Sweet Potato Encrusted Chicken Fingers

I just had the most overwhelming weekend of my life.  I graduated from the best school ever and on Sunday when I realized I was an official college graduate, I freaked out a little.  I felt very overwhelmed by how many goodbyes I had to say and very nervous by how little I know about my future.  I know that these are perfectly normal emotions, but it doesn't make it any easier to process all this.  I am glad that Bri is hanging with me now that he is all done and graduated too.

When I woke up Sunday and I couldn't decide if I was happy or if I was about to burst into tears, I went for a run.  I love running and it always helps me to think and clear my head.  On my run, my very smart and impressive friend, Katie, called and we talked a little about this whole graduation thing.  She made me feel much better.  I am always so impressed by her grace and ability to say the perfect thing.  She told me that while she was studying abroad in Spain she had a postcard with this quote: "Adventure may hurt, but Monotony will kill you."  This is so true.  While I may be terrified about the future, I am also excited about what it will bring.  As a math teacher, I want so badly to "change the world" and enable all students to succeed.  I want to contribute to my school and community, I want to inspire students to become passionate learners, I want to do everything I can to embody everything I love about education and teaching.  

I know that by focusing on my passions and ensuring that I am happy and calm, I can focus my time and energy into these goals.  Therefore, I run and I cook.  Right now, while watching Indiana Jones, I am also planning some meals for Bri and I to cook together and considering my lessons for this week.  I ran 9 miles this morning because it made me feel amazing and helped me refocus.  I lost sight of my passions and purpose for a bit because of my fear, but by realizing this, I know that I can be successful with whatever the future throws my way. 

Oh, and by the way, my Half Marathon is NEXT WEEKEND! It's on this coming Sunday! Woah! How did that happen?  I feel pretty darn ready and excited about it.  My family is coming back up for another fun filled weekend and my runner besties will be back in town to run with me.  So, I guess a bunch of those sad goodbyes were really "see you soons."  I can handle that for now.  Today I have a fun and cute party recipe because now that I've graduated, I gotta party a little! Enjoy these homemade chicken fingers! 

Sweet Potato Encrusted Chicken Fingers

Ingredients:

14 oz chicken strip pieces

2 cups crushed sweet potato chips

2 eggs

2 tbsp mustard

2 tbsp honey or agave nectar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

2. In a small bowl, beat eggs with the mustard and honey.  Place crushed chips in a wide bowl.

3.  Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and then roll in the sweet potato chips.  Place on pan.  Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on how thick your chicken strips are.  Serve with BBQ Sauce or your favorite dipping sauce.

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 :)

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 :)

Grilled Cheese Sliders

Today it was back to school for me.  It felt so strange to wake up so early, but after a great start of my car working (this was not looking good after all that snow) and a fun share with the kids on what we did over break, I was feeling ready to be back.

School was pretty fun.  We played Square Root Bingo as a review and it was fun to see the kids getting into the game and remembering all the stuff they learned before break.  

After school, I had a quick lunch and then it was off to work.  I have two more weeks of work before I am done and start my full-time student teaching.  I can't believe I only have two more weeks!  

Anyways, now I am still at work, I am exhausted, and I am trying to keep myself motivated to go work out after this.  I don't know where I am going to find the energy, but I will try my best.  

I am pretty pumped about the post I have today.  Over break, I made grilled cheese sliders and they were super cute.  They were also super yummy.  My mom and I bought 4 kids of cheese, some tomatoes, and got to work.  It was great!  This is the perfect party food.  We had these guys at our little Game Day event and it was perfect for lunch! 

Grilled Cheese Sliders

Ingredients:

1 french baguette

about 16 slices of cheese (we had cheddar, white cheddar, provolone, and swiss)

3 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

butter

Directions:

1. Slice the bread into 1/2 inch slices.  Spread a thin layer of butter on one side of each piece.  Place your cheese and tomatoes onto the un-buttered part of the bread.  Make a sandwich.  

