Hope Dealer

I have 18 teenage boys in my 6th period remedial reading class. No Girls.

The district didn't have enough money last year. They pulled me from 1st Grade to teach High School.

I tried to be Edward James Olmos and help them Stand and Deliver.

I tried to be Michelle Pheiffer and help their Dangerous Minds.

You're "Waiting for Superman" ?  SO AM I...

How do you motivate the unmotivated?

It was a Red Velvet Cheesecake for dinner kind of day.

Tell me Blogger Family:

• Tell me about your Favorite HS teacher.
• How did they motivate, encourage, and inspire?

What's up? Chicken Butt

I really don't know why I decided that this week would be the week I roast my first chicken. At work, we're taking our State Tests, and I strongly loathe the testing schedule by the way. In my afternoon job as a Toddler Runner, and I lovingly refer to this as a job because, let's face it, I am put to WORK slappin' that pavement, T and I are training for our 5K this weekend. And in my home job as a full time wife and puppy caretaker, there is a Mt. Everest-sized pile of socks and undies that scream my name every time I pass it by in...yes...the middle of our dining room floor.

What the Hey, I'll just go ahead and add "Roast a damn chicken" to that list. Cuz that's how I ROLL!

Project Wifey Wife Week #15-The Savory
Roast Chicken and Vegetables for Two
adapted from Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook

Ingredients:
Handful of Baby Carrot Sticks
5 Red potatoes; quartered
1 medium onion; cut into wedges
3 Tbs unsalted butter; melted
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Chicken (3-4lbs)
1 lemon; quartered
2 Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
4 cloves; peeled and smashed

Now I must warn you that if this is your first time handling a WHOLE raw chicken, like this newb here ::thumbs pointed to chest::, then there are some things that you need to keep in mind...or errrr...avoid.

First off, while preparing the bird, one must refrain from picking it up like a baby and making it dance. Folks, this is no easy feat, but if you want to save time, this needs to be done. Luckily, time was on my side that night. I think Sonic was amused.

Next, while you are patting the baby the chicken dry, there is no need to talk to it and say "There you go, hun...all dry!" Trust me, it wont say anything back....Jerk...chicken. (See what I did there?)

And lastly, stuffing the chicken's nooks and crannies doesn't have to be weird. If you close your eyes, you can still find the hole just fine. I tried and as you will see, eventually, succeeded.

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Put the veggies in a 9x13 inch glass baking dish and toss them with 1Tbs of the melted butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Don't forget to leave room for the chicken in the middle.

3. Remove the neck and the giblets from the cavity of the chicken and discard. (BLECK!) Rinse and dry the chicken. Put the chicken, breast-side up, in the center of the baking dish. Rub the chicken with the remaining 2 Tbs. of butter and season generously with salt and pepper.

3. Put the lemon quarters and rosemary springs inside the cavity.
**I didn't have lemon, so I used Orange instead. I thought it might not go, but then I remembered the wisdom of Panda Express...Orange Chicken is legit.**

4. Put the garlic cloves under the chicken to prevent them from burning. Roast for 45 minutes.



5. Remove the dish and using tongs, tilt the chicken, pouring the juices from the chicken onto the veggies. Shake to coat. Baste the chicken with the lovely juices.

6. Lightly cover the chicken with foil to prevent it from tanning to quickly. Continue to roast until the chicken is deep golden, the juices run clear, and the instant read thermometer inserted into the thigh, reads 170-175. (about 30 minutes)

7. Transfer the chicken to a platter and cover loosely with foil and let stand 10-15 minutes before carving. This will ensure perfect juiciness.

Tell me to my face that this Chick-a-dee isn't the most gorgeous roasted bird you've ever laid eyes on. Well, in my book, I did pretty damn good.

Hubby thought so too and "Mm-mm'd" and "Yeeeaahh, baby'd" all night long...and that wasn't even sexy-time. But this meal sure can seduce a man...and a chicken to do whatever you want. To bad for Hubs, we ate the chicken because now he has to tackle the Laundry volcano.

Comment Por Favor:

• Have you ever roasted one of these guys before?
• How's your week going so far?

Butter Weight

Me: I wonder if I could fit into my Wedding Dress.

::In unison, with urgency and desperation in their voice...::

Husband and My Own Mother: NO! Don't! You'll rip it.

Women who have been married for 20 years often say, "Gee, I wish I could fit into my wedding dress."
I've been married for 6 months. I wish I could fit into my wedding dress.

I guess I should lay off the butter for awhile. People are starting to notice.

