Month: April 2021

April 30, 2021

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

If you’re the type of person who loves raw cookie dough and would eat it every day if it wasn’t so bad for you (insert sad face emoji), then this is a recipe you need to try! Not only is this chocolate chip cookie dough dip a super quick, easy, and cheap dish to bring to a party or potluck post-COVID, it’s also a delicious sweet treat you can make for yourself, just because.

Ingredients: 

• 1 eight-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup of powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1½ teaspoons of vanilla
• 1 cup of mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup of toffee bits

Directions:

1. Using an electric mixer, whip together the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl.
2. Add all remaining ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until well-combined.
3. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for one hour.
4. Serve with graham cracker sticks, apple wedges, pretzels, Oreo cookies, or whatever else you’d like.

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 30 milk chocolate kisses

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in egg and vanilla.
4. Roll into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
5. Bake until tops are slightly cracked, 10-12 minutes.
6. Immediately press 1 chocolate kiss into center of each cookie.
7. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

—Bruce Kong

April 15, 2021

Forgive Your Mistakes

This article is part of a series that will walk you through the steps to create a cosplay costume, suitable for Comic Con, our local Kitsune Kon, and more. Angel is currently working on an Iron Man and a Rainbow Dash costume for two kids in her family.

April 15, 2021

Play Self-Care BINGO: Win a Prize!

Have you ever been so caught up in school that you forget to take care of yourself? I know I have. Sometimes we just need a little reminder. (We included some cleaning ideas because it’s an important part of self care that allows you to feel accomplished while improving your well-being as you study and relax.)

Prize Alert! Check out the BINGO board below that includes physical, mental, and practical self-care tasks. We have some fun UWGB swag and other prizes for those who turn in a completed card with regular BINGO. You’ll get an extra-special prize if you turn in “Blackout BINGO,” i.e. fill in the whole card.

How to Play:

1. Download a PDF copy of the Self-Care BINGO card.
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2. Briefly describe what you did for each step you completed, below the card. You can type directly on the Word file, or print out either the PDF or Word file and hand-write your steps.
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3. Email your completed card to fernandt@uwgb.edu, or drop your printed card off at the Marinette campus Student Services front desk.
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4. Tag the Marinette campus on Facebook or Instagram (both @UWGBMarinette) with #SelfCareBINGO for your chance to win a prize!

• Get a PDF file of the BINGO card here.
• Get an MS Word file of the Bingo Card here.

—Angel Wolske, Jasmine Hanson, and Bruce Kong

April 15, 2021

Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs

In this issue of The Driftwood, we’re sharing a few family recipes that are cherished and of great value to us. <snip> These recipes may have been passed down from generations of family members, or may have just been recently introduced. Either way, it’s a recipe that’s been crafted with love and made with high-quality rich ingredients that fill your tummy. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup rice vinegar
• 5 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons Asian chili garlic sauce
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onion (optional)

Directions:

1. Whisk the vinegar, honey, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, chili garlic sauce, garlic, and salt in a bowl until smooth. Pour half the marinade into a large plastic zipper bag; retain the other half of the sauce. Place the chicken thighs into the bag containing marinade, squeeze all the air out of the bag, and seal. Shake a few times to coat chicken. Refrigerate for 1 hour, turning bag once or twice.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
3. Pour the other half of the marinade into a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, to thicken sauce. Remove the chicken from the bag; discard used marinade. Place chicken thighs into a 9×13-inch baking dish, and brush with 1/3 of the thickened marinade from the saucepan.
4. Bake 30 minutes, basting one more time after 10 minutes; an instant-read thermometer inserted into a chicken thigh should read 165 degrees F (75 degrees C).
5. Let stand for 5 or 10 minutes; meanwhile, bring remaining marinade back to a boil for 1 or 2 minutes, and serve chicken with marinade. Sprinkle with green onions.

Tex-Mex Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Boxed macaroni is a kitchen staple for college students, but if you’re looking to spice up your next dinner (no pun intended), then this is the recipe for you! Tex-Mex is equally as cheap and simple to make as regular mac ‘n’ cheese but adds a delicious, savory twist that’s sure to leave you craving more. Plus, it’s just as good after being reheated, so one batch can be the gift that keeps on giving for several meals afterwards.

Ingredients:

 

• 2 packages of boxed macaroni and cheese (ex: Kraft)
• 1 pound of extra-lean ground beef
• 1 cup of Rotel diced tomatoes & green chiles
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 can of black beans, drained
• 1 can of whole-kernel sweet corn, drained
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• Sour cream and tortilla chips (optional for garnish)

April 5, 2021

Finding or Making Cosplay Patterns

This article is part of a series that will walk you through the steps to create a cosplay costume, suitable for Comic Con, our local Kitsune Kon, and more.
 

Last time, we went over how to choose a cosplay character and find reference photos. Your next step is to find your costume pattern and materials.