2.  Place the butter side of the bread down in a pan and cook on medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes.  Flip to the other side and cook until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes.  

Enjoy :)

Lightened-Up Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Today is a big cooking day for me.  I am going back to school where I typically get lunch and dinner at my house.  However, since school is not in session for the University for another two weeks.  I have two weeks without lunch or dinner.  So, I am cooking up a storm so that I can take back some delicious items to eat!  I'm working on some of my Mommy's favorite recipes: Maple Glazed Salmon and Cranberry Chicken.  This way, I will have two lovely entrees that I can eat on their own, or in a sandwich or salad!  These dishes are versatile and delicious.  Next, I am making a no-mayo chicken salad so that I have a nice protein-rich snack or sandwich item.  Then, I am making a brown butter balsamic and sage sauce to use as something to top off pastas.  This way, I will have a ton of options for the next few weeks.  Between these things and eating out with friends, I am sure I will survive.

But first, I want to share a recipe with you that I made over winter break in Charleston.  We had a lovely little football party for the Rosebowl and I made a ton of snack-foods for it.  This was my personal favorite.  Bri was also a huge fan as it was one of the vegetarian options.  This is a Lightened-Up Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip.  I was inspired by the Alton Brown recipe on the Food Network.  I hope you like it! It was so good!  Also, spinach is a crazy good-for-you super food! Well-Being Secrets even posted an article with a million reasons why you should eat all the spinach you can get! Check it out: 34 Science-Backed Health Benefits of Spinach.

Lightened-Up Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:
1 cup thawed frozen spinach
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
6 oz low-fat cream cheese
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup non-fat plain Greek Yogurt (I used Chobani)
1/3 cup fresh parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1/2-3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Optional: Round Rye Loaf

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.  If you are using the bread, cut a circle in the top and scoop out the insides so that you have a bread bowl.  If you are not using the bread, take out an oven-proof dish.
2. Sautee the spinach in a small pan over medium heat until cooked.  Drain and set aside.
3.  In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, and yogurt.  Stir in the spinach, chopped artichokes, parmesan, red pepper, salt, and garlic powder.  Place the mixture in the bread bowl or other dish, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and bake for 30-45 minutes or until the cheese has lightly browned on top.
4. Serve with crackers, bread, veggies, or other dipping items!

Enjoy :)

Life Gets Crazy, But There's Still Cookies!

I knew this was going to happen...

I knew that as soon as I got back to school and student teaching started I was going to be swamped with work.  And, I am! It's absolutely insane over here!  Let me fill you in.

Every day I wake up at 5:30 and get ready for school.  I leave by 6:45 and then school starts at 7:30.  Around 11:45 I run out of the school, hop in my car, and drive back to campus where I either work at VIP or have class at 1.  After work or class, I try to get my butt over to the gym to work out for at least 30-45 minutes.  By this point, we are at 5:00 and it is time for dinner at the house.  After dinner, I have homework or prep to do for classes and by 9, I am exhausted and getting ready for bed.

My days are pretty crazy, but I am having a great time!

School is going really well and I just love teaching.  Every day I am excited to go into school.  I am going to take that as a good sign.  Student teaching is overwhelming in a sense that I do not always know what I am supposed to be doing, but I am figuring things out and learning a lot along the way.

Yesterday, I had my first Education Psychology class for the semester and it seems like a really cool class.  We are going to learn about how people learn and discover some strategies that we can use for teaching.  Plus, we all signed up to bring in snack and snack makes any class better...

After class, I had a DTS dinner/meeting and that is also going really well.  I am working on creating a book/binder for the sisters to use for valuable information on the positions or roles in the fraternity and I hope to put together something that I can leave behind when I graduate.  I am also working on getting to know the new members as well as putting together some fundraisers to help us bring in a little money to support our organization.  While this stuff is time consuming, it is also a great way to support DTS and so I am enjoying it all!

