oops (it leaked)

  In my first year of teaching, I was in a building that had opened only a semester before I started at that school.  They were still taking publicity photos and I was still learning my way around there.  In one of my advanced foods classes, the students were making puff pastry.  I demonstrated how to butter it, fold it, roll it thin, repeat, and repeat.  The end result was expected to be a fine, flaky, tasty pastry.  However, if it isn't folded right, the butter will leak out the sides.  Knowing this, I told the students to bake it in jelly-roll pans, even though the textbook said to use regular baking sheets.
  What's the worst that can happen?
  Some of the students used the baking sheets, the butter dripped out and hit the heating coils in the ovens, and billows of smoke poured out just in time to be caught by a film crew.  (I was still hearing about it 3 years later.)

How's it going? (follow-up on resolutions)

++  How are you coming along with your New Year's Resolutions?  If you are like a lot of people, you've gotten so busy, you've shoved them aside.  This is another time of year for new beginnings.  Think of commencements.  That name for a graduation ceremony means a new start, not the ending of something. 

  Here's a recap to help you "reboot" your best intentions:

• Reassess whether it is the right goal for you as you wrote it, or if it needs refinement.
• Break your goal into sub-goals that are manageable.  Do one part of it for a few weeks, until it becomes a habit, then go on to the next part. 
• Congratulate yourself for sticking with it.
• (And, if your goal was weight or fitness related, remind yourself that swim suit season is just around the corner.)

Good Food - Almost Home-made

When you are in a hurry, it is tempting to eat from a drive-through, or to pop a frozen or prepackaged food item into the microwave.  Either way, you are probably facing a meal that is high in salt and fat, and low in fiber and some of the other nutrients you need.  It only takes a few minutes to up-grade a meal.  Of course, it helps to plan for this when you are heading to the grocery store - and it could even save you a few cents by stretching the packaged meal or making dessert less tempting.  Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Salad and fruit make any meal better.  (Watch out for the calories in the salad dressing, though.)

Add more protein to packaged macaroni-&-cheese - open a can of tuna (and drain it) to toss in, or chop up any left-over meat you have and add that.  Better yet, go a step further and add some peas, chopped broccoli, or other vegetables that you have on hand. 

You can also add vegetables and/or slivers of meat to ramen noodles.

In a few minutes more, you could have "pizza."  Line the bottom of a microwave-safe baking dish with a layer or two of frozen hash-brown potatoes.  Top with your preferred pizza toppings, bottled pizza sauce (or tomato sauce and Italian seasoning), and cheese.  Zap until the potatoes are tender.

If you have any favorite "in a hurry" recipes, please share!!