Sunday, May 31, 2009

Recipes

We made dinner for my family today. I wanted to share the recipes because they were really good, and I love when people share their recipes with me. I'll write what the real recipe says and then I'll write in the changes I made. I saw Rachel Ray make this recipe on her show so I went to her website to get the recipe.



Chicken Parm Pasta Toss






Salt
1 pound whole wheat penne (I used just regular pasta instead of whole wheat)
3 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs, chopped into bite-size pieces (I doubled the chicken)
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
Ground black pepper
2 to 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
1 large red onion, chopped
2 pints grape tomatoes
2 cups basil, chopped
3 cups arugula or baby arugula, roughly chopped (I used an arugala/spinich mix)
1 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese (I used a mix of parmesan, romano, and asiago that came in a container together because I couldn't find Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese)


Fill a large pasta pot with water and place it over high heat. Once the water comes up to a boil, salt it and drop in the pasta. Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions. Before draining the pasta, reserve a mugful of starchy cooking water, then drain and reserve.

While the water is coming up to a boil, place a large skillet over high heat with 3 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 3 tablespoons. Season the chicken pieces with the poultry seasoning, salt and pepper then add it to the preheated skillet. Cook the chicken until golden brown and cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side.

Once the chicken is brown, add the garlic and onions to the pan, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cover the pan with a lid. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes burst open and begin to release their juices, about 5 minutes (if they haven’t started to burst open by that time, mash them lightly with a potato masher or wooden spoon). Season the mixture with salt and pepper.

Add the drained pasta and reserved starchy cooking water (about 1 cup) to the skillet with the chicken and tomatoes, and toss over the heat until combined, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil, arugula, and cheese. Serve.

Yield: 4 (according to the recipe, it makes a ton though at least 6 servings, or more)

I also made some rolls that are my favorite to make. I found the recipe on the food network. Here's the recipe:

Clover Leaf Dinner Rolls

1 (1/4-ounce) package dry active yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
1 cup warm water, about 110 degrees F
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk, scalded but cooled to warm
4 ounces melted butter, plus 2 ounces
5 cups flour, plus more, as needed
Muffin Tin

In a standing mixing bowl with dough hook, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let sit until lightly foamy, then stir in sugar and add egg, salt, warm milk, and 4 ounces of butter. Slowly add 5 cups flour, adding more as needed to make an elastic dough. Mix well, then roll out to floured surface and knead dough for about 5 minutes.

Place dough in buttered bowl, cover with towel, and set in a warm place to rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour.

Lightly oil the muffin pan. Punch down dough and form dough into 1-inch balls. Place 3 balls in each muffin tin. Fill muffin pan, cover with towel, and allow to rise an additional 1/2 hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Brush with remaining melted butter. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown

Yield: 24 Rolls

Thursday, May 28, 2009

We got our diplomas and....my teaching license!

Our college careers have officially come to a close now that we have received our diplomas. I opened up my diploma and thought, "wow, this little piece of paper is worth a lot of money." It was less impressive than I thought it would be. Maybe when we frame them they will look more important. I also received my level 1 teaching license! I was very excited when I got it---it means that I really can be a teacher! Hopefully I can find a teaching job. I've been filling out applications in New York but requirements are different so I don't know how that will all work out.

-Ashley

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

American Idol Tonight!

I am very excited for American Idol tonight! I can't wait to see what Kris and Adam will sing. I know that this will be entertaining. I'll post my review after I see it. I am still pulling for Adam which if he is the best in my mind I will vote for him tonight. I always like the end of American Idol seeing the best perfomers but then it means that it won't be on again until January...then what will I watch? ha ha It will free up some time to do other things. Being an American Idol fan takes up a lot of time :) The finale in a couple of hours...

Friday, May 15, 2009

Columbia

Our future has been in limbo for quite a bit of time these past months, not knowing for sure where we would be living for the next few months. I got a call this week (from a number that only had 5 digits on my caller ID . . . ), so I picked it up thinking, "How dare these telemarketers call my cell phone at 7:30 in the morning?!" Had I been thinking straight, I probably wouldn't have anwered it, but my immediate reflex to end Jimmy Buffet's rendition of "Barefoot Children in the Rain" coming from my phone was too quick. Good thing I answered (although I'm sure they would have left a message), as it was Dean Frantz from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He was pretty quick to the point: "Is this your number one choice, and do you want to come here?" Yep. "Ok, you're in." Ok. "Bye." Bye. Wait, what?? I still didn't believe him until I got the package in the mail. My dreams have come true, we're going to Columbia!

