Sunday Dinner #3

I decided to make tacos tonight but not ordinary tacos....but lettuce cup tacos. We eat tortillas all the time so I felt like something different and out of the ordinary. It was a really simple recipe that I found at www.multiplydelicious.com thanks to pinterest. Here is what you do:

Ingredients:
1 pound beef
1 bell pepper, diced
2-3 green onions, diced
Taco Seasoning (see recipe below)
Lettuce leaves, washed and dried
Fresh Guacamole and Salsa
Cilantro, green onion, and bell pepper for garnishing

Taco Seasoning Recipe:
1 1/2 TBSP chili powder
1 1/2 TBSP ground cumin
1 TBSP paprika
1 TBSP onion powder
1 TBSP garlic powder
2 TSP oregano
1/8 TSP red pepper flakes

Add all the above in a small bowl and mix to combine. (I would recommend using some salt and pepper as well)

Instructions:
1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat cook beef until no longer pink.
2. Add bell pepper and green onion to beef and stir. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until veggies are slightly soft.
3. Add Taco Seasoning and stir until evenly distributed.
4. Scoop beef mixture in to lettuce leaves and garnish as desired.
(If you don't feel like making guacamole, because I didn't, I just added fresh avocado to the top! Sour cream is always great too.)
5. ENJOY! :)

An adventure with my Dad

Last weekend my Dad and I traveled to Utila for a long weekend together...just the 2 of us! Ken was nice enough to hang back so that we could have some quality father/daughter time which was long overdue. It's hard to get all of that one on one time when you are only home for a few weeks at a time in the states around the holidays when everyone else is home too. I was so fortunate that he was able to come hang with me in Honduras for a few days.

We left on the ferry Friday morning and arrived in Utila around 10:30. After finding a hotel to stay in and grabbing some lunch we began exploring the island together (the one long main road that is). My dad became accustomed to the distinct smells of Utila rather quickly as well as the numerous run down buildings that line the streets. It is a nice island however the 4-wheelers and motorbikes overtake the small road making it hard to walk in peace. We relaxed at the beach for part of the afternoon before heading to a dive center for my dad to take a "crash course in diving" class for his discovery scuba lesson. We planned on going out for a few dives the next day together so that he could try scuba diving and see if it was something that he would enjoy doing. Dinner that night was at a great fish fry place called RJ's which is only open 3 days a week. We got lucky that it was open once when we were there. I got to try a king fish and my dad had the barracuda which both were delicious! It was also a full meal with rice, beans, salad, and of course some Salva Vidas.

Enjoying some rays

La Ceiba in the distance

Daddy/Daughter love

The next morning we got up early to head out to the dock for our dives. We left around 7:30 and were in the water by 8. My Dad quickly learned that scuba diving wasn't for him. He had some trouble equalizing his ears which makes it very difficult to descend underwater but he did finally make it about 15 feet under to practice some skills with me. The second dive I went on was just me and the instructor and it was very relaxing. A bit disappointed though that I didn't get to see anything outrageous, especially since some people got to see a HUGE sting ray (about 8 feet long they say). I just wasn't at the right place at the right time. The rest of the day was devoted to relaxing, napping, and eating. We went to a few different restaurants for some drinks while the sun was setting over the Caribbean before ending up at a great little italian restaurant for dinner. It was an early night once again for us since we both aren't night owls.

Getting the gear ready to dive

Woohoo!

View at lunch from the bakery

What a sunset!

On Sunday morning, our last day, we woke up early and walked to the other end of the main road to an old double story dock. The snorkeling is amazing here and we had the whole place to ourselves since it was so early. Although it was a bit wavy, we were able to enjoy ourselves in the water and we saw so many fish. It was the most I had ever seen. There were so many different types that I had never even seen before which was really cool. My dad also swam over a sting ray without knowing it and I was lucky enough to see it since I was behind him. It was really cool! It was a crystal clear day and you were able to see everything! We headed back on the afternoon ferry through all the waves (yuck!) but luckily neither one of us got sick (just keep your eyes on the horizon...thanks dad!).

It was an awesome weekend getaway and I had such a great time with my dad. Now I can't wait for my mom and John to visit us in 4 weeks!!

