Grill Night : - )

With summertime quickly approaching, and 80 degree, sunny days in full force, I felt the need to have a grill night at my house. My dad doesn't really like chicken, which is what I tend to cook, so tonight I decided to mix it up a little and cook (well, have him grill) steak (is it bad that in my brain i am saying complex, compound, or simple sentence, then labeling the conjuction, type of conjuction, and the clauses - anyways, i will get back to grill night now).

I am a little obsessed with Bobby Flay and his style of cooking. It is definitely my inspiration in the kitchen. I love how he grills everything and it is all tex- mex, which happens to contain all of my favorite flavors! With that said, he was my inspiration for tonight's meal - Grilled steak on a bed of grilled salad with the most wonderful vinegarette, courtesey of Emily Babb, grilled bread, roasted corn (yes, again... I LOVE it), sweet potato fries, hand- squeezed lemonade, and a peaches and cream pie for dessert. Can you feel summertime yet?

Grilled Steak Salad with Ranch Vinegarette

1 flat iron steak seasoned or marinated to your likings - i just salt, pepper, and tony's it up!
1 head of romaine lettuce
olive oil
your favorite salad toppings
vinegarette of your choice, i recomend you make this one (click on the one!)
1 loaf of french bread
melted butter

Cook steak to desired temperature, let rest, then cut into thin slices.
Cut lettuce into 1/8 longwise, brush with olive oil , place on grill for about 45 second on each side, take off grill and chop into bite-size pieces.
Butter both sides of bread and place on grill for about 45 seconds on each side, remove from grill.
Layer romaine, steak, and salad toppings on a plate, top with vinegarette and serve with a slice of bread.

Peaches and Cream Pie

1 can of peach daquirre frozen concentrate
1 pack of cream cheese
1 bag of frozen sliced peaches
      1/2 diced 
      1/2 in slices
2 containers of cool- whip
2 pie crusts - i prefer dutch ann because they are a local company

Place pie crust in oven and bake on 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.
In a bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.
Add peach daquire and diced peaches, and mix until all is combined.
Fold in cool whip, do not over mix.
Pour 1/2 of the mixture in each crust. Top with sliced peaches and decorate with ready- whip.
Place in freezer for several hours to harden. Store any that may be left in freezer.

*you can replace peach with any fruit or flavor!

I must get back to the NFL draft now. I am waiting to see who picks up Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy. Also waiting to see who the Saints pick up. Who Dat?!

A Small Taste.....

of my classroom. More to come as I remember to upload pictures. I have missed out on a lot this year. Mainly because I did not get a camera until Christmas so these are a few things from after Christmas! 

This is my partically finished door from January. We added a "let it snow" along with snowflakes with the kids names on them. The polka dotted border is the same print that you will find on everything in my room. I am a little obsessed with it! 

This is my late January, early February door. I am a gold and black blooded member of the Who Dat nation, so I had to represent. I painted the top part and the gold fleur-de-lis. We took the logo from the Drew Brees Foundation. The fleur- de- lis as the border are from the kids. Each student had 2. One had their name, the other was their prediction. We were working on predictions in reading class that week, so it was fitting. Along the outside of the door is a Martin Luther King "I have a dream" project they did as a writing prompt. 

My March theme was "Going Green for St. Patrick's Day." The kids wrote how they planned to "Go Green" on their clovers. I found the pictures on edhelper.com (one of my favorite websites!!).