Recipe: Chicken and Dumplings
Sometimes you just need some comfort food. You know what I’m sayin’? This is one of those dishes. And sometimes you don’t want to spend a lot of time getting to that comfort food. For me, that means stopping by [...]
Birthday Trifle
Good morning! I know that the time for summery treats is over… But as I look around at the frosty ground every morning, I can’t help but just hope for a few more days of warm sun on my face. [...]
Proud Mama!
Don’t worry Mom, I’m not pregnant. This is WAY cooler than that. At least in my opinion. MY turkey chili is on Foodgawker!!! This was totally the highlight of my weekend. It’s a great recipe (try it!) and I had a [...]
Turkey Chili
Have you been waiting in suspense sinces yesterday to find out what was in the big shiny pot in my fridge? I thought so… I mean, I’m sure you lost sleep over it. Sunday was a busy day with the [...]
2nd Annual Pie Party + Recipe
Last Saturday marked the 2nd Annual Pie Party at the Main household. The scoop: bring a sweet or savory pie (or both). Devour. Socialize. If that doesn’t sound like heaven, I really don’t know what does! Main Man and I [...]
Work and Play
May 13th, 2013 
As we wind down into the end of the semester, I find myself getting a little antsy to be done…
Know what I mean?
Yeah. It’s this point in the year where I always find myself sick…what can I say, I’m a stressed girl!
So with my dissertation proposal being moved to its final stages and school stress at an all-time high, my friend Amanda ensured some relaxation with a quick trip for the girls to the lake!
You may remember the last time we went to the lake…
Good times.
This was like that, but with some extra friends!
I’ve just gotta ask in advance that you forgive my low-quality pics. Pretty please? Thanks!
There was food.
Best BLT of my life. Why? Because it had mashed avocado on it. YEEEEEEEES.
There was sun.
Ouch. Thanks Dad for my beautiful fair skin. For real, I’m not kidding.
There was bird poop while working on my burn…
My friend Sara (who got pooped on way worse than I did) says that this is a sign of good luck. Hmm…
There was ICE CREAM AT THE BAR! Again…
I’m telling you. That place is like heaven. I got to have a drink and eat ice cream with my girlfriends while wearing yoga pants. I mean, it really doesn’t get much better!
There was laughing, and reading, and school, of course.
There was gourmet cooking (done by yours truly):
There was the memory of the ridiculous staircase where I almost died.
What kind of construction is that???
And of course, the stop at the famous town of Tightwad, MO population 69.
Can’t make this up people. I just love that place. They even have tourism information. If you plan on taking a vacation to Tightwad, MO, PLEASE make sure to take lots of pictures and let me know the highlights.
Let me tell you, this is the way to forget about the rigors of life.
Hope you had a great weekend!
Race Recap: Color Me Rad 2013
A few weeks ago, my best friend from South Dakota came to visit! This wasn’t just any old visit. It was time to re-create what I hope will become an annual tradition.
Introducing…NIKKI!!!
She’s super cute. And super excitable. : )
Nikki and I ran the Color Me Rad race in Omaha last summer and had a great time! Clink on this link to look at our ridiculous time!
Anyway, when we heard it was coming to Kansas City, we decided we had to run it again! There were only a few bummers about this event being in Kansas City:
1. No road trip to Omaha
2. No super shady hotel room
3. No unopened beer under my bed in the super shady hotel room…
Ok, just kidding. It was pretty sweet having Nikki come to my house!
So anyway, I’m sure you’re aware of all of the crazy color races popping up and this one is similar. You run a 5k and get covered in colored cornstarch.
It’s pretty neat.
But for all of that color to show up, you have got to start clean:
I bought a pack of men’s undershirts last year for the race and pulled out a brand spanking new one for this race. But then I realized I’m a baby and it was actually cold out so I threw on a long-sleeved shirt over it. I don’t regret it for a minute.
Our best Kansas City friend Amanda joined us for the race this year!
Believe it or not, they aren’t modeling. These are candids at their finest.
