FOOD. our favorite.

these days, i'm a working mom.

so, meals have to be delicious (because we hate boring), not be something that later micah will scream about when he gets his part, and be quick.

check out these new ones:

 taco pockets. 

basically, biscuits wrapped around taco meat and cheese. 

surprisingly delicious! and oh so easy.

 baked tilapia tacos.

breaded the tilapia with bread crumbs and lime juice, then baked the fillets for about 12 minutes at 350.

the slaw is red cabbage, white balsamic vinegar, lime juice, and a little bit of mayo mixed together.

it would be best with a fruit salsa (like pineapple?) on top, we thought.

but still pretty dang good.

 baked salmon.

fresh salmon, salt and pepper, oregano, lemon juice, rubbed with a little olive oil.  cooked in a foil packet at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

lemon dill sauce: about 1/4 cup miracle whip, about 1 teaspoon or so of lemon juice, about 1-1 1/2 teaspoons dill weed (i used dried, so much more if it's fresh), and about 1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard (make sure this is done to taste, because it could be overwhelming if you get too much).

holy yum.

other meals as of late:

ham and cheese made delicious by putting it into a croissant and into the toaster oven. so easy. so crazy good.

bbq chicken pizza: we discovered that with a little red onion and cilantro and a multigrain crust (added to the pineapple and chicken), it becomes ridiculously delicious.

eat it up.

first grade loving.

here are some fun recent first grade things:

how we do spelling...

(separating by syllables, then writing in paint, in sand, in glue, on giant rolled paper, with magnetic letters... anything and everything!)

 learning adjectives! (thanks, pinterest!)

 learning friendly letter format... writing to characters in stories!

melted snowman writings--so adorable!

(again...thanks, pinterest!)

side note: a long time ago, i wrote about BASE for math.

it's INCREDIBLE. my students are obsessed with it, and working with small groups while they're doing BASE has allowed me to move really quickly through material! so great.

copycat fuji apple chicken salad.

i love panera.

especially their fuji apple chicken salad.

specifically the dressing.

so we tried a copycat recipe! 

it was INCREDIBLE!

here it is:

salad components (we added some extra things...):

lettuce (obvi.)

dried cherries

dried cranberries

candied pecans

sliced apples (we couldn't find apple chips at the store... those would be even better!)

mozzerella cheese (gorgonzola or bleu would be better, we just didn't have any)

crunchy asian noodles. just for fun.

chicken:

slice and then cook with... white wine vinegar, white balsamic vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, rosemary and thyme. just to give it some flavaaa flave.

dressing: (adapted from here)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon garlic powder

a few onion flakes (the original calls for onion powder, but we didn't have any)

just over 1 teaspoon dijon mustard (the original calls for 1 1/2, but it was a little much)

3 tablespoons apple juice frozen concentrate, thawed

the dressing isn't exact, but still really great! it's worth it. just whisk all the dressing ingredients together, cook chicken, and put it together!

also, it's healthy, which means more dessert! right? 

i love my job.

so, i hate being away from micah... but i sure do love my job.

some days, or most days, i wish i was just two people.

instead, i'm just multiple personalities: teacher by day, mom by night and weekend.

here are some things from that the teacher side of me.

teaching half past and how to number a clock with pull and peel licorice.

(the kids get to bite the licorice to make the different length arms of the clock, too!)

teaching magnetic force with magnets, paperclips, and letting students choose items to discover what breaks the magnetic force.

a few other things i forgot to take pictures of...

-melted snowman writings: created pictures of melted snowmen and wrote how we thought our snowman melted.

-letters to our favorite famous character (after reading the jolly postman) and practice addressing envelopes

first grade is the best.

bring it on, 2013.

and here is a bit more from our holiday season...

wine glasses dipped in chalkboard paint!

to make, i just bought wine glasses and dipped them in chalkboard paint and used a sponge brush to take off excess. then i laid them on an empty christmas wrapping paper roll to dry.

and new years celebrating...

 partying, game playing, pancakes, crepes, bbq, eating out, baby, puggle, and friends.

 and blessing jars.

to write a blessing a day and put in... and read at the end of next year.

the black square is chalkboard paint. obviously.

 bring it on, 2013.

better late than never... as of december 18!