Today I've asked one of my dearest and oldest friends to post and share her story. ShaCarol is trying to raise money to go to Belize to work with people who are deaf and hard of hearing. But, why read what I have to say, when ShaCarol herself has prepared something so wonderful for you?

Last spring, ShaCarol visited Gallaudet University—the world’s only University developed for deaf and hard of hearing people. Look closely… she's saying, “I LOVE YOU!”
Hi, everyone!

I’m ShaCarol. Emily, as usual, is being an amazing friend and sharing some space on her blog for my behalf. So I do hope I entertain you all with my ramblings and insight. Emily and I have been friends ever since the 8th grade, yeah, I think that’s right. I don’t quite remember exactly how we became friends, but then again, that’s how all of the best friendships start. Emily says it started with me telling her my name and her constantly forgetting it. Hm. Anyway…about eleven years later and we’re still Emizzle and ShaCizzle. Farther apart, but closer in heart. Hey, I just made that up. I’m pretty good at this writing thing.

Anyway, I thought before I get into the meat of this post, it would be helpful to really explain my background and connection with Emily.

Emily knows me really well. She knows how I often like to ‘play it safe.’ She knows how shy I am. She knows how I like to stay in my comfort zone and appreciate the familiar. And she knows when I do stick a foot out of my bubble—it’s a pretty big deal. The bubble I’ve wanted to pop lately is my inspiration to travel. I have never been out of the country and recently I’ve had an opportunity present itself to me. But of course, like most things, not without a price.

Let me rewind.

You see, I’m a graduate student. Last spring, one of my professors mentioned a trip she had taken and how she would really like to see me join in the next year as I may be able to help students who are deaf and hard of hearing.

“I’m a part of something bigger…” My school system’s deaf and hard of hearing staff and students made their mark on a collage to show their togetherness and support of the field of deaf education.
There I go again, jumping ahead of myself. Rewind. You see, I’m a teacher. To be specific, I teach students with hearing loss. Usually, right about now, I get a resounding, “Woah! You know sign language?” Yes, I do. However, in actuality, many of my students use listening and spoken language. You’d be here for days reading if I went in detail, but if you’re puzzled by what I’m saying, take a look at THIS. But this is kind of irrelevant….the point is I teach deaf kids and it’s a pretty awesome gig.

Alright, fast-forward.

Because of my background in deaf education, this professor of mine really encouraged me to join her group on their next trip. Her thoughts were that I may be able to provide some educational insights to this community where their deaf and hard of hearing children virtually have no language whatsoever.

What an amazing and rewarding opportunity, am I right?

I love and adore my students here in NC. But being able to work with students in a different country is just an experience I can’t pass up and that would inevitably benefit me as a teacher and my current students. I would be changing them. They would be changing me. It would be beautiful to experience that transaction. I’ve heard about the benefits of traveling and I can only imagine how tremendous time spent with these students could be, but I’ll never know until I leave my bubble.
This trip I have so ambiguously hinted at is to Belize. Yes, Central America. So, actually, not too far away. A 7 hour flight. It will be the 2nd week of March, the 10th-15th. The group that regularly goes is called 4 the World. 4 the World writes it best in on their website: “We collaborate with communities across the globe by empowering them to identify and solve their most pressing health and educational needs.”

At first I thought, there’s no way I can miss an entire week of work to do this. Nah. I’ll try and see if the leader can set something up over the summer (which would be a long shot).

In October, I even met up with the leader to get some more details about the program and what we would be doing. I expressed my hesitancy about missing work, but that little voice in the back of my head kept nudging me. It was my desperation to break out of the mold and seize the opportunity NOW instead of letting it pass by again…and again…and again. As Emily would say, “No day but today.”
All this to say, I’ve decided to step out of the bubble.

I’ve been trying to fundraise for this trip to Belize. However, I’ve realized I’m quite awful at talking up things. I have received a few donations so far, but not yet enough to commit to the trip.

This brings me to my personal request. For all of you that have been so kind to take the time to read, or skim, through this, please click the attached link and consider making a donation. If you can’t make a donation, that’s okay, I still love you.
There are other ways you can support my endeavor. You can forward this blog post to a friend or two…or ten. You can tweet out the attached link to your friends. You can say a prayer, or two, or ten that I am able to meet my goal. You can pray for my safety in traveling. You can pray for the wisdom and courage to lead these children and educate them. You could send me an e-mail with some uplifting words of encouragement to get me through this process.

I would like to reach my goal of $1350 by Jan 1st.

