Healthy and Simple Roasted Vegetables!

I love making easy and healthy recipes. This recipe for roasting vegetables can be done with whatever vegetables are in your fridge. This time I did a combination of brussel sprouts and cauliflower.

To make the recipe reflected in the picture I cut the brussel sprouts in half and sliced the cauliflower so the pieces were thick enough that they didn't fall apart but would still cook. I put all the pieces in a zip lock baggie and added some extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper (to taste). Im sure you could add different spices to give your vegetables a different taste. You want to use enough oil that it will coat all of the vegetables, too much will make your vegetables soggy. I eyeball a little bit and start shaking, knowing I can add more oil if I need it. I dump the vegetables from the baggie into an aluminum foil pan. The vegetables get baked at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes based on the amount in the pan. I tend to stir them after the initial time and put them back in for the same amount of time. You can always continue cooking or remove vegetables from the oven early if needed.

 

Breana

TenseBuilder App Review

TenseBuilder by Mobile Education Store is one of my new favorite apps. I have been using this app for a few weeks and love all of the different ways the app can be used and changed based on each students needs.

This is the homescreen that is seen when the app is opened. As you can see, I created this set under my name as an example. The first selection is to turn audio instructions on or off. I turned them off because I didn't think they were necessary. Correct answer reinforcement is basically the option to allow praise after each question. Recording the correct answer allows keeping score, but most of the time I use this app with two students and there is not an option for that, so I keep my own data. Level of play allows a different structure for more or less advanced students. I will show examples of each level later on. Maximum number of choices allows you to select how many answer choices are shown for students playing in level 2 (this will also make more sense later). Tense allows you to select who tense you want the videos to focus on. You can select from past, present, future, or all of the above. Verbs allows you to choose if you want to focus on regular or irregular verbs or both. There is also an option to select exactly which verbs to focus on. Lesson style allows the selection of a short lesson, which is a short video and then the selection of pictures or words, the short lesson comes in if a student gets the answer incorrect. The app will switch the image in level 1 to the tense that was selected and explain why that answer was incorrect. In a long lesson, the video will be played again and stopped periodically to explain how each tense is occurring.

This is what the video screen looks like. The blue button allows the user to swtich from a short lesson to a long lesson. The red button allows the user to move on to the next video. The green button plays the video. These videos contain only sound bites, they do not contain voice of any kind.

This is what the video screen looks like after a level 1 video has been played. The sentence tells you which tense and the student has to match the picture to the sentence.

This is what the screen looks like after a level 2 video with 5 answer choices. The app reads the sentences and the student must decipher which verb fills in the blank. When the user touches or slightly moves any of the answer choices it will read the answer choice.

Overall I think this app was done very well. My only cons about this app is the fact that you can only work on one user at a time and in level 2 the answer choices do not disappear when the student guesses incorrectly. It is not difficult to switch between users, but it is annoying to have to keep switching back and forth between users. I would definitely consider this app a MUST HAVE!!!!

Breana


The opinions in this review are mine and only mine. I was provided a copy of this app and no other compensation.

FREEBIES!!!!

I have recently released a series of freebies to help with different areas of therapy.

The first freebie is a prompting mat for WH questions.
     This activity contains a visual representation of each wh- question that students can create themselves or that a therapist or teacher can create and give to their students.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Wh-Question-Prompt-Mat-962550

The second is a list of vowels, diphthongs, and retroflexed/rhotacized vowels for quick creating of nonsense syllables and words.
     This one pager contains a list of vowels, diphthongs, and retroflexed/rhotacized vowel for easy reference. I know I find it difficult to come up with vowels sometimes when I am creating nonsense syllables during articulation therapy.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Articulation-Vowel-Sounds-967908

The third is a prompting mat to help with describing and adjectives.
     This one page cheat sheet will help students with activities that require describing and use of adjectives.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What-Words-Can-I-Use-to-Describe-1002626

The fourth is a cheat sheet for the rules of regular and irregular plurals.
    This one page list contains the rules for regular and irregular plurals. Students can use this list to create regular and irregular plurals for a variety of different activities or as a reminder.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Rules-of-Plurals-1002638


Hope you enjoy.
Breana

November Love it and List it Party

Jenna over at Speech Room News has done it again. This month the Love it and List it Linky is about Articulation Apps. I know based on my current case load, I would be in big trouble if I didn't have these apps.