It was chilly and windy but was a good race-a PR for Nikki!!! She and I noticed some improvements over last year:
1. There were more waves so that you didn’t get stopped up at the color stations.
2. There was water and snacks at the end. We are total suckers for snacks…or maybe that’s just me.
3. The tattoos were waaaaaaaaaaay better than last time. (Except I couldn’t get mine off for 3 days…it was pretty neat going to work with a “RAD” tattoo on my leg…) For example: check out Nikki’s tat after a scrub down in the shower:
There were also a few things we’d like to see improved before the next KC race (which, I should mention, we will totally sign up for!):
1. We were pretty much trail running at first-lots of cracked and broken concrete which made me a little nervous.
2. Paying for parking….what?!
3. The professional photographers were kinda hard to find. It was cool, though, cuz we took our own shots:
I highly recommend putting your phone in a Ziploc and covering your water if you are drinking it on the trail…just trust me on these small points.
It was a really great time and I got to run it with the best of company! Can’t wait for next year!
Have you done a color race?
International Get It Together Day
I’m not sure what the weather has been like where you live, but it sure hasn’t been very Spring-y around here. I can’t even demonstrate with a picture. it will make me sad.
That’s totally the reason I haven’t done any “Spring Cleaning”…yeah. Definitely.
So anyway, today is officially designated as “International Get It Together Day” and I might add that “It” is actually code for another word but I won’t use that here.
So anyway, the house is getting put back together today. Things have been crazy with my dissertation proposal and it’s time for some serious cleaning, laundry, etc. I find that when my mind is crazy, my life begins to look messy so I’m trying to combat that with cleaning up my act.
What’re you doing to clean up?
Photo Barrage
Since it would take me approximately 1,000,000,001 (yep, and one) words to describe what I’ve been up to lately. I would much rather share some pics from my phone.
Right?
Cool. Let’s get started!
I spent most of my spring break cuddling these two monsters. Missy is the 5 pound brat on the left and Sophia is my parent’s new 3.6 pound baby. They had a ball running around like crazy!
I also spent a lot of time reading (Gillian Flynn anybody?!-I HIGHLY recommend all of her books-AND she is from MO!) and doing school work.
In addition, I had my first Pinterest experience AND first Pinterest fail-all in about 20 minutes! Don’t worry…it was totally the same project. My friend Nikki and I were attempting to make workout shirts from old t-shirts…
We thought we started out strong…
It didn’t go well…
There was also some celebrating for St. Patrick’s Day and an early celebration for my birthday. It was SO great to be home in South Dakota for an entire week (!!!) and see all of my friends and family!
I don’t care what you say, the food coloring totally changes the taste…
A total shout-out to Stitch Fix for my adorable top!
My friend Nikki made me a couple of bets…you BETter believe that I won! And I got to wear this totally sweet hat:
Classy, yes?
…Nikki said she would never bet me again.
Yes, that wig was on the head of a stranger, but the good news is that I don’t have lice and the even better news is that we have this fantastic photo to remember the night.
Some other new news is that I got a haircut that is DIFFERENT from every.single.other haircut I’ve ever had ever. Like, since 3rd grade. The only difference has been whether or not it was curly. Main Man prefers the curls…sorry about that.
The before:
And the after:
It turns out my friend Amanda and I both chose to chop our hair off. She did it first so I guess technically I copied her but when she said she was getting her hair cut I said I was thinking about cutting mine off. Great minds I guess…!
Main Man and I went on a hot date after I got my hair cut and ate at Room 39. In a word: it.was.amazing. (see what I did there? 1 word…).
2 notes to self….unpack from spring break and clean mirror…
The Saturday after my birthday, Main Man took me out for a progressive dinner through Kansas City. This is something we used to do a lot and it is where you go from one restaurant to another for different courses and we started at Pierpont’s-one of our favorite restaurants.
On the way to the second restaurant, Main Man said he forgot my present at our house and we had enough time to swing by the house. We pulled up and he ran in and texted me that he needed help. I ran in…and found my first surprise birthday party ever!
My friends Amanda, Lauren, Sara, Derek, Sam, Andrew, and Clinton were all there and decorated our basement and there was a taco and a dessert bar!!! My friends know me well and they made sure there was lots of sugar!!!
Sadly, I was having too much fun to take many pictures…
It was a wonderful spring break and birthday!
My Birthday Rave
My birthday was last Thursday. It was pretty amazing! There was cake, there were beautiful flowers from my husband, there were calls and texts from my family and friends. There was an AMAAAAAAZING dinner.
I’ll get to all that. But first I want to share with you what I sent out to my colleagues the morning of my birthday.
It is my wish for education and for my career.
Read. Enjoy. Roll your eyes? Laugh? Think.
