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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Whats your favorite sandwich?

Sandwich Night Sweepstakes
apps.facebook.com
Enter the Sandwich Night Sweepstakes. Over the next six weeks, you will have six chances to win a $100 gift card from the Grain Foods Foundation to create a Sandwich Night at home, and one chance to win a food fabulous weekend in Savannah, GA with celebrity chefs Jamie and Bobby Deen.

My favorite sandwich is turkey, carmelized onions,artichokes and colby jack cheese on cibatta bread and grilled. YUM

Saturday, October 30, 2010

halloween lesson




I videoed and edited my first movie!

Harvest Stew

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this "stew". Rachel Ray did a similar version on her show but I decided to make my own version of it.

Harvest Stew

Ingredients:

2 tbl olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
2 tbl minced garlic
2 tbl thyme
1 small onion julienned (cut long ways)
1 small yellow squash cut into half moons or quarters (whatever size you prefer)
1 small zucchini cut in half moons or quarters
1 baby eggplant peeled and cut into quarters
3/4 cup red wine ( I like to use port)
1/2 can tomato paste
2-3 cups chicken stock
brown rice (i use a 2 cup boil in the bag)

***** you can add less veg or more or other kinds of veg to taste--I have added mushrooms and broccoli as well.


Cooking:

Put one tbl oil in a large spaghetti pot
add onions and garlic-sautee for about a minute
add squash, zucchini, eggplant and 1 tbl thyme
saute for about 2 mins.
remove veg onto a plate
add 1 more tbl oil
add ground turkey, add 1 tbl thyme cook until browned
add 1/2-3/4 cup of port wine (to taste)
Let it simmer about a minute
add 1/2 can tomato paste
mix
add veg back to pot
add enough stock to cover meat and veg and a little more for "broth"
let flavors meld by cooking for about 45 mins to 1 hr.

Serve with brown rice and crusty bread.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Croutons

THese are super easy....

Get a nice loaf of bread. French or italian or I like asiago from Panera.

Cut bread into 1/2 inch cubes.

sprinkle cubes with garlic powder, parsley and thyme.

Mix the seasonings around the bowl with the bread using your hands

swirl olive oil around the pan

put enough cubes in the pan to cover the bottom.

Brown and remove,

Continue more batches as necessary and don't forget to add more oil after removing the last batch.

Enjoy

Sunday, October 17, 2010

EASY LEARN LANGUAGES

CK Translations easy learn languages

Girls classes called Las Ninas--

Mamas gave the ninas Manicootie (unsure of spelling but this is phonetic)

We used a variety of nail polish colors to reinforce este es + de colores.

CK Translations is now introducing BOYS classes that will include using legos and transformers.

Very exciting for ALL children!

Call Clauida for more info. 848-8870


Dawn

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

LOVE this recipe--it couldn't be easier...

I placed 6 chicken thighs in the crock pot.

Covered them by sprinkling on taco CHEESY mix

Added about a cup of salsa -i used mild because of Sophia but I prefer hot

Cover and cook on low while at work--8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

I served it with brown rice and salad

Enjoy

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Chicken noodle Soup

Eileen asked me for my crock pot recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup and it couldn't be easier.

I saved bones from all the chicken we have eaten to fill a gallon sized ziploc and froze them until I used them today.

I put the bones in the crock pot, used a box of chicken stock, which is about 4 cups and then filled the box with water so about 4 cups of water as well. This was enough to cover the bones. I cut an onion in quarters, i chopped 5 ribs of celery into thirds and put a third of a bag of mini carrots. Salt and pepper about a tblsp each--more if u prefer. I simmered on low for about 7 hours then removed the bones and picked off any left over meat. I also removed the large pieces of veg and put into a bowl. I then strained the liquid into a large bowl and picked through the chicken in the strainer for meat. I threw away all the bones and added the liquid, meat, and veg back into the crock pot. I also added a chicken breast I had cooked and froze for the soup. I cooked it on low for another hour. I boiled noodles in a pot and added them to the crock pot when finished.

