Cheesecake Brownie Cupcakes

Now there is a blog title to get excited about!  These brownies are crazy yummy and they were sort of an accident.

So, on Wednesday my students took a practice ACT during school.  This meant that I just proctored all day and I was able to go home early!  What a win!  Plus, the students did really well!  They started with an average of about 18 on the math section and now their average is above 20!  That is great growth!  I was super proud of them and I had extra time so I decided to bake something for my advisory.  I was also asked to bake for an upcoming Oscar party this weekend.  I figured I would just bake a double batch of something and have enough desserts for both events!

My students told me that they would like brownies or cheesecake.  I decided to just combine the two!  I started baking, but then I realized that I didn't have enough sugar!!! I was feeling super lazy and so instead of going out to buy more sugar, I decided to take a risk and use brown sugar instead.  My laziness ended up being a good thing since these brownies were super tasty and a huge hit!

Now, I am sitting in school and my students just had the brownies.  They loved them and there is only one left!  (Well, actually there is 13 left...I just kept 12 at home for that Oscar party I mentioned earlier).  These brownies are yummy and you should make them!

Cheesecake Brownie Cupcakes

Ingredients:16 tbsp unsalted butter
8 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
1 plus 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp espresso powder
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
8 oz light cream cheese
1 cup nonfat, plain greek yogurt
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp flour

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 and line your cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a small saucepan, place the butter and chopped chocolate.  Heat over medium-low, stirring constantly, until melted and combined.  Remove from heat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and espresso powder.
4. In a large bowl, beat the sugars with the eggs and vanilla.
5. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese with the greek yogurt, sugar and flour until well combined.
6. Beat the chocolate mixture into the sugar/egg mixture until well combined.  Mix in the flour mixture until just combined.
7.  Place about 2 tbsp of brownie mixture into each cupcake well.  Place about 1 tbsp of cream cheese mixture on top.  Then place about 1 tsp of brownie mixture on top of the cream cheese.  Using a toothpick, swirl the cream cheese and brownie batter.
8.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Cool.

Enjoy :)

Caramel Apple Cake

Today is my last day of school this week!!! Plus, it's a test day!  I know...I'm a little evil.  I'm a math teacher and I'm excited about giving a test.  Actually, I'm really excited about this test because my students are going to do amazing on it and that is pretty awesome.

I'm also pumped because after school I am leaving for NYC with my family!  We are DRIVING there.  So, if we don't kill each other, by Wednesday night, we will be in NYC to meet up with my little brother and the University of Illinois Marching Band.  My brother is a proud member of this band and they are performing in the Macy's Day Parade on Thanksgiving!! How cool is that?

I'm excited to go to New York, see my New York family and see the Macy's Day Parade in person for the first time.  It is going to be so fun.

To celebrate, I'm sharing a cake!  This Caramel Apple Cake was inspired by the Brown Eyed Baker.  I made it for the ladies of my book club and they thought it was one of the best cakes they had ever had.  I made my cake with two layers of apple spice cake and then spread some "to die for" cinnamon, caramel cream cheese frosting over the whole thing.  Finally, I topped it off with some fresh slices of a granny smith apple.  YUM!  This dessert is super tasty and it is a great option for a Thanksgiving dessert that celebrates fall flavors.

Caramel Apple Cake

Ingredients:
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 cups unsweetened, plain applesauce
Frosting:
12 oz light cream cheese
1 cup unsalted butter
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp caramel sauce
1-2 tsp heavy cream (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line two 9 inch circular cake pans with parchment paper.  Grease generously.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves together.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar for a few minutes.  Beat until it is light and fluffy.  Beat in both eggs until well combined.
4. Alternate adding the flour mixture with the applesauce mixture to the butter and sugar.  Start and end with the flour. Divide the batter into the two prepared pans. Bake for 55-60 minutes.  Let cool completely.
5. To make the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese together until well combined.  Add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until you have a desired taste and consistency.  Add in the cinnamon and caramel sauce and beat well.  Add in the cream if needed.
6. Once your cake is totally cooled, you can spread a layer of frosting over the top of one layer and the place the other layer on top.  Frosting completely and top with some apple slices.

