Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts

On Girlfriends {Happy Galentine's Day!}

Sara Levine 2/13/2015 1 Comment Edit

About 2 years ago, Josh and I fell head first into the world of Leslie Knope and were subsequently introduced to Galentine's Day. The idea is simple - February 13th is another day of love, but this time for your girlfriends!

A gift I put together for my Galentine Meg using ABM's Marbled Clay Dish Tutorial!

I am so lucky to have a number of wonderful women in my life to trust, to love, and to laugh with. Some of these girlfriends live close and share the smaller day-to-day details. A walk at the park with the dogs or quiet lunches in a classroom allow for a constant share of both the big, and the small, things in life. I cherish each moment with these women who have become my lifelines in Massachusetts. My girlfriends from home and from college are scattered across the country, and it means the world to me that I've found women here to whom I can turn.
But that doesn't mean that I don't get homesick for my other friends from time to time (read: All. The. Time.). I crave the late night talks, sushi dates, neverending giggles and easy conversation that my best friends give me. Because some of them live far away, we rely on gchat or text messages to keep in touch on a more regular basis, but it's never enough and do often wish that we lived closer. But, since I can't move NYC, Denver, Boulder, Wichita and San Francisco to New England (at least not yet!) I will just have to survive on social media and cell phones to keep close.
And of course, on this beautiful Galentine's Day, I am sending so much love their way - to my girlfriends near and far - the best Galentines a girl could ask for!

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Somehow, it is snowing again. I know that there's all sorts of science-y reasons why it's snowing, and that we're stuck in some sort of snow fall pattern from hell, but after almost 5 feet of snow in 2 weeks, I am legitimately staring out of my balcony window right now, jaw open, in shock that it's snowing. And how is it, you ask, that I'm home on a Wednesday morning at 9 am to be looking out my window? That's right - snow day #9! As if the snow now isn't bad enough, now school is officially going until June 30, so that's going to be fun.
But, to brighten up everyone's morning - yours and mine - I thought I'd share two of my favorite semi-homemade ways to enjoy breakfast on Valentine's Day. These two ways to make croissants are delicious and chocolatey and don't require too much work!

The chocolate drizzle ones are the easiest - and the ones you'll need to start with first if you're making both kinds. They are frozen croissants from Trader Joe's, and they need to be left out overnight to expand.

Take them out of the box before you go to bed the night before you want them, and when you wake up in the morning, voila! Ready to bake croissants!

Follow the directions on the box and bake them at 350 for 15-20 minutes. When they come out of the oven, allow them to cool for about 5 minutes, and then drizzle them with hard-shell chocolate sauce.

The hard-shell won't actually form since the croissants are too hot, but I've found that the hard-shell syrup stays the best on the croissants.

While the TJ's croissants are baking, you can prep your other chocolate croissants! You'll need Pillsbury (or store brand) crescent rolls and chocolate chips.

Unroll the crescent rolls and arrange them on a plate. There are 8 in a package, but I can never seem to get 8 good looking rolls from one of these containers. I was happy with 5 this time around.

Then, add a small handful of chips - about 15-20 - to the middle of each crescent roll, and roll it up into a croissant.

When the TJ's croissants come out of the oven, use the same pan to place your chocolate-filled croissants onto. Arrange them a bit apart, as they will puff up during baking, and turn your oven up to 375. Wait 5 minutes, and then place the chocolate-filled croissants in the oven for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Once they are golden brown, remove them from the oven and serve immediately!

I topped the plate with extra chocolate chips and served both types of croissants with some coffee in our new initial mugs (tutorial coming soon!) on our newly stained lazy susan (tutorial also coming soon for this!) as a special snow day treat on Monday, and they would make a great semi-homemade Valentine's Day breakfast treat!

Are you getting ready for Valentine's Day? Looking forward to breakfast or dinner more? Or are you so buried under snow that the holiday is the last thing on your mind? I'd love to hear about your favorite Valentine's Day treat!

Valentine's Croissants Two Ways

Sara Levine 2/11/2015 Add Comment Edit

Take them out of the box before you go to bed the night before you want them, and when you wake up in the morning, voila! Ready to bake croissants!

Follow the directions on the box and bake them at 350 for 15-20 minutes. When they come out of the oven, allow them to cool for about 5 minutes, and then drizzle them with hard-shell chocolate sauce.

The hard-shell won't actually form since the croissants are too hot, but I've found that the hard-shell syrup stays the best on the croissants.

