The first week of summer vacation is behind me. "Vacation" might not be the proper word to use because I'm super fricken busy. I voluntarily attended a computer workshop on Saturday, something I would've been vehemently opposed to doing during the normal work year. But I went. For no credit. For no stipend. And I checked my PayPal account, and those baboozes still haven't reimbursed me the $20 registration fee (reimbursement contingent upon attending the session). I also began the first of multiple summer jobs. I think this job is even more demanding than my regular day job. Being a paraprofessional is not the cake walk everyone thinks it is. The only silver lining is not having to deal directly with headache parents. Oh, and I did get to see JN, whom I haven't seen in years. Hi, JN! Long time no-see. Seeing you made me think back to the time your car didn't start at the luau in Seattle because some doodoo head you were dating left the lights on! BTW, its years overdue, but thanks for the ride home that night.
In a week, I will be done with my stint as a paraprofessional and will be returning to the ranks of teacher. I will be attending a 4-day draining. One of my work pals, who was supposed to attend with me, saw the list of those attending and decided there was no way in hell he could stomach 4 days with those clowns, so he begged out, leaving me to fend off the infidels by myself. Wimp! Weakling! I actually considered bailing with him, but I'm trying to build my war chest for the upcoming October trip. The Halekulani isn't free!
I had hoped to be enjoying hot summer days, but instead, I found myself pulling back into the garage to run in the house to retrieve a jacket. I know it wasn't just me because even D2 ran back in for a jacket. And more than once in the past week, I turned on the electric blanket, a Valentine gift from The Help from a few years ago. Now I'm not feeling so foolish for buying 4 giant boxes of Cal Oak firewood from Safeway last month. I guess we are still not out of fireplace season.
In light of the weather, I'm not feeling so apt to rush out and buy lettuce. I think I'm gonna stick to the comfort foods for a few more weeks. . .Beryl's Meatloaf, Sugar Bath Ham, Roasted Chicken, to name a few. And what better to accompany those feel-good foods than a big mound of scalloped potatoes! And should the weather unexpectedly turn warm, this can (and should, no matter the circumstance) be baked in a toaster oven.
click on recipe title for printable recipe 4 c thinly sliced potatoes
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1/2 c milk
pepper
1 c shredded cheese, divided
1 tbsp butter
paprika
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine soup and milk. Add a dash of black pepper. Grease a square baking dish. Layer 1/3 of potatoes. Cover with 1/3 of sauce. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of cheese. Repeat layers two more times. Dot with butter and sprinkle with paprika. Cover with foil and bake 1 hour. Uncover and bake an additional 25 minutes.
For those who have tried my blog recipes using cake mix (non-pudding type), I have gone back and updated the recipes (both the blog versions and the printable versions) to include the "work around" for the currently-available cake mixes. Cake mixes sold before 2013 were sold in 18+ oz. boxes. When Duncan Hines decided to re-do their cake mixes, the boxes shrank to 15 oz. Apparently, Duncan Hines didn't give a shit about consumers who had religiously purchased their product, developed recipes using a box of cake mix as a base, or even had enough faith in their product to think consumers would be willing to pay a little more to keep the product size the same. . .I know I would've been willing to pay a little more. Anyway, thanks to the Cake Mix Doctor, there is a a remedy!
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