Snickerdoodles!

Snickerdoodles are completely underrated.

Chocolate Chip Cookies get all the fame and glory.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nuts are popular among cookie elitists.

But poor snickerdoodles…They seem to be lost among the masses.

Well not anymore because I love snickerdoodles!

Oooey gooey, sweet and chewy.

Yummy nummy get in my tummy.

These scrumptious cookies are sure to delight.

They might even make the little kids fight.

They’re crispy on the outside, but chewy on the in.

If you like cinnamon these cookies are a win.

Eat these cookies to your heart’s content.

Or share them with friends at your next event.

Now for the recipe!

I got the recipe from www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com, so you can also find it there!

XOXO,

Jamie

Skillet Cookie

Just a warning, this is a super yummy recipe, but a super emotional and personal post. I’m going to talk about my eating disorder, so read at your own discretion. The recipe is really delicious though, so if you skip the body of the post, I suggest at least looking at the recipe

I’ve been in a funk lately. School is no longer exciting, but instead, stressful and annoying. I’ve been really hard on myself lately. There is one class this semester that is absolutely killing me. I could put in a reasonable amount of work and easily manage a B+ in the class. However, I insist on torturing myself because I refuse to accept anything less than an A. Crazy right?

And as much as I hate to admit it, my eating has gotten super disordered. I know relapses happen to people with eating disorders, but it’s just super discouraging. It’s been months since I’ve even thought about what I was eating, and all of a sudden, I’m restricting and binging again. Feeling super crazy.

I’m committing myself to getting through this phase.  I just need to give myself time and compassion. I need to listen to my body. I need to take a break when I need a break. I need to accept  a B+, because really, it is so not the end of the world. Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to be perfect I forget to step back and ask myself whether everything is really worth it. Is it really worth my health and sanity to go from a B+ to an A? Probably not. Can I be successful and still find balance in my life? Definitely. I know it’s possible. I’ve been recovered for a while now, and I refuse to submit myself to the torture of starvation or the self-guilt of binging. I’m worth way more than that.

So now that I’ve been completely honest with you all, I’ll be using my blog as a place to help myself get out of this weird, scary, relapse I’ve been in for the last few weeks. I’m looking forward to getting back to the place where food is no longer an issue, and I know writing will help me get through this.

Onto a much more lighthearted topic…

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

via The Pink and Blue Blog

What You’ll Need:
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup chocolate chunks

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet set over medium-low heat. Stir in sugars and vanilla and remove from heat. Let rest until pan is warm, but no longer very hot, about 5 minutes.

2. Crack an egg onto the butter and sugar mixture, and use a fork to whisk it well into the mixture. Place flour, baking soda, and salt on top, and very carefully stir into the mixture until smooth and well-mixed. Stir in chocolate chunks. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, or until starting to turn golden on the top and around the edges, but soft in the center. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Yes, these were delicious. I ate a slice warm and gooey, straight from the pan. I prefer the taste of bars to cookies because their texture is much chewier. Also, these have a unique flavor because of browning the butter in the skillet. These are definitely a treat. I’m already thinking this would be a perfect alternative for me for a birthday cake since I don’t love cake.

XOXO,

Jamie

Pumpkin Muffins/Cupcakes/Whatever you want to call them!

Now, onto the yummy pumpkin muffin recipe I promised you. I have an issue with Muffins…they are totally just cupcakes without frosting. Anyways, these pumpkin muffins taste just like pumpkin pie. They are super ooey gooey, pumpkin, spicy, delicious.

These are my pumpkin muffins! All they consist of is a box of spice cake mix mixed with 15 oz canned pure pumpkin. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, and voila!

My sister also made these muffins, but she frosted hers, and made them look super cute!

My sister is a lovely photographer! (And she is still in high school!) Check out her other work here! I certainly miss food styling. I can’t wait to get my second hand DSLR, thanks to my aforementioned lovely photographer sister, and get back into my food photography!

Make some quick and easy pumpkin muffin/cupcakes! It’s soooo not fall without eating pumpkin every day!

XOXO,

Jamie

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna: A great fall dish!

