour tortillas (I think I used 12)
Jarred salsa (I had Safeway brand salsa verde, medium)
Cooked chicken, chopped (I used 3 large breasts)
Onion, chopped (I used about half of a larger onion)
cumin (I used about 1.5 t)
oregano (I used about 1 t)
salt (a little less than 1 t)
cheddar cheese, shredded (I used a lot)

Instructions:
I combined the chicken, onion, cumin, oregano, salt and about half the jar of salsa in a pot. It said to cook over medium-low heat, stirring often for 25 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporated. I was in a hurry, so I cranked it to medium and didn't wait until it was evaporated..

Spoon 1/3 c of the chicken mixture into the center of a tortilla and top with about 2 T of cheese. Fold in the two sides and then fold the top and bottom, making a rectangle. Mine didn't look very uniform. Secure with toothpicks and place, folded side down, on a greased baking sheet. Repeat until the chicken stuff is gone. Coat chimichangas with vegetable cooking spray.

**I also made for me a couple filled with just black beans, diced onions and cheese.

It said to bake at 425 for 8 minutes, turn and bake 5 more minutes. I rotated the baking sheet part way through and just watched for them to crisp. Then I flipped them and toasted the other side.

We had lots of topping options: salsa, lettuce, sour cream, cilantro, guacamole, tomatoes.

YUM!
I would definitely make this again and recommend it. It was quick, easy and yummy.
-Liz :)

Homecoming '08

My boss, Sue, collects VWs... including this really cool Bus:

She got this crazy idea that we'd let our CE2 kids paint it up old-school hippie style for this year's THS homecoming parade. She pulled it into the auto shop next door, and several students and staff members transformed it into this:

Dressed and ready to hit the parade route:

Liz, Zac, Lisa, Karianne, David

We got some great looks and comments as we made our way down Durham Road. We had a blast!

When I started at CE2, I suggested that we enter a float in this year's parade. They laughed and said, "Good luck with that!" I showed them :)

-Liz

Teen treats: Part 2

Dillon was very vocal in his praise of my baked goods, so I asked if he'd like to help me make the next round. He requested white chocolate macadamia nut. I've never made those, so I asked him to search the Internet and find us a good, simple recipe. Yesterday, we created our masterpieces.


Decked out in my Mickey Mouse apron, I assisted as Dillon cleaned, creamed, mixed, folded, scooped, rotated, cooled, plated and served. And since we doubled the recipe, we also got to practice some fractions!

The cookies were excellent and enjoyed by all. If you're looking for a good white chocolate macadamia nut cookie recipe, this one's a winner.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (12-ounce) package or 2 cups white chocolate chips
1 to 2 cups macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375*F.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. In large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer at medium speed, cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gently stir in flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate and macadamia nuts.

4. Drop cookies by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a non-stick cookie sheet (or lined with parchment paper) about 1 inch apart.

5. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden, turning cookie sheet around after 5 minutes to ensure even browning.

6. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.

-Liz :)

Teen treats

Last week I tried a brand-new recipe on my CE2 kids: Peanutty Buckeye Bars from BHG.com. I brought all the ingredients to school and made them right there in our kitchen. I was nervous to try a new recipe without even getting to taste it first (it's not like I could decide it was bad and not give them any after they watched me make it!). But I had nothing to worry about -- they lined up in the kitchen to eat them as fast as I could cut them. So this one's a keeper:

Ingredients

• 1 19.5-ounce package brownie mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup cooking oil
• 1 cup chopped peanuts
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup peanut butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large bowl, combine brownie mix, eggs, and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Stir in peanuts. Remove half of the brownie mixture and set aside. Spread the remaining brownie mixture evenly into prepared pan.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter until smooth. Spread evenly over brownie mixture in pan. Separate the remaining brownie mixture into pieces, flatten them with your fingers, and place them on top of the brownie mixture in pan.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until top is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 32 bars.

4. To Store: Layer cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

I made a double batch and didn't have to worry about how to store them ;)

-Liz

My music

I started playing the violin in fifth grade and added clarinet in sixth grade. I decided the violin wasn't for me, but I stuck with the clarinet all through high school and college. The Tigard High Marching Band was my life and kept me interested in school. I wanted to attend George Fox University (College, then) and almost opted for a much larger school that had a marching band. (Could you imagine how different my life would be if I hadn't gone to GFU?!?!)

I'm not sure when I started playing handbells. I got my feet wet when I was young when we'd have an occasional choir at my family's church. I organized a couple play dates and sort of arranged music for the events. I played in my college handbell choir, even earning elective credit by assisting Dr. Howard my senior year.

I heard about the Newberg Friends Handbell Choir shortly after Brad and I started attending NFC. I signed up immediately. That was about 10 years ago! I took a short break when we moved to Vancouver for less than a year. I haven't played my clarinet since graduation day at GFU. But I am so blessed to keep my musical skills tuned with my friends in the NFC handbell choir!

The bass line rocks!

Treble is cool, too

Our fearless leader

Sometimes we look like hobos

-Liz :)

All clear!

We had our first fire alarm of the year today at THS. My classroom is in the back of the school, and we are this area's keepers of the walkie talkie and the all-clear flag (a yard stick with a red plastic triangle stapled to the end). I had heard about my duties to wave that flag to alert everyone when it was time to go inside. Today, I felt the power! Over the radio came the words we'd been waiting for, and then it was time to wave my flag. So fun :)

Divine Romance

Have you heard this song by Phil Wickham? Check it out :)