Easy Mini Quiches

We had friends coming to visit and I decided to make these for breakfast. These were so delicious and so easy. Seriously, the chopping was the most tedious part. You can make any variation you want, I went with all vegetables and cheese. I'm sure these would be yummy with bacon or sausage in the mix.


Easy Mini Quiches
Courtesy of Christina Eats

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/3 c. milk (I used skim)
1/2 c. red and/or green bell pepper, diced ( i used red)
1/2 c. mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 onion, diced
1/3 c. green onions, sliced thinly ( i omitted and added spinach)
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. each salt & pepper
olive oil
oil spray (such as PAM)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat about 1 tbsp. oil in a pan on medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until soft. Add peppers, mushrooms, spinach and spices. Cook for several minutes until soft.
Whisk together eggs and milk in a mixing bowl. Add vegetable mixture and mix lightly.
Spoon mixture into lightly greased muffin pan. Fill each cup almost full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden.

Cool for 20 minutes, then carefully remove mini quiches from pan (I used a spoon to help).

Gnocchi Mac and Cheese

I had a potluck last week and my last name fell in the entree category. Yippee. I really wanted to be in the side dish category so I had an excuse to make cilantro rice again. Sigh. Main entrees for potlucks are tough, so I decided to go with a mac and cheese because its hearty and also vegetarian friendly. I found this great twist on mac and cheese, same idea...made with gnocchi. Boy was it amazing!

Gnocchi Mac and Cheese
Courtesy of Noble Pig

Ingredients:
 1 pound purchased or homemade gnocchi
2 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup shredded fontina cheese
Salt and white pepper to taste
1/3 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
Basil leaves for garnish, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375^o F. Prepare gnocchi according to package directions.  Drain and place gnocchi in a single-layer in a 1-1/2 quart shallow baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and Dijon.  Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.

Combine Gruyere and fontina, then add by the handful to milk mixture, stirring until melted before adding the next handful.  Once all cheese is melted, season sauce with salt and pepper.

Pour sauce over gnocchi and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano over top.  Bake gnocchi until they puff and cheese is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let gnocchi rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Asiago Tortellini Soup with Black Pepper Flatbread

Since we have been experiencing hints of fall weather recently, I decided to make a soup for dinner the other night. I came across this recipe on the Cooking Light website and was happy I did. This was so simple and very fast. I made a black pepper flat bread as suggested and it was the perfect compliment!

Asiago Tortellini Soup
Courtesy of Cooking Light

Ingredients: 

-1 (9-ounce) package fresh three-cheese tortellini 
-1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (vegetable broth if making vegetarian)
-2 plum tomatoes, chopped 
-1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 
-1/2 cup (2 ounces) shaved fresh Asiago cheese 
-Basil leaves (optional) 
-Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
 

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

While pasta cooks, combine broth and tomato in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in basil. Cover and let broth mixture stand until pasta is done. Add drained pasta to broth mixture. Ladle soup into shallow bowls; sprinkle each serving with cheese. Garnish with basil leaves and pepper, if desired.


Black Pepper Flatbread
Courtesy of Cooking Light 

Ingredients: 

2 garlic cloves, minced 
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano 
1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper 
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 
1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough 
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Unroll dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; form into a 12 x 9–inch rectangle. Lightly coat top of dough with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with garlic mixture. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until golden. Cool flatbread; cut into 6  large slices.




 

Cilantro Rice

My friend cooked dinner and served this rice. I loved it so much that I made it the next night! The original recipe is called Mexican Rice with Cilantro Dressing, but it's so versatile that I have renamed it cilantro rice and encourage you to make it as a side to go with anything! It's very easy to make although a bit time consuming with all of the chopping. The recipe also suggest the rice sit for 1.5 hours, but that is not necessary. Plus, it smells to delicious to wait that long!

Cilantro Rice
Courtesy of Epicurious, discovered by Karen Merriwether

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced seeded serrano chiles
• 2 cups long-grain white rice
• 3 1/4 cups low-salt chicken broth (use vegetable broth if vegetarian)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• cilantro dressing (recipe follows)

    cilantro dressing:

• 1 1/4 cups (packed) coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 cup olive oil
• 5 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon minced seeded serrano chile

Directions for Cilantro Dressing:

Combine all ingredients in processor. Blend until almost smooth. Season dressing with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature; rewhisk before using.) 