Darren and I love to cook together. I give Darren all the hard tasks involving knives while I get to do all the fun, easy stuff! I’m pretty sure using sharp knives makes him feel manly though, so he doesn’t mind. I also love to bake with Darren, but I’m not sure Darren enjoys it quite as much as cooking. I’m very particular with my baking methods. I tend to bark orders at my baking assistants and then end up doing everything myself when their measuring, mixing, piping, etc. doesn’t live up to my perfectionist standards.

Darren visited me this weekend, so naturally, cooking and baking adventures ensued. We made a delicious spaghetti squash lasagna, yummy pumpkin muffins (which I will post the recipe to soon), and terrible pumpkin pancakes. I will spare you my recipe for the failed pumpkin pancakes. They were terrible. So yucky. I don’t know how I managed to make pancakes taste so bad!

Anyways, enough talk of failure, and onto the successes!

This spaghetti squash lasagna was so delicious. It had all the great flavors of traditional lasagna, just with spaghetti squash instead of noodles. This entire pan was gone within 24 hours. Needless to say, this recipe was a winner with both me and Darren. If Darren loves a recipe, it’s totally man approved. Just don’t tell your man how super healthy it is It will be our secret.

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Recipe by SkinnyTaste

Ingredients:

• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 3 cups cooked roasted spaghetti squash
• 1 cup part skim ricotta
• 8 tsp parmesan cheese
• 6 oz part skim shredded mozzarella (I used Sargento)

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a 9x 13, ladle 1 cup quick marinara sauce on the bottom of each dish. Top with of cooked spaghetti squash and spread evenly. Top each with 1 cup ricotta.

Sprinkle 4 teaspoons of grated parmesan cheese and 3 oz mozzarella on each.  Add the remaining sauce, parmesan and mozzarella cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges begin to bubble; uncover and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Stay tuned for those pumpkin muffins!

All Good Things Come to an End

Don’t you wish you could relive all the wonderful times in your life? I know I do! I had the most fabulous weekend, and I so wish it wasn’t almost over. My amazing boyfriend Darren visited me here at Oberlin.

This is actually an old picture from when he drove all the way to South Carolina to visit me last January. That is another weekend I wish I could re-live over and over. I think quite a lot of the joy in my life comes from my amazing man. (This isn’t getting too lovey-dovey for ya’ll I hope!)

Anyways, this weekend was great! Darren got here Friday evening, and we cooked a nice dinner. Of course, before dinner, we had dessert!

Yes, we had dessert before dinner. Why? Because this is my apartment, and I make the rules. Actually I was starving while dinner was cooking, and I terribly needed something to assuage the empty pit in my stomach. I made these “Grown-Up” Mocha Mudslide Milkshakes. These milkshakes consisted of mocha mudslide flavored ice cream (any chocolate or coffee flavored ice cream would work), coconut milk, whipped cream, and…..Bailey’s. The last ingredient is obviously optional. However, my belief is that unless you have an allergy, an intolerance, or a chemical dependency (such as alcoholism), every food or beverage is fine in moderation. Neither Darren nor I binge drink, but we do like to indulge in a glass or wine or delicious cocktail (such as this milkshake!) every once in a while.  To make these milkshakes we just used a blender to mix the ice cream, milk, and Bailey’s, and topped them with whipped cream. Yum! These made the perfect appetizer for dinner.

I served this black bean casserole as a salad for dinner. The next day for lunch, we ate the left overs on tortillas. I think it was even better the next day!

Southwest Black Bean Casserole

adapted from pinchofyum

Ingredients

• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I actually used mozzarella because it’s all I had on hand)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add onions to the pan and saute until browned.
3. Add salt, cumin, red pepper, and garlic. Saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly (I added a tablespoon or two of water to keep things from sticking in the pan.)
4. Stir in broth and black beans. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Mash beans to desired consistency.
5. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top tomato sauce and cheese. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for atleast 10 minutes (otherwise it will be too runny).
6. Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips, over rice, on tacos, on a salad, or just eat it plain!

Such a yummy dinner. Darren and I went to an American Folk-Jazz concert Friday night. I love all the free concerts at Oberlin. Then we headed to bed early because I took a practice MCAT Saturday morning. The test went surprisingly well. I’m really pleased with how I did, especially considering it was my first practice test.

After my test, we watched a bit of the Michigan football game, ate lunch, napped, then headed to dinner and the mall.

