Mini Dark Chocolate M&M Skillet Brownies

I know that this is exactly what we don't need right after Halloween, but look at how amazing these brownie skillets look!!!! Plus, you can throw in any candy pieces that you have lying around from trick-or-treating.  My mom gave me and Bri a "Halloween Goody Bag."  So, now I have Justin's Peanut Butter Cups, Pumpkin Spice Latte M&Ms, Halloween Oreos, Halloween Gummies, and more.  It's a little crazy.  I'm trying to eat healthy and here I have a giant bag full of deliciousness.  I just need to make sure not to eat it all at once...

Halloween was super fun.  I was Lois Lane and Bri was Clark Kent.  It was pretty adorable.  We went to a couple halloween parties hosted by friends and overall had a super nice weekend.  

Now, it is back to school time!  

Mini Dark Chocolate M&M Skillet Brownies

(makes two mini skillets)

Ingredients:

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup dark chocolate M&Ms

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease your mini skillets.

1. In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat and stir in chopped bittersweet chocolate until smooth and combined.  Turn off heat and stir in the sugar until well combined.  Next, stir in the eggs until well combined.  Add in the vanilla and salt.  

2. Sprinkle the flour and cocoa powder over your brownie mixture and then stir until just combined.  Stir in the M&Ms.

3.  Divide the batter into your two mini skillets.  Bake for about 25 minutes.  

Enjoy :)

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 :)

Happy Pi Day! 3.141592653...

Happy Pi Day everyone! Today is an especially epic Pi day as it is March 14th of 2015!  Since Pi starts with 3.1415 this is the first time this has happened in 100 years and I am pretty excited about it!  For school, I brought in oreo pie and chocolate chip cookie pie for my students and a ton of my kiddos brought in their own circular treats to share.  It was pretty great!

It also happens to be the St. Patricks Day celebration in Chicago and my friend Lauren's bday celebration.  Can today get any more epic?

The answer is yes.  Here is an epically delicious pie for you all!  This is like a "better than sex" pie and it was truly AH-mazing.  I hope you all have a fantastic Pi/St. Pattys/Whatever day and enjoy your weekend!

The Epically AH-mazing Pi Day Pie

Crust:

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter

1 tsp white vinegar

2-3 tbsp cold water

Filling:

Your favorite hot fudge

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips

8 oz light cream cheese

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Your favorite caramel sauce (I recommend salted caramel)

2 cups cool whip topping

Mini PB cups, M&Ms...and whatever other toppings you want!

Directions:

1. Make the crust: place flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.  Cut cold butter into cubes and place in food processor with vinegar.  Pulse until you have a sand like combination.  Pour water in, 1 tbsp at a time, while pulsing, until your dough comes together.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.  Once chilled, heat oven to 400 degrees and roll out pie dough so that you have a large circle.  I usually try to go for a circle with a 12 inch diameter.  Then, place pie dough into a 9 inch pie pan and form crust to your liking.  Place in preheated oven and cook for 10-12 minutes or until dough starts to brown.  Cool

2. To make the filling, melt the dark chocolate in a heat proof bowl.  Once melted, whip with the cream cheese and heavy cream until you have a light and fluffy filling. 

3. To assemble the pie: spread hot fudge into your cooked pie crust so that it covers the bottom.  Then, spread the chocolate mixture on top.  Next, drizzle caramel sauce over the chocolate filling.  Finally, top with the whipped topping and sprinkle extra hot fudge/caramel/other toppings on top.  Place in fridge to chill until you are ready to serve.

Enjoy :)

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

I may or may not be being a bad teacher right now.  It is finals week, and I am currently sitting in the 2nd period final.  2nd period is my Math Lab and so it is not a "math class" and I don't have a final to give.  Instead, I am sitting in a "supervision" where I have to observe students in the cafeteria and keep them from leaving.  It's tough work, but someones got to do it :)

I have some work to do for next semester, but I already graded the three finals from yesterday and I decided that a therapeutic blogging break was in order before I got back to more work.  Plus, I made homemade Peanut Butter Cups and they are just too cute and too yummy to keep hidden from you all.

