WTF: What Tasty Food

Easy Watermelon Margaritas

2012-05-05T12:19:00.000-04:00

There is nothing I love more on a steamy summer day than a nice cool wedge of sweet watermelon. Except for these delicious margaritas, of course! This recipe was born on a summer day much like today. I had some watermelon that was about to go bad so I tossed it in the freezer and decided to make margaritas. Not sure how this line of thought came to me...except to say that I was still in college and there are always half full bottles of alcohol in the cabinet. So naturally the last bit of tequila and my leftover watermelon were a match made in college kitchen heaven. Freezing the melon enhanced it's natural sweetness so I didn't add any additional sugar. I put in a bit of lemon juice for an extra little zing of tartness that really complements the sugary melon flavor. Thus one of my favorite summer beverage was born. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I have. Happy Cinco de Mayo and Cheers to summer!

These are so easy to make and they're the perfect summer treat!

Ingredients:

6 cups frozen watermelon
1/2 cup silver tequila
2 tablespoons lemon juice
kiwi slices for garnish (optional)

This is a picture from the first time I ever made these delicious drinks. It was the summer Kelsey and I first started living together, right before WTF was born!

Directions:

Put all your ingredients into a blender and pulse until well blended.
Then pour into cups, garnish with kiwi slices and enjoy! Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Fresh Friday: Lemon-Thyme Fried Green Tomatoes

2012-05-04T20:33:00.000-04:00

It's been such an exciting (read: crazy) week! I just started a new job, and have been loving every minute of being 'the new girl.' To top it off May is finally here, summer has officially arrived my friends. All these new beginnings have lead me to ponder about all the freshness summer offers. Sometimes we get so caught up in the daily grind it gets hard to take time to appreciate the simple pleasures. This year I'm committing myself to taking the time to enjoy all the new beginnings as they come. I'm going to cook at least one meal a week that is made with fresh local produce! Here's my first installment in a series of Fresh Friday posts.

I saw these gorgeous green tomatoes at the farmers market last week and just couldn't pass them by. I've never made my own fried green tomatoes, but I've wanted to ever since I saw the movie that shares the name. So I figured now is the perfect time to try something new! To me these crispy, tangy treats are the epitome of southern summer fare. I chose to do a lighter style of breading and mixed in some fresh thyme and lemon zest to balance out the flavor.

I hope you take some time this weekend to enjoy the new beginnings summer has to offer. What's on your produce list? What are your favorite fresh meals? Don't forget to have a margarita (or two...or three?) to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Hey it's summer, right?

Ingredients:

2 large green tomatoes (sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds)
3 sprigs fresh thyme
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
1T milk
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

In a medium bowl mix together the fresh thyme, lemon zest, flour, salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a second bowl beat together the egg and milk. Then set the two bowls together by your stove top forming a breading station.
Put your olive oil in a large frying pan and heat over medium high until it begins to sizzle (about 3-5 minutes). Watch your oil carefully if it starts to get too hot (you'll know, it will stat to smoke!) turn the heat down a bit.
Dip a slice of your tomato into the egg mixture then coat it in the flour mix and place in to the frying pan. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side until the breading turns golden brown. Then repeat for the rest of your tomato slices. Serve warm and enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Green Eggs Sans Ham

2012-04-09T20:59:00.003-04:00

If you are like me you probably got a bit carried a way with dying eggs for Easter with little regard to what you would do with said eggs after the holiday was over. This happens to me every year! And every year people recommend the same old deviled egg or egg salad recipes. If you follow this blog you know about my intense aversion to Mayo. So you can imagine my delight what I stumbled upon We Are Not Martha's Avocado Spinach Egg Salad recipe. It was truly serendipitous! I loved the idea of substituting Avocado and Greek yogurt (both things I love) for Mayo in a revamped version of egg salad. Inspired by Sues's version I used the same basic ingredients in my version with a couple new spices to amp up the flavor profile. It turned out delicious (and I normally dislike egg salad) plus its healthy!

This egg salad tastes even better than it looks! The avocado/Greek yogurt mix creates a nice creamy texture and the celery gives the perfect amount of crunch. The cayenne and hot pepper flakes just send it over the top!

Ingredients:

8 hard boiled eggs, peeled
salt and pepper
1 7oz plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage, of course!)
2 avocados, pitted and fork mashed
1 cup baby spinach, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
1 lime, zest and juice
1T freshly chopped chives
1/8t cayenne pepper
1/2t red pepper flakes
1 clove minced garlic

Dying eggs is one of my favorite Easter traditions! These were so fun to make and turned out gorgeous.

All that remains of my masterpiece. Turns out peeling hard boiled eggs is harder than it looks! I finally figured out that running cool water over the eggs helps.

I've been spending a tone of time in the garden lately. My herbs are thriving and I love getting to incorporate them into my recipes! Hence the chives in this egg salad.

