Three Recipes and a Reveal

 As many who read this dribble regularly know, I teach high school English by day. Only if you know me personally do you know that while I teach high school English in the middle of Oklahoma, most of my students are Hispanic. 

 I have never talked about my student clientele here on the blog. Until now. 

On Cinco de Mayo. 

 Go figure. A high school in the middle of no-where-land-Oklahoma and my students are named Carlos, Isabella, Sugey, Ramiro, Jose, Juan, Silvano, Luis, Marcela, Javier, Nicho, Saul, Elizardo and Franco (to name a few). (Those books are from their Spanish classes by the way, not my English books!) 

 In all my years of teaching English, I had only had three Hispanic students before this job. Three. Total. Ha! What a culture (literally) shock I was in for when I began my present job five years ago. 

 To begin with, the majority of all high school students do not love English class. Now compound that with the fact that the students I teach have very limited English vocabularies. Yikes!!  (To the 100th degree yikes!!!)

 Even if the students have lived here for a while, their English vocabularies fall way behind the other students. There are way too many nuances of our language to grasp it quickly. You know what I mean? (Ewe no watt eye meen?) Just our words that are homonyms (like the sentence I shared). Or idioms: You drive me  up the wall. (Really, you're going up a wall?) That was a piece of cake (Cake? Where's the cake?) You have a chip on your shoulder (How'd I get a chip on my shoulder? I haven't even eaten any!)

 See what I mean? 

 To complicate things even further is that fact that in order to 1. get your drivers license in Oklahoma and 2. graduate from a high school in Oklahoma, you must pass your English state assessments. The state assessments (or EOI's --End of Instruction) tests, are the ones you hear about on the news. They are standardized tests given at the end of the school year across the nation. 

 These tests carry an enormous amount of weight. (hello--drivers licenses and graduation!!). My Hispanic students take the same tests that all students do in our school. As you can imagine we have LOTS to do between August (when school starts) and April (when tests are given). 

 So every single year I stress myself out trying to get my students to the point that they can pass their EOI's and actually enjoy--and learn--while they are doing it. Believe me, there is a huge difference between "learning" and "memorizing". My goal is to teach, so that they might "learn". 

 This year was harder than any I have ever experienced. I had my usual crew of Hispanic teens, then in addition I had four that were very limited in English and two that spoke about one percent English. It has been a tough year! 

 My students tend to always try their hardest on the EOI's. Obviously, once in a while there will be the lone student that clicks (the tests are computerized) his or her way through the tests, but by and large they try extremely hard. 

 They want to (obviously) do well so they can get their drivers license...and of course go on to graduate. But they also do well to please me...and best of all, they try to do well because I have convinced them they CAN do well. 

 The long, stressful year culminates in a long, stressful week of testing. We just finished that long, stressful week last week and I am happy to say my students did extremely well. 

 The only students I had that did not pass the test are those four that do not speak the language. What a relief! What an accomplishment for those students!  What a joy! 

 Those four that do not speak the language, will hopefully begin to pick up our (very complicated) English language and they will get more chances to pass the test. I will work with them individually and we will continue to take it until they can pass. 

Next year I will get a new class of students and the process will begin again. So today, on Cinco de Mayo I think of my students who have worked hard for me all year. Stressful, yes. Rewarding, without question. Maybe one of my students will have a big plate of tamales for me tomorrow. (Believe me, their tamales are the best! ) ....And that my friends is why this teacher is doing the nine-day-countdown till summer! Enjoy your Cinco de Mayo! 

Cute plates are from Pier One.

Beef enchilada  recipe (OHSOGOOD) can be found here.

Chicken enchilada recipe (THATKEEPSTHEBOYSCOMINGHOME) can be found here.

Taco salad recipe with special dressing can be found here. 

Linking with:

On the Menu Monday

Metamorphosis Monday
Monday Funday
WOW Us Wednesday

Strawberry Shortcake Cobbler...That's the name and I'm sticking to it!

Technically, the recipe on the box called these simply

Strawberry Shortcake.

But the "shortcake" was so much denser than a regular shortcake,

not to mention there was a "top" crust and a "bottom" crust, 

so I am calling them 

Strawberry Shortcake Cobbler!