So it looks like Ashley and I will be moving to New York City this August! It will be very different that living in Provo, but we're excited and know that it will all be extremely rewarding.

- Scott

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

American Idol

I'm not going to go through each of the performances this week. The only thing I have to say is that my opinions of who should be in the finals next week have changed. I used to say that Adam and Danny should be the final two. After tonight I have decided that Adam and Kris should be the final two. It was the 2nd song that Kris sang that pushed me over the edge. I just didn't like Danny as much this week. Let's see what happens tomorrow!

P.S. I actually voted for the first time this season. I voted for Adam---just to make sure he is safe.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

I was wrong...

My prediction for American Idol was wrong...Allison went home instead of Kris. I think he will go home next week. I knew Allison wouldn't make it to the finals so she's just going home a week earlier than I thought.

I enjoyed the Daughtry Performance and No Doubt was all right. Paula Abdul performing was very strange---I don't think people her age should dance like that!

Until next week!

A few minutes before American Idol is on...

I decided I wanted to give my thoughts on American Idol right before it started. I was very excited for Rock week but I was slightly disappointed. There were only two performances I really liked and you'll see below which ones those were...

I really liked that Slash was the mentor. I thought it was cool that he played with his band for the contestants to sing.

My thoughts of the performances:

Adam Lambert--"Whole Lotta Love": I really liked this performance. I thought that Adam did very well singing Led Zeppelin. I like how he takes risks and entertains people. His performances are never boring! I think that he is a very good rocker! This was the only individual performance that I really liked! The only thing I didn't like was his outfit.

Allison Iraheta--"Crybaby": I think that Allison is definitely a rocker, but didn't pick the best song. I'm pretty sure she'll stay so I hope she picks a better song for next week. I liked her hair this week.

Danny and Kris Duet--"Renegade": Kind of awkward to watch, didn't really like. Simon was right---Danny sang better than Kris in that one.

Kris Allen--"Come Together": I didn't like his performance all that much. It was okay, but nothing compared to Adam's. I think Kris is going home tonight... hopefully I'm right

Danny Gokey--"Dream On": I love Aerosmith and Danny did a very bad version. It kind of made me cringe a bit especially while he sang the high notes.

Adam and Allison Duet--"Slow Ride": I loved this! They are the best rockers!

Verdict: I think Kris is going home...we'll see if I predicted right.

Result show on now! I'm watching!

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Graduation Announcement---A little late

Here's our graduation picture and announcement:


Friday, May 1, 2009

American Idol

I just love American Idol and I haven't written much about it. My sister Amber writes about it each week and I have been a slacker. This week the performances were a little boring being "Big Band Night." I still have the same top three though that I have had the entire time. My top three list is as follows:

1. Adam Lambert
2. Danny Gokey
3. Allison Iraheta

This week I was glad to see Matt Giraud go. He kind of drove me crazy because he thought he was "hot stuff" but he really wasn't. The song he chose wasn't very good and I just don't like him at all.

The performances during the results show were interesting. Seeing Taylor Hicks I still don't understand how he really won. I just had to endure that performance. Jamie Fox was great as a mentor but I did not like his perfomance. It seems a little weird to me that he is trying to act like Kanye West or some other R&B artist. Not the best week for entertainment.

I think Adam is going to win it all. Watching him he doesn't even really seem to have to try too hard to be amazing. He is really good. I'm excited to see him next week when the genre is "Rock 'n Roll." I think this will be my favorite week so far.

I think Kris Allen is going home this week. I don't think that he has a loud enough voice to sing rock songs. Plus the faces he pulls while singing bother me. I'm hoping that he is the next to go.

I'll give another update next week!

It's the Wedding Season!!

Two of my freshman roommates got married to their new husbands this week. I just want to congratulate Linsey and Nicholas Walker who got married yesterday! Also, I want to congratulate Steffanie and Cameron Reece who got married today! I'm so excited for all of you!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

We are graduating Friday...It's official!

Scott and I both picked up our cap and gown for graduation today! This means we are really graduating since we have the correct apparel now. Graduation is Friday and we are so excited! Graduation has always seemed like forever away but now it is here.

It has been a long road getting to this point, but very worth it. Looking back on my college experience I have changed a lot over the past 4 years...for the better of course. From staying up late Freshman year....Sophomore year at the Glenwood.... Junior year getting engaged...senior year getting married....student teaching...and now graduating-it has been a journey. It is just crazy finally reaching this point. It won't feel real to me until Friday afternoon.

