Accidents Happen...

Yes, yes they do. And it's okay. Life goes on, and then you laugh later... :)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!

HOoray for FALL! We finally got to make the chocolate chip muffins that I was so excited about. We have talked about the correct muffin method and so today we had a little competition to see who could make the perfect muffin. The students had a lot of fun, and it was great to see so many good lookin' muffins! Overall, this was a good day :)

The winners of the BEST muffin!

She just couldn't wait till they were done...

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 C flour; sifted
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C butter
1 egg beaten
1/2 C canned pumpkin
1/2 C evaporated milk

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Sift flour, mix with sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl.
3. Cut in butter until mixture resembles cornmeal
4. Combine egg with pumpkin and evaporated milk
5. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and stir JUST UNTIL MOIST! Batter will be lumpy
6. Add chocolate chips
7. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full
8. Bake at 400 degress for 18-20 minutes

Enjoy!

Yeast Bread Happiness = Breadsticks

Well the 9th grade foods and nutrition 1 class were finally able to make breadsticks. We have been talking about quick and yeast breads, and this was our first lab in the unit. The students made either garlic or cinnamon sugar breadsticks with a frosting drizzle. This lab ended up right in the middle of spirit week, so many of the students were dressed up in the lab. It was great to see so many people from different decades cooking! Enjoy the recipe below :)

Breadsticks

1 T yeast
1 C warm water
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1/8 C oil
2 1/2 - 3 C flour

1. Dissolve the yeast in the 1 C of warm water and let rise. (A pinch of sugar will help)
2. Mix yeast, water, sugar, salt, egg, and oil together.
3. Add flour mixing in one cup at a time.
4. Knead dough for a couple of minutes, until texture is consistent and firm.
5. Place dough in greased gallon sized ziploc bag, removing as much air as possible. Place in the fridge over night to rise.

6. Open bag and punch to release air.
7. Roll on floured counter top with floured rolling pin.
8. Spread melted butter on dough and sprinkle with seasoning of choice. We used either garlic salt spread, or a cinnamon sugar mixture.
9. With a pizza cutter, cut into strips and place on greased baking sheet.
10. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!

Soft Pretzels - Easy and Yummy!

The students really enjoyed making these pretzels. They are easy and fun to make! Putting cinnamon and sugar on them is a fun addition, as well as just putting on salt. Several students liked to dip their cinnamon/sugar pretzels in a frosting drizzle. No matter what you like on them, they are pretty easy to enjoy!

Soft Pretzels

Preheat oven to 375

Mix together:
1/2 egg (or 2 Tbsp of a mixed egg)
2 tsp yeast
3/4 C warm water
2 tsp sugar

Let ingredients sit in a kitchen aid bowl and measure the following in a separate bowl:

1/2 tsp salt
2 C flour

Add to yeast mixture and knead for 3-5 minutes.
Cut dough into about 9 pieces and roll into strips between your palms. Roll into pretzel shape.

Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes! Hooray!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had a student request that I put up this recipe, so here it is! Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 C butter
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 C flour
1 1/4 C quick oatmeal
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 C (about) chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars together. Add egg and vanilla. Ina separate bowl, combine flour, oatmeal, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

Add dry mixture to wet. Add chocolate chips by hand.

Scoop small-medium spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 for 8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Whistle While You Work...

One of the jobs we have in our kitchens is called the "extra job assistant". This person is in charge of completing any extra jobs that need to be done in the classroom. On one particular day, several students asked me what they could do to help. I turned around, and low and behold the windows needed washing! Good thing I had so many students willing to help. They enjoyed themselves, and I sure enjoyed watching them learn how to wash windows. Thanks guys!

Spirit Week!

What could be better than clashing nerds? I don't think anything. I'll tell you one thing, it was hard to take the kids seriously when all I saw when I looked out was a bunch of glasses. Needless to say, the students had a hard time responding to me as well. Just take a look at those sweet pants of mine - you can't blame them for being distracted :)

The students were so much fun, and we all had a great time with spirit week! We had clash day, decade day, and nerd day. It was a week I will never forget. Thanks to everyone for making it fun! I love my nerdy students :)

Homemade Oreo Cookies - Amazing, but Can Lead to DEATH

So the 8th graders made the fabulous homemade oreo cookies. Happiness followed, and then a bunch of groans as they realized that they had eaten too much. One student even decided that she wanted to lick the bowl with all of the extra frosting. Needless to say, she pretty much ROLLED out of my classroom. Yes, the cookies are rich, but boy, are they good! Enjoy the recipe below!

