Happy October!

Hello, hello, hello! I haven't had a chance to write in a while, which is some serious no bueno. Muy grande no bueno, if you will. Yes, I know I am a super white girl and that my previous statement butchered the Spanish language on a whole new level, but that's alright because it got my point across, right? Right. Writing is very therapeutic for me. I've always been a big fan of journals. When I'm stressed or excited or anything in between, just putting my thoughts on paper helps to clear my head. Looking back on old entries and reminiscing on the way things used to be is a nice benefit too, except those awkward junior high years... We don't want to experience those ever again. In any way, shape, or form.

My first round of tests is complete, midterms included, so now I have a little time to relax. Unfortunately, the timing of those tests perfecting coincided with an extremely inconvenient cold. Colds always suck. They are especially sucky for me because I have the lungs of an eighty year old, chainsmoking grandpa. AKA asthma, really bad asthma. Whenever I get sick with anything, respiratory or not, coughing and wheezing ensue and persist for several weeks. Hurray... And worst of all, last weekend I had to go home. That wasn't the bad part; that was actually quite enjoyable. The awful part was that I had to leave Penelope with my parents because she had to get spayed! Saying good bye to my baby for a week was sooo difficult. I miss her! Monday can't come soon enough so I can pick her up. Being lonely makes me crave comfort. You know what screams comfort to me?

Homemade cookies. Maybe of the oatmeal variety. With an addition of cinnamon for some extra coziness. And some chocolate chips. And the M&Ms for a splash of color totally take these over the top.

De-lic-ious.

(Up until this point, this entry was written on October 12. Proof of how busy I've been!)
Back to cookies!


(Photo credit goes to Sally's Baking Addiction)



Oatmeal M&M Cookies (Adapted from here!)

 

What you need:

1/2 c. room temperature unsalted butter

3/4 c. dark brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar
1 egg

2 t. vanilla

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. cinnamon (plus an extra sprinkle or too, if you like cinnamon like I do)

1 and 2/3 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 c. AP flour

1/2 c. whole-wheat flour

~1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

~1/2 c. M&Ms (plus more to add to the tops, if you yould like, and trust me, you would)

 

What you do:

In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and the sugars.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.

Slowly stir in the dry ingredients until just combined.

Fold in M&Ms and chocolate chips.

Let chill in the fridge for at least an hour! This is important!

 

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 300.

Roll and drop tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheet.

I added a few more M&Ms to the top of each cookie at this point.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Allow to cool for a few minutes on the sheet before moving.

Enjoy!

 



*My oven cooks hot, so I altered the temperature and time a little bit from the original.

Fall Means Pumpkin

I was never a big fan of pumpkin. In fact, just a few short years ago, when one of my friends convinced me to try a bite of pumpkin pie, I nearly gagged. I don't remember what exactly it was about it that I didn't like, but I know I didn't like it. Maybe it was the creaminess of it? I used to be an extremely picky eater, and it was usually because I didn't like the texture of something, even now that I have expanded my palate quite tremendously, typically when I don't like something, it's because it feels funny. Strangely, this year I have been in the pumpkin mood. Maybe it's because I spend all of my time on foodgawker and everyone else is in the pumpkin mood too. Regardless, pumpkin is everywhere and I'm liking it, especially when it's baked into something. My first baking experience with pumpkin occurred a few weeks ago. I made whole wheat pumpkin muffins with dark chocolate chips and a pumpkin spice streusel. Let me tell you... That one little recipe completely changed my attitude towards pumpkin. It even made me curious enough to order a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks a few days ago. I made the mistake of forgetting to request no whipped cream, but otherwise, I was pleased.

An organization that my roommate, Megan, is in is having a social on Friday night. I'm friends with several of the other members too and they are a big fan of my baking abilities. So I got volunteered to bake for them! When Megan told me, I was over the moon excited. When else do I get the opportunity to try out some new recipes, be reimbursed for the price of the ingredients, and not have to worry about eating everything that I just baked? Exactly. That never happens. Hence the excitement. Once I stopped singing about being able to bake (I'm serious. Ask my other roommate), I picked out some cookie recipes, made my list and headed to the store.

That's when I saw them. Sitting on an endcap. Giving off the most amazing aroma, even through their plastic packaging. They represented all the warmth and coziness that is fall. What were they? Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows. Yes. Pumpkin. Spice. Marshmallows. I automatically knew what I needed to do. So I grabbed one extra ingredient and checked out. After the rude cashier called me crazy and disgusting for buying the marshmallows, I arrived home.

 



Then the rice krispie making commenced.

 

 



They may not look that pretty, but seriously, best idea ever. The only changes I would have made would be to maybe add a dark chocolate drizzle over the top, and to make them in an 8 or 9 inch square pan rather than a 9x13. I prefer thicker rice krispie treats and in the 9x13, they were pretty thin. Despite their lack of height, they were amazing. Unanimous votes of approval from myself and my three roommates.

