Eat, Knit, Grow

Pumpkin Caramel Ice Cream Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:58:00 +0000

This year for my recipe testers birthday I decided to use the cake I made last year (since it was such a big hit) but really take it up to the next level by making it a ridiculous ice cream cake (yes I know it's winter). This cake was absolutely phenomenal and so impressive looking. It took a good amount of work but your mistakes are easy to hide (via the crumb topping and trimming the cake) and it's definitely a tasty show stopper. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Caramel Ice Cream Cake:
Pumpkin Cake: Recipe Follows, Originally Posted Here
2 quarts of Vanilla Ice Cream (you will have some left over)
Caramel Sauce: Recipe Follows, Orginally Posted Here
20 Ginger Snap Cookies, processed into crumbs

After cakes cool, freeze cakes for 20 minutes, to firm up, then slice each cake in half to create 2 square layers. Line a square pan with parchment leaving a long overhang. Place one cake layer on the bottom, and spread with 1/2 a container of ice cream, drizzle with caramel sauce, top with another cake layer and freeze for an hour. Mix the other 1/2 of the container of ice cream with half the caramel sauce and spread over cake. Top with half the cookie crumbs, and another layer of cake, freeze for 1 hour. Spread 1/2 the second container of ice cream over the cake and top with remaining layer of cake, using a pastry brush, brush with remaining caramel, and coat top with cookie crumbs. Freeze until firm, or overnight. Before serving, trim sides to make the cake even and pretty. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cake:
2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened slightly
2 cups of white sugar
1 cup of brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of canned Pumpkin
1 cup warm of half and half
3 1/3 cups of flour
2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of ground cloves
1/2 tsp of ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat together the butter and both sugars in a large bowl, until well combined and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until well incorporated. Add in pumpkin and half and half and stir until just combined. Add in cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, salt, baking powder, baking soda and 1 cup of flour. Mix until just combined. Add in an additional cup of flour and mix in. Add remaining flour and mix until just combined, do not over mix. Grease two 9 inch square cake pans, and pour batter evenly between them. Bake until a fork inserted in one comes out clean, about 50 minutes to an hour.

Caramel Sauce:
1 1/4 cups of dark brown sugar
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of heavy cream

Stir the sugar and butter in a small pot, over meduim heat until butter melts, whisk in cream and stir until sauce is smooth and combined, about 3 minutes.

Happy Eating.

Garlicky Shrimp

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:12:00 +0000

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2012. I know I have not been updating as frequently lately, and I apologize for that, but I think it's going to continue for the time being. Lately the blog has taken a bit of a back seat to some other projects and for the time being that is going to continue. Don't worry, I am still cooking and I will still be updating as often as I can, probably about once or twice a week, so keep reading and keep eating. To start off the year I have some delicious buttery-garlicky shrimp for you. Enjoy!

Garlic Shrimp:
2 lbs of shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
1 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of salted butter
lemon

Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees, with a rack in the upper third of the oven. Put shrimp in a glass baking dish and pour olive oil over. Pass the garlic through a garlic press (or mince) and add to the shrimp and oil. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, stir to combine everything. Chop butter into pieces and place on top of the shrimp. Cook until shrimp are pink throughout, stirring the shrimp occasionally, about 6-8 minutes depending on the shrimp size. Serve shrimp with the sauce spooned over it, and finish with a squeeze of lemon

Happy Eating.

SRC Banana Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 14:44:00 +0000

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing holiday! For this month's SRC I had Baking and Creating with Avril and wonderful blog with a variety of deliciousness! She had a ton of muffin and quick bread recipes, and since I needed something to take to Christmas Brunch, I decided her banana bread would be the perfect recipe to pick! It was wonderful This bread is perfectly breakfasty and not too sweet. Enjoy the bread, and don't forget to check out the Secret Recipe Club, and Avril's blog!