Plus, I made a major life change yesterday! Well, major and exciting for me.  This is probably too much build up for normal people, but I am not one of those.  I am a crazy enthusiastic reader.  I love books.  I love reading for fun and I have always kept a book next to my bed.  Even in college when I didn't have any time, I still tried to get in 5-10 minutes every night of reading.  I love the way books feel, I love the way a library smells, and I am a tad crazy.  I get stressed when I don't have a new book in mind once I finish one.  Now that I ride the train for an hour every morning and another hour every afternoon, I am going through books like crazy.  I like to buy my books because I like collecting them, rereading them, and lending them out to friends.  So, I am running out of space.  Also, I am running out of money!

For the holidays, I got a ton of money in amazon gift cards and last night I finally broke down and purchased a kindle.  I was holding out because I really love holding a book, but since it is becoming such a passion of mine to read and collect books, I figured this would be a good move.  I am excited to get my new toy and to read more!  I have no idea how these guys work and so if anyone out there has any recommendations, please let me know! And now, back to my delicious treat for the day!

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients:
1/2 cup creamy, natural peanut butter
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
pinch of salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar
9 oz dark chocolate chips
9 oz milk chocolate chips
1 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions:
1. In a microwave safe bowl, melt 1 tbsp butter, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate in the microwave stirring after every 30 seconds until smooth.
2. In a bowl, beat peanut butter, 2 tbsp butter, and salt.  Beat in powdered sugar until well combined.
3. Line a mini muffin pan with paper liners.  Drop 1 tbsp of chocolate into the bottom of each one.  Then drop 1 heaping tsp of the peanut butter mixture into the center of the chocolate.  Then drop enough chocolate on top to cover the peanut butter and fill to the top.  Place in fridge to chill until hardened.

Enjoy :)

Whole Wheat M&M Mug Cookie

I have a horrible sweet tooth.

Luckily, my mom bought some amazing Phish Food Frozen Yogurt (my favorite) and when I am craving something sweet, I take a scoop.  I try to make that pint last as long as possible since I don't want to pig out, and my mom hardly ever gets it so I want to savor it!

A few weeks ago, my mom didn't have anything sweet in the house!  Gasp! It was so she wouldn't eat anything bad, but I was seriously in need of some sort of dessert like thing.  So, I found a recipe for a mug cookie!  I had never made one before and it was just SCREAMING my name.  I made my "healthy" by using whole wheat flour and I mixed in Mini M&Ms because that just made me happy.  It seriously took me less than 5 minutes and it was awesome!  Check out my mug cookie!

Whole Wheat M&M Mug Cookie
(adapted from The Comfort of Cooking)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
a pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
3 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 tbsp mini m&ms

Directions:
1. Microwave the butter for 30 seconds or until just melted.
2. Using a spoon, stir the sugar and brown sugar into the butter.  Stir in the vanilla and salt.  Next, stir in the egg yolk until completely combined.  Finally, stir in the flour and m&ms until just combined.
3. Microwave for 1 minute.

Enjoy :)

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Skillet Cookies

For the past 10 weeks, I have been updating you on my Half Marathon progress.  Well, now it is over! So, I guess I'll update you on my post-half marathon progress.  It took me a while to get back out there running.  I was a little lazy and a little sore.  However, after a difficult three mile run the Tuesday after, I attempted a 4 mile run on Wednesday and felt much better.  By Friday and Saturday, I was feeling like myself again and even got up to a 6 mile run.  I also did my cross training work out video which was especially difficult because of my sore legs and because I skipped it the week before.  All in all, it was good and I am glad I pushed myself to get back into my routine.  Now, I need to find another Half to train for.  I am totally addicted!

Today's recipe is super yummy and definitely something you should all indulge in.  I have cute miniature cast iron skillets and I have decided that the best use for them is to make miniature skillet cookies.  These are perfectly sized to be split by Bri and I and they encourage the use of ice cream as a topping.  Don't they sound wonderful?  Last week, I made Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies in them and threw in some chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  YUM! I used my recipe for whole wheat peanut butter oatmeal cookies and halved it.  Then, the batter fit perfectly into my two miniature skillets.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Skillet Cookies

Ingredients:
Half Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
1/2 cup chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Directions:
1. Make the cookie dough according to directions and mix in the peanut butter cups.  Divide the batter between the two mini skillets.
2. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cookie just begins to brown.

Enjoy :)

Gluten Free Easter Nests

This Half Marathon is really creeping up on me! I am already up to 8 miles for my long run and next week is 10!  This week, I am planning on a 4 mile, 6 mile, 5 mile, and 3 mile run before my big 10 mile run.  I'm also going to look into new shoes because I've been running in mine since August and I think it's going to be time for a new pair soon.