I had this for dinner. It was Bob Evan’s cinnamon stuffed pancakes. I was totally in a sugar coma after these. I don’t get to Bob Evan’s very much though, and I absolutely adore these pancakes. At the mall, Darren bought a new pair of shoes. He doesn’t spend money on himself very often, so I like when he does. He deserves it!

This morning, Darren and I went for a walk around campus and said our goodbyes. It’s always hard for me when he leaves. I get to see him again in 3 weeks. So until then, there will be skype, phone calls, and reliving all the wonderful time we’ve spent together.

XOXO,

Jamie

Peanut Butter Blossoms- a family favorite

I seriously needed to bake something yesterday. And here’s why…

First of all, I’m stressed out about returning to college in a week. Second of all, Darren was home visiting this weekend, but he had to return back to school late Sunday afternoon. I’m used to seeing him sporadically since our schools aren’t exactly close to home (nor are they close to each other). This time I was especially bummed though because I don’t know when I’ll get to see him next! I’ll be going back to school this Sunday, and who knows what my crazy schedule will be like! I’ll be lucky to be able to pencil in a few hours with him this Christmas!

When I get stressed, or sad, or anxious, the most satisfying way for me to release the negative energy is through baking. There is something completely soothing about the measuring and mixing, the sweet smell of baked goods, and even washing the dishes afterward. If you need to find a positive outlet for your negative emotions I seriously recommend baking. It’s totally therapeutic. I bake a lot…does that mean I need a lot of therapy? Ha, oh well. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Today I decided to make one of my family’s favorite cookies. I used my great grandmother’s recipe to make peanut butter blossoms. Here’s a picture of the original recipe on a 4×6 notecard.

Beautiful right!? There is something so special about baking recipes that have been loved throughout generations of your family. You can see just how much love this recipe has received over the years by the numerous spills and stains on this notecard.

It’s no wonder these cookies are a family favorite. They look as cute as they are scrumptious! Darren’s mom bought me a bag of Reese Cup Mini’s, and I used those on half the cookies. For the other half of the cookies, I used the traditional Hershey Kisses.

Peanut Butter Blossoms-even the name is cute!

Grandma’s Peanut Butter Blossoms

• 1 3/4 C sifted flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 C. shortening
• 1/2 C. peanut butter
• 1/2 C. sugar
• 1/2 C brown sugar

• 1 egg
• 2 Tbs. milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Using a mixer, cream together the shortening, peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Then add the egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix until incorporated. Finally, blend in the dry ingredients. Shape by rounded teaspoonful into balls. Roll the cookie dough balls in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and place a chocolate candy on top of each cookie, pressing down so the cookie cracks around the edge. Makes about 3 dozen.

XOXO,

Jamie

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Ever since last spring I’ve been dying to get my hands on some canned pumpkin to make a pumpkin pie smoothie. Apparently, when you live in the smack dab middle of no where Ohio, pumpkin is purely a seasonal item. My little heart broke every time I went grocery shopping and saw the “temporarily out of stock” sign where the canned pumpkin should be. What’s a girl supposed to do when she’s having a pumpkin pie craving in the middle of summer!? Suffer I suppose…

 

Until one day I was visiting Darren. He lives in a bigger city where there is an amazing grocery store similar to Whole Foods. They had organic canned pumpkin! I could have fallen over and died in that moment. I really didn’t think I’d be getting any pumpkin until Thanksgiving!

I finally got to make my pumpkin pie smoothie. YAY! It was delicious and definitely worth the wait.

Yummy, yummy, get in my tummy. This smoothie tastes exactly like a pumpkin pie, just in the form of a healthy smoothie!

And that is one happy CollegeGirl.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

adapted from Oh She Glows and Dashing Dish

• 1/2 C cottage cheese
• 1/2 C milk (I used unsweeted vanilla Almond Breeze, but any milk would work fine)
• 1/2 C pure canned pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• sugar to taste (I recommend a 1-3 teaspoons)
• a large handful of ice cubes

Place everything in blender, and blend until smoothie is smooth. Enjoy!

XOXO,

Jamie

Homemade Nutella

Now, as I’ve spoken about in the passed, I have an aversion to processed food.

