Book Report

Last year was my year for reading again. I used to love reading as a child but since I had kids, my own reading has been very limited and sporadic. So I made a conscious effort to restart the habit. Goodreads is a great website to help keep track of both the books I read and the ones I want to read! 2012 was basically a year for fluff ~ easy-to-read, not-too-stimulating, quick reads. Actually, no book is "quick" for me anymore, but you get the idea. I was just trying to get back into the habit and the joy of reading.

However, while I still intend to read fluff in 2013, I have decided to try and implement some 'real' books. Non-fiction, make-you-think books. Preferably ones that can help me out somehow in my my life goals. Books that have ideas that I may want to refer back to. Most of my books I get from the library so I will make my notes here...



"The Five Love Languages of Children" by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell, MD

Description from their website: To be their best, children need to feel loved. But if you and your child speak different love languages, your affection might get lost in translation, affecting the child’s attitude, behavior, and development. Dr. Gary Chapman’s groundbreaking Five Love Languages series has helped millions of couples communicate love more clearly, and Dr. Ross Campbell M.D. has applied the innovative system to children as well. The 5 Love Languages of Children gives practical suggestions for learning how your children interpret love and creating a sense of security in which they can thrive.

I really did like this book. In fact, I may go ahead and buy myself a copy to keep around. And I hope to implement some of the suggestions the authors' recommend. I also intend to read some of their other books. 

Basically, the five love languages are: Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Gifts, and Acts of Service. The definitions are pretty much what you would expect them to be. The premise is one of these languages is your child's MAIN love language and the one that will fill up their "love tank." Though you need to use ALL of the languages, you should concentrate on making sure you use the MAIN one often enough to satisfy their need for it. Also, when disciplining them, don't use the MAIN one as punishment.

There is also a chapter on anger - specifically how to teach them to manage it. This one will be hard for me. I don't think I'm that great at managing my own anger. Also, I spent several year in a state of depression (not clinical) and one thing I read later was that women who are depressed tend to shy away from confrontation and I can tell I haven't gotten over that particular symptom so dealing with my children's anger in a calm, rational way is going to be very, very difficult for me. (This is why I may buy this book, so I can refer back to this chapter!)

In the back of the book, they give you action plans for each love language as well as other things. Physical Touch I can handle. Words of Affirmation may be hard but I think I can do it. Quality Time will be tricky just because I never seem to have enough time for anything. One thing it recommends is to spend one hour a week with each child. Well, I have 4 children ~ however, I'm going to make this a goal for this year but I'm going to start out with every 2 weeks and see how it goes. Gifts ~ this one bothers me for some reason. Maybe just because I'm trying to get rid of inconsequential clutter? Maybe I don't want them to be spoiled and expect gifts for every occasion? I don't know but I'm afraid one of my children may have this as her main love language so we'll see how it goes. Acts of Service I think I have down. I actually need to start training the children in some of these things so they can become fully functioning adults. Luckily, there is always something you can do for somebody to make them feel loved.

How to determine each child's love language will be the trick. I need to keep track of the ways they express love to me and other people. Keep track of what they ask for. Look at any patterns of complaints. I can also give them "either/or" questions to try and determine which love language fits them best. 

Here's where I guess my kids' love languages now and, hopefully, in a few weeks I will either confirm or correct them:

13-year-old boy: Physical touch
9-year-old girl: she's hard but I think Quality Time
7-year-old girl: Gifts or Words of Affirmation
5-year-old boy: may be too young to tell yet (according to the book) but I'm going with Quality Time for now



Oh! ~ just saw there are free "study guides" on their website. Going to have to check these out!

Coffee Fudge

We recently had "Thank-mas" at my Mom & Dad's house.

I brought some "Coffee Fudge" that I made for the first time. My younger daugher (the one who likes almost everything) and I really liked it. Everybody else wanted regular old fudge. Oh, well...here's the recipe anyway. I got this from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures.

Coffee Fudge

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into chunks
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1- 5 ounce can evaporated milk
• 12 large marshmallows, cut into pieces (or use 120 mini marshmallows)
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

1. Line a loaf pan with foil and grease. Set aside. (You can also use an 8×8 pan lined with foil.)
2. In a pan combine sugar, butter, coffee granules, salt, milk, and marshmallows.
3. Bring to a boil and continue cooking over medium high heat until it reaches soft ball stage, which is 234 degrees, on a candy thermometer. You will need to stir this to keep it from burning.
4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and chocolate chips until melted.
5. Pour mixture into lined loaf pan. Cool completely or overnight and let cut into squares.