This week at school is fine arts week and I'm excited to see some of my students perform in various shows! We are also finishing up constructions in Geometry and learning about polynomial division in Algebra 2!  I'm also looking at some of the PreCalc material because I might be teaching some of those lessons as well! Also, we had a human knot challenge in the classes and I promised the winning teams a treat.  So, I made some awesome inception cookies and I can't wait to share them with the students.  I'm having such a great time with this student teaching experience and I really hope I find a job for next year because I just love to teach!

I have been really busy so I'm sorry that today's treat is a little out dated.  I made gluten free Easter egg nests for Easter a few weeks ago and I am just getting around to sharing them now! I made my Gluten Free Nutella Brownies and then topped them off with cute Easter Egg Candies.  They were a great treat to share for the Holiday and everyone loved them!

Gluten Free Easter Nests

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Nutella
1 egg
3 tbsp gluten free flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
egg candies

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a mini muffin pan.
2. Beat nutella with egg, flour, cocoa powder, and vanilla.  Fill muffin pan almost to the top.  Bake for 12-14 minutes or until an inserted tooth pick comes out clean.  Let cool.
3.  Decorate with candy eggs.

Enjoy :)

Pretzel M&M Cookies

Happy Sunday! I have had a lovely weekend.  Bri came up to visit me and we have had so much fun!

Friday was a scary day for me.  I had an observation from a school in IL that is considering hiring me! It's all very exciting, but I was so nervous! When it was over, I was extra excited to relax and de-stress with a fun weekend.  So, I did!

Bri and I went out for dinner to the Tipsy Cow on Friday and then out for the night with a ton of friends.  The Tipsy Cow was fantastic! I had a great Mediterranean sandwich with cheese curds on the side and Bri had their grilled cheese, tomato soup, and beer battered french fries.  It was all very tasty and it was nice to treat myself to some great comfort food.  Then, we had a great time out and I continued my quest to learn the card game, Ucher.  I think I'm getting the hang of it!

Saturday was a great day to be lazy.  I didn't want to do anything so I didn't.  Well, after I got in my 8 mile run.  Then, I showered and we watched episodes of How I Met Your Mother and had lunch with a bunch of DTS for parents day.  My parents didn't come up, but I got to see my friend Lauren's family and the food was awesome! After more episodes of How I Met Your Mother and a nap, we met up with friends at Great Dane for a drink and then dinner at Flattop Grill.  The food was yummy, but their service was rather slow and we ended up getting a few free meals because they felt so bad.  Next, Bri and I came back to campus and met up with Max at Forever Yogurt for dessert...yum! Our adventure continued as we met up with Russ, Lauren, and Max (other Max) at The Plaza.  I like this bar because it is fairly chill.  We got a booth and spent time just catching up.  Other Max was in town because he had just been visiting University of Chicago and might be going there for law school!  How cute is that?  Bri and Max might end up there together!

Now it is Sunday, and while I had a lovely weekend, I know that I now need to get some work done.  After my Jillian Michael's Workout, I am planning on a shower, lesson planning for the week, filling out some more job applications, and then baking! Yep, I am going to bake something today.  Not sure what yet, so if you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it! I have been so stressed the past few weeks that I just haven't had much energy for cooking or baking, but I miss it and I know that it will make me feel good to get back in the game.  Check out this awesome cookie recipe and I can't wait to share what I end up creating today!

Pretzel M&M Cookies

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
pinch of cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1 tbsp vanilla
12 oz pretzel M&Ms

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cornstarch, and cinnamon.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined.  Beat in vanilla.  Beat in dry ingredients until just combined and stir in M&Ms.
4. Drop cookie dough onto the prepared sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.  This recipe makes about 60 cookies that are about 2 tbsp in size.

Enjoy :)

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 :)

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! 

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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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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 :)

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 :)

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I did it! I made it through my first day as a full-time student teacher! I was so nervous about today and I can't believe it is finally over and I have a chance to share a great recipe with you!

I got to school today at 7:30, parked in the wrong lot, ran into another student teacher who told me where to go, and made it to the office by 7:35...not too shabby.  Except for the fact, that I got totally lost on the way to the office.  I figured it out eventually and got there with plenty of time to start the day.

After a bit of a confusing morning, it was nice to spend the first part of first block in a study hall. Every teacher needs to spend a certain amount of time at a study hall being available to help students.  Today was the first day of the new semester and so no one needed help.  Instead, I got to go over the geometry lesson plan with my cooperating teacher.  After our study hall, we had about 30 minutes to prepare for second block.

