bacon, spinach, and mushroom egg muffins

We are almost half way through the semester, and midterms are closing in.  Things are speeding up like crazy!  I feel like I'm constantly grading and just trying to stay on top of things.  These kids hormones are raging too!  They have homecoming this weekend, and it seems like they have been pairing up all over the place.  Looking around the school and parking lot, you can see all of the imaginative ways the students have been asking one another to the dance.  They are so funny.

  With the semester moving so quickly, and the work piling up, breakfast becomes the hardest meal of the day for me.  It is hard to begin with because there are not many low-carb options for breakfast.  Secondly, those low-carb options are hard to eat on-the-go.

I know I've talked about this on the blog before, but truly, breakfast is the hardest meal to prepare when you have to be at work so early!  I've seen these floating around Pinterest and finally decided to give them a go and they are fantastic!  They are great on the go.  Just warm one up in the microwave!

Bacon, Spinach, and Mushroom Egg Muffins

Makes 12

6 eggs

1 box of frozen spinach

1 box fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup shredded colby jack cheese

1/4 cup 0% Fage yogurt

2 tbsp skim milk

2 tbsp of turkey bacon pieces

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat to 350.

Cook the spinach and mushrooms down over the stove.  While they are cooking, mix the eggs, cheese, yogurt, milk, bacon, salt and pepper together well.  The greek yogurt can clump sometimes, so mix well.

Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray well.  You want to make sure these pop right out!  Once the spinach has cooked down, mix it into the mushrooms in the skillet.  In each of the 12 cups, put some of the spinach and mushrooms.  Then scoop the egg mixture into each of the cups.  You can fill them up almost all the way.

Bake for 25 minutes and enjoy!

what really went down...

School has really taken off.  I can hardly believe I've made it through 3 units in both of the classes I'm teaching this semester.  Collectively, my students have been doing wonderfully.  However, there is always a moment that you just wonder... are they hearing me?

My moment from this last week occurred just after we talked about President Washington and his role in the Revolutionary War.  A girl looked to her desk neighbor and very loudly said, "I just don't understand...I always get George Washington and George Bush confused!"

I had to take a deep breath.

A couple weeks ago, I posted ideas I found on Pinterest that I was looking forward to implementing in my classroom.  And much like the year before, all of them actually happened!  This year I am teaching Government and US History.  So I thought I would show you a little bit about what really went down....

Bulletin Boards

I think it's really important to stay relevant with kids, especially when teaching high school.  Using things that they are familiar with, think are cool or just generally draws their attention.  When I was thinking about my bulletin board this year, I came up with a few ideas.  First, mustaches!  I mean they are just funny!  So I found some mustached presidents for my board and cut out a giant mustache.  Get it? "I 'mustache' you a question?"

I had a harder time with the rest of the board.  I really wanted to use the "Keep Calm and Carry On" sign, but couldn't think of anything cool enough!  I asked my husband to think about it as he walked to the mailbox, and he came back with this! Awesome!  Abe and Andrew are just chillin' in their glasses--excited to debate the differences between Republicans and Democrats!

Lastly, these kids love music more than anything.  I see Beats by Dre more times a day that I would like to.  So I thought the kids can look to this board to see what's on our "playlist" for US History!  It's really just a list of all the topics that coincide with each of their units.  However, I have seen numerous students go over to the board, just to see what it says!

Review Game

If you were ever a student at any point in your life, you probably know all about "trashket ball."  For some reason, it is a review game favorite.  We've never played it in my classroom before.  I've always tried to come up with new interactive ways to help my class review for an upcoming test.  I was inspired by a magazine someone put in my mail box at work.  It had all kinds of materials you could order to use in your classroom.  Unfortunately, everything was super expensive!  Don't they know we're teachers!

So I ripped out a page and headed over to the Dollar Tree determined to recreate something I really loved in that magazine....generic game boards.  I bought eight foam boards and construction paper.  The only other materials I needed I already had--eight dice and a hot glue gun.

I made eight games boards exactly alike.  Just plain, not geared towards anything.  I have a new set of questions for the game every time we use them!  I call it, A World of Possibility!  The students love it!  There are crazy things for them to do on the "Possibility Cards" and when they land on "Roll the Dice"!

