So right now I owe a serious apology to anyone who actually reads my blog for the lack of updating!  Here is a quick snapshot of the last two months!

March:

Andrew left for Fort Gordon, GA to finish up part of his Army Office training and will not be home for a few more months. I was about smack dab in the middle of  ”official” student teaching and the workload was over the top! Most nights my meals consisted of subway, a bowl of cereal, or my pillow- because  I would come home from school and pass out for the night!

April:

Continued more of the hectic lifestyle of March. I spent my weekends with my partner in teaching/crime Sarah at Einsteins Bagels in the student center at ISU plugging and chugging away at lesson planning and grading. End of April came fast! I had end of the year meetings, dinners, and other required “things” to attend to. I finished up many of the major projects and assignments I needed to with little time to spare!

May:

Was a bitter/ sweet end & beginning! I had one week to grade the piles of late assignments my students turned in, finish up/ clean out my desk at school, pack an entire apartment of “stuff”, and graduate.

Well I am successfully moved- so it obviously all worked out, but it was exhausting, exciting, and most of all I will miss the wonderful students I had a whole year to get to know!

Graduation should be exciting and uneventful- of course my seven years of dance skills and training in grace did not prepare me for walking off the stage! Honestly, wasn’t that bad but at the time- while it was happening- I felt as if I had tumbled my way down!  All in all I am now an Alumni of ISU. I will miss the amazing people who helped shape me into the teacher I have become.

I am excited to say that I will be signing my contract with the school I will work at this Fall next Tuesday! I cannot wait to work with my students and develop some amazing lessons that I hope they can take with them throughout their lives.

Whats Next:

I currently have a few tricks up my sleeve and will be unveiling my NEW and IMPROVED blog on June 1st! The College Appetite has to graduate as well.

I will continue to close one chapter of my story over the next several years, but I am eager to find what each new chapter will bring!

Cheers,

-L

Here is a delicious and easy creation you can make for pennies on the dollar and please your tummy (or others).

You will need:

1 package of chocolate chips

Peanut butter

Crackers (Ritz works best)

Sprinkles

1. Begin by spreading peanut butter and sandwiching it between two crackers. Repeat this process until you have the numbered about that you want to make. I made 3 dozen with one package of chocolate chips.

2. Microwave your chocolate chips for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 sec. till the chips are melted.

3.  Cover the peanut butter sandwiches in the chocolate. Place them onto a cookie sheet layered with wax paper. Add sprinkles or any other decorative candy to the top before the chocolate is cooled.

4. You can place them in the refrigerator until the chocolate has become solid. Keep in an air tight container!

These are so good and so easy!  The whole process takes about 20 minutes or so and they are great for parties.

Cheers,

-L

It is 6:51 pm on a Saturday night. My day has gone like this.

I woke up at 6:30 am. I was proud I slept in an additional hour and a half from when I normally wake up these days. Impressive? I think yes! I met Sarah (fellow teacher friend) at Einsteins to tackle lesson planning and literary strategizing for consumer education. Needless to say our brains of two were not even working as one. We left four hours later and I ended up taking a four hour nap. This is what I call a successful Saturday. Saturday’s have become catch-up-on-life day. This includes sleeping, eating (I forgot to eat dinner yesterday and woke up starving), fed my fish Herman, lesson planned, and the night isn’t even over. My plan is to make to at least 10pm tonight. You may call me Grandma if you like, but I think Grandma is a great compliment…they are warm, loving, and are really great cooks!

Anyways, here is what you are really here for: The Butterscotch Toffee Bites

WARNING: This may be a saccharin overload, not for the sweet tooth sensitive!

I about died after trying these. They were to put it simply… FANTASTICALLY AMAZING. Needless to say I was fairly concerned I was going to eat the whole 9X13 in. pan…so I was wise and gave most of them away. Here is what you all have been waiting for.

You will need:

1 small can of sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups of butterscotch chips

1-2 cups of coconut (use as needed)

1/2 cup of chopped nuts (your favorite)

1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crubs

1/2 cup of melted butter

1. Begin by preheating your oven to 350′

2. In a food processor (or used boxed graham cracker crumbs) finely grind enough graham cracker till you get your 1 1/2 cups.

3. Add the melted butter to the graham mixture. Take a 9X13′ pan, grease, then add the buttery yummy graham cracker crumb mixture. Layer evenly across the pan and press firmly to the bottom.

* TIP- I use the end of a spatula to firmly and tightly press the crumbs into the pan, a bit of elbow grease works too!

4.  sprinkle the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut (I used about 1 cup because I love it), nuts, and then pour the entire 14 oz. can over the entire spread.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes and let cool before removing.

