It has been a busy week thus far! And I couldn't be happier! We have been preparing numerous returns and it has been such a great feeling. My team, Team Tucson, which consists of Jo, Ian and myself, has been pretty busy at our sites. We make a great team. Jo is the super smart one, Ian is the funny one, and I am, well, I don't know exactly where I fit in there. Hmm, I'll call myself the silly one! The other day we had a 12-hour day going from tax site to tax site which was pretty long but worth it. One of our work sites, Ward III, had a great surprise; Carol and Anne! If you guys don't remember who they are, Carol and Anne were the two women who taught us everything we know during our IRS training courses in January. They were our site supervisors!
It's rather funny, every site I go to, I bring a wide array of things to spice up my desk. Items such as a water bottle, a few pens, a desk sign, a good book, and sometimes a picture of myself at my desk makes for great discussion during a tax interview. Next time you are preparing taxes for someone or for yourself, give it a try. You'll find that it lightens the mood and makes for a great conversation starter. One of my random conversations ended up being about my epi-pen! I put it on the desk for a moment to see what I had in my bag of goodies and I thought it was the perfect segway into asking tax questions!
Another highlight was meeting Jenna’s parents!!! We had a great time with them! Marshall and Alison took us out to dinner at a Chicago style restaurant where the team had different varieties of deep dish pizzas...(DEEP DISH!!) and of course, every time I go to a restaurant I order a variation of the same thing: Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken and Shrimp! It really is my favorite dish! I can't get enough of it! Ashley says "Oh wow Shawn! You got Fettuccine! I am sooo shocked!" We all know she isn't shocked. We had great conversation and referred to soda as 'pop' all night. HAHA! After dinner, Ian and I went and joined Jenna and Alison in the hot tub and we chatted for a while. It was really funny to see how Jenna's mom never wanted to leave the hot tub! I can understand, she came from Chicago and they are buried in snow!
Being the Service Learning Initiator for this team has been a lot of fun. “Service learning” is how we relate our project work to larger social issues; each team has a person who organizes these conversations and activities, and I am that person on mine! We have time to ourselves as a team to really get a chance to talk about the issues and praises of our project. Sometimes we will have discussions about some of the project issues and sometimes we will have fun activities such as writing poems and haikus to narrate our time in Tucson. All of our team submissions have been great. I want to do something really unique with the poems and activities. I have been collecting all of our service learning materials since round one! I wonder what type of activities I will do during shuffle round? Wow, that reminds me, we find out about our round three teams very soon! I am excited and nervous all at the same time!
As we already know, I am the king of all things food and I have a couple great dishes for you to try. I made Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina the other night and I also made a vegan version of it as well! They both came out AMAZING! I also have the recipe for 100% Vegan Fettucine and Peas Casserole which I also promised. Until next time, tootles!
~Shawn
It's rather funny, every site I go to, I bring a wide array of things to spice up my desk. Items such as a water bottle, a few pens, a desk sign, a good book, and sometimes a picture of myself at my desk makes for great discussion during a tax interview. Next time you are preparing taxes for someone or for yourself, give it a try. You'll find that it lightens the mood and makes for a great conversation starter. One of my random conversations ended up being about my epi-pen! I put it on the desk for a moment to see what I had in my bag of goodies and I thought it was the perfect segway into asking tax questions!
Another highlight was meeting Jenna’s parents!!! We had a great time with them! Marshall and Alison took us out to dinner at a Chicago style restaurant where the team had different varieties of deep dish pizzas...(DEEP DISH!!) and of course, every time I go to a restaurant I order a variation of the same thing: Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken and Shrimp! It really is my favorite dish! I can't get enough of it! Ashley says "Oh wow Shawn! You got Fettuccine! I am sooo shocked!" We all know she isn't shocked. We had great conversation and referred to soda as 'pop' all night. HAHA! After dinner, Ian and I went and joined Jenna and Alison in the hot tub and we chatted for a while. It was really funny to see how Jenna's mom never wanted to leave the hot tub! I can understand, she came from Chicago and they are buried in snow!
