sKALEs (CHIPS) of justice

My friend made these for me for the first time. I was extremely skeptical when he suggested it...kale?! sounds gross. I, however, was beyond pleasantly surprised! I guess I should have trusted that if it's green and a boy still likes it, it must be good. AND IT IS! This recipe is ridiculously easy, delicious, and HEALTHY! Much better alternative to the potato chip! Try it out! It might just help you balance a healthy lifestyle. 

What you need:

- bunch of kale

- salt

- olive oil

How you make it:

3 steps! 

Start by rinsing and patting dry the kale. Then toss it with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 400 degree for 10 mins (or until crunchy). NOM AWAY totally guilt free!!!!

Valentine's Day Sweets Overload: Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, Dipped Pretzels, Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies, M&M Brown Sugar Brownies

It's Valentine's Day! It's a ridiculous holiday but we all LOVE it anyways! Here are some tasty treats that I'll be passing out all day, so look out for me in the law school and grab a sample!


Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Pink Vanilla Frosting

What you'll need:


Cupcakes
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 3/4 cups Cocoa
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup chocolate chips

Frosting
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
- 5 tbsp flour

How you make it:

Cupcakes
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers.

In a mixer, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat in the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Then slowly add in the boiling water. The batter will be very thin. Let the batter cool a little and then add in the chocolate chips. Fill the cupcake tin 2/3 full and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting!

Frosting
In a small saucepan, whisk the flour into the milk and heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. You want it to be very thick. Remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. IT MUST COMPLETELY COOL BEFORE YOU CONTINUE!!

Once cool, stir in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Then add in the cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat until it combines completely. It should look like whipped cream cheese.  THEN FROST AWAY!!!



Dipped Pretzels

What you'll need:
- pretzels
- chocolate chips
- white chocolate chips

How you make it:

Melt the chocolate in the microwave. I suggest setting it on HI for 15 seconds, stirring the chips, an then microwaving again until fully melted. Do this for each chocolate color separately. Then dip the pretzels in the chocolate and place on waxed paper to cool. Sprinkle with sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet.



M&M Brown Sugar Brownies

What you'll need:

- 2 cups flour

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp salt

- 2/3 cups butter

- 2 eggs

- 2 cups packed brown sugar

- 1 cup M&Ms (or chocolate chips)

How you make it:

Start by preheating you over to 350 degrees. Melt the butter and then mix it with the brown sugar. Let it cool slightly and then add in the egg and vanilla. Mix well. Then add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. When this is all integrated, slowly add in the flour. Make sure the batter is fully mixed and then spread the mixture into a 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle the M&M over the top of it and back for 20-25 mins. The batter will set and turn golden. Let it cook completely before cutting. Enjoy!

Red Velvet and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

What you'll need:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp red food coloring
- 1 1/3 cups flour
- 4 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips


How you make it:

Start by preheating you oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar. Then add in the egg and beat well. Next, beat in the vanilla and food coloring. Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix everything together well and then add in the white chocolate chips. Scoop the dough onto a lined cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Then enjoy!

Sugar Cookie Campaign--VOTE SCOTT HARDY!

Sugar cookies are absolutely delicious and these are extra special in honor of SBA Elections and Valentine's Day!!! Make sure to find Scott Hardy in the law school lounge on Monday and sample one of these sweet treats!

Scott is running for 2L SBA Rep. Check out his platform at: SCOTT HARDY WANTS YOUR VOTE!!!

What you'll need:
- 2.5 cups flour
-1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- few drops of red food coloring
- 1 cup chocolate chips

How you make it:

Beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat until fluffy. Then beat in the vanilla and food coloring. Next, slowly add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until fully incorporated. Shape into a dish and refrigerate, wrapped, for at least 1 hour.

After the dough has chilled, roll out the dough on a flat, floured surface. Use cookie cutters to make your desired design! Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

After the cookies have cooled completely, melt the chocolate (I microwaved it). Then dip the cookies into the chocolate and place them on waxed paper to harden. Then EAT & VOTE!!!

This is Scott, he wants to represent you! 

HELP HIM, HELP YOU!!!!