An Egg-citing weekend

Hello! I need to start off by apologizing for the title. I realize I could've tried a lot harder, but Hey, it's only Monday. I'm sure there will be better titles later...or not.

After looking at my pictures from Easter Sunday, I started to get a bit sad. I just noticed that I didn't have Ham this year. Devastating! I always have Ham. Forget about my Chocolate laden Easter basket or colorful plastic egg filled with cash money, I wanted the HAM! Welp, there's always next year...or next weekend.

I did get to spend time with this Ham though.

More on that in a bit.
My favorite thing this weekend was going Home to my Mom and Dad's house. I get to reminisce...

Don't hate on my ruffle dress. I sported ruffles before they even hit the runway. And can we please take note of my bangs? My mother cut my bangs all the way up until I was in high school. I don't know which is more embarrassing, the fact that my hair was cut only by my mother until I was a teen, or the fact that I had straight forehead bangs until I was in HS. Let's forget about this conversation, shall we?

I also appreciate the fact that my mom kept my favorite Care Bear plate with all the grown up plates.

In case I never mentioned it, my nickname as a child was "Sunshine" because I always had a smile on my face. I want to remind myself that everytime I have a scowl on my face...which is sadly 75% of the time. Don't forget, I'm a HS teacher. No smiling allowed. They might think I like them or something.

On Easter morning, my mom made a simple yet delightful breakfast.

I forgot to ask her why she didn't make me an Easter basket this year, but I was distracted by this Hazelnut chocolate spread.

If you are like me and love Nutella, because who the hell wouldn't like that delicious stuff, then you will go BONKERS for this spread. I can't remember what's in it, but I'm pretty sure it's some addictive drug. I have to give my parents some praise for letting me eat this for breakfast as a child. Maybe that's why I was so smiley...that's nice they chose that word instead of hyper. Thanks mom and dad!

For lunch, my dad put some steaks on the barbie.

Yes, it was GOOD! I love steak....I just want to hug it....with my mouth.

See that hiding there? Those are some roasted veggies. I know the plate ratio is supposed to have more veggies, but in my culture, it's like this. And what? You want me to diss my own culture...you crazy kid.
Unfortunately, this was a coma inducing meal and we were down for the count after that.

I think my parents are trying to help make my body "baby ready." Nice try, you tricky parents you.

For dinner, we went to Kuya's house to watch Sebby and his friends (Richard's adorable daughters) hunt for eggs.

Ahhh, to be a kid again!

Sebby was a talented Egg-hunter, but he was very very uninterested in what was inside them. I should've just taken the dollar bills and quarters that were inside, but he's my nephew afterall. I'd probably lose some serious Auntie points.

Instead, I munched on these yummy creations! Katwina made them!!

Nests made out of white chocolate coated pretzel sticks and topped with a Peep and some malt ball eggs... Oh Kuya, you got yourself a winner here! This was my First time trying Peeps. And the verdict? I think I would've gotten the same effect if I ate a ladle full of sugar. I couldn't help but think of my dentist while chewing these lil' guys.

I really loved being home.

So much love....but I'm still bummed about the Ham situation.

Tell me buddies:

• one thing you did for Easter
• Are you a Peep fan?

You Dim Sum. You Lose Sum.

I have un secreto.

When I look for recipes, I tend to favor those of the "for kids" variety. I wish I could tell you I'm practicing for when I have to be Mama in the kitchen instead of Wifey in the kitchen, but it's all for different reasons. Childish Reasons.

Reason #1: These recipes tend to be non-laborious, because really, what kind of mom is going to spend 3 1/2 hours making a special Macaroni and Cheese dish for their 4 year old son, who will most likely stick it up his nose or feed it to the floor?






















Reason #2: You wont be cooking with much Quinoa, beets, or freakin' kale. It's all about ground meats and cheddar cheeses. I'm not opposed to eating healthy, but sometimes you need a little B-O-L-O-G-N-A in your diet, am I right or am I right?



Reason #3: If it's "Kid Approved" like it promises, most likely it'll be "Husband Approved" as well. And if Husband approves, then he's most likely going to do the dishes. And that is OhhhTAY with me.

 Happy Wife, Happy Life! True Dat.

Case in point....

Project Wifey Wife Week #15-The Savory

Chinese Style Turkey Meatballs Dumplings

w/ sweet dipping sauce

adapted from Disney.com

Ingredients:

1 head of cabbage

1 lb ground turkey
2 scallions, very finely chopped
1/2 cup very finely chopped cilantro
1 Tbs sesame oil
1 Tbs vegetable oil
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 egg, lightly beaten

pre-made wonton wrappers

Chinese Meatballs sounded weird to me. I don't know why. So, I stuffed those balls into some wonton wrappers and called it a day. Like I always say...You Dim Sum. You Lose Sum. I actually have never said that, but now I will. ALOT.

