Monster Cookie Layer Bars

We just had parent-teacher conferences this past week and I can't believe that this means there are only 6 weeks until finals!!! My second year of teaching has just flown by!  Along with that, I have been having a great year with my co-teacher in Geometry and my Algebra Advance students are pretty awesome.  I can't believe they started off as freshmen and now they are like "grown up" sophomores!  This year has been so much smoother than my first one and I have been working hard to incorporate new lessons that are more investigative and model based.  I love that I feel confident enough to try new things and evaluate if they are successful.  I even brought in a GIANT gummy bear to show my students and talk about similarity ratios between the little gummy bears and the big guy.  Today, I am even presenting one of these lessons to a group of teachers!

Along with school ending, I am also getting ready for camp to begin! This is crazy!  I am so excited that summer is right around the corner.

To celebrate this excitement, I am going to share with you all a recipe for one yummy treat.  I love the idea of Monster Cookies because it means you can basically throw whatever you are craving into a cookie.  This recipe, which I adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything, takes that idea to a whole new level.  Instead of all that work to drop cookies onto a cookie sheet, lets just dump it all into a pan and go with layers! I love combining salty with sweet so I went with some chocolatey things and pretzels and peanut butter.  You can use whatever toppings your little heart desires!

Monster Cookie Layer Bars

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk (I used light)
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups of the toppings you want

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a 9 by 13 inch pan with foil or parchment paper.  Spray the foil of parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter.  Mix the butter and graham cracker crumbs together and press evenly into the bottom of your pan.
3. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the graham cracker crust and then sprinkle the oats and your toppings over the top.  Gently press this down into the sweetened condensed milk layer.
4. Bake for 20 minutes.  Let cool for 20 minutes and then use the foil to take the layers out of the pan to cool completely.

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 :)

Monster Cake

Today I am going to be all about math and teaching.  It's Friday and I feel like recapping some of my experiences thus far.  I have loved experiencing middle school.  I have been at the middle school for 6 weeks.  I observe an 8th grade algebra class, 7th grade math class, and then I also tutor in a 6th grade Language Arts class.  I have seen so many different styles and subjects and it has truly been great.

I have been able to lead teach a few times now.  I created a great President's Day Math activity inspired by an activity I found over at Yummy Math for the seventh graders.  This activity fit in perfectly with what they were learning and taught them some new things that they didn't know about Presidents Day and our Presidents.  I also taught in Algebra a few times.  The first time I stuck to the book, but the second I created Algebra Bingo.

Algebra Bingo is great for anyone who is looking for a good review activity.  Also, it can be adapted to any subject.  Just create a list of 30 or so questions and answers.  Put the answers up and have students create their own bingo boards.  Then, read off questions one by one.  They know if they solve them right because they have the answers.  This was neat because we did it the day before a test and so it gave them a chance to practice and I was able to gage how well they were understanding the material.  I also through in some problems from previous chapters just to keep them on their toes and reinforce the idea that they will still need that knowledge as well.  After all, math builds upon itself.  Of course, there were prizes :)  I brought in my sticker collection and a bag of starburst.  To my surprise, they were super pumped about the silly stickers.  8th graders: they think they are so old and rule the school, but give them some spongebob stickers and they giggle like they are back in first grade!

I only go into the school for these classes four days a week and so, now it is Friday and I get a day off.  What I am discovering though is that I miss going into the schools. This is a good sign!  On Fridays, I don't do much except work and work-out.  Today however, I am making this Monster Cake because this weekend is packed with fun events.  Tonight I have my friend's birthday party and tomorrow I have a DTS event for the junior members.  Tonight is going to be carrot cake night and tomorrow will be monster cake night.

Now, this monster cake, is not at all scary.  It is actually quite simple.  It's a cake based on the famous monster cookie! I have tried them out in cupcake form before and they were a huge hit.  Today I am going to make them in cake form and top it off with whipped cream frosting.  I wanted a simple frosting that will not overpower all the crazy flavors going on in the cake and I think I found the perfect recipe.  The original monster cupcake recipe recommends a swiss meringue buttercream frosting, but it was just way too much butter for me to wrap my mind around.  However, it is probably delicious.

Monster Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting
 (adapted from Martha Stewert's Cupcakes and All Recipes)

Ingredients:
For the Cake:
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup natural creamy peanut butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup oats
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
For the Frosting:
1 8 oz package of light cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups heavy whipping cream
For Topping:
Crushed Dark and Milk Chocolate M&Ms (as much as you want...)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly butter or grease two 8 inch cake pans.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, mix the sour cream and the vanilla, set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add in the peanut butter and mix until well combined.  Then, add in the eggs, one at a time, and incorporate well.
4.  Mix in the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream mixture.  Start with the flour and end with the flour.  Finally, stir in the oats and chocolate chips.
5. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool completely.

Note: I made this a day early so that these cakes would be entirely cool before assembling with the frosting and crushed M&Ms.

6. Make the frosting: Combine the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Continue whipping and slowly pour in the heavy cream.  Continue to whip until frosting holds a stiff peak.

7. To assemble: carefully place one layer of the cake on a plate.  Dollop some frosting on top and spread evenly.  Then, place the other layer on top.  Frost both layers with the remaining frosting.  Top with crushed M&Ms!

Enjoy :)