Directions:

In a medium sized bowl fork mash the hard boiled eggs until no large chunks visible then season eggs with salt and pepper to taste.
Mix yogurt and avocado into your eggs until fully incorporated.
Mix in chopped spinach, celery and lime until evenly distributed.
Finally stir in the chives, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and garlic. Transfer finished egg salad to an air tight container and store in refrigerator (the lime juice will keep your avocado fresh for up to three days). Serve on a bed of lettuce or as a sandwich on your bread of choice (I went with pumpernickel-rye swirl bread,YUM!). Enjoy!

Fork mashed Easter eggs from step 1. You can still see some spots of blue where the dye soaked into the egg!

The best part of this recipe is how quickly you can whip it together. Mix all the ingredients together and

voilà its ready to serve!

I got these picnic plates form Pier1! Aren't they just the cutest?

Easter Macaroons

2012-04-03T20:00:00.000-04:00

It's such a joy to feel spring in the air again! I spent the entirety of last weekend gardening. The plethora of colors and textures spring flowers provide a garden got me thinking about how to incorporate these element into a spring themed treat. I decided to put a twist on my go to coconut macaroon recipe. adding some food coloring to make the coconut a nice pastel green and topping with on of my absolute favorite things, chocolate covered sunflower seeds! This sweet treat embodies all the joy of spring and is the prefect treat for any Spring celebration. They bring to mind all the fantastic Easter egg hunts I used to love as a kid. Remember those? Hope you all are enjoying spring as much as I am. Happy Easter to everyone celebrating this weekend!

Ingredients:

1 (8oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 large egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract
16 oz of shredded coconut
2 table spoons of flour
green food coloring (about 4 drops)
1/4C candy coated sunflower seeds

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl whisk together the condensed milk, egg whites, vanilla extract, cream of tartar and salt.
Combine the coconut and flour in a separate bowl then gradually fold into the condensed milk mixture.
Once the coconut is fully incorporated add your food coloring and mix until evenly distributed. Top each with a pinch of candy coated sunflower seeds.
Place 1tbs scoops of dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and cook for 20-25 minutes, until the edges are golden and the macaroons are firmly set. Let cool, then enjoy!

A New Chef In The Kitchen

2012-03-19T16:56:00.000-04:00

These past few weeks have been full of change here at What Tasty Food. I was sad to see Kelsey go and I wish her the best of luck with her new blog, The Girl Talks. After we decided to dissolve our partnership I knew I wanted to ask another friend to join me in my culinary adventures and there was really only one person who came to mind. She's been one of my best friends since we were Brownies. We share a love of baking. Together we've even eaten our way through London and New York City.

I'm excited to introduce you to my new co-blogger, Kirsten Hunt!

Kirsten and I went to NYC last year and ate our way thought the city starting with sushi, of course!

We even went on a food tour of Greenwich Village. These vegan bento boxes were amazing!

Here are a few words of greeting from the newest member of What Tasty Food:

Hey Foodie World,

I'm really excited to start experimenting with new recipes and some old! I usually enjoy baking but I see this as an opportunity to grow and expand my knowledge of the kitchen!

Megan and I have definitely had some interesting food trials and we have never been shy to go outside of our comfort zone with fresh ideas. I can't wait to start this new adventure of sharing new foods with our readers!

Kirsten :)

Of Love and Food

2012-03-05T22:31:00.002-05:00

This past weekend I had the pleasure of catering a surprise engagement party for a couple of my close friends. My co-hosts and I managed to keep the party a surprise (something I had never before accomplished) and everything went off with out a hitch. It was so much fun planning a menu I knew my friends would be enjoying in celebration of such a big moment. I wanted foods that are classy, but not fussy. Dishes that are easy to make and even easier to eat. These semi-homemade roulades were the perfect solution. I used store bought puff pastry dough and added different fillings to create two distinct appetizers: one savory and the other sweet. There wasn't a morsel leftover at the end of the night.

To see more pictures form the party check out the What Tasty Food Facebook page. Best wishes to Kevin and Lauren on their engagement!

The Savory: Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Feta Roulade
Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry dough
4oz sun dried tomato feta
1C frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1T diced onion
1t minced garlic
pinch of cracked black pepper

Directions:

Unroll your puff pastry dough and sprinkle the feta in an even layer over the top surface.
Mix together the spinach, onion, garlic and pepper then spread evenly over the feta.
Roll the pastry dough as tightly as you can and wrap in wax paper. Let the roll set in your fridge for at least 20 minutes then cut into 1/4 inch slices.
Place on a greased baking sheet slice side down then bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until dough has puffed up and become golden brown.

The Sweet: Brie and Raspberry Jam Roulade
Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry dough
4oz brie diced into 1/4 inch chunks
1/4C raspberry jam

Directions:

Unroll you pastry dough and top with chunks of brie and 1/4t scoops of jam.
Roll the pastry dough as tightly as you can and wrap in wax paper. Let the roll set in your fridge for at least 20 minutes then cut into 1/4 inch slices.
Place on a greased baking sheet slice side down then bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until dough has puffed up and become golden brown.

Farewell, What Tasty Food!