My absolute favorite artic app is Articulation Station Pro by Little Bee Speech. This app has tons of different words and sentences for each phoneme, although I do wish it had phrases too. The pictures provided are real not cartoon and are more recognizable for students. Student can practice words as flashcards or a matching game, sentences, and stories. There is also a recording feature so students can record and listen to themselves for self evaluation.

For my older students I love I Dare You Articulation  by Eric X. Raj. The student love this app because they love completing the dares and laughing at each other. If I have multiple students in a group and they are not all doing artic, they all love to fight over the iPad and see who can get the best dare. This is the app to use for students who do not want to do speech because they wont realize what they are doing.

Although at the moment I only have the free version of Entire World of R flipbooks, the full app is on my list of apps to buy. I love that the three different flip books can be each be changed or left behind. There are hundreds if not thousands of sentence combinations for this app and each vocalic /r/ combination has its own set of flipbooks.

This app is not necessarily an artic app but it helps with tongue placement. Speech Tutor by Pocket SLP provides videos in profile to show students approximate tongue placement and how the phoneme should sound. I have found this app helpful with some of my older students. They can watch the video and figure out for themselves where their tongue should be with a little help. My younger students like the videos but don't necessarily understand the tongue placement. This app also helps in explaining tongue placement.

Hope this helps. Check out what other SLP's had to say here. And check back next month for another linky party.

Breana

Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes

This may be a Pillsbury recipe, but I am taking credit for the cute cupcake liners and decorations. I did not fully follow the recipe, I used a vanilla frosting and chocolate chips on top as opposed to making mini chocolate chip cookies.

Find the original pillsbury recipe here, but i will also provide the recipe and directions below.

You will need these ingredients to make the chocolate cupcake:
1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour (I use King Arthur's flour for everything)
1/2 cup og cocoa powder (I use Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa)
1 1/4 teaspoons of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar (I only used 1 1/4 cups and the cupcakes were way too sweet)
1/2 canola oil
1 cup warm water

You will also need the container of gluten free cookie dough. I used most of the container to make the cupcakes but ate a few small bites.


So the point of this recipe was to use the new gluten free refridgerated cookie dough from Pillsbury. Let me just tell you I was eating the cookie dough that was left over with a spoon. 

This is the making 3/4 inch cookie dough balls for the inside of the cupcakes. My balls were a little big because I eyeballed it, but it still worked. I would be more careful next time.



This is what the cupcakes looked like when I put them in the oven. The balls were sticking out but the cupcake baked up and around it, leaving a flat surface in the end, perfect for decorating. The chocolate cake was super moist and so was the cookie. Many of my co-workers who I bake for, don't realize anything is gluten free until I take a bite. They were also really surprised by the addition when they bit into the cupcake.

I used a canned vanilla frosting from Cherrybrook Farms to frost these cupcakes. I'm not sure if the can had been around a while, but it seemed like more of a glaze and was super sweet. It is not a product I would buy again.

To make these cupcakes:

-preheat the oven to 350 degrees
-place cupcake liners in a cupcake pan
-make cookie dough balls- approximately 3/4 inch in size
-put cake ingredients in an electric mixer and mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until blended- I used the electric mixer because it said to (the first time I tend to follow the recipe), but im sure it would have worked the same with a hand mixer or a fork.
-spoon 2 tablespoons of batter into each cupcake liner, add cookie dough ball into the center, cover balls with another spoon of batter.
-bake for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
-frost with choice of frosting and toppings or follow the recipe for the frosting and mini chocolate chip cookie.


Although the recipe says it makes 12 cupcakes, I got 18 in my batch. It might have been because my cookie dough balls were too big so I used less batter. I had enough cookie dough to put a surprise in all 18 cupcakes. I would make these cupcakes again and recommend them to you for a sweet treat.

