School Keri

My mom was in town a couple of weeks ago when we were holding back to school night. Here's a picture of me in my classroom. Off to the left is my SMART Board. It is the most wonderful tool EVER!!! I honestly can't imagine teaching without it. I have a fully operational TI graphing calculator emulator which I use to show the students which buttons to push. I can have my examples typed up ahead of time and then I can write on the board using the digital pens. I just started saving my notes to my school website, so if students are absent they can look at the examples at home.

T.G.I.F.B.A.L.W!

(Thank God it's Friday Before a Long Weekend!)

School is continuing to go well. Lots of work to do, but I suppose I have to earn my paycheck somehow. Every day is different, which makes teaching appealing to me. I just wish I knew all of my cherubs names- I need to study their pictures in our online attendance/grading program this weekend. I really hate not being able to remember their names right away. Tonight's blog entry will include a bunch of random items.
Here are a couple of pictures from the Hot Air Balloon festival which was held just east of our house at Chatfield Reservoir. I only caught a small glimpse of the action this year.


Our neighbor's house is for sale. Anyone interested in living next door to your favorite pilot/teacher couple?

Eric's chores continue with getting rid of some wasps. This picture was taken in our side yard.

Tonight's supper:

Bar-b-que Chicken Pizza, Corn on the Cob, and Texas Peach Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Keri's Bar-b-que Chicken Pizza
(I made this one up)

Roll out raw pizza dough in 9x13 inch pan, sprayed with cooking spray.

Top with:
-Prego sauce,
-Rotisserie Chicken cut into pieces
-Pico de gallo (or just cut up tomatoes for those who don't care for onions)
-Mozzarella cheese
-Bar-b-que sauce

Follow cooking directions on Pillsbury Pizza dough package.



Texas Peach Cobbler
(In honor of my favorite Texas chickies, Janina and Colette.)

This dessert tops juicy fruit with a biscuit-like topping. The batter goes into the dish first, then rises up through the fruit as it bakes.

Filling:
4 cups sliced peeled ripe peaches (about 2 pounds)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Batter:
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dash of ground cinnamon
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare filling, combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside.

To prepare batter, place butter in an 8-inch square baking dish. Place dish in oven 5 minutes or until butter melts. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through dash of cinnamon) in a medium bowl. Combine milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon batter over butter, spreading evenly (do not stir). Spoon peach mixture over batter, gently pressing peaches into batter. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar, and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until crust is golden.

Yield: 8 servings

CALORIES 294 (28% from fat); FAT 9.3g (sat 5.7g,mono 2.4g,poly 0.5g); IRON 1.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 24mg; CALCIUM 118mg; CARBOHYDRATE 51g; SODIUM 235mg; PROTEIN 4.2g; FIBER 2.2g

Cooking Light, JULY 2007

Who knew?

Talk about good timing:

Breakfast for Supper

We had waffles for supper tonight- I enjoy eating breakfast any time of day. I used the waffle iron we received from Kelsey's dad, Jim, and other mom, Denise. It's a great waffle iron, and Eric proclaimed tonight's supper, "waffle-rific"! I've also included a couple of pictures of us- I didn't get any us at the Rockies game, so here we are post-waffles.

Here's my favorite waffle recipe:

Waffles with Two-Berry Syrup
Wheat germ and flaxseed are the ingredients that give these waffles a wonderfully nutty flavor and crunchy texture. But it's the syrup, laced with maple and two kinds of berries, that elevates this breakfast to the sublime.

Ingredients
Waffles:
2 tablespoons flaxseed (I buy ground flaxseed)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
3/4 cup egg substitute (In a bind, can also use 3 eggs)
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Syrup:
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
1 1/2 cups frozen unsweetened raspberries
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation
To prepare waffles, place flaxseed in a clean coffee grinder or blender; process until ground to measure 1/4 cup flaxseed meal. Set the flaxseed meal aside. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flaxseed meal, flours, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk, egg substitute, oil, and vanilla; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray; preheat. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter per 4-inch waffle onto the hot waffle iron, spreading batter to edges. Cook 5 to 6 minutes or until steaming stops; repeat procedure with remaining batter.
To prepare syrup, combine berries, maple syrup, and ground cinnamon in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated. Serve warm over waffles.

Note: Look for flaxseed, a grain rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fats, in health-food stores of large supermarkets. Freeze leftover waffles individually on a cookie sheet and then transfer to a zip-top freezer bag for storage. To reheat, place frozen waffles in toaster.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: 2 waffles and 1/3 cup syrup)
Nutritional Information
CALORIES 332(18% from fat); FAT 6.6g (sat 0.7g,mono 2.5g,poly 2.8g); IRON 3.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 1mg; CALCIUM 199mg; CARBOHYDRATE 60.5g; SODIUM 400mg; PROTEIN 10.8g; FIBER 6.5g
Victoria Riccardi , Cooking Light, MAY 2000

Take me out to the ballgame...

Eric and I headed downtown Friday night to watch the Rockies take on the Reds. I spent the first few innings keeping my eyes out for a praying mantis which was creeping around the seat in front of me. Ewwwww! I swatted it away with my baseball glove a few times. Finally, someone picked it up and took it away. I also spotted my friend Chad (Mariella's dad) at the game. He was sitting a few sections over from us, so Eric and I sat with him, his three nephews, and Ashley's parents for the last few innings. Despite a late rally, the Rockies lost. It was still a fun and entertaining evening.

You know you're a grown-up when...

you have to caulk around the windows. Woo-hoo! (I'm just glad it was Eric who was taking on this project.)


Feel free to leave your "You know you're a grown-up when..." in the comments section.

My School Website

Well, in case you wonder why "Summer Keri" has been posting less often, it's because "School Keri" is back on the scene. I've been putting time into getting my school website up and running. I learned how to use the (mandated) software a few years ago, but it's very non user-friendly. A few changes were made- namely, the teachers were given better access within the structure of the software to choose personal preferences. I finally felt like it was worth my time to use.