2012-03-01T19:46:00.001-05:00

After a year and a half of blogging at What Tasty Food with Megan, I have decided to say farewell. I have had such a wonderful experience here, and it's hard for me to say goodbye. My new blog The Girl Talks has grown a lot faster than I expected it would, and it's become too difficult to manage two blogs on top of grad school and work. This was not an easy decision to make, and I'll miss this blog so much

All of my old posts here have been moved to my new site. I will continue to post recipes on my new blog in addition to posts about beauty, crafts, and my life. Megan will continue to post here at WTF, so no worries! What Tasty Food isn't going anywhere right now.

You can follow me at TheGirlTalks.com and on The Girl Talks Facebook.

- Kelsey

Miniature King's Cakes

2012-02-21T22:39:00.005-05:00

I’ve been wanting to make a king’s cake for years now, but the traditional recipes are more elaborate than I have the time for during the week. This year for Fat Tuesday I finally decided to give the Mardi Gras staple a try. I cut the cook time down by using Pillsbury French bread dough as a base. The glaze added a nice level of moisture and flavor to this festive cake. These semi-homemade miniature king's cakes turned out delicious and were so easy to make!

Cake Ingredients:

1 tube Pillsbury french bread dough
2T butter, melted
3T sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1t lemon zest
pinch salt
food coloring

Glaze Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1t rum extract
1/4 t vanilla extract
3t milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray oil on top to keep the dough from sticking.
Open the french bread dough and separate the loaf into 3 equal parts. Place each ball of dough into separate bowls and add food coloring to each and work the food coloring into each until well mixed. Note: You want to end up with green, yellow and purple dough so follow the coloring directions on the back of your food coloring box for best color results.
Separate each dough ball into five smaller balls. On a flowered surface roll each of the small dough balls into 3 inch strips.
One the cookie sheet lay one strip of green out the top with a strip of yellow and purple creating an asterisk symbol with the dough. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Then brush the top of each with melted butter.

Mix together the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and salt. Scoop about 1 teaspoon of the mixture into each and reserve any excess to sprinkle on top of the cakes before baking. Fold in the sides of the dough. Be sure to add your baby figurine into one of the cakes. Note: If you don't have a figurine you can add in dried bean or even a piece of dried fruit.
Bake the cakes for 20-25 minutes. Then remove from the oven and cool.
While the cakes are baking mix together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Once the cakes have cooled drizzle with glaze and sprinkle with colored sugar.
Let the glaze set for about 20 minutes before serving then enjoy! Happy Fat Tuesday!

Valentine's Day Cupcake Inspiration

2012-02-10T10:58:00.001-05:00

I haven't made cupcakes in some time. Megan and I made so many last year that I just haven't had the urge to make any. With Valentine's Day on the horizon, inspiration has struck. I'm making cupcakes for my office, so I started a search for cute Valentine's-inspired ideas. Behold.

Source: thecupcakeblog.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

Source: cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

See the rest of my Valentine's Day inspiration on Pinterest.

Meatless Monday: Tomato Bagel Sandwich

2012-02-06T17:18:00.002-05:00

This simple and delicious sandwich is a Valente family classic. Its one of the first meals my dad ever taught me to make and still one of my favorites.The key is to use fresh basil and perfectly ripe tomato. From the crunchy bagel and creamy mayo to the succulent tomato and crisp fresh basil this is my ultimate comfort food. The best part is you can have it on the table in less than five minutes!

Ingredients:

Fresh tomato slices
8-10 fresh basil leaves
1T mayonnaise
1/8 t Dried oregano
1/4 t Dried parsley
1 bagel
Salt and pepper to taste

Herb mayo is the secret ingredient in this delicious sandwich. YUM!

Directions:

Toast the bagel and set aside.
In a small bowl combine mayo, oregano and parsley and stir until well mixed. Then spread the herb mayo in a thin layer on both halves of the toasted bagel.
Add the tomato slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Then add the basil leaves and enjoy!

Bon appetit!

Curried Hummus Dip

2012-02-03T14:35:00.000-05:00

It's the Friday before the Superbowl, which means its time to finalize the menu for the big day. My favorite things about this game day have always been the amazing commercials and plethora of dips. The past few days I've been mulling over which dip to make for the game. There's the classics like seven layer dip, salsa and guacamole. And the creative new recipes like Kelsey's Greek layer dip, pizza dip and buffalo chicken dip. YUM! After much debating I finally decided to put a twist on a classic hummus recipe. Caramelized onions and curry seasonings kick this recipe up a notch. This savory sweet dip is packed full of flavor and great served with fresh pita chips or chopped vegetables. What dips are you planning on whipping up this Superbowl Sunday ?

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 red pepper, chopped
1 15oz can garbanzo beans, drained
1 clove minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon orange zest
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon freshly chopped parsley

Directions:

Add the butter, onions and sugar to a large pan over medium heat and cook until the onions begin to caramelize, about 10-15 minutes.
Mix the chopped red pepper into the onions and cook for another 8-10 minutes until the onions are fully caramelized and the pepper is cooked.
Stir in the garbanzo beans, garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, curry powder, orange zest, salt and pepper. Cook for another couple minutes allowing time for all the spices to warm and the flavors to meld, about 3-5 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor. Add in the olive oil, lemon juice and parsley then pulse until the mixture is smooth.
Serve with your choice of veggies or chips and enjoy!

