More Turkey Please! Story By: Andrew Frinkle

More Turkey Please!

Story By: Andrew Frinkle

Johnny and Cindy were planning their first Thanksgiving together. They had only been married a few weeks, and they lived far from their families. They had moved for job opportunities, and that had put them too far from home to go back for turkey dinner.

"What should we make?" Cindy asked.

"Turkey." Johnny growled hungrily. He laughed. "Of course, we need turkey." That went on the shopping list.

"I know, but what kind of side dishes?"

"I definitely need some candied yams. My mother makes the best ones ever." Johnny rubbed his belly, thinking about the yams.

"I like those, but I need some green bean casserole. That is a family specialty for me."

Johnny nodded. "I can eat that. I like it, too. What are your feelings on gravy and stuffing?"

Cindy smiled warmly. "Yes, please? I love those."

"Stuffing in the bird or on the stove?" Johnny wondered aloud.

"In the bird..." They both said at once, smiling as they said the same thing. They agreed on most things.

"How about cranberries, should they be in a can or in sauce?"

"In the can." Cindy said, as Johnny said, "Definitely as a sauce."

They frowned at each other. Johnny sighed. "Is this our first fight?"

They burst out laughing. "Let's try it both ways," Cindy suggested diplomatically.

Johnny wrote that down too, adding it to the shopping list. "I can live with that, just so long as we get pumpkin pie with the canned whip cream."

"Whip cream in a can instead of the tub? That sounds nice." Cindy agreed. "It's all set. We have our menu, so long as we add some vegetables and something to drink."

"Let's go get shopping. All this talking about food has me hungry."

"Alright, but Thanksgiving isn't for three more days."

Johnny groaned. He could wait, but it would be agonizing! At least when the day came, it would be a great meal.

Eating Healthy Story By: Andrew Frinkle

Eating Healthy

Story By: Andrew Frinkle

Ethan loved eating chicken nuggets, pizza, fries, and burgers. To drink, he always liked milk shakes, cola, or sugary drinks. The sweeter it was, the more he liked it.

"You can't keep eating this stuff!" Ethan's mom complained.

"Why? It tastes so good."

His mother frowned and crossed her arms. "You eat too much sugar."

"Yum! Sugar." Ethan smiled happily.

"Look at what you're eating for breakfast."

Ethan looked at the food in front of him. It looked good to him. "I'm having juice, super rainbow sugar sprinkle krispies, and a donut." He smiled and took a bite of his glazed, jelly-filled donut. He chewed and then stopped when his teeth began to ache.

"Ethan, you're going to have to go to the dentist if you're getting cavities."

"No, I'm not!" Ethan denied it. He took another bite to prove he was fine. His teeth really ached, though.

 "See?" His mother sighed.

"Why do all the delicious things have to be bad for me? I can't eat broccoli forever. I'm not a rabbit."

"I know, but you don't get all the vitamins and minerals you need from the stuff you like to eat. All that food is sugar and fat. You need good food for healthy teeth, eyes, and even your brain!" His mother explained. "If you can't start making healthy choices more often, I won't buy any junk food or sweets to keep in the house for snacks."

"That's not fair!" Ethan whined.

Whining didn't work with mother. It made her more serious. "Snacks are supposed to be occasional treats, not you regular meals. I should have bought more healthy breakfast foods for you. Tomorrow you will have eggs, toast without jam, bacon, some fresh fruit, and a glass of milk."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"I'm not going to put all these sweets in your lunch anymore, either. You will get yogurt, raisins, or fresh fruit for your dessert in your lunch, okay?"

Ethan didn't want to agree, but his mom's suggestion wasn't really that bad. Maybe his teeth wouldn't hurt so much anymore, either. He really didn't like trips to the dentist.

Follow the Recipe Story By: Have Fun Teaching

Follow the Recipe
Story By: Have Fun Teaching

Jonah had to make the dessert for tonight's dinner. His parents were busy, so they had left the task to him. Unfortunately, he'd never baked before. His mother had left all the ingredients and cooking tools out on the kitchen counter, along with a note that said, "Follow the recipe!"

How hard could it be anyway? He glanced at the instructions on the back of the can of pumpkin pie filling. It didn't seem bad. He preheated the oven to 425 degrees, and then began with the pie.

First, he got the pie crust out of the freezer. So far, so good, he thought. Next, he got the can opener and opened the pie filling and condensed milk. He poured both into a bowl, and then cracked two eggs to go with it. Those needed a good stirring to get the chunks of eggs broken up and the filling consistent.

Now he poured the filling into the crust, but there was a little extra. That he set aside. He wasn't sure what to do with it, and the instructions had been followed exactly, so he wasn't sure why there was any extra at all.

When the oven dinged to show it was preheated, he put the pie in. Then he waited 15 minutes, like the instructions said, so he could turn it down to 350 degrees to finish the pie. Now it was a waiting game, because he was supposed to wait 50-60 minutes before it was finished, but he wouldn't know if it was finished without testing it.

After 50 minutes, he opened the oven, careful of the hot air, and stuck a toothpick into the filling. It came out a bit wet and gummy, so he let it cook 5 more minutes. This time, the toothpick came out clean. The pie was done.

Using an oven mitt, he took the pie out of the oven and set it on his mother's pie cooling rack, like he'd seen her do a hundred times before. He felt pretty good about himself. It smelled great and everything had turned out perfect.

Suddenly, he had some inspiration. He pulled out the cookbooks and looked for pumpkin recipes. He finally found one that could be made with the leftover pumpkin pie filling. It didn't look hard, either. All he had to do was... follow the recipe!