Cooking Up a Great Year!

Thanks for hopping along through the Cooking Up a Great Year blog hop!

The school year has started and my first day with students was Tuesday. I have 24 sweeties in my class and we are busy learning routines and getting to know each other. I know this is a very busy time for us all!!! So sit down with your favorite drink and hop along for some tips and treats to help you start off the new school year in a positive {and delicious} way!

Every year my students enjoy everything and anything that has to do with food! And they especially like to read and learn about ethnic foods that they have a connection to. I am sharing a fun book with you today! Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto.

It tells the story of Maria, who feels sooo grown-up as she helps her family prepare tamales for Christmas dinner. In order to feel more grown-up, she slips on her mother's diamond ring, and continues to make tamales. Later that night just before dinner, she suddenly realizes that the ring is gone! Where could it have gone? It must be in one of the tamales! While the adults are in the other room, Maria and her cousins hide in the kitchen and eat through the huge plate of tamales trying to find the missing ring. They don't find the ring and Maria realizes that she will need to tell her mother. She approaches her mother and is about to tell her what happened, when she realizes that the ring is on her mother's hand!!! Maria confesses to her mom and lets her know that all the tamales are gone. Her mom is very understanding and the entire family heads off to the kitchen to make another batch of tamales. But Maria and her cousins have such full stomachs, they won't be eating any!

I have created a fun sight word game that your students will enjoy playing. It includes ALL of the Dolch sight words and an editable sheet for you to type in any additional words.

A student places some of the tamale word cards in a pocket chart.

The student then hides the ring behind one of the tamale word cards.

The other students take turns reading one of the word cards. If they read the word correctly, they can remove the card from the pocket chart to see if the ring is behind it.

When the ring is found, another student can place the cards back in the pocket chart, mixing them up, and then hide the ring behind a different word card.

You can grab this product in my TPT store.

As teachers we spend long hours working in the classroom and planning at home! Here is a easy and delicious recipe for those busy work days! Chicken Tamale Casserole!

The recipe comes from I Wash... You Dry.

Ingredients for Chicken Tamale Casserole

Mix together the dry corn muffin mix, 1 can cream-style corn, 2 eggs, 1/2 c. milk, chili powder, cumin, and 1 c. shredded cheese. I also added a can of diced green chilies for extra spiciness!

Pour into a 9x13 greased pan and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and use a knife to poke holes in the cornbread mixture.

Pour 1 1/2 c. enchilada sauce over the top of the casserole. Top with 3 c. shredded chicken {I shredded part of a rotisserie chicken} and 1 c. shredded cheese. Put back in the oven and bake for 20 minutes more.