A Simply Ripe Alternative to Banana Bread

One of my favorite TV shows to watch (and rewatch, and play in the background) is the Great British Baking Show. It is so pleasant and peaceful and inspiring, and totally makes me want to bake all the things.

Julian likes to watch it too - he loves it when the hosts say "Bake!" and he imitates them. He definitely knows that the KitchenAid in our kitchen does the "mix-a mix-a" a la Daniel Tiger.

Whenever I can, I try and bake with Julian - even better if it is something that is easy and straightforward to do. He loves to push his learning tower that he got for Christmas from Mel's parents over to the counter and say "My turn!"

Post-Thanksgiving Paninis

I go back to school today and I have to admit, I always have mixed feelings after a break. I love my job (my kids are AMAZING this year and World Geography is so much fun), I love my new school, but I also like being off. As I tell my students when they complain that they didn't get a snow day or delayed start, "Hey I feel you. I am human. I want the snow day, too."

One thing I do not have to worry so much about this week is dealing with dinner. While we had a small Thanksgiving for the three of us, there were still leftovers. The biggest leftover is the cranberry sauce we got at Costco because we actually forgot to put it on the table!

I've been making paninis with our Cuisinart Griddler that we got for our wedding, Starbucks style. Like their Holiday Turkey Panini, I filled my sandwich (using a baguette from Panera) with cranberry sauce, turkey, stuffing and gravy on top.