More TV stuff

I love Reality TV but lately I have been into a lot of cooking shows. Now don't get me wrong.....I will always watch every episode of any RHOAnything buuuuuttttttt I have noticed that a lot of the cooking shows are up to date and currently filmed, which I like. I mean who wants to watch an old episode on how to make meatloaf sandwich...gross! Some of my favorite cooking shows are:

 

Martha Stewart Cooking School
 This is on PBS and I usually have to DVR it since it comes on Saturday afternoons around 12? central standard time. You can actually watch some of her shows online. Just click on the link above.

Martha Bakes
This is another episode that come on right before the cooking school show. It just started coming on and it is all about baking. Last Saturday she made 3 different types of cheesecakes......YES!  Click on the link above to see some of the videos.
 

Pioneer Woman
I am in love with this woman. I own one of her cookbooks and read her personal book about how she and her husband got together. She is super sweet and I give her super credit for being a city girl and living on a farm. Oh the things us girls do for love! Her food is not very hip and thigh friendly but I love it none the less.  She also has a personal blog that I am addicted to reading. Click on the link above to see her Food Network stuff. Click here: "Pioneer Woman" for her personal blog.



Giada at Home
Giada is my second all time favorite Italian chef. Sorry but Mario Batali....he is definitely numero UNO. He makes me want to quit my teaching job, become a chef, and wear orange crocs everyday! Except mine would be pink of course.

Please set your DVR up to record these shows. They are amazing and worth the break from Reality TV.

Roasted Cauliflower

I have been trying to eat a lot of vegetables since implementing the Paleo lifestyle. Tonight I made roasted chicken and cauliflower. I am not a big fan of cauliflower but I am trying to open my mind, and taste buds, to trying new veggies.

Here is the recipe: 

1 Bushel of Cauliflower

2 tbsp. Kosher Salt

1 Yellow Onion

1 tbsp. Herbs de Provence

3 tbsp. Olive Oil

1/3 c. Grated Parmesan Cheese

Cut up the cauliflower and onions and place on a rimmed baking sheet.

Sprinkle salt, herbs de provence, and olive oil over the cauliflower and mix together. 

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, Take out and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, place back in the oven for 10 more minutes.

Take out and "Presto" easy and healthy cauliflower!

ENJOY!
(I know these pics suck but they were taken with my phone. I got a new camera for my birthday so the new pictures I take should be pretty fabulous) 

Fabric Wreaths

I am on Spring Break this week so what better way to spend it than making a fabric wreath. There are a lot of different wreaths to make on Pinterest but my friend Porscha and I had one in particular that seemed pretty easy and inexpensive.  We took a little trip to Wal-Mart and were on our way to purchasing ribbon and fabric from the clearance section. Total price for my wreath $8.00. It was pretty easy and we watched a bunch of cooking shows and reality TV while making them.

Here is what you will need:

* 1 wire hanger (yes mommy dearest)
* fabric in your favorite colors
* ribbon in your favorite colors
* scissors
* Kourtney and Kim Take Miami

Once you get all of the pieces together cut the fabric and ribbon into 6 inch strips. Make the strips as thin or thick as you want but remember that you have to tie them around a hanger. The thicker they are the more space they will take up.

I laid all of my pieces out first.

Bend the hanger into a circle. It is ok if the circle is not perfect. You won't be able to tell once you put the fabric on. 

Once you have them in strips start tying them one by one in a single tight knot around the hanger. It is best to put the main colors in 3's or 4's and then add accent pieces.

I crossed my legs and put the hanger in between to stabilize it. 

Keep pushing the fabric over to make it tight. Once you finish you can add any extra pieces that you think you might need to fill in. 

Here are the finished products. You can add bows to the top of the hanger to fill it in or wrap ribbon around it tightly and secure with a knot. 

Paleo Lifestyle

Last summer (2012) I had the wonderful opportunity to lose weight.....LOL! This is just about every woman's dream. I lost 30 lbs. and I did it through the Paleo Lifestyle. A friend of mine introduced it to me. You can check out her blog here:  I Heart Groceries. We were discussing our health issues and she told me about how she had been researching the lifestyle. Later I read her blog and found out that she lost a ton of weight by completely following Paleo.