Banana Bread:
1/3 cup of butter, melted
2/3 cups of sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp of almond extract
2 large bananas, overipe and mashed
3 tbsps of milk
1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of raisins, heaping

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar until combined. Add in eggs and almond extract and beat until well combined. Add in milk and bananas and mix together. Mix in flour, wheat, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, and salt until just combined. Stir in raisins. Spray a 9"x5" loaf pan with non stick. Pour batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool before slicing. (adapted from baking and creating with Avril)

Happy Eating.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:06:00 +0000

I always heard that chopping your own chocolate bars into chunks, makes much more delicious cookies than using bagged chips. But, until now, I never felt the reason to experiment with this. Chocolate chip cookies are already amazing, do they really need to be any better? Anything can be a bit better, and these certainly were, high quality chocolate and the un-uniform shape of the chunks, plus the peppering of shavings that sort of melts in give these giant cookies a definite grown-up appeal and sophistication without losing it's everyone friendly, endlessly appealing nature. I know I say this all the time, but these might be my new favorite cookie. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chunk Cookies:
3/4 cup of unsalted butter, melted
1 cup of dark brown sugar
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
2 tsp of vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of salt
1 1/2 baking bars of dark chocolate (like the Ghiradeli bars)

In a large bowl beat together butter and sugars, on high speed until combined and smooth. Add vanilla, egg and yolk and beat until combined. Add in half the flour, and the baking soda and salt and stir until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour. Chop chocolate into small pieces and add chocolate and the shavings chopping the bar produces and stir into dough. Freeze dough for 20 minutes until firm and chilled. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray with non-stick. Scoop dough by 1/8 cup (2 tablespoons) and bake 12 at a time on baking sheet. Refrigerate dough that isn't being used until ready to start that batch. Bake for 8 minutes, then lower temperature to 350, rotate tray, and bake an additional 5-6 minutes until golden brown. Let cool before removing from parchment paper. (adapted from Dishing the Divine).

Happy Eating.

Broccoli Sausage Bake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:19:00 +0000

I have an insatiable and unholy love for stuffing. It might be my favorite food ever. In college I used to buy the boxed stuff and make it in the microwave. So this casserole is my new favorite thing ever, because it tastes like stuffing, but is a fairly healthy and well balanced meal. It's full of whole grain (rye), veggies, and lean protein, and it tastes like stuffing, but cheesier. So ya, try and resist this easy and healthy casserole.

Broccoli Sausage Bake:
1/2 loaf of rye bread, about 9 oz
1 head of broccoli
1 onion
5 cloves of garlic
8 oz of turkey sausage, without casing, prefiribley spicy
3/4 cup of 2% mozzarella cheese, shredded
1.5 oz of sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cups of chicken broth

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Lightly toast bread until crisp. Chop broccoli, onion, and garlic, and place on cookie sheet. Roast until broccoli is tender, and onions are slightly browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and lower heat to 350. Cut or tear bread into small chunks, in a 9 by 13" casserole dish, lightly sprayed with non-stick, stir together bread, broccoli, onion, garlic, sausage, and cheese. Mix together the chicken broth and spices, then pour over the bread/broccoli mixture. Bake until liquid is absorbed and top is browned, about 20 minutes.

Happy Eating.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:49:00 +0000

Continuing with all things deliciously pumpkin (my favorite fall flavor), today I have a pumpkin cheesecake. Cheesecake is one of those things that looks impressive, but really isn't hard to make. You can kind of just throw everything in a bowl and mix it all up and then pour it into a pan. The hardest part is telling if it's done, it will not look done, you still want a little wobble in the center. If you cook it too long it will crack a little, but it will still taste amazing, so not really the worst thing in the world. Make sure you use a spring-form pan, so you can get the cheesecake out with out crushing it. Enjoy some pumpkin cheesecake goodness.

Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/4 cups graham-cracker crumbs (about 10 crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
4 tbsp of butter, melted

Pumpkin Cheese Cake:
3 packages (8 ounces each) of cream cheese, softened slightly
8 oz (1 container) of Mascarpone cheese
1 1/4 cups of sugar
3 tbsp of flour
1 cup of pumpkin puree
1 tbsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of nutmeg
1 tsp of ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp of ground cloves
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs

Pre-heat the oven to 350, with a rack in the center. Spray a 9" springform pan with non-stick spray. Make Crust: Combine cracker crumbs, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter until moist crumbs form. Press crumbs into the bottom of the pan and bake until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Make the Filling: Beat cream cheese, Mascarpone, and sugar on low speed until smooth. Mix in flour, pumpkin, spices, and vanilla and mix until combined. With the mixer running, add eggs one at a time until all are incorporated in. Put pan with crust on a baking sheet and pour batter into the cake pan. Transfer to oven and bake until cheesecake is just set on the edges, and still a little wobbly in the center, about 45 minutes. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake inside for 2 hours. Remove from the oven and let cool, then refrigerate overnight. (adapted from Martha)

Happy Eating.