 I am also calling them D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!

 I am ALSO calling them easy-to-make! Not only that, but they are made as individual servings. So you get the taste of cobbler...but served individually! Does it get better? 

 I made the (individual) Strawberry Shortcake Cobblers this morning without any pre-planning. Many times we get donuts on Saturday morning from a great little bakery right down the street. This morning I was not in a donut mood, but I still wanted something sweet. I remembered seeing the strawberry shortcake recipe on the back of the Bisquick box earlier in the week and I decided to try it out. 

 I made the shortcake/cobblers exactly as the recipe said on the back of the Bisquick box. All you need is sugar (only 3 Tbs. I might add!), a little butter, milk and the Bisquick mix. You mix it all together and "drop" the shortcakes on a cookie sheet and cook for 10 minutes. I might add that the "shortcakes" do get a lot bigger when they are baking! One recipe made six very big cobblers. 

 While the shortcake cobblers were baking, I cut up my strawberries for the filling. 

 The shortcake/cobblers are similar to a biscuit texture. Even better though, there were a few crunchy spots on the top. The shortcake/cobblers are definitely sweeter than biscuits, yet really not sweet. After all they only have the 3 Tbs. of sugar. They are just absolutely right! 

 While it was still hot, I cut the top off of one of the shortcakes. I put a spoonful of Marzetti Strawberry Glaze on the bottom shortcake and spread it like you would a jam. That is purely optional though...(although it was delicious...even the sugar free!!) 

I then put a layer of fresh strawberries, some Cool Whip, and then the top of the shortcake back on. I served it to my (very-surprised) Hubster. It was so quick to make, that he was not expecting something so delicious! I think he was thinking more bowl-of-cereal-type-morning. BUT to tell you how great these little shortcakes are (that have only been on the back of Bisquick boxes for YEARS and I never tried them!!!), after finishing off his Strawberry Shortcake Cobbler, the Hubs then put fresh blackberries on a shortcake and said the results were just as delicious. So if you are like me, and have seen that recipe for years and never tried it, NOW is the time.

You'll be glad you did!

I'm thinking Sunday-after-church-dessert??!!??

Edited to add: It is Sunday night and the Hubster just asked me if I could make some kind of a "blackberry syrup" to eat with the scones. I asked him what scones he was talking about and he was referring to the shortcakes (which I call cobbler!). Actually, his take on the shortcakes/cobbler is pretty accurate. They are kind of "scone-ish". And still delish!
And yes, I will probably whip up some kind of blackberry glaze to eat with the shortcakes/cobber/scones and fresh blackberries!

Linking with:
On The Menu Monday
Metamorphosis Monday
Stone Gable TTT
Open House Thursday
Wow Us Wednesday
Foodie Friday

Accidentally on Purpose!

It started out innocently enough. 

The mantel was filled with vintage children's books and some photographs.

It was a mantel that could carry me through the spring season. Easily.

 Although in posting this I realize that vintage book mantel was up for two months. That is a really long time for me. (So it really needed change!)  Also please note that when I went to take the pictures of this (the new) mantel there were a jillion little plastic bags of screws and such on the mantel. My Hubs was in the process of putting in a new storm door for us (which you can kind of see in the far left.) He "warned" me about touching any of those sacks of screws and gadgets. SO they stayed where they were. 

 I have posted before about our large very-white mantel. It is almost eight feet long, and it has a HUGE mirror hanging over it. I put the old frame up to try and break up the huge mirror. It kind of helps. When I mention getting rid of the large mirror, my Hubs almost has a heart attack. Not only is there no telling what is behind the mirror, but if you will notice there are two wall sconces attached to the mirror/wall. We will probably frame the mirror out at some point, but I am afraid it is here to stay. ANYWAY....

 Our daughter Annie came over on Saturday. She and her fiance are "eloping" to Scotland in three weeks. They will be spending their wedding and honeymoon traveling for two weeks in Scotland and Ireland. They are getting married at an old castle in Scotland. It sounds absolutely romantic and wonderful. So Annie brought over her dress so we could make a few last minute adjustments. Since she had it on, I decided to snap a quick picture of her. 

