I’m sure you could use a day to sleep in too? I thought so. How was everyone’s week? My week was good. Nothing exciting happened. Nothing bad happened either, so I consider that a good week!

What’s going on this weekend? I was hoping to go sledding at our local golf course hill with the kids, but if the weather keeps this up, what little snow we have will be gone soon. How about you, any plans?

Enjoy your weekend!

Just what is exhaustion and how is it treated? Is it for real? Can you imagine calling your boss and telling him you can’t make it to work because you’re exhausted?

Do you think this is just a clever ploy for celebrities to hide behind? Just what do you think  would be considered exhaustion?

The recipe comes from a blog called The Girl Who Ate Everything, as does the picture. I just rearranged the recipe a little to make it easier to follow. Enjoy!

Chicken Gyros

Tzatziki Sauce

Make several hours, even a day, ahead

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• Extra virgin olive oil

Shred the cucumber or chop in food processor. Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Mix together the yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.

Place in a tightly covered container (I used a quart Ball Jar), and refrigerate.

Chicken

Make at least an hour ahead to allow to marinate.

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• Juice of 1 lemon (2-3 Tablespoons)
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 heaping Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Pound the chicken a little to loosen the fibers and allow better absorption of the marinade. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Cook chicken – you can use about any method, pan frying, baking, whatever – until done. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 – 10 minutes. Slice and place in a covered dish; keep warm until ready to use.

Gyros

• Several Pitas (whole or pockets)
• Marinated Chicken, sliced
• Tzatziki Sauce
• Chopped tomatoes
• Thinly sliced onion

Heat pitas. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions. Serve immediately.

Monday evening, Bailey sat down to write an essay about Tigers. Yes, write. Not type. He had been in his room a while before I decided to go check in on him. He’d gotten quite a bit accomplished already, but he found himself stuck. He said he needed five facts, within the essay. He had three that he came up with on his own. Honestly, I assumed he’d come down stairs and see if he could “Google” it. He never did. I sat down on his bed, trying to think of facts that were so common. We all know, Tigers have stripes. I just happened to look over and see Jason’s old green box!

So, what’s in the box? Wildlife facts!

He’s had these, I don’t know, 25 years! I opened it, and hoped so badly that there was one in there for Tigers. I know what you’re thinking, why wouldn’t you just Google it? Bailey never asked, so I never suggested it. I knew there was a good chance, we weren’t going to get lucky. It’s missing some cards.

Well,  look at that! We found it! This is the one and only time I’ll be happy with the fact that Jason keeps everything! Bailey was able to finish his essay, which turned out very well! We did not need to use the internet, which made me proud for some reason.

The coolest part of it was, they were Jason’s. He got a big kick out of it. They did come in handy, I’ll give him that! These will come in handy for years to come. There are facts about animals, I’ve never even heard of!

So, my question to you is, where do you get your facts? Do you go straight to Google? I know, most do. Do you own an encyclopedia? Dictionary? Do you have anything different like what Jason has?

Ingredients:
1 pound Great Northern white beans, rinsed and picked over
2 pounds chicken breasts (2 large half breasts are about 2 pounds)
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
2 cups onions, chopped
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 – 4oz. cans chopped mild green chiles
2 tbsp. chili powder
1-1/2 tsp. each of  cumin, and dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
8 cups chicken stock
3 cups Monterey Jack cheese shredded and divided
sour cream
salsa
fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

* Place beans in a large, heavy pot. Add enough cold water to cover by at least 3 inches. Cover and soak overnight.
*Spread a little butter on the skin of each half breast of chicken and season it. Place on shallow pan and roast in 375 degree oven till cooked through. Let cool. Remove skin and bones and cut chicken into cubes.
* Drain beans into large colander. Heat oil in same pot. Add onions and saute over medium-low heat until translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, green chiles, chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder and cayenne. Saute 2 minutes. Add beans and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 3 to 4 hours. Add additional water or broth if necessary. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. When you are ready to finish the chili cover and bring to a simmer before continuing.) Add chicken and 1 cup of cheese. Stir until cheese melts. Ladle chili into bowls. Serve with remaining cheese, sour cream, salsa and cilantro leaves to sprinkle on top.
Of course it’s up to you which of these additional ingredients you add to your chili.
We also like to serve this with some warm cornbread.
Serves twelve to fourteen…

From Mennonite Girls Can Cook 

I finished my business inside the school, and left the building. He was still there. So I stopped and asked him, “What are you doing out here? Just enjoy sitting in -20 windchill?”