Denver Brewery Tours

2012-01-20T09:10:00.001-05:00

Clearly I didn't do enough research on Denver before Xavier and I went, because I had no idea how big of a deal beer was. There are breweries everywhere! We drove 20 minutes west on our first day to Golden, Colorado, enjoyed some beer locally, and on Saturday we drove about an hour north to Fort Collins, Colorado.

If you're in the area, I highly recommend going on these tours. It's a lot of free and fun entertainment.

_____________________________________

MillerCoors
We started with the obvious choice, MillerCoors. The tour lasted about a half hour and ended end the tasting room where you get three free samples. When the tour guide said samples, I was thinking a 2 oz cup.. but nooo, Coors does it right! Look at these glasses. We tried Colorado Native and Batch 19. Colorado Native was not my favorite, very hoppy, but Batch 19 was great. It's a pre-prohibition recipe that was recently rediscovered in their archives (or so the story goes).

MillerCoors Golden Brewery Tour
13th & Ford Street
Golden, CO 80401
See their website for hours.

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Breckenridge Tasting Room

We read in the Denver Visitors Guide about a vanilla porter that sounded great. Xavier looked up where to find it, and we ended up at Breckenridge Tasting Room. This wasn't a tour spot like the others in this post, but the waitress let him see in back. We chowed down on BBQ pork, turkey, chicken, and brisket with sides of potato salad and macaroni and cheese with bacon. We both agreed it's one of the better BBQ spots we've been to in awhile.

Breckenridge Tasting Room
471 Kalamath Street
Denver, CO 80204
303-573-0431
Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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Odell Brewing Co.
The Odell tour was about 20 minutes and everyone got one free sample of Isolation, their winter brew. All of their sustainability efforts were very impressive! Xavier got adventurous and chose an interesting sampler tray. One was fruity, one was chocolatey, and then one tasted like a campfire (not quite my thing). When we returned to Golden on our last full day in Denver, Xavier ordered a 90 Shilling, one of their classic brews, which I also liked.

Odell Brewing Co.
800 East Lincoln Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80524
970-498-9070
Tours are Monday through Saturday at 1, 2, and 3 p.m. Show up a half hour early to sign up.

_____________________________________

The Fort Collins Brewery
This was the smallest Brewery of all. The tour probably lasted 10 minutes, 15 maybe, and there was no free tasting. Next time I'd like to go back and check out their restaurant, Gravity Ten Twenty. We bought a traditional tray instead of a seasonal tray like we did at Odell, and I enjoyed them a lot more. In particular, I like Red Banshee, which we can still find here in Tallahassee (yay!).

The Fort Collins Brewery
1900 East Lincoln Avenue
Fort Collins, CO
970-472-1499
Tours are Saturdays at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 p.m.

_____________________________________

New Belgium Brewery

Unfortunately, we were not able to tour New Belgium. It requires a reservation, and it was completely booked during our trip. We were not deterred, however! We still made a stop at the liquid center and had some Fat Tire and picked up a few souvenirs. I have read about New Belgium in several marketing classes, so it was a must-see. They produce about 10 times as much beer as Odell and about 60 times as much beer as The Fort Collins Brewery. Impressive stuff.

New Belgium Brewery
500 Linden Street
Fort Collins, CO
888-NBB-4044/970-221-0524
Book your tour online.

Jelly Cafe in Denver

2012-01-18T15:35:00.002-05:00

I asked on the What Tasty Food Facebook page where Xavier and I should eat while exploring Denver. Our friend and blogging buddy Katie of The Morning Fresh recently moved to Denver and suggested a meetup. After emailing back and forth, we decided to have breakfast on Saturday at a place called Jelly in Downtown Denver. She told us we were in for a treat, but we had no idea.

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Xavier and I figured it HAD to be good when we saw a line wrapped around the front at 9:30 a.m. on a Saturday. Our half-hour wait slowly turned into an hour wait. How did that happen? But no worries.. it was definitely worth it. Katie kept assuring us the food would be delicious, and boy did Jelly deliver.

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We started off with drinks, of course. The one all the way to the right is the "Parnold Almer," a sweet tea vodka and lemonade, YUM! I can't remember the names of Katie and Xavier's drinks. They were on the Monthly Specials list which has changed on the website. They were out of the energy drink used in Xavier's drink, so they sent someone across the street for it. Now that's service.

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These donut bites are a must! Every single one was delicious. Jelly Filled, Cinnamon Sugar, Creme Anglaise, Chocolate Anglaise. If I could only pick two, it would be jelly and creme. But why would I just pick two? I pick ALL of them.

I ordered the Salmon Benedict which had a cream cheese hollandaise that was to die for. Their peasant potatoes were also incredible. I'm hungry just thinking about this. I've never made a homemade hollandaise before, but this tempts me to try.

