Back to Blogging!

The past couple of weeks have been quite chaotic and full of grading paper after paper for my AP Language classes. In addition to my teaching gig at Sardis, I also teach for Jacksonville State University. I have taught a number of classes for the Department of Education and Professional Studies, but this semester I am teaching a hybrid class called Introduction to Education. This course is required for all Education majors at JSU. It is a really fun class that meets only four times a semester, because the coursework is mostly done online. Last week, I met with my students at midterm so that I could evaluate their progress. As a result of these after-school-meetings, I got way behind on blogging. Hopefully, I can stay caught up with fun classroom ideas and recipes!

I am so thankful that I married a man that knows his way around the kitchen. Any time I need help cooking, I can always ask Justin to step in and assist me with whatever I am making. This past weekend my family hosted a birthday/retirement party for a family friend, Miss Ivy Mordecai. After working as a librarian for over 30 years, she decided to retire. My sister, Holli, and I are usually the party-planners for any family event, so we decided to usher in fall by having a soup and sandwich themed menu. We served 3 different types of soup along with cornbread muffins made by may Aunt Rob (she is also an amazing cook!), cheese dip, ham and cheese sliders, and some of Holli's amazing desserts. I was in charge of making baked potato soup and ham and cheese sliders. My baked potato soup recipe was a little more involved than just one of my easy crock pot recipes, so I had to call on Justin to make the ham and cheese sliders. He did a great job! Here are the recipes for the baked potato soup and ham and cheese sliders: 

Baked Potato Soup

6 large baked potatoes, peeled and diced (I cooked mine for 3 hours on high in my crock pot. Make sure you wrap them in aluminum foil.)

1 stick of butter

1 onion chopped

1/2 cup plain flour (you made need a little more than this along the way)

3 (14.5 oz) cans of chicken broth

1 t dried parsley flakes

2 cups of Half and Half (can be fat free and it won't change the taste)

1 cup sour cream

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

Bacon bits

Salt and pepper

Melt butter, add onions and cook until tender. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly. Gradually add chicken broth and continue stirring until thick and bubbly. (You might have to add a little more flour so that the mixture thickens) Put in diced potatos, parsley, and half and half. Cook for 10 minutes. Add cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits before serving. 

Ham and Cheese Sliders

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb of deli ham, thinly sliced

1/2 lb of baby Swiss cheese

24 Hawaiin King rolls

1/2 cup of butter

2 tbsp of mustard

1 tbsp worcetershire sauce

2 tbsp of poppy seeds

2 tbsp of chopped onion (I used a half package of dried onion soup mix)

Set oven to 375. Melt butter and add poppyseed, onion, and worcetershire sauce. Without separating the rools, slice them horizontally. Spread both sides evenly with butter mixture. Fill evenly with ham and cheese. Let them sit for 10 minutes before baking. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

These are soooo good!