Directions for Rice:

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and serrano; sauté until onion is translucent, about 9 minutes. Mix in rice; stir 2 minutes. Mix in broth and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is just tender and broth is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes. 

Transfer rice to bowl; cool to barely lukewarm, stirring occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours. Add 1/2 cup cilantro dressing to rice; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Farfalle with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cream

I'm back! I have been cooking a little more lately. I am trying to get used to my new small, outdated kitchen! I'm starting to figure out some new tricks to make it work. Anyway, this is the first meal I made in said kitchen and it was quite delicious. I bought this cookbook last winter and have yet to make anything from it, so I decided to break it open. It is full of great recipes I have tagged to try over the next few months so look out for more yumminess! The only thing I would change about this recipe next time I make it is to make it with bacon. I think the smokiness from the bacon would be perfect! If you don't eat pork try turkey or chicken sausage or turkey bacon. Either would be great substitutes!


 Farfalle with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cream
Courtesy of Barbara Fairchild


Ingredients:
-2 tbl olive oil
-1 lb of sweet italian sausages, casings removed (i used regular sausage)
-1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper
-1 c chopped onion
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes with added puree
- 1/2 c heavy cream
-1 lb farfalle (bow tie pasta)
-1 c (packed) chopped fresh basil
freshly grated pecorino romano cheese

Directions:
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausages and crushed red pepper. Saute until sausages are no longer pink, breaking into chunks with fork, about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and cream. Reduce heat to low; simmer until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 c pasta cooking liquid.(I did not reserve pasta water and it was fine). Return pasta to same pot.

Add sausage mixture to pasta; toss over medium heat, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if dry. Transfer pasta to serving dish. Sprinkle with basil. Serve passing cheese separately.

Chipotle Sloppy Joes

Ok, sometimes you have to embrace the inner kid in yourself, right? I randomly had a taste for a sloppy joe this week and decided it would be a perfect Tuesday night dinner. Now, you should know this isn't the first time I have made this sloppy joe and it definitely won't be the last. They are a bit on the spicy side and a lot on the messy side. If you are like me, you don't mind a meal that requires finger licking!


Chipotle Sloppy Joes
Cooking Light

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

2 1/2 cups presliced Vidalia or other sweet onion
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 pound ground sirloin
1/2 cup prechopped green bell pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
Hamburger buns (wheat)

Directions:

 Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; cover and cook 8 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; set aside.


Remove 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can; set aside. Remove 1 chipotle chile from can; chop and set aside. Reserve remaining chiles and adobo sauce for another use.

 Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add beef to pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add bell pepper to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in chopped chipotle chile, adobo sauce, tomato paste, and next 3 ingredients (through tomato sauce); cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon 1/2 cup beef mixture over bottom half of each bun, and top evenly with onions and top half of bun.

Pasta Pie

Yep, that's an entire pie...made of pasta! For New Years Eve, we were invited to a pie party and I decided to make a savory pie for the occassion. It's actually quite easy until you get to the stuffing the shells part. Stuffing each indivdual shell took some practice, but the longer I stuffed, the better I got. It was totally worth the effort being as it was delicious and made for an impressive presentation. If I could only have a big slice of pasta pie tonight....


Pasta Pie
Courtesy of Noble Pig


Ingredients:
1 pound rigatoni

2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound ground beef
2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 can (28 ounces) good quality crushed tomatoes

Butter, for pan

Salt

1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

8 ounces coarsely grated mozzarella

Directions:

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until slightly underdone (I cooked mine for 12 minutes when the box indicated 14 minutes). One pound of pasta should be cooked in 6 quarts of water, make sure you are using a big enough pot so the pasta doesn't stick together. When done, rinse in cold water and drain again. Toss pasta with 1 Tablespoon olive oil to coat. Set aside.

Heat remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef. Cook, stirring occasionally until browned. Add garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes more.