Best Remedy: Chicken Soup

I have realized that nearly every post beings with me talking about my family. I think this is because 1. I miss them terribly and 2. cooking is a family affair in our house. We do our best to eat most of our meals together--DEFINITELY dinner! It's something I look forward to all day. Nothing makes me happier than when my sister is helping set the table, my mom is cooking something divine on the stove, I'm chopping the salad, and my dad is with my brothers grilling outside (and typically calling my name to bring him the tongs or bowl he almost always forgets to take out with him). Sometimes my grandparents who live a few blocks away will surprise us around this time and join us. Then we all sit around the dinner table together while the dogs perfect their begging skills (they've gotten pretty darn good). It is dinner time--It makes the you forget the bad parts of your day and just be happy.

In our family, we each have our "speciality." I'm the salad connoisseur, my grandmother makes incredible...everything really (not fair!), and my mother is known for her Chicken Soup. This is my attempt at washing away the day's worries with what I know to be the best remedy--Chicken Soup.

What you'll need:

- 4 large carrots, cleaned and cut into thirds
- 4 pieces of celery, cut into thirds
- 1 bunch of dill
- 1 medium onion, cleaned and quartered
- 1-2 lbs of chicken with bones (you can use any part you like. I prefer dark meat)
- 2 large tablespoon of chicken bouillon
- water

How you make it:

Place all of the ingredients in a large pot, making sure to place the dill in last. Fill the remaining space in the pot with water and place on HI heat. Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low. Make sure that it is NOT boiling! Let it simmer for hours, periodically removing any foam that may form at the top.

Serve with any noodle of your preference or throw in some matzo balls!!! Nothing is better than this. Absolutely NOTHING.

Super Bowl CONVERSION -- Make these recipes your own!

I LOVE the Super Bowl! Being completely honest, it's not for the game -- it's for the time with friends and family and the excuse to absolutely SPLURGE on tasty snacks! Here are two recipes I highly suggest you try out next time you have a reason to go above and beyond. The bread is pretty simple, but the nachos get a little complicated (but they were SO worth it!)

Cheesy Bacon Ranch Bread

What you'll need:

- 1 loaf of tasty bread (I used country white, but sourdough sounds awesome)

- 1 stick of butter, melted

- 1 package of Ranch dressing seasoning

- bacon, cooked until crunchy and chopped

- shredded cheese of your choosing (I used parmesan but would recommend cheddar or swiss)

How you make it:

Start by slicing the bread in both directions, but not cutting all the way through. The loaf should stay intact. Stuff the crevices with the bacon bits and cheese. Mix the Ranch seasoning with the melted butter, and pour the mixture over the entire loaf. Wrap in foil and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Then remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Then serve!!! Yummy, I'm craving this again already!

Buffalo Chicken Bacon Nachos


These are divine. No. They are BEYOND divine! SO. INCREDIBLY. GOOD. GAHHHHHHH!!! I want more and more and more.

 Look, just gaze at its wonderfulness--how beautiful is it?!

 PURE BLISS!

What you need:
- 1 bag of tortilla chips
- 2 chicken breast
- one 8oz bottle of Buffalo Sauce
- cilantro, chopped
- green onion, chopped
- red pepper flakes
- 3 cups of shredded cheese
- 1/3 cup of milk
- 1/4 cup of heavy cream
- black pepper
- jalapenos, diced
- blue cheese crumbles
- 1 cup of bacon, cooked and diced
- sour cream

How you make it:

Start by pouring the entire bag of tortilla chips into a deep dish baking pan and set aside. Next, cook the chicken breasts, dice or shred them, and then mix them in a bowl with the entire bottle of buffalo sauce. Let the chicken marinade while you make the queso.

In a small sauce pan mix together the cheese, milk, heavy cream, red pepper flakes, and black better. Make sure to be continuously stirring the mixture or else it will burn and be ruined. When the mixture is completely melted, pour the chicken over the tortillas (reserving some of the sauce for later) and then cover with the queso. Sprinkle the bacon over the entire thing and then add some extra shredded cheese on top. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. After removing the nachos from the oven, sprinkle with blue cheese, diced jalapenos, chopped cilantro and green onion. Pour the extra buffalo sauce over the top and add a few dollops of sour cream. Serve immediately! Watch how fast they disappear!

Emily got the first bite. LUCKY GIRL!