Soon will come a lot of change and I don't really like change. Growing up is a hard thing to do! After this week our next big adventure will be as of now moving to Ohio at the end of the summer. For those of you who don't know, Scott is going to medical school in the fall. That's why we are moving. Right now he is planning on going to Ohio State University. Those plans could change if we hear from any other schools but that is where we are at right now. I am going to enjoy the summer and not stress quite yet:)

I'm done with school for a long time! Scott still has many many years left to go...

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Sorry about boring posts...

Sorry all I talk about is teaching. That's just my life right now and some days it is not too exciting. Teaching in Junior High is never boring, but sometimes I try to forget about the daily events.

Discipline in Jr. High

The other day I was teaching the 7th graders. They were working on an assignment to redesign a menu. They were all working fine until it got to 5th period... There were two students in my class that decided that they didn't want to do anything.

I walked over to their desk and told them to get to work. They replied saying, "I don't have to do this, all I need is a D- in this class." I didn't know how to respond because what can you do when your students don't care about their grades. I proceeded to ignore their comment and walked around the room to them. I stood by their desks again and told them again to work on their assignment. They again basically told me that they didn't care. Keep in mind that this was my first day teaching the 7th graders and there was also a substitute in the room. I wasn't sure what other consequence I could give them since they weren't motivated by grades. I proceeded to tell them as it got to the end of class, "boys, we will talk about this on Monday."

When Monday came, my cooperating teacher was back. I talked to her to find out what to do. We talked about it and made a decision. When my students came in for 5th period that day I was going to demonstrate to them how to make smoothies. I told the other students to go into the kitchen but had the two boys stay behind.

I decided I wanted them to do a lot of the talking so I just said calmly, "Why did you have to stay behind?" They explained to me that they were not very nice last time and didn't do their work. I asked them if it would be fair if they were able to participate in the smoothie lab next time. They said no. I proceeded to tell them that they could watch in the demonstration but they would be working on the assignment they didn't do during the lab next time. They agreed and the next day I had to enforce it.

At the end of school after I had told them the consequence I saw one of the boys in the hallway. He yelled to me, "Why can't I make smoothies?" I answered saying, "You know why..." Then he said, "Why can't you be nice?" I was so close to saying, "Why can't you?" but I didn't stoop to his level I just kept on walking.

Discipline is really hard for me to do! One of the boys came to class the next day and I had him work on the assignment. Of course the other boy was sluffing and didn't show up so the next day he was in In School Detention (not my rule, the school's rule).

Teaching is so much fun! Disciplining just puts a damper on things... Too bad all students can't be little angels...

Sunday, March 15, 2009

This week in Junior High...

This has been a very busy week teaching!

Monday: I taught about natural and refined sugars. To show them how much sugar is in different foods I measured it all out into plastic bags so they could see. I also measured out how much sugar you would consume if you had a can of soda everyday for a week, and also a month. They were amazed at how much sugar they were consuming.

Tuesday: I did a Jeopardy Test Review. I made a PowerPoint for the Jeopardy game. They had a lot of fun answering the questions. Games are a lot more work than just teaching a lesson. Students don't realize that games are not that much fun for the teacher---it's more work on our part! So according to my students when asked what a sifter does, if you didn't know.... it sifts! That made me laugh, that was the only way they could explain it.

Wednesday: They took a test! Which made a very easy day for me except I had to grade them all afterwards. Grading takes a long time!

Thursday: I started talking about Protein. I showed a PowerPoint that I made. Then in the 9th grade class I had them cut out food out of magazines that had protein and glued them on paper plates. They had to make a plate that was using complete proteins and one using incomplete proteins. In the 8th grade class I had different foods printed on squares on a piece of paper. They cut them out and matched them up with a plant source of protein and an animal source of protein making them complete.

Friday: Today was Protein Activity Day! For both 8th and 9th grade I had a bunch of words about protein scrambled. I made it a competition divided into 4 teams. Each team had a marker and when they knew one of the words that was scrambled they would run up and write it on the board. I gave the winning team some candy. They got really into this. Then for the 8th grade I played the fly swatter game where you write a bunch of words all over the board. Then you give each team a fly swatter. You read out questions and they have to hit their answer with the fly swatter. For the 9th graders I played a basketball game. On their turn they got to choose if they were going to answer a 1 pt. 2 pt. or 3 pt. question. If they got their question right then they got to shoot a basket. I had lines of masking tape on the floor for the 1 pt. 2 pt. and 3 pt. and they stood on the lines and shot a ball into the garbage can. If they made the basket they got the points. They loved that game! It was a fun, but tiring day!

