Banana Boats

One of my new favorite evening snacks is a banana boat. They are super simple to make and great for a small apartment! 

 These are a great way to have something a little sweet, but still healthy!

Ingredients
Banana
Whatever you want in your "boat" (chocolate chip, peanut butter, marshmallows, nutella etc) 
Tin foil

Directions

Take your banana and take off one side of the peel. 
Then scoop out part of the banana (this is where your toppings will go)
After this add toppings to your "boat"
Finally wrap the banana in foil and place it in the oven on 350 for about 10 minutes. 

Take it out and enjoy with a spoon!

4 Ingredient Chocolate Pudding Cake

There is very little in life that gets me as excited as sunshine. But chocolate probably comes close. Last year I stumbled across this recipe on pintrest. It originally comes from Budget Savy Diva, but the recipe is also listed below.

I have made this several times and it is a consistent hit every time! And with only 4 ingredients it makes a great college dessert. It typically costs about $3.50 and serves 12. 

Ingredients 

Super Moist Chocolate Cake (I get Devil's food cake from Aldi) 

1 C Chocolate Chips

1 1/2 C of milk (I put it in a travel mug from the cafeteria) 

1 pkg of dry pudding mix

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. (Do not follow the cake mix box directions). Spoon ingredients into a 13x9" pan (it will be very thick!). Bake on 350 uncovered for 30 min.  

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother

Patricia Polacco is a great person to do an author study. Her books help introduce the idea of an autobiography. My two favorite books by her are "Thank you Mr. Falker" and "My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother." 

This week I read "My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother" to my second grade class. They were engaged and seemed interested in the book the whole time. Their purpose for reading was to discover in Patricia's wish came true. 

This book helped students relate to another character who does not always get along with their brother. They shared experiences of times they did not get along with someone. We talked about relationships and how to be nice to one another. For a classroom that has been struggling with bullying I tried to tie in those ideas as well. 

It was a great read and provided some great opportunity for prediction. Not only this, but students imagined what the grandmother wished for and came up with some great answers! I did learn later that tying in children's experiences such as making a wish could have added to the book. 

I strongly encourage reading this book with 2-4 graders. 

Edible Cookie Dough

There are very few times in life that I feel the need to be rebellious. But eating cookie dough is one of those times. Yes I know raw eggs are terrible for you. Yes I know eating as much of this stuff as a I do should make me sick. But I do. 

Recently I came across a recipe I had to try. Edible cookie dough? Is this real life? Yes, yes it was and it was delicious. Below is my tweaked version of the recipe. Try it out when you have a bad day, a good day, or a day that you need chocolate (which is everyday). 

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 box instant vanilla pudding 

1/4 cup milk (or until it’s the right consistency)
½ Tbsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 - 3/4 cup flour

2 cups chocolate chips 

Directions

In large bowl, cream softened butter and sugar until fluffy. Add pudding and stir well. Add milk, vanilla, and baking soda. Slowly mix in flour until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips and chill. 

Buckeyes

 Recently my roommates and I have been blessed to be the recipients of copious amounts of peanut butter. For this I will never complain. Peanut butter is a staple of life. We did have roughly 5 jars of peanut butter, we are now down to two-one of which is 6-lbs. Because of the excess of peanut butter I tried making buckeyes for the first time, according to my co-workers and friends they were a success! Try it out! There's not too many ingredients which I LOVE. 

 Ingredients

 1/2 c peanut butter  

1/4 c butter, softened

 1 t vanilla 6 c powdered sugar 

4 c chocolate chips

Directions 

1. Mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar until well blended.

2. Roll dough into balls and place on waxed paper lined cookie sheet

3. Place a toothpick into each ball then place cookie sheets in freezer until frozen.

4. Melt chocolate chips (I did it in the microwave)

5.  Dip in chocolate and place back into freezer until set.

Cafeteria Hacks: Dessert

The weather around here is finally getting a bit warmer....well maybe just sunnier. But, I'm still hoping warmer weather is coming my way soon! After a long day of classes, trudging through the mushy slush, dessert is essential to survival. 

Option 1. Ice Cream Sandwiches. This is my best friends go-to whenever the desserts in the cafeteria are lacking. It's very simple. Take two cookies, same kind different kinds, whatever your favorite is. Then put a big scoop of vanilla (or an flavor) ice cream between the two. Smush it together a bit, and enjoy! If you want sprinkles you can probably find them near the ice cream as well. 

Option 2. Root Beer Floats. Pretty basic. Get a cup. Put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the cup. Add pop/soda of your choice. Ta-dah!

Option 3. This one isn't really an option but more of a suggestion to bring desserts to an even better level. Microwave. If your cafeteria has a microwave pop your brownie, pie, whatever it may be in for a few seconds. Its delicious. This also makes the dessert ice cream combination tons better. 

Option 4. Sick of boring ice cream toppings? Want more variety? Look at the cereal and top  your delicious treat with cereal instead!

Cafeteria Hacks: Waffles

Doesn't that picture make your mouth water? A delicious waffle with a steaming cup of coffee...mmmmmm. 

My favorite thing about this picture? I took it in our dinning hall. That's right. Waffle Wednesday's as my friends have called it. 

There are so many great food hacks in the cafeteria, one of my favorites is waffles. Regular waffles are great, but dressed up their even better!

Option 1. On the left is a normal waffle topped with banana, syrup, and peanut butter. But, it's even better when you mash up the peanut butter and banana into the waffle. You can also dress it up more with chocolate syrup (we have it out near the ice cream). 

Option 2. Cut up pieces of apple really small and mix it into the batter. We then brought our own cinnamon and nutmeg and mixed it into the batter. Topped with syrup and powdered sugar. 

Option 3. Dessert Waffles. Make a waffle as normal and then top it with your favorite ice cream flavor...you may want to consider splitting this one with a friend....or not.