February Update.

I really shouldn't commit to doing these blog posts on a regular schedule. If there is anything I have learned from past experiences, is that I get way too busy to be a regular blog poster. From now on, I will post when I can post... because being a Graduate Student, or any type of Student at the college level, is hard enough on it's own.

I'm over my first semester of grad school, and I've got to say, I'm pretty proud of myself. I was definitely tested during my first semester through one of my classes. I really despise research classes. It's something that I really do not want to do in my future. I will not ever research something that I do not find interesting. It really isn't worth my time. I will do this through school because I am made to, however I do not plan on doing this in my career in the future. At least, I pray I do not have to. If I do... I will be screwed. 

So far this semester only one class has been testing my abilities as a future counselor, however, I have to keep reminding myself that this is only my second semester as a grad student and I should not expect myself to be an expert already... even though it seems like I am the only inexperienced person with counseling in my class. Almost every single person in the class with me is already in the field, which definitely causes some insecurities within my head. However, I am a great will minded person, and I do not give up, so I will proceed! Hopefully.... I mean, I will! 

On a happier note, I am fully enjoying my two other classes, which is odd because I really thought the class that I am having difficulties would be my favorite, and the other two I would have difficulties in... the world works in mysterious ways doesn't it? I do have to interview a professional in my field, which I am trying to set up now even though the paper over the interview is not due until almost the end of this semester, which is in April. I just like to stay on top of things, that way I can prevent future stress from taking over. Stress = no good. If you didn't already know that. ;) 

So, I have a list of things I need to accomplish for school before February 27th. I need to do a take home test, write a one page paper, video record a counseling session between myself and another classmate, write a verbatim sheet on everything that was said, and then also make sure the video is perfect for the classroom viewing, and... I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Seem's like a lot on my plate, but I've got a few days and everything is scheduled so I have faith in myself that I can get everything done. :) 

Why do I need to get all that done by the 27th of February you ask? Well, because starting March 2nd  (the following week) my husband and I are going to be taking a vacation with my mother and sister. We will be traveling to Myrtle Beach for a week long stay in a Resort Condo! We're all extremely excited about this, even though the weather isn't going to be the hottest. I'd actual prefer a little cooler beachy vacation then a sweaty hot nasty one. I'm not a fan of overly hot weather. My allergies tend to act up, which puts a damper on EVERYTHING. Any who, we're going to be driving across to South Carolina. I'm so excited to drive through NC and SC on the way. Since we want to eventually move to one of those states, it's going to be nice to see how the weather stands up, and the scenery. 

Speaking of weather, this winter has really taken a beating to really all of the states! Here in Indiana it's been especially brutal. Lets just say, I'm ready for the 5 foot snow piles lining my driveway and streets to melt away!! I don't remember what green grass looks like! It's quite sad. I've even caught myself getting excited for days where it gets up to 20 degrees, which is pathetic! We've been stuck around the negatives with this "Polar Vortex" hitting us day after day, but I think we're going to start breaking out of it! It's currently 26 degrees outside... at 10:51pm.... so that's a good sign!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for warmer weather! Not too warm though... remember, I don't like excessive heat! I'd be happy with no higher then 80 degrees. :)

And this has been another Wild Whisper, just for you.

Lasagna & Garlic Bread.

Well, here's my first real "foodie" blog! 

Tonight's dinner was pretty amazing

if I do say so myself. And it is SUPER 

easy to make yourself! I'll start with the 

Lasagna since you'll want to get that into the oven first. 

Start with these pretty simple ingredients: 

Lasagna Noodles 

Your favorite Pasta Sauce (I used 6 Cheese) 

Ground Turkey (Or Ground Beef if you'd rather) 

Cottage Cheese 

Mozzarella Cheese 

Seasonings - Italian, Red Pepper, Onion, Garlic, and Chili. 

And now to start... 

 Brown that meat! This is where the seasoning comes 

into play as well. Sprinkle a little bit of each seasoning. 

Except the Italian! So that's Chili Powder, Onion Powder,

Garlic Powder, and Crushed Red Pepper. 

Once cooked, set aside. 

This part may get confusing with the pictures, because 

I forgot to snatch a picture of the first layer of pasta sauce.

So the first step of assembly is putting a thin layer of 

sauce on the bottom of the glass dish. 

Second step, throw in those noodles, dry! I use uncooked

noodles that way they are not overcooked once it is done

baking in the oven! And it cuts a whole step out of the process. 

Next you'll want to pull out that cottage cheese and 

put a nice layer on top of the noodles. Put as little 

or as much as you would like. I tend to put enough for 

the cheese to cover everything except the edges of the 

noodles. That way it doesn't spill out too much. 

Now it's time for that Italian Seasoning, which is completely

optional! If you're someone who doesn't like that flavor, 

leave it out! Not essential. However, we do so I sprinkle 

it over the cottage cheese to give it a little extra zest. 

