Lovin' From the Oven

Chocolate Chip Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

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While wandering the aisles of Costco, I get tempted to buy things I might not need. Example? These dried tart cherries. They sounded good in my head, but by the time I got home and ate some, I was already regretting it. They were definitely too “tarty” for eating plain. My solution? Throw them in cookies! Cookies make everything better.

The cherries still stood out after being baked, but not as bad as straight out of the bag. If you’re fan of a tart taste, then try these cookies. The dark chocolate tone down the cherries and the oatmeal finishes off your palette. They’re not as thick as I’d like them to be, but that could be fixed by pulling them out of the oven just a bit earlier after refrigerating the dough. Recipe from Showfood Chef.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup oatmeal 
  • 1 cup flour 
  • 1/4 tsp. baking powder 
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda 
  • 1/4 tsp. salt 
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 
  • 1 stick (8 Tbls. butter) 
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar 
  • 1 tsp. vanilla 
  • 1 egg 
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 
  • 1/4 cup dark dried cherries, chopped 

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. 
  2. Beat the butter, both sugars, and vanilla until creamy. Stir in the egg.
  3. Add the flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until just combined.
  4. Gently Stir in the chocolate chips and dried cherries. 
  5. Scoop out cookie dough in tablespoon sized balls and place on a baking sheet. 
  6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Take them out and let them cool for five minutes before removing from pan.

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

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You know what the worst part is about seeing scary movies in the theater? Loud teenagers, people that laugh (either cause they’re immature or because they’re too scared to shut up), and the ones that shout out loud whatever they’re feeling. I went to go watch Paranormal Activity 3 this past weekend and I’m pretty sure my experience was ruined because of that. I need to go re-watch it in my own peace and quiet so that it can really scare the crap out of me.

End rant. I say po-tay-toes, you say po-ta-tows. Potatoes are probably the easiest thing to cook. You basically just slice and dice, coat and roast. My DB inhaled these and said that they were delicious. It probably helps that there were no green vegetables in sight. I served them with a breaded chicken– recipe coming soon!

Ingredients

  • 4 medium potatoes, rinsed and diced
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • pinch of salt
  • couple grinds of fresh black pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
  • 4-5 tbsp parmesan cheese
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Pour the potatoes into a baking dish.
  3. Drizzle olive oil on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle the rest of the seasonings on top. Use a large spoon to evenly coat all of the potatoes.
  4. Bake for 45 minutes, making sure to move the pieces around every 15 minutes.

Spinach & Mozzarella Pizza

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I have over 250 terms that I have to memorize by November 1st for training. It’s been a while since I’ve had to study for something, so I’m a little rusty with my habits (which explains why I’m blogging and re-watching the first season of “The Walking Dead” right now). I made flashcards and took advantage of the app “studydroid” on my phone, but I don’t feel like that’s enough. Do you have any study tips or routines that help you get the brain flowing?

While I’m asking you for advice, I’ve got another question. I’ve asked this on my twitter and facebook already, but perhaps I’ll get some more tips here. I’m required to wear some makeup for my new job, and I don’t know a THING about makeup! What’s your favorite brand of lipgloss, blush, mascara, and foundation? I’ll be taking notes and a trip to Sephora is in the near future.

You know those lazy days where you don’t want to cook dinner? Make a pizza! I cannot stress how easy Trader Joe’s makes it for you. They sell three different kinds of pizza dough in the refrigerated aisle: regular, wheat, and garlic. I used wheat for this one, but my favorite is the plain dough.

It’s also really important to use a pizza pan when making this, as I have experimented with numerous shapes of baking sheets. The perforated pizza pan allows the crust to completely cook through, ensuring a crunchy bite.

Spinach & Mozzarella Pizza

Ingredients

  • 1 package of pre-made pizza dough from Trader Joe’s
  • olive oil
  • half a jar of pizza sauce from Trader Joe’s
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • fresh mozzarella, sliced
  • a handful of fresh spinach
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Follow the directions on the bag of pizza dough– Let sit for 20 minutes before stretching it out to fill the pizza pan.
  3. Drizzle the olive oil on the rolled out dough and spread evenly.
  4. Pour the pizza sauce on top and cover the dough, stopping about an inch from the edge.
  5. Evenly sprinkle the minced garlic. Add the mozzarella and top it off with fresh spinach.
  6. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is completely melted and the crust is lightly browned.

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