Meatless Monday:Oh-so-easy Pasta and Broccoli Saute with Fresh Tomato Tartlets

     For this week's Meatless Monday, I tested out a recipe from Melissa D'Arabian.  She is a wonderful TV host on Food Network and I've really grown to love her recipe.  Each one is quick, easy, and budget-friendly.  I highly recommend any of her shows and/or recipes!
    Both of the recipes below originally come from D'Arabian's show "Ten Dollar Dinners."  I made some changes to fit my personal budget and diet...so check both versions out.  On the show, she also makes a breaded pork chop.  I left this out since it's Meatless Monday!  Enjoy!

 Broccoli and Pasta
Ingredients:
1/2 box of whole grain pasta, any variety
Salted water to boil pasta
1/3 cup EVOO
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 package of fresh broccoli florets, chopped into bite-sized pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Few tablespoons of pasta cooking water
Parmesan cheese, garnish

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions.  Remember to salt your water and reserve some of the cooking liquid.  I usually just leave it on the stove until I'm ready.  It won't be long!

In a large saute pan, heat olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes over medium heat until fragrant.  This is a quick process!  Be careful not to let the garlic burn.  Add the broccoli to the pan and stir so that the fragrant oil coats each piece.

Season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until the broccoli softens a little bit.  Again, we don't want to over cook or turn it to mush.  This will only take about 5 minutes.  Turn the heat up and add the red wine vinegar.  This will de-glaze the pan and pull all of the flavor into a light sauce.  Add some of the pasta water here to continue creating your sauce.

Add in the pasta and toss to coat with the oil. Top with Parmesan cheese for serving.

Remember to save your crusts!

Fresh Tomato Tartlets
Ingredients:
4 slices of wheat bread


Canola oil spray
1 1/2 tablespoons reduced fat garden vegetable cream cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 slices of fresh tomatoes
Dried basil, garnish


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Sprinkle salt on your tomato slices and let sit until you're ready for them.  This will bring out the delicious juices!

Remove the crusts from the bread.  Stick these in a bag and freeze for future bread crumbs!  With a rolling pin, flatten each slice until thin and almost doughy.  Lightly spray both sides with canola oil.  Press each piece into a muffin tin hole to form your tartlet shells. 

Remove the crusts from the bread and using a large spoon or rolling pin, gently press the slices of bread down flat until they are thin and almost doughy. Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. Press the slices in the muffin tin, to form tartlet shells. 

Drop about a teaspoon of the cream cheese into the bottom of each muffin tin. Bake the
the tartlets for about 12-15 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and crispy.

Once the tartlet shells are golden, remove them from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.  Place a salted tomato slice onto of each cup.  Sprinkle with dried basil for garnish.  Delicious!

"Clean-out-the-fridge" Stir Fry

     We all have those fresh vegetables sitting in the bottom of the refrigerator just waiting to go bad.  Here's a quick and simple recipe to clean out the fridge.  After making this and getting the seal of approval, I now keep a jar of stir fry sauce in the fridge for days like these!

"Clean-out-the-fridge" Stir Fry
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of stir fry sauce (I use Kikkoman with no preservatives)
2 baked chicken breasts (Bake with salt and pepper.  Cut into strips or any bite-size pieces.)

2 cups of fresh vegetables (Here's where you clean the fridge!  I used baby carrots and asparagus.)
1 medium onion, diced
Tablespoon of Smart Balance butter spread
Teaspoon of minced garlic
Canola oil
Salt and pepper

Directions:
First bake your chicken if you haven't already.  They will need to rest in order for the meat to be nice and juicy.  I usually keep some cooked chicken in the fridge for recipes like these (or my Simple Chicken Salad).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Chop vegetables into equal sized portions and place in a roasting pan.  Drizzle canola oil and sprinkle salt and pepper.  With clean hands, toss veggies around so that the oil coats everything.  This will help veggies to roast without burning to a crisp.  Roast for about 15-20 minutes.  When you start smelling them, they are done!  You want them to be fork tender but not mushy.

While these are working, begin the stir fry.  In a wok or deep skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil over medium high.  Cook onion until translucent and fragrant.  Add garlic.  Add sliced chicken.  Remember that the chicken is already cooked, we're just looking to warm it through and get some of the great flavors into it.  Turn your stove down...again we don't want to burn anything, just keep it warm.

