Happy 100th Day of School!!

Today is our 100th day of school here for Elizabeth, who is in kindergarten this year.  We're celebrating by counting to 100 a lot today!!  Groups of tens, groups of fives, (even by twos!!!) a hundred pennies, a hundred things to glue to our above sign.  LOTS of things related to 100!!

How do y'all celebrate the 100th day of school in your homeschool?

"Grilled" Cheese Sandwich....

How many times do your children want a grilled cheese sandwich and you stand at the stove making one sandwich at a time?  Tons of times, right?  Me, too.  Well, recently I was talking with lady at church who works in a school cafeteria.  She mentioned they served grilled cheese sandwiches that day.  "How in the WORLD do you make THAT many grilled cheese sandwiches?" I asked.  That's when she shared this recipe with me- you bake them in the oven!!!!!!

I heated the oven to 425 degrees then spread each slice of bread on one side only with butter.  I laid the buttered side down for 1/2 the bread slices and then place my cheese on top.  I put the rest of the bread on top with the buttered side facing up.  I baked them in the oven for about 7  minutes, then flipped them over and baked another 6 minutes (but watch your oven- temps vary!!!!)  They each came out DELICIOUS!!!  By far the EASIEST "grilled" cheese sandwiches I've ever made!!!

Elizabeth (now 5 1/2, can you believe it??) really enjoys watching cooking shows.  Her favorite?  Pioneer Woman!!!  This past Saturday, Ree made Strawberry Oatmeal Bars.  Elizabeth said we just HAD to make them, so last night we did! 

These are super simple and delicious!  All of us love them and this recipe WILL be repeated many times, I can tell!  This time we used strawberry preserves, but I also plan on making this with raspberry and apricot preserves, too!

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 sticks salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for greasing pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup oats
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• One 10 to 12-ounce jar strawberry preserves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch rectangular pan.

Mix together the butter, flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Press half the oat mixture into the prepared pan. Spread with the strawberry preserves. Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and pat lightly. Bake until light brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely, and then cut into squares.