 Then the Hubs pointed out that I should take a picture of Annie in front of the big white fireplace and mantel. It made for a much better picture than a bunch of 5's. So I snapped a couple of pictures. I noticed that the collection of children's books was WAY too busy for some wedding dress pics. So I moved everything off the mantel. 

 So I snapped a couple of more then decided that the mantel looked too empty. Geez. I just can't be pleased!

 So then I put a little trio of off-white pillar kind of things. That made it a little better. 

 You can barely see the little pillar(thingy's) behind Annie. Then I decided that she looked kind of awkward (empty???) just standing there staring at me. (And to think this all began because she wanted one simple thing done to her wedding dress and I took my camera out!)

 I had a vase of white tulips already in the room, so I moved them to the mantel as well. That helped. But Annie still looked kind of empty. So I had another bouquet that was towards the end of its life and I took it apart. I randomly pulled out the best flowers from the (old) bouquet and tied them with a blue ribbon. That made Annie look less empty. (Her real bouquet is a wild-flower type that a florist in Edinburgh will create for her.) 

 By this time I wished we had actually "planned" this impromptu photo session. I could see some great pics coming out of it, IF I had only planned. Annie had not planned on photos either and did not have her hair done or her "wedding" makeup on. 

 Since Annie is getting married in Scotland, she is wearing the family tartan. We had it ready, so I got it out and went ahead and tied it around her. Not that is a totally different look for a wedding dress, isn't it? I loved it! 

 By this time I knew that our photo-shoot-that-was-not-planned had produced several very pretty simple wedding dress photos. 

 So I told Annabelle that now we need to actually PLAN a bridal photo shoot....with wedding hair, make-up, flowers, etc. I thought the huge white mantel with the simple decor, the old gold frame and the chandelier sconces looked just lovely. 

 So that long story is how my mantel went from vintage children's books to a sweet and super simple vignette. It took three times longer to tell the story than it did to take the pics!  

 I liked it so much that I am going to keep it this way for a while. ....That and the fact that Annie and I have Photo Shoot #2 coming up soon! 

Linking to:

Wow Us Wednesdays
Wow Us Wednesdays
Stone Gable TTT
Open House Thursday
Metamorphosis Monday

Feeling "Earthy"..............

I was trying to think of a fun way to "celebrate" Earth Day.

My first Earth Day tablescape is still my favorite.

No matter what ideas I thought of, they all seemed to 

copy that table. 

 It finally dawned on me to do a picnic. Not just an outside meal, but a real down-on-the-ground-picnic. I mean how much closer can you get to Mother Earth on Earth Day, than sitting on the ground having a picnic? 

 Not only that, but there were wild flowers everywhere and that just made it better. 

 I surely was not going to use paper products on Earth Day!!!!!!!!  I wanted to at least attempt to be eco-friendly! So I pulled out simple dishes in the same blue tone. 

 I had wicker chargers that I thought were a little "earthy" and some bee napkin rings that seemed to "bee" perfect for an outdoor setting. 

 I threw in some cute eyelet napkins for a little different texture as well. 

 I was using the old Radio Flyer wagon to transport everything, when I realized it might as well be part of the tablescape too!

 I had an old picnic basket and crocks and Ball jars that all carried things for the Earth Day picnic. 

 Come sit a while and enjoy the beautiful spring day. 

 And what is a picnic without an ant? If you look very closely you can see one little ant right beside the charger!

 A double-galvanized pail from Pottery Barn holds the glasses and drinks. 

 And really, what is an Earth Day celebration with an Earth being present?

 And some daisies too? Remember that old (I'm showing my age) commercial (maybe a butter commercial?) where Mother Nature wears a halo of daisies around her head and says, "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature!!" THAT's why I thought the daisies were the flower of choice! ha! Do you like how my mind works?

The best part about the whole picnic? I got every piece for the picnic out of the dish closet. Nothing is brand new. Wouldn't Mother Earth love that? 

Re-use. Re-cycle. Restore.

 One of my all time favorite quotes. ...Any day of the year.

 And what happened right when we were getting ready to start the picnic?... Well Mr. Abraham, better known as Abe, decided to join the party! Happy Earth Day!

Linking with:

Metamorphosis Monday
Wow Us Wednesday
Tablescape Thursday
Open House Thursday
Stone Gable TTT