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The aim of education is the knowledge not of fact, but of values.
~William Ralph Inge
Today is my birthday.
I didn’t choose today to rant and rave so you would wish me a happy birthday. I know it’s surprising since I’m an only child and all and can arguably be called selfish at times…but instead, I chose this day because today I get to make a wish.
Because it’s my birthday, right? Get it?
Right…
My wish is that all students we encounter and have the honor of working with here at Park Hill High School leave prepared for the next steps of their lives. Whether that is into a career, college, or a training program, it doesn’t matter. What I REALLY want to do is provide students with is the ability to be successful as they move through these phases; I do not simply want them to get there, I want them to get through. I want them to know responsibility and citizenship and what it means to work with others.
Am I naïve? Potentially. (I hear some of you saying “Oh yes you are honey” OR “Yes you dummy” OR “(Something I can’t type here-you know who you are)” and that’s cool)
Is it ok to have naïve wishes and dreams? I would sure like to think so.
I’m perfectly comfortable living in a world where I think that my choices and actions can make a difference. I wish this is something about myself that never changes.
I have an undying hope for our future and I know that you and I have the opportunity to be the change that our students need even if/when they don’t know it. Even if you only have control over your own classroom, you still have the chance to provide a student with something that will help them in their future.
What could that look like?
It could be explaining why we make the decisions we make. It could be a tutoring session. Or a positive note/call/email to a student’s family or teaching an old lesson in a new way to reach different types of learners or making what you are teaching relevant to today’s world. It could be a visit to an extra-curricular activity. How about taking the time to ask how a student is? Sometimes we get so rushed and feel the pressure to push information into our students’ minds that we forget they are people too.
It doesn’t matter how we do it.
It just matters that we do it.
As Todd Whitaker says, we need to treat all students as if though they are good. Even the difficult ones. I know it’s hard and we don’t always win, but we can surely try. As my great granny used to say, “you catch more bees with sugar than you do with vinegar.”
Thanks for being here and for doing what you do every single day. We know that this can feel like a thankless job. Just know I am thankful for each and every one of you and I wish you knew how much you mean to me and our students. I have learned so much in my three short years with Park Hill and have you all to be grateful for.
PS-in order to make a wish come true, you have to blow candles out on a cake. And eat cake (duh). If you come down to the 500s workroom today, you can help make my wish come true and you can also devour some of my birthday cake. : )
And if you don’t like cake…I’m sorry. But not really. Cuz there’s more for me (ahh yes, there’s the selfish only child). Have a GREAT day! I’d love to hear what your wish is-please share with me!
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What are you wishing for friends?
Shut Down
You may or may not have heard about a little snowstorm running amok right now.
Yep. So not surprisingly, we don’t have school.
Also, I got a call at 12:30 that we wouldn’t have school tomorrow.
You know those “snow days” where you can still be productive? Like, run errands and do life stuff?
This is not one of those…
I guess it would be a perfect day to clean carpet or just clean in general…but that sounds too difficult.
Main Man and I are pretty trapped right now…but the fire is on, we have chili, cozy dogs, and Gossip Girl. Just kidding. Main Man doesn’t watch that, but we do have Lost. And when he goes away, I can watch Gossip Girl…
Stay safe everyone!
Review: Erin Baker’s
Have you tried these?
I only did because Main Man randomly bought some from the grocery store.
I am glad he did!!!
Thanks Main Man! You are awesome.
Erin Baker (yep, really her name!) is the founder of the company that started with a Kitchen-Aid mixer that made 24 cookies at a time in 1994. Erin Baker’s are really into using wholesome, all natural, whole ingredients in their baked goods. Erin makes breakfast cookies like the ones above and also granola. I’ve only tried the cookies, but trust me…they are awesome!
Interested in learning more about Erin? Check out her website.
I have tried:
Double Chocolate Chunk
Chocolate Chunk (vegan)-Favorite! Love the chunks of chocolate…
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk (vegan)
Mocha Cappuccino-One of Main Man’s favorites
Oatmeal Raisin
The health stats of the cookies are pretty great: under 300 calories and are super filling-it’s pretty awesome that I can say the names of the ingredients!
Is this as good as the homemade thing? No…but it’s still awesome and is perfectly portable!
My favorites (of course) are the ones with chocolate (duh) and I love that my two favorite flavors (chocolate chunk and peanut butter chocolate chunk) are vegan.