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats
(From Kraft)

 

What you need:

3 Tbs. Butter

1 10 oz. package Kraft Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows

5 cups crisped rice cereal

 

What you do:

In a large pot, on low heat, on the stovetop, melt the butter.

While the butter is melting, line a 9x13 pan with waxed paper.

Once the butter is melted add in the marshmallows. It helps to stir these around a bit as they melt.

When the marshmallows are melted, take the pot off the heat and add the cereal. I added the first three cups, stirred, then added the last two, just to make it easier on myself.

Make sure the cereal is all coated evenly.

Spoon mixture into lined pan and spread evenly. I grabbed a piece of wax paper and held that in my hand to spread with. This stuff is crazy sticky and that's the only thing I could get to work.

Let it sit for about an hour, then devour the pumpkin spiced deliciousness.

 

 

 

Make them. Right now. They're so easy and so so worth it. And almost completely fat free! Forget about all the sugar. Just concentrate on the fat free and you won't even feel bad for eating half of the pan.

 

 



Ring Weekend

Well.... no recipe this time either. I had every intention of making these amazing pumpkin muffins over the weekend, but things kept coming up. Friday, my family came in town to go to the ring ceremony. I finally have my beautiful Aggie ring! I cannot believe I'm a senior! When did this happen?! How did I get so old without noticing?! Not that 21 is old, but I still feel like high school was just yesterday, and yet, I'll be graduating college in less than a year! Anywho... back to Friday. The Family drove in and we went to campus and Dad presented me with my ring. He was very happy to get to do that. After that we came back to my apartment and he grilled burgers for my roommates and I. It was great to get to spend some time with my family. Here's my ring:

 

 

Pretty, right?! Then Saturday, my best friend from high school, Leanne, came to visit. That night we went to Northgate, which is the bar district in College Station. Things got weird after a few drinks. A random, yet attractive, guy in a headband kissed me on the forehead and an extremely intoxicated guy came around and asked my friends and I to take "selfies" with him. Selfies are pictures. He forgot how to smile too. Or at least how to smile on cue. It took all of his concentration to find the button on his phone to actually take the picture, so he wasn't physically able to smile until a few seconds after. He had a headache on Sunday, I'm sure. Several other things happened too, but those are for another time. Basically, I learned that a Four Horsemen shot is never a good idea... Regardless, good times were had by all. 

I really want to post a recipe soon! But I want to actually bake it and take some pictures before I get around to posting. But right now, I am kind of really super sick of food. I feel like all I've done recently is eat and I haven't hit the gym since Thursday. That needs to change pronto.

And So It Begins...

I've been wanting to start a blog for the longest time and now that I have finally done it, I don't know where to begin. I know that there is an about me section, but I wanted to keep that brief, so I guess I'll start by telling a little about myself...

• First of all, I LOVE food. I'm constantly on foodgawker and reading other blogs, my favorite channel is by far the food network (and that's only because we don't get the cooking channel in the apartment), and every year for both Christmas and my birthday, I get at least one cookbook from my friends, which apparently isn't normal for a twenty-one year old... Who knew?
• I recently lost about forty pounds! I'd love to lose ten to fifteen more, but those last several are proving much more difficult to disappear. Regardless, my overall health has improved drastically and I just feel so much better all the time. Now I have this fantastic sense of accomplishment and I know that if I could do that in just one summer, I can do anything if I try hard enough. So along with some awesome recipes, I'll probably write quite a bit about my weightloss and workouts and complain about having to buy an entire new wardrobe on a college student's budget. Let me tell you, not fun.
• After graduating from Texas A&M in May, my plan is to go to P.A. school; I want to be a Physician Assistant. Which, for those of you who don't know, is basically the step under a doctor. I will be able to do everything that an M.D. does, without the legal responsibilites since I will work under the doctor. You've probably seen a P.A. without even realizing it.
• I have a five month old kitten named Penelope. She's a little monster sometimes, but she's so stinkin' cute! She loves people food and likes to play fetch with granola bar wrappers. Look how she sleeps! And that little dotted belly! How can you not love that?

 

That's enough general information about me. Now on to something more exciting.

 

I GET MY AGGIE RING ON FRIDAY!!

 

To an Aggie, that's a bigger deal than graduation. It's a way to network without ever uttering a word. People get hired just because they have that little ring of gold. If you've never heard anything more about A&M than the plethora of Aggie jokes out there, read THIS! Reading an article that moving written by a fan of one of our new SEC rivals, made me so proud to be an Aggie. It truly gives an excellent depiction of what we are all about.

 

Now, I must pay attention to a homework assignment that's been calling my name for the past several days. It's basically screaming at me now and it's due at 8 AM tomorrow. Speaking of 8 AM classes, I despise them. And I'm a morning person! But having to leave my apartment at 7:15 in order to catch the bus to campus and then walk across campus to my class is killer. I haven't had an 8 AM class since the first semester of my freshman year. Even though I always wake up by eight o'clock, even on weekends, without an alarm, being out of the house at 7:15 is literally torture. I hate it!

 

I think next post I'll share a recipe for some super delicious pumpkin muffins! Yum!