It's time for that Mozzarella cheese! If you like your cheese

feel free to load more on then I did. I just like enough to hold 

the dish together, but I could have used more. 

The final step is so easy! I typically do three layers

and then get to this step. You don't want your lasagna to go

over the rims. So after that third layer on top of the Mozz. cheese

you'll want to put on another layer of your pasta sauce and 

then top with more Mozzarella cheese. This is so you get that 

nice brown toasted look when finished. If you don't want 

to add more cheese, you don't have to. :) 

Pop that baby in the oven at 375 degrees for an hour

and you'll have a very eager family! The smell will drive

you bonkers!!! But it's so worth the wait. 

Now, you may have caught that I only used half of my package

of ground turkey. For those wondering how much to use, I made

a small lasagna so I only used a half a pound. That container is 1lb of meat. 

For a full 9x13 pan I'd use the whole pound of meat. 

Anyway, that leftover meat.... make a couple patties! 

These can be used to make a couple Turkey Burgers

or if you like a little meat on your spaghetti... 

or some ground turkey for some tacos....

There are many options! And since it's already 

in patties it's easy to access if you only want a little

or a lot. 

A couple other things you can do while you're waiting for that yummy

lasagna... clean the counter! If you're anything like me 

you got a little messy while assembling your lasagna. Plus, I'm a bit of a neat freak. 

Now, that only took about 2 minutes, so what else can you do? 

Set the table. You'll thank yourself later when you're pulling

the food out of the oven and the table is already set for you. 

When there is about twenty minutes til the lasagna is done

that means it's time to start the Garlic Bread. 

I never made my garlic bread this way until I met my husband. 

He's the Garlic Bread maker, so you'll see bits of him throughout

these upcoming pictures. 

Ingredients:

 French Bread (The type you still need to bake, but not raw.)

Green Onions 

Margarine (Or Butter if you prefer.) 

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder 

The first step is pretty easy. Take that bunch of green onions

and chop them up, all except for the end bits which you

can see in the corner of my cutting board. 

Normally you spoon some margarine in a bowl, but we

were almost out of our tub margarine so we just used the 

tub to mix the green onions in. 

After you've got most of those onions mixed in, 

take that onion powder and garlic powder and pour 

some into the mixture. Mix that together, add in any leftover onions 

on your board and make sure it is all completely blended.

Next, grab a cookie tray and slice that bread in half. 

Time for the buttery mixture. 

Spread it on, and don't be stingy! 

Really lather it on there. 

Last step, pop those babies into the oven on the top rack.

It needs to bake about 15 minutes with the lasagna for the 

buttery mixture to soak into that bread.
I know I said 20 minutes. So the last 5 pull the 

lasagna out and put the oven on Broil.

Pay close attention to that bread so it doesn't burn! 

It may not need the full 5 minutes. 

Make sure to check every minute. 

This is where you'll be glad you already made your table.

You may or may not have some of that buttery mixture left over. 

We did! You can use this for anything. It tastes amazing. 

Use it for when you make spaghetti and want some butter bread.

It most likely won't be very much, but hey, it's worth saving.

It's delicious!!! 

Now, back to the finishing meal! 

This is what happens when you overload your pan. 

I warned you earlier, don't let it happen like mine! 

It's going to be just as delicious if you do though. 

Like I said, watch that bread the last few minutes. 

You want it just as crispy as you normally like garlic bread.

Now... enjoy!!! 

Lasagna Directions: 

1. Cook 1/2lb of Ground Turkey, seasoning it with a couple teaspoons of Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Chili Powder, and Crushed Red Pepper. Once that's done, take off heat and set aside. 

2. Start your assembly. Take your pasta sauce and coat bottom of pan. 

3. Add a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles.

4. Spread Cottage Cheese over the noodles and sprinkle Italian Seasoning on top of the cottage cheese. 

5. Sprinkle Shredded Mozzarella cheese on top of the cottage cheese. 

6. On top of the cheese sprinkle some (not all) of your ground turkey. 

7. Depending on size of dish, do steps 2-6 another one to two times. 

8. On top of your meat on the last layer, pour more pasta sauce to cover completely. 

9. Sprinkle shredded cheese over pasta sauce. 

10. Place in oven for an hour at 375 degrees. 

*** This makes a good 6 portions. 

Garlic Bread Directions: 

1. Chop up your green onions, tossing out the bottoms. 

2. Take out 1 cup of butter/margarine and mix green onions in. If you do not have enough butter add more. 

3. Pour in a 2 teaspoons of Onion Powder and Garlic Powder into the butter mixture. Mix thoroughly. 

4. Cut your Bread Loaf in half and place on cookie tray. 

5. Spread your butter mixture over bread. Don't be stingy. 

6. Place on top rack for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. 

7. The last 5 minutes switch to broil and check every minute until it's crispy enough for you. 

And that's another wild whisper, just for you.