Breana

October Love it and List it Linky Party

Jenna over at Speech Room News has done another Love it and List it Linky party. The month of October is to share Language apps. Below are a list of my favorite apps to be used for language.

Syntax City by Smarty Ears
     This app helps student work on a variety of different syntax skills such as do-does, irregular past tense, have-has, plurals (regular and irregular), 3rd person singular, he-she, was-were, and is-are in a variety of different fun settings. This app allows student to fill in the blank with two or three choices of answers.

Wh Question Pro by Super Duper Inc.
     I love all of Super Duper's products but this app is awesome. Each student selected to play can work on Who, What, When, Where, and/or Why questions. Based on the level the student needs to work on the app can work on multiple choice (3 answer choices are provided), decode the answer (the student uses their finger to use the decoder to identify the correct answer), matching the question to the answer (a matching fame where the app can be set to show 4 pairs, 9 pairs, 16 pairs, or 25 pairs), and drag 'n match (students match the question on the top line with the answer on the bottom line). These cards are similar if not the same as the physical card decks but easier to handle for those providers who travel, like me.

Action Words by Innovative Mobile Apps
     All of my students love this app. When you open the app there are 4 pictures that depict different actions. I use the app for a variety of targets including describing, teaching actions words, and sentence structure. The app is meant to be used as an identification game (a voice names an action and the student is to touch that action), but I turn off the sound and talk about the pictures.


These are just a few of my favorite language apps. Feel free to check out Speech Room News for other bloggers who have provided their favorite apps. Plan ahead for next months linky party which is about articulation apps. I have some good apps for that one.

Breana

Rhyming with Technology

I spent last weekend working really hard to get a new activity done. Rhyming with Technology has 390 rhyming words from 54 word families (6-9 words per family).

Pages 2-7 are blue, purple, green, and grayscale iPhones with blank icons. These iPhones are mats for the rhyming word icons to sit on. There are a maximum of nine rhyming words per word family.

 

Page 8 contains a chart with all of the word families in the activity. These word endings can be cut out and placed at the top of each iPhone as a reminder or to help organize the icons. 

Pages 9-28 contain icons like the ones below with words and pictures for students at different levels.

There is also a page of blank icons (pg. 29). Students can write their own words and add them to the list. With laminated blank sheets of icons student can write and erase extra word choices.

 

 

This activity can be used in many different ways.

- as a matching activity

- as an identification activity

- present a few words and have students provide more words for that word family

 

Breana

Find this activity in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here.

Beef Stew: My Favorite Dinner!!!!

Doesn't that BEEF STEW look amazing? This is one of my favorite meals, not only because it is easy to make, but because it is super tasty and there are always tons of left overs.

To make this recipe you need:
2 lbs beef stew meat
3 tablespoons flour (I use King Arthur's for everything I do, but any gluten free flour will do)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme or marjoram
1/4 teaspoon ground black peper
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) beef broth
4 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks (i love the potatoes so much so i use more than  potatoes)
1 large onion, cut into chunks
2 celery ribs, cut into 1 inch pieces

Directions:
-coat beef with flour- put flour into a zip lock bag with beef and shake until coated
-heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch Oven on medium-high heat. Add 1/2 of the beef, brown on all sides. Repeat with the remaining beef.
-stir in seasonings and beef broth, bring to boil, reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours.
-stir in vegetables and cover
-simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender
-add additional water as necessary.

This meal is better the longer it sits, the earlier you make it the better it is.

Breana

The Melting Pot!!!

So... I went to the Melting Pot last week for an old friend's birthday dinner and it happened to be HAPPY HOUR. I've been to the Melting Pot before, but this time I had an even better experience. It seems as though there are some new gluten free policies in place to make our experience that much better.

1) When you order fondue (cheese or chocolate), which comes with bread or dessert items we cannot have, ask your server for an extra bowl and a spoon. I have found with the cheese it is easier to have the people you are with pour cheese over their bread instead of you eating out of a bowl because we can eat the apples, veggies, and chips that come with the fondue. I always bring my own bread and offer to share with everyone else.