Check out the health foods section of your regular grocery store and see if you can find them!
What flavor do you want to try?
*Disclaimer: Erin Baker’s did not compensate me for this post-all thoughts and comments are my very own. : )
Getting My Learn On
I’m currently in St. Louis, MO for a technology conference (#METC13). The last week has been hectic getting ready to leave my classroom, but I’m super excited to be here!
I hit up the hotel gym this morning before getting a delicious omelette and fruit for breakfast. YUM!
Did I mention I have my own suite? I love my principal. For real. No sharing rooms here.
It’s amazing.
Spoiled!
Ok-time to learn how to make learning even better for my kiddos!
Love
I love my mom. I love my dad. I love my husband.
I love my grandma. I love my cousins. I love my uncles and my aunts.
I love my distant family.
I love my best friends. I love my good friends.
I love my acquaintances.
I love my colleagues.
I love my students.
I love my job.
I love being alive.
I love having a healthy body.
I love yoga.
I love smiling.
I love people who are different from me.
I love people I disagree with.
I love being challenged.
I love receiving critical feedback.
I even love people I don’t like. I even love people I don’t know.
Why?
Because EVERYONE deserves love.
It’s not easy, and I stumble often.
But perseverance is necessary.
Something scary happened yesterday. Everyone here is safe and I am grateful.
I just want everyone to feel save and loved.
Because we all deserve it.
Call someone you love and tell them that you love them.
Compliment somebody who looks down at the grocery store.
Say hey to someone you see frequently at the gym or wherever.
Spread the peace.
Be the change.
Love.
Recipe: Chicken and Dumplings
Sometimes you just need some comfort food.
You know what I’m sayin’?
This is one of those dishes.
And sometimes you don’t want to spend a lot of time getting to that comfort food.
For me, that means stopping by the gas station for a donut or calling the pizza man to stop by…
Been there?
Since those aren’t really the best of life choices, here’s a solution for you:
Since I’m not so Southern (ok, does South Dakota REALLY count? I didn’t think so…), I’ve never had real chicken and dumplings but…here’s my healthy interpretation.
Maybe it’s not real chicken and dumplings (I really have no clue…), but it’s darned good and you are gonna wanna try this treat! It’ll make you want to cuddle up in front of the fire with your loved ones. Maybe that’s just me.
Also, please note the amazing, sunny weather I had to work with…what kind of winter is this?!
But try it anyway.
I made a big batch of this on a Sunday and ate it all week for lunch. I even had enough left to freeze for future quick lunches. Let me tell you-my colleagues were awfully jealous of my beautiful bowl of amazing smelling deliciousness (it’s a word) when they were picking at their icky pre-packaged frozen meals.
Even in this strange spring winter, you can have yourself a down-home, wonderful meal in no time!
Chicken and Dumplings
Author: Emily Main
Recipe type: Main
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-10
This cozy meal with warm your belly-it is a perfect meal for lunch or dinner and is great for batch cooking. (I cook a huge batch on Sunday and put in Mason jars for the week and freeze any leftovers for later!) Just like most of my recipes, this is easily adaptable and can be doubled or halved easily; try playing with the vegetables and seasonings. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts (frozen or pre-cooked, shredded)
- 2 32oz boxes of organic low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 cups of water
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 T. garlic, minced
- 6 stalks of celery, chopped
- 2-3 cups of carrots, chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 cup peas (frozen)
- 1 cup corn (frozen)
- Marjoram, pepper, red pepper flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley-all to taste
- For dumplings:
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 t. baking soda
- ½ t. salt
- 2 T. olive oil
- ⅕ cups water
Instructions
- Saute onions and garlic in the bottom of a large soup pot until the unions are translucent.
- Bring chicken broth and water to a boil over the sauteed onions and garlic. If chicken is frozen, drop it in and allow it to cook. Remove from pot and shred, return to pot.
- Chop vegetables and add (celery, carrots, mushrooms, red pepper). Lightly boil until carrots/celery are almost tender. (15-20 minutes)
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add oil and water and stir. Dough should be able to be stirred with a wooden spoon and should not be dry or too wet.
- Turn up heat on soup until boiling and drop dumpling dough in by the spoonful (you want the broth boiling so the dumplings will cook through).
- Add corn and peas and seasoning. Taste to adjust.
- DEVOUR!!!
Enjoy!
