Five for Friday

Thank goodness it's Friday!  Thank goodness for Doodle Bugs Teaching Five for Friday!

 

It's Apple week in our Young 5's class...a wonderful kick off for the fall season! 

 

Our tissue paper apples make me smile! I cut and peeled my contact paper ahead of time and had everything ready to go when the kids walked in Tuesday morning.  Trust me...I learned the hard way how time consuming it is to peel 15 pieces of contact paper while 30 little eyes are watching and waiting. 

Aren't they beautiful?

 

 

What would apple week be without homemade applesauce? 

Year after year, it's a huge hit!

 

 

Who loves their crockpot?

 

I sure do!  My husband enjoys cooking and grilling so 95% of our meals are prepared by him.  But every now and then, I throw something in the crockpot and claim I've made dinner.   This week I made Sweet & Sour Chicken.  It was easy, affordable, and delicious! 

 

Click HERE for the recipe!

 

 

I met with my wonderful Room Mom one day after school to do some planning and get our calendars in sync.  While we chatted, her daughter sorted, stacked, and paper clipped the papers for next week's flip book.  I was amazed at her efficiency and it only cost me two stickers! 

 

 

I received a very special thank you note this week! 

 

I can't decide if I love the flattering drawing the most or the sight words she wrote at the bottom!

It's just the 17th day of school but this class has already found a special place in my heart!

 

 Have a great weekend!

 

Monday Made It - Packing & Peaches

I love Mondays!  It's partly because it's the day for one of my favorite linky parties, Monday Made It.  But Monday is also a fresh start...a clean slate...the time to get your week off on a good note!

One task this weekend was making copies of the outline for the Books You Can Count On workshop I'm presenting Friday in Tampa.  The outline gives participants an organized spot to jot down notes during the workshop. 

 

The bigger task I had was to pack everything needed for my presentation.  Oh, and let's get it all in one suitcase since we're flying!  

I'm travelling with quite a variety of props...plastic apples, clothespins, mini pocket charts, magic gold beans, and a frying pan! The good news is that everything fit! 

We went to a big farmer's market over the weekend and found these beauties.  I wish blogs had a smelly feature because these are perfect Georgia peaches and they smell incredible!

I decided to bake two smaller cobblers instead of a gigantic one since we'll be leaving soon.  I used 8x8 baking dishes and broke the recipe down to divide everything evenly into the two pans.  One to keep and one to give to my sweet friend who is overcoming breast cancer. 

Here's the cobbler recipe I use which was originally published in Southern Living magazine.  It's truly a "no fail" recipe and the ideal way to use those summer peaches.  Don't forget a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

I don't think I'll have any new "made it's" to share next Monday but I'm going to blog about the workshop and share my ideas for Books You Can Count On in your classroom this fall! 

Be sure to   so you won't miss anything!

Five for Friday - Playdates & Cupcakes

Time to check in with one of my favorites... Five for Friday...hosted by Doodlebugs Teaching!

 

This week I invited the girls from last year's class over for a play date! They squealed with delight when they saw each other and were thrilled my sweet assistant and her twins joined us, too.  It was really a fun little get-together...very simple to host! 

 

Everyone brought their own lunches while I supplied drinks and dessert.  The girls played with a few special toys they'd not seen before at school.  The big hit was definitely my Polly Pocket collection!

 

For our dessert, I baked a batch of vanilla cupcakes and topped them with a summery lemon buttercream frosting.  The finishing touch was a sprinkling of freshly grated lemon zest!

 

Click here for the lemon buttercream frosting recipe.  I'm a big believer in making  cupcakes versus buying them at the grocery store bakery.  Part of it is that I'm thrifty and can't see spending $4.99 for only four or six cupcakes when I can make two dozen for lots, lots less!  Plus, my homemade frosting is super easy and really delicious!

 

A trip to Costco this week yielded new kitchen towels...

 

and browsing for new luggage...

We enjoyed a fun "date night" of Costco hotdogs and swirled ice cream, too!

 

I'm looking for some sturdier luggage because I have to pack and fly with all my workshop props to the One Goal Conference next week in Tampa.

 

 

I'm presenting my Books You Can Count On workshop on Friday and then I'm heading over to the beautiful gulf beaches of Treasure Island!  Very excited about this trip! 

 

 

Memorial Day BBQ & Macaroni Salad

It's a beautiful Memorial Day in the south.  Flags are waving...white puffy clouds are filling the sky...and our backyard is ready for a BBQ for a few friends and my inlaws who are visiting from South Carolina.

 

The hubby is taking care of the ribs while I'm in charge of the side dishes...corn on the cob, crock pot baked beans, and my favorite macaroni salad.  I've used this recipe from the Pioneer Woman on several occasions and I'm always happy with the results.  This time I used bow tie pasta instead of the traditional macaroni noodles.   

 

The original recipe calls for olives but nobody in my family likes them so I leave them out.  Here's my pile of chopped sweet pickles, green onions, and roasted red peppers.  It's very easy to assemble all the ingredients while the pasta cooks.

The roasted peppers are definitely part of the secret charm of this recipe.  I remember my grandmother making macaroni salad with chopped pimentos.  As good as her macaroni salad was...the red peppers in this recipe make it much tastier.

 

The other secret of Pioneer Woman's version is the dressing.  I save the juice from the jar of roasted red peppers and use a healthy dash of pickle juice, too. I always make a little extra dressing and stir it in right before serving the salad.

 

Here's the finished macaroni salad!  It makes for a very pretty bowl on the picnic table with all the bright colors!

  

 All that's left is for me to mix up a quick peach cobbler.  This recipe is a traditional one I found in Southern Living magazine several years ago and I remember it from when I was a kid.  You know it's officially summer when you have homemade peach cobbler in the south! 

 

 

Happy Memorial Day!