Easy Manicotti

I adapted this recipe from allrecipes.com.
Everybody in this house LOVES this recipe.

1 pound ground hamburger or sausage
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 (16 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
12 manicotti shells
Italian seasoning & ground pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add manicotti shells to boiling water & cook about 8-10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Brown the hamburger or sausage; drain and keep hot.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, 1 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning, pepper, and the hamburger/sausage.

Stuff noodles with cheese and hamburger/sausage mixture; place in 13x9 baking dish. Pour sauce over top of noodles and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Thin Egg Pancakes

We love thin pancakes at my house. (Except for my husband, who detests almost all things breakfasty.) I got this recipe from "Taste of Home's 2000 Quick Cooking Annual Recipes" (page 137) cookbook which I got from AAL.

I need to remember to DOUBLE this recipe the next time I make it.

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5 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
Salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, beat eggs until foamy. Add milk. Stir in flour and sugar just until blended. Add butter, salt, and pepper. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into a hot greased 8-in skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove and keep warm. Repeat.

Yield: 1 dozen

Parmesan Chicken

This recipe comes from "Taste of Home's 1999 Quick Cooking Annual Recipes" (page 78) cookbook.

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 pound)
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cub grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 egg
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Flatten chicken to 1/4-inch thickness. In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and basil. In another bowl, beat the egg. Dip chicken into egg, then coat with crumb mixture. In a large skillet, brown chicken in butter and oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

Yield: 4 servings

Super Easy Nachos

This is my own recipe! I know ~ amazing, right?!

Fajita Meat - you can get it in a bag at Sam's
Tostitos Scoops
Cheddar Cheese

First, cook the meat (microwave will work but I prefer the skillet).

While that's cooking, lay out your chips on a microwave-safe plate (or cookie sheet, if using oven.)

Cut the meat into small enough sections to fit inside a chip and put a piece in each chip.

Shred the cheese over the chips.

Cook in microwave for 30+ seconds until cheese is melted. You can also put it in the oven at 350 until the cheese is melted ~ less than 5 minutes! I prefer it in the oven.

Yyyyuuuummmm!

You can also put refried beans in the chips before microwaving.
And, of course, you can also add salsa after.

Speedy Southwest Salad

1 pkg (10 oz) ready-to-serve salad greens
1 can (15 oz) whole kernal corn, drained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed & drained
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup picante sauce
1 cup broken tortilla chips
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced tomatoes

Place greens in large salad bowl. Top with corn and beans.

In a small bowl, combine the salad dressing and picante sauce; spoon over vegetables.

Sprinkle with tortilla chips, cheese, and tomatoes.

Serve immediately.

(6 servings)
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I have no idea where I got this recipe but Steffi and I both like it.
No one else will try it. Wimps.

It makes quite a lot so I normally only make this when we go to a pot luck.

But, really, I could eat this every week!

UPDATE: I got this recipe from TASTE OF HOME.

Recipe - Lasagna

I found this recipe on the back of the Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Grain Lasagna noodle box and modified it slightly. We love the whole grain noodles!

1 lb ground beef

3 cups (26 oz) spaghetti sauce

1 1/2 cups water

1 3/4 cups ricotta or cottage cheese

2 cups (8oz) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I use Sam's Italian 4-cheese blend)

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 1/2 boxes Ronzoni lasagna, uncooked (the recipe calls for 9 noodles but I end up using just over a box)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown meat; drain. Add spaghetti sauce and water; simmer about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together ricotta, 1 cup mozarella, Parmesan, eggs, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Pour about 1 cup sauce mixture into bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Arrange UNCOOKED pasta pieces over sauce (I make sure to cover the entire surface with the lasagna); cover with 1 cup sauce. Spread one-half cheese filling over sauce. Repeat layers of lasagna, sauce, and cheese filling. Top with layer of lasagna and remaining sauce; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes. Remove foil; bake another 10 minutes.

Let lasagna stand 10 minutes before cutting.