Neon orange “cheese” powder- No thanks.

Chicken Nuggets- Exactly what part of the chicken is the “nugget”?

High Fructose Corn Syrup- It’s a cheaper sweetener than sugar, but PLEASE I JUST WANT SUGAR.

Processed foods are edible food-like substances. They diminish my eating experience, and leave me feeling a little blah.  Now that’s not to say I never eat processed foods, because I certainly do. I love bagged snack mixes like chex mix, but I make sure to eat them in moderation because of the high salt content. I also eat them in combination with nutrient rich foods.

Nut butter’s can be super delicious and nutritious. You have to be careful when buying nut butters at the store though, as the regular varieties are often questionable containing a lot of sugar, hydrogenated oils, and glycerides. The best nut butters keep it plain and simple, usually with two ingredients: the nut and salt.

I’m boring you all with all this talk of healthy nut butters, so I’ll leave it at this: Whenever you make your own version of a processed food, it’s bound to be better for you. And here’s to homemade Nutella…

Homemade Nutella

• 150g hazelnuts- Roast at 200º C for 10-15 mins until very fragrant. Pulverize in a food processor or blender until you get a very smooth peanut butter-like paste.

Add these remaining ingredients and continue blending until smooth:

• 100g milk chocolate, (I used 2.5 regular sized Hershey bars, melted and cooled)

• 2 tbsp cocoa powder

• 1/2 cup icing sugar

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• A few drops of vegetable oil

Store in a jar at room temperature. Enjoy on anything and everything!

Oh yeah, did I mention that the homemade is much more delicious than store bought? No joke.

XOXO,

Jamie

Homemade Oreos! (And what happens to all my baked goods?)

What happens to all my baked goods?
Well they get eaten of course! But not all by me. There was a time when I would console my stress, anger, and loneliness with a dozen cookies and a pint of ice cream. Yes, all in one sitting. I’m proud to say though, this is no longer the case.

Lucky for me, I have a family (and also a boyfriend!) who loves sweets as much as I love baking them!

This is the whole crew! My brother Justin no longer lives with us though because he is a big kid with a degree, a real job, and an apartment these days. This picture was taken last summer at pretty much the height of my anorexia, and my hair was also dyed red. I put on a smile for this picture, but I was anything but happy. I tried to find a more recent picture of the whole family, but this was the best I could find on my computer. Time to get the family together again soon for a group shot!

So now these days, post-anorexia, post-binge eating disorder, post-bulimia, I am happy to say that I certainly enjoy the treats I make, but I eat them when my body truly wants something sweet. In fact, lately I haven’t been craving sweets as much as usual. I usually want something sweet after lunch. Instead of eating my normal scoop of ice cream, I’ve been craving chocolate-y protein bars. Not only do they taste like a candy bar, but I have so much energy after eating them and they keep me much more satiated than a scoop of ice cream or a cookie. I’m seriously turning into a protein bar addict, and it is not good for my bank account (okay, my parents’ bank account). Those things are expensive! But you and your body are worth the splurge!

I will be writing an entire post about my full eating disorder journey and how I stopped binge eating later this week. I hope this is a topic of interest to some of my readers.

Now…onto homemade Oreos!

Yep, not only do they look better than store-bought, but they taste better too.  After eating one my dad exclaimed, “These are delightful!” And after his fourth cookie he stated, “These are NOT going to last very long.”  Putting a smile on someone’s face is one thing I love about baking.

I’m not going to lie. These cookies are truly a treat. There is really nothing healthy about them aside from the fact that they are less processed than store bought. Beside that, its full on sugar, butter, and shortening. I feel like I’m channeling my inner Paula Deen. And it feels soooo good.

Homemade Oreos

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies

For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa (I used regular unsweetened cocoa, and they turned out delicious. By all means use Dutch process if you have it on hand as it will result in a richer flavor.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.

Eat Oreos!

XOXO,

Jamie

Low Fat Chewy Gooey Brownies

Sorry for the gap between postings! It’s been crazy busy here at CollegeGirlCooking. Right now I should be studying this high-yield problem on conservation of momentum…

Instead, I am writing this blog! Much more thrilling than physics.  So what have I been up to this past week?  Pretty much lots of studying and lots of good eats.