Xavier ordered the Meatloaf Hash with a big biscuit on the side. He really enjoyed their vanilla peach jelly it came with and wouldn't stop talking about it the whole trip (seriously).

Katie ordered the Sweet Potato Hash, which I also had my eye on.

Check out Katie's blog, The Morning Fresh, and read all about her adventures in travel, climbing, and food. She has a wonderful voice and a great eye for photography. Also, like Katie's facebook page.

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Jelly Cafe

600 E. 13th Avenue

Denver, CO

303-831-6301

7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily

Creamy Dijon Steak

2011-12-27T20:50:00.001-05:00

Meat and potatoes! You can hardly see the meat under all that creamy sauce, but that's the way it ought to be. After cooking, the beef patties simmer in a creamy dijon and horseradish sauce. The flavors are wonderful. This was approved by my mom and my dad, but even more importantly... it was approved by my sister. Impressive, right?

Ingredients
Makes about 6 steak patties

1/3 cup dry italian style breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 small yellow onion, diced
3/4 cup canned cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup canned cream of chicken soup
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp horseradish
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground round or lean ground beef

Directions

Combine bread crumbs, egg, and onion in a medium sized bowl.
Combine soups, dijon, horseradish, Worcestershire, and heavy cream (optional) in a separate medium sized bowl.
Heat olive oil in large skillet (medium heat).
Add ground beef and 1/4 cup creamy mixture to the bread crumb mixture. Mix with your hands and make about six steak patties.
Cook patties in the skillet over medium until brown on each side and cooked mostly through, roughly four minutes on each side.
Once the patties are done, pour creamy mixture into the skillet. Reduce the heat to low, cover the skillet, and simmer for 15 minutes until patties are fully cooked.

Merry Christmas to me!

2011-12-25T12:21:00.001-05:00

It's lookin' like I'm going to need to subject myself to some sort of cookbook challenge to work through all these new recipes! I hope all you foodies got what you were hoping for. My family started the day off with Paula Dean's overnight french toast. It called for a half pound of butter. Yeah.. it was good.

Italian Mushroom Pepperoni Sausage Four Cheese Pie

2011-12-23T20:20:00.001-05:00

This recipe is from What's Cookin' Italian Style Cuisine. It's one of those amazing toss-everything-in-one-dish kind of meals. I doubled the meat on accident, but it worked out. It turned into a super-meaty Italian-style quiche, and my parents loved it. It's nice to be home for the holidays and have a captive audience to cook for!

I recommend this recipe for people that claim they don't know how to cook. You just brown the meat, mix everything together in a big bowl, pour it in the pre-made deep dish crust, and stick it in the oven for about an hour. Easy peasy. Read the full recipe at What's Cookin' Italian Style Cuisine.

Southwestern Meaty Mac & Cheese

2011-12-20T20:12:00.001-05:00

Warning, this meal is in no way considered "light," nor do I think you could make it light if you tried. I did use skim milk, which thickened surprisingly well, and ground round, but please do not disgrace this recipe with reduced-fat cheese. Enjoy the rich, creamy goodness. The family absolutely loved the dish! This is going in my recipe binder for sure.

This is a meal that requires multitasking. You'll have three different pans going on at once. If you know you can't handle that, I suggest the Quickie Kraft Chili Mac instead. It has very similar flavors, but is much easier to make.

Ingredients

Meat

1 tbsp olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, diced

1 lb ground beef (aim for lower fat percentage, like ground round)

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (with Chipotle seasoning if you can find it) - do NOT drain

8.5 oz canned corn, drained

1 tsp Chipotle/Southwestern spice blend (like Mrs. Dash)

Macaroni

8 oz macaroni

3 tbsp butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/4 cup milk (I used skim and it thickened just fine)

2 cups shredded cheddar (save some for sprinkling on top)

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

a few dashes hot sauce

2 tsp Dijon mustard

Directions

Meat

Heat olive oil in pan on medium heat. Add diced onion and cook halfway (not fully translucent). Add garlic and stir for a few seconds. Add ground beef and cook until browned.
Add corn (be sure to drain), diced tomatoes (with juice), and chipotle seasoning. Cover and simmer on low, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.

Macaroni

While meat is simmering, bring a large pan of water to a boil. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Melt butter in a large pan. Slowly add flour, stirring until fully combined. Heat on medium until sauce comes to a low boil and thickens slightly. Remove from heat and add cheese (saving a small amount to sprinkle on top), stirring until fully melting. Add Worcestershire, hot sauce, and Dijon mustard.
Combine drained macaroni with sauce.

Bringing it all together...

Turn on the broiler and let it heat up.
Spray 2.5 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon the ground beef mixture into the dish. Cover with macaroni and cheese. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese.
Cook under broiler for a few minutes, until the cheese on top is golden.

Melting Snowmen Cookies

2011-12-17T12:31:00.001-05:00

I first saw a melting snowman cookie when my friend posted a picture on Twitter. After that, I spent so much time on Google Images staring at them. How cute! I filed it away in the back of my mind as an idea for later, but didn't know when I'd make them. As much as I love holiday cooking, this is one of those things you make but don't want to eat. And I'm all about eating.