6. Eat, share, and tell your inner fat kid  to be quiet because these are so EASY and so GOOD!

Enjoy, I am off to tackle the maccaroon this fine Saturday even, equipped with whisks, ideas, a cold diet coke, and my avett brother cd.

Happy Baking!

Cheers,

-L

Hope you enjoyed your Super Bowl Sunday! Needless to say I was doing my laundry, catching up on lesson planning, and eating my red beans and rice! For some reason this year I just really didn’t mind missing America’s greatest day of ad time…Oh and I did make lemon cheesecake bars.

So on the rare occasion that my room mate Bridget and I are together we enjoy have a “room mate” dinner. This particular meal was so so so amazing and for my room mate who doesn’t enjoy the thrill of cooking as much as I did, really pulled out a winner with this kick’in chicken dinner.

You will need:

1 can of cream of mushrooms soup

milk

4 chicken breasts

4 slices of swiss or provolone cheese

1 box of chicken stuffing mix (I used the kraft brand)

2 cups  mushrooms

2 Tbsp. butter

1. Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and 8X8 inch pan and set aside.

2. In a small bowl empty the can of mushroom soup. Fill the can 1/2 full with milk and add to the condensed soup. Mix and blend the milk into the soup. It should still be somewhat thick.

3. In a large pan saute 2 cups of  halved mushrooms until they are brown. The mushrooms will shrink as they cook down. Season to taste with salt and set aside.

4. In the 8X8 in. pan place a small layer of the soup mixture across the bottom. Add the four chicken breasts, placing a slice of cheese on top of each.

5. Add the rest of the soup mixture over the chicken. Finally add the stuffing by covering the entire top with the boxed mix. Remember to take your 2 Tbsp. of butter and dot it across the top of the stuffing. ( I forgot to take a final picture, sorry)

Bake time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

This is so good! It is warm and creamy, yet has such great flavor from the mushrooms and stuffing. The chicken is delicious and tender; this winning dinner is definitely a do over!

Cheers,

-L

Have a great recipe idea? Looking for a quick fix to your cooking problems? Follow The College Appetite on Twitter, I am only 1 tweet away!

Happy Saturday!

Have you considered what food fare your going to eat while watching the Super Bowl??? I have!

It’s no secret, I am crazy for Cajun cuisine…so much flavor and so much spice! YUM!!!

Growing up my Mom made this recipe and I still enjoy it today as much as I did way back then. It is adapted from The Frugal Gourmet cook book and a great recipe for large groups. It’s what I like to call Cajun chili!

You will need-

1/2 lb of red beans (small)

1 package of smoked sausage (you can use ham as well about 1/2 lb)

1 large yellow onion – chopped

3 celery stalks- chopped

1 green pepper – chopped

3 cloves of fresh garlic- crushed

1 Tbsp. parsley

1 1/4 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

4 Tbsp. butter (half a stick)

3 cups of white rice

Hot sauce & salt  (to taste)

Begin by soaking your beans overnight in water. Drain and then place in a large pot. Add smoked sausage (or ham), onion, celery, garlic, parsley, and bay leaves. Fill the pot with water so it just covers the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower the temperature to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 2 hours. NOTE: You may need to add a little water to the mixture to keep the beans from sticking…don’t let it all boil off. After the 2 hours add the butter, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco to the pot. Cover and cook on low heat for an hour. Prepare rice. To serve you will put the bean mixture over the rice.

Don’t forget to add your hot sauce and a good piece of bread! Enjoy this awesome Super Bowl Sunday dinner! Leftovers are a must!

Cheers,

-L

I hope your year is off to a great start! I am finally full time student teaching and I love every minute of it! I have so much passion and love for what I do that I cannot get enough…so I spread my joy of cooking on with this blog. Great news! The College Appetite is almost at it’s 1st birthday (February 10th)! How exciting!!!! I have had so much support and great feedback from everyone who reads and I really appreciate all who stop by and learn a little more about cooking and baking.

On to the real reason that you are here-

I originally made these cupcakes to bring to share with my students…but because we have been snowed in the past two days I thought I would instead share this sweet treat with all of you! These are simple and budget friendly.

You will need:

1 box of white cake mix (plus ingredients for the mix)

6 disposable plastic cups

1 cupcake pan

cupcake liners

Food coloring

Begin by preheating your oven according to the box directions. Mix your batter and divide into the 6 different cups. Begin by adding the right amount of dye to the cups. This really depends on what you want, for this I typically love how tye dye colors look so I did the following:

cup 1: 6 parts yellow, 2 parts green = highlighter green

cup 2: 6 parts red, 2 parts blue = purple

cup 3: 6 parts yellow, 2 parts red = orange

cup 4: 2 parts blue = bright light blue

cup 5: 6 parts yellow = yellow

cup 6: 2 parts red = bright light red

After you have mixed the colors begin by filling the cupcake liners with different colors. I layered 3-4 colors per cupcake liner.