Add crushed tomatoes; simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Toss pasta with Parmesan cheese. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Tightly pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end. It should look like this:

Spread meat sauce on top of pasta.

Push the meat sauce into the pasta holes filling each one up.
Place in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen and then unmold.

Cut into wedges and serve with any remaining meat sauce you might have.

Miss Me?

Well guys, as you have noticed I have not posted in a while. It's called diet season. Wait, isn't it always diet season? Anyway, since I am not cooking anything worthy of talking about, I am using this time to spruce up boopsscoops. There are a few recipes that I have not posted so I will post those to tide you all over. In the meanwhile, enjoy the (hopefully) fabulous changes!

-boops

Pasta with Truffle Butter

YUM YUM YUM. This pasta is so amazing, I am coming off of my long hiatus just to share this recipe with you. Yesterday, as I cleaned the apartment I turned the tv to food network to watch one of my favorite peope, Ina Garten, get down in my dream kitchen. Hmph. Anyway, I discovered two things:

1) inexpensive way to make truffle pasta
2) a wonderful food blog, Big Girls Small Kitchen

If you are looking to impress family and friends with a delicious meal, and aren't about spending hours in the kitchen, please try this recipe. It won't dissapoint. I served this with a roasted tomato on the side stuffed with sausage and rice.

Pasta with Truffle Butter:
Courtesy of Ina Garten

Ingredients:

Kosher salt

1/2 cup heavy cream
3 ounces white truffle butter  (I found this at Whole Foods)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (8.82-ounce) package Cipriani tagliarelle dried pasta or other egg fettuccine (I used whatever egg fettuccine I could find in the store)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
3 ounces Parmesan, shaved thin with a vegetable peeler


Directions
Add 1 tablespoon salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large (12-inch) saute pan, heat the cream over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Add the truffle butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, lower the heat to very low, and swirl the butter until it melts. Keep warm over very low heat.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, exactly. (If you're not using Cipriani pasta, follow the directions on the package.) When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the drained pasta to the saute pan and toss it with the truffle-cream mixture. As the pasta absorbs the sauce, add as much of the reserved cooking water, as necessary, to keep the pasta very creamy.

Serve the pasta in shallow bowls and garnish each serving with a generous sprinkling of chives and shaved Parmesan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve at once.



.

Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins

My friend hosted a brunch this past Sunday and since we had not yet made our grocery run for the week, I needed to make something that I already had the ingredients for. Enter, cinnamon doughtnut muffins. These were so delicious! I don't like cinnamon that much so that is saying something.

Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins
Courtsey of Noble Pig 

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
Jam

Topping:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon; whisk to combine. In another bowl, combine sugar, oil, egg, and milk. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until moistened.  Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups half-full; place one teaspoon jam on top.  Cover jam with enough batter to fill muffin cups three-fourths full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes (mine took 20) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Place melted butter in a small bowl; combine sugar and cinnamon in another bowl.  Immediately after removing muffins from the oven, dip tops in butter, then in cinnamon-sugar. Serve warm or room temperature.  Below is a shot of the inside of the muffin. Great with a glass of champagne or a glass of milk! 

 

Black Bean Burrito Bake

 I made these for dinner last night. I love love love black beans so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it out. I made these early, set them in the refrigerator, and Christian popped them in the oven once he got home. They also didn't take any time to prepare...15 minutes tops! The only thing I would change is I would add a bit of salt to the bean mixture. I must admit this is a picture of  some of the leftovers today...which were still delicious!

Black Bean Burrito Bake
Courtesy of Cooking Light

• 1  (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 1/2  cup  reduced-fat sour cream
• 1  (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
• 1  cup  frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
• 4  (8-inch) flour tortillas
• Cooking spray
• 1  cup  bottled salsa
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Remove one chile from can. Chop chile. Reserve remaining adobo sauce and chiles for another use. Combine sour cream and chile in a medium bowl; let stand 10 minutes.
Place half of beans in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add chopped beans, remaining beans, and corn to sour cream mixture.
Spoon 1/2 cup bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas; place, seam side down, in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spread salsa over tortillas; sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

**Half of the beans are finely chopped to give the filling a thick, creamy consistency. This dish can be made up to 8 hours in advance and chilled; just bring it back to room temperature before baking.