Enjoy :)

Cinnamon Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup!!!!! Oh my gosh, last night was so exciting! My buddy, Lauren, is also a huge hawks fan so she came over to watch the game with us.  We debated going out somewhere to be part of the festivities, but the weather was super horrible (like tornado warning, horrible) so we ended up staying in.  I think this was a good choice because we were able to see the game better and I got to wear comfy clothes :).  

After some sleep, I am ready to start CAMP TRAINING! Woo! Summer job officially starts today and I am pretty pumped.  

To celebrate, I have a yummy recipe for delicious cinnamon bars.  Plus, these cinnamon bars are topped with an amazing cream cheese frosting.  I adore a good cream cheese frosting, and this one has extra cinnamon in it to complement those bars.  Yum! 

Cinnamon Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

(adapted from Something Swanky)

Cinnamon Bars

Ingredients:
Bars:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Frosting:
16 oz light cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a 13 by 9 inch baking pan with foil.  Grease the foil.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together until well combined.  Beat in the egg and the molasses until well combined.  Beat in the flour mixture until just combined.
4. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and back for about 18 minutes.  Let cool for about 15 and then use the foil to remove the bars from the pan.  Let cool completely.
5. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar and cinnamon until well combined.  Spread over the cooled bars.

Enjoy :)

Cream Cheese Brownies

I had a bit of a rough day at school the other day.  It's the end of the year and more students than usual are restless and not putting forth their best efforts/behavior.  It is frustrating for me because I want to see them finish the year strong and get good grades.  However, that is  just not happening with some of them.  I was feeling sad, so when I got home I decided that I needed to bake brownies.

I also went for a 6 mile run so I felt like brownies were a good way to motivate myself to run the full 6 miles and then also have a little treat to help make me feel better.  It helped!  Plus, the next day was better.  Sometimes I guess there is just something in the air at high school that makes students act a little crazy.

These brownies were delightful.  I got the idea for them from browsing the website at America's Test Kitchen.  I adapted their recipe a tad, but overall I followed similar instructions.  They had really great ideas for making the brownies look beautiful and to make sure that the brownie and cream cheese swirls nicely and the cream cheese doesn't sink.  They were pretty tasty and I am pretty excited about having even more brownies waiting for me when I get home!  Bad day or not, these brownies are a great recipe to have for special occasions or just to enjoy a little treat after dinner! 

Cream Cheese Brownies

Ingredients:

2/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp espresso powder

4 oz 70% cacao chocolate

8 tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

4 oz light cream cheese

1/2 cup greek yogurt (I used 0% Fage)

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 and line a 9 by 9 inch pan with foil.  Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.  

2. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese for a few seconds and then microwave for 30 seconds.  Beat in the 1/2 cup greek yogurt, 2 tbsp sugar, and 1 tbsp flour until creamy.  Set aside.

3. In a small bowl, place butter and cut up chocolate.  Microwave at 50% powder for about 1-2 minutes or until the chocolate is melted.  Stir every 30 seconds to check.  

4. In a seperate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and espresso powder.

5. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, and vanilla until combined, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the chocolate mixture until well combined.  Then, mix in the flour mixture until just combined.  Set aside 1/2 cup of the brownie batter.

6. Spread the brownie batter into  your prepared pan.  Then, spread the cream cheese mixture over the top.  Finally, use the 1/2 cup of reserved brownie batter and place 6 spoonfuls on top of the cream cheese layer so that they are spread out.  Using a knife, swirl the batter by cutting through the layers horizontally and then vertically.  

7. Bake for 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Use the foil to remove the brownies from the pan and let cool for about 1 hour before cutting. 

Enjoy :)

Mini Brown Sugar Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Peanut Butter Frosting

I have some pretty exciting news to share and it is not simply these gorgeous mini cupcakes!

Bri and I adopted a new kitty into our family!! Benny is now a big brother!  We found this amazing five-month old kitten through Hyde Park Cats and per a suggestion from our vet, we adopted him.  Benny has been a little hyperactive and crazy and we think its because he is young and we are not home very often.  So, we got a playmate for him!  Welcome to the family, Nigel!

