8 Soups to Warm You Up!

One of my very favorite episodes of Seinfeld is "The Soup Nazi".   I love it for several reasons.  First, I just love the show.  A great comedy that always makes me laugh.  Secondly, I just love soup.  I love all kinds- creamy, chunky, spicy, cold, hot.  You name it.  I love it.  And lastly, I would absolutely love a restaurant that would just serve soup, except without a temperamental Soup Nazi that yells "No soup for you!!"

Here are a few of my favorite soup recipes to warm up your soul during these last winter days.  Just click on the links!

Chicken Taco Soup

Tuscan Chicken Soup

Mom's Chili

Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Busy Day Beef Stew

Smoked Sausage with Red Beans Soup

Veggie Soup

Grandma's Potato Soup

Have you tried any of these recipes?  Leave a comment and let me know how you liked it!  Did you try anything different?  I'd love to hear your ideas for what works!

Million Dollar Words! Cha-Ching Baby!

After working with students on writing over the years, I've noticed the use of many "blah" and "boring" words. Word choice is one of the areas that is assessed on our state writing test and needs to be addressed when planning writing instruction for students.

To make "word choice" sound a little more exciting, I started using the phrase "Million Dollar Words" which means use words that are beyond "blah" and "boring" to make your writing POP with exciting words and interesting synonyms instead of those boring, blah, and overused words.

I teach students about word choice by introducing and/or reviewing synonyms.  Sometimes, it is just a matter of exposing students to new words.  So, we have to take time to help expand our student's vocabulary.

One of the lessons I teach is when students look up synonyms for "blah" words such as happy, sad, tired, etc... using www.thesaurus.com.  You can also check out a set of student thesaurus books from your school library.

 Below is a copy of one of the assignments I had my students complete.  They look up each word and write three or more interesting synonyms for each of the words.  After the assignment, students can keep this list of "Million Dollar Words" in their writing folder to use as they compose new pieces of writing.

This also ties into a previous post:  Put SAID to Bed: A Writing Mini Lesson.  There are tons of great ideas for more interesting words to use instead of  "said" when writing dialogue.

So, when students start writing, I say, "SHOW ME THE MONEY!"  They may not get the movie reference from "Jerry Maguire", but they know I mean to use those "Million Dollar Words" in their writing!

Cha-ching!

Add Pizzazz with Similes: A Writing Mini Lesson

One way students can add pizzazz to their writing is by adding figurative language such as similes. Similes bring a person, place, or thing to life by using "like" or "as" in comparisons.

Here's a quick writing mini lesson about using similes that you can do with your students.

Introduction
Read the book Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood to students.  Although it is a picture book for young children, it's chock full of great similes that compare a small child to different animals and insects.  It's perfect for this writing mini lesson.  While reading, point out to students that there is a pattern in these similes.  They all use an adjective such as "quick" and a noun such as "cricket".  The book also teaches antonyms such as "quick as a cricket" or "slow as a snail".

Brainstorm NEW Adjectives
Create a chart with the adjectives that were used in the book (see chart below).  Have students brainstorm synonyms to replace the words used in the book.  Students can use a thesaurus or explore www.thesaurus.com to find synonyms.  They can jot them down in their notebook or journal.

Create NEW Similes
After students come up with synonyms, have them use these newly found words to create NEW similes.  They can use the pattern in the book if needed.

Share
Students share their newly written similes with a partner, or during whole group share.  They will be inspired by all the creative figurative language that is shared!

So, there it is...a writing lesson that's easy and will help your students add pizzazz to their writing.

Sausage Gravy

This is a definite stick-to-your-ribs, down home kind of breakfast.  Sausage Gravy was a staple in our house growing up.  We didn't eat it every day, but it was an occasional weekend treat.  It was a favorite in the breakfast rotation menu.

I actually learned how to make sausage gravy from my friend Sonya who, by the way, is a fabulous cook. Of course, nobody makes it like my mom, or my friend Sonya, but I always give it my best shot.

This morning seemed liked the perfect morning for a hearty breakfast because THIS is what our backyard looked like today (see below pic).  These are my sous chefs- Minnie and Molly.

I made this gluten free version especially for my husband.  He LOVES biscuits and gravy and feels cheated when we go out to breakfast and it's never a menu option for him.

To make things easy, I made some drop biscuits from Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Bisquick Mix.  You just need 2 cups of Bisquick Mix, 1/3 cup shortening (I substituted a stick of butter), 3 eggs, and 3/4 cup milk. They only take about 13 minutes to bake in the oven.

For the gravy, just use your favorite gf sausage and gf flour mix.  I used the Dolmata brand that is seasoned (I'll include a pic) so it adds a great flavor to the gravy.  Really, you can use any brand or you can use corn starch too.

Here's what you'll need:
1 package sausage
3 cups milk
3 teaspoons flour
salt
pepper

Here's the flour I was telling you about.
It comes in regular, seasoned, and a pizza dough.
It needs to be kept in the refrigerator or freezer.

Here's what to do:
Brown sausage into crumbles in a skillet on medium heat.

Once sausage in browned and crumbled.  Sprinkle 3 teaspoons of flour over sausage. If you have a lot of grease, then you may need to add another teaspoon or two.

The flour will absorb the grease from the sausage.  Stir together and cook on medium heat for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add in 2 cups of milk.  I used 2 percent milk because that's all I had in the fridge.  Turn heat up to medium high so milk and sausage mixture begin to bubble.  Stir occasionally to thicken gravy.  They make special gravy spoons, but really why bother with something extra.  You just need a wooden spoon and stir, stir, stir. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes.  It will bubble up when you're not stirring.  Just stir when you see it bubbling.