The bones add a depth to the stock I used and make the water blend better.

ENJOY!!

I made grilled cheese sandwiches with swiss and american cheese on asiago bread from Panera. YUM.

Dawn

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Waiting for superman...... A teacher perspective....

I broke down and went to see waiting for superman. I took notes during the movie and there is soooooooo much information to process. I was VERY upset with Oprah (still am) for donating 6 million dollars to charter schools in an attempt to fix public education ? Does that even make sense? The movie had very interesting information and brought in a compassion aspect by following a handful of students.
My observations :

Each president wants to be the "education" president including the current President but our current sec of education has no teaching experience and wanted to be a professional basketball player. This is a trend in education. MANY people who are "running" schools and districts do NOT have an education background, they are business people who think they can "fix" the system.

CHILDREN DO LEARN:
Children can learn but they need a support system, drive and to value education. THIS COMES FROM HOME!!! So many of my students come to school with extra baggage and it DOES interfere with their daily life. Having been a product of extra baggage, I know what it is like to carry the weight of the world around all day long.

CHARTER SCHOOLS:
The movie promoted charter schools but charter schools do not have to follow the same rules as public schools-even though they get federal funds. The movie did not show that charters can expel behavior problem students--and guess where they end up--in MY classroom with 30 other students!
The movie told us that children in charter schools who are below reading level EACH get their OWN tutor until they make progress. Public schools do not have the funds to give each student their own tutor but there are teachers I know that do not eat lunch during the day and sits with students to do private tutoring in small groups.

Michelle Rhee:
This is the new "chancellor" of the Washington DC school district. She is a woman who admitted in the movie that she was never a teacher, principal or a superintendent in any school district yet here she is in the highest school district position. I admire that she wants good things for the children because really, who doesn't. However, completely blaming the teachers is not going to fix anything.
There are issues that are much more complex.

A teacher is a teacher is a teacher?!!! NOT

I resent the fact that the movie stated a teacher is a teacher is a teacher! I will pat myself on the back and let anyone know, I AM A KICK ASS TEACHER. I take my job seriously and have high expectations for ALL of my kids. Are there teachers out there who suck? YES, but don't lump all teachers together!

Unions:

The movie also promotes "unions as menace". Unions are one thing teachers have to protect them AND THE CHILDREN. Why would you want your child to go to school in a classroom with 45 other children. SMALLER class size IS EFFECTIVE and 30 kids to a room with ONE teacher is NOT smaller class sizes! Why would you want your child to go to a school that is not safe because girls are being raped in stairwells by other students? The union promotes safe environments for teachers AND students. Don't we all deserve going to a safe LEARNING environment?


NO EXCUSES:
The creator of the Harlem charter in the movie said that they have a NO EXCUSES policy. This is often a top down problem in public schools. I was told once that my expectations were too high for a group if Kindergarten students that I was trying to teach addition too. My daughter is 4 and I have high expectations for her just as I do my students and I make EVERYTHING a teachable moment for her. GUESS WHAT--she is four and can read and does addition and subtraction and LOVES to learn anything and everything she can.
School starts at 830 but we are NOT to mark children late until 845. Does that make sense? As far as I am concerned that is setting them up for failure from the beginning! This does not hold parents accountable for getting them their on time and teaches the students it is ok NOT to get to work on time in the future. This is not how the real world works. Should a teacher come to work late--they get warnings and written up!

MY CONCLUSION:

The movie promotes charter schools that have set high expectations and found a method that works. THIS IS THE KEY. There is NO reason we can't have high expectations for ALL students and we need teachers who know how to implement the curriculum effectively.

I agree that there is no great school without great teachers and yet teachers are being bashed in the news lately with the opening of this movie.

Tony Danza is getting a taste of what it is like to be a teacher (on a gingered up side) and he is realizing that it is not such an easy feat! Watch TEACH on A and E Friday nights.

Thanks for listening to my perspective.

Dawn