Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

I recently made some AMAZING cookies.  My mommy visited me a few weekends ago with my dad to celebrate his birthday.  She brought with her a little Valentine's Day Care Package for me! It was just adorable! I got a cute stuffed animal, awesome nail polish, some new running socks, and peanut butter m&ms! My mom wanted to try the m&ms right away, but I wanted to save them for something special...cookies!

I made great Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Peanut Butter M&Ms.  I ended up sharing them with friends and bringing them into school.  Everyone loved them!

School has been going really well! My cooperating teacher is taking more of a backseat and letting me lead the lessons all on my own! It makes me a little nervous, but it is also tons of fun.  I am having a great time connecting with the students.  I learn more and more from them every day! Tomorrow I am giving a Geometry Test so it will be exciting to see what the students know and on Friday we are learning about the Unit Circle in Algebra 2! So much Mathmagical Fun! I even created a cute worksheet that I am pretty proud about, but more on that later.  Now, it's time to talk cookies!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Peanut Butter M&Ms (adapted from Simply Scratch)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cornstarch
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup creamy, natural peanut butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup Peanut Butter M&Ms

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk flours, oats, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter with the brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the peanut butter until well combined.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla.  Slowly, mix in the dry ingredients until just combined and then stir in the M&Ms.
4.  Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough on the prepared pans and bake for about 13-15 minutes.  Cookies do not spread out much and should be slightly puffy. Let cool.

Enjoy :)

Great Friend, Great Cause

I just wanted to give a HUGE shout out to my friend, Bari, who is one of the people in charge of Dance Marathon at Mizzou.  She is on the exec board for the event and is doing everything she can to raise money to help out an amazing cause.  The Mizzou Dance Marathon supports three programs at the MU Children's Hospital.  Money goes directly to programs that find tutors for children so that they stay on top of schoolwork, a music therapy program, and a program that helps parents who are unable to physically visit their children video chat with them.  I think this is a beautiful cause and I wanted to help her out with it! If you have a moment, it would be great if you would hop over to Bari's page and help her out! Even $5 would help her reach her goal and support this awesome cause.

Bari's Fundraising Page! 

Perfect Blueberry Muffins

Can't believe we are back at another Monday! These weeks and weekends are just flying by!

It's Half Marathon Monday once again! This past week, I ran 3 miles on Monday, 4 on Tuesday, 5 on Wednesday, rest on Thursday, 3 on Friday and then 8 on Saturday!!! It was a pretty epic week and I am feeling great.  On Sunday I did my cross training work out and I'm feeling a little sore.  Good thing today I have a shorter run planned.  My 8 mile run felt amazing and I'm feeling pretty confident about the half marathon!

I also have a great recipe today that is healthy and amazing.  I made really good blueberry muffins and I am pumped to share them.  I found a recipe for bakery style muffins on Sally's Baking Addiction and they looked so perfect that I just had to try them.  I made regular sized muffins and subbed some ingredients for others and they still came out great!  They look super attractive and they taste even better.

Perfect Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup non-fat greek yogurt
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup fresh blueberries
extra sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 and lightly grease a cupcake pan.  This will make 6 regular muffins.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
3. In a large bowl, beat the egg, sugar, milk, and yogurt until well combined.  Beat in the vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.  Stir in the blueberries.  Fill cupcake wells all the way to the top and sprinkle with sugar.
4. Bake for 5 minutes and then reduce heat to 375 for an additional 18 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Weekend Getaway to St. Louis

I just had a super fun weekend in St. Louis.  I haven't been here in a while to visit Bri so I was excited to see him and experience more fun in the city!

I got in on Friday.  I missed school becuase I needed to be here by 4 to make sure I would be intime for Bri's concert.  That's right, he performed with the university orchestra.  This was apretty big deal and it was great to see him perform.  The shymphony was amazing and Bri did a great job! It was really beautiful music and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I got to sit with Bri's dad and stepmom and it was really nice to see them! After the show, we all went out to dinner with a bunch of Bri's friends to Dewey's Pizza.  The pizza at this place is pretty fantastic.  It is thin crust, and we had a red sauce pizza with spinach, sliced tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and goat cheese. It was awesome!

