I'm still alive!

Well, I have been gone FOREVER! Actually, I haven't really went anywhere....I've just been victimized of Fall semester of my senior year! It has been INTENSE! Let me start where I left off!

I am placed at Northport Elementary School in 1st grade this semester! I love 1st grade! It is the grade I wanted for my internship, but I'm actually pretty glad I got it this semester because going from 5th grade to 1st grade has been a crazy experience! I love the students though, they are amazing! I have a German student in my class who speaks nothing but German. That has been an experience in itself. Can you imagine being in 1st grade in Germany or rather yet sending your 1st grade child to school in Germany by himself?! I know I can't! I go to that school every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 7:45-3:15. I do a lot of teaching this semester but I'm very glad because that means hopefully I will be prepared for my internship next semester! Also, can I just tell you that there are only 33 days left of school for me this semester! I feel like I could die! That makes me so happy! I am so ready to be done and graduate and get married and have my own classroom!

I have also been working on my Social Studies unit that I will teach at the end of the semester. I am teaching Thanksgiving! At first I thought these kids wouldn't like it because they already know everything but I was so wrong! I asked one of the little boys why the Pilgrims came to America and he told me "To chase them rainbows and catch the gold at the end of them." I laughed when he said this then he said, "Why are you laughin'? They needed money!" lol It was the cutest thing ever! My students have no knowledge of Thanksgiving so I have my hands full when it comes to teaching that!

With Fall semester comes football and Fall weather! Speaking of football....can I just PLEASE get a Roll Tide!! This Saturday was our Homecoming against South Carolina! Is that not crazy? Why on Earth would we play an SEC team for Homecoming?! OH well, it was a GREAT win! It was so cold but so worth it! Also, this Saturday is our biggest rivalry game.....Tennessee! Ugh, I feel almost dirty just typing that word! We will most definitely tear them apart! I can't wait!

Fall weather is my favorite in the world! I just love it! I love my highs in the 60's and lows in the 40's. It's just perfect to me! With that weather comes food! I love warm, comforting food in the Fall and Winter! So, I have been cooking. I have a killer good chicken casserole and homemade macaroni and cheese recipe at the end of this post! Check it out!

But, I need to go. I have a million lesson plans to write and I need to finish these parts of my unit that are do and type up a reflection! Ahh!


Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

This makes a really big pan but I like to have it for leftovers for lunch throughout the week!

Here's what you need:
2 cups of elbow macaroni
2 Tbsp of butter
1/8 cup of all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup milk (you'll need a little extra too)
1 tsp of dried mustard (I promise, you need it.)
1 beaten egg
80z of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper



Preheat the oven to 350

First, boil your macaroni. You want to make sure that you undercook it just a bit.
I suggest only boiling it for about 7 minutes because it will cook more in the oven.

Next, beat your egg in a separate bowl and set it aside.

In a LARGE pot, melt the butter and the flour together on medium-low heat. Whisk these two together for about 3-5 minutes or until well blended. You have to continually whisk it or it will burn.


Next, add milk and dried mustard and whisk until smooth.
Cook this for about 3-5 minutes.
It will start to get really thick like gravy.
It gets really thick really fast so you want to make sure that you watch it.
If it gets too thick like mine always does, just add a little more milk.
It needs to be creamy/thick not chunky/thick or runny/thick.


This is how it should look!
Once it looks like this, take a 1/4 cup measure and
pour some of this into the bowl with the beaten egg.
This is called tempuring. If you put the egg straight into the pot
you will have scrambled eggs! So, tempur the egg with this mixture by whisking it in the bowl, then add it to the pot and whisk it together.


Once it is smooth, you can then add the best part.....CHEESE!
Save a little bit of the cheese because that is what you will top it off with.


Now, whisk this all together until it is really smooth.
At this point is where you add the salt and pepper.
Please, don't be stingy.


Once you have tried the cheese sauce and it is to your liking, then you can add the drained macaroni noodles.
Mix it together well.
**Note**
I just add a little bit of noodles at a time. Sometimes you can add too much and not every piece will be cheesy goodness. So, just add it a little at a time so you can make sure each piece has PLENTY of cheese on it!


Once it has been mixed together, pour it into a buttered or sprayed dish.
This night I only made a small pan because it was just for me, but other times I cook it in
my glass 13x9 dish. You can also cook this in a casserole dish.


Then add some more cheese to the top.


Then pop it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.
You want it to be bubbly and starting to brown!


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My favorite home-cooked meal in the whole world.......
CHICKEN CASSEROLE!!!

It's so super easy and cheap! I mean it literally takes like 5 steps!

Now, some of you don't eat anything with the word casserole in it, so just call it Poppyseed Chicken and add some poppyseeds and no one will ever know!


Here's what you need:
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers (you can use store brand like I did)
2 chicken breasts
1 8 oz container of sour cream
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
butter


First things first, season your chicken breasts with some salt and pepper and boil them for about 20-25 minutes.
Once they are done, shred them up into a LARGE bowl.


Then add your sour cream and soups to the chicken and stir.


Next, pour that mixture into the bottom of a buttered or sprayed dish. Here's where my macaroni dish went off too....hmmm...I wonder if I had them together that night?!


Next, crush up an entire sleeve of crackers. I just crush them up in the sleeve then open it and pour them on top.


Next, dot the top with butter.


Then, bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

Then serve it up with some homemade macaroni and cheese and there you go!
A delicious, warm, comfort food that should now be a favorite of yours!




Go try it!!