Now I sometimes fall off the wagon, especially during the holidays, and eat 3 pieces of pie in one sitting so I try to eat better on the next meal. My recipes are not always Paleo, I do live with a southern man who is not having any kind of "lifestyle" except "southern" so I tweak or add sides for him.

 How Mr. Lovely feels when I'm making Fried Pork Chops:

 The current book that I am reading is:

The Paleo Solution

I highly recommend doing your research before committing to this.

I like how this diet makes me feel. I am never really hungry and my stomach and face (acne) issues are disappearing. This lifestyle almost completely cuts out carbohydrates, gluten, and sugar in your diet. You will feel better and look better in no time.

(I am totally not getting paid by these people to write about this. I just want everyone to look healthy and feel fabulous!)

Reality TV Catch Up

I love my reality TV but I really think it warps my brain sometimes. I was talking to a fellow friend/coworker/blogger the other day and she agreed.......sometimes when you watch this crap you start thinking and feeling the same way.....Maybe I should start watching weight loss shows.

That finger gets me every time. LOL!

Yeah...so....I've been eating bad lately and I am going to think of Miss Kenya every time I eat a cupcake for breakfast. It's bad.

Speaking of Miss Kenya.......WTF! I see her point, but I don't. Just because someone calls you crazy doesn't mean you show up to an event looking and acting crazy. That outfit was too funny. All the working out in the world would not give me enough confidence or lack of mental capacity to embarrass myself like she did.

Rollingout.com

Snow

We have been diving into SNOW! Not here in Texas.....but in my classroom. Lucky for me it snowed on Christmas day here in the DFW so my little southern students were ready for me to teach them with a snow theme.

They have been working hard on their writing these past few weeks. I've been blog and pinterest searching for some pretty awesome ideas to include in my lesson plans.

from The First Grade Parade

Here are some of the maps and anchor charts we worked on in the beginning of January. We read the Hat and The Mitten by Jan Brett. I LOVE these two books! The Mitten is perfect for introducing pairs or counting by twos. The Hat was really cute and the kids loved how all of the animals wanted to follow along with the main character. Jan Brett's books are pretty amazing.

BIG shout out to The First Grade Parade for these wonderful charts.

The next couple of weeks were all about Penguins so look our for those posts coming soon.
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Lobster Quiche

This sounds pretty weird but trust me it is really good. Lobster is not something that I just keep in the house just to have around like toilet paper and eggs.........I actually got it on a really good sale at the local grocery story.

Here's how it went down- My mother-in-law always tells me to check the circular.....you know the papers that come in the mail weekly that highlight the adds at the local grocery stores. Well I just so happened to actually look at it and low and behold there was a sale for lobsters. Buy one get two free. Say What?!? So I made my happy little way over to the grocery store to find out that everyone and their momma heard about the sale and there were no more left. Lucky for me I got a rain check. I put them in the freezer until I could figure out how I wanted to cook them. The first was this amazing quiche.

I'm not big on measuring when I am creating things so I am just going to make some approximations for this recipe.

2 lobster tails and claw meat (discard shells)
3 artichoke hearts in oil (jar)
8 oz. spinach (excess water drained)
2 eggs
3 egg whites
1/2 c. swiss cheese
1/4 c. feta cheese
1-9 in. pie crust (I used deep dish)
1/4 stick butter
salt and pepper to taste

Turn oven to 350. Place pie crust in oven for 5 minutes to slightly brown. Remove and let cool. Chop up lobster meat, artichokes, and spinach into fine pieces. Place 1/4 stick of butter into large skillet to melt. Saute meat, artichokes, and spinach until coated and butter seems absorbed. Turn off heat and let cool. Wisk eggs together and add cheeses. Pour egg and cheese over mixture in skillet to combine. Stir together and pour into pie crust. Bake for 25 min. or until eggs set. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

The quiche will be puffy but will fall down and cave in as it cools.  

ENJOY!!