Pumpkin Overnight French Toast

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:16:00 +0000

Brunch is perhaps the best meal of all. You can eat pretty much anything, breakfast, lunch food, dessert. Whatever you want! This bread pudding/overnight French toast is a dessert wearing a breakfast robe, and it is absolutely amazing. Serving it with caramel sauce instead of maple syrup truly takes it to the next level of deliciousness. This is a perfect addition to any holiday brunches you might have planned, or simply for a delicious and easy to throw together weekend treat. Throw it together the night before and let the goodness soak into the bread, then throw it in the oven the following morning and enjoy the deliciousness!

Pumpkin Overnight French Toast:
2 cups of half and half
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
1 cup of light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of ginger
1/2 tsp of cloves
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of raisins
1 1/2 large loafs of Challah bread

Caramel Sauce:
1 1/4 cups of dark brown sugar
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of heavy cream

Whisk together half and half, pumpkin, sugar, eggs, and spices. Spray a 9x13" baking dish with non-stick. Cut bread into 1 inch cubes and put in dish, and sprinkle with raisins. Pour pumpkin mixture over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees, bake until firm and golden on top, about 45 minutes. Make the sauce: Stir the sugar and butter in a small pot, over meduim heat until butter melts, whisk in cream and stir until sauce is smooth and combined, about 3 minutes. Serve bread pudding with sauce drizzled on, or on the side. (adapted from Epicurious)

Happy Eating.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:58:00 +0000

Does anyone else still have a ton of extra cranberries from Thanksgiving? Or Feel the urge to buy them every time they walk past a bag in the store? I love cranberries, but the problem is, I think, I love them in theory, in actuality, aside from sauce, I have no idea what to do with them. So I began an extensive search for cranberry recipes to rid myself of the bags and bags of cranberries that I "needed" for thanksgiving. This cake is my favorite so far, a deliciously simple and buttery base, with a sweet cranberry topping. It's extremely easy to make, just make sure you grease the pan well in order to get the cake out. I actually used a springform pan for extra cake removing ease.

Cranberry Upside-down Cake:
8 tbsp of butter, divided, softened
1 cup of sugar, divided
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of nutmeg
1 3/4 cups cranberries

Pre-heat the oven to 350, with a rack in the center. Mix 6 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 cup of sugar on low speed until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Add baking soda, salt, and about half the flour and mix until just combined. Then add 1/4 cup of milk, and mix. Add remainder of flour and mix, then the last 1/4 cup of milk. Grease an 8" round pan with the remaining tablespoons of butter (it is important to use all of it, because it creates the topping). Mix together remaining 1/2 cup of sugar with cinnamon and nutmeg, and sprinkle evenly on top of the butter. Then spread cranberries across the bottom in a single layer. Bake until a fork inserted comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before inverting the cake onto a plate. Serve cranberry side up. (adapted from Martha)

Happy Eating.

Penne ala Vodka

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:57:00 +0000

Vodka sauce is something that I always thought of as being ridiculously heavy, but a little cream goes a long way, to make this delicious sauce smooth and creamy without feeling like you are eating a stick of butter. The spiciness of the red pepper and the sausage go so perfectly with the creamy texture, on bite made me forget I was ever afraid of this sauce. This is a perfect way to "winter" up pasta night, something about the cream and spice just warms you inside out. Enjoy.

Penne ala Vodka:
1/2 lb of penne pasta
1 tbsp of olive oil
3 links of Hot Italian Sausage (optional)
1 small onion
1 29 oz can of tomato sauce
1 tomato
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup of vodka
1/2 cup of heavy cream
salt, pepper

Make pasta according to package directions. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown sausage on all sides then remove from pan, and slice, add back to the pan. Dice onions and add to oil, cook stirring occasionally until onions soften about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Dice tomato and garlic and add to sauce, and oregano and red pepper and cook and bring to a boil. Add vodka and stir, then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer sauce until pasta is cooked, then turn off heat and stir in heavy cream. Pour cooked pasta into the pan, and stir until pasta is coated. Enjoy.

Happy Eating.