Second block was my big moment: I started teaching the geometry class!  I started off with a group juggle activity to learn some names and then I dove in! We worked through two lessons during the 95 minute block and learned the triangle congruency theorems.  I struggled a bit when it came to names or using the SMART board, but overall the class period flowed fairly well and the students were great.  I can't wait to teach them again on Thursday!  That might have sounded weird...let me explain: with this "block" scheduling, students have classes every other day.  So, geometry happens on A and C days.  On B and D days students have the other half of their classes.  I'm still figuring this out as I go and basically all I know is how A days work right now.

After geometry, we got some time to each lunch and then it was back to class for Pre-Calc.  My cooperating teacher is going to teach this one until I am more comfortable and then I am going to help co-teach.  Today, I led the group juggle activity and then circulated the classroom answering student questions.  We ended class with a guest speaker on teamwork and working together on projects in school and outside of school.  It was an interesting talk and perfect for this class as the students have to work with teams all the time.

For the last block of the day, my cooperating teacher does work with service based learning so I went to an algebra class to help out.  This class was much different as it was full of freshmen, and then sophomores through seniors who have failed the class in the past.  It was a much different class and great to see.  I got to help out students and in the future I may help co-teach or lead warm-ups and other activities.  I had a super full day at high school and by the end of hte day I couldn't wait to sit down and breathe!

However, I still had to drive over to another building to get my ID and then I convinced myself to stop by the work-out facility on the way back and run 4 miles.  Yeah, I can't really believe I did that either...

Now, I am home, showered, and getting my thoughts together before I have to work on planning for the rest of the week.  Tomorrow is another full day and it is a B day so it's sort of like another "first day" all over.  I am excited to see what honors algebra 2 has in store for me!

Now, onto that new recipe I am so pumped to share.  Tamara and I felt like baking the other night and so we whipped out a recipe for peanut butter cup stuffed cookies.  I found a great recipe on Joy of Baking and then adapted it slightly to use whole wheat flour and dark brown sugar.  These cookies were super yummy and you should all make them right now.  In fact, I might go eat a few...I think I deserve it!

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
48 miniature peanut butter cups

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a mini muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.  Mix in the vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Pour into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.  Drop a tablespoon of cookie dough into each mini muffin hole.  Bake for 8 minutes.
4. Unwrap the reeses and after 8 minutes. Press 1 candy into each muffin hole.  Place cookies back in the oven and bake for another 3 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then let cool on a wire rack completely.

Enjoy :)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Once again I am at work after a long day of school.  However, today was a great day, followed by a yummy lunch of homemade Sonoma Chicken Salad with a Chobani Bite for dessert, and then it was off to work.  Bri is visiting me and he is currently hard at work working on his thesis/making creme brulee.  We are having a little dinner/date night tonight.  I am going to cook up a delicious dinner after work and we both wanted to try making creme brulee for dessert. However, since creme brulee takes so long to set and chill, Bri is making that now and I will do dinner later! I can't wait! 

Today's post is quite the treat.  Over winter break, my dad requested that we bake something together.  I was a tad nervous about this experience.  I mean, my dad is awesome and I love spending time with him, but we are so similar that we tend to argue quite a bit since we are both so sassy!  I decided that the perfect thing to "bake" together, would be a "no-bake" chocolate peanut butter pie.  This way, there was no stress about it turning out okay and we wouldn't get into any arguments! It turned out to be super yummy.  I am going to have to remember this one for Pi Day! 

Dad did a great job mixing everything up and sticking the pie in the fridge.  Truly, it was impressive.  He also did dishes which was fantastic!  I ended up assembling the pie and decorating and it turned out fantastic.  I guess we made a pretty good team.  Maybe next time we will be able to handle something you actually need to bake! 

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

1 9-inch Oreo crust

1 8 oz container of light frozen whipped topping

4 oz light cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup natural, creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tbsp skim milk

1/4 tsp espresso powder (optional...but it's delicious)

whipped cream

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat the whipped topping, cream cheese, and peanut butter. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar.  Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.

2.  Place the chocolate chips and milk in a small saucepan and double boil over medium heat, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and smooth.  Stir in the espresso powder.

3.  Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture over the peanut butter filling and, using a toothpick or knife, swirl the chocolate into the top.  Place the pie in the fridge for at least 2 hours or until set.  