I came home for winter break and the perfect time presented itself! My mom's third grader's holiday party. Kids will eat anything.. and they did! HEAD FIRST!

Of all the images I found, my favorite were from Crazy Domestic. No special cookie recipe, just Betty Crocker mix and icing, and some random gel icing. These took up a lot more icing than I expected! Buy generously.

Ninjabread Men Cookie Cutters

2011-12-15T20:33:00.002-05:00

Last year Megan saw ninjabread men cookie cutters online and thought it would be a fun craft to try and make some homemade. Like many brilliant ideas, it was left as just that... an idea. I didn't think about them again until I was Christmas shopping for Xavier at ThinkGeek.com. You see, I have a lot of Geek Points. So many, it's a little embarrassing. I finally decided to use a few on myself when I saw the ninjabread men cookie cutters as an option. Unfortunately, they're currently sold out at Think Geek, and the website says more won't be in until February. BUT! I did find them on Perpetual Kid. And they're on sale. Bonus.

They're just cheap little plastic shapes, but how cool are these ninjas? I used the gingerbread cookie recipe from Brown Eyed Baker. I only iced one like the picture from the box, and it was hard working with the negative space! I recommend using a popsicle stick... and patience. It came out pretty good if I do say so myself.

It smelled AMAZING!

Just before popping in the oven.

Meatless Monday: Pasta with Fall Squash & Feta

2011-12-05T20:49:00.018-05:00

This is one of those meals that was born of necessity, the mother of invention, right? I just happened to have leftover sage and butternut squash in the fridge...so I decided to put them together and voilà, a delicious meal was born! I cooked the squash in a Mediterranean style spice blend and added feta to complete this light and simple meal. Next time I think I'll use a sun dried tomato feta for a bit of extra flavor, but overall this culinary experiment was a success! The tender, spiced squash is balanced by the feta and whole wheat pasta makes it a healthier dish.

Ingredients:

2T olive oil
1cup butternut squash cubed
1tsp minced garlic
1 sprig of sage
1tsp cumin
1/4tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
pinch of nutmeg
3/4 cup water
1/2 package whole wheat angel hair pasta, prepared per package instructions
4 oz package feta crumbles

Directions:

Add olive oil to a large pan over medium heat. Saute the squash and garlic for about 2 minutes.
Mix in the spices and continue to saute for another 3-4 minutes to wake up the flavors.
Then add in the water and cook for about 8-10 more minutes until water has all cooked off and the squash is fork tender.
In a large serving bowl mix together the pasta, squash and feta. Then serve and enjoy!

Thanksgiving Recap

2011-11-24T16:19:00.439-05:00

Megan's Thanksgiving
I recently recommitted to a fully vegetarian lifestyle so this was my first Thanksgiving where I didn't eat ANY Turkey. After making my decision to forgo meat this year I knew I wanted to add a few new creative veggie dishes to our holiday menu. It took some convincing, but my Mom eventually agreed to share the reigns on Thanksgiving this year. Our compromise: she got to make her classic dishes and I got to replace the plain old peas and corn sides with some new vegetarian friendly dishes.

My parents made their classics: the turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and sweet potato casserole. I made raspberry baked brie, rosemary roasted acorn squash, poblano corn pudding, stuffed portobello mushrooms, roasted vegetable medley, mushroom and fall squash barley risotto, brussel sprouts, and fresh cranberry sauce. I was so excited that I may have gone a bit overboard, but then again you can never really have too much food for the holidays...right?

Everything turned out delicious and even though we had a whopping 12 people at our dinner this year we have plenty of leftovers! I'm so glad to have been able to share this wonderful meal with my family. In addition to me, my brother, and my parents, we had both Grandmas, Aunt Kathleen, My cousins Jessica and James (in from Gainesville), Aunt Sue (drove all the way from Pennsylvania!) and, Julie and Donnie (in from Minnesota). Our Thanksgiving feast was made complete with the addition of everyone's signature dishes: Grandma Valente made green bean casserole, and Aunt Kathleen made a pecan cranberry salad and, Julie made pumpkin and apple pies.

I loved introducing everyone to new vegetables and creative ways of cooking them. Overall my new dishes were well received by vegetarians and carnivores alike. I particularly enjoyed the brussel sprouts and the stuffed mushrooms. We'll definitely be making them again! This vegetarian friendly Thanksgiving feast was truly one for the record books.

Check out that beautiful Thanksgiving spread! Featured here: Grandma's Green Bean Casserole, Mom's Stuffing (made with leeks, raisins, apple and sage), Dad's Sweet Potato Casserole (made with Jamaican rum), my Raspberry Baked Brie appetizer, and Aunt Kathleen's Pecan and Cranraisin Salad.

We had a cornucopia of side dishes! From top left: Rosemary Roasted Acorn Squash, Brussel Sprouts in a Lemon Butter Parmesan Sauce, Mushroom and Fall Squash Barley Risotto, and Italian Roasted Vegetables!