And now, onto those cupcakes.  Mini cupcakes are pretty amazing plus they are a great way to celebrate our new little guy.  In fact, I have decided to eat healthy by only eating desserts that are mini or homemade.  Not sure this is considered a "diet," but at least it helps me focus on portion control without feeling like I'm really giving anything up.  And lets be honest, I don't think I can totally give up sweets.  I saw this recipe on How Sweet It Is and I simply adapted the cupcakes to include some slightly lighter ingredients and I made them mini which changes the baking time a bit.


Mini Brown Sugar Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Peanut Butter Frosting

Ingredients:
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
Frosting:
4 oz low-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup natural, creamy peanut butter (I love Skippy)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
skim milk, if needed

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line 24 mini cupcake wells with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar with unsalted butter.  Beat in the egg until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flours with the baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Add 1/3 of this mixture to the wet ingredients and beat until just combined.  Add in about 1/2 of the milk and 1/2 tbsp of vanilla and beat to combine.  Repeat with the flour mixture, then the rest of the milk/vanilla and then end with the rest of the flour mixture.  Divide the batter into your cupcake pan so that each well is about 3/4 of the way full.
4. Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes.  Let cool completely.
5. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter in a bowl until smooth.  Beat in the sugars and vanilla until creamy.  Add in a few tsp of milk if your mixture is too thick.  Frost those cupcakes!

Enjoy :)

Quick Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Today I am feeling nostalgic about my marathon training.  I just went for a brisk 9 mile run, and it just wasn't the same without my running buddies in my running group.  About 3 weeks after the marathon, I did the Hot Chocolate 15K with some friends and that was a blast because it got me back into running and it was such a fun race.

Then, I did the Turkey Trot 5K with a friend and that was fun too!  Now, I am trying to stay motivated to go for runs because I love how they make me feel, but I also get sad that I don't have running buddies all the time to chat with.  Last weekend, I decided to run 13 miles just for the hell of it.  Around mile 8 though, I was so bored!  I decided to call my mom to talk to her while I was running.  That helped, but she couldn't talk to me forever!  I am going to have to look for some awesome playlists if I am going to keep myself entertained!  Anyone have any suggestions?  

In honor of my nostalgia, I am sharing a recipe that I made for myself for my post-marathon breakfast.  I woke up the next day looking to eat everything in sight.  I am also a huge sucker for a good cinnamon roll.  They are definitely one of my guilty pleasures.  I found a recipe for a small batch of easy cinnamon rolls and I just had to have them!  Then, I modified the recipe to be a little lighter and whole wheat!  I felt like this made the cinnamon rolls into a healthy breakfast...right?

Quick Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

(adapted from Dessert for Two)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbsp sugar, divided

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

5 tbsp skim milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

4 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine, melted

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Glaze:

2 tbsp light cream cheese

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp skim milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 and spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a bowl, whisk flour, 1 tbsp sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a small bowl, combine milk, vinegar, and 2 tbsp of the melted butter.  Pour this into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined and a dough forms.  

4. Roll the dough out so that you have a long and thin rectangle.  Spread the rest of the melted butter on the dough and sprinkle the rest of the sugar and the cinnamon so that it is thoroughly covered.  Take the long edge of the rectangle and roll the dough up.  Cut into 4 pieces and place into your muffin pan.

5. Bake for about 14 minutes.  While baking, stir the ingredients for the glaze together.  When cinnamon rolls are done, frost!

Enjoy :)

Build Your Own Nachos with Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

Hi! I have so much to tell you all! I am on Spring Break and therefore I am able to seriously catch up on some of this blogging stuff :).  On Friday, I brought in lunch for Payday Friday for the math department, we had an early release, and then I was FREE! I have a week off from school to relax and finally catch up on sleep.  I am very excited about this.  My little brother ended up with the same Spring Break from college and so my whole family decided to go out to Arizona for the break.  We are staying in beautiful Scottsdale and having a great time.

