Today was the first day of our potty training journey. Troy decided to go willingly to the potty and peed for the first time. I decided to then make him a potty chart where he will be rewarded for his successful trips to the bathroom. He loves candy (like any toddler) and stickers so this is what I came up with.
I went and bought a foam board, scrapbook paper and some stickers and made this chart and I let Troy pick out his favorite stickers. He picked Dora of course so at the top I let him put his first sticker. I told him when he potty's 7 times we can go out for ice cream.
Along with the chart I made a little treat jar with some stickers and an old pasta sauce jar that I cleaned. Each time he goes potty he gets one smarty from the jar.
Just to help you out, I got this recipe from Martha Stewart's website and I suggest using a really large baking sheet or having two ready because she doesn't specify the size and I used the large baking sheet and it came out pretty thick. I would use a large and small one next time. You want to brittle to be pretty thin because you are adding chocolate to the top and bottom and I had to use a clothe and hammer to break it apart. I also skipped the praline dust step because I didn't have enough corn syrup.
Also make sure you are using salted pistachios because it makes a huge difference in flavor. I couldn't find them salted in the bulk section and I think it would have tasted a lot better with it.
With that said the brittle turned out really good and is quite tasty. I might try to come up with my own version of the recipe next year but for now I'm done making brittle ;)
It's a lot of work.
- Ingredients
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 3 cups salted pistachios, plus 1 cup coarsely chopped
- 4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- Praline Dust
- 1 1/2 pounds best-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- Vegetable spray
Directions
- Spray a baking sheet with vegetable spray, wiping off any excess with a paper towel; set aside. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and water. Stir to combine. Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Uncover, reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook without stirring until the sugar mixture reaches 295 degrees.on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat.
- Stir in 3 cups pistachios, the butter, vanilla, and baking soda. Return to heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 300 degrees.on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat, and pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet. Working quickly, spread mixture until about 1/4 inch -thick. Set aside to cool.
- In a small bowl, combine praline dust and chopped nuts; set aside. Melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler set over a pot of simmering water. Pour one-half of the chocolate over the brittle, spreading with an offset spatula to cover completely. Sprinkle with half of the praline dust mixture. Transfer to refrigerator until set, about 15 minutes. Remove from refrigerator. Turn and coat other side with chocolate and sprinkle with remaining praline dust mixture. Chill until set, about 15 minutes. When chocolate is completely set, break into irregular pieces.
This is a combo of two recipes I found that I love! I couldn't find a cheese biscuit recipe that didn't use biscuik mix so I made my own. They are so much better from scratch and just as easy. These turned out amazing!!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 C cheddar Cheese, shredded
Melted Butter Mixture:
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp oregano, dried
3/4 tsp garlic salt
Directions
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg with milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Add about a cup of cheddar cheese. I sprinkled in a little more milk just to make everything stick together but make sure you don't add much because you don't want a runny batter.
- I used an ice cream scoop to shape the biscuits. I ran under a little water and shook it off then scooped out the mix and help it out of the ice cream scoop with my finger. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. I took them out at about 8 minutes and I brushed them with the melted butter mixture. Then I returned them to the over for a minute or so. Serve warm.
- It seemed like a lot of oregano when I was brushing it on but trust me you will love it when it's done.
Two of my biggest struggles in life are trusting my own heart and holding on too tight to other people. As I've grown and let myself go piece by piece, I'm learning (God's teaching me) that I can't depend on myself and I can't depend on other people to feel permanent love and contentment. It's so easy to be consumed by all those amazing emotions but we have to anchor into something more permanent. We can't put that much pressure of other people and especially ourselves to keep us afloat because as life goes on we learn that we are all trying not to sink. You can't save someone who is drowning if you can't swim. Learning to give my dependence to God has been the hardest thing I've ever had to do but has been the only thing that has been truly fulfilling. And as I learn to not lean on everyone else I am finding that I have so much more to give them. My goal is to give myself to others 100% and to try and expect nothing in return. Instead I want to receive all I need from God. He does have everything I need after all. Then when other people give themselves to me and give their love to me then it's like this huge bonus. I'm not depending on that because I already have it.
My faith is 100% about a real relationship with my God. A relationship with dialog and love I can actually feel. I relationship that doesn't rely on what I do but instead simply on the love He's craving to give to me. And now I am have figured out that all that emptiness I felt was just my intense craving for His love. All I had to do was ask.
This is a daily battle, giving of myself and not being dependent on faulty foundations, but I am slowly learning that all I have to do is ask.