The next day, I went for an amazing 8 mile run through Forest Park.  I love that this park is pretty much right next to Bri's apartment.  It has a great path for bikers and runners and, even though it had snowed, the path was clear.  I was planning on running 6 miles, but I was feeling so good and Bri was still sleeping, so I ended up going for 8.  At this rate, 13.1 will be easy peasy right?

After a much needed shower, I was pretty desperate for food.  Bri and I headed to Cafe Nadoz, which we heard was like cafes in Vienna.  We loved those cafes so we were excited to try this.  It wasn't really like the cafes in Vienna, but it was a pretty awesome place for lunch.  We both had really yummy sandwiches and split one of their European-style desserts, a Caramel Apple Bombe.  It was all delicious!

After Cafe Nadoz, we headed out to the Schlafly Brewery for a tour.  I found yet another beer I actually like and it was a great tour! On the way back, we stopped by my friend Michael's house and it was great to see him! After catching up, Bri and I headed back to the apartment to chill for a bit before dinner.  This meant watching 5 episodes of How I Met Your Mother...great show.

Dinner was on The Hill at Zia's.  The Hill is a great little neighborhood known for being like a Little Italy.  We arrived at Zia's to find that it would be about an hour wait.  We decided to get drinks and the famous appetizer of toasted ravioli at the bar while we waited.  This was a great plan until I took a bite into the ravioli and realized it was filled with...MEAT! I grabbed Bri's arm as we was about to take a bite and told him it was meat ravioli.  This was unfortunate as Bri is a vegetarian.  He was grateful that I stopped him before the bite and I ended up with a lot of leftover ravioli to take home with me.  Our dinner was great and Bri ended up being glad he didn't have an appetizer as his baked mostaccioli was a HUGE portion.  I had the portobello stuffed spinach ravioli with asparagus and red peppers.  Everything was super delicous and we ended the meal on a high note with some mini cannoli for dessert! Yum!

This weekend was super fun and I am sad that I have to leave today.  However, tonight is Oscar night and I can't wait to watch back in Madison with all my friends!

Guest Post: Honey Mustard Breaded Chicken

Today I am very excited to share a wonderful guest post with you.  I have been so busy teaching that I really don't get a lot of time to cook.  However, Bri's roommate has been cooking up a storm and even invented his own recipe! He is here today as my special guest to share his new and exciting dinner with you!

Hi everybody, I'm Stephen Hayes-- Bri's roommate back in St. Louis. I've been following the cooking blog for a while now, and just recently I developed a recipe that is pretty much all my own so I thought I might share it with you all.

Every week or so, I try out a new dish for my girlfriend's parents (who live in town) to thank them for the constant stream of food, gifts, and support they send my way. Last week, I tried out a baked shrimp scampi meal that, while delicious, was so garlicy and spicy that I was literally tasting and smelling it for days afterward...not the most fun experience. So, this week I decided to try something a little more mellow: baked chicken. The way I figured it, there's no way that baked chicken could go too far wrong. After looking online at everything from Weight Watchers to Paula Deen, I found a couple of recipes that I thought might be relatively tasty. One mentioned marinating the chicken beforehand, which I thought might be a great idea, and one recommended using bagel chips for a change in texture. After Frankensteining several recipes together, I developed one that I was relatively happy with, but I wanted to throw in my own personal flair as well. The recipe called for Dijon mustard, which is all well and good but I thought that there might be a better way to really amp up the flavor: honey mustard. So, I used honey mustard and mayo to soak the chicken, threw them in a batter of Corn Flakes (which I'd used with fish before), bagel chips, and a couple of spices, and baked them. Turns out, it was pretty tasty. The tartness of the lemon juice from the marinade went really well with the sweetness of the honey mustard. This recipe serves 4, but can easily work for more or less people. Enjoy!