Today I wanted to share some big news, as well as a "big" recipe.  My big news: I just registered to run the Chicago Marathon in October!!! It's something I've been dreaming of for a while and I am very nervous and very excited about running my first marathon.  I will be sharing my training experiences here and I am excited for the support and comments from all of you that helped me stay motivated when I was training for my half marathon.  I can't wait and I hope it goes well!

And now, my "big" recipe.  I had to cook lunch for a crowd this past Friday.  I went with a crock pot recipe and I doubled it so that I would have enough to feed at least 20.  This is half of the recipe and it will still make quite a lot of food, which is great because this is a recipe where you will want leftovers, its so good! I made a salsa chicken recipe in my crock pot, then shredded the chicken and served it on top of tortilla chips with all the toppings could could think of for nachos.  It was really yummy and a huge hit with my math department! In fact, it was all gone before I got any good photos! You will just have to use your imagination.

Build Your Own Nachos
(adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients:
Salsa Chicken:
3 lbs. chicken breasts, thawed
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
2 jars salsa (use your favorite)
1 8 oz block low-fat cream cheese
2 packets taco seasoning
Toppings:
shredded sharp cheddar cheese
shredded lettuce
guacamole
sour cream
tortilla chips

Directions:
1. Place chicken in crock pot.  Pour salsa over chicken.  Top with the black beans, corn, cream cheese, and taco seasoning.
2. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, stir occasionally to mix in the cream cheese and taco seasoning.  After 5 hours, shred chicken and let cook for an additional 30 minutes or so.
3. Serve on top of tortilla chips with all your nacho toppings.

Enjoy :)

22nd Birthday Celebration!

I don't know 'bout you...

Oh! So this is what T Swift has been talking about.  I totally know what it feels like to be 22 now :).

Today is my 22nd birthday! My mom keeps saying that she can't believe how old I am.  Frankly, I can't believe how old I am.  Bri gave me a really sweet card that talked about some of the things that have happened in the last year like running a half marathon, graduation, getting a job, and signing a lease on an apartment.  I can't believe I am old enough to be doing all that! I am so scared and excited about what the future holds and this birthday is a reminder of the fact that I am pretty sure I'm an adult now.

Last night, I had a really fun celebration with some of my friends downtown.  We went to RJ Grunts for dinner and then hit up a couple of bars in Lincoln Park.  It was a great night and we all had a really fun time!

Now, I am getting ready for a little birthday zumba with my mom and then grocery shopping for a birthday bbq!  We are having friends and family over tonight for a grill out and I am excited to keep the celebration going!  I also made my favorite desserts to share: Red Velvet Cupcakes and Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes.  I brought some of these in for my counselors at camp, made Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes for my campers, and now I have leftovers for today's party!

For the Red Velvet, I did the same recipe as the cake version, poured the batter into cupcake pans, and baked them for 12-18 minutes.  12 for the mini cupcakes and 18 for the big ones.  Then, I frosted them with my favorite cream cheese frosting:

16 oz light cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 - 3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
milk or half and half as needed

Simply beat together and frost!

For the Funfetti, I followed the exact same recipe as last year and they came out super delicious! The campers were raving!

Spinach and Artichoke Pasta

I keep getting so behind on all my fun recipes! I have been cooking a lot now that it is the summer and the chef who typically brings food during the year is on break! However, I am still here and I gotta eat! So I have been having a good time inventing yummy lunches and dinners to have during and after school.  This was one of my fun ideas.  I had a ton of leftover Lightened Up Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip.  So, I sautéed some peppers, made some pasta, and had a lovely meal!

Spinach and Artichoke Pasta

Ingredients:
8 oz whole wheat angel hair pasta
1/2 cup Lightened Up Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
1. Make pasta and Spinach and Artichoke Dip according to directions.
2. In a small pan, heat oil over medium heat.  Saute pepper slices until lightened in color and translucent.
3. Drain pasta and place back in bowl.  Stir in dip and peppers.

Enjoy :)

My First Half Marathon and a Memorial Day Dessert!

Bri caught a great photo of my crossing the Finish Line!

I did it! I ran my first Half Marathon in an ACTUAL race.  Last summer, I ran the distance, but I just went out there and did it on my own.  This year, I got my friends, Lauren and Patrick to do it with me and we had a blast.