For the chocolate, gluten eaters get cheesecake, brownies, graham cracker covered marshmallows and some other things that are not GF friendly. It was easier to scoop the chocolate into the bowl before they started eating and dipping all of my food into the bowl instead of into the fondue pot.

To go with the amazing Banana's Foster and Dark Chocolate Fondue with Chambord I got a gorgeous plate of strawberries, banana's, a vanilla cupcake and chocolate brownie, ALL GLUTEN FREE. The cupcake and brownies are new to their menu and are not listed anywhere. Call and check with the location you plan to attend as this may be location specific.

I loved going to The Melting Pot for dinner before, this was my first happy hour experience and it was actually very reasonably priced. I love that the staff are very knowledgeable about the accommodations that can be made for a gluten free eater. The meal is also an amazing experience for those who have never been, its worth trying once.

Breana

September SLP Link Up

It's that time again, the September SLP Link Up. I know I missed the August Link Up and have been a tad MIA the second part of the summer, but I started school Aug 7th and things have been super crazy. The girls over at All Y'all Need are ready for another monthly link up. Feel Free to read my link up and check out their website for Link Up's done by other amazing SLP's.

School-ing: I seem to be schooling tons of artic kiddies this year. Of my 43 student caseload at one school, something like 35 kids have some artic included in their goal. I keep promising myself i'm going to like artic therapy by the time i'm done with this school year (although i'm not sure I can keep my promise). I'm also working in a high school for the first time. I'm remembering what it is like to be a high school student and why I wanted to get to college so fast.

Excited: Excited to learn. I am a SLPA working as a Speech Specialist this year (my company decided to sponsor the three SLPA's who stayed on staff from last year so we all have our Emergency Waivers) and with all of my artic goals I have been asking my supervisor for tons help. I hope by the end of the year to be a master in lateral /s/ and /z/ and /r/ in all its forms. I'm also learning alot about cleft palate to help one of my students, his repair isn't the cleanest and he is having alot of trouble with air flow.

Prepping: artic activities of all kinds. Hoping to make word, phrase, and sentence cards to fit into my Cranium Cariboo game, anything to help keep it more fun for the younger students. Also learning how to create a student plan for the cycles approach. Has anyone ever written a goal to specifically include how the goal is be targeted? I swear this students goal came from his pre-k program to treat his artic issues using the cycles approach.

Trying: (on a non speech related topic) trying to get myself out in the world and hopefully meet men i'm interested in. I've decided this year that I am going to join networking groups and put myself in situations where I have the opportunity to meet eligible men. I recently became an active member of the Jaycees organization, which does leadership training, networking, and community service in my area (but is a nationwide organization).

Hope you enjoyed this information. Check my TPT periodically for new activites as they are coming slowly.

Breana

Amazing Back to School Giveaway

Krystal at Lessons from the Middle is doing a very large and thought out back to school giveaway. There is more than $400 in product split between 4 deals. Enter to win before 8/14/13.

Breana

Sorry for Social Skills

I am so excited to finally have finished and posted this activity. I started this activity for a student who I was working with last school year (within the last few weeks of school) and didn't get it finished before the end of the year. I would like to introduce everyone to Sorry for Social Skills.

 

This activity is based on the classic board game Sorry, but includes a game board and game pieces for those who do not have the game. Each card has a number with instructions as well as a social situation with questions for discussion. The student can follow the insturctions on the card if you feel the student has appropriately answered the questions. The social skills scenarios include topics such as: airplane trips, bathroom rules, birthday parties, clothing, eating, friendship, life skills, and school. The file also includes a separate document with the scenarios and the target skill that each story is meant to reflect.

 

 

The game board is set up to be a file folder game. Print, laminate, and glue into a folder for stability.

 

 

 

Find this activity in my TPT store here.

 

 

 

Breana



Giveaway

iMums are giving away an iPad mini and case. Enter the giveaway below:

http://www.theimum.com/2013/07/the-imums-go-mini-win-an-ipad-mini-case-apps-mini-madness-5/#comment-27372

Love It and List It Linky Party!!!

