Wednesday, January 26, 2011

SouthShore Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients:
1-lb boneless skinless (uncooked) chicken breast, chopped into small pieces
1-pkt Grill Mates Peppercorn & Garlic marinade (plus ingredients to prep marinade)
8-10 Burrito size Flour Tortillas
Shredded Colby-Jack Cheese

Instructions:
1.  Preheat family sized skillet to med-high heat.
2.  Prepare marinade according to package directions. Add to chicken breast pieces and turn to coat all 
     pieces.
3.  Add chicken to skillet and cook, turning often, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
4.  Place a flat skillet over medium heat. 
5.  Once heated, place 1 - 2 tortillas on the skillet. 
6.  Add cheese and about 2 oz of cooked chicken to one half of each tortilla. 
7.  Fold each tortilla in half to form a half-moon shape.
8.  When the cheese begins to melt, 1 -2  minutes, flip the quesadillas over to heat on the other side for about 
     30 seconds to a minute.  Remove from heat when the tortillas start to get a little crispy.
9.  Slice each tortilla into 4 pieces. 
10. Repeat process with two more tortillas until all quesadillas are done.


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Quesadillas make an excellent after school snack. Or in our case, it makes a quick-fix meal for busy families on nights when there isn't time to prepare a traditional family dinner. 



Blogger's Rant:
It's Wednesday, our week is half gone and it sure has been a busy one for us! Track season's begun. Lil'Bit is in training for the sprinting events as well as the long jump and triple jump events.  It's also time for Choir Solo Contests.  Thankfully KtBug's singing coach trains with her before school each week. With as busy as we've been this month it isn't nearly as hectic as it will get when Spring training begins for the kids in football and volleyball!  



 I hope all my readers are having a good week. I'm having an excellent week! My classroom finally has a permanent lead teacher. She is a first year teacher who, before earning her certification in early childhood education and special education, was a paraprofessional just like myself. My students really seem to be warming up to her, Yay!!! 


After dealing with a bad hat and all of us paras having to turn into Mama Bears on survival mode, in an effort to protect the welfare of our students for the past 2 1/2 months, Mrs. C's new friendly face and fresh ideas have been a "Godsend".

I actually dreaded the thought of going to work for the past few months after our last teacher left last November and her position was taken over by an abusive substitute teacher.


 Every day was so stressful my stomach would gnarl up as I pulled into the school parking lot.  I didn't want to be there.  A job I've always boasted to be a joy was anything but when an impostor moved her way into the classroom dawning a dagger-like tongue. The substitute teacher was extremely abusive and we were rendered helpless because of the control she possessed.  We all wondered how she managed to weasel her way into our classroom and gain access to the teacher database as well as being given her own official email account. What was her motive? And why did it seem like her very existence was to cause chaos in what used to be a peaceful classroom?



I don't know how she was able to manipulate others into thinking she was harmless. Behind closed doors she turned into a monster, casting orders, belittling the staff and scaring the students.  I almost lost all faith in my bosses when we pleaded with them to help us after our work environment became hostile.  Little did we know that they were in the works of finding us a new teacher to rescue us. :)




I don't know how, or who our saving grace was, but the substitute was dismissed last week. According to the Substitute teacher, as she bawled her eyes out and forced a hug upon me last Friday morning, the administrators forced her immediate removal from the classroom. The unwanted hug felt uncomfortable. I had to squirm out of her grasp, and she had a tight grip on me. If any tears formed in my eyes it was because I was, 1. forming tears of joy because she was leaving, and 2. shedding tears of pain because my arm was twisted up and tightly pinned between her arm and body. If I were a coyote I would have gnawed my arm free that very instant, but I'm human and I gently pulled free so as not to cause any conflict and rubbed the bright red pressure mark that was left on my arm. 

We all worried as to whether or not the substitute teacher would return on Monday and prayed that we would never have to see her again.