4.  Decorate with whipped cream and mini peanut butter cups.

Enjoy :)

Charleston, SC Day 3

After my run in the morning, we lounged around before heading into Charleston for our cooking class at Charleston Cooks!  This place is a fantastic cooking store that also hosts demonstation and participation cooking classes.  The participation classes were totally booked, but we were able to get a spot in one of the demonstration classes.  It was a fabulous time!  We watched Chef Marcus cook up some Shrimp and Grits and Upside Down Apple Cupcakes.  Everything was fabulous and we even got a glass of wine with our food!  It was so much fun.  Also, I learned some fun times on how to hold a knife, how to cut an onion, and tons of fun facts about eggs and baking!  It was really cool!

After our class, we walked around the Market for a bit before dinner at Slightly North of Broad.  This place books up fast and if you don't have a reservation you can just forget it...however, we were able to walk in right at 5 when their bar opened and put our name in for one of the few tables they keep open for walk ins.  The table we ended up at was actually the "chefs table" where you eat your dinner while watching all the action go down in the kitchen.  It was pretty cool.  Also, the food was fabulous! Oh my was it delicious!  My dad got the tilefish (the special), my mom and I split a pear salad and flounder dish, and Zack and Bri got the gnocchi.

The Grits on the Side 

Butternut Squash Custard on the Side

Following dinner, we were too full for dessert (which was hard to walk away from...) and we went to a fun bar down the street to watch the end of the Packers game.  We are pretty avid Bears fans, being from Chicago, but we needed the Packers to win in order for the Bears to go to the playoffs.  The bar we found was called Mac's and was a great find since it was a "midwest bar" that specialized in hosting midwest and big 10 games.  It was really cool to see so many Wisconsin-ites and Chicago-ans in Charleston!  Unfortunately for the Bears, the Packers lost.  So, we decided to comfort ourselves with some ice cream (we were feeling less full at this point).

We drove to the Marble Slab Creamery (I even found a groupon!), which was known for some of the best ice cream in Mt. Pleasant.  We had amazing creations and proceeded to feel crazy full once again.  It was awesome.  My dad also got ice cream, but ate it before I got a picture...Here are some of the treats we indulged in:

Birthday Cake Ice Cream with Twix, Cookie Dough,
and Fudge (Zack's)

Red Velvet Ice Cream with Brownies and Fudge (mine)

Coffee Ice Cream with Health and Snickers (mom's)

Now it's time to digest and play Hoopla!  Good night!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Today we are off for South Carolina!  My family and Bri and driving to South Carolina for a week for a little vacation.  I can't wait to get on the road and get going!  I am going to share all my adventures here.  If you have any suggestions or are familiar with the Charleston area, please let me know! I would love some good ideas :)

But, before we head out, I want to share one more recipe with you!

I had ton of ripe bananas on hand.  So, after I made the Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread, I also make this Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread.  This stuff is so good! It's got it all: chocolate chips, peanut butter, peanut butter cups, and nutella swirled on top!  WOAH!  It's fantastic.  Plus, I used whole wheat flour and greek yogurt to lighten things up a bit.   This is quite possibly the yummiest banana bread ever...you gotta try it!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread (adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction)

Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
1/3 cup non-fat vanilla greek yogurt
1/2 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup chopped miniature reese's
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
nutella

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan.
2.  In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
3.  In a large bowl, mash the bananas, beat in the peanut butter, yogurt, sugar, and brown sugar.  Beat until well combined.  Beat in the egg until well combined.  Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined.  Stir in the reese's and chocolate chips.
4.  Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan.  Drop a few spoonfuls of nutella on the top of the batter. Then, using a knife, swirl the nutella into the the top of the batter.  Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy :)

Foodie Friends Friday: Robyn's View

This week, Foodie Friends Friday is back with some great prizes from Robyn's View!  Robyn will be giving away three Peppermint Foot Scrubs!  Just follow the rules and link up your recipes!  This week I am linking up my latest cookie creations: Kissed Peppermint Cookies, Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies, and Soft Gingersnap Cookies!

Last week Foodie Friends Friday was sponsored by Natural Living Mama and here were the winners:

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

Voted Top 3:

1. Candy Cane Fudge

2. Mini Chocolate Cherry Flourless Cakes

3. Chocolate Covered Pecan Butter Truffles

Enter below and you might be a lucky winner of this awesome foot scrub!!

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

Jutta at HungryLittleGirl http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com/

Kelly at 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

Ericka at http://www.chefpickykid.com

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