Baked BBQ Chicken with Peach Salsa

I have finally mastered a baked bbq chicken recipe! The key to this recipe is making little individual  boats for your chicken and of course...butter. If you do this, the chicken will be very moist and yummy.The peach salsa was the perfect contrast to the bbq chicken. I served this with a side of onion and garlic cous cous. Delicious!


Baked BBQ Chicken:

4 chicken breast
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Garlic Powder to taste
Butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. While your oven is heating, cut pieces of foil large enough to completely wrap each piece of chicken. Season chicken breast  in the foil with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Once seasoned, layer the chicken with bbq sauce and put a small piece of butter on top of the chicken. Press all sides of foil together so that the chicken is completely covered. (should look like a boat). Bake in a pyrex for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Top with peach salsa if desired (recipe below).


Peach Salsa:
2 medium firm peaches
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 red onion, diced
1/4 cup of fresh lime juice
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Directions:

Dice peaches, jalapeno peppers and onion and toss. Toss in fresh lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Let the mix sit for at least 5 minutes before tasting for seasoning. Make at least 1 hour ahead or up to 2 days ahead so the flavors will blend

Grilled Vegetable Salad

This is a great side dish to any meal as it is very quick and full of flavor! I served this as a side to bbq grilled shrimp and it was a great summer weeknight meal. If you don't have a grill, I'm sure you could roast the vegetables and it would be just as tasty.

Grilled Vegetable Salad

Ingredients:

1/4 cup(s) parsley, fresh, finely minced
1 medium garlic clove(s), finely minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp olive oil
2 medium green pepper(s), cut into 8 chunks each
12 medium grape tomatoes
12 medium  baby bella, wiped clean, stems trimmed
Feta cheese 

Directions:

Preheat grill to high. In a medium bowl, combine parsley, garlic, salt and oil; add vegetables and toss to coat. Thread vegetables onto 4 long metal skewers. Grill, turning once, until tender and charred, about 6 to 10 minutes, depending on desired degree of doneness.

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

Now, these may look like chocolate blobs (an oopsy on my part) but they are so delicious that you will forget what they look like once you taste them. These are incredibly easy to make and the best part is you can use any cake mix you want to make different flavors.  If you are looking to satisfy your sweet tooth....here you go!

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies
Courtesy of Paula Deen

Ingredients:

8 oz of cream cheese (room temperature)
1 stick of butter )room temperature)
1 egg
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 18 oz box of moist chocolate cake mix (I used devils food)
Confectioners sugar ( I omitted) 

Directions:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Lemon Pasta with Roasted Shrimp

    My mom was in town for a few days so I decided to make dinner one night for everyone. What can I say other than that this is a new favorite. I've never thought of roasting shrimp before but this has to be the next best thing to heaven (besides cheeseburgers or chocolate). The shrimp was perfectly moist and the lemon pasta was so refreshing. Perfect summer meal...and so fast you can make it on a  weeknight! We served with a simple garden salad, a loaf of crusty bread, and a bottle of white.


Lemon Pasta with Roasted Shrimp
Adapted from Ina Garten

2 pounds (17 to 21 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound angel hair pasta
(1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Zest and juice of 2 lemons ( I used 1 1/2 lemons)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the shrimp on a sheet pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.Toss well, spread them in one layer and roast for 6 to 8 minutes, just until they're pink and cooked through.
Meanwhile, drizzle some olive oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add the angel hair and cook until al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Quickly toss the angel hair with the melted butter, 1/4 cup olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and about 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Add the shrimp and serve hot.

Pigs In A Blanket

To celebrate America's birthday, we hosted an impromptu 4th of July party. Since we were last minute getting everything together, we needed a few fast and fun eats for the party.  I wanted to stick with an All American Cookout theme but without the hassle of fighting for the grill upstairs. Enter mini sliders (recipe to come) and pigs in a blanket.  These were so cute and so yummy! If you like pigs in a blanket then you will love this quick and easy recipe. The recipe makes about 72 piggies.. much more than you see in the picture. We brought them out in batches.