You can mix and match and make each cupcake unique!

Bake, cool, decorate, and eat these amazing cupcakes!

Here is a great, easy, delicious snack that is pop-tastic fun to make!

For this recipe you need:

1 Large pot with lid (I used a popcorn pot but regular pots work just as good!)

2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil

1/2 Cup Yellow popcorn kernels

Salt to taste

Begin by heating the oil in the pot on medium heat. Add a few kernels to the pot to help notify you when the oil is hot enough for the kernels to pop. Once the popping begins add the additional 1/2 cup of kernels. While the kernels begin to pop shake the pot gently. As popping slows remove from the heat and add salt to taste. You can store in a regular plastic bag or air tight container.

Want to mix it up a little?

Add seasoned salt, pad of butter, Worcestershire sauce, and a bit of garlic powder. Mix and add to the popcorn. Then bake at 245 degrees for 10 minutes stirring every few minutes.

You can also add a bit of sugar to the mix and make your own sweet treat!

Cheers!

-L

SO I have been a naughty blogger this year and have neglected you all the past month and I am truly sorry. Needless to say the cooking has never stopped and I have a ton of great recipes and goodies to share with you all in the new year! I hope all those in school had a great semester, I myself am in the last stretch of student teaching and will soon be on my way to bigger and better things I wanted to take a few moments and thank you all again for the best year of The College Appetite. I really and truly appreciate all the support from those who read. I have such a great passion for cooking and I hope you have enjoyed this past year!

The Ankele house has been in full swing the past few days! I made the classic crescent christmas cookie (Ankele tradition of course) and they came out perfect! I spent Christmas Eve with my boyfriend’s family and had an amazing time with such loving and caring people! I even got some amazing new cake decorating supplies that will surely benefit the outcome of several new recipes to come. We are having Christmas dinner at my parents house today and many of the dishes have been prepapred by my mom and I this morning as well as devourering a delicious breakfast filled with cinnamon rolls!

I wish you all the best this holiday season and hope you have a great time cooking away in the kitchen!

(Pictures will be up soon, I forgot the card reader to upload them sorry!)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

-L

So I am back home for Thanksgiving break! It is a much needed break that is for sure,. e though my week will be filled with the joys of lesson planning! This morning my parents took me out to breakfast in McHenry, IL to the Windhill Pancake Parlor. This quaint tiny breakfast parlor sits in the heart of downtown McHenry and is known for it’s extensive decor and holiday decorations. After entering the front door, it was easy to understand why this was such a popular place for brunch-goers. The restaurant is small but has the perfect atmosphere to enjoy your bacon and eggs. Their menu was extensive with a Belly Buster make your own breakfast or my favorite the Hash Mess (I love skillets). The Christmas decor was over the top and covered every inch viewable, but made the atmosphere that much more enjoyable. The biggest attraction is the tiny parlor bar area in the back that has a train that brings your food to you personally across the top of the counter. This is a great family fun dining experience and is something you definitely do not want to pass up if you are in the area! Have a great Thanksgiving break and enjoy the time with family and friends!

Cheers,

-L

So Thanksgiving is almost here and it is time to prepare your recipes for the big day! Here is a delicious and scrumptious  applesauce I created using cranberry’s. Cranberry’s can sometimes be bitter, making cranberry sauce a little too sour for those with a delicate palate. So why not try and mix it up a little with this easy holiday recipe that your family is sure to love.

You will need:

2 bags of  fresh cranberry’s (or one large bag)

12-3lbs of your apple of choice

1/2 C. sugar

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp. lemon or orange juice

1 tsp. salt

1 C. water

Begin by rinsing your fruit. Drain and set aside. Peel and core all of your apples; making sure that you dice them in equal sizes so they cook evenly. Add cranberry’s apples, sugar, juice, and salt to a large pot. Add the water and incorporate everything as evenly as possible. Place the pot on medium/ high heat till it begins to boil. Next lower the heat and cover letting the mixture simmer until the apples are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Remove the cover and using a potato masher mix the berry’s and apples together creating a thickened sauce. Cool and serve or freeze for another occasion.

Freeze up to 6 months and refrigerate for up to a week. Serve on turkey, on ice cream, or simply eat it plain!

Enjoy this sweet delicious Thanksgiving classic!

Cheers,

-L