Honey Mustard Breaded Chicken 

Serving Size: 4

Cooking Time

Preparation: 30 minutes (with minor prep required 2 hours before)

Cook: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Corn Cereal (I used Kellogg's Corn Flakes)

1 cup Broken Bagel Chips

1 cup Skim Milk

2 Lemons (or 4 tbsp lemon juice)

1 tsp Granulated Sugar

1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (1/4 tsp. for marinade, 1/4 tsp. for crust)

2 tsp Rosemary

2 tsp Kosher Salt

1/2 tsp Sweet Paprika

1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1/2 cup Light Mayonnaise

1/2 cup Honey Mustard

1 Large Egg

4 Large Skinless Chicken Breasts (or more, depending on desired serving size)

Directions:

1. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a medium bowl. Whisk in the milk, sugar, and cayenne until the sugar and cayenne are dissolved. Add rosemary. Pierce each chicken piece several times with a fork, add to the milk mixture, turning to coat well. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours. 

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Preferably, set a rack on a foil lined baking sheet and spray the rack generously with cooking spray. You can use just a baking sheet, but a rack helps reduce grease without sacrificing flavor.

3. Finely grind the cereal and bagel chips in a food processor (or crush with hands and/or a rolling pin if you don't have one handy). In this particular case, I didn't have bagel chips, so I put a bagel in the oven at 300 degrees for 30-40 minutes to get the same effect. Transfer crumbs to a large gallon size plastic bag. Add the salt, cayenne, paprika, and ground pepper and toss to mix thoroughly. 

Making Bagel Chips

The Breading

 4. Whisk the light mayonnaise and honey mustard together with the egg in a medium shallow bowl. Add chicken to honey mustard mix and turn to coat all the pieces evenly. 

Honey Mustard and Mayo

All Mixed Together

 5. Drop the chicken into the plastic bag, seal and shake until each piece is evenly coated. 

Chicken Breaded and in the Oven

6. Place coated pieces on the prepared rack. Spray the chicken pieces evenly with cooking spray, and bake until the coating crisps and browns and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the pieces registers 160 degrees F, which should take roughly 32-37 minutes. Take the chicken pieces out of the oven, drizzle with honey mustard, then serve.

Yum.
Enjoy :)

Foodie Friends Friday: Don Thomas Coffee

This week, Foodie Friends Friday is back with some Don Thomas Coffee!  This week you can win from our sponsor Don Thomas.  This is a great giveaway! The coffee is so good! Just follow the rules and link up your recipes! Also, host favorites will be featured on Daily Dish!  This week I'm linking up my new Waffle Recipe, Monster Cookies, and Red Velvet Cheesecake!

Last Foodie Friends Friday was sponsored by Lodge and here were the winners:

And, of course, here were your top 3 voted and clicked recipes!

Most Votes:

1. Giant Orange Rolls

2. Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

3. Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad

Most Clicks:

1. Strawberry Heart Bundt Cake

2. Chocolate Pudding Cupcakes with Strawberry Centers

3. Cherry Swirled Cheesecake

Grab our NEW button! 

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com/" title="Foodie Friends Friday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj628/busyvegetarianmom/FFFDDButtonNEW150Darker_zpse238f637.jpg" alt="Foodie Friends Friday" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Enter below and you might be a lucky winner!!

But first, here are this week's co-hosts:

Foodie Friends Friday http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com

Tracy at Busy Vegetarian Mom http://www.busyvegetarianmom.com

Robyn's View http://www.robynsview.com

Marlys at This and That  http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com/

Lois at  Walking on Sunshine http://walkingonsunshinerecipes.com

Michelle at  From Calculus to Cupcakes http://www.fromcalculustocupcakes.com

Cynthia at Feeding Big  http://www.feedingbig.com

Jodie at Binomial Baker http://www.binomialbaker.blogspot.com

R Dawn at Spatulas on Parade http://www.spatulasonparade.blogspot.com

Angie at A lil Country Sugar http://www.alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com

Kelly at Adorned Well http://www.adornedwell.blogspot.com/

Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings: : http://www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com 

Joanne at Winelady Cooks: http://www.wineladycooks.blogspot.com

Marlene at Nosh My Way: http://www.noshmyway.com

Jutta at Hungry Little Girl: http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com/

Erika at Chef Picky Kid: http://www.chefpickykid.com/

Beth at Honey Locust Hills http://www.honeylocusthills.com

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Valentine's Day Red Velvet Cheesecake

I have been so busy lately that I still haven't told you all what I made for Valentine's Day!

