Protein! Chicken Pillows and Ice Cream :)

The 9th grade cooking classes have been talking all about protein. We learned about how protein is found in many foods including meats, eggs, milk and other products from the meat and beans group. We enjoyed these recipes, so I hope you do too!

Students tossing their ice cream in a bag to make it nice and thick!

Ice Cream in a Bag

2 T sugar
2 Cups milk or half and half
1 tsp vanilla
About 6 T rock salt
1 pint sized ziploc bag
1 gallon sized ziploc bag
Ice cubes

• Fill the large bag half full of ice and add rock salt
• Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag and seal it
• Place the small bag inside the large one and seal again carefully
• Shake until mixture is ice cream - about 5-10 minutes
• Wipe off the top of small bag before carefully opening. Make sure you don't get any salt water in your ice cream!
  
• Enjoy! (I like to add carmel or chocolate to make it a little better)

Chicken Pillows

1 chicken breast, trimmed

1 can crescent rolls

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 c. crushed bread crumbs

1/4 c. melted margarine

1/2 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 c. water

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dried chives

1. Preheat the oven to 325°.

2. With kitchen shears, trim and cut chicken into small, bite-sized pieces.

3. In a heavily sprayed skillet over medium-high heat, cook chicken breast until brown and cooked throughout. Set aside.

4. With your electric mixer, whip the cream cheese until soft and creamy in a medium sized bowl. Add dried chives, salt, pepper and onion powder and blend until combined.

5. Remove electric mixer and with a wooden spoon, stir in cooked chicken. Set aside.

6. Open crescent rolls and separate into individual triangles. Press out the triangles so that they double in size.

7. Take a spoonful of the cream cheese/chicken mixture and place in the middle of each crescent roll until the entire mixture is evenly distributed.

8. Starting at the wide end, roll the crescent triangle toward the narrow end, pinching the dough together as you go, until all of the mixture is covered by the dough. (Make sure that all of the cracks are pressed together so that the mixture does not melt out as it bakes.)

9. Now, roll the entire chicken pillow in the melted butter and again in the crushed croutons.

10. Place on a greased cookie sheet, evenly spaced. Bake at 325° for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the crescent rolls are golden brown.

11. While the chicken pillows are cooking, in a small saucepan, combine the cream of chicken soup and water and whisk over medium heat until completely combined. It should be smooth, with no lumps.

12. When chicken pillows are done, remove from oven, place on individual plates and cover with cream sauce. Eat and enjoy!

Strawberry Blender Drink

While talking about fruits with my 8th grade classes, we made a strawberry blender drink. It was well loved and appreciated by all :) I've never seen so many "pink" mustaches in my life!

Strawberry Blender Drink

1 Cup Strawberries
1/2 cup Sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups milk

Blend all the above in a blender. Then add about 2 cups of ice. Mix until the drink is nice and thick. Enjoy!

Fettuccini Alfredo Goodness

We used this recipe during our fats and oils unit. The students loved this recipe, so I hope you have fun making it at home! Look out, it has a ton of FAT in it :)

Fettuccini Alfredo

3/4 c. butter

1/2 pkg. (4 oz.) cream cheese

2 1/2 Tbsp. flour

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1 1/4 c. whole milk

1/4 c. parmesan cheese

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. salt (to season noodles)

fettuccini noodles (enough for group)

To Cook Pasta:

1. Fill a large pot with water, about 3/4 full. Add salt to the water, place pan on high heat and bring to a boil.

2. When water is boiling, slowly add pasta and cook until it reaches the al dente stage-(soft, but not soggy).

3. Turn off heat and allow noodles to sit in water until they are ready to be served.

To Cook Alfredo Sauce:

1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Watch this carefully! Do not let the butter burn.

2. Soften your cream cheese in the microwave for about 30-40 seconds so that it will melt in the saucepan more easily.

3. Add the cream cheese to the butter and mix until smooth. Then, add flour all at once. Mix with a wire whisk until a paste forms. Allow flour paste to cook for about one minute.

4. Add 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream and whisk until smooth. Then add ONLY 3/4 c. of the milk. Save 1/2 c. of the milk to use later. Stir until smooth and allow to cook for 1 minutes, or until mixture thickens slightly.

5. Add grated parmesan cheese to sauce and stir until melted. Then, add the final 1/2 c. of whole milk. Add Italian seasoning. Stir until everything is smooth and combined. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over warm pasta and eat. (You may also drain the noodles, place the noodles back in the pot and then pour the Alfredo sauce over all of the noodles at once.)

Halloween Cupcakes

This year for Halloween we had a cupcake decorating competition. It was so fun to see the creativity of all of my students! Here are just a few examples of their creations...

FUDGE!

This, my friends, is the best. Fudge. Ever. Enjoy!

Yes, that is a lot of fudge in my fridge

Bring to a boil:

4 1/2 cups sugar
1 can evaporated milk

Stir this CONSTANTLY for 7 minutes, then:

Immediately remove from heat and add:

2 squares REAL butter
2 twelve ounce bages of MILK chocolate chips
1 tbsp vanilla

Beat until creamy and then pour into an 8 1/2 x 11 buttered cake pan

***hint: cut the squares before the fudge is completely cooled! Enjoy!