He replied, “I’m sitting outside all day for a class.”

Me: “For a class? You’re just sitting?”

Him: “yeah, I’m just sitting here. We’re taking turns doing it, so we can see how the homeless people feel.”

Me: “oohh kaay. Well, good luck with that.”

And, as my head exploded inside the gorgeous hat that Joy gave me (I promise, I’ve washed it), I walked away. I was in a mad hurry to get Josh’s lunch to him on time, otherwise I might have stayed and quizzed this young man further.

My head was exploding because this “exercise” he was doing is, plainly put, idiotic. His teacher is a moron if she thinks that sitting on a bench for a day is going to help kids understand homelessness.

First of all, homelessness happens for myriad reasons, and rarely is it related to sheer, unbridled laziness. Homeless people do not just sit on benches for 8 hours a day. When it’s this cold out, if they don’t have shelter, they are seeking it out, either by finding a soup kitchen or other public/church funded ‘warm spot’, or by moving to an abandoned building, even into a cardboard box.

But our young friend had none of that. He was sitting on a bench, in front of a brand-new high school, wearing a parka, snow pants, snowmobiling boots, a thermal hat and mittens. He was ready for the weather. A homeless person likely would consider himself lucky to have one of those pieces.

He was not searching for firewood to warm himself. He was not looking for food, nor was he asking me for money – either through a handout or by offering to wash my windshield.

He was not drunk or otherwise addicted, or fighting a mental health condition. He was not trying to find a job. Likely, he would return home to a nice, warm house where his mother had made a nice warm and filling dinner for him.

He was not “experiencing homelessness”, he was experiencing the job of “Wal-mart greeter.”

So how would I change the exercise to make it relevant (since I don’t have a problem with people understanding homelessness)? Take the kids on a field trip for a weekend. Do one of two exercises:

1. Set up in a park. Assign the kids to set up a “homeless community”, using whatever they can find as shelter. They’d have to find their own stuff to burn for heat, and seek out their own food. I don’t know that this would work very well in a small town like ours, because there are people on every block who would open their hearts and their homes – providing everything from firewood to tents to sleeping bags, and bringing out meals and hot chocolate.

So, plan B comes to mind, one I like a whole lot better…

1. Take the students to a “real” big city. A place like Chicago, or Minneapolis, which are 4-6 hours from here. Take those kids to a homeless shelter and allow them to volunteer for the weekend, serving in the soup line, or cleaning linens. Actually talk with those people who come through for a meal and a warm place to sleep. Find out how they ended up there, and what they actually go through on a daily basis. How do they survive when it’s so bitterly cold out, or when the temps are excruciatingly hot? Do they see a way out? What are they doing to improve their situation? Or are they like the “hobos” of old, riding the rails, as it were, and enjoying their life “on the outside”?

But don’t just plop your backside on a bench for a couple of hours and say you know how they feel. That’s like putting on a sleep mask and taking your dog for a walk around the block, and saying that you know all about being blind.

I don’t even know what some of these warnings mean. “The list is impressive. In Minnesota, we see: flash flood warning, flood warning, severe thunderstorm warning, tornado warning, blizzard warning, winter storm warning, lake effect snow warning, high wind warning, freeze warning, hard freeze warning, heavy freezing spray warning and an excessive heat warning.”

What the heck is a “lake effect snow warning” or a “heavy freezing spray warning?”

I don’t necessarily think there are too many warnings but I feel they put warnings on when they really aren’t necessary. I don’t think we need a tornado watch when it just gets dark and rains. I don’t think there needs to be a ” blizzard warning” when we’re only supposed to get a few inches of snow. The cold, yes. If it’s double digits below zero, that should be broadcast but I think just having it on the 6 o’clock news is plenty. I don’t think television needs to break from all shows to tell us that.

The other problem I have with all these warnings is I feel when they’re on so much they lose their impact. I don’t think they mean as much if they’re on all.the.time. Like the time a few years ago when there was a tornado in my backyard (Jason and Jenny!!!!) and I went right on making supper! I think this also puts a lot of “scare” in our kids. So many kids now get scared if it so much as starts raining.

Also, did you ever have so many “late starts” and “snow” or “too cold” to go to school days? I know I never did when I was little and when my kids were young and I worked in Minnetonka, we never had so many closings and out earlies.

So? What say you?

One 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon chopped ginger

1 teaspoon hot sauce

Sloppy Joes:

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 pound ground pork

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 hamburger buns, toasted

Directions