Jenna over at Speech Room News has created a new link up idea to share different aspects of the Speech Room. This month's theme is: Games I Love. Below you will find my favorite games to play in speech.

1. Uno/ Whac-A-Mole/Blink
Uno was the first game I used in my speech room and the students loved it. They must have learned to play a different way because I still can't figure out the rules they use. Blink is a more complex version of Uno that I play with my middle and high school students.

Whac-A-Mole is similar to war where the students flip cards over and slap the pile when they get the same color or a wild. The goal is to get all the cards. (There is a deck for sale on Speech Therapy Materials Auction facebook page. )

2. Flippin' Frogs Game
I found this game at a garage sale, not really realizing what it was, and not realizing how much my students were going to go crazy when they saw this game. The game consists of a tree that spins with a nature sound component and students flip frogs offa lily pad trying to get them stuck in the tree. At the end of the round the tree flips up trying to knock the frogs off. I gave my students 2 frogs after a specific number of activities were completed and the person with the most points at the end of the session got a prize from the prize box.

3. Chutes and Ladders
I love using Chutes and Ladders to help students with describing/verbs/sentences/language. The game board in both the old and new versions have pictures throughout the board.

Hope this helps.

Breana

July SLP Link Up

First off, I want to thank Laura at All Yall Need for this month's SLP Link Up. You can read my answers below and the answers from other SLPs on her blog.

Just- dealing with health issues I put off during the year and recovering from minor surgery. I feel like everything catches up with me when i'm on vacation.

Using- my computer to create new activities for my TPT store. I am using my down time this summer to create activities I had thought about during the year and never had time to make.

Loving- getting to sleep in and execute new recipes. I feel like during the school year I am up at the same time every day and by the time I come home I still have to get notes finished and submitted online. I don't have time to experiment with recipes and try new things. I have basically mastered Gluten Free baking but am now devoting more time to actual entrees and not dessert.

Yummy- frozen yogurt on the triple digit and humid Los Angeles days. I think the guy who works at my local fro yo place is starting to recognize me when I call to get the daily flavors and when I come in. I also recently found a new Gluten Free Bakery a few miles away and the guy who works behind the counter is really hot but can't take a hint. They make the best gluten free baked goods I have found in a store in the last four years.


Breana

Baked Eggs and Avocado

I originally found this recipe on my facebook newsfeed, but thought it seemed like an easy breakfast. To make this breakfast you need:

Avocado
Eggs
Bacon (turkey bacon was used in this recipe)
Cayenne pepper seasoning

Note: this recipe is easy to make for many people. I only made one because I only had one avocado available to me and I was the only one eating. Keep in mind you need 2 eggs per avocado.

To make this delicious treat:
-preheat the oven to 425 degrees
-cut your avocado open and remove the pit
-use a spoon to remove some of the avocado flesh around the pit to make a well for the egg
-put the avocado halves into the cooking container of your choice and make sure they stable using aluminum foil to help. The original facebook post said that you can use a cupcake tin for cooking if making many halves, or ramekins or a casserole dish for smaller quantities.
-season the avocado with salt and pepper before adding the egg.
-crack an egg into the well. I used an extra large egg, cracked directly into the avocado, and it was too big for the well I made and made a mess. Next time I would separate the egg and the yolk, put the yolk in the well and then use as much white as I could.
-sprinkle top of egg and avocado with cayenne pepper.
-cook 1-2 pieces of your favorite bacon product and crumble for topping.
-if you prefer your yolks runny, cook for 15 minutes and check for doneness. If you prefer your yolks hard cook for 20 minutes.

To eat this breakfast I warmed a few corn tortillas and scooped the avocado and egg mix into a tortilla for a more solid meal. There was extra bacon after the picture above so I added it to my tortillas.

Find a similar recipe HERE!

Keep in mind you can anything to the top of your avocado and eggs once cooked. I'm thinking scallions, cheese, bacon, hot sauce, ham, sausage, sautéed spinach or anything in your fridge you desire.