Being the Service Learning Initiator for this team has been a lot of fun. “Service learning” is how we relate our project work to larger social issues; each team has a person who organizes these conversations and activities, and I am that person on mine! We have time to ourselves as a team to really get a chance to talk about the issues and praises of our project. Sometimes we will have discussions about some of the project issues and sometimes we will have fun activities such as writing poems and haikus to narrate our time in Tucson. All of our team submissions have been great. I want to do something really unique with the poems and activities. I have been collecting all of our service learning materials since round one! I wonder what type of activities I will do during shuffle round? Wow, that reminds me, we find out about our round three teams very soon! I am excited and nervous all at the same time!
As we already know, I am the king of all things food and I have a couple great dishes for you to try. I made Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina the other night and I also made a vegan version of it as well! They both came out AMAZING! I also have the recipe for 100% Vegan Fettucine and Peas Casserole which I also promised. Until next time, tootles!
~Shawn
Fettuccine and Peas Alfredo (recipes from “The Vegan Chef”)
1 lb. fettuccine (plain, spinach flavored, or mixed for extra color)
2 cups shallots, diced
1 T. olive oil
1 lb. frozen peas, thawed
2 T. garlic, minced
1 recipe of Non-Dairy Alfredo Sauce (see below)
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Non-Dairy Alfredo Sauce
1 - 12.3 oz. pkg. Mori-Nu silken style tofu, firm or extra firm
2 cups soy milk, rice milk, or other non-dairy milk of choice
1 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 cup soy parmesan cheese
In a food processor or blender, place all of the ingredients, except the soy Parmesan cheese, and blend for 2 minutes to form a smooth puree. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and cook over low heat while stirring constantly until warmed through. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the soy Parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust the seasonings, as needed. Use as a sauce for pasta, vegetables, or grains.
Yield: 4 Cups
Cook the fettuccine in a large pot of boiling water, for 8-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain well, return the cooked fettuccine to the pot, and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large non-stick skillet, sauté the shallots in olive oil, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the peas and garlic and sauté an additional 2 minutes. Add the pea mixture and Non-Dairy Alfredo Sauce to the cooked fettuccine and toss well to combine. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the pasta to a large bowl or platter for service.
Serves 8! Enjoy!
1 lb. fettuccine (plain, spinach flavored, or mixed for extra color)
2 cups shallots, diced
1 T. olive oil
1 lb. frozen peas, thawed
2 T. garlic, minced
1 recipe of Non-Dairy Alfredo Sauce (see below)
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Non-Dairy Alfredo Sauce
1 - 12.3 oz. pkg. Mori-Nu silken style tofu, firm or extra firm
2 cups soy milk, rice milk, or other non-dairy milk of choice
1 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 cup soy parmesan cheese
In a food processor or blender, place all of the ingredients, except the soy Parmesan cheese, and blend for 2 minutes to form a smooth puree. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and cook over low heat while stirring constantly until warmed through. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the soy Parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust the seasonings, as needed. Use as a sauce for pasta, vegetables, or grains.
Yield: 4 Cups
Cook the fettuccine in a large pot of boiling water, for 8-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain well, return the cooked fettuccine to the pot, and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large non-stick skillet, sauté the shallots in olive oil, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the peas and garlic and sauté an additional 2 minutes. Add the pea mixture and Non-Dairy Alfredo Sauce to the cooked fettuccine and toss well to combine. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the pasta to a large bowl or platter for service.
Serves 8! Enjoy!
Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina (recipe from The Food Network)
1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
(Shawn's personal vegan alternative: Leave all of the dairy elements out. Replace chicken with tofu and butter with extra-virgin olive oil. Since there are no dairy elements that need to bake, serve as is or top with bread crumbs and place in over for 10-15 minutes.)
1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
(Shawn's personal vegan alternative: Leave all of the dairy elements out. Replace chicken with tofu and butter with extra-virgin olive oil. Since there are no dairy elements that need to bake, serve as is or top with bread crumbs and place in over for 10-15 minutes.)
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