I spent Valentine's Day in an amazing way with my best girl friends.  We got together, ate heart shaped pizza, had my heart shaped dessert, and watched Grey's Anatomy.  Afterwards, we got some half priced sangria at Icon and it was awesome.  Overall, it was a truly amazing night!

With all my craziness at school, it is so nice to be able to spend nights like that with amazing people.  School has been going really well!  Today I gave my first Team Test in geometry and I worked on a fun game for Friday where students will have to sort shapes based on their special properties.  I am trying really hard to make math interactive so that students are motivated while constantly reinforcing important concepts and ensuring that students are meeting standards.  Math should be fun and so I am doing as much as I can to make it that way!

Now it's time to tell you what I brought to girls night: Heart Shaped Red Velvet Cheesecakes with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting...yep!

Red Velvet Cheesecake (adapted from Baked By Rachel)

Ingredients:
10 oreos
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
12 oz light cream cheese
1 tbsp light sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
4 tsp red food coloring
1 egg

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 cup heavy cream
4 oz light cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease 3 4 inch cheesecake pans (I had heart shaped ones).
2. In a food processor, crush oreos until they are crumbs.  Mix in the melted butter.  Divide into the three pans and press into the bottoms and a little up the sides. Place in oven for 5 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to 325.
4. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar and sour cream until well combined.  Beat in the egg, cocoa powder, and food coloring until well combined.  Divide among the three pans.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the middles are not longer wobbly. Let cool for 1 hour.  Then, wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
5.  To make the whipped cream cheese frosting: in a large bowl beat the cream cheese with the sugar.  Beat in the whipping cream and vanilla and beat on high until stiff peaks form.  Top cheesecakes with frosting.

Enjoy :)

Monster Cookies

Wow.  I just had a crazy long and exhausting day.  This full-time teaching gig is making me the happiest I think I have ever been as well as the tiredest.

Today, after teaching for 3 straight blocks, there was a staff meeting, then I tutored, then I ran 3 miles (training for that Half Marathon) and then I finally got home and showered just in time to spend a few hours planning/grading and getting ready for tomorrow.  Then, I passed out.

I am having an amazing time teaching.  I love high school and I thoroughly enjoy getting to know the students and making connections with everyone.  I am having a blast!

In geometry, I just came up with a fabulous way to make new groups.  Students sit in groups of four.  The next unit is about quadrilaterals and so to get new groups, each table is going to be a different quadrilateral.  As students come into the room, I am going to hand them a slip of paper that has some information about a quadrilateral.  Then, students will have to figure out which table they belong at.  I am excited to see how this goes!

In Algebra 2, I just graded tests for the first time! It was so exciting to see how students think.  Also, it was great to see what content was being mastered and what content needed some help.  I am working on a little resource page for graphing exponential and logarithmic functions because, according to the tests, this is a developing topic for many students and they need some practice.  Yay being reflective!!!

I also help out in a Pre-Calculus class and Algebra 1 class.  In both of these, since I am not lead teaching, it has been fun to help out, get to know the students, and learn more from my cooperating teachers.

Plus, I am tutoring two students! One student is in Geometry and one is in Pre-Calculus.  Basically, I am a very busy girl.

A huge reason that I am getting through all this and staying sane, is my friend Tamara.  We both live in the same house and I can always count on her to be there for me when I need to chat.  We are both learning to become teachers and I don't know what I would do without her support.  Oh, and we both love to bake.  Isn't that perfect?  Recently, we made some awesome Monster Cookies and so that is what I have to share with you today!

Monster Cookies (adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup M&Ms

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter with both sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in the peanut butter until well combined.  Beat in the egg and then the vanilla.  Slowly mix in the flour mixture until just combined and then stir in the oats, chocolate chips and M&Ms.
4.  Drop tablespoon sized balls of dough on the prepared sheets and bake for about 10 minutes.  Let cool.

Enjoy :)

Whole Wheat Greek Yogurt Waffles

Today is the first day of Half Marathon Monday!

I've been doing a lot of running lately to stay in shape.  However, today is extra special because I registered for my first Half Marathon Race!  To stay in shape, I run 3-4 times during the week and then 1 day during the weekend.  Lately, I've been running 3-5 miles each running day during the week and then 6 or 7 miles on my weekend run.  This will be a great place to start when my training begins for the big race. Race day is May 26th, so let the countdown begin! I have 97 days until the big race and I can't wait!