1. Start by prepping your steamer with a layer of cabbage and steam them as you prepare your wontons. This will help your dumplings not to stick when you steam them.

 

2. In a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients, excluding the wonton wrappers. Obviously.

3. Scoop a little spoonful of the mixture onto a wonton wrapper.

Triangles are coolio.

Bring the corners together, to make what looks like...a chicken bum.

TeeHeeHee. I'm going to feed little chicken bums to my hubby.

You can also make little "purses" for the girls mayhaps?

I made a gang of each of  them.

4. Carefully place each wonton into your steamer. Do not crowd them because they will be annoyed at you and stick together, ripping the delicate wonton skins off upon removal. Steam for 5-7 minutes.

Change the layer of cabbage, as needed. When they looked wilted and sad, I put in a fresh new layer.

Sweet Ginger-Soy Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tsp of grated ginger

**Cook ingredients in a small pot over a low heat until sugar is melted. **

Perfection.

On the side there, are some Chinese noodles that I haphazardly mixed with some carrots, fancy snap peas, sesame oil, soy sauce, and oyster sauce.

Hubby said that this is part of his Top Ten favorite new dishes of ALL TIME. He was so incredibly happy and satisfied with this meal.

After dinner, he said, without my nagging, a string of words that touched my heart so.

"Do you need help with any chores tonight?"

I was, jaw to the ground, tears in my eyes, arms loaded with hugs and ready to attack...HAPPY.

And then there was dessert.

Happy Wife, Happy Life.

Coachella...SWAG.

I get anxiety in my belly when I don't blog for a long period of time. I feel like I let my readers (all ten of you) down somehow. That's a little dramatic of me, huh? Get over yourself Narcissus.

Nonetheless, I apologize for the long break. I could give you a list of excuses, I'm really good at excuses. That's really sad.

Even though I didn't blog for these past couple of days, which felt like an eternity, I thought about it alot...ok, maybe a bit obsessively. If my pictures were available for upload and I had access to a computer, I would've blogged many many times....oops...there goes my excusing. But I've been thinking about how to attack this post.... how the hell do I cram Three GLORIOUS days into a blog post? I guess, the same way I cram french fries in my mouth... just DO IT!

SWAG Moments of Coachella 2011

Preface: I need to school you in our word of the weekend.
Swag- (adj.)- describing something or someone that is impressive and just flat out awesome. You can say it in a sentence:
Spicy Pie is so SWAG.

or alone. ::silence in the room:: SWAG!



Random guy from Coachella knows it!

We can thank Adam aka Faimkills for infecting us with this word. My group of friends thought it was quite entertaining when he started describing everything with it. But soon enough, it spread like Nutella on Hot toast....mmmm...Nutellaaa....say it with me now....SWAG.

1. Music

If I didn't mention Music first, all the Coachella fans would throw CDs at me in protest.

I'll be quite honest with you and say that I don't know every band listed on the line up. Heck... I've never even heard of bands such as Duck Sauce, DJ Zinc, or Rye Rye. All I think is food when I hear these cooky names.

But as for my top favorite Swag performances, these take the cake....DJ Cake...no that's not a real one, maybe it'll be mine when I decide this blogging or teacher biz doesn't work out.
**Click the band name to see real Coachella footage!**

The Black Keys- described as "American Blues-Rock" this duo vocalist/guitarist and drummer/producer makes you want to close your eyes and take in their smooth sounds. Their Main Stage Performance was perfection.

Sleigh Bells- possibly one of my new favorite bands that I discovered at Coachella this year. Any band with a crazed female lead is hot stuff. I wish I had talent of some sort.

Arcade Fire- Their finale song, made me cry....watch for yourself. If you were there when the big surprise "dropped," you would've been giddy like a little girl. Cut to 2:16 and be WOW'd.

Bomba Estereo- Another hot female lead, who we couldn't decide looked more like Michele Rodriguez or Adrianna Lima's little sister. This band just made my body dance uncontrollably. I just wish I knew Spanish.

Erykah Badu, Damian Marley and Nas, heck even Wiz Khalifa- I grouped my favorite hip hop acts together to save blog space. They were all great! I hate Wiz Khalifa on the radio, but in person, he was worthy of me listening to. I was in the front dancing my sweaty arse off.

