Last-minute Lesson Series

I want to share some of my favorite last-minute lessons. It's a reality in primary right, nobody prepared sharing time, there's 10 minutes leftover, piano player is sick, or teachers or subs are no-shows. I've been in primary for 4 years now, and I've learned to keep a stash of simple/fun lessons in my bag. These work for simple sharing times and can be adapted to a longer class time or even use in Family Home Evening.

Here are the first in my series of last-minute lessons. Enjoy!

Lesson: Establish a House (D&C 88:119)

This lesson is fun for all ages, and you can really challenge the older kids to memorize the scripture. The younger kids, of course, love to color the picture. I have one printed on cardstock, colored and cut into a puzzle. We search the room for the hidden pieces, put it together, and talk about each piece. Handout the house coloring page and color. Simple!

Click here for the blank house coloring page.

Lesson: Jonah and the Big Fish

This is another fun lesson, especially for the younger kiddos. You can tell or read the story of Jonah, and I use my colored cardstock cutouts for this. Make sure to cut a little slit up the whale's mouth so Jonah can really go inside. Talk about courage, faith and being obedient, sing Follow the Prophet and handout the coloring page. A winner!

Click here to download printable Jonah page.

Lesson: 3 Card Match (Easter Version)

This is a fun concept, and you can use it for many subjects, this one happens to be for Easter. The game is called 3-card-match, it's easy enough for little kids, but I find my senior primary gets in to it the most. Print off the cards, there are 2 of each picture to the Easter story. I use the music stand to play, but you could also use a flannel board or chalkboard. Place 3 cards face down, one child gets a chance to turn over 2 cards, their goal is to get a match. If they don't get a match, turn them over, make a show about mixing them up and it's another child's turn. If they match, take those cards out, tell that part of the story, and add more cards to the game. You can compete girls/boys, teachers/kids, classes, or just have them try to match them as a group.

You could make a fun set of cards for missionary work, temples, prophets, a million fun topics. I find that 11 or 12 matches takes the time. For younger children when they get a match you can tell that part of the story, for senior primary I make them tell ME the part of the story before getting the point.

Click here to print the 3 Card Match Easter Game. (It's 6 pages, be patient, and you'll want to print on cardstock)

If you have a favorite last minute lesson to share, or have questions or suggestion please leave a comment or contact me at camillescasa(at)yahoo(dot)com

Rescuing a box of gross crackers

You've done it too right? Bought a box of whole grain, healthy crackers only to discover they dry and kinda gross. I hate that, because I'm just too frugal to throw them away. I got a little creative and rescued that box that was destined for staleness in the back of the pantry.

Husband Rating: 5 stars (amazing!)

Here's what I did:

Cut 6 six boneless skinless chicken breasts into bite-size nugget pieces

Pour crackers into ziploc bag and crush. I used a rolling pin so they would be finely crushed, or you could take our your diet aggression and bang them on the counter:) To the cracker crumbs at 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, 3 Tbsp. flour, dash of pepper and garlic salt.

Melt 1/4 cup of butter. Dip chicken pieces in butter, then put in the ziploc bag. Toss to coat. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and arrange chicken nuggets. Bake 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked and breading is golden.

No joke here, they are quite delicious and crunchy! I served a handful with fries, carrots and ranch for lunch, so good. I divided the remaining nuggets into freezer containers (shown above) and tossed them in the freezer for a quick meal for later.

To reheat the frozen nuggets you can microwave them (since they're fully cooked) but it does make them a little soggy, I prefer the oven so they keep their crunch. I put them in for 15 minutes and 400* and they were piping hot and crunchy.

A few weeks later I served this meal w/ the same nuggets. I served mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, maple-glazed carrots and the very same chicken. I'm calling it Harvest Baked Chicken, because that sounds better than "Gross Cracker Chicken."

Now, go crush some crackers!

Best Ever Bread Dough

This is one of my favorite recipes to make and to share. I love it for 2 main reasons: you can't mess it up, and it still works if you're lazy. (Can it get any better?)

Let me explain: While teaching high school home ec. I had my students use this dough recipe for pizza, cinnamon rolls, calzones, orange rolls and homemade pretzels. Picture high school sophomore boys, who still haven't mastered personal hygiene, pulling out a piping hot calzone and having it look and taste perfect. Ta da! If they can make it without messing up, you can!

Next, this dough lets you be lazy or last minute. It's great when I have time to knead it properly and let it rise, but sometimes I just don't have the time. I skip those steps, yep, it still turns out fabulously. If you're in a hurry, just toss it right to the pan and you'll still be proud of the results. Are you convinced yet?

Follow along with me and learn how to make some amazing bread dough your husband won't be able to resist!

Husband Rating: 5 stars

1/2 cup warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar (divided)
1 1/4 cups milk
4 Tbsp. butter
2 lightly beaten eggs
1 tsp. salt
4 cups flour

Follow along with the photos. It is important that you add the ingredients in the correct order.



1. In a bowl combine 1 Tbsp. sugar with 1 Tbsp. yeast. Add 1/2 cup warm water. (Too hot will kill the yeast, too cold won't activate it. Think of warm water you'd wash dishes with.) Let sit for 5 minutes, it will become foamy and doubled in size.