Warm-Up/Do Now/Starter

Whether you call it a warm-up, do now, starter, or something else, those first few minutes of class always need to be planned strategically.  You need something that draws them in for the whole period.

One of my favorite warm-up activities is a scavenger hunt.  Now I don't let the kids run around the school, just my classroom!  I've been known to tape things under desks, under seats, on the ceiling, on the walls, hide Easter eggs, and more.  I try to keep my methods of scavenger hunting different and exciting so they never know what to expect!  I do it about 2-3 times a week and it never fails to be exciting.

What do you do to keep the attention of kids? Or stay relevant?

back to school prep

I have done a lot of preparing for the new school year this summer.  Every now and then, I do or see something that inspires me to create a lesson or activity.  But more than refining my lesson plans and preparing to get my classroom organized, I am teaching a new subject this year!  And don't you know that Pinterest is the best place to get new ideas! There are only two weeks left of summer, so it's time to organize my thoughts!

Everyone wants to start the year with a get-to-know you game or activity.  I think I've used a different one every semester!  But with shorter semesters this year, I try to think of something that is less time consuming, but still gives me the most information about them.  So far, I'm really liking both of these ideas.  I could have the students start it in class and finish it for homework!

Source: Teaching Madness

Source: CZ Blog

I also really like the idea of incorporating current technology into the classroom through different methods.  The students are always on Facebook, Twitter, Vine and Instagram, so why not figure out a way to make history relevant to them, right?

Source: Integrating Tech

Inevitably there is always a handful of students per class that do exactly what they are supposed to all the time and do a good job.  Sometimes its difficult to have enough extension work (extenstion work is for students who work far ahead of others).  This year we are implementing some new common core literacy standards.  I love this idea.  Of course this teacher uses it with smaller children, but I could EASILY upgrade this for my students!  She has several notebooks with different writing prompts on the front of each.  Students write responses in one when they finish early!  What a great way to keep students engaged!  She also has a lot more really great ideas such as this review game, I could easily do this with history or government!  When kids have fun they learn!

Source: A Love for Teaching

As a teacher, you are always trying to think of ways to evaluate your student's understanding.  Sometimes it can be really difficult if I'm trying to do a silent activity with the students and their hands start flying up and they are asking each other questions (especially when I really want them to be thinking for themselves!)  Last year, I tried a red card, green card system.  Early on, the cards were lost or damaged (even though they were laminated!)  But I really like this idea!  I know it is made for an elementary classroom, but I could definitely upgrade it for my high schoolers.  Even put a couple 3m hooks on the wall to keep them safe with!

Source: A Teacher's Wonderland

I love this idea as a warm up or summarizing activity.  For my 11th graders, we could read something and each of them could place a sticky note on the light bulb to get conversations flowing at the beginning of class.  Especially in government, when I really want students to be thinking for themselves and developing their own ideas about the world.

Source: Not Found

These are just a few of the new ideas I will be implementing in my classroom this year!  I'm looking forward to getting started and seeing how they work.  I can't believe pre-planning is just around the corner!

Check out last year's prep here!

homemade fro-yo

Every now and again I like to make the hubs something sweet to eat, because I don't keep sweets in the house.  Since I can't eat them, it's easier just to not buy them at all.  But I like to make him a little something special every few weeks.

While shopping for healthy sweet treats on Pinterest, I ran across a recipe for Peach Fro-yo.

Um... YUM.

When I read the recipe, I told David about it immediately.  He loves ice cream and I knew it would be a hit.  On top of that, we had all of the ingredients, except the peaches.  To spare a trip to the grocery store, we decided to use some frozen mixed berries we had.  This recipe is EASY and requires very few ingredients!  We would highly recommend it and will be making it again one day (maybe with a different fruit next time?)

Mixed Berry Fro-Yo

2 1/2 cups 0% Fage Greek Yogurt

3 cups of Mixed Berries

1/4 cup Honey

Optional: A few packets of Splenda

Instructions:

First, put all of the ingredients in the blender and puree.

We have an automatic ice cream maker, so we put the mixture into the frozen container and turned it on for about 35 minutes.  Or as long as it takes for the puree to start stiffening.

Once the puree is stiffening, but the container in the freezer for an hour or two until frozen.

Easy?  I know right!