Kanye West- Ok, before you roll your eyes anymore and mumble what a douch bag he is, I have to tell you that I totally did the same thing until I saw him perform. I gotta give it up to him, he put on a SHOW. He apologized. He cried because of his love for his mom. He shared the stage at the end of the night with his dancers and his musicians to take a bow with him. Maybe it was fake, but at that moment, he became a little less douchbag to me. I said a little less...

There were tons other bands that caught my ear, but those are my favorites :)

2. FOOD
Did I eat Spicy Pie? Almost every day for every meal....if you don't believe me check out the pimples that formed on my face from eating this greasy goodness. I don't eat pizza much, so my body and face hate me now... it's only once a year, Body. I won't be doing this again, Face.

And while the boys had beer for breakfast, I chose to drink Fresh Strawberry Lemonade. Sure, it's not as fun, but it sure was tasty. Apparently PB & J and cold beers for breakfast was a good pairing.

3. Atmosphere
Now if you're planning to ever go to Coachella, keep in mind that it's a crazy place to be. On the outside, it looks kosher, Hell, even parents were bringing their babies! ( I do not approve of this)

But on the inside, it's a bunch of sweaty crazy people walking around and enjoying this Coachella-land in their drug induced state . I did not and do not partake in this madness. But I do like and did enjoy watching the crazies. There are plenty of girls with pasties and boys with banana hammocks and I see atleast one guy dressed like Borat in his green bathing suit thingy, every year. Sounds like a Gay Parade, but no....it's not. That's just normal behavior of Coachellians.

Unless you have an open mind or a closed mouth, don't plan on ever going. You'll be jaded and scarred for life. Then, you'll turn into a crazy person and go to Coachella and I will make fun of you in my head. Teeheehee
Really, it's not that bad, it's just entertaining. It's fun to see what insane creative things people bring or wear. There are also boring people like me who just sport the usual shorts and a tank.

There are also plenty of celebrities! I saw Bam Margera...twice and Ricki Lake! Last time, I saw Kate Bosworth...buying a Spicy Pie right in front of me! Great minds think alike. We should be best friends.
Hubs and Brother saw Katy Perry! 

4. Friends
So, did my friends get mad at the picture I chose from my last post? Naw...they're cool like that.



Pretty spot on for not having the picture in front of them!

I spent a lot of my time with Irish, sitting in the grass by the main stage eating Ice Cream and admiring our new feather headbands. We loved just soakin' it all in. Music and sun, food and celebrity talk.

I also got to Ferris Wheel it up with my Hubby!

5. Gettin' Down and Dirty
Here's another word of advice if you have this on your bucket list.... Bring Anti-bacterial hand soap, Anti-bacterial wipes, and Anti-bacterial clothes if you can find some. It gets HOT and sweaty there and the desert dust loves you.

And get this.... I BRAVED being upfront in the Main Stage area. I was a sweaty hog in mad hot heat and unwillingly touched way too many people that I will probably never see again.
Hello Hairy Man, it's nice to meet you.   Please get your beer belly off my spine? Thanks.

When you're standing that close to all those drippity people, you really forget that you might be a closet claustrophobe. And if you're standing there long enough, you'll just forget about the fact that your hand is on some weird person's slimey back. And when the music comes on.... all is forgotten and you just get into it.

And then.... there are Mosh Pits.


See that poor shmuck to the right side praying for her life, imagine that were me.


















Why would I get myself into something like this? Re-living my youth mayhaps? Peer pressure? Ummm... I was trying to find the bathroom? I'm crazy...**DING DING DING!**

I lasted a full minute (I think). I almost lost my shoe and my half digested Spicy Pie. I screamed for the Security to save my life like a Baby crying for it's mommy. I accidentally pocket tweeted @KhloeKardashian. (Don't ask me how, I'm still trying to figure that out) That's all I remember because I was too busy being half trampled by a stampede of psycho boys and very masculine girls. But I did it and it was fun.

I'd like to point out that my Hubby and lil Brother Bear was part of the madness.
(If you're wondering why Hubby didn't save me , it was because we accidentally got split up in the crowd. If it were up to him, he'd throw some 'bows' on those fools....even if it were his own brother...ok maybe not.)

You can't tell but Brother Bear is TOTALLY soaked drenched in sweat...some his own... and some from all those people behind him. My Hubs looked exactly the same and that is why I didn't touch him for the rest of that day.

I can turn this post into a freggin' dissertation about Coachella but the bottom line is, it's an experience. To me, it's a great experience and I'm a little Kanye cocky about the fact that I've been 3 times. I really love going.

Coachella is just plain....SWAG.

Tell me friends:

• Would you ever go to Coachella?
• Have you ever been to a concert and if so which ones?
• Name something that is SWAG.