2. In the microwave scald 1 1/4 cups milk. This takes about a minute and fifteen seconds. (Note: scalding is not burning. Scalded milk has a distinct smell, can't describe, just smell it!) Add in 4 Tbsp. of butter (or margarine) and stir until melted. Chopping your butter into smaller pieces and stirring helps it melt faster.


3. In a mixing bowl add in your milk and melted better. Stir in 2 lightly beaten eggs, 1 Tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. salt. If I'm making pizza dough, I like to add a tsp. of Italian Seasoning or some yummy herbs right here. If you're making cinnamon rolls or something dessert, consider adding some vanilla. It's fine to leave it plain though too:


4. Stir in 2 cups of flour. You can use white, wheat, bread, any kind of flour. Use a wooden spoon and stir it until it's mixed completely, no dry flour left.


5. Add in remaining 2 cups of flour one at a time. Stir after each addition. Now it's time to knead, put flour on your hands and work the dough. Sometimes your dough will be extra wet and you'll have to add extra flour. Sometimes it takes an extra 1/2 cup, sometimes an extra 1 1/2 cups just depending. You don't want it to be sticky, smooth and soft is your goal. If you have the time lay some flour out and knead it really well on your counter. (If you're in a hurry, just move on:)


6. When your dough forms a nice ball, and isn't sticky, you're ready to go. If you have time to let it rise, spray the top with cooking spray and let it rise for 15 minutes. If not, go right in to rolling it out for whatever you're making.

7. Baking times vary depending on what you're making, but I always cook it at 400 degrees. It's done when it's golden on top and smells amazing. Here are some ideas and my favorite things to make with the dough, I'll be linking recipes soon




1. Orange Rolls
2. Bacon, Spinach, Tomato Pizza Cups
3. Homemade Pizza
4. Calzones
5. Breadsticks
6. Pizza Bites (freezer recipe)
7. Deep dish pizza
8. Mini Pigs in a Blanket (with lil smokies)


Alright, go forth and bake. This is the recipe my friends request a copy of the most (and now that it's on my blog I don't have to repeat it on the phone anymore!) Leave comments if you have any questions.

Shredded Pork Education

I love me some good shredded pork, but it's so time consuming that if you're gonna make it - you better go all out! Follow my directions for some easy meals from your freezer and a happy husband. Bring on the pork!

1. I bought this roast, almost 7 pounds of pork shoulder for under $9. For the amount of dinners and lunches I made, it was well worth it! Don't worry about buying a more tender cut of meat, it's going to slow cook all day, so it will be plenty tender. Place the roast in the crockpot, it was a tight squeeze!

2. To give your pork some oomph I recommend adding some delicious flavors. First, add 1 sliced lemon or 2 sliced limes. Slice 1 jalapeno and toss it in (don't worry, it won't be too spicy, just delicious). Slice half of an onion and toss it over the roast. When you add your garlic cloves, I like to press them down into the meat. Now, fill the crockpot with water until about 3/4 of the roast is covered. This keeps your roast moist and prevents the meat from drying out and getting too crispy.

3. Sprinkle with pepper, put your lid on and set on low for 12 hours. I like to start it at night, then you wake up to a house smelling AMAZING!

4. Pull out roast to a cutting board (I used a slotted spoon since it was sooo fall apart tender) and let it cool. Peel away any fat chunks. Shred it with a fork or your fingers.

5. Separate your pork into meal portion sizes, I do 2 cups. Put in bags, label and freeze. Use within 2 months.

So, what can you do with shredded pork? I'll post my favorite recipes soon, leave a comment with your ideas.

We made: Tacos, BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, pork and rice burritos, egg rolls and enchiladas

Shredded Chicken Education

There are so many meals that require shredded chicken and I'm going to teach you a simple way to always have delicious shredded chicken at your fingertips. It takes too long to cook and shred the chicken every time you want to use it, and canned chicken isn't nearly as delicious. Follow along and make your life easier!

First off, when a big pack of chicken is on sale, buy several! My local Albertsons has a buy one get one free chicken event ever 3 months or so, and boy do I partake! You can do this with frozen chicken, but I usually buy it fresh, cook it all, then portion it in the freezer.


First step: Put your chicken in a pan, put in enough water to just cover the chicken and turn it to medium-low (I use a '4 1/2' on my stove). Put the lid on and let your chicken cook. Depending on how big and how many your chicken will probably take 20ish minutes. (This amount of chicken in the picture took 25, I usually cut into one piece after 15 and see how it's coming along.) Go fold some laundry or play wii fit while it cooks, you don't have to do a thing.

Second step: Remove your chicken to a plate to cool. With or fork or your fingers shred chicken.


Third step: Portion your chicken into meal size sections. I usually call a large handful, about 3/4 a serving size for us. Put into quart size freezer bags, label, toss in your freezer.

I usually leave one bag of chicken in the fridge (for last minute quesadillas, omelets, sandwiches, etc.) and put the others in the freezer. I would make sure to use all your chicken within 2 months.

Shredded chicken can be used in:
Chicken Tacos
Taquitos
Chicken Salad
Enchiladas
Chicken Noodle Soup
Omelets
Quesadillas
Casseroles
Chicken and Rice Bake
BBQ chicken sandwiches
BBQ chicken pizza

Have any other ideas for using shredded chicken? Leave a comment and share!