Teachers have to eat: Chocolate Chip M&M Oatmeal Cookies

Now that's a lot of adjectives for one little cookie! I was recently introduced to this cookie by way of one of those "cookie mixes in a canning jar" gifts. It was the favor at my sister-in-law's baby shower. Not only did it look very pretty layered in a jar, they tasted really yummy! Since it's a girl **YEAH** the M&Ms were shades of pink. My brain got thinking about how using different colored ones could make it seasonal. So, I got busy picking out the brown, yellow, orange, and red M&Ms and decided to turn them into Thanksgiving/fall cookies :) (You could always use Reese's Pieces and throw in the peanut butter flavor, but I needed these to be peanut free).

The original recipe comes from Bakerella and is shows you how to make it in the canning jars-- super cute which I may just someday try. Enjoy these yummy, super yummy cookies! And here's the thing, I know they look like they'd be a "dry" cookie, but they really aren't, which really surprised me. I mean, of course they'd go great with a glass of milk, but they're not a cookie that you have to choke down. Give 'em a try!

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup quick oats
3/4 cup M&Ms
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup butter (slightly melted in the microwave)
1 tsp vanilla

Making them:

1. Preheat oven to  350 degrees.
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients together.
3. Add egg, melted butter & vanilla. Mix until it's "dough like" and all dry ingredients are no longer dry.

 4. Roll the dough into 1 and 1/2 inch balls; place on cookie sheet.

5. Baked for about 10 minutes. This cookie doesn't seem to 'brown' very well, so you can't really go by that. 
6. Enjoy!

 
  

Teachers have to eat: Baked Gnocchi with Chicken

Baked Gnocchi with Chicken

Oh, this is so yummy. I saw the recipe a few days ago in October's Food Network Magazine and knew I had to make it. Here's a link to their recipe. I followed their recipe for the most part, although I made a revision or two to cut down on calories and due to preference.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced

Kosher salt & ground pepper

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1&1/2 cups 2% milk

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

 about 2 cups cooks chicken (could use left over, rotisserie chicken or just brown some)

1  package potato gnocchi (around 17.5 ounces)

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I used fresh)

Pre-heat oven to 425. Make sure rack is in the top 3rd of the oven.

First, brown the mushrooms in the olive oil in a skillet. Stir in some salt and pepper. Brown for about 4 minutes. Then transfer to a bowl. Wipe out skillet for next step.

Next, melt butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add flour and whisk for about 3 minutes.

Whisk in milk and chicken broth until smooth. Simmer and whisk continually until it is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon salt and nutmeg.

Add chicken, mushrooms, gnocchi, and spinach to the sauce. Stir until coated and spinach is wilted. 

Since I'm not totally sure if my skillet is oven-safe, I transferred to a small casserole dish and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes, till it's nice and bubbly. Switch oven to broil and let it broil until the top is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. And then, voila!

It's yummy and really not very difficult. Because I had to brown the chicken first, the whole thing took me about 50 minutes from start to eating. I think I could have saved some time if I had the ingredients pre-measured and set aside. Enjoy!

 

 

Teachers have to eat: Grown-up Pizza

With all of the lesson planning and last minute prep before the first day of school tomorrow, I am hungry for some good eats, yet don't have the time or energy to make a gourmet meal (not that I'm even capable of that....). I decided to throw together a grown-up version of an old favorite: pizza. It has a bit of a Mediterranean flavor to it. The 'sauce' is an Artichoke Asiago spread topped with Balsamic chicken, sun dried tomatoes, and spinach. So yummy. And, it's easy!

 Here is what you need. The chicken is leftover from last night's rotisserie, so no cooking required. The Artichoke Asiago dip is from Wegmans (have I mentioned how much I love Wegmans??). If you don't have a Wegmans, I'm sure you can find a similar dip/spread to use. I'm using oil-packed tomatoes, but you could use the dry type. If you'd like to use refrigerated dough or make your own, feel free. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees (or according to the directions on your crust/dough).

 Saute garlic (I used two cloves) with a dash of oil, then add a little Balsamic Vinegar. No real measurement, I just eyeballed it-- probably about a tablespoon or so. Throw in the pre-cooked chicken and give a good stir. Remove from heat.

 Place pizza crust on pan and spread cheese dip on crust.

 Cut up your tomatoes and throw them on. (If using oil-packed, make sure to drain/dab off as much oil as possible.)

 Add chicken and Italian seasoning if desired.

 I like to cut the spinach before throwing it on. (I know your mouth is watering-- never fear, you're almost done).... Cook are directed on the pizza crust package. (Boli was @ 450 for 8-10 minutes).

 Looks good enough to eat, right?? My goal was for the leftovers to last for three days (lunch), but that's just not happening. It was so good, I needed a little more :) I served with a spinach salad and a glass of red.  Enjoy! Now it's back to lesson planning and prepping for me.