Strawberry Frozen Crunch Cake.

Ready for your mind to be blown? Good. This was the most delicious thing I had in a while. It was so refreshing! I wanted to make this for a cook out that my friend was having that we were invited over to. They handled the meat and jalapeno poppers, and I brought the dessert and baked mashed potatoes. Needless to say, we ate ourselves into comas. It was intense. 

Ingredients: 

1 box Nature Valley Granola Bars 

1/3 cup Brown Sugar 

1/2 cup Flour 

6 tbsp Melted Butter 

2 Egg Whites 

1/2 cup Sugar 

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream 

1 Lemon 

4 ounces Cream Cheese

1 1/2 cups Freshly Chopped Strawberries

Directions:

Put the Nature Valley Granola Bars in a food processor and process until you achieve a course crumb. 

In a large bowl, add the crumbs - brown sugar - flour - and melted butter, and mix together. Then spread into an 8X8" pan that has been covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool. Then divide in half and set aside. 

In a mixing bowl, combine egg whites and sugar and mix on high. Add the heavy cream and continue mixing for another five minutes. 

Continue to add the fresh squeezed lemon juice and softened cream cheese. Mix on low speed until incorporated. 

Fold the fresh strawberries into the cream mixture. 

In a buttered glass cake pan, press half of the crumb crust mixture on the bottom. Top with strawberry mix and then add the remaining crumbs to the top. 

Cover and freeze for three hours or more and enjoy!

****Hint: Before consumption, cut your slice out and place on plate. Let thaw for 10 minutes before eating. If you try to eat it directly out of the freezer, we've realized it's a bit hard to do. :) 

Inspirations.

We all have those little tid-bits of inspiration that pop out of no where right? A lot of these happen to me right before I post a blog post. Something will pop into my head and that will encourage me to hop on and write something. What was it this time? A movie. Julie and Julia to be exact.

My husband and I happened to run across it on TV earlier today and decided to record it. Of course I have seen it before, mainly because I'm a big foodie. I love to cook, and it's a movie about home cooking! I however, do not own it. So I didn't want to miss the chance to watch it again, because who knew when I would see it again?! Well, I'm currently watching it, and Julie in the movie takes on a book of Julia Child's recipes and blogs about it.

What does this have to do with anything? Well, I've been told by so many friends and family members that I really should include food in my blog. Put up pictures and recipes to things I cook, since I cook a LOT. I think I'm going to do it! It may not be a huge start off, but slowly and steady, I'll get her there. 

I don't believe I'm going to be starting tomorrow because we're having a cook out at my mother-in-laws, but Tuesday I may start this. It may not be the most delicate and beautiful meal, but it'll be something. It may be simple, but it's something. :) 

Keep an eye out for a new foodie blog! 
And goodnight, or actually morning since it's 12:58am right now for me.  



And that's another wild whisper, just for you.

Another Chapter Starting...

Well, it looks like another chapter in my life is starting. Along with Graduate school starting on the 27th for me, I am starting a new job on Monday. Since I'm heading into the Mental Health Counseling field of Psychology I figured it's time to actually get into a job that has at least 10% of what my goal job would be, unlike the route I've been taking, retail. 

One of my friends who I have known for the past four years through achieving our Bachelors informed me a couple weeks ago about a job opening where she works. She currently works at a Nursing home here in Fort Wayne, and they had an opening for an Activities Assistant. I went ahead and figured I'd give it a try since I'm not currently working. I knew if I had gotten hired, it would be really good for my resume and for myself, since I had a slight fear of the elderly. Don't ask me why, because I have absolutely no idea why. Any who, I applied, and thankfully for my friend, I had an in. And I got a call back! Needless to say, a few interviews later (less then 2 weeks) I got an offer! I decided to accept and work through Graduate school for as long as I could. I know I will have to complete a few internships, which could get tricky with working almost full-time, but I'm going to try to make it work the best I can. :) 

I start on Monday and I'm pretty excited about it. We also need the money too. Graduate school comes with even more student loans, which since I'm attending can be postponed for a bit, but since Sam just graduated and isn't going back to school his loans are going to start hitting the mailbox with return envelopes. Yay-raa. Not.

Needless to say, I think I'm going to have a pretty busy year! I have 3 classes this Fall semester and once those end I'll be having 3 more classes starting in the Spring. And since it's Graduate School I'll also be attending Summer classes but thankfully I'll only have 2 to worry about during the summer. Not a complete break, but a little easier on the workload then during the school year. I'm ready to just get it all started and finish these next 3.5 years. I will be soooo relieved when I walk across that stage and receive my Masters in Mental Health Counseling. Until then ya'll. I'll be updating as much as I see fit.