Pigs in a Blanket

2 packages of hot dogs
2 cans of crescent rolls

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out crescent rolls and split each triangle into thirds. Cut each hot dog into three pieces. Roll crescent rolls around the center of hot dog. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Fried Pickles

Summer time means rooftop party time! We had some friends over the other night and everyone brought something to the table. I made 2 batches of parmesan balls and a batch of friend pickles. Let me just warn those with small apartments...be prepared for a "fried"smell to linger for a few hours post frying. This was my first time to deep fry anything and I must say I thought it was a success. I found two different recipes and modified/combined the two. I was pleased with my results and being that these were gone in about 15 minutes...I think my guest were pleased too! 




Fried Pickles

1 large egg
3/4 cup milk
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 Tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
36 dill pickle slices, cold
Canola oil
Ranch dressing for dipping

Beat egg, milk and a pinch of cayenne.  Place 1/2 cup cornstarch in a shallow dish.  In another dish, mix 1/2 cup each cornstarch and cornmeal with dill, paprika, salt and pepper.

Dip cold pickle slices in the plain cornstarch, then the egg wash, then the cornmeal mixture.  Fry in 2 inches of 375^o F canola oil until golden, about 3 minutes.

Drain on paper towels and serve with ranch dressing.

Individual Lemon Mascarpone Trifles

I have a fabulous bookclub that meets once a month and this was my month to host. I decided to make shrimp and grits and individual trifles for dessert. I didn't know what to expect with my trifle but it was so delicious! The lemon and the creme de cassis were such great compliments to each other and really exceeded my expectations. The best part...this took all of 5 minutes to make.  I am already planning to make a larger version for the 4th of July!


Adapted from Giada 

1/2 cup sugar 
1 lemon, zested and juiced 
16 ounces mascarpone cheese 
1 cup of whipping cream
1 store-bought angel food cake, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices 
1/2 cup creme de cassis liqueur 
2 cups quartered strawberries 
Fresh mint leaves, chopped, for garnish (i skipped this) 



In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar with the lemon juice. Cook until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

In a medium bowl, combine the cooled sugar mixture with the mascarpone cheese, whipping cream, and the lemon zest. Using a whisk, whisk until the mixture is light and fluffy.

To build the trifle, line the bottom of a glass with a layer angel food cake. Brush the angel food cake with some creme de cassis liqueur. Spoon a layer of the cheese mixture over the pound cake, and then a layer of berries. Repeat the layers until all the ingredients are used, finishing with a top layer of berries. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Garnish with chopped mint leaves.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

My friend and I had been eyeing these on Noble Pig for quite some time, so for her birthday I decided to surprise her with her own birthday batch! They were so cute and yummy and would be perfect for a gathering or to take with you on a picnic. Don't forget to serve with pizza dip for dipping. 

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

Adapted from Noble Pig

3/4 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup whole milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

8 ounces pepperoni, cut into small cubes

1/2 cup pizza sauce

2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

Preheat oven to 375^o.  Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg.  Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups.  Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through, then stir in 1 Tablespoon basil.  Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining 1 Tablespoon basil.  Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Rosemary and Potatoes

Christian and I have both had very busy weeks for the past few weeks but still want to enjoy a nice homecooked meal when possible. Enter the slow cooker. I really can't decide which I love more...the slow cooker or the food processor. They both amaze me. When we got home from work tonight the apartment smelled so good that we had to dig in immediately. If you are pressed for time and want a good meal to come home to, you should definitely try this recipe. It's a winner!

Braised Chicken Thighs with Rosemary and Potatoes

Adapted from Southern Living

8 chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 lbs)  -- i used skinless

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

2 large baking potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs), peeled and sliced ( i used about 2 1/2)

2/3 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary 

4 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:

-Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken, and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until browned

-Place onion in a 4 quart slow cooker; top with potato. Arrange chicken on top of potato

-Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, broth, rosemary, and garlic in a small bowl; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour; reduce to low and cook 4 hours until chicken is done and vegetables are tender. (I cooked on low for about 8-10 hours).