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H.S. Burrow

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Posts posted by H.S. Burrow

    Buttercream frosting question and storage question

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I want to make a buttercream frosting for a cake. I have never made one. I have looked at many recipes and they vary a lot. I don't want to use too much sugar. Does this sound like it might work:

     

    5 cups room temperature butter

    1 cup confectioner's sugar

    1 teaspoon vanilla

     

    Should I also add a half cup milk and 1 egg?

     

    I was thinking of making it a lemon buttercream frosting and adding some lemon juice and lemon zest. Would that make it curdle?

     

    My next question: After I put the frosting on the cake can I store it overnight in the fridge and serve it the next evening?

     

    The recipe above is basically flavored butter. I would NEVER use that on a cake.

     

    This is the recipe that I use and is very similar to other recipes posted in this thread:

     

    1 cup softened butter

    1 BAG (2 pound size) of powdered sugar (usually about 7 - 8 cups)

    1/4 cup of milk

     

    1 - 2 tsps flavoring of your choice (my favorite is 1 tsp vanilla & 1 tsp lemon).

     

    Store whatever is leftover in the refrigerator or freezer.

     

    FWIW, I spent vacations during college working at a cake place and this is the recipe that we used on our cakes.

    What are your go-to meals?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I'm so bored with our dinners. I need a revamp. Here are the main things I've been making for a while:

     

    chili/tacos

    chicken-based stir frys

    roasted chicken

    roast beef

    pork tenderloin/pan seared pork

    hawaiian meatballs

    pizza

    sloppy joes

     

    I want to make some new things. I need to avoid dairy products, so that is a factor too. I try to stick to readily-available meats, so chicken, beef, pork and sometimes fish or seafood. Anything that can be crock-pot or made ahead or fixed in less than 45 minutes is a big plus.

     

    Any suggestions?

     

    One thing that I do to help with meal planning, specifically to have quick soups, salads, or stir-fry, is to purchase a large tray of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and a large tray of boneless, skinless chicken thighs and grill them at one time.

     

    After the meat has cooled a bit, I bag it (usually 6 pieces) into gallon size ziploc bags and freeze it. I have a chicken tortilla soup that I make using canned black beans, rotel tomatoes, whole kernel corn, and a 48oz box of chicken broth. As long as those cans are in the pantry and the meat is in the freezer that can be a quick meal.

     

    I use the grilled chicken for:

     

    Chicken tortilla soup

    Chicken sandwiches

    Chicken enchilada soup

    Chicken salad

    Salad greens with grilled chicken slices on top

    Fajitas

    Chicken spaghetti

    Chicken Fried Rice

    Chicken stir-fry

     

    And sometimes we just have grilled chicken with a salad, veggie, and a roll. :)

    Too late to plant a garden?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Yay! Good to know we can do it AND actually get something from it! We were just going to have fun and do it. We did a small one a couple of years ago and then just did flowers in it last year. We'll see how it goes. There were two ant beds in it today when we went to clean it out and weed it, so we have to wait another day so those can die after I killed the beds. Good thing I'm cleaning it all out and replacing with new soil. What do you all do for fire ants, instead of the regular poison powder?

     

     

    Nah, it's not too late. It just means that you'll only get one crop instead of two!!

     

    Until this year, I lived in Texas. We would plant in March, harvest in June; plant in June and harvest in September (usually Labor Day weekend). :)

    Daughter's graduation will take 3 hours tonight. WWYD?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    9 years and up? They don't need endless snacks and entertainment like toddlers, IMO. A good book to read or a sketch pad should work just fine. And a nice lesson in how to sit still and be polite. :001_smile:

     

    I wouldn't object to my ds8 taking his Nintendo DS as long as the sound was turned off.

     

     

    :iagree: When my DH received his BS in 1996, our 2 yo attended. We had some dry cheerios, water, a couple of board books, and the grandparents.

     

    She survived just fine. :)

     

    When he received his MBA in 2006, the kids were 7 & 11. They were not allowed to bring in anything other than a book....and were expected to put that away once the ceremony began.

     

    Not picking on anyone in particular, but there are things in life that are boring. I think if we teach our kids that we must be occupied during all events, we do our children a disservice.

     

    We also teach them the event is not worthy of our attention.

    I need a name for the 2012 WTM Grassroots House Concert Tour...

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    America's Next Well-Trained Mind. There could be rounds of competitions where we spout Shakespeare and chant Latin while wearing funky outfits and having our pictures taken. There could be a board where SWB and her posse could discuss how classical we are. Then the terrifying eliminations where we all stand and SWB could yank out our photos, letting us know if we have what it takes to teach WTM style.

     

    Women will have to parade in hats, men in kilts.

     

     

    :lol::lol::lol:

    I need help, desperately ....

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    ... I am ashamed to admit it, but here it goes ....

     

     

    I read. I read a lot, actually. At least an hour everyday, if not more. But, I stick mostly with mind candy - Baldacci, Grisham, Patterson, etc.

     

    I really want to read something with substance, but everytime I start on an actual piece of "literature" I get bored and cannot finish it. Then a new Baldacci book comes out and I set the hard one aside, never to return to it. :leaving:Seriously, if it takes any amount of concentration, I find I can't read it anymore. :confused: I use to read harder stuff.

     

    I want my kids to see me reading books with substance, not just the latest twaddle. How can I expect them to read things that are more difficult, if I don't do it myself.

     

    Please help me come up with a handful of books that will get me back on track to reading literature, not just books.