Apple Granola Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:59:00 +0000

I love muffins, it's basically a free pass to eat cake for breakfast. So what's better than cake for breakfast? How about cake and granola. Yum! I would never have thought to put granola inside a muffin until I saw this pear granola muffin recipe, but granola really is a wonderful filling and topping for a muffin and makes them a little more breakfasty. You can choose any granola variety you like, but I would recommend one without raisins. I used special K granola. Enjoy!

Apple Granola Muffins:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp of plain greek yogurt
2 tbsp of milk
2 tbsp of butter, melted
1 cup of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of wheat flour
2 tsps of baking powder
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of cinnamon
2 apples (1 granny smith, 1 gala), diced
3/4 cup of granola

Topping:
1 cup of granola
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
6 tbsp of butter, chilled

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners and lightly spray with non-stick spray. In a large bowl mix together eggs, sugar, yogurt, milk, and butter until well combined slowly mix in flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon until just combined. Mix in apples and granola. Fill each muffin tin with batter approximately 3/4 full. Make topping: Mix together granola, flour, sugar and salt. Chop butter into pieces and cut into granola mixture using your hands, until clumps form. Distribute the topping over the muffins. Bake until a fork inserted comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Make 18. (adapted from Martha)

Happy Eating.

S'Mores Bars

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:13:00 +0000

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and ate a super ton of turkey,etc! Thanks for baring with me as I got over my vacation brain (sort of). But here is a delicious way to come back, s'mores bars! I made these AMAZING blondies for my November Secret Recipe Club, and they are from Casey and her blog, Beautiful Disasters. Casey's Blog is full of delicious looking treats, but her brownies and bars are particularly outrageous. I had such a hard time deciding which to make, but I'm so glad I decide to make the s'mores. I decided to truly decadent mine up, by whipping up some homemade marshmallow cream (so easy, and so much better than the jarred stuff). Enjoy these delicious bars (if you aren't too stuffed from the holiday) and check out Beautiful Disasters for more great recipes!

S'Mores Blondies:
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
2 sticks of butter, softened
2 eggs
2 cups of flour
2 cups of graham cracker crumbs (about 2 sleeve of graham crackers)
1 tsp of baking powder
1 salt
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
2 1/2 cups of marshmallow cream (jarred or homemade)
2 cups of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy and well combined. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until combined. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 by 12" pan. Press half the cookie dough into the bottom of the pan, sprinkle chocolate chips on in an even layer, then top with marshmallow cream, spreading with a spatula dipped in hot water. Then, top with remaining cookie dough, in chunks, leaving some marshmallow exposed. Bake for about 30 minutes, until cookie is golden and a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean. Let cool, then cut into bars and enjoy! (adapted from Beautiful Disasters)

Happy Eating!

Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Hello!! I am currently in beautiful Jamaica on vacation! I will be back for the week of Thanksgiving! Thanks for stopping by!

Mini Pumpkin Pies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:02:00 +0000

I can't believe I am about to say this, but Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I feel like summer barely ended, and we are halfway through November. But that's ok, because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is the best food (and family time) around and I can't wait for all the festivities to start. So, I got started a little early, with some yummy mini pumpkin pies with a graham cracker crust.

Crust:
12 graham crackers
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
3 tbsp of light brown sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 375. Line muffin tins with paper liners and spray lightly with non-stick. In a food processor, blend graham crackers until you have crumbs with no large chunks. Add salt, cinnamon and brown sugar and pulse to combine. With processor running, stream in the butter and mix until incorporated. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of 18 muffin liners. Bake until just fragrant and slightly toasted, about 5 minutes.

Filling:
1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
1 can of evaporated milk
3/4 cup of light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tbsp of corn starch
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of ginger
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1/4 tsp of ground cloves

Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees. In a large bowl mix all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tins, a little less than 1/4 cup per muffin. Bake until set but slightly wobbley in the center, about 25 minutes. Rotate once half way through. Let cook and then refrigerate overnight or until firm. (adapted from Martha)

Happy Eating.