While the TJ's croissants are baking, you can prep your other chocolate croissants! You'll need Pillsbury (or store brand) crescent rolls and chocolate chips.

Unroll the crescent rolls and arrange them on a plate. There are 8 in a package, but I can never seem to get 8 good looking rolls from one of these containers. I was happy with 5 this time around.

Then, add a small handful of chips - about 15-20 - to the middle of each crescent roll, and roll it up into a croissant.

Once they are golden brown, remove them from the oven and serve immediately!

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Heart French Toast

Sara Levine 2/09/2015 Add Comment Edit

It's another snowy Monday here in New England, and of course, another Monday with the public schools closed. This marks the 7th snow day that we've had in 2 weeks, and we're looking at another one likely for tomorrow. But, we're staying warm - and a bit productive! - as we binge-watch Breaking Bad and I get ready for my next units. And it's a perfect time to get ready for Valentine's Day and whip up some delicious love-inspired treats in the kitchen! Today, I'm sharing a delicious breakfast - Heart French Toast!

When I was little, my brother and I often spent weekend nights with my Grandma and Aunt, and in the mornings, we were always excited for my Grandma's delicious french toast. This is an easy french toast recipe, inspired my Grandma's love!

4 Slices of Whole Wheat Bread 2 Eggs 2 Tablespoons Milk 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil Strawberries (Optional) Powdered Sugar (Optional)
First, cut your bread slices into hearts. You can use a cookie cutter, or simply freehand the heart shape.

Then, mix together the eggs and milk.

Heat a large pan over medium heat, and then add the vegetable oil. Swirl the pan to coat.

Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture to coat. Then, place in the pan to cook.

Cook for about a minute on each side, until lightly browned.

Serve with powdered sugar and sliced strawberries for an extra special touch!

This Valentine's breakfast is great for a breakfast in bed for two, or perfect to surprise your kids with on Valentine's Day morning. Served with syrup, or even chocolate sauce, this is a great breakfast to impress your loved ones with this holiday!

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Teacher Holiday Gifts

Sara @ Forever and a Recipe 1/13/2014 Add Comment Edit

Before another moment of January goes by, I want to share with all of you what I gave as gifts during the most recent holiday season to other teachers at school!

I've become close with a few teachers at school and I wanted to say thank you to those that have helped me along the way these first few months. In addition, as a traveling teacher, I share classrooms with a number of other teachers. Since I kick those teachers out of their classrooms for one period each day, I wanted to say thank you to them as well.
I went to Michael's and picked up a bunch of their little holiday ramekins - for just $1.99 each! - and filled them with homemade chocolate chip pudding cookies (from Chef in Training). I also bought Christmas ribbon, gift tags and cellophane at Michael's to wrap each ramekin.

These gifts were super easy to put together and not expensive at all. It was the perfect way for me to thank those special teachers in my life - and I think this type of little gift would work well for just about any holiday.
I also gave a few more personal gifts to a few teachers I have become particularly close with or who have mentored me - and picked out a book that I thought each of them would really enjoy.
I absolutely love giving gifts and this holiday season was no exception! Did you give any gifts to your coworkers - or the teachers in your lives? I'd love to hear about them if you did!

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Happy Independence Day!

Sara @ Forever and a Recipe 7/04/2013 Add Comment Edit

source

Happy Independence Day! I love this painting of people celebrating our independence day in Philadelphia in 1819! I hope you have a wonderful day - filled with good food, good people, and a great celebration! Happy 237th Birthday, America!

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Valentine's Day Cookie Duo

Sara @ Forever and a Recipe 2/20/2013 2 Comments Edit

Can you believe it's Wednesday already? And also, almost a week after Valentine's Day, but even though I'm a little late with these cookies, I still think you'll appreciate them.

First up, Valentine's Day M+M chocolate chip cookies! All you need to make these are your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough (mine is here), and Valentine's Day M+Ms. Once you've mixed your cookie dough together, add 2/3 cup of M+Ms and mix well.

Then, roll small balls of dough - about 1 tsp each - and place about 2 inches away from each other on a cookie sheet. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 for 8-9 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

And then, I also made a delicious batch of sugar cookies, using the same recipe I used for last year's Valentine's Day cookies (here), but iced them a little differently.

These cookies turned out perfectly - and I brought them in for my US History students to enjoy while we watched a movie and they loved them!

Did you make any cookies for Valentine's Day this year? Nothing is better than chocolate and cookies on Valentine's Day!

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