     

     

    Well, I'll tell you what I did if you promise not to laugh! :lol:

     

    My favorite mind candy is Nora Roberts. :blushing: About 3 years ago, I realized that there were all of these wonderful books out there that I'd never read, but I didn't know exactly where to start so I starteded with book 1 in the Harry Potter series.

     

    Yes, I started with a kids book. One that most people consider twaddle. I am not usually a fantasy reader (it's just not something that I've ever really cared for), I prefer my books set in the present. I figured that HP would be a good start to opening myself up to other genres; I mean, I knew what was going to happen since I'd already seen the movies. So I made my way through the entire series (which is now one of my favorites).

     

    Then I moved on to The Hobbit.

     

    I know that there are people here who LOVE The Hobbit. I am not one. I thought it was boring. But I read it. In small bites. Every night for 30 minutes until I finished it.

     

    The Lord of the Rings is much, much better! That's my current read.

     

    And when I finish the set, Nora Robert's newest is waiting for me on my kindle. ;)

    Help me roast a delicious chicken!

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Thanks for all of the tips. So, is it important to apply seasonings under the skin as opposed to just sprinkling them over the bird? Olive oil and garlic -- do they go under the skin as well or directly on the skin?

     

    ETA: If you use a roasting bag, do you add any liquid to the bag?

     

     

    I place the chicken in a 9x13 glass pyrex dish. I use 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1 heaping teaspoon of minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon of dried rosemary; mix all that and pour over the chicken. Bake on 350 for about an hour...sometimes a bit more or less depending on your oven and the size of the chicken.

     

    Archiving?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I was just reading the post on archiving at Pioneer Woman's blog. I *love* OMSH's system! Her stuff is all so well-organized and neat! I have to say, though, that I'm not sure I see the point of all that archiving. Am I missing something important? I keep a small, small sampling of my kids' schoolwork but only a few pages of each subject, writing samples, etc. In my state (New Jersey) we have no reporting so is it necessary to keep all that work? I haven't even gotten around to filing the last couple months of my kids' work yet. :001_unsure:

     

     

    I saw that blog post too, and I'm having archive envy! :D

     

    In our current state, we must keep a portfolio. Before we lived here, we lived in Texas; having to keep school papers is a new thing for me! For our first review, I just threw everything into one 3" binder....it *barely* fit. We have another review coming up, so I'll be referencing the OMSH archive post for ideas.

     

    I don't think that you're necessarily missing anything by not having it. From my experience, if you move to a state that *does* require reporting/portfolios then it would certainly be to your benefit to be able to provide for previous years or simply to be in the habit of archiving it.....it was *very* stressful for me to prepare for our first portfolio review. :o

    For All Who Freak Out About Math...Including Myself :)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    This one is pretty good (and I like it as stressing that we shouldn't ONLY teach multiplication as repeated addition). I also like the discussion of different number systems too.

     

    Here's a response by Maria Miller.

     

    I love this :)

     

    And then there's this that suggests Singapore bar models do deal with this some.

     

    Here is one rebuttal by WTMs own Myrtle, who I'm sure old timers recognize as one of the most brilliant members this forum has ever had.

     

    http://myrtlehocklemeier.blogspot.com/2008/07/article-that-launched-thousand-posts.html

     

    Bill

     

    Thank you!!

     

    I had Myrtle's blog bookmarked on my old computer, but it died before I could move all my bookmarks. Many, many thanks for the reconnect to Myrtle's blog. :)

    For All Who Freak Out About Math...Including Myself :)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I don't have you on ignore. Far greater mathematical minds that I have taken on Devlin's and concluded that he is wrong.

     

    I don't have time to search at the moment but perhaps one of our other board members has links to the kerfuffle His article caused in the math community.

     

    Bill

     

     

    Well, I just printed out his articles on why multiplication is not serial addition to read and highlight later. :glare: I am not a mathy person, so can you give me a couple of greater mathematical minds that can be easily understood?

     

    Thanks. :)

     

    In the Trenches

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Presently I am in the trenches in regard to home education in my area.

    For over the past 4 years I have been under attack by the local faith based homeschooling group for advocating classical education, recommending the Peace Hill Press publications SOTW, WTM, The Ordinary Parents Guide To Reading, and now Telling God's Story, along with teaching a literary analysis/apologetics class on the works of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien because the stories contain "magic."

    Anyway, as I sit here in the trench if you could please pray for me to have wisdom in regard to this situation it would be much appreciated.

    :)

     

     

    :grouphug:

    RFWP Philadelphia conference attendees---an informal curriculum show & tell?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I'd love to take a look at the bolded stuff above.

     

    I don't have a lot that I think people might want to see, maybe: some IEW stuff, some LOF, some RS4K (chemistry and physics), Rainbow Science, the first edition of LLfLOTR, and the first 2 volumes of k12's Human Odyssey.

     

    If anyone wants to see any of it, speak up I'll bring it.:D

     

     

    I'm considering the purchase of the 2nd edition, so I'd really, really like to see more than just a couple of online sample pages. :)

    Missing the real musical experience

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Those first speakers look great.

     

    Silly question. Are the docking stations made for Ipod good for Ipods only? Or will they accommodate other MP3 players?

     

    It depends. The first speakers plug into the headphone jack, I plug them into my laptop for better sound sometimes, it doesn't have to be an ipod. The middle one has an ipod dock, but it *also* comes with an input cable so it can be used with any mp3 player (but it doesn't "dock" or charge other players). The last one is only similar to the one I have, the version I have has an input cable, not a dock; it would work with any mp3 player.

     

     

    I see my question has already been asked and answered! Thanks!! :D

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