Happy Leap Day!

I had a great "Leap Day" with the kids which included playing leap frog on a number line outside for math and making crazy actions/noises to a leap day poem. Even though the poem was for 1st graders, my students got so into it and I think it was a nice break for them to get a little wild and silly. Of course all of their actions they did for the action verbs in the poem were hilarious. I love my 4th graders and planning spontaneous lessons :) Thought I'd share a few pictures of what the leap frog math looked like. We were learning about benchmarks used on number lines with decimals so it worked out perfectly to do this activity today. I'm glad I thought of it at 6:30 this morning!

I of course had to hop along with them for a few :)

Sunday Dinner #2

So I actually made this dinner Friday night instead of tonight since we had some dinner guests over. I'm posting it a little late, but it's better late then never.

Ken and I wanted to make something that was going to be easy since we both worked all day Friday so I found a great BBQ pulled pork recipe for the crock pot. I used a 3 pound pork loin (since that was the only pork they had at the super market!) and rubbed salt, pepper, and garlic powder on it. I made some holes in it on both sides using a fork before putting it in the crock pot. I then filled the crock pot with one 12 oz can of root beer and then cooked it for 10 hours. When I returned from work, I drained the crock pot and shred the meat which was so tender and juicy. Then I mixed 18 oz of BBQ Sauce (we used Maull's of course) and cooked it another hour. It was ready to go quick and simple!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-pulled-pork/

As for the sides we cooked corn on the cob, fresh green beans, and we made a homemade potato salad (thanks to my Grandma Therese for the recipe)! Here's how to do it:

1. Peel 4-5 potatoes and boil them until they are tender.

2. Let cool and then cut them into cubes.

3. Cut up a small onion, about a cup of celery, and 4 hard boiled eggs.

4. Add all of these ingredients to a bowl.

5. Heat up 3/4 cup mayonnaise until its warm and pour over the other ingredients. 

6. Add salt, pepper, and mustard to your liking.

We of course had some potato chips to go with our delicious BBQ pulled pork sandwiches and a glass of wine...or two...or three.

To top it all off, I made homemade apple pies inside the apples! I found this great recipe online using pinterest and it was so much easier than I thought it would have been.

1. Cut the top off of 4-5 large green apples.

2. Scoop out the insides being careful not to puncture the sides.

3. Then peel and cut 2 more apples into small pieces. Mix this with 1/4 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp. of brown sugar, and a tsp. of cinnamon.

4. Spoon this mixture back into the apples.

5. Cover with homemade/store bought pie crust and put into an 8 x 8 pan with just enough water to cover the bottom.

6. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes covered with foil.

7. Bake another 25 minutes without foil or until the crust is golden brown.

http://domesticdilettante.com/2012/01/11/applepie/

Vanilla ice cream on the side makes it delectable! Bon Appetit!

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a great Valentine's Day yesterday even though it was incredibly busy! I wanted to share with you all some of the things we did and got for the holiday. It was definitely memorable.

At school, my kids were uber excited to make heart keychains thanks to Ken's mom who sent me the supplies last year (it just never made it until this year!). Luckily I was able to have my kids work on them this time around. They have already been put on their backpacks too...they just couldn't wait. They also made a heart basket weaved out of paper to put all of their valentines in, including their card to their parents which I think is the cutest thing in the world.

Making key chains

They were so in to it!

Ta-da the final product!

a few more

Such creative minds

The special box they put their secret valentines in.

Woah it's over flowing!

Heart garland from Jody :)

woven paper valentine baksets

So happy with all of their candy

Yay!

The party went well in my room even though the kids ate wayyyy to much pizza, soda, and candy. Parents bringing in 5 big foot pizzas for 17 kids is a little too much...don't you think? Each kid probably ate 4-5 pieces!

Ken and I had decided that we would stay in for Valentine's Day this year. He would make a surprise dinner while I would make a surprise dessert. Then we each came up with our own little presents for each other. Take a look at all.

Ken blew up a photo of us and got me 3 giant balloons!

Ken with his 2 presents: chocolate chip cookie dough brownies and a book I made him

My card from Ken...wait for it...wait for it...

BA-HAHAHAHAHA! Best card ever!

Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! We'll update again soon :)