With your help, I am excited to seize the opportunity presented and step out of my bubble. With Emily’s help, I’ll be sure to post again and let you all know how my journey to the outside of the bubble goes.

Signing “CHEESE” and smiling for the camera at Hanging Rock State Park back in 2009!
Happy Holidays,
ShaCarol

Want to help my dearest friend with her goal? Follow this LINK, share it, and help her break out of her shell and help those in need in Belize.

I love Chex Mix. It's a tradition in my husband's family to make it this time of year, and our PaPa really makes it the best. However, I don't seem to have the knack for it. And unlike my husband, I can't eat the "something salty" nonstop.

Something salty AND sweet, on the other hand... that I can do.

Enter White Chocolate Chex Mix.

Ingredients:

- 2.5 C Rice Chex
- 2.5 C Corn Chex
- 1 C salted/unsalted mini pretzels (salted is probably better, but I used unsalted because it's all I could find)
- 1 C cashews (or peanuts, or whatever kind of nut you desire)
- 12 oz bag M&M's
- 12 oz bag white chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp [vegetable/canola] oil

Directions:

- In a large bowl, mix your chex (both kinds), cashews, pretzels, and M&M's.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a saucepan over low heat, mix your white chocolate chips and oil and melt. Mix constantly to prevent it from burning or getting too thick.
- As soon as the chocolate/oil is completely melted, pour into your prepared dry mix. Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula until well incorporated and distributed through the mix.
- Pour the mix onto the prepared baking sheets, spreading out as thinly as possible. Let sit for an hour before checking to see if it's dry. Give it as much time as needed. I let mine sit for at least two hours to make sure it wasn't sticky.
- Break apart the mix and return to bowl/sealed container.

Give away, devour, it's your choice.

I made this for a movie night with friends


and for our ornament exchange at Bible Study.


It was a HUGE hit! Perfect for holiday get togethers.

Recipe altered from My Recipe Magic.

Last year on Halloween I posted a recipe for cool Butterbeer (which is also delicious). However, when reading the books again, I couldn't help but notice that whenever they visit The Three Broomsticks it talks about how warm the Butterbeer is. Although in other moments of the books they produce bottled Butterbeer (which I imagine to be cold), I began to think that it was a sort of hot chocolate drink when they enjoyed it in Hogsmeade.

Most of the recipes I came across simply said to make it like my other recipe (with cream soda), and heat it... but this didn't seem good enough to me. I wanted to create something entirely new. Then I stumbled across this recipe, did some molding, and came up with a new one!

Ingredients:
(serves four)

- 8 C Milk
- 8 tbsp Butterscotch syrup (like you would use for ice cream)
- 8 tsp Imitation butter
*Optional: six to eight drops of yellow food coloring*

- 1.5 C heavy whipping cream
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp butterscotch syrup
- 1 tbsp imitation butter

Directions:

- In a pan over medium heat, stir your milk, syrup, and imitation butter until well heated (as you would hot chocolate).
- For the foam, whip your cream, sugar, syrup, and imitation butter together for around five minutes until soft peaks begin to form and it takes on the texture of cool whip/whipped cream.
- Move your milk mixture to your serving mugs, top with your foam, and enjoy some warm Butterbeer on an autumn evening with your favorite Harry Potter book or movie.


What's up next, you ask? Let's just say it involves chocolate.

Oh, and if you want some Harry Potter proposal ideas (or a funny little read), follow this link!

Hello blogging world! I know, I know. It's been a while. I'm sorry. Sometimes life gets the best of me and it takes all of me to get the laundry done and be the places I need to be. Thank goodness this upcoming week is slow of pace. That means I get to pay more attention here and hopefully catch up!

So, what you're here for. This AH-mazing recipe!

Coffee Cake Muffins

Ingredients:

- 1/2 C brown sugar
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon

- 2/3 C sugar
- 1/4 C butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 C low-fat sour cream
- 2 tbsp water
- 1.5 tsp vanilla
- 1 3/4 C all-purpose, unbleached flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt

- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh orange juice

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 400. Prepare your muffin pan with liners and/or cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, mix together your brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Beat butter and sugar together. Add your eggs and mix until well blended.
- Add your sour cream, water, and vanilla.
- Gradually add your flower, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just blended together.
- Take 3 tbsp of your brown sugar/cinnamon mix and put it in another bowl. Pour the remaining into your batter. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to mix it-- but don't over blend. You want to be able to see your sugar mixture (as pictured).
- Fill your muffin tin with about 1/4 C to each (a little less if possible). Sprinkle brown sugar/cinnamon mixture on top of each muffin (should make around 20 muffins).
- Bake for 25 minutes. Check with a tooth pick to see if it comes out clean with no batter, and go from there if they aren't done after 25 minutes.
- While the muffins are cooling, mix together your powdered sugar and orange juice. Drizzle over muffins (after they have cooled for at least ten minutes) as evenly as possible.

