1 box of yellow cake mix (no pudding!)
1 16-oz. bag of strawberries
1 large tub of cool whip
1 16-oz. can of crushed pineapple, drained
1 large box of vanilla pudding
1 bag of strawberry pie jell
cherries and/or shredded chocolate bar (topping)
punchbowl
Mix pie jell and strawberries, let set for 30 minutes. Make cake according to directions, let it cool. Prepare pudding as directed. Break cake in half, put one piece in the bottom of the punchbowl and cover with pudding. In layers, add half the can of pineapple, half the strawberry mixture and cool whip. Add cake and repeat. The bowl should be full. Top with cherries or a shredded chocolate bar.
Category Archives: Twists and Turns
Navidad…One Dish at a Time
Are you looking forward to “eating your way through” the Christmas holiday? Do you have any favorite Christmas meals? What about special desserts? I know I sure have some favorites! When I was a kid, my mom made chocolate-covered cherries from scratch. I remember counting the days until they had been in the closet three weeks; that’s how long it took for the syrup to form on the inside. I focus on chocolate, so another great dessert is what Mom called Martha Washington balls. (Here in Nebraska they are called elephant balls. It makes for some interesting conversations!) Basically, peanut butter balls are dipped in melted chocolate. Simply amazing! Don’t even get me started on the homemade eclairs! I lurked in the kitchen hoping to snag the first one. Punchbowl cake is another favorite of ours. In case you’re wondering about the cake, I’ll post the recipe in the next few days. It’s decorative and tasty!
A main meal treat when I was a kid was Aunt Ottie’s cordon bleu chicken. It is labor intense, however. Mom fixed spiral-cut ham with a mustard glaze that is to die for! There are so many “foodie” memories….I don’t know about you, but baked macaroni and cheese has always been one of my favorite comfort foods; Mom always cooked her noodles, put them in a baking dish and poured in a mixture of milk, flour (to thicken it) and sugar. Chicken in Mom’s barbecue sauce is a winner, too. Sorry if this is making you hungry….
Once we moved to Mexico, our family traditions changed a bit. Mom wasn’t close enough to cook for us, so we had to make do. Ysabela and I loved the tres leches cake. For those of you who have never heard of it, that means three milk cake. It’s what some call a “wet cake.”
In Seye (a small village outside of Merida), the neighbor’s family gathered to make tamales. I’m so glad they invited us over! Tamales quickly became one of my favorite dishes ever. An unexpected treat was what they called “sandwichon.” That means a big sandwich. Bread was sliced lengthwise, the crusts were cut off and layers of ham, cheese and sauce were added. There are recipes online for those who really want to know. I looked one up today to share with my students.
I guess the point is that no matter where you live, there’s always something to anticipate for the holidays. Maybe it’s a quiet meal at home with family and comfort food; maybe it’s a house full of extended family, friends and movies. Some people I know simply enjoy the time off from work and make no plans at all. Whatever your way is, enjoy it to the max!
Meals To Go
Ysabela has eaten chili two days in a row! It’s amazing because this is a kid who does not like leftovers. She even added a few more beans to it. I didn’t see that coming….
I am a bit ahead of the game for tomorrow. I made us each a sandwich to take to school. For me, that sandwich will keep crankiness at bay since I normally don’t eat breakfast or lunch. My plan is to have “breakfast” right after my first class since I have a break. After all, that plan worked for me today. I made some breakfast burritos last night and had two left over for today. I am already planning much better! 🙂
Warped Tour
My daughter is nuts about the coming Warped Tour concerts. I signed up for concert alerts and fan club tickets sale information and discovered that the closest concert to us is in Denver. To Ysabela’s delight, five bands she likes confirmed their participation today. More announcements will be coming on Wednesdays for the next few weeks. Being the super mom I am, I even signed her up to get updates. As you might imagine, she was thrilled.
I found out that there is “reverse day care” at the concerts for parents who need to rest. They will have a tent set up with air conditioning, beverages and misting fans. A complimentary parent admission is also included for minors attending the show. That’s pretty cool if you ask me.
What Ysabela doesn’t know (and since she doesn’t read my blog I can say this) is that I already have her an early Christmas gift—a ticket to the Denver concert! If you hear a scream around Christmas time, it will be her. 🙂
Mexican Food
After a dentist appointment this morning, my daughter and I had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. The food was pretty good, the service was fast and friendly, but I couldn’t help thinking that I have the skills to fix things like that at home. One reason we went was because it’s nice to have a meal we don’t have to fix once in a while. It’s also a treat to head out of town sometimes. Maybe it’s because our town is so far away from everything.
In light of yesterday’s post, I was disappointed in myself for spending the money to eat out. I have decided I’m going to try to make some Mexican food for us in the next week or so. I lived in Mexico for five years, and I know how to cook, so it shouldn’t be that difficult. If I get stuck, I can always ask my friend Laurie to give me some tips. She ran a Mexican restaurant back in the day. That’s how things get added to my list!
Grocery Shopping
Every time I head to the store, I silently vow to spend less than the month before. Every month I am disappointed in myself. I never mind spending money on food, but I do hate spending on the wrong things. My plan is to cook as much as possible. No more microwave stuff unless I have to be out of town and my daughter will have to fend for herself. We are both picky eaters, so meal planning can be a huge challenge.