Carefully transfer roasted veggies into the wok or skillet.  These will be very hot!  Add stir fry sauce and make sure everything is combined thoroughly.  I usually cover this and let it sit on low heat for 5-10 minutes.  The longer it sits, the better it tastes in my opinion.

Serve over rice or by itself.  Enjoy!

Meatless Monday:Sun-dried Tomato and Feta Pasta

     For this Meatless Monday, I made a pasta dish with all of my favorite things....spinach, feta, and pasta!!!  Yes, it also has sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.  It's honestly like a Greek love fest in a bowl....so yummy!  You've got to try it!  The original recipe comes from twopeasandtheirpod.com.  The recipe below is the one that I actually use.

Sun-dried Tomato and Feta Pasta

ingredients:

1 (13.25 oz) box Whole Grain pasta (I usually use rotini)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil
5 cups baby spinach
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Salt and black pepper, to taste

directions:

1. Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 7 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water and drain pasta.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, then cook garlic, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Be careful not to burn it.

3. In the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon of the oil from the sun dried tomatoes. Add sun dried tomatoes, spinach, balsamic vinegar, and feta. Cook over medium-high heat until spinach is wilted, about 3-4 minutes.

4. Toss pasta with the sun dried tomatoes and spinach. Stir in the 1/2 cup pasta water. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.  Enjoy!

New Year's Resolutions

     With the new year comes new promises.   Everybody starts a workout plan or diet on January 1st and most are unsuccessful when February rolls around.  I know because I've been there!  It all sounds nice but I got tired of failing every year.   In 2014, I decided to change it up a little bit.  Instead of restricting myself, I'm going to motivate and enhance myself!
     As opposed to 'no junk food', 'no fast food', and 'no lazy days'... I'm trying to add three healthy habits to my life.  My resolutions are (1) to wake up ON TIME and ready to take on the day, (2) do something active EVERY DAY, and (3) make better foods choices ALL THE TIME.  These may sound silly but they're the things I struggle with the most.
     Waking up is my least favorite daily activity!  Ya girl can sleep!  I'm already not a morning person and being a teacher means early mornings and long days with few breaks.  I come home exhausted and some nights, I don't get the best sleep.  My first healthy habit is to avoid that snooze button and get out of the bed (lol).  This sounds simple but, trust me, it's much easier said than done. 
    I've been at this for seven days now and I've been successful.  I've found that I need a purpose for getting up... sadly going to work isn't enough.  Some examples would be making lunch or breakfast for us for the day, fold the last load of laundry, take Maverick on a short walk, style my hair (different from the usual just getting ready), or start something for that night's dinner (crock pot usually).  This gives me something to get up and do.  I've learned that no matter how tired I am, once I get up and moving, I really feel more awake and energized!

     So once I'm up and starting my day, that's where the other two habits come into play.  Making good food choices is actually pretty easy for me... most days.  I usually pack a lunch with healthy snacks and eat breakfast on the way to work.  But as I think about my classroom, I have several bags of candy, back up snacks for hungry kids, and fast food options out the ying yang!  This doesn't even encompass the struggle on the weekends.  Whether it's meeting friends out for the football games, drinks, or just ordering take out and delivery; it's easy to forget healthy choices.  

     We have started to really think about the food we consume and how it makes us feel.  We both track; I use Fitness Pal to count calories and Tory uses Weight Watchers to count points.  Even when we eat out, we try to make simple healthy choices.  Stay away from fried foods and fatty cheeses and cream products.  It's pretty difficult so we have started eating more meals at home where we can control the menu. 

     Although a healthy body starts in the kitchen, it doesn't end there.  You have to exercise.  My final healthy habit is to do something active each day.  This could simply be walking around the mall or grocery store for an hour or going outside and throwing the ball with Maverick.  Of course, a planned workout each day is ideal, it's not a must.  Life happens!  As long as we don't sit on the couch for hours, we're winning!

   Now for the motivation part!  It's nice and sweet to make these promises, but how do you hold yourself accountable and excited about making improvements.  I found that research shows 21 consecutive days as being the magic numbers for forming a habit (this goes for good and bad habits!).  Sooo that's where we set our goal and prize!  I put up 24 (just to be safe) small sticky notes and each day we BOTH stick to ALL three habits, we get to take one down.  I really like this!  I have to keep up my end of the deal or no matter how well T does, we can't pull a sticker (and vice verse).  Of course, any goal is best achieved with a partner/friend to remind and push you!  As of today, we have pulled 6 stickers; missing one for no activity one day this weekend :(  After the 24th day, we get to celebrate with something to be determined!

