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!

Haupia Pi Day

This has been the first year that I have actually celebrated Pi Day. But hey, give me a break, I teach 5 and 6 year olds so my brain is focused on Dr. Seuss Day and Johnny Appleseed Day! Luckily for me, I have friends who a Pi Day enthusiasts! For my first Pi Day celebration I decided to make a Haupia Sweet Potato Pie. Doesn't that look delicious!

I have never made a three layer anything, so this task seemed a bit daunting. I was pleasantly surprised by how simple it actually was. The bottom layer is a graham cracker crust. It's just ground up graham cracker and melted butter! 

Once I put the crust in the oven it was time to move on to the next layer: the sweet potato. 

I have two large okinawan sweet potatoes in half and placed them in a pot to boil. You don't even need to peel them. Once they were boiled (and cooled) the skin peels right off!

I then mixed the mashed potato with brown sugar, eggs, evaporated milk, and some spices. This then went on top of the graham cracker crust and in to the oven.

Now it was time for the haupia. Mmmm mmmm. I love haupia! And now that I know how easy it is to make it is gonna be a regular in this household. All it takes is a can of coconut milk, sugar, and cornstarch. 

When the sweet potato was cooked and cooled I poured the haupia mixture on top and placed it in the fridge. 

All night and the next morning I thought about eating this magnificent pie. And it did not disappoint. It was fantastic and quite beautiful if I do say so myself!

Here is the recipe I used if you want to give it a try yourself. It is really easy, however it does take a couple hours total cause you need to cook and cool all the different layers. Definitely a weekend time dessert!

Purple Sweet Potato and Haupia Pie