I'm running this one with my besties, Lauren and Patrick.  In fact, Lauren and I just ran a 5K that we did twice so that we could get in a 10K.  We ran at a pretty constant pace of 10 minutes per mile and felt great afterwards!  It was chilly out (we are in Wisconsin), but it felt good to be out and running.  We are going to do great in the Half Marathon...I mean, it's only like doing that 10K twice right?

I'm also confident because I have run the amount before and I'm doing a lot to stay in shape and eat right.  I make sure that I always have a good lunch packed for school and I listen to my body. When I'm tired, I don't work out.  I don't want to get hurt! Also, I've been cross-training on my off days.  So far, I'm feeling pretty good!

After that 10K, I treated myself to some Whole Wheat Greek Yogurt Waffles.  For fun, I threw in a few mini M&Ms and had Rainbow Waffles!  They were tasty, healthy, and packed with protein.  It was a great way to celebrate the end of a run!

Whole Wheat Greek Yogurt Waffles

Ingredients:
1 egg, separated
1 1/4 cups non-fat, plain greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
3 tbsp butter, melted (I used Bummel and Brown light butter)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
handful of mini M&Ms or anything else you want to throw in!

Directions:
1. Melt butter and stir in egg yolk and greek yogurt.  Set aside.
2. Beat egg white until frothy.
3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together.  Stir in the yogurt mixture until just combined.  Fold in the egg white.  Stir in M&Ms.
4.  Make waffles according to directions on your waffle maker.

Enjoy :)

Francesca's al Lago and a Birthday!

I just had such a fun weekend! My parents came up to visit me and to celebrate my Dad's birthday!

Happy Birthday Dad! 

On Friday, I had Vegas Night at my house and it was a blast.  We got all dressed up and had a really fun time.  It was extra special since it was my LAST Vegas Night.  It was a good one to end with and I had a ton of fun dancing and hanging out with my friends.

Also, I found out that Bri got accepted into the University of Chicago's Law School!!!!  This was amazing news and probably means that I will end up in Chicago with him after graduation! I am so excited for him and I can't wait to see where I will be and what I will be up to in the future.  Now, I have to seriously start job searching.  This is stressful, but also really exciting.  If you know of any good teaching opportunities in the Chicago-land area, let me know!

Saturday was when my parents showed up.  They stayed in the Concourse Hotel.  This place is famous for it's amazing Happy Hour.  They serve FREE drinks and appetizers.  We got a few cocktails and some snacks and then headed to Francescas al Lago for dinner   My mom and I have been here before and knew that we would love it.  It was a great place to go for a lovely birthday dinner. My mom and I got the salmon and then my dad got the chicken parmesan.  It was all delicious!

After dinner, it was time to head to the Overture Center to see West Side Story.  Now, I'm not a huge fan of this show simply because it is rather depressing.  However, the dancing was amazing and I ended up wishing I could jump up on stage and dance with them.  My family has always been into musicals and this was the perfect activity for us.  Plus, afterwards, we went to the Ivory Room for a few more drinks and dueling pianos!  This bar is so much fun and a great place to go when you are in Madison.  We requested songs and had a great time listening to the music.  The piano players are super talented and they can play anything!

So this pretty much sums up a typical Madison weekend  fraternity party, happy hour, amazing food, cultured experience, and going to a bar.  It was great to share all this with my parents.  No wonder I love this city so much!

Foodie Friends Friday: Lodge Giveaway

This week, Foodie Friends Friday is back with a Lodge Casserole Dish!  This week you can win from our sponsor Lodge.   Just follow the rules and link up your recipes! Also, host favorites will be featured on Daily Dish!  This week I'm linking up Cosmic Love Brownies and Banana Bread with Brown Butter Icing!

Last Foodie Friends Friday was sponsored by and here were the winners:

And, of course, here were your top 3 voted and clicked recipes!

Most Votes:

1. Strawberry Napolean

2. Strawberry Jam Cookies

3. Oven Tacos

Most Clicks:

1. Munchies Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins

2. Meyer Lemon Cake

3. I Love You Cupcakes

Grab our NEW button! 

