Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

I learned how to make the most AMAZING dessert this weekend! Molten Chocolate Lava Cake. Yummy!

First you need a bunch of chocolate and a TON of butter. The store was out of Bakers bittersweet chocolate, so I got Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips. I used about a 1 1/4 cup of the chips, 2 oz of semi-sweet chocolate and 1 1/2 cup of butter. So much butter!

Then I microwaved it for 90 seconds (30 seconds first followed by 60 more seconds). Stirred it all together and made the most decadent liquid substance ever!

Then I added my dry ingredients and a bunch of eggs. The recipe calls for  3 eggs AND 3 eggs yolks. Usually, when a recipe calls for egg whites or egg yolks I give it a pass... too much work! But for this, it seemed worth it! Finally, I placed the mix in 8 ramekins. 

I then placed them in the fridge to save or later... You have to eat them right out of the oven!

When it came time to eat them I placed them in the oven for 12 short minutes. I then had delicious, gooey, yummy lava cakes! 

We ate them right away, and I wasn't able to get a picture. This was one of the left overs so it is a little deflated. 

But top it off with some ice cream and no one will ever know!

Below is the link to the recipe that I used. It is so simple and so easy and SO delicious! It is a real crowd pleaser!

http://www.glorioustreats.com/2013/02/chocolate-molten-lava-cakes.html

Star Wars Party

If you didn't know already, Monday, May 4th was Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you!) 

My husband and I thought it would be fun to throw a Star Wars party. 

To begin, we dressed our dogs up in their Star Wars costumes from Halloween. Our dogs, Boba and Chewy, even have Star Wars names! (Boba Fett; Chewbacca)

Aren't they adorable!

My husband wanted to add his own special touches to the party so he used a pair of chopsticks to create a light saber for our Dartg Vader clock. 

In addition to watching the original Star Wars - Episode IV A New Hope, we had our friends bring Star Wars themed foods. One our friends is a chocolatier and made these awesome Han Solo chocolates!

His wife made these delicious Obi-wan Kabobies. 

Someone else brought meat-on-meat, so we named Jar Jar Links. 

We got tequila lime chicken wings from Costco - Chi-X-en Wing Fighters :)

Finally, dessert. My friend made these cute and delicious tie fighter s'mores. 

She also brought the coolest bottle of wine ever... 

All in all it was a terrific night of awesome food, great friends, and a totally epic movie. 

Asian Salad

It's Sunday again, which means another Family Dinner! This week we went with an Asian theme: fried rice, potstickers, and by special request - my asian salad.

 

Well, it's not really MY salad. It is a recipe I got from my mom over a decade ago! Our church came out with a cookbook and this is just ONE of the yummy dishes she submitted. 

And she'll tell you that this isn't really her recipe either. She got it from a friend many years before at a ladies recipe exchange at our old church.  

Now the cycle continues as I pass it on to you in the 21st century form of the cookbook and recipe exchanges - blogging and Pinterest!

You only need 4 ingredients to make the salad. The original recipe calls for Ramen noodles, but this time around I am changed it up. In place of the dry ramen noodles I am used chow mien noodles for a different kind of crunch (and hopefully one that won't hurt my jaw as much!)

Then comes the dressing...

The sugar mixed with the vinegar gives the salad a sweet and tangy taste. And who doesn't love sesame seeds!

Mix it all together in a jar and you are good to go! The sugar likes to stick to the bottom so you really have to shake it up good!

When you're ready, pour the dressing on top of you salad and you have a scrumptious, delicious salad fit for fried rice and potstickers (and really anything else!)

Here is the "original" recipe I used from my mom:

A "Match" Made in Teacher Heaven

This week's post is mainly for my teacher friends, but if you are a fan of games and math then this is for you too!

A few years ago I learned about the most amazing game for "transitions". I learned this from a fellow Kindergarten teacher... and if Kindergarteners can do it than anyone can!

The game is just like "Memory" where you have to find pairs of cards that match. I put the memory game cards in a pocket chart. When kids transition to the carpet the game is played while kids get settled. Our "Teacher's Assistant" for the week leads the game by calling on students who are sitting quietly on the carpet. The student that is called on then has to use only their words to describe which cards the Teacher Assistant is to flip. 

This pocket chart works really well because kids can say things like "the first one in the blue column" or "the third one in the yellow column.

When a student guesses a match correctly they get to keep the cards until we transition back to our desks. 

My favorite aspect of this activity is that the students are completely self-sufficient. The first few times playing the game I had to be the one flipping the cards, but once they understood how it all worked I have nothing to do with it! Now whenever the kids transition to the carpet they play the game until I am ready for whatever lesson comes next. It is so helpful to have a few extra minutes embedded into the day to get things organized! I even use this game as a station during our math centers!

The great thing about this is that you can incorporate any kind of content! We are currently working on our math fluency so I made a set of doubles and doubles plus one cards. 

You can download the cards for free at my TeachersPayTeachers store. You can print them right on to card stock or glue them on to pretty paper like I did :) Just click on the link below!

Math Fluency Memory Game

Not Just a Rice Cooker

When it comes to cooking I am a huge fan of anything I can turn on and then walk away from. Sure, on the weekends, when I have time I like to spend it cooking, baking, and prepping for the week. But the weekdays are another story. Mornings are always a tight schedule and evenings I am just exhausted from a long day of teaching. My rice cooker comes in quite handy every day after work. Just put the stuff in, turn it on, and you're good to go. So when I discovered that a rice cooker could cook other things besides rice, this little contraption started working double duty. Now I use my rice cooker every morning as well! For what you might ask? Oatmeal!

Yes! Oatmeal! 

I start with a cup or cup and a half of oats. 

Then I add water... Double what I did for oats. 1 cup oats to 2 cups water; 1.5 cup oats to 3 cups water. Sometimes I throw a splash of vanilla in there too. 

Now here is the funny thing. I learned that you have to cook it with the lid OFF. My oatmeal kept bubbling over and spilling over the sides. It was a real mess. Without the lid it does just fine. 

Then just turn it on and in about ten minutes or so you've got ready to eat oatmeal! And the best part is you can just walk away and come back when you are ready!

My husband and I take ours on the go. I place it in a traveling mug with a little cinnamon and honey, and we've got a hot warm meal that will keep us full until lunch!

Yummy!