This weekend was my friend Chelsea's bachelorette party.  I can't believe I have a friend getting married! When did I get old enough for that to happen?  Anyways, I am so happy for her and I could not be more excited about the wedding! For her party, we went away to a cabin on a lake and had a fun girl's weekend!  We had a taco night, watched movies, played fun games, grilled out for lunch, went for walks by the lake, went out for dinner, and just had a relaxing and fun weekend!  We also all helped her stock up on underwear and things for her first few weeks as a married woman :)

We all pitched in to supply food and beverages and I, of course, supplied the desserts.  I made my "famous" chocolate chip cookies which are always a huge hit and then I also made my Brownie Peanut Butter Pie since peanut butter and chocolate is Chelsea's favorite combination!

With all this going on, it is really hard to also keep up with this site.  I apologize for the lack of posts lately, but I promise cooking and baking are still very much a part of my life and I will try my best to keep up this blog.  This site has become so important to me and I love the times I get to sit here and vent about my days and my recipe projects.

Oh and one more thing: Buffalo Chicken Dip...guest post coming soon :)

The Dinner Party

Oh gosh.  I just ran 12 miles and I think I can finally start to think about food again...maybe.  After last night's dinner, I'm shocked that I was able to get my self up this morning let alone running.

We inherited these from my grandma,
I've never seen them before last night

My mom's cousin, Chris, is 68 and a retired math teacher.  She is basically one of my idols.  Not only is she a math teacher that I can look to for advice, but she is also one epic foodie.  She doesn't do the whole blogging thing, but she cooks all the time and she puts together cookbooks of her recipes for her family.  Also, she does dones of traveling where she studies various cuisines and brings back new tastes.

My mom put together a beautiful table setting on our
dining room table (I can't remember the last time we ate here!)

A few months ago, Chris went to my mom and asked if I would like to put together a dinner party with her.  She knew that I was a growing foodie and she wanted to help me get some ideas and learn some things about food.  I was obviously excited about this and said yes to the proposition immediately.  Then, we started planning.

Like a wedding or fancy reception, my dad put out cards for
each guest to find out what table they were seated at...(yes, all table 1)

Chris and I put together a 6 course meal for 12 last night.  We started with appetizers, then a soup, salad, main course, cheese plate, and dessert.  The dinner started at 6:30 and did not end until 11.  It was one marathon of a meal and everything was amazing.  Over the next few days, I will be taking you all through our meal.  Chris gave me a ton of great recipes and I learned so much.  Everything tasted amazing! I ate my brains out and I can't even pick a part of the meal that was my favorite (although I am typically partial towards dessert...).

The menu:

Appetizer:
Eggplant Rollitini
Large Saute Shrimp
Pesto Stuffed Broiled Tomatoes

Soup:
Creme of Asparagus

Salad:
Roasted Beet and Pecan with Cabernet Balsamic Vinaigrette

Main Course:
Boeuf Bourguignon
Pommes Dauphinois
Roasted Herb Carrots
Fancy Mac N Cheese (Vegetarian Option)

Trio of French Cheeses

Dessert:
Triple Delight Brownie Parfait
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcake
Truffles

And of course, there were four wines: two red, two white, all French.

Graduation Party

Like most people, I have jumped on the pintrest bandwagon and I am seriously hooked.  You can follow my pintrest boars here if you are interested.  I love finding fun recipes, cute crafts, teaching ideas, and other fun finds.  A few weeks before my brothers graduation party I saw some adorable candies that you can make for graduation.

First these adorable graduation hat candies.  All you need: reese's, Ghiradelli chocolate squares, M&Ms (we picked out the red ones), twizzlers for the string, and frosting to get everything to stay together. 

Next, we made a sweet/salty treat with circle pretzels, hershey kisses and M&Ms.  We got special navy blue and orange M&Ms to represent my brothers college.  All you do: place pretzels on a baking sheet with kisses inside each circle.  Stick in the oven at 350 for about 3 minutes.  Remove and, using the M&Ms, press each kiss down into the circle.  Let the chocolate chill until hardened. You get an adorable snack that represents your graduates future school!

 And of course, we had a great cake!