We stayed together all the way through mile 10 and somehow kept a pretty clipped 9:30 mile pace.  Then, between 10 and 11, there was this AWFUL hill.  I had to walk, Patrick (good for him) ran it, and Lauren slowed down a bit.  I spent the last 2 miles attempting to catch up with Patrick which was great motivation because I ended up finished with about a 9 minute mile pace and only 30 seconds behind Patrick.  My finishing time was 2:07 and this is about 13 minutes faster than I was really expecting.  It was amazing that we all did this for the first time and were so great! We enjoyed our free beer and snacks afterwards and, after a quick shower, got all our friends and family together to go out for an amazing brunch at the Great Dane.

Champs :)

My Results

I was so happy to have the support of my family and Bri and we had a really nice day together.  Today my parents are packing up some of my room and heading home.  Next weekend, I have to take Teacher Tests back in IL and the weekend after that I move out! Basically, this was my last big hoorah in Madison and I can't think of a better way to have spent it.  I am so proud that I dedicated the last few months to training for this and I feel great!

Last year, I made adorable Skinny Memorial Day Cheesecakes and I just had to share them again here.  They are the perfect dessert for the holiday and they are a great way to indulge without feeling too guilty.  However, I just ran a Half Marathon, so I might go out an eat something a little more guilty than this :).

Skinny Memorial Day Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (adapted from Skinny Taste) 

Ingredients:

12 vanilla wafers

1 8 oz package of 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

6 oz fat-free vanilla greek yogurt

2 large egg whites

1 tbsp flour

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

strawberries and blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350, line a cupcake tray with 12 liners, and place a vanilla wafer in the bottom of each one.

2. In a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy.  Beat in the sugar and vanilla.  Slowly beat in the greek yogurt, egg whites, and flour until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

3. Fill each cupcake well about 1/2 full and bake for about 25 minutes.  Let cool.

4. Top each mini cheesecake with some sliced strawberries and blueberries and let chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Enjoy :)

Peanut Butter Nutella Swirled Mini Cheesecakes with Oreo Crust

I was proposed to by another math teacher because of these.  She said she was willing to leave her husband if it meant getting to eat these Peanut Butter Nutella Swirled Mini Cheesecakes with Oreo Crust.  They were pretty fantastic.

But first, I can't believe that tomorrow is my Half Marathon! I have been training for over 10 weeks now and it totally snuck up on me.  I feel pretty ready, but I am still nervous! I hope that the weather is nice and I am excited to run it with my friends, Lauren and Patrick.

I am also pretty darn excited about this long weekend.  These past few weeks of school have been pretty crazy.  I started teaching Pre-Calculus in addition to my Geometry block and two Algebra 2 blocks.  Having three preps is hectic and for a while I wasn't really sure of myself.  I couldn't keep all of my plans straight! However, now that I have gotten used to it, I feel much more confident and I am glad that I took on the challenge of teaching all of my cooperating teacher's classes because it has made me feel better prepared for next year.

Speaking of next year... I am going to have my own classroom! This is slowly sinking in and I keep getting nervous and excited about everything that goes with teaching.  I am so nervous for the first day and I keep running through what I want to say.  I am also nervous about having questions or being unsure of myself and NOT having a cooperating teacher there to help.  I am sure that once this all gets going it will be okay, but right now I feel like I have a million things on my mind! Any teachers out there with any words of wisdom about the first year?

And, back to the cheesecake.  Keeping up with cooking and baking while also trying to be the best teacher ever is difficult  but it keeps me happy! This dessert was super yummy and I shared with my teacher friends in the math department.  I was inspired by Chocolate Therapy and then got creative with the rest!

Peanut Butter Nutella Swirled Cheesecakes with Oreo Crust

Ingredients:
16 oreos
16 oz light cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
3 tbsp flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup nutella

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a cupcake pan with 16 liners.
2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar until well combined.  Beat in the vanilla and peanut butter until smooth and creamy.  Sprinkle flour over the mixture and beat to combine.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Scrape down sides and beat to combine.
3. Place an oreo in the bottom of each cupcake well.  Fill the cupcake to the top with your cheesecake batter.  Drop 1/2 tbsp of nutella on the top of each cupcake and, using a tooth pick, swirl.