These are perfect if you have a brunch or morning function to attend and need to bring something to share!

This recipe was adapted from Myrecipes.com

This is the best thing I made this season. Seriously. Clark ate so many he made himself sick. And I definitely couldn't resist "taste testing" a few before handing them out to friends.

So, if you're on a diet, or a chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-fiend... I wouldn't suggest making these... because you may end up eating them all.

Ingredients:

- 2.5 C flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 C butter at room temperature
- 3/4 C sugar
- 3/4 C brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 C milk (I used skim)
- 1 C mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
*As you will see in the pictures, I used the regular semi-sweet morsels and used the seasonal! It does make them a bit harder to make, and not as many chocolate chips in each truffle, but I wanted to be festive!*
- Package of candi-quick coating
*I do think dark chocolate works the best, but I could only find milk chocolate at our grocery store.*

Directions:

- Beat the butter and sugars together with a hand held or standing mixer. Add the vanilla and milk.
- Add your dry ingredients (flour and salt) and mix until well combined.
- Mix in your chocolate chips.

- Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Roll as many cookie-dough balls as you can. Make them with about 1 tbsp each (although mine got bigger as the process went on).

- Put them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. When you're getting ready to take them out, prepare/melt your candy coating.

- Use a fork and drop each ball into the bowl with your candy coating and then remove them and return them to the wax paper. Repeat this process until they are all done. Let them set before moving them.

- Once you make them, these will stay in the fridge in an air-tight container for a good week. I found they were a HUGE hit to give away to friends!
*These had been sitting in the fridge for a couple days before I finally got to taking pictures-- and it was late at night, yet it still looks SO delicious!*

Don't forget to enter the Diana Meredith Designs giveaway going on until New Year's Eve!


Have a Happy Christmas Eve! Remember the reason for the season.


This recipe came from Love and Olive Oil.

Here it is. My confession...

I. Love. Harry. Potter.

Perhaps it's because I grew up with Harry. Perhaps it's because I initially wasn't allowed to read the books. Maybe it's because J.K. Rowling is awesome. Who knows. All I know is, I love Harry Potter.

So much that October this year became Harry Potter month. It just hasn't been the same since the movies ended. There's nothing to look forward to with the series. It's truly over. Ended. So sad. Anyway, October became Harry Potter month. I made a schedule of what I was going to cook and when we were going to watch each movie. I spaced it out over the month so we would finish right before Halloween (saving that day for It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!, of course).

My senior year of high school is when the last book came out. Clark likes to tease me because I made him go to the midnight release of the book. He also makes fun of me because I dressed up. He always seems to exaggerate my "costume". Truly all I did was put on some jeans, a button down, and tie. However, with my hair, he always said I was a Hermione. Just to come clean... here's the one piece of evidence.


Now that that's out of the way, let's move on to the recipes, shall we?

How do you celebrate Harry Potter? By making butterbeer and pumpkin pasties, of course! While there are plenty of other sweets that could be made, these two stand out the most to me. So, here you are. Celebrate all the awesomeness that is Harry Potter with your very own butterbeer and pumpkin pasty!

Butterbeer

Ingredients:
This recipe is for four servings of butterbeer.

- 4 12oz bottles of cream soda (or just 48 oz of cream soda, a two liter works just fine)
- 2 tsp of imitation butter PER serving (I actually used "Butter Buds" because I was unable to find legitimate imitation butter, which should be a liquid.)
Optional: 1 shot of gold rum per serving

For the foam:

- 1.5 C heavy whipping cream
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp imitation butter (or butter buds)

Directions:

- Make sure your cream soda is nice and cold! In the bottom of your glass, put your butterbuds/imitation butter and your rum if you're making this adult-butterbeer. Pour your cream soda over it and make sure it mixes well.
- For the foam, whip your heavy cream on medium speed for three to four minutes.
Note: Because Michael was sleeping when I was making this, I just whisked it to death for four minutes. Had I used an electric mixer, my foam probably would have been a bit more "firm".
- Add the sugar and whip for another two minutes or so, until soft peaks begin to form.
- Add your vanilla and butter and mix for another 30 seconds or so, until soft peaks can be seen again.
- Add your foam to the top of your cream soda mix.
To make the foam mix in a little bit, I saved some cream soda and pour it on top of the foam as well so it was foamy throughout rather than just on top.
If you like, sprinkle some raw sugar, sprinkles, or whatever you like on top of your butterbeer!