Wine Roasted Lamb

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:56:00 +0000

I don't just eat potatoes for dinner, I promise. So here is the other half of my Sunday night fall roasting extravaganza. Leg of lamb!! I love leg of lamb, but I don't often by it, because they are so large, what are two people going to do with 7 pounds of meat?! So I was delighted when Whole Foods had half legs of lamb, still with the bone in, and a much more manageable 2 1/2 lbs (which was still enough to provide 2 dinners for 2 people, the leftovers became lamb fried rice, yum). The wine in this recipe soaks into the onions making them totally drunk and irresistible (yes, I called my onions drunk) and goes perfect with the richness of the lamb. A perfect Sunday evening.

Wine Roasted Lamb:
1 semi-boneless half leg of lamb, about 2 1/2-3 lbs
1 tbsp of olive oil
3 small onions
1 shallot
4 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of pepper
1 tbsp of salt
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup of red wine, drinking quality

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Rub the lamb with the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, then drizzle with olive oil. Put lamb in a 9 by 13 casserole dish. Chop onions, shallots and garlic and put them in the dish around the lamb. Cook for 25 minutes, reduce heat to 325 and pour wine over lamb and onions. Let cook until a thermomater inserted in the lamb registers 140 (for medium rare), about 30 minutes more depending on weight. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. Serve lamb with onions and wine drippings. Enjoy.

Happy Eating.

Standing Roasted Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:14:00 +0000

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I have all those amazing dishes on the brain, particularly the sides. Stuffing and potatoes, what more could a girl ask for. Stuffing is probably my all time favorite food, but sometimes you just need an amazingly crisp roast potato. These take a good amount of time but they are worth the wait. In addition to delicious-ing up your Thanksgiving table (not that it needs it), they are perfect for Sunday night roasting, my favorite cold weather tradition. And now that the cold has settled in, expect lots more roasting to come.

5 golden potatoes
2 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes

Pre-heat the oven to 375. Thinly slice the potatoes into rounds (like potato chip shape). Divide potato slices between 6 muffin cups, and place the slices in the cups vertically (standing up). Slice the garlic, and divide between the muffin cups, putting the slices in between potato slices. Drizzle with olive oil and then season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Slice the butter into small pieces and put a few on top of each muffin tin. Roast for 1 hour until the slices are browned at the top, then lower heat to 325 and roast until potatoes are cooked through, about 30 minutes more. Makes 6 individual portions. (adapted from Martha)

Happy Eating.

Bacon Roasted Pork Loin

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:59:00 +0000

Bacon is magical. It takes something that is already delicious (a pork tenderloin) and makes it truly wonderful. The bacon gets nice and crisp on the outside, while the pork on the inside remains incredibly moist and tender. This is truly the best pork tenderloin I have ever tasted. Even the next day, when I put the tenderloin, sans bacon, on a salad, the meat was so amazing and perfect. This dish looks beautiful, and is super easy to make, the prep takes about 5 minutes. So the next time you need to special up a dish, remember, bacon makes it better.

Bacon Roasted Pork Loin:
2 pork tenderloins, 1 lb each
6 slices of center cut bacon, or other thick sliced
Salt, Pepper
1/2 tsp of rep pepper flakes
2 large onions
3 cloves of garlic

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Season the pork tenderloins with salt and pepper. Push them together and wrap the bacon around the tenderloins. Place in a 9 by 13 baking dish bacon seam side down, sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Chop onions and garlic and and add to dish. Roast for 20 minutes, then lower heat to 350 and continue roasting until cooked just too 140 degrees, about 10-15 minutes. Broil for a few minutes to crisp the bacon. To serve slice in between the bacon slices.

Happy Eating.

SRC - Monte Cristo Sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:05:00 +0000

I am so excited to participate in my first Secret Recipe Club! For my first month I was assigned Double Dipped Life. Double Dipped is full of so many tempting dishes that I had a really hard time choosing what I would make, but ultimately I decided on a Monte Cristo sandwich. I has never had one before and I wasn't really sure what it was (but I love the movie, so I had to check it out). Now that I have had one I can only describe it as life changing. It is a sandwich made on French toast, I don't think it gets any better than that. So check out Double Dipped Life for her monte cristo sandwich and other wonderful eats, and enjoy an amazing sandwich.