It was a great week, but I'm ready to start another week! I only have like 5 weeks left of student teaching. Also in there is a week of Spring Break so only really like 4 weeks. It's a little crazy!

I have come to realize that I am a little naive. Students nowadays are exposed to a lot more than I ever was. It saddens me at times what students deal with these days. I have also come to realize that parents are extremely important in a child's life. You can tell which students have involved parents and which ones don't. I am learning a lot in this whole experience! More than just teaching...

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Update on Junior High

So, I'm now teaching at a Junior High in Murray. I was really scared to start teaching at Jr. High because I had gotten comfortable at the High School I was at. I started teaching this week and I have been really nervous before I have taught each day. I am teaching the foods classes which are really fun and what I think I'd like to eventually teach. I started with the 8th graders this week.

Tuesday I taught about Carbohydrates and had them do an activity where they cut out pictures out of magazines and put them on sheets that said either simple or complex.

Wednesday I taught them about fiber. I went through a PowerPoint about fiber and grossed them out a little bit talking about digestion. Then I put up pictures all over the white board of food. They had to make a list of foods they would eat to get all the fiber they needed in the day. The girls had to do 20-25, and boys 30-38. After they made their lists I told them how much fiber was in each food. They were surprised about how much fiber they needed and how the foods that they ate weren't very full of fiber.

Thursday I did an Apple Pancakes Demonstration because that was the lab that they had to do on Friday. I went through the entire recipe with them. I also told random facts and stories about pancakes. In the lab they have a camera that projects the demo on the screen so they can see everything. They say it's like watching Rachel Ray. That day I fulfilled my dreams of having my own cooking show:) Some of the random things I shared about pancakes were: I found out that there is a Pancake Appreciation Society. Their website is no other than http://www.welovepancakes.com/. They even have a pledge that they say, it says:
  • “ I solemnly swear, from this day forth to enjoy the flip-tastic delight that is pancakes and to branch out and experiment with different toppings this Pancake Day and beyond.
They have a bunch of random facts on their website. It was funny and the students loved it. I also talked about pancakes from different countries. At the end I read them If You Give a Pig a Pancake. It was all in all a great day!
Friday they were doing their Apple Pancakes Lab. My supervisor from BYU was there to observe so I was a little nervous. They did really well in their lab except there were a few mishaps. I turn around and one of the students is up at the front of the room with cinnamin all over the counter and all over his arms. My supervisor was in the corner laughing so I walked over to him and I asked him what happened. It turns out he was trying to tip the huge cinnamin container over to pour it into the teaspoon instead of opening it up and putting the teaspoon inside. Anyways that's how it ended up all over. I was calm and just said, okay I understand how that happened, now please go get a rag and clean it up. He did and everything was fine. I also walked over to another group and saw that they didn't follow their directions on making their syrup and they had put in their butter before they were supposed to. When I went over I said, did you read your recipe? They of course said yes. Then I said, well maybe you should read it again so you would know when to put your butter in. They were like, what do we do? Is it going to turn out? I just told them to start over again. They did and it worked the second time. It's amazing what happens when you follow a recipe:) It all turned out well and my supervisor was very pleased with how it went which made me feel good.

I'll share the adventures I have next week. In Junior High there is never a dull moment. Right now my students are trying to push me to feel out their boundaries. I'm trying to be firm yet friendly trying to gain their respect as a teacher. Each day is a step forward. I only have about 5 weeks left of student teaching. It goes by so fast! Graduation is right around the corner!

In case you wanted it, here's the apple pancakes recipe:

Apple Pancakes

Pancakes:
2 cups Bisquick
1 Egg
1 cup Shredded Apples
½ teaspoon Cinnamon
1 ½ cups Milk

Mix Bisquick with cinnamon, egg and milk. Beat until smooth. Stir in apples and cook pancakes.

Apple Syrup:
1 cup Sugar
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
½ teaspoon Cinnamon
3 tablespoons Bisquick
2 cups Apple Juice
¼ cup Butter

Combine sugar, Bisquick, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Blend in apple, and lemon juice. Cook stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils for one minute. Remove from heat and stir in butter.