If you make this recipe and add something different to the top, please share your creation.

Breana

Teaching Third Person Singular

There is a new activity in my TPT store to teach third person singular.

The activity contains two levels to help students identify and use this grammar skill. There is also an explanation sheet to show students how third person singular and plural are formed.

Level one of the activity allows student to pick the correct form of the verb to occupy a blank.

Level two provides two different verbs for students to select the correct verb and change it into its appropriate form to fill in the blank.

I also love the "things that fly theme" on this activity. Find this activity HERE.


Breana

My favorite summer recipe: Gazpacho

One of my favorite summer recipes is Gazpacho. This recipe was something I used to make with my Grandma when I was little. As soon as I was old enough to cook by myself, this was the recipe I went looking for in her recipe box.

To make this gorgeous bowl of summer goodness:
4 large ripe tomatoes
1 large cucumber, peeled
1 medium onion
1 green bell pepper
1 cup of tomato juice
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste
tobasco sauce or jalepeno (seeded and deveined to reduce spice level) to taste, optional


The original recipe calls for everything to be chopped fine and made by hand. I prefer to use a food processor or blender. Both work but I tend to get a chunkier result in the food processor. To make it work I cut all the vegetables to a rough chop and combine a little bit of everything in each round of the blender/food processor. This recipe can also be served with a dollop of sour cream and/or chunks of avocado.

FOR BEST RESULT let gazpacho sit in the fridge for 12-24 hours before serving, it only gets better with time.

Whenever I make this recipe, I always double it because if I am taking the time to take out the food processor and cut up all of the vegetables, I make enough to last a few days. Although, with my family this only lasts 2 or 3 days.

Breana

June SLP Link Up

Laura at Oh, How Pintearesting! has done a Father's Day themed Link Up this month. See my answers below.

Tanning to: Top 40's. Mostly Fun., The Lumineers, and P!nk.

Unwinding: while I drink some tea and lemonade and relax in front of my tv, although i still have another 2 days of service at one school.

Needing: a trip anywhere outside of L.A. County. My spring break trip got cancelled due to Celiac related illness and I just want to go somewhere new.

Excited about: watching the new baby for one of my babysitting clients grow up. As of today he is 10 days old and the cutest little baby ever.


Breana

I BAKED AGAIN!!!!!!

So apparently when I get bored I bake. Yesterday, the start to my first week of one school instead of six I decided to try a new recipe. I made GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE WHOOPIE PIES. I have had a craving for whoopee pies for months. This recipe was so easy to do and came out great.

 

This is a picture of what was left after the staff got to the container. What you are looking at is chocolate cookies with marshmallow fluff, the one in the wax paper also has peanut butter. This recipe is from www.gfreefoodie.com.

 

 

Gluten Free Chocolate Whoopie Pies

2 oz unsweetened chocolate (bakers chocolate found in the baking aisle)

4 oz semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons Gluten Free Vanilla Extract

1 cup Gluten Free Flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Baking Flour 

because I happened to have a sample around)

1/2 teaspoon Xanthum Gum (I use Hodgson Mill)

1/4 cup natural cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa)

3/4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoons fine salt

 18 Marshmallows (to melt on one cookie for filling, I used fluff instead)

 

 

Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet

(I did some one each and found that the cookies stuck more to the silicone mat)

Put the unsweetened and semisweet chocolates and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl; heat at 50 percent power until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir, and continue to microwave until completely melted, about 2 minutes more.

Whisk the sugar, eggs and vanilla into the chocolate mixture until smooth.  (I used a kitchen aid mixer and didn't have any issues.)

Sift the Gluten Free flour, xanthan gum, cocoa, baking powder and salt into another bowl. Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until moistened. Switch to a rubber spatula and finish folding the batter together; take care not to over-mix.

Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to drop a heaping tablespoon of batter onto the prepared pan. Repeat to make 36 cookies, spacing them about 1-inch apart. Bake until the cookies spring back when lightly touched, about 8 minutes.