Homemade Oreo Cookies

Ingredients:

Cookies:

1 box chocolate cake mix

½ C. oil

2 eggs

Frosting:

1/4 c. butter

1/2 pkg. cream cheese, softened

2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

· Preheat oven to 350

· Combine cake mix, oil and eggs

· Stir until all moist

· Scoop out by medium spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet

· Bake for 8-10 minutes

· Let cool on baking sheet for about 2 minutes

Frosting:

1. In a medium sized bowl, add softened cream cheese and margarine. Beat with an electric mixer until creamy.

2. Add vanilla and blend until combined. Slowly add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until creamy and completely combined.

3. As soon as cookies are completely cooled, frost one cookie with the cream cheese frosting. Place another cookie on top of the frosted cookie.

4. Eat and enjoy!

Taco Rings Goodness...

I have been having some requests for this recipe, so here it is!

Taco Ring

1/2 lb. hamburger 1/2 c. shredded cheese

1/2 pkg. taco seasoning 1/2 c. shredded lettuce

1/2 c. water 1 tomato, chopped

1 pkg. refrigerated croissant rolls 1/4 c. sour cream

1/2 c. refried beans 1/4 c. salsa

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Cook hamburger in a skillet over medium high heat, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. Cook until it is no longer pink inside and out.

3. Drain off grease from cooked hamburger. Push the hamburger to one side of the skillet. Then, carefully tilt the skillet so that the grease drains to one side. Using a spoon, spoon the grease into the empty refried beans can.

4. Add taco seasoning and water to the hamburger and cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Then, reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally.

5. Open the croissant rolls and lay them flat in a circle on a round, greased pizza pan with the points facing outward. (It will look kind of like a sun.

6. On each croissant triangle, place a spoonful of refried beans. Slightly flatten the beans with the back of the spoon. Then, add a spoonful of the hamburger mixture. Use all of your beans and hamburger! Evenly distribute each of these two ingredients on all 8 of the croissant triangles.

7. Cover the ingredients by folding the pointed part of the croissant up and over the beans and meat. Press down slightly so that it doesn’t come undone while baking.

8. Bake at 375° for 11 to 13 minutes.

9. While the taco ring is baking, shred cheese, chop tomato and shred lettuce.

10. Remove the taco ring from the oven when done baking. Remove individual pieces to plates. Add lettuce, cheese, tomato, sour cream and salsa. Eat and enjoy!

Sidewalk Pyramids

This past week the 8th grade Foods Exploration class has been learning more about the new food guide pyramid. We have talked about MyPyramid.gov, and the incredible benefits that it can offer to each person individually. To see how much they had learned, the 8th grade classes went outside and created a pyramid with all of the food groups, their serving sizes, and physical activity. It was great to see how much they are learning!!!

The boys really made a masterpiece!

Microwave Bubble Bread - It's Better Than it Sounds :)

The 9th grade cooking class finally got to make their bubble bread, and for the most part they really enjoyed it! It is quick and easy! Enjoy the recipe below...

Bubble Bread

1/3 C. Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp. margarine or butter
1 Tbsp. water
1 Can refrigerated biscuits


1. In a round glass dish, combine brown sugar, margarine and water. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove dish from microwave using hot pads, and stir ingredients until evenly combined.
2. Cut biscuits into 4ths using the pizza cutter. Place the biscuit pieces on top of the melted brown sugar mixture.
3. Microwave on high for 2-4 minutes or until the dough is not sticky to the touch.
4. Remove from microwave and allow for standing time
5. TO serve the bubble bread, place a plate on top of the round dish and turn both upside down. Pull the pieces apart with your fingers and enjoy eating!

Then and Now...

So I came into work one morning to this:



Busted window. Oh joy. Come to find out that the heat from the sun on my door was causing pressure on the window and finally busted it. For about 3 weeks all the students and I avoided the window like the plague just in case it fell out! Fortunately we got it all fixed in the end! Here is my new window :)