We are nursing our precious pup back this week.  She will officially not be having babies!  For most of this week, she has been and will be our little cone-head.  Hazel's not enjoying it too much, but she's handling it like a champ!

Hope you are having a great week!

saturday with dad

This weekend my dad came to visit!

When he got here, we went around Athens for awhile before picking David up for a UGA basketball game!  My dad had a bunch of tickets, so we took a few other people with us!

It was my FIRST UGA men's basketball game!

I had been to the women's before, and every other sporting event at UGA, but this was a first for me.

It was so fun!  

UGA beat Texas A&M and I even got to see a fight in the last few seconds!

 After the game, Dad, David and I went to try out a new BBQ place in Athens.

Pulaski Heights BBQ was definitely good and unique!  Especially the building!  So cool!  But I think that Fresh Air is still my favorite BBQ in Athens.

 Hazel was excited to see Dad!  She loves people!  Even more than other dogs most of the time!

She is getting bigger!  She weight 17.5 lbs two weeks ago, but she's still pretty small.  She is still as cuddly as ever too!

I think I've finally got my sewing machine figured out, so I'm excited to try out a few things I've pinned on my Pinterest boards for the day I got one!

Hope you are having a great weekend too!

oooo christmas tree

Two weeks ago, David and I decided to go pick out our Christmas tree after his second final.  Only, we couldn't wait that long!  Full of excitement for the SEC Championship yesterday, it made studying Friday night very difficult.  SO we went on a much needed study break for David, and picked out the perfect tree!

First, I got a fresh wreath at Trader Joes!  It was a great deal and is so pretty on our porch!

Then we went over Home Depot to start our little adventure.  We searched and searched before heading across the street to Lowe's.  We untied trees and spun several of them around before we found our little angel.  And she's perfect.

I asked the man who was going to trim her up for us if he could saw just a half inch of the trunk off for me.  He looked at me like I was crazy!  Little did he know I was going to make an ornament out of it!  I had seen the idea on Pinterest and was determined.  And now, David and I have a little reminder of our first Christmas tree!

David tied her to our roof and off we went!

That's when the decorating fun began for me :)

I watched Christmas in Rockefeller Center, strung the lights, hung ornaments, and drank hot chocolate.

And lastly, put a bow on top!

What was really fun about the process was looking through all of the ornaments David and I have, which is not many!  From visiting the Alamo with my Dad a couple summers ago, to an ornament made entirely with buttons from my Gramma's collection, and our honeymoon, the memories were good.

 Lastly, my Grandmother had given me her tree skirt.  She quilted it herself and I love it.  It added the perfect touch to our little tree.

I hope you are having a Merry little Christmas so far :)

done and done

David and I are so busy during the week we hardly have time to do anything, especially cook!

While I was searching Pinterest, I started to notice how so many women make their meals once a week or once every two weeks and freeze them.  

So I picked out a couple recipes and got busy.
This literally took me less than 20 minutes to put together.

Before I talk about my recipes, I should tell you about an amazing new app I downloaded.  Not only do I have it on my iPhone, I can access it via the web anywhere.

On Google Chrome, I have a Evernote Webclipper.  So anytime I find a recipe I like, I click on my clipper and tag it in recipes.  It organizes everything for me!  I can clip any recipes and tag them to a specific notebook.

The best part, if I need to look up something from a recipe that I can't remember, I can access it EASILY while at the store!

I made two dishes for this week--Basil Pesto Chicken and Chicken Parm Bake!

I write the directions on the tops, so that David can start something before I get home if he wants.

Here are my recipes!

Basil Pesto Chicken

- Chicken breasts

- Basil Pesto

- Mozzarella cheese

Cook at 375 for 25 minutes.

Pull out, cover in mozzarella cheese and continue cooking 5-7 minutes!

Enjoy!

Chicken Parm Bake

- Chicken breasts

- 1 cup Fage greek yogurt

- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

- Seasoned salt

- Pepper

- Garlic powder

- Onion powder

Preheat to 375.

Cover chicken breasts in the seasonings.

Mix greek yogurt and parm cheese together.

Cover chicken in mixture.  Cover the top of every piece so that it doesn't dry out!

Cook 45 minutes.

Top with fresh parm at the end and let melt.

ENJOY!

pinning pinning pinning

I spent part of tonight pinning, pinning, pinning, just to unwind for the day.