Today we are inching our way back into trusting people. It's hard after the craziness we experienced. Who would've known that so much damage could be done to people, by one person, in such a short amount of time. We are excited to have a new teacher in our classroom but at the same time we are slow at letting down our guard.  We're warming up to her slowly but surely. I just hate the fact that the substitute teacher ruined us into becoming capricious in trusting new people. She took that from us and it will take time for us to heal from that. 



Nonetheless, we have a new teacher who our students have immediately taken a liking too (That alone tells A LOT about our new teacher, which definitely gave us a good feeling about her!) We all agreed that we have faith that our new lead teacher will be a perfect match for our class.  We are also extremely optimistic that this is going to be a fantastic second half of the school year! 



"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don't forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ."
Philippians 4:6-7





Happy HumpDay!




Saturday, February 6, 2010

I was just thinking, "What if other families were smaller than mine! And if other families were smaller than mine, then they would make less portions. And if they make less portions to serve then my big chili recipe would be way too much for the smaller brood who might want less!" Boy do I feel so thoughtless of the little people who like less! *blush*

Ok so here you have it, our South Shore Original Chili recipe! This recipe feeds a family size of 4-6. It's a perfect recipe for an after school snack or a quick weekend lunch, and it's a snap to whip up (20 minutes start to finish)!



South Shore Original Chili 

  • 1 lb ground beef, crumbled, browned and drained
  • 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 15-ounce can kidney beans
  • 1 15-ounce can red beans
  • 1/2 yellow onion, minced
  • 1/4 cup chili seasoning
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 dash crushed red pepper
  • Seasoned Salt (to desired taste)
1.  Ground the beef into crumbs in a 4 quart saucepan, drain.
2.  Stir in tomato sauce and water.
3.  Add two cans beans (do not drain), and  minced onions.
4.  Blend in chili seasoning, garlic powder and crushed red pepper.
5.  Sprinkle with Seasoned Salt (enough to reach desired taste) and blend in.
6. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Have a great weekend!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Hot Damn! Salsa

When I was a little girl I loved it when my big sis made the most excellent bowl of Pico de Gallo.  My siblings and I could tear that bowl up with a bagful of tortilla chips in seconds! Our Momma always asked her to whip some up for parties and family gatherings. A year ago I asked my sis for her recipe. Today I made my first attempt at making the Pico de Gallo. Oooh Baby what I made was a salsa so hot my eyes welled up with tears and my hair caught fire!!! I V-Lined straight for the faucet and could have cared less if I looked like a fool slurping water straight from the tap! I looked over my sister's recipe wondering if I did something wrong. If I remember correctly, my sis guts out all the seeds from the chiles before she throws them into the food processor because her salsa has never tasted this hot! Oh, and her salsa looks so much prettier than mine because she makes it chunkie like Pico de Gallo is supposed to look! So here you have it, my very own twist off of my sister's salsa recipe. I like to call it, Hot Damn! Salsa.  Plus I included my big sister's Pico de Gallo recipe too!




HOT DAMN! SALSA

  • 4 ROMA TOMATOES
  • 2 LARGE SERRANO CHILES (DO NOT SEED)
  • 1 Tbsp. MINCED GARLIC
  • 4 -5 SPRIGS of CILANTRO
  • LIME JUICE (enough to flavor and to thin the salsa to desired consistancy)
  • SALT (enough to desired taste)

Hull the stem off tomatoes and remove stems from chiles. Chop tomatoes and chilis into quarters. Add to food processor the tomatoes, chile, minced garlic and cilantro.  Purée. Add desired amount of lime juice and salt. Mix well and serve. The salsa will have small chunks in it. It doesn't need to be smooth.  Makes about 2 cups.


NATALIA'S PICO de GALLO


  • 3 SERRANO CHILES, SEEDED (or jalapeños)


  • 2 - 3 ROMA TOMATOES


  • 1 MEDIUM YELLOW ONION


  • HANDFUL OF CILANTRO


  • SALT TO TASTE


  • A LITTLE WATER


  • MINCED GARLIC AND DEHYDRATED CELERY

MIX ALL INGREDIENTS IN FOOD PROCESSOR TO DESIRED CONSISTANCY.

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