Monte Cristo Sandwich:
2 slices of sourdough bread, sliced sandwich style
1 egg
2 tbsp of milk
4 oz of ham
1/4 cup (2 slices) of mozzarella or Swiss cheese
1 tbsp of Jam

Preheat a pan, and spray with non stick. Beat the egg and milk together. Dip the bread slices in the egg, like you are making French toast. Coat both slices on both sides with egg mixture. Cook the bread on one side in the pan, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip bread and top one slice with ham and one slice with the cheese. Cook until the side is browned and the cheese has melted, about 3-4 minutes. Spread/pour jam over the ham and top with the cheese piece of bread. Cut sandwich in half and serve. Enjoy! (adapted from Double Dipped Life)

Happy Eating.

Chicken Curry

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:03:00 +0000

I am leaving for a trip to San Antonio today, so I won't be posting the rest of the week. But before I go... Enjoy some delicious lightened up chicken curry. I had been planning on making fried rice, but was just so in the mood for rice that was soaked in sauce (yum) and I happened to have a can of light coconut milk on hand, so this delicious spiced (but not spicy) curry was born. With enough delicious sauce to drown a huge bowl of rice. Have a great week, see you all Monday!

Chicken Curry:
1 tbsp of coconut oil
2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp of flour
2 onions
1 parsnip
1 bell pepper
2 tbsp of curry powder
1/2 tsp of ginger
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp mustard
1 tsp of Garam masala
1 tsp of chili powder
1 Bay leaf
2 tbsp of brown sugar
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1/2 cup of light coconut milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Cut the chicken breast into 1 inch pieces and season with salt and pepper. Toss the breasts with the flour to coat. Add to the hot pan and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes then flip. Chop the onions, parsnips, and pepper and add to the pan. Cook until onions soften slightly, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add spices, sugar, stock and coconut milk, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until chicken is cooked through and the veggies are soft, about 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

Happy Eating.

Vegan Peanut Butter Dip

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:06:00 +0000

I love smoothies, and one of my favorite smoothie ingredients is silken tofu, it makes them impossibly creamy. But, I feel like whenever I buy the tofu, I end up getting smoothie-d out and throwing half of it away. When I bought tofu this week I was determined to find other ways to use it, and not to let any of it go to waste. While I was perusing ideas I decided that I would blend some peanut butter in and see what happens, I wasn't sure exactly what I would end up with when I started this, but it is delicious. I started throwing things in the food processor, and ended up with an easy, creamy dip, that is absolutely perfect for dunking fruit into. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Dip:
4 oz silken tofu
3 tbsp of creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup of light coconut milk
1 tbsp of maple syrup
1/3 cup of mashed acorn squash (or canned pumpkin)
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of ginger

In a food processor puree the tofu until smooth. Add the coconut milk, peanut butter, squash and spices and process until well combined. Makes about 1 cup of dip, serve with apple slices or other fruit for dipping.

Happy Eating.

Ultimate Chex Mix

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:44:00 +0000

Homemade Chex mix is one of those things that everyone makes a little differently, it's perfecly customizable and always delicious. I like to maximize the butter to cereal ratio, to ensure that every piece is coated with goodness. The boyfriend is very particular about what is in the mix (no nuts, no wheat Chex) and so this amazingly delicious hybrid was born. My ultimate Chex mix, it is crazy addictive, especially when it is hot from the oven (or not quite finished baking), which is my favorite way to eat it. Enjoy your delicious fall snacking! And check out what I did with the leftover Chex and pretzels.

Ultimate Chex Mix:
4 cups corn chex
3 cups rice chex
2 cups of pretzels
1 bag of garlic bagel chips
4 tbsp of unsalted butter
4 tbsp of salted butter
3 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp of hot sauce
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp minced onion
1/2 tsp of salt

Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Add chex and pretzels to the baking sheet. Break bagel chips in pieces and add to the chex. Melt butters in the microwave in a small bowl, mix in Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder, onion, and salt. Pour the butter over the Chex mix slowly, stirring the mix to coat evenly. Bake for an hour, stirring mix every 15 minutes.

Happy Eating.

Daring Cooks: Moo Shu

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:56:00 +0000

Blog-checking lines: The October Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Shelley of C Mom Cook and her sister Ruth of The Crafts of Mommyhood. They challenged us to bring a taste of the East into our home kitchens by making our own Moo Shu, including thin pancakes, stir fry and sauce.