4.  Bake for 20 minutes or until cheesecakes are no longer wobbly.  Let cool.  Serve same day or place in fridge overnight.

Enjoy :)

Grilled Spinach Artichoke and Chicken Sandwiches

This weekend I saw my little brother in his first half marathon and he did great! I can't believe that mine is less than a month away! This past week I got up to 11 miles and it was pretty rough.  I didn't drink enough water before hand and I ended up struggling.  Plus, my shoes are pretty worn at this point and I've been getting blisters! Uh oh! I need new shoes ASAP! I want to be able to break them in before I go off on this Half Marathon in one month! This week I am going to keep up with my shorter runs, but I've been getting so busy with school and interviews that it has been getting pretty difficult to keep up on other things like running and cooking! I'm doing my best!

Today I have a great lunch idea! Grilled Spinach Artichoke and Chicken Sandwiches.  I used yummy whole wheat wraps, make my Lightened Up Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip (this time I used all Greek Yogurt instead of half yogurt half sour cream), and then spread some of that along with chicken strips on my flatbread and turned it into a little panini.  It was a delicious lunch and I love how I had enough to make leftovers to take with me to school!

Grilled Spinach Artichoke and Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1 batch of Lightened Up Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip
1 packaged Grilled Chicken Strips
8 pieces Whole Wheat Flatbread

Directions:
1. Lightly grease a pan and place over medium heat.
2. Spread dip on a piece of flatbread and place chicken strips on top.  Top with other piece of flatbread and toast over medium heat for 3 minutes.  Flip and toast the other side for 3 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes with Pretzel Crust

When Tamara and I were planning a dinner for Courtney's birthday, Tamara came up with an amazing sounding cheesecake idea: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cupcakes with Pretzel Crust and Salted Caramel Glaze.  Yea, she's a genius.

I can't wait to share this recipe, but I am also excited to share my Half Marathon Training! I finally made it up to the double digits and Saturday was my 10 mile run! It went really well and I got to run on a beautiful day through the Madison Arboretum.  It was awesome.  This week I have some shorter runs planned for during the week and then on Saturday, I am running in the Madison Crazylegs Race! I can't wait! I've wanted to run this race all through my college career, but I have always been busy.  Finally, my senior year, I am crossing this one off my bucket list!

Speaking of bucket lists, I got another item checked off when my parents came to town Friday for the UW Marching Band Concert.  We went out for dinner at Roast, saw the concert, and then headed to the Ivory Room for a fun night of dueling pianos.  The bucket list item: my mom and I took a shot together! It was super cute.  We had a really fun time and it was awesome to have them here in Madison.

The rest of the weekend was jam packed with running, DTS Sister Bonding Sleepover, DTS Activation, and lesson planning.  I also spent some time coming up with new recipes and I can't wait to tell you about them!  I hope that everyone has a lovely day and enjoys this amazing recipe for Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes with Pretzel Crust!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes with Pretzel Crust
(Cheesecake Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour and Caramel Sauce adapted from Cooking Channel)

Ingredients:
For the Crust:
1 1/4 cups crushed pretzels
4 tbsp powdered sugar
1/8 tsp salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
For the Cheesecake:
16 oz light cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 eggs
3 tsp vanilla
1 cup mini chocolate chips
For the Salted Caramel Sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp sea salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 and place 16 cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the crushed pretzels, powdered sugar, and salt.  Pour melted butter over the mixture and stir to combine.  Place 2 tbsp of pretzel mixture into each cupcake liner and, using a small glass, press the crust into the pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Let cool.
3. Lower the oven temperature to 325.  In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Beat in the sugar until well combined.  Beat in the cream, eggs, and vanilla until well combined.  Beat on high for a few minutes until light and fluffy.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Pour batter into cupcake wells until it is almost to the top.  Bake for 30 minutes or until cheesecakes are no longer wobbly.  Let cool for an hour and then place in fridge for 1 hour.
4.  To make the caramel sauce, heat the sugar with the water in a medium pot over medium heat until completely dissolved.  Increase the heat and bring to a boil.  Continue to cook, without stirring, until your mixture is a deep amber color.  Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and cream.  Mixture will bubble violently.  Whisk until well combined and whisk in the salt.  Let cool completely.  Mixture will thicken as it cools.  Drizzle over cooled cheesecakes.  You can store the extra caramel sauce in the fridge.

