#myfavfriday Quick Recipe + Favorite Websites

I don't cook so this is actually my mom's recipe but it is quick and yummy and the leftovers are great to take in your lunch. We usually have cornbread and green beans with this, since I know you were wondering.

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Step One: Brown one lb. hamburger in skillet. Sprinkle in dried onion flakes to taste. When hamburger is done, drain grease and return hamburger to skillet.

Step Two: Pour into skillet 1 small can tomato sauce. Rinse out can with half cup water and add to mixture. Add 1 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Simmer on low heat.

Step Three: Meanwhile, put on water to boil in 3 quart saucepan. When water is boiling, add approximately 8 oz. pasta. I usually use rotini, but last time I did bow-tie pasta and it was great. When pasta is done, drain and add to mixture in skillet. Mix well and bring to boil. Cover the top of the mixture with shredded cheese. (I usually use colby-monterey jack mixture.) Put a lid on the skillet and turn off the heat. Steam for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Now what I really wanted to share is some of my favorite websites.

Resources: When I first started teaching, I used ilovemath.org constantly. It has a lot of great hands-on activities, lessons, and games. But three years into this and I've pretty much used everything I could from there. Now I've started using betterlesson.com It's a fairly new website but when I searched for lessons on composite areas at the end of last year I literally found thousands of results and some pretty high quality resources. You may stumble across some things of mine on there and I apologize for that. They are mostly from the end of my first year and beginning of my second so not awesome. If you want something of mine to actually use, you would be better off searching the Lessons tag on this blog. And one more site, http://www.lpsmath.org/algebra1_calendar.htm, is great for algebra ideas. I especially like their lessons on functions because there is a real function machine that chugs outputs from your inputs. Sometimes I use the lessons or sometimes I just use it to guide my pacing.

Storage: I use and love box.com more than other websites I've tried. I first used dropbox.com and then attempted to use sugarsync.com Both of these supposedly automatically sync your files from one computer to another. So theoretically, you could create something at home, save it, and it would automatically appear on your school computer. It never quite worked out for me but I'm pretty sure that was because our school computer server is wonky. I used googledocs for a while but I hate how it changes my files to fit their formatting. I've never had any problems with Box. I can share my folders or keep them private. I can add collaborators to my folders. I can make folders! Anyone can view my box files, even without a box account. And it prompts people to download my file so they can see it in all it's original glory. I don't have to worry about any syncing because it's internet based. I can log in anywhere and all my files are right there. It has definitely been the most consistent and convenient for me.

Hmm...I thought I had more to share but that's about all I can think of for now.