Easy Peach Crisp

     One of my favorite fruits is the deliciously juicy peach.  I recently found a healthier recipe for a peach crisp which uses canned peaches.  This of course makes me very happy!  I don't have to rush to eat the fruit and every ingredient is a fairly common one.  It's also made in the handy dandy microwave!  Try it out :)

Peach Crisp
Ingredients:
1 can of lite peach halves
Tablespoon of light brown sugar
1/4 cup of granola (no fruit varieties)...I used Cascadian Farms Vanilla Almond
Teaspoon ground cinnamon
Tablespoon Smart Balance spread

Directions:
Slice your peach halves and divide between two microwave safe bowls.  Sprinkle cinnamon onto each bowl of peaches and stir.  In another small bowl, combine butter spread, granola, and brown sugar.  Divide this on top of the peaches.  Microwave the bowls for 4 minutes.  Be careful, these will be very hot!  Enjoy :)

Breakfast in a Cup

     If you've read some of my other posts, you may have noticed a few trends.  I'm not a morning person...I know breakfast is important but don't always get to it...My mornings are usually pretty rushed!  The Keurig is a beautiful thing for a quick cup of hot coffee (mine is usually brewed right into a to-go cup :)  My Grab and Go Iced Coffee is perfect for summer mornings in Florida's heat or a mid-day pick me up! See the theme?!?!
     Today, I bring you Breakfast in a Cup :)  Obviously, this will be a breakfast smoothie!  Most smoothie recipes I have found call for ingredients that I don't usually keep on hand.  When I actually remember to get these special items from the store, they end up going bad before I get to use them.  Here's something I've found that uses "normal" ingredients but still packed with nutrients and vitamins.

Breakfast in a Cup

Ingredients:
One package of Carnation Breakfast To-GO (I used vanilla for mine, but use whatever flavor floats your boat.)
One cup of frozen fruit (I used half bananas and half strawberries.  Again play with your flavor combinations!)
3/4 cup of fat free milk
Teaspoon of ground flax seed

Directions:
Put everything in your blender and let it rip!  Blend until smooth and creamy.  Now get out the door and enjoy!

Student-Driven Literacy Centers

     Reading center rotation has become all the craze in Duval county.  Much of our literacy training has focused on this aspect of a balanced literacy curriculum.  I have always incorporated a center rotation but recently I decided to completely change how I configured things.  In the past, I would set up 5-6 center activities with a work board.  I would group students and we rotated through all of the centers by the end of the week.  It worked smoothly and students were working, but I felt like there was something missing.
     In the current organization, I directed all movement.  This is an interesting concept, as I look back, because I was "in charge" but working with my own small group.  I couldn't adequately control the other groups and completely focus on what I was doing.
     Another issue I frequently came across was that sometimes our students just want to work alone.  In the previous system, I was the teacher who "forced" small group work everyday with the assigned group or there would be consequences.  I do believe that young kids need to be exposed to group work and teamwork, but it shouldn't need to be forced.  We all have days where we want to be left alone.  Why should we punish our students, as long as the work gets done?
     Lastly, centers should always be data-driven.  Mine always are....it's actually makes the work much easier!  But what happens when a student out-thinks your center activities?  I always had a small group that could complete all five boxes accurately in one day.  Crazy, I know!  In the teacher directed center method, I always had to find something extra for these students to do...a lot of times this became busy work.
     As I was reflecting, I finally perfected this year's most current method for literacy centers!  Students have a personal center work folder.  In this folder, they have a to-do list.  At this point, all lists are the same.  As students become more comfortable with their responsibilities, I plan on differentiating further with more personalized to-do objectives.  Students choose what they want to work from this list.
     Right now, my learners have a Popsicle stick with their name on it.  They place it in the pocket for whatever place they want to go for that day.  The must stay there for the allotted 20 minutes.  Each center box has one "must do" and 2-3 "can do" activities.  The work is then turned in with their folders.  I do two 20 minute centers per day and I allow two weeks for students to complete everything on their list.  Some of them with have everything checked off.  Others will only have the "must do" activities completed.  As students come to my guided reading group, I check their folders to make sure they are on the right track.
     At the end of the two weeks, I give a completion grade for the list and an accuracy grade for one activity.  So far, this has been amazing!  I can see each student learning and growing!