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com/" title="Foodie Friends Friday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj628/busyvegetarianmom/FFFDDButtonNEW150Darker_zpse238f637.jpg" alt="Foodie Friends Friday" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Enter below and you might be a lucky winner!!

But first, here are this week's co-hosts:

Foodie Friends Friday http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com

Tracy at Busy Vegetarian Mom http://www.busyvegetarianmom.com

Robyn's View http://www.robynsview.com

Marlys at This and That  http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com/

Lois at  Walking on Sunshine http://walkingonsunshinerecipes.com

Michelle at  From Calculus to Cupcakes http://www.fromcalculustocupcakes.com

Cynthia at Feeding Big  http://www.feedingbig.com

Jodie at Binomial Baker http://www.binomialbaker.blogspot.com

R Dawn at Spatulas on Parade http://www.spatulasonparade.blogspot.com

Angie at A lil Country Sugar http://www.alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com

Kelly at Adorned Well http://www.adornedwell.blogspot.com/

Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings: : http://www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com 

Joanne at Winelady Cooks: http://www.wineladycooks.blogspot.com

Marlene at Nosh My Way: http://www.noshmyway.com

Jutta at Hungry Little Girl: http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com/

Erika at Chef Picky Kid: http://www.chefpickykid.com/

Beth at Honey Locust Hills http://www.honeylocusthills.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I just applied for my first teaching job! I can't believe that this moment is already here.  My application was seriously lacking in some areas due to the fact that I have not yet taught.  However, I am still extremely excited about the potential of getting an interview!

Also, today I start teaching Honors Algebra 2 and I could not be more pumped about that.  The kids are great and so motivated.  I am excited to see them work together with their teams.  We are learning how to solve 3 systems of equations with 3 variables.  They are going to do this the algebraic way and its going to be awesome!

And, I recently made my "Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies" even better by adding 3 tsp of cornstarch to the flour mixture.  This caused the cookies to be soft and chewy and STAY soft and chewy for a week! Oh man, they were delicious! If you are craving cookies give this recipe a try and add in that cornstarch!

Okay, that is all and I need to go to school!

Cosmic Love Brownies

I recently checked off yet another thing on my bucket list for the end of my college career   I went to my first Men's Hockey Game! It was a super fun experience and they ended up winning the game! Following the game, I had a ladies night with some of my girlfriends and it was just a super fun time.  Until my phone was stolen.  Yep, that was a bit of a bummer.  I was able to track the phone and file a police report, but unfortunately the phone is in an apartment complex with at least 30 units and so it is pretty much gone unless it moves to a location where the police can pinpoint it.  Even though this was not the greatest thing to happen, I decided to focus on how awesome the rest of my night was and how grateful I am for the amazing friends I have to share all these senior year experiences with!

Valentine's Day is also coming up and so I made some Cosmic Love Brownies to share with my girlfriends.  You know? Those brownies with the colored candies on top?  Well, I made my own version! I started with my Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies and made a topping to along with them!   This Valentine's Day, I will be enjoying heart-shaped pizza, wine, and dessert with these awesome girls while watching Grey's Anatomy.  I think it sounds like the perfect way to celebrate Valentine's Day!

Cosmic Brownies

Ingredients:
8 oz unsweetened chocolate
10 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp espresso powder
2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup flour
10 oz dark chocolate chips
Topping:
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp skim milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
mini m&ms

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a 13 by 9 inch pan with foil.  Lightly grease the foil.
2. In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter with the unsweetened chocolate, stirring constantly.  Once smooth, stir in the sugar until well combined.  Then, stir in the lightly beaten eggs.  Mixture should be smooth and glossy.  Stir in the espresso powder, vanilla, and salt.  Stir in the flour until just combined.  Stir in the dark chocolate chips.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes.
3.  While baking, make the topping.  In a small saucepan, place the butter, milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Stir until smooth.  Pour over the warm brownies and spread to coat the top.  Let cool for 20 minutes.  Then, spread the mini m&ms over the top and lightly press down.  Let cool for 10 minutes and then, using the foil, lift the brownies out of the pan and let cool completely.
To make the hearts, I used a cookie cutter and cut out hearts once the brownies were cool.

Enjoy :)