This, I think was my favorite Daring Cooks challenge so far. It was absolutely delicious! Not all of the ingredients made it into my Moo Shu, because I got a little frazzled, but it was so good that next time I make it (and trust me, there will be a next time) I won't even bother to add them. The hoisin sauce was AMAZING, easy to make, and made from pantry staples plus it provided plenty of leftovers that were consumed throughout the week. The Moo Shu sent me on a cabbage eating binge like you would not believe. Making the pancakes was a lot of work, and they didn't really taste like anything, they were a good conduit for the meat and sauce, but next time I would happily eat this plain, over rice, or on a store bought tortilla, which would also make this more of an everyday meal (less work). Can you guess when I actually made this, I have been sitting on this post, dying to share it for a bit of time. (Hint: look for lots of cabbage and something else with hoisin sauce). Anyway, enjoy the deliciousness!

Moo Shu Pork:
1 pork loin, about 3/4 lb
1/2 head of green cabbage
1 bunch of scallions
1 package of gourmet mushrooms
1 tbsp of rice vinegar
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of canola oil
salt, pepper, chili powder

Heat the oil in a large wok or skillet over high heat. Finely chop the pork and add to the oil, cook until browned slightly, about 1 minute. Chop the cabbage, scallions and mushrooms and add to the pan. Add the vinegar and soy sauce and cook until cabbage softens, about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and chili powder to taste.

Hoisin Sauce:
1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp (or more) of Sriracha
1 1/2 tbsp of molasses
2 tbsp of almond butter
2 tsp of white vinegar
2 tsp of sesame oil
1/4 tsp of pepper
1/4 tsp of garlic powder

Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth and combined.

Pancakes:
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of wheat flour
1/2 tsp of canola oil
3/4 cup of boiling water

Put the flour in a food processor with the dough blade and pulse a few times. While the machine is running pour in water and oil. Remove the dough from the processor, roll into a ball and cover with a damp towel, let stand 30 minutes. Return to the food processor and run until the dough is smooth, about 2 minutes. Dive in half and roll into a long log, cut each log into 7 pieces, keep dough covered when you aren't using it. Roll each piece into a ball, and then flatten into a disk. Roll the disks out into a 6-8 inch circle. Heat a pan on high heat, then put on medium-low, cook pancakes until light brown spots appear, do not flip. Cover with a damp cloth until ready to serve.

Happy Eating.

Chicken Tetrazzini

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:58:00 +0000

I love a good casserole, they are so hearty and filling and can warm you from the inside. I was looking for something creamy and delicious, that wasn't a million calories, when I stumbled across this casserole from Cooking Light, which inspired me to make my own version. I added a substantial amount of broccoli to really stretch the dish and so that I could eat a gigantic portion guilt free. A piece the size in the picture below (1/6th of the casserole) is under 350 calories, a very reasonable dinner portion. So enjoy some deliciousness absolutely guilt free (and eat the leftovers for lunch).

Chicken Tetrazzini:
2 heads of broccoli, chopped and steamed
1/2 lb of angel hair pasta, broken in half and cooked
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I boiled mine)
1/2 tbsp of butter
1 small onion
1 package of mixed gourmet mushrooms
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of garlic powder
1/4 cup of sherry wine
1/3 cup of flour
2 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup of reduced fat, shredded, mozzarella cheese
1/4 cups of plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup of Parmesan

First, prep work, cook the chicken, broccoli and pasta (this could be done in advance too). Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with non-stick and add pasta, broccoli, and chicken and mix together. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt butter, chop onion and add to butter. Chop mushrooms and add as well, add salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook until onions soften, about 3 minutes, add sherry and cook until absorbed, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in flour, mixing constantly, cook for 3 minutes, stirring to ensure flour doesn't burn, this will be very thick. Stir in stock and bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, stir until smooth. Add in mozzarella and stir until melted. Pour mixture over the noodle mixture and stir to combine. Top with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

Happy Eating.

Chocolate Caramel Chex Clusters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:26:00 +0000

The boyfriend has started asking for Chex mix about 2 weeks ago, something about Fall and the impending holiday season. Chex mix, especially homemade, is dangerous to have in the house (in fact, I'm pretty sure we ate half a stick of butter yesterday, in Chex mix alone). I even just like the way the Chex cereal tastes plain. I did not want to have a bunch of half full Chex boxes around, so I decided in addition to the deliciously addictive classic Chex mix that I would make a salty-sweet (and it turns out even more dangerous) concoction. This is like a cross between caramel corn and muddy buddies, and it is so amazing I had to have the boyfriend pry it from hands and hide it. If you like salty sweet combinations, you have to try this, now. It only takes about 10 minutes to make and there is no baking. Enjoy!

