I Hate Squash: A Squash Dressing Tutorial

I hate squash, but I ♥ Squash Dressing with my whole heart. My old timey way Southern Baptist church does a fundraiser in the form of a cookbook. Our church ladies are known all around in the community for how well they cook, in fact they started a group that does cooking for families who have had a death and need help with meals or preparing food for the funeral. They cook for all the revivals and we eat after church every Sunday at one of the ladies houses. The lady who's squash dressing recipe I use I consider to be an adopted grandma, she has done so much for me. I have never tried to make her squash dressing, but I saw that she had sent it in for the newest church cookbook and couldn't resist. My aunt gave me a bunch of squash from her garden and I knew it was the right time. It is very easy to make, and oh so delicious. So, here we go!

Gather up your supplies, ignore my lack of squash in this picture, I forgot the most important ingredient! Anyways, one can of cream of chicken soup (you could easily make this vegetarian by using cream of mushroom which I am sure would be equally as good), 3 eggs, 1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning, 1 stick or 1/2 cup of butter (melted), 1 small onion chopped, 2 cups of crumbled cornbread and 2 cups of squash that has been boiled, drained, and sliced (or sliced, boiled, and drained).

I am lazy sometimes. I mash my squash after boiling instead of slicing, it eliminates some of the cooking skills actually needed for this recipe.

Chop your onion. Duh.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, this picture looks like more than what you will have because I doubled the batch, we REALLY love Squash Dressing around here. Mix it really well, you want the squash and cornbread to be equally distributed.

Pour it into a well greased baking dish. I like to use this one that is sort of short and deep because I like mine really moist and gooey, however, you can use whatever you want. Remember that the thinner the mixture is the crispier it will be and the thicker the mixture is the wetter it will be. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown and delicious.

Here is what happened in this picture, I left to do laundry with the dressing in the oven, asking my roommate to take it out when the timer went off. I came back to a half eaten pan of squash dressing. It is that good folks. Comfort food at its finest. If I was a good southern girl I would serve this up with fried pork chops and green beans, but I am a busy southern girl so I served it with Diet Coke and paper plates. Try it out and let me know! 

Moving On Out

Ever since I have moved into my apartment I have hated it. I am used to big open spaces, no neighbors, and quiet when I am sleeping. I also have two babies in the form of dogs who hate not having room to run. So when a new company bought my complex and wouldn't allow people with pets to resign their lease I was both relieved and immediately stressed. It is so hard to find somewhere that allows pets and on my budget of $0 it is impossible. Student teaching is hard on the bank account. I have very little time to work and am struggling to pay my relatively cheap rent as it is. If you know of any places in the Dahlonega, Ga area that allow pets for a low, LOW price, let me know.:) Until then, lets pray that my stress levels calm down before I have a heart attack.

Whole Brain Teaching

Have you heard of Power Teaching or Whole Brain Teaching? Two semesters ago I did a presentation on diversifying lesson plans to meet the needs of different learning styles. I used this video as an example of easily incorporating physical movement in everyday activities.

I really liked the way that this teacher managed her classroom and the way that the students were so active! I did not think much more of it until I stumbled upon a post at Teaching Happily Ever After on Power Teaching. She uses it in her first grade classroom and says that the students do so well in it. In my future classroom I would love to implement Whole Brain Teaching, it looks so interactive, no passive learning there! If you are looking for different teaching styles that you might want to use in your classroom, I HIGHLY recommend popping over to Power Teachers to watch some more videos an check out the techniques used in Whole Brain Teaching! Also check out Teaching Happily Ever After, tons of cool things on her blog! It is all about technology in the classroom! Which is a great thing to keep up to date on!

Allow me to introduce myself...

Hello! My name is Caroline and I am a Junior in an education program. My major is early childhood education as well as special education. I will begin my first year of student teaching August 6th. I have gotten my school placement, but still do not know what grade level I will be with. The suspense is killing me! I am spending most of my time stressing about how I am going to support myself during these two years of student teaching and pinning teacher things on Pinterest. Believe it or not, my biggest fear is what to wear! I have very little professional clothing and I cannot decide which way to go when buying. Should I go for slacks and blouses? Dresses? Skirts? How should I dress for the most comfort and functionality, but still be stylish? You opinions are most appreciated. Though I haven't even began student teaching, I am looking forward to having my own classroom! Check out these manners cards!

I found them at this Etsy shop! They are meant for rules at home, but the store does custom orders, they would be perfect for a zoo theme! I love the little panda, too cute! I hope this will help me to keep up with what I am learning through my student teaching and help me vent a little of my anxieties. Fellow student teachers out there, or current teachers, what are your thoughts on student teaching? Was it/Is it as hard for you as I think it is going to be for me (as in paying your bills, stress level wise)? I would love to know!