I am ALWAYS amazed by the awesome things I find on Pinterest.  People are so creative.  God makes each of us so perfectly unique.  Pinterest is such a cool reminder of that!

 I am obsessed with Instagram, but I always find myself wishing I had copies of my pictures.  Well now you can!  They will print them, make them magnets, and more!

 

 I absolutely LOVE monograms!  How cute is this casserole carrier.  Minus the Auburn colors, it is precious!  I would love to show up at a party with my dish in this cute carry!

Also, I'm going to do a DIY on a lamp in our house THIS weekend!  This lamp shade would fit in perfectly! I can't wait to get started!

I've been crushing on everyone's statement necklaces.  I'm definitely in the market for my own.  I just have to find the perfect style for me!  This one is precious!

 

 I've been seeing these on Pinterest.  Then I simply Googled "31 days of prayer for your husband." You wouldn't believe how many links I found.  I've got at least five months worth of different prayers to cover David with!  I'm pretty excited about it!

 Lastly, I love my husband.  He is so amazing!

What are you pinning?

Stuffed Peppers!

I have been eying stuffed peppers on Pinterest for awhile now. And after repeatedly being told that a crock pot is a teacher's best friend, I decided to give them a try!

I spent my Saturday doing laundry, writing lesson plans, and getting ready for the first day of school. I was so busy and seriously all over the place. So I popped those peppers in the crock pot for the day.

They were amazing! David and I are in love! They were nothing I expected, and so good!!!

Let me tell you what I did! First, I put some ground turkey in a bowl. Then I added tons of seasonings, which included:

-Onion Powder
-Oregano
-Salt
-Minced garlic
-Seasoned salt
-Garlic salt

I tossed them all together. While doing this, I was boiling some rice. Once the rice had boiled, I added a cup of cooked brown rice to the meat and tossed it all together!

Lastly, I added about a 1/2 cup of marinara sauce to the meat mixture. My sauce had chunks of tomato and basil in it, adding a good texture to the meat!

I cut the tops off my peppers (I used two green and two red) and cleaned them out. I stuffed them with the meat mixture. I even put some of the leftover mixture on two of the tops.

I put them close together in the crock pot and cooked on high the first 2 hours, then low for 4 more hours. However, I read that low for 8 hours works too.

For the last 2 minutes I threw some mozzarella cheese on them and it was perfect!

I thought David would demolish at least two of these, but one was plenty!  I could hardly eat a whole one!  So now we have leftovers :)

Seriously, these peppers are so good! I would recommend them to anyone!

I hope you enjoy!

coming together!

I've been MIA from the blog world all week! Opps!  I've been so busy in my classroom and with volleyball! I've been making Pinterest ideas become reality, writing syllabi and lesson plans, and doing a lot of hot gluing. 

I finally got the bins I first saw at the Container Store.  Except, I found them on sale at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  Score! They are labeled for class periods.  One set is for composition books and the other for completed work.

Above is a homework bulletin board.  Where I can post weekly homework assignments.  But my favorite part about my desk area (other than how I covered the front of my desk!) is the map behind my desk.

The map was my grandfather's.  My grandma gave it to me after he passed and it has hung in my classroom since!

I divided my bulletin board into three sections.  Farthest right is a sports board.  I hang the schedules for all of the current sports seasons at the school.

The middle is for STAR work!  I got this idea from a friend on Instagram and then found it on Pinterest later.  They both inspired me to create my own!  I plan on hanging a piece of star student work on each of the stars!

Lastly, furthest left, my song inspired board (We built this city on rock and rolllll...) is for an assignment.  Each students is to bring in a picture of something that is affected by the government.  It could be paid for by the government or be under law by the Constitution.  Then we will divide them into local, state, and federal.  So that the students can gain an understanding of how government affects their lives everyday!

While decorating my classroom, Carly Rae inspired me to create this above my homework board.  I hope the kids don't think I'm cray cray.

And the last shot I have of my classroom for you today is the back.  If you look closely, you will see my grandfather's flight helmet.  It's always a big hit with the students.

The giant flag hanging on the wall was flown above the United States Capital by Representative Jack Kingston of Georgia in honor of me!  Cool right?!

Hope you had a great week! Let me know what you think of my room!