WARNING: You will have a mustache, especially if you have one already...


And if you don't make enough for seconds, people can get violent.

Now on to the...


Pumpkin Pasties


Ingredients:
(For the dough)
- 1/2 C butter, cold, cut into pieces
- 3/4 tsp sugar
- 1.5 C all purpose, unbleached flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 8 oz cream cheese (low or fat free), cut into pieces

Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Mix your dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Add the butter and use a pastry cutter (like you do for blackberry scones) to blend it in until it looks like you have course crumbs.


- Add the cream cheese and use the pastry cutter until you no longer can, switching over to a spatula or spoon until you get a nice mess.


- Add some flour to a surface or the bowl and knead the dough until you get it nice and round. Divide into two (if you don't want to make the whole recipe) and freeze or refrigerate half (if you want to).
I would suggest putting it in the fridge while you make the filling as well.


Ingredients:
(For the filling)
- 3/4 C pureed pumpkin
*Note: I only used half of the dough recipe, but made the whole filling recipe. Needless to say I had quite a bit left over. If you only intend to make half, make sure to cut the filling recipe in half as well.*
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1 egg
- 1/3 C sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:

- In a small saucepan, heat your pumpkin and spices until warm (over low to medium-low heat).
- Whisk in your egg, vanilla, sugar, and salt. Let cool for a few minutes before proceeding.

BRING IT ALL TOGETHER NOW!

- Roll out your dough and use a biscuit or cookie cutter to cut into circles. I am not blessed with either of these, so I used the fabulous Boogie Wipes container and a knife.

- After you cut them, roll them out to make the dough thinner (note how they're not perfectly round, which is totally fine).
- Use a heaping teaspoon to put filling in them. Make sure you put it closer to an edge, rather than right in the middle.

- Fold them over and roll or pinch the edges with your fingers (or I believe you could use a fork).

Now you need: (optional)
- 1 egg, scrambled
- raw sugar

- Use a basting brush and lightly go over the tops of them with your scrambled egg. Next, sprinkle sugar on top.
A half recipe makes about seven pasties (but may make more if you have a standard biscuit cutter for the dough)!

- Put them in the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until they're nice and golden on top (or just about to be golden, which is what I prefer).



Enjoy with your butterbeer or all on their own! These things go fast!

Have a Harry-Potter-Filled-Happy Halloween!




Butterbeer recipe inspired by: Bakingdom.com.

Pumpkin Pastie recipe adapted from: BrownieBites.com.

The recipes I've been posting this week may have been made in June... just to clarify that I'm not already diving into the deep end when I said I was going to do my Power Push.

Saturday morning (the last day of June) I thought I'd do something extra special for the hubby and make him his favorite: Apple Fritters. I've always been afraid to fry things, let alone attempt something so sacred to Clark, but I figured by now I should be able to handle it.

And boy, did I.

Ingredients:

- 1 C All-Purpose, Unbleached Flour
- 1/3 C Sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 1/2 C + 1/3 C Milk
- A little over 1 C (about one apple) chopped into peanut-sized pieces or smaller

- 3/4 C Powdered Sugar
- 2 tbsp milk

- Oil for frying

Directions:

- Mix together all your dry ingredients (except the powdered sugar, which will be for the icing).
- Add your wet ingredients all together, mixing the best you can. Do not over-mix (aka beat the batter). It should resemble that of a cake mix, maybe a little lighter.
- Fold in your apple pieces.


- Heat the oil in your large frying pan (I used our wok). Test the oil with a small dab of batter (it will float to the surface if the oil is ready), or by sprinkling a little bit of water (from your finger tips) into the oil (the oil will start spitting right away if it's ready).
- Use a cookie scooper (or 1/4 C if you want to make them bigger) to put them in the oil.



*In the last picture the fritters were not cooked enough. You want them like the final pictures-- brown (or close to it) on each side for the middle to be as cooked as possible. I ended up cooking mine for almost two minutes on each side-- but do check on them to make sure they're not over cooking!*

- Remove them from the pan (I put mine on wax paper) and put the glaze on them immediately, or spindle them with powdered sugar if you don't want the glaze.

Enjoy... but don't eat ALL of them. Trust me. They're hard to resist!


This recipe was adapted from: Seemingly Greek.