Pumpkin Time!

Hi everybody!

It's a very busy week this week for me with lesson planning, projects, studying for the proficiency exam, and applying for the college of education round 2!  Even though it's a busy week we still found time to get more into the Halloween spirit last night!  Katelyn and I decided to carve some giant pumpkins to go with our Halloween lights that are wrapped around our porch!  It was super fun, but I still found that I hate touching the insides of the pumpkin!  I made a cat pumpkin and Katelyn made the Boo pumpkin (if you look close hers looks like a face)!  We're hoping that it stops raining by tomorrow so that we can maybe get some trick-or-treaters to our apartment (the candy bowl is filled and by the door already)!
I've been really busy this week working on a lesson plan that I will be teaching in a Kindergarten classroom next Wednesday.  AABB patterns are the topic and I am super nervous for it!  I also have the proficiency exam next Thursday morning.  This test is basically a glorified version of the ACTs, it shouldn't be too bad, but it is a 4 hour test so that's a little crappy!
I better get back to doing my homework this morning before my class at 10:30! 
Have a great day! :)

Crockpot Rigatoni for Crockpot Wednesday!

On Wednesdays Danielle and I have class all day, so we decided that Wednesday is 'Crockpot Wednesday'!  We have a pretty small crockpot, but it still holds enough for each of us to eat and still have leftovers for lunch the next day! We made this recipe a couple weeks ago and it is really good and easy to make!

Ingredients
28 oz jar spaghetti sauce (you can add more if you like saucier noodles)
12 oz rigatoni cooked
1- 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef - cooked
3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb pepperoni slices

Process
1. In a 4 quart crockpot, layer half of each ingredient in order listed in the ingredients section then repeat again.
2. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Salted Peanut Butter Pretzel M&M’S Cookies

These cookies are delicious! I made these on a Friday morning a couple weeks ago and I think they are one of my favorites now!  Some of the work is a tedious, but it is definitely worth it!

 Ingredients
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup pretzel pieces (break small pretzel rods into 1/4″ pieces)
1/4 cup M&M’S® MINIS
3/4 cup M&M’S®  Peanut Butter, roughly chopped in half
sea salt or kosher salt for sprinkling

Process
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. 
3. Add vanilla and egg and beat until combined. 
4. Mix dry ingredients together and then add to dough. 
5. When combined, add pretzels and Mini M&M’s and mix until incorporated.  Add Peanut Butter M&M’s and gently mix by hand until distributed through dough.
7. Scoop into 1 1/2″ balls onto parchment lined baking sheets. 
8. Cook for 7-9 minutes (I baked mine for 10-11 minutes because our oven is funny), until set on edges and lightly golden on the outside edge.  
9. While the cookies are still hot, lightly sprinkle with salt.  
10. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack.

Original recipe from: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2013/08/salted-peanut-butter-pretzel-mm-cookies/

Super Soft Monster Cookies

This is a super good recipe for Monster Cookies!  This is also the first recipe that I was able to use my new Kitchen Aid hand mixer (on sale from Younkers, of course!).  I hope you like this recipe as much as we do!

Ingredients
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter (at room temperature)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

3/4 cup m&ms (I used mini ones)

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 peanut butter chips 

Process

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  

2. Start by combining the butter, brown and white sugars in a large bowl using a hand/stand mixer or your own brute strength.  Add the peanut butter, stir again.  Add the egg, stir, vanilla stir.  

3. Measure in the baking soda and flour and stir just until combined.  Stir in the oats, m&ms, chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.  

4. Scoop using a cookie scoop or two teaspoons measuring about 2 tablespoons onto a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray (just in case).  Press down gently as they do not spread on their own.  

5. Bake for 9-10 minutes, I baked them for 11.5 minutes because our oven is kind of picky about whether it's going to work really good or not.  You want these to stay soft.  Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes then move to a cooling rack.  

6. Enjoy with a big glass of milk! 

 

 

 

Good Morning!

I've started to become more of a morning person and have been getting up between 5:45 and 6 am every morning!  I love it because I seem to have way more energy and I'm a lot more productive all day when I get an early start!  On my drive to Walmart this morning (yes I drove even though it is right across the street, it was only 28 degrees at 7!) I got to watch the sunrise.  Of course I took some pictures, so I thought I would share them with you! Have a great Sunday! :)

Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps!

We made these on Thursday night.  They're super easy, so I thought I would share this recipe first!

 

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup (we used a little more)

1 teaspoon dried minced onion

pepper and salt to taste

5 flour tortillas (the larger ones)

shredded cheddar cheese

sliced tomatoes (we didn't use these, but you can if you want!)

1 tablespoon yellow mustard (we used a little more)

Process
1. Brown ground beef in large skillet and drain.
2. Add Worcestershire sauce, ketchup,  mustard, dried onion, and salt and pepper to the beef and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Sprinkle shredded cheese down center of each tortilla. Add a few heaping tablespoons of the beef mixture on top of the cheese. Add some slices of tomato on top of the beef. 
4. Roll up tortilla burrito-style and place wraps on preheated indoor grill (We used a George Foreman, but you could also put them in a pan and cook like a grilled cheese sandwich).  Grill wraps for about 5 minutes until cheese is melted.
5. Cut on a diagonal and serve immediately.

 

 

Oreo Balls and Weekend Plans

I'm alone at the apartment all weekend, so today I made Oreo balls!  I love Oreo balls, especially during the holiday season, but today I decided to make them Fall themed!  I did a different process than I normally do, they still taste the same but they were much easier to make!  Here's the recipe and process!

Ingredients:
1 package Oreos (I used double stuffed Walmart brand)
1 package Cream Cheese (room temperature)
1 package Vanilla Almond Bark
Sprinkles for decorations

Process:
1. Use a knife to separate the cream from the cookies, put the cream to the side for later
2. Put the cookies in a bag and use a rolling pin to crush the cookies into fine pieces
3. Mix the cookies and cream cheese in a bowl until well mixed (I used my hands), then add the Oreo cream that you put aside earlier.  Mix until it is all mixed together.
4. Put the Oreo mixture into the refrigerator until it is chilled, while you are waiting for the Oreo mixture to chill start melting the almond bark (I use a BabyCakes melting pot)
5. Once the Oreo mixture is chilled, start rolling it into balls.  It doesn't really matter what size you make, but smaller ones are easier to eat and you get more which is nice if you're making them for an event.
6. Now that they're in balls, put them back in the refrigerator so they are chilled (You can put them in the freezer if you're in a hurry)
7. Once they're chilled, dip them in the almond bark, and sprinkle the sprinkles on the top.  Keep them in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve them.. or eat them! :)

Here's a picture of mine!

 

 

Now that these are done, I'm watching the SDSU vs UNI game on TV and writing math lesson plans!  Not a very exciting weekend, but the Jackrabbits are doing a good job against the Panthers!

Have a great weekend everybody! :) 

First Post

Hi everybody!  This is my first time ever making a blog so please bear with me!  I'm still trying to decide what to share with everybody, but I know I will posting all of the recipes that we make every night in our apartment for supper and any new baking recipes that we make!  Lastly I will be posting any fun things that we do here! This should be fun once I get the hang of it! :)

Have a great day everybody! :)