I made a whole recipe of Poblano Pepper and Sweet Corn Pudding and cooked half per recipe specifications. The other half went into my Portabello Stuffing. I added 4T cream cheese, 3 extra slices sharp cheddar cheese, 1T diced green pepper, 1C cooked spinach leaves, the chopped mushroom stems, 1T chopped scallions, 2T chopped cilantro, 1T copped parsley and 1/4 cup crushed crackers. I stuffed the mushrooms and baked them on 350 for 20 minutes. They turned out amazing!

Mom's fresh mashed potatoes. They turned out so creamy and fresh chopped parsley made them one of my favorite dishes of the day.

My first vegetarian Thanksgiving was delicious! I didn't miss the meat one bit.

Kelsey's Thanksgiving
This year is the smallest Thanksgiving I've ever had (in terms of people, that is. The food was abundant). It was just my mom, my dad, my sister, and me. Oh, and the begging pups of course! We had turkey (of course), dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, homemade cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole from scratch, rolls, mini apple pies, and pumpkin pie cheesecake. Did I happen to mention there were only four of us? Yeah... Leftovers!

Traditional green bean casserole is one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes, but my mom is not a fan. I decided to find a recipe to make a from-scratch version, instead of using cream of mushroom soup and cans of green beans and mushrooms. I searched one of my favorite blogs, Closet Cooking, and found just the recipe I was looking for. I doubled the amount of cream sauce and skipped the almond slivers. Perfection.

Closet Cooking is also where I found the pumpkin pie cheesecake recipe. Unfortunately, it didn't go so well. Long story short, a smoke disaster ruined the cheesecake. It still made for some good pictures! I'd make it again, sans smoke disaster. Rebecca came through with mini apple pies and homemade poptarts from Smitten Kitchen.

Greek Layer Dip, Tzatziki & Pita Chips

2011-11-19T14:46:00.002-05:00

When I received a coupon for a Sabra product from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I knew I wanted to blog about something more than my undying love of Sabra hummus. Creamy, smooth... yumm. My favorite varieties are classic and roasted red pepper. I've tried homemade hummus before, but it's nearly impossible to replicate the texture of Sabra.

Now that I've professed my love, I will share my creation. I knew I wanted to make a dip. I toyed around with the idea of a cream cheese based dip, but quickly put that thought aside. Other Mediterranean dishes came to mind.. tzatziki, greek salad.. Greek Layer Dip? YES! The flavor combination was perfection.

Greek Layer Dip Recipe
Ingredients
Note: The recipe below is only intended for a handful of people. If you're taking this to a party, double it. Also, this is something you need to make the day of! If you let it sit overnight the cucumber, tomato, and lettuce will make it watery.

10 oz. container Sabra classic hummus
1 Tzatziki recipe (see below) OR 1 cup store-bought tzatziki
Handful lettuce shreds
1 small Roma tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, diced, and dried with a paper towel
2 oz. feta cheese crumbles
Optional: red onion, green pepper, olives

Directions

Spread hummus in the bottom of a glass dish (the one I used holds about 5 cups, or 1.25 quarts)
Layer remaining ingredients. Tada! Ready to serve.

I made homemade Tzatziki because it was something I'd never done before. A store-bought variety would work just as well, and would make assembling the dip that much faster, but I never do things the easy way (Okay, that's a lie, but we're going to go with it for now). Thanks for the suggestions on Facebook!

Tzatziki Recipe

Ingredients

Makes about 1 cup

7 oz. Fage Total 2% Greek Yogurt

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, finely grated, and water pressed out with paper towels

1 tsp minced garlic

a large pinch of chopped fresh dill

Directions

Fold ingredients into yogurt. Enjoy!

And because that really wasn't enough effort, I made homemade pita chips, too! Little bit of olive oil and some Zataran's Big & Zesty Seasoning. Pop in the oven at 375 for a few minutes on each side, until the edges start to brown slightly.

Results: Blissful Bites Cookbook Giveaway

2011-11-14T16:14:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone that entered the Blissful Bites giveaway. We had 27 entries total. You "liked" us on Facebook, you followed us on Twitter, and you left comments telling us your favorite meatless meals: ratatouille, pineapple fried rice, kale chips, vegetarian lasagne, bean and cheese burrito, honey-garlic tofu, black bean burgers and sweet potato fries, and tofu mahaman curry. Mmm! Thanks for all of the ideas, guys.

I made a master list of all our entries, with every person receiving a separate line for each entry method they used. Then, I used the trusty Random.org to generate a random number between 1 and 27. It selected lucky number... 12?

Congratulations, Sully!

Stay tuned for our next giveaway. Any requests? Vegetarian? Baking? Diet-friendly? Gluten-free?

Giveaway: Blissful Bites Cookbook [CLOSED]

2011-11-07T15:57:00.000-05:00

Megan and I were recently sent some copies of Blissful Bites: Vegan Meals that Nourish Mind, Body, and Planet. After testing out a few recipes, we definitely found some winners! And what better time to do a vegan cookbook giveaway than Meatless Monday?