Enjoy :)

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

With Spring Break right around the corner, I am having a hard time staying focused!  This is actually okay as I have already come up with a plan for every class I teach this week and I am on top of grading! Plus, I am really motivated to keep up with my half marathon training and this is helping me stay on track.  I am super busy, but in a good place!

Also, I have a great recipe to share today! This is perfect for Easter since it features a bunny's favorite food: carrots!  I recently made mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting for my friend, Lauren's, birthday.  This is one of her favorite desserts...I made her a cake last year.  And so I wanted to do something "sweet" for her again this year.  Also, how cool is this? I had these mini cupcake papers that you do not need to put in a cupcake pan! They stand up on their own!

Lauren's birthday was a fun night out complete with dinner and cupcakes for dessert.  Lauren says that they are the best dessert I have ever made...quite the claim! I love my Mom's Carrot Cake recipe, so I made half of that, made cupcakes instead of a whole cake, and then whipped up some amazing frosting.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients: 
1/2 Carrot Cake Batter
8 oz low-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tbsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare cupcake pans.
2. Make carrot cake according to directions and fill cupcake wells about 3/4 full.  Bake for 20 minutes and let cool.
3.  To make the frosting: beat butter and cream cheese until creamy and well combined.  Slowly mix in powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  Mix in cinnamon.  Frost cooled cupcakes!

Note: The frosting is not super thick and is more like a glaze.  For a thicker frosting, add another cup of powdered sugar and 2 tsp milk.

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 :)

Baked Crispy Chicken Fingers

Another Snow Day!

This is getting ridiculous.  And today was especially strange.

I woke up at 5:30 since I had to be at school early for a department meeting.  Following breakfast, I got a text from my cooperating teacher.  The text was about how there was going to be a late start to school because of the icy road conditions and that we should get there around 9.  Since it was not yet 6:30, I decided to get in my 3 mile run for the day.  I slipped and slid my way to the work out center and, after successfully not falling, I got in a nice run.  I returned home, showered, and then got dressed in an adorable dress with tights.  Then, I saw my phone.  I proceeded to freak out because my phone had a text about the department meeting being at 8:15...it was 8:20!!! I grabbed my coat and called my cooperating teacher. I apologized and told her I was on my way. She then said: Wait, don't leave, they just cancelled school.

I was out of my tights and dress within seconds and into my leggings and oversized sweater.  Then, I got my baking supplies and headed to the kitchen to make some cookies! I was so excited!

Now, it is finally the afternoon and I have already baked not one, but TWO treats, gone over lesson plans for tomorrow and next week, cleaned my room, worked out, and finished laundry! I love that I have had so much time to get everything done and now I get to tell you about a yummy meal I made for the superbowl this past weekend!

For the superbowl, I watched with the only two people who get me remotely excited about sports: Tamara and Courtney.  We all got together and had my Light Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Veggies, other snacks, Cookie Dough Dip, and for our main course, Baked Crispy Chicken Fingers.  We wanted to have "sporty food" but also "healthy food."  Baked Chicken Fingers were a great idea and super yummy.  And, those dips use non-fat greek yogurt in place of sour cream or butter!  It only took a few ingredients and very little time.  This was a really yummy dinner that I will definitely be making again.

Skillet Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Strawberry Dipped in Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Baked Crispy Chicken Fingers (adapted from Fitness Magazine)

Ingredients:
24 oz chicken strips
4 cups corn flakes, crushed
2 eggs
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp mustard

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In small bowl, mix the eggs, honey and mustard.
3. Place corn flakes in a separate bowl.
4. Dip chicken strips in the egg mixture and then roll in teh corn flakes until coated.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12-18 minutes depending on how thick your chicken strips are.
5. Serve with various dipping sauces! We had BBQ sauce...mmm!

Enjoy :)