Chocolate Caramel Chex Clusters:
4 cups of chex (rice or corn)
5 cups of popped popcorn
1 cup of pretzels
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
1/2 cup of light corn syrup
2 1/2 tbsps of butter
1 tsp of salt

Spray a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with non stick spray. Mix together the Chex, popcorn, pretzels, and chocolate chips in the dish. In a small pan, heat sugar, corn syrup and butter over high medium heat until melted, raise heat and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until the a dark brown, but still liquid caramel forms, about 4 minutes. Add in salt, then pour caramel mixture over the Chex mixture and stir until the caramel is coating all the mixture and the chocolate has melted. Press the mixture down into the pan, and then allow to cool for 30 minutes. Break up into chunks. Store in a air tight container.

Happy Eating.

Beef and Potato Hash

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:40:00 +0000

The use everything up experiment continues, and I have to say I feel proud. I have not only managed to make some delicious meals, our fridge is near empty and devoid of perishables, and not because we have thrown out what went bad, but because we have used everything! We really need to go shopping now, but I've learned a valuable lesson in using what you have, and hopefully the dinners from this week can help me to buy less and use everything up to decrease what I waste.

Beef Potato Hash:
2 large russet potatoes
2 yellow onions
2 bell pepper
1 small hot pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp of worchestershire sauce
1 can/bottle of beer
8 oz of ground beef
Canola oil
Salt, pepper, Tabasco

Heat the a thin layer of oil over high heat in a large skillet. Chop potatoes into small cubes and add to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally until potatoes begin to brown, about 4-5 minutes, then lower heat to medium. Chop onions into small squares and add to the pan , cook until onions soften slightly, about 3 minutes. Chop the peppers (hot and bell) and add to the pan, stir to combine, raise heat to high and cook 1 minute, then stir in the chili powder, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce and half the beer. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to allow beer to simmer, cook until the liquid has absorbed. Add ground beef and stir in. Add remaining beer and cook until absorbed and potatoes are tender. Serve with sunny side up eggs. Potatoes will need to cook about 30 minutes total, depending on how small you chopped them.

Happy Eating.

Shrimp and Pasta Stir Fry

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:14:00 +0000

This week is an interesting experiment, it's called using up all the things in the fridge, freezer and pantry that I forgot I had. We didn't go grocery shopping this weekend because we were suppose to be getting a lovely vegetable box delivered from Pure Organics (I got a groupon). Then the day before the box was suppose to come, they are suddenly out of business (don't worry, I got my money back). I am extremely disappointed that I won't get my lovely fresh veggies, and too lazy to go grocery shopping during the week, so I will just have to see how much I can put the furthest and most forgotten corners of my pantry to work. Fortunately, I still have some leftover veggies. The tomatoes in this are actually from my garden (or the tomato jungle as I like to think of it). So here is a delicious and fridge/pantry cleaning hodge podge of pasta, veggies, and shrimp in an Asian-y sauce.

Shrimp and Pasta Stir Fry:
1/2 lb of spaghetti
1 lb of shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tbsp of flour
Canola oil
2 onions
1/4 of head of cabbage
1 can of fancy bamboo shoots, drained
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp of hoisin sauce
3 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of rice vinegar
2 tsp of sesame oil
Sriracha
Salt, pepper, and chili powder
Cook spaghetti to package directions for al dente. In the mean time, heat a thin layer of canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Slice the onion and cabbage and add to the pan, when it's hot. Cook until cabbage wilts slightly and onions start to brown, about 3 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until cabbage is soft, about 5-7 minutes more. Season shrimp with salt, pepper, and chili powder and toss with the flour. Remove cabbage from the pan and set aside. Raise heat to high and add a little more oil to the pan, cook shrimp until browned and pink, stirring once or twice, about 2-3 minutes. Add cabbage back to the pan, and add bamboo shoots, tomatoes, garlic, and cooked pasta. In a small bowl, whisk together the hoisin, soy sauce, and vinegar and add to the pasta and veggies and stir. Add sriracha to taste and stir in. Sprinkle with sesame oil before serving.

Happy Eating.