Blissful Bites is a cookbook from Christy Morgan, also known as The Blissful Chef. There are more than 175 recipes in this beauty that are categorized by dish type and then sub-categorized into seasons. This is extremely helpful in vegan cooking because you're working with so much fresh produce. I read every page of the First Things First section, and it's clear this chef knows her stuff.

This is "Macro Mac and Cheeze" from the Whole Grains & Carbs Do a Body Good section under Autumn (page 150). It was listed as a fan fave, so I figured this was a safe bet. It called for some ingredients I wouldn't normally buy (white miso, anyone?) but it was worth it. To get this recipe, you'll have to buy the book... or WIN IT!

This is the Southwest Tofu Scramble (page 53). I love tofu scrambles, and this is way better than any of my creations.

Megan's Thoughts: This book makes vegan meals easy and approachable for beginners. I made the Carrot-Ginger Tofu (page 198). This recipe was simple and so flavorful. Best of all... it didn't call for any obscure ingredients I wouldn't ~~normally purchase!~~

3 Ways to Win (Each is an additional entry)

~~"Like" What Tasty Food and The Blissful Chef on Facebook and comment on the WTF wall saying, "Enter me to win Blissful Bites from The Blissful Chef!"~~
Follow What Tasty Food and The Blissful Chef on Twitter and tweet the following: "Enter to win "Blissful Bites" cookbook from @WhatTastyFood and @TheBlissfulChef http://tinyurl.com/6uoqa8o #vegan #giveaway" Note: if your Twitter is private, we will not be able to see your @ reply.
~~Comment below telling us one of your favorite meatless meals.~~

Giveaway ends Monday, November 14, 2011 at 4 p.m. EST. Make sure there's a way for us to get into contact with you if you win. http://www.facebook.com/LikeTheBlissfulChef

Semi-Homemade Halloween

2011-10-31T11:37:00.007-04:00

I love baking from scratch as much as the next baking addicted girl, but sometimes time is not on my side.This year Halloween was on a Monday and I had to work all weekend so I decided to take a page out of Sandra Lee's book. I created semi-homemade versions of the holiday recipes I've been waiting all October to make. By using box dark chocolate cake mix I was able to save time and still create two delicious Halloween treats.

Black Cherry Cake
My aunt Kathleen's Birthday is on Halloween so I wanted to make her a cake that fit the occasion. My mom heard about this cake a couple weeks ago and she's been dying for me to make it ever since. The texture and color in this cake are perfect for a spooky Halloween treat. The extra egg and cherry pie filling make this cake moist and delicious. I frosted my cake using a technique inspired by Martha. It's guaranteed to impress and the biggest treat of all... this cake is fast and easy to make!

Looks and tastes like it was made from scratch and it only took a fraction of the time... tricks and treats!

Happy Birthday Auntie Kathleen!

Check out these cute cake plates I got at Jo-Ann Fabrics. They're perfect for a Halloween birthday.

This cake was so moist and delicious! It magically disappeared...

Happy Halloween and Best Witches to all!

Ingredients:

1 box dark chocolate cake mix
1 can cherry pie filling
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup mini chocolate chip morsels
1 can chocolate frosting
1 package white cookie icing
toothpicks
plastic spiders

Directions:

Prepare the cake mix per box instructions adding in one additional egg to the batter.
Mix in the cherry pie filling, coconut and chocolate morsels.
Pour the batter into two greased 9 inch round cake pans and bake per box directions.
Once the cakes have finished baking remove from oven and cool completely.
Frost cakes with chocolate frosting. Starting in the center and working your way out use the white frosting to draw circles on the cake.
Use the tooth pick to draw lines through the circles from the center out creating a web effect. Place plastic spiders on top and your spooky cake is ready to serve!

This frosting is so easy and delicious!

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream
For these cupcakes I was inspired by a recipe is saw on Baking Bites. These cupcakes had me at the phrase Pumpkin Buttercream. Oh my great pumpkin am I glad I made this! The pumpkin flavor shines through and its a light orange color. I used it to frost these cupcakes and I'm even considering making an apple cake with pumpkin buttercream frosting - doesn't that sound like a great combo?

Ingredients:

1 box dark chocolate cake mix
1 C softened butter
2 1/2 C powdered sugar
2 T whipping cream (or milk)
3 T pumpkin butter (I found this on the jam isle in my local super market. Its similar to apple butter.)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
1 drop red food coloring (optional)

Tip: While the food coloring is optional it adds an excellent light orange color to the frosting.

Directions:

Prepare the cake mix per box directions and cook as cupcakes. While the cupcakes are cooking begin working on the frosting.
This frosting is similar to our original buttercream frosting. Begin by creaming the sugar into softened butter on low until well-incorporated.
Increase speed to medium and blend about 3 minutes.
Add pumpkin butter, pumpkin pie spice,vanilla, cream and food coloring then beat an additional minute.
Once cupcakes have cooled fully frost and enjoy!