After about 10 minutes, add in another cup of milk and stir.  Add in salt and pepper to taste.  Cook for about another 10 minutes on low heat.

If gravy gets too thick, just add a little more milk.

If you have leftovers, just put gravy in a covered container and keep in fridge. It will keep for a few days. Or, you can even put in an airtight container, freeze and save for another breakfast!  Put a couple of your biscuits in a freezer bag. too.  Then, you can have biscuits and gravy on any morning.

Put SAID to BED! : A Writing Mini-Lesson

Our fifth grade students were preparing for their state writing test, so I taught a few mini-lessons to give them some ways to spice up their writing.  Our writing teacher does all the prep work for students, but I collaborated with her to see the areas students still needed help with.  Since I teach reading, it was nice to teach something different!

In this lesson, I taught students about how to add some sizzle to their dialogue by using other words in place of the word "said".  I've noticed students tend to overuse the word when writing dialogue. He said.  She said. They said.  You get the idea.  It gets overused!

Here's what we did:

Introduction
To introduce the lesson,  I read the book The Boy Who Cried Fabulous.  It's a great story about a boy who constantly uses the word fabulous to describe everything he sees and experiences.  His parents ban him from saying the word and by the end of the story he comes up with synonyms for fabulous.  It's a great way to introduce how words can be overused, especially the word "said" when writing dialogue.

Brainstorm
After reading the book, students broke up into small groups to brainstorm different ways they could replace the word "said" in their writing.  They jotted their ideas in their reading notebooks.  I gave the groups 5 minutes.

Share Ideas
Students then gathered in our mini-lesson to share their ideas while I wrote the new words for "said" on chart paper.  We created quite a list!  We ended up having enough words for two chart sheets!  Students can add words to their list in their notebook.

Tag Lines
After we looked at the list, we talked about how tag lines can be at the beginning of the dialogue or at the end.  For example:  Stella whispered, "Shhh, it's a surprise."  or " Shhh, it's a suprise," Stella whispered.

Add an Adverb
To add even more sizzle, students can add an adverb to show how the dialogue is being said.  For example, Stella whispered quietly, "Shhh, it's a surprise."

Practice and Share
Students then chose a new word for "said" to write a dialogue example.  They jotted their examples in their reader's notebooks.  Students shared their new spiced up dialogue with classmates.

I hope this helps your students add sizzle to their writing!

Chicken with Pasta and Creamy Tomato Sauce

Here's an easy slow cooker recipe for ya!  The sauce is creamy and delicious and the chicken is super moist.  It's perfect for a busy weeknight.  Just toss together a salad and you've got a complete meal.

Here's what you'll need:
4 chicken breasts (or 6-chicken cutlets), thawed
8 ounces of cream cheese
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel tomatoes (mild)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
penne pasta- prepare enough for 4-6 servings (I use a gluten-free brand)
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese or shredded Italian cheese blend
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Makes 4-6 servings.

Not pictured:  penne pasta, Parmesan cheese, and corn starch.

Here's what to do:
Spray bottom of slow cooker with cooking spray.  Layer chicken in bottom of slow cooker.  Sprinkle oregano, basil, garlic, salt and pepper on top of chicken.

  
Put both cans of tomatoes on top of chicken, including juice.

Cut cream cheese into small pieces and put on top of tomatoes.

Cook on low heat for 4 hours. 

About 15 to 20 minutes before chicken and sauce is ready, prepare the pasta according to package directions.  I use a gluten-free pasta.

Ten minutes before serving, stir cornstarch and water together.  Add to sauce in slow cooker and mix together.  Turn heat up to high for cook for ten minutes.

  

Serve chicken and sauce over pasta.  Sprinkle with Italian cheese blend, or Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!
-Karen

Grandma's Potato Soup

I love recipes that are handed down from one generation to another.  This recipe for potato soup is my Grandma's.  Using her recipes is one way to remember how much I loved her. This recipe is inexpensive to make, delicious, and hearty on a cold winter night.  My Grandma showed my mom how to make it and we ate it all the time growing up.  I'm sure there are fancier ways of making potato soup, but I kept the recipe just like my mom taught me how to make it.  In fact, my mom and I made this soup together!  Cooking (and eating!) is a great way to bring generations together.

Here's what you'll need:
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 large Idaho potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups whole milk
* potato flakes (for thicker soup)

For garnish:  shredded cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and chopped green onion.

Makes 8 -10 servings.

Here's what to do:

Peel and cut potatoes into cubes.  I like to leave some of the skin on.  Chop celery and onions.

Put potatoes in soup pot and cover with water.  Boil on medium-high heat for about 10 minutes.

Add in celery, onion, salt and pepper.  Cook for another 10 minutes on medium, or until potatoes are tender.

Add in 1 stick butter.  Stir until all combined.

Add in milk and stir until combined.

Using a potato masher, mash potatoes in soup four times.

If you like a thicker soup, add in 1/2 package of potato flakes.

Turn off heat and serve soup while it is warm.  Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and chopped green onions.

This soup only takes about forty-five minutes from prep time to completion.  It's even more delicious the next day as leftovers, or you can freeze leftovers and save for later!  I like to serve my potato soup with either a crusty bread, a BLT sandwich, or grilled cheese and ham sandwiches.  My mom likes her soup with saltine crackers.

I hope you enjoy my Grandma's recipe and have make memories cooking for and with people you love!
-Karen