Last month I bought a lot more “cooking” items, and we ate better meals that filled us up. I made a choice to focus on meats we like, and Bela has tried some new foods! Yea!!!!! I have a few more recipes that I am sure she likes instead of wasting money buying things she might eat. I enjoy making (and eating!) breakfast burritos, especially for supper. I saw a friend’s post on Facebook about bacon pancakes. They were a hit with my Bela. My friend Stacey gave me a simple chili recipe that Bela ate at her house. Success! Another success happened in the store this evening. Ysabela saw the stew meat in the cart and licked her chops. That’s a good sign! I figure I’ll add some potatoes and stuff to it in a crock pot, and we’ll have stew for a change. Bela is more of a carnivore than I am; I usually pick out the potatoes! (Now you know!)
Anyway, we’ll see how smart I can shop in the coming months. I am committed to saving money and eating better for less. (Thank you, Lisa, for sending us the coupons!)
My Aching Feet!
Saturday for the presentation I was wearing Ysabela’s black boots. I only have brown ones, so I wanted a pair to match my black pants. If you remember, Nick was at our presentation. Nick and I both smoke, and we needed a pack, so we walked all around to find a store. By the time we found one that sold cigarettes, we had walked the lower section of the River Walk. Ysabela’s boots were killing my old feet, but Nick still managed to convince me to walk to the Alamo. I’m glad I got to see everything. If I hadn’t gone, I would have regretted it once I got home.
Nick is such a gentleman. He helped take pictures and let me rest when I thought my feet would fall off! If I had been thinking, I would have brought my tennis shoes for the afternoon; I just didn’t figure I’d walk for what seemed like a hundred miles after the presentation!
Nick and I made it to the Alamo!
Lovely!
Happy Thanksgiving!
I would like to take this opportunity to tell you all to have a happy Thanksgiving. I hope you and your loved ones enjoy your time together.
Personally, I am feeling quite antisocial, but that’s OK. We have no “etched in stone” plans as of right now even though we have had a couple of invitations. I appreciate people thinking of us, but my idea of a good holiday is to find a new book, snuggle up under a blanket with the pups and read.
In any case, we should all do our best to enjoy the break from school and have a great holiday.
ACTFL Conference
I was lucky enough to go to my very first ACTFL conference last week in San Antonio. It was the result of an interesting chain of events.
In 2012, I had taken a class taught by Dr. Ali Moeller and Carolina Bustamante. It was a technology class taught in Spanish focusing on the books Cajas de carton and Senderos fronterizos by Francisco Jimenez. I learned more in that class than I have in any other. I worked hard, but I feel very competent with technology.
The best part about the tech class was that the participants took the it free due to a grant! At our first face-to-face meeting, we were told the funds would be disbursed to keep us from having to pay for it and then receiving a check back. That was the greatest gift of all because I had no idea how I was going to come up with $1200 up front. I cried all the way home. I didn’t know it then, but that tech class was the first step toward my Master’s degree. I got the news today that I passed my comps, so I am on track to graduate next month!
I sent a thank-you email to both Dr. M. and Carolina to let them know what the tech class meant to me. I received a gracious response from Dr. M. followed by a an invitation from Carolina. She asked me to be a co-presenter at the ACTFL conference. She wrote an amazing proposal, and it was accepted! That was my path to my first ACTFL experience. For those who are not aware, it is the largest gathering of foreign language teachers in the United States (that I know of). There were approximately 6000 teachers in attendance in San Antonio. The icing on the cake was the mariachi band competition in the same place! The group of students from Roma, Texas won. I know that because the abuela (grandma) of one of the students was at our hotel.
Carolina and I met up at the airport and took a taxi to the hotel she had booked. Red Roof Plus was a better deal than other hotels closer to the Henry Gonzalez Convention Center. It was about a 10-minute walk. Denny’s was the mid-point, so I had a couple of meals there. 🙂 The prices were reasonable, and I could rest my poor feet. My feet were killing me Saturday, but I’ll get to that later.
The exhibitor’s section was huge. I spent all evening and part of a day there just getting free products and making contacts. I picked up a French book for Ysabela and some candies to share with her as well. The attendees are expected to get a lot of samples because when we all checked in we received a large red bag for all the loot! We also got our official badge that could be scanned at vendor booths for more free stuff. The badge had ribbons that we had to attach. I got three for mine: pink, red and blue. Carolina had two on hers.
We got to the convention center right at 6 p. m. when registration was about to close for the day. Getting checked in at closing time was not so easy! Carolina made sure the harried clerk took care of us, but it took some persuading. Two other women got in line behind us. The clerk wasn’t going to check me in until we promised to make sure others knew the line was officially closed after those last two ladies behind me. More came, but we told them the line had already been closed, so they would have to come back in the morning. I think they were staying at the hotel next to the conference center, so it wasn’t such a big deal.
The scene outside the exhibitor’s hall….
The Texas CANdelier at the convention center….
To be continued….
Winter Hat Mandatory!
I learned very quickly that Nebraska can get really cold really fast. Ysabela and I came here from Mexico, so we thought we would never be warm again after our first 30 below winter experience. Our exchange student must feel the same way. Ysabela has been very sympathetic, perhaps remembering our first Nebraska winter. She had an extra hat, so she gave it to Joao.
Joao is trying to stay warm. 🙂
Ramblings of a Perforated Mind 