If you just want to buy a pattern, there are plenty of artists out there who specialize in cosplay costume patterns. One of my go-to sites is Etsy.com, which is where I purchased the pattern for the Iron Man cosplay. Make sure to read the description completely to understand what you’ll receive with the pattern package.

As a reminder, I’ll be walking you through the construction of an Iron Man costume and a Rainbow Dash costume. If you want to make a pattern, here are some steps to follow:

1. Make a duct-tape mold of your body. On this mold, you can trace out the armor or clothes to create the pattern. I make my duct-tape molds by putting a plastic garbage bag on and wrapping the duct tape around it, from top to bottom. However, some cosplayers find it better to wrap the duct tape in a criss-cross pattern, but you can choose whatever way works better for you. If you’re making armor, I would recommend sizing your pattern pieces a little bigger than the mold so it looks normal and fits well over clothing. (See the photo, above, for the duct-tape molds I made on the models for my Iron Man and Rainbow Dash costumes.)
2. Make your pattern. Use thin paper for making cloth patterns and cardstock for making armor patterns if you’re making them by hand instead of on the computer. Trace out the pieces you’ll need, and then cut out the shapes from your paper or cardstock. (If you need more guidance, there are plenty of YouTube tutorials out there on how to trace and cut out your pattern pieces.)
3. Purchase your fabrics and other materials. When making armor, I mainly use cosplay EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) foam, which you can find on Amazon and other online stores. However, you can also use foam mats from a hardware store or crafting foam. For the clothing parts of your costume, visit a fabric store and pick out the fabrics that appeal to you and that you can easily work with. I’m using tulle (see photo, right) for the Rainbow Dash cosplay.
4. Purchase your thread and glue. You’ll have to know how to sew for most fabric cosplays, though hot glue works in some cases. Use cement glue instead of hot glue or super glue when making armor out of foam, because it’s flexible and strong. You also won’t have to go fishing for glue strands like you would have to if you used hot glue.

Try out some of these, options and look for the next edition of the Driftwood, when you will get to see more on how I made my Iron Man and Rainbow Dash cosplays.

—Angel Wolske

April 5, 2021

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you love baking (like me) or just have a major sweet-tooth (also me!), then you have to give these cookies a shot. My family and I first tasted them when my dad’s friend brought a few over to our house for us to try, and the first words out of all our mouths was, “Oh my gosh, we need this recipe!” Prepped and cooked in less than 30 minutes, these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are quick and easy to make, but best of all, they’re utterly delicious!

Cookie Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (softened)
• ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 ½ cups chocolate chips, semisweet

Frosting Ingredients (optional):

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cookie Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with brown and white sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla.
2. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir into the creamed mixture alternately with pumpkin. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Drop spoonfuls of completed cookie batter onto a greased baking sheet.
4. Bake at 350° F for 12-13 , or until cookies are lightly brown.

Frosting Directions:

1. Beat the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until the mixture is smooth.
2. Using a butter knife, spread your preferred amount of frosting on top of the cookies.

Seasoned Oven Fries

Ingredients:

• 2 medium potatoes
• 2 teaspoons butter, melted.
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• Minced parsley, optional.

Instructions:

1. Cut each potato lengthwise in half then into 4 wedges.
2. In a large shallow dish, combine the butter, oil and seasoned salt. Add potatoes; turn to coat.
3. Place potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
4. Bake at 450° until tender, turning once, 20-25 minutes.
5. If desired, sprinkle with parsley.

—Bruce Kong

March 11, 2021

Cosplay, Cosplay, and More Cosplay

This article is part of a series that will walk you through the steps to create a cosplay costume, suitable for Comic Con, our local Kitsune Kon, and more.

Whether you’re trying to make something amazing to wear to (hopefully open) conventions this summer or getting a head start on preparing your Halloween costume​,​ ​this new section is the perfect place for you​. ​In this issue, ​we are going to talk about choosing a character for your cosplay.

1. Decide if you’re going to cosplay an already made character, an original character, or a little of both. I will be creating Iron Man and also Rainbow Dash (My Little Pony) in the future tutorials in this section, ​which should teach you basic skills needed for making most cosplays.
2. After you choose​,​ you now have to pick an outfit of the chosen character or decide if you’ll be making an original design of the character. I chose one of the original Iron Man suits that is not very complex, and I’m going to do an original design of Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony.
3. Now it’s time to find reference photos or sketch out original designs ​(or characters if cosplaying an original character)​. It’s best to have at least one photo of the front, back, and each side, but if you can get multiple photos, that will help your cosplay have better detail. Also​, ​if you plan on entering any cosplay competitions, they will require reference photos most of the time.
4. Do plenty of research. Look up cosplayers on YoutTube / Facebook and watch their crafting videos. The more research you do, the easier it will be to create your own cosplay. ​Here aresome cosplayers and crafters I recommend checking out:

• Kamui Cosplay
• Evil Ted
• Kinpatsu Cosplay