Cool the cookies slightly. Transfer half of the cookies to a rack. Turn the remaining cookies on the pan over, so they lay flat side up. Place a marshmallow on top of each flipped cookie and return pan to the oven. Cook just until the marshmallow begins to soften and puff, about 3 minutes. Cool marshmallow topped cookies slightly, about 2 minutes. Top with the remaining cookies, pressing lightly to make sandwiches.

Cool whoopie pies completely on wire racks. Serve. (I use foil laid out on the counter since I don't have wire racks and I added the filling once the cookies were completely cooled. )

Store in tightly sealed container for up to 1 week.


I would make these again without a question. Check out www.gfreefoodie.com for tons of great gluten free recipes and ideas.

Breana



Appabled Giveaway with iPad accessories

Only one day left to enter this giveaway. The iPad accessories package adds up to around $325. I have a Griffin Survivor case on my iPad currently and I love it. The other items in this packages are just a cool and I would love to own them.


http://www.appabled.com/mega-mothers-day-giveaway/#comment-99

Gluten Free Cupcakes

This week I made gluten free lemon cupcakes with lemon frosting and vanilla cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting. I also purchased pastry tips at target to make the cupcakes look pretty, from the standpoint of a non- detail oriented person, the tips and pastry bags were easy to use and got me compliments. Let's start with the lemon cupcakes. This box contains only a bag with the cupcake mix.

 

 

Pros: For being a company I had never seen before, the cupcakes were moist and delicious. They had a great lemon taste and were easy to make as full size cupcakes and minis. My co-workers who ate the cupcakes didn't know they were gluten free or dairy free until I said something.

 

Cons: I had trouble figuring out if the cupcakes were done because they did not get brown on the top, but when a toothpick was inserted, it came out clean. I bought canned Betty Crocker lemon frosting and learned my lesson, it tasted very artificial and had to be fixed. I added lemon zest and extract to the canned frosting to make it more edible.

 

 

 

On the other hand, XO Baking Company is a company I have known about for a few years. I have met the owner a few times at events hosted by the Celiac Disease Foundation. This was my first time baking their product myself. The box comes with a bag of cupcake mix and a bag of frosting mix. I chose not to use the frosting mix because I didn't want vanilla frosting, but i kept the instructions and frosting mix for another time.

 

Pros: The cupcakes are so light and fluffy and moist that it is like eating a real cupcake. They rise and cook quickly. The cupcakes aren't too sweet so adding a sweet frosting isn't a problem.

 

Cons: I made these cupcakes as minis and one box of mix made 3 dozen minis and 6 full size cupcakes, that's alot for a box that says it makes 12 full size cipcakes. You need to use a mixer to make these cupcakes. I tried to do it mix it with a fork like I always do, but ended up having to use a mixer to get the lumps out.

 

 

All in all, if it came down to it, I would make both of these products again. I happened to find both of these products at Marshalls, but i know that XO Baking Co. can be found at Whole Foods and Sprouts also.

 

 

Breana



May Blog Link Up!!!!!

Oh, How Pintearesing! Has created a blog link up. Find my answer to the questions below.

Buying: I seem to be buying tons of graduation gifts for my friends and family. It's different to be having high school and Master's graduations in the same month.

Hearting: I am hearting the end of IEP season. I may only be a SLPA but once I write the present level for the IEP I then have to comunicate with my supervisor to get my ideas for goals across. It makes a one step process many more steps.

Sharing: I am sharing many of the speech blogs I follow with my co-workers. I have found some incredible information and activities on these blogs and want to make them known to my fellow speechies, as i'm hoping everyone will do with my new blog.

Making: I am in the process of making tons of new activities and gluten free cupcakes for the end of the school year.

Breana

My First Post!!!!!

For my first post I wanted to start off with a bang and introduce a new product. I created a matching game to target formulating questions. There are 44 sets of questions and answers for students to match up. Find this activity, a free version, and others in my TPT store by clicking here.

Stay tuned in a few days for the results of a new brand of lemon mini cupcakes with vanilla frosting.

Breana