Wednesday I visited Darren. We went to a restaurant in Perrysburg called Zingo’s Mediterranean. I ordered the Vegetarian Trio sandwich. It featured falafel, hummus, and tabbouli salad all wrapped up in a grilled pita.  It also came with a side of pita chips. I absolutely loved the sandwich and the pita chips. Darren got the Chicken Tawook sandwich. He enjoyed his sandwich as well, but probably not as much as I enjoyed mine.  That evening we shared a pint of Ben and Jerry’s “Fair Goodness Cake”

It was good, but it wasn’t as great as my three favorites: Half Baked, Milk and Cookies, and Bonnaroo Buzz!

Friday I went out to dinner at a local restaurant with my Mom, Dad, and sister Allie. I got a Chicken Club sandwich with french fries. I thought the chicken would be grilled, but to my dismay, it was breaded and fried. It tasted alright, but it was much lower on the nutrition scale.  Later that night, Darren came home and we got ice cream. I had a cookie dough flurry, and Darren had a German chocolate cake flurry. We each ate half of our flurries, then traded and finished the rest. Darren is such a good boyfriend for putting up with my food sharing antics.
Saturday was basically all about food. My Mom, Dad, and I visited my brother in Cleveland. We went to the West Side Market.

It’s a gigantic market with fresh produce, cheese, meats, baked goods..basically anything you could ever want. We ate at the West Side Market Cafe where I ordered The Mellow Mushroom Burger which was a hamburger topped with Swiss cheese and mushrooms. It came with a side of delicious french fries. I also bought some cannolis at the market to take home. As usual, it was great to have a day with the family!

Then on Sunday Darren’s mom invited me to go along with her and Darren’s brother to visit Darren and go shopping. Of course, I was super happy to go along. We shopped throughout the afternoon. Darren’s mom bought me a University of Michigan T-shirt<—Hopefully I will be a medical student there someday! We ate at a fancy schmancy restaurant called J. Alexanders. I ordered the Veggie Burger with a side of fries. It was the best Veggie Burger I’ve ever had. I gave Darren a bite, and of course he didn’t like it. That man will never understand veggies. I had a really great day with Darren’s family.

So, in case you haven’t noticed a theme, there was a lot of fried food, restaurant food, and ice cream consumption in the past few days. How did this make me feel? Physically I felt fine. I ate decent portions, stopping when I was full. I also ate enough of my nutrient dense meals to compensate for all my restaurant meals. Mentally, I did not feel so fine. I felt really guilty and anxious about how indulgent I had been in my eating. I may have had a hysterical breakdown, bawling my eyes out, right in front of Darren. He was a good sport as always though, and just hugged me until I was ready to talk. There is nothing wrong with eating out a little more often than usual, or even overeating once in a while. It’s normal. It happens. My anxiety and guilt was a product of my eating disordered thoughts creeping back up on me. Recovery is about being able to stop thinking about calories and weight in order to properly assess the situation and address the ACTUAL cause of unhappiness. Now that I’m not so crazed and upset, I can clearly see that quite a number of things going on in my life are stressing me out. I’m sick of studying for the MCAT. I’m worried about having time to study for the MCAT during the school year. I’m nervous that my course load is too heavy this coming semester. I’m nervous about having a job for the first time while also taking classes. I’m sad that summer is ending. Food and weight have been familiar scapegoats for me in finding the source of my unhappiness or anxiety. It’s hard not to automatically turn to them whenever I’m scared or stressed, but I keep trying. And when I fall off track, I keep managing to get back on. That’s what recovery is all about.

On a happier note, today I baked brownies!

Low fat brownies. They are gooey and fudgey and delicious!  AND they’re from a mix, so they come together super quick and only dirty one bowl!

Low-Fat Chewy Gooey Brownies

• 1 box brownie mix (I used Pillsbury)
• 1/2 cup lite vanilla yogurt (I actually used Yoplait’s Boston Creme Pie)
• 1/4 cup water

Combine brownie mix, yogurt, and water in a large bowl until completely combined. OMIT the eggs and oil! Put batter in 9×13 inch pan and bake according to package directions. You may have to bake them for a couple minutes longer than called for on the package directions if they come out too fudgey.

EAT BROWNIES

XOXO,

Jamie