I've attached the to-do list I created...it should be editable!  Make centers easy and meaningful work!  It doesn't have to be very intricate and complicated.  Your students need to be engaged and working on what they need to practice on.  Have fun!

Literacy Center Log

Low Calorie Chicken and Cheese

     One of my favorite things is cheese!  Of course, cheese is not the healthiest option but it's so yummy and gooey and delicious.  One thing that I have become obsessed with is Laughing Cow cheese wedges.  The light version is only 35 calories per wedge and comes in great flavors.  I normally snack on them with some honey wheat pretzels or wheat thin crackers.  But, honestly these delicious little triangles can be used for everything!  I have spread them on a toasted bagel for breakfast and I even use them in my healthier spinach dip (recipe is "in the kitchen...)!
     This time, I wanted to mix up the regular and boring breaded baked chicken.  We all know that chicken is a great vessel for stuffing, so why not stuff with the delicious low calorie cheese wedge.  And with all of the great flavor choices, each one with taste completely different.  My favorite is the Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Mozzarella.  The Chipotle Queso is also delicious!  Feel free to mix it up!

Low Calorie Chicken and Cheese

Butterfly doesn't need to be perfect!
It just needs to hold the cheese :)

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast, thawed and butterflied
1 wedge light Laughing Cow cheese, any flavor
1/2 cup regular bread crumbs
1 egg beaten with a splash of water
4-5 tablespoons all purpose flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Get your breading station set up.  Prepare one plate with flour, one bowl with egg and water mixture, and one with the bread crumbs.

Butterfly both chicken breasts by carefully slicing the chicken in half lengthwise.  Spread 1/2 of the cheese wedge in each piece and close.  Press the chicken together to help it seal.

Dredge chicken in flour; be careful to keep the cheese inside.  Then, move the chicken to the egg mixture.  And finally, bread chicken thoroughly.

These little pockets of love are ready to be breaded and baked!

Place chicken breasts flat on a greased

baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

Low Calorie Chicken and Cheese with steamed broccoli and cauliflower and roasted sweet potatoes

Simple Chicken Salad

     Have you ever thawed chicken breast and then not need to cook it??  Or how about, needed two breasts but the package has three left and you don't want just one frozen piece of chicken??  Both of these things happen to me ALL THE TIME!!!  One particular night last week, I was planning baked chicken.  I got ready to thaw the meat and realized that the end of my package had two healthy chicken breasts and one runt.  Well, I knew that just the one wasn't going to make a meal by itself and the other two could hold there own for that night's meal.  I decided just to thaw all of them and bake the little guy with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Now, that cooked chicken breast sat in the fridge for a couple of days as I brooded over what to make.
     Finally I decided on chicken salad.  For me (I've never made my own chicken salad until now), there's a love/hate relationship with this dish.  I had some really good chicken salad and I've had some really bad chicken salad.  Most restaurants, delis, etc like to overload the salad with extra things like nuts, fruit, sauces, whatever.  I prefer a simple chicken salad where the chicken is the main flavor.  Now don't get me wrong, I will top my salad with fresh veggies and nuts but I want to the base to be good old fashioned chicken!
     Here's the recipe I came up with and it's pretty good, if I say so myself!  I chose to make wraps with banana peppers and tomatoes this time but I look forward to recreating this recipe.  I'm also excited to play with the flavors of the chicken salad...of course, holding true to the simple base.  I now purposefully cook extra chicken to have on hand :)

Simple Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
1 cooked chicken breast, seasoned with salt and pepper
1/4 cup mayo (I use light mayo)
1 tablespoon stone ground mustard (other mustards will work as well...yellow, spicy brown, dijon)
4-5 shakes of hot sauce

Directions:
Chop chicken into to small pieces and place into a bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until everything is thoroughly combined.  It's that simple!  This salad is great in a wrap (as pictured), piled high on some baby spinach with other fresh diced veggies, in between two pieces of bread, or on top of crackers as a light lunch.  Enjoy!