Blueberry Upside Down Cake

Well, I can't take credit for this recipe as I found it on the internet while searching for a way to use up all the blueberries Todd brought home from the garden center. (Side note: They have some great blueberry bushes that are producing "boocoodles" of blueberries if you are in the market for a blueberry bush this summer...it would be well worth the cost for all the blueberry desserts you could make this summer!) I however am not a fan of fresh blueberries...I like them in smoothies, sometimes parfaits but best in blueberry pancakes I make at home! This dessert I think will soon be a favorite. It's quite simple, you take fresh blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and a boxed cake mix (who doesnt have one of those lying around the house?) and put it all together for a beautiful and delicious dessert. I just had my first piece and as I write this I keep glancing at my now empty plate debating if I will take a shower before or after I have my second piece (just a little one I promise). Before I give you this recipe I just want to make one confession...I have began walking with my two children...well pushing one in the stroller and holding the other in his now too small carrier (I have a hold him in order to get my workout since he walks super slow and tries to stop and play with everything...then of course we play on the playground and I get in some lunges and push ups). Anyways...back to my confession...If only I could stop eating desserts I would probably begin to lose some baby weight...excuse me make that "babies" weight since I didnt lose the weight from my first child before I got pregnant with the second. I love to bake and when one dessert gets gone at our house I have to decipher what I plan on making next. As some of you know I took cake decorating classes and enjoying making cakes and decorating them. I am partial to my chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling and recently added toffee chips to the filling as well...hmmm. If I had the money I would love to open up a desserts shop that also made cakes for weddings, birthdays and such...but I dont know how it would do in roxboro and where in the world would I get the money to open up such a business. Nevertheless it is a dream of mine all because I love to bake and concoct new desserts to satisfy my ultimate sweet tooth. So back to the real reason for this blog Blueberry Upside Down Cake...again not my recipe...I found it on the internet!

Blueberry Upside Down Cake

3 c. fresh blueberries (or frozen, thawed & drained)

1 1/2 tbsp. tbsp. lemon juice

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. corn starch

2-3 tbsp. butter

1 yellow cake mix

Spread berries evenly in bottom of 9 x 13 inch greased cake pan. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine sugar and corn starch and pour over berries. Dot with butter.Top with prepared cake batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done. Invert pan before cake gets cool. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

*I topped with fresh blueberries because I had some on hand and it was a great way to cut the sweetness of the dessert with a punch of tart blueberry!

Summertime food favorite

So far this summer I have made this dish for my family 3 times and here is the 4th and each time was different. I think I have finally found the perfect recipe. Todd who doesnt like tomatoes loves this and a couple of others I have made this for dont like tomatoes, but still enjoy this so try it out and you might be suprised!

Cilantro Bruchetta

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon tomato sauce (no salt added)

4-5 roma tomatoes finely diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped garlic or 1 garlic clove

(I buy the garlic already prechopped in a jar or else my hands smell like garlic for a week)

salt and pepper to taste

1 baguette sliced

sliced fresh mozzarella cheese (you can also use shredded from a bag)

I've used different baguettes each time I've made this dish, I think I like the ones I get from Sam's club the best. They come two to a bag and are really hard. It makes for crispier bruchetta but its still good. If you cant get to sams club you can also get the take and bake long baguette bread from Food Lion. I slice and bake it a little then add the cheese and so on.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together except bread and cheese, set aside.

Layer bread with one slice of cheese and bake in oven on 350 until cheese is melted.

Add a spoonful of tomato mixture to each slice of bread and bake for about 5-7 minutes on 400.

Enjoy!

You can also skip the tomato sauce and instead pulse a few pieces of tomato, cilantro, and garlic clove in food processor to get a finer chop on the cilantro and garlic. (You could also be like Rachael Ray and micro grate the garlic into the mixture) Then add that to the diced tomatoes.

I'd love your feedback on this recipe if you try it and any recommendations if you tried something different!

Why I Became a Teacher

Well its friday and that means I get to spend the weekend with my babes. This friday I am off work for the last time because Camdyn Cate has a doctors appointment to check for hip dysplasia. It is also day two of exams at our HS which means that we will be out of school very soon. I just got back from maternity leave this past monday so I am super busy trying to grade everything the students did while I was out. I started grading my dance II's choreography projects. Basically students chose an idea to use as the inspiration for their dance and choreographed a dance as well as used manipulations to create new choreography based on their idea's. It is an extremely hard project, which uses a lot of the information I learned in college. I think some of my students believe me to be a "hard" teacher and think dance shouldnt be this academic but I want students to really learn from my class, not just learn combinations and perform them in class but learn how to choreograph as well as how to take their feelings and put them into the form of a dance. The style of dance I focus on in my class is based on their interpretation of feelings and movement. I want my students to express their emotions through dance. While grading these project on wednesday and thursday I was extremely proud of my students. I kept remembering how a particular student danced in Dance I and I was amazed at the transformation. I knew I had a great dance II this semester because the class was very supportive of each other and willing to try anything for me as well as extremely talented dancers so I wasnt expecting bad projects. I do understand that my expectations for students are extreme sometimes but I have faith that all my students can do what I expect. Basically I remembered why I became a teacher, to see this type of growth in my students. It is very fulfilling to see what you had a part in creating whether it is a productive student in society or just a self confident dancer who successfully put an idea into movements to form a dance! I am just so proud of my students and what they have accomplished so far. I really hope each of them decides to take Dance III but most of the time students are taking so many classes to prepare for college they just dont have room in their schedule for another dance class. I hope by reading this post you will encourage your children to take arts classes. It gives them a chance to be creative and excell at something other than academics. It is amazing what our arts department students can accomplish in 18